o frabjous day!

Today was the first day in 3 weeks there was not a workman in the house. The soapstone was templated yesterday and things are quiet for the moment.

This is what a countertop template looks like: hmm...I was prepared for cardboard and brown paper. What do I know?

So, what did I do with my day of freedom? Did I go to the studio and get some work done? Uh - well, that was the plan. But then, Rachel reminded me that the NJ Mancuso Quilt Fest opened today, so I put on my shoes and hot-footed it down there to see Usha of Handloom Batik! I normally post an annual picture on my blog of Usha and Rayna in the booth - but I forgot to take a picture today. So instead of Usha, you get to see a few of the gorgeous fabrics I brought home with me. As usual, no picture can do her fabrics justice.
I could have come home with a trunk full - but I already have a bin of her fabrics from several years ago. This year, the yellow/green combo and the purple/turq./red are to die for! I picked these because I want to combine them with my own hand-printed fabrics and I can't wait to see how they look together. Usha's family is in the business of printing batik in India. She tells them what colors she wants and they print for her. They also print fabric for the Metropolitan Opera.

The best news is that Usha will be vending at QSDS the first week! She told me today and I am excited because her fabrics are unique. Most of the batiks we see in the stores are from Bali; these are true Indian batiks - very different, and not available anywhere but from her.
The bunch I brought home, I picked to work with my own batiks and hand-prints; I can't wait to play around with them.

Tomorrow, the studio.