Derwent Inktense Blocks 24 Tin, Set of 24, 8mm Block, Soft Texture, Watersoluble, Ideal for Watercolor, Drawing, Coloring, Crafts and Painting on Paper and Fabric, Professional Quality (2300443)

As an Art Quilter I am always looking for new ways to make my quilts unique. I’d heard about Derwent Inktense Pencils and Inktense Blocks but when I saw the prices in the Art Store I passed them by. Luckily I am a Prime Member on Amazon and as I was looking for some supplies I needed I found this box of of the complete set of the Derwent Inktense Blocks for an unbelievably low price and bought them immediately. I am so glad I did and I am doubly glad I am smart enough to be an Amazon Prime member! The learning curve for these blocks is much easier than for the pencils (at least that’s what I’ve heard). I watched some videos on YouTube, found a couple that pertained to quilting and that was all I needed to get me started. These blocks are amazing when used on silk. Usually coloring silk can be very iffy, depending on whether you use paint or dye. Nothing could be easier than coloring silk with these blocks. If you dye silk you have to steam it to set the dye, try setting it in a microwave, use a product that might or might not set it completely, or try something called batching. If you use textile paint you can’t just paint it on the table top, the silk must be raised up on a frame using pins made especially for painting silk. Also, it has to be heat set, something that’s hard to do on silk because the amount of heat needed to set the paint can be be too high for silk. Not so with these wonderful blocks. They are permanent once the fabric is dry and the colors are stunning on silk. They are great on cotton too, but on silk they are amazing! I am lucky enough to have a wonderful stock of silk that I hadn’t gotten around to dyeing yet and now I don’t ever have to bother with dyeing any of my silk again. I will use these blocks in the future. The makers of the blocks sell a grater that allows you to mix the colors with water but I found that device didn’t get the particles small enough. So I followed the advice on one of the videos I saw and used what’s used in a Pharmacy to grind drugs into powder. It’s called a morter and pestal (and I know I’ve spelled it incorrectly) but however it’s spelled it worked like a dream to get the bits of block extremely fine so they mix with the water without any little bits getting on the fabric. I found some small bottles with eyedroppers for tops and put the mixture into them and either used the eyedroppers or a small brush to put the color on the silk. So easy and such wonderful results. These products are made in the UK and some friends I have over there can’t afford to buy them because they are very pricey. Once I use up all my blocks I will be in the same boat unless Amazon has another sale, but until then I am having such a wonderful time coloring my silk. However, with 72 colors to use up it will be a long time before I have to worry about restocking. Besides, since I am an experienced fabric dyer I know which colors to mix together to get the color I want so some of the colors I would normally never use will be mixed with another one to make something beautiful. Because I saved so much on this set of blocks I might even try the pencils. I just wish these had been invented ages ago when I was using dye to color my silks. At least I don’t ever have to go through that agony again!