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I tried making batik prints today, based on these instructions. Basically, involves stamping designs on fabric with melted wax, submerging the fabric in dye, then ironing/melting the wax away to reveal the design (since the waxed parts will resist the dye). I printed on white cotton napkins. They are drying now (photo). The yellow stuff is the beeswax.

The whole thing turned out to be so much more complicated than I had imagined.  I couldn’t keep the wax hot enough for long enough to make it penetrate the fabric. By the time I had brought the wax-covered stamping tool over to the fabric, the wax had cooled too much. (I think using an electric skillet or double boiler would help - I just melted the wax in a can on the stove and brought it over to the work area. We had to reheat the wax twice.) I couldn’t get anything close to the designs I had planned. After struggling with the first two napkins, my husband I just poured the hot wax on the next couple of napkins in a random pattern, before the wax had a chance to cool. Then we said, Fuck it, let’s tie-dye! So we tie-dyed the rest of the napkins. Then, because we’re CRAZY and SPONTANEOUS like that, we dyed some tshirts, too.

And now I have blue hands. Because I’m a stubborn person who doesn’t follow instructions. Or her husband’s advice.

It was totally fun, though. I’ll update this post with added photos of the finished batik prints, when they’re done drying and being ironed.

p.s. I missed yesterday! Damn.

I sketched/doodled some designs for the batik project I’m hoping to do this weekend. I’ll keep you posted!

Today I worked on the cabinet layout for the kitchen for our new house in preparation for next week’s visit with a cabinet supplier. We’ve designed this house from scratch so, it’s amazing to have preliminary plans in hand. Now we’re working on every detail so our prospective builder can give us a price. Yikes!

While I’ve designed the house in 3D software complete with an substantial amount of detail and the ability to walk through the house, quilts are my design medium: I work out my thinking in fabric. To me it’s all about how this house will feel and the best way for me to visualize and express this is to make things. Therefore, I sketched up a rough for my House Inspiration Quilt a few days ago.

The idea for the backgroud is to arrange horizontal strips of fabric depicting the forest in which our house will live, starting with the browns and beiges of the leaf litter floor, up through the canopy and the mountain behind to the sky. I will applique branches and birds over the pieced background. Our house will sit on a high ridge between two mountains, so the strips will give that sense of loft. (At least that’s the plan!)

There was no discussion in my head as to what fabrics to use. BATIKS of course! Here’s the pile I pulled out of my batik stash to use in the quilt.

Today’s task was to make a pieced strip. I glued three pieces of newsprint together along their 8 1/2″ edges. I then cut strips of fabric about 9-11″-wide and started paper piecing them. Here’s how the first strip came out all trimmed up.

My 20-minutes were up (I fudged a little since it took time to take pictures and I chronicled the process in more detail for a later how-to on my blog) but I kept going and made another strip with darker browns and golds and some green, to be the bottom row of the quilt. I am extremely pleased with how it’s coming along!

But I realized my stash is lean on blue batiks so I placed an order with Hancock’s of Paducah to replenish my stock.

I love to make things!