batik squares

I decided to try some squares using my batik fabric. The photos don't really do the fabric justice, but here they are:

Keep in mind that I have no particular project in mind yet, and I'm just playing with new techniques... no telling how these will end up! But I am having fun, and eventually I hope to come up with a few ideas for how to use them!

My new fave strip sets

I just finished these two, and I really like the colors and patterns, and the good news is... they go well together!

No matter which way I put them, I like how they look! Can't wait to see how I end up using them. The first one in the top photo has: purchased fabric, hand dyed, purchased, rust dyed, purchased. The second one has fabric I bought from Melly Testa, purchased, hand dyed, and the last two I just got at Jo-Ann fabrics. What I did to prepare was pull several fabrics from my stash, and auditioned them on my cutting table until I got a layout I liked. Then I just cut and sewed. I'm still getting used to cutting with my rotary blade without using my straight-edge yardstick... a little tricky, but I'm getting more used to it. Practice, practice, practice!

Still more freeform!

I didn't get a chance to play yesterday, and haven't had a lot of time today. But I did get a square done:

The center is a batik square I got last summer. It is bordered by two hand dyed fabrics from my stash, then the final borders are of commercial fabrics. I'm finding it interesting to see what I can combine, and the result I get from auditioning various combinations. It's also very nice to be using some fabrics I have had in my stash for a very long time, like the strips on the outer top and bottom!

My challenge for myself now is to look beyond the basic strips and squares, and start doing more slicing and dicing to add interest. Fun and scary! More to come...

More freeform

I'm having so much fun! Today, I did 2 framed squares and a neutral strip set:

This square was made with fabrics I created in '07 when I took Melly Testa's class in surface design techniques... hard to believe it took this long to use them!

I'm not sure if I painted the center square of this block, or used sharpie colored markers... at any rate, I found fabrics in my stash to create the borders... some hand dyed, some commercial.

This strip set was a real challenge... I don't have many 'neutral' colors in my stash, but luckily I found enough to make a good sized piece, and I have some more set aside that should make some other color combinations. I can tell I will be at this awhile before I have enough blocks and strips to do anything with them, but fortunately I am enjoying the process! More to come...

Freeform Quilt done!

I just finished my freeform art quilt... don't have the hanger right yet, but I couldn't wait to see how it would look hanging:

I did change the piece I originally had in mind for the upper left corner, and think it balances the piece better. Then I flip-flopped over whether to hang it this way or flip it 180 degrees... this way finally won. I used pre-dyed cotton crinkle cloth to bind it, and a commercially dyed fabric for the backing. I still need to add the label. All in all, I'm pleased with how this turned out... I was able to use some of my dyed fabric, AND I successfully created a piece that isn't square or rectangle. Next? Hmmmm.... maybe three dimensional? Why not!