Saturday, January 29, 2011

Mid-night Inspiration

When I have been thinking a lot about a specific pattern I'm working on, or what fabric I want to use for a project, the ideas and possibilities tend to weave in and out of my mind throughout the day. While I wash the dishes, fold the laundry, and brush my teeth, these quilty, crafty thoughts occupy me.

But the best inspiration seems to arrive during the middle of the night. The baby wakes me up to nurse, and my brain goes a million miles a minute, calculating and contemplating while he suckles away. Then it's back to slumber for him, and I'm left wide awake, wondering if I should go light or dark with the sashing, or add an extra border.

This morning I awoke to the answer for a pressing problem.

Batiks! I'm so excited to have a solution. Equally exciting, I already have some of the fabric I will need. I bought it for a different project, which I ended up changing my mind about.

I'm very excited to finally work with batiks. I've used a little here and there, but I've never made anything big. My only hesitation is that the sewing needle seems to leave holes in the fabric, so if I start quilting and I really muck things up, I can't rip it out and start over. Maybe these holes will ease when I wash the quilt, but I have my doubts.

1 comment:

  1. Batiks can be really challenging to sew on! Look for a Microtex needle - they're super fine at the points - and they do well for thinner fabrics... If you still have "holes" in your fabric, you might try pre-washing your batiks and use a fabric softener, and then press and starch them.... The batik process puts a lot of chemicals in the fabrics, so wash them as hot as you can (I often boil water and soak them!) Sometimes getting some of the chemicals and extra dyes out helps soften up the fabric and loosen the fibers so you don't get holes....
    Good luck!

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