Which Way Is Right?

February 2, 2009

I went fabric shopping yesterday, where the store had 40% off of fabrics. What a mess the place was. Women grabbing bolts of fabrics they wanted, and the line to cut the fabric was long! I had three other fabrics I wanted to match, but I gave up. I ended up buying three fabrics, one of which was what I had already have and another will be added to my stash, and the other one for the background for the Hawaiian quilt.

It works well. It's currently in a bucket soaking in hot water. I have a nutsy way of washing fabrics. For batiks, I don't put them in the washer, I soak it in a bucket, and change the water every few hours. If it is a dark colored fabric, where it bleeds a lot, I soak it at least three times until the water runs clear. I told this to someone and they thought I was nuts. She recommended buying a solution call "Retayne", so I did. I'll be washing some dark fabrics soon and will post the results when "Retayne".

I have always wondered whether there is a right side or a wrong side of a batik. This got answered by a quilt shop owner who saw one of my quilts. She said that there are tell-tale signs.

(Above) Right side of fabric.

(Above) Wrong side of fabric.

(Above) Detail of wrong side of fabric.

The wrong side of a batik fabric contains spots. If you turn the fabric to the correct side, the spots are gone. Other ways to tell whether the fabric is right or wrong is the contrast or brightness of the fabric. The right side of the fabric tend to be brighter and crisper. The wrong side of the fabric tend to be duller.

Next topic, my husband was cleaning his car the other day and we found a street atlas of Boston. I also have a birthday present that I needed to wrap up for our nephew. So below is the end result.

Pretty nifty eh? So now my brain is processing. What else can I do? I thought about cutting these maps and stitching them on cards and giving it as presents. That'll be cool. I'll try a couple and see how it comes out. We have friends in New York, so if this project works out, then I will probably try to get some New York maps or subway maps and put them on note cards. If I get really ambitious, I can also make envelopes that go with it. That's down the road.

Another thing I have been curious about are batteries. Should they be stored in the refrigerator? After doing a little bit of research, according to Duracell, batteries should not be refrigerated. So, out of the fridge they go.

Quilt & Bitch