Road Trip and other fun things!

This week's highlight was a trip with my friend Sherrie Spangler down to Prescott, AZ.  As you may recall from my last post, Sherrie, who lives in Gig Harbor, WA, is visiting Sedona again this year for some sunshine and warmth with her husband Dave.  Anyway, last week, I drove down and picked her up and we headed for Prescott, about an hour southwest of Sedona.  I know a few fabric stores down there, and wanted to give her a tour.  She posted about the trip on her blog, and she is ever so much better at taking pictures than I am!  But I snatched this shot from her post, taken by Dave before we took off:

Notice the colors we are both wearing?  We did not coordinate our wardrobes before we met!  We just both LOVE color!
So off we went, stopping at Cloth Plus first... a favorite of mine, as they carry a wonderful selection of batik fabrics.  Sherrie scored big time, and I found a couple of pieces for a great price - bolt ends on sale.  Next, we stopped at Seams so Right ,  another favorite of mine... so much wonderful fabric!
After thoroughly  browsing the bolts there, it was time for a lunch break to refuel... so we stopped at a great little restaurant down the street  -  El Gato Azul:

We sat out in the patio, soaking up the warmth of the sun and enjoying a yummy repast.

I had to take a photo of this wonderful ceramic cat, posing at the bar of the restaurant... almost looks tie-dyed, doesn't it?!

Then on to one more shop, "Love It Again", which is a great little shop with remnants of fabric, yarns, thread, books... you name it!
All too soon, it was time to head back.  Sherrie and I are already planning next year's adventure, as we have decided this is a great annual event!
Meanwhile, I'm still dyeing rayon scarves... finished up a couple of great multicolored freeze-dyes the other day, looking like southwest sunsets:

I really love the intensity I get dyeing rayon...these just make my heart sing!  Much, much more to come...

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!

Switching gears

I've been wanting to do some more batik fabric pieces, and decided to play with some fabric I dyed a couple of years ago using a technique where I scrunched fabric over a plastic trash bag:

I used the 3 primary colors to dye, and it came out a little harsh. So yesterday, I melted my soy wax, got out my 'tools' and proceeded to create a wax design. After the wax dried, I pre-soaked the fabric in soda ash then hung it to dry. This morning, I dyed the fabric in black using low water immersion, and here it is:

I kind of wish I had done more waxing in the middle, but I think it's still interesting, and will be a nice fabric to use in my strip sewing. Meanwhile, I have another piece of the pre-dyed fabric that I think I'll dye using my 'funky dye' swirl... again, with the idea in mind that I will use it for strip sewing, so stay tuned as I blend the two techniques!

Quilting class

I signed up for a Beginning Quilting class with my friend Joyce... it's being taught at our local fabric store, Odegaard's.  I took a beginning class about 5 years ago at another shop, but haven't done any traditional quilting since, so I figured it would be good to take a refresher.  Besides, Joyce, who sews professionally --she makes lots of neat products for home and personal use -- has never quilted, and we thought it would be fun to take the class together.  Turns out we're the only 2 in the class, and I know the teacher from our local Quilters' Guild, so it's a very comfortable environment to learn in.
Our first project is a "9 patch", which I'm on my way to expanding to 12 patches to make a small table runner.  The colors and fabrics I chose are good for my home decor, but totally different than colors I use in my tie-dye projects!  See for yourself:

My carpet is dark brown, and my accent colors are rust and dusty blue... this was the best I could do to come up with coordinating fabrics.   But I think it will look okay on the dining table once I get the border on!

Meanwhile, next week we will be starting a Split Rail quilt, which I have done before.  Here's the one I did from my original class:

See what I mean about the colors I end up with?  And the quilt is laying on the carpet, so you can see what I'm dealing with.

Well, for the new Split Rail, I came up with a slightly different color scheme:

Odegaard's carries a large selection of batik fabrics, and I decided to splurge on this one.  Haven't decided what to use for the binding yet, and I may hand-dye fabric for the backing or just use solid color, but I sure like the fabrics I chose for the top... can't wait to get started!

End result of batik fabric experiments

Remember these? I created some soy wax batik fabrics for my friend Joyce, who has a sewing biz.

Joyce made up a couple of her products using some of the fabric, and here they are:

On the top is a case suitable for carrying eyeglasses or a cell phone. On the bottom is a cover for tissues which can be carried in your pocket or purse. She is a real whizz at coming up with products to use small pieces of fabric! I love 'em!

On a related note, I just bought 20 yards of Kona cloth, so I have lots of fabric for dyeing, batik, you name it! Oooooooh, boy!