what I love

A day in the studio (or in today's case, the studio office) when I can accomplish something that has been on my to-do list for about a year. Mostly done! It's been cold and I haven't even gone out for the mail in 2 days. My resident weather-geek came into my studio to report that it is supposed to snow tomorrow either at 1:pm or at 4.Great. I was planning on going to see my friend Usha of Handloom Batik, who is vending at the NJ Mancuso show. If I could only guarantee it wouldn't snow till 4:00 I would go. But who knows? If you don't know Usha and her fabrics, you must visit her when she comes to a show near you. She vends at Lancaster (across the street with the renegades), at Fort Washington, at the Vermont Quilt Festival, and other places. Her family prints these batiks in India and they are divine. Her booth was always crowded, but the trad quilters didn't quite know what to do with such exotic fabrics. So, I offered to make a quilt for her booth if she gave me fabric. I loved it so much that I kept it and made her another similar one. Her sales SOARED as soon as she hung the quilt, and I was delighted that I had been able to help. Last year, I decided she needed another piece for her booth, so she gave me fabric and I made this one. Totally different feel - and I enjoyed making it because I just sewed random strips, cut' em up, and pieced them any old way. I still have a lot of fabric left over and keep meaning to make another one - but never quite get to it. It's a great way to work and it makes a good workshop for people who want to just sew without having to plan everything out. Those leftover strips have made their way into many of my pieces in the last year.

You get the idea. They combine beautifully with my own fabric scraps but I have a whole bin full, so I will probably be using them for the rest of my life. Well, if it snows tomorrow I will just go see her on Friday. And I'll bring some of the batiks I've printed to show her.