Batik Factory, Part 2!

Wood Block Stamping!

Most of the commercial batik fabrics that we love go through a dye process first…..are then stamped with wood blocks dipped in wax, and then over-dyed.

Where the wax is…..is where the design resists the next dye.

If you look closely you will see that the fabric already has color on it --- the wax holds THAT color in place while the background is then dyed a second time. OR ---the fabric can then be bleached to REMOVE the excess background dye for a fabric that has a white background with a colorful print design.

Overhead and on the walls hang the myriad of designs used to stamp the fabric. some of these designs are centuries old, carved in wood. Others are more modern and made of metal, but the process is the same.

The movement is rhythmic and fairly even. Dip the wood block in the wax. Press, pound, press, pound, press, pound….

Check this video to see the process in motion:

These are short clips because my camera battery life was in jeapardy!

More wood blocks!

Another clip:

This fabric is dyed first, then stamped….the wax will hold the color in the shape of leaves, and the background will be bleached white again.

And this is how it’s done, folks! From here it goes through several other processes before it finally ends up in a store near you. Honestly. I will NEVER be able to look at a piece of batik fabric and not think back to these gentle welcoming people who took us in and showed us how they work.

We also saw how they protected their motorbikes:

Batik bike covers! LOL!

By the time this posts, we will be somewhere over the ocean on our way to Los Angeles.

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts to get us home safe!

12 Days of Show & Share, Day 10!

Color!

It’s the first thing that hits me with a quilt…

Is it the same for you? Or is it the block design itself? I just LOVE wild use of color ---it’s right up there with variety, contrast and repeat in my book, the 4 “important ingredients” that are needed for an awesome scrap quilt!

Today I want to share with you some lovely quilts!

The first one up is by Deb C who lives not too far from me in Greenville, SC!

She writes:

Hi, Bonnie,

I am just so excited to share my "Summer of Love" quilt made with the florabunda blocks.

When you first posted your discovery on your blog, I was sure it was meant to be for me. I grew up in Orlando and as I looked at the photos you showed, I was struck dumb!

Some of the fabrics in that quilt looked like fabrics I used to make my clothes back then. One fabric reminded me so much of a vest I made to go with a yellow dress!

So I have spent my summer working on this and remembering that time....I call it Summer of Love because I graduated in 1967, and I stitched a lot of memories from that time into this quilt.

I have been blogging all summer about this, so I wanted to share a few photos with you. Thanks for finding and sharing this.

Deb’s “Summer of Love” Florabunda Quilt!

Deb’s memories captured on the label!

I’m so happy you shared this quilt and your thoughts on making it with me! If I go back through all the quilts I’ve shared this week, I’m sure there are a LOT with yellow --- and yellow just makes me happy! I was only 5 years old during your “Summer of Love” but my life was formed during those years too ----when I was 5, my mom was 26, and I remember how she dressed, what she wore, what music was on the radio, what she drove and what we did as a family during those summers. It really WAS the “Wonder Years” era!

Next up we have a quilter from the Netherlands who emailed to share her quilt with me!

I get really excited when I get emails from far far across the sea ---it’s just wonderful to have this “common thread” that binds us!

Meineke’s Smokey Mountain Stars!

She writes:

Hi Bonnie,
My name is Mieneke and I'm from the Netherlands. I made a quilt using your Smokey Mountain Stars pattern and wanted to share the result with you.
Thank you for all the patterns you're providing and inspiring me to use up what I have.
Lots of love,
Mieneke P.

Don’t you love these sunset colors? Just YUMMY!!

Next up we have Stephanie L !

She writes:

Thank you for posting the very detailed instructions for making a sister's choice quilt. I had only made about six quilts when I was already feeling like I needed to make use of my scraps. I really had no idea that I needed to cut them into strips and the whole nine yards. I'm attaching a photo of my sister's choice quilt. Thank you!!!

Stephanie

Stephanie’s Sisters Choice Quilt!

I love how the turquoise blues just glow in this quilt! I so need to make another one of these – I’ve got 2.5” strips galore, and this is the perfect way to use them. And my class sample has been so used and loved and washed and worn that it is looking very home faded! I know that is the life of a well loved well used scrap quilt, but I’m almost embarrassed to use it as a class sample anymore! This is just beautiful Stephanie, thanks for sharing it!

If all of the photos over the past several days have not inspired you to pull something out and get sewing, I must be doing something wrong!

Two more days to go! Tomorrow I start my long trek home – Flying from Bali back to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong to LAX! I stay the night in LA near the airport, and my last leg home begins on the afternoon of September 1st!

Farewell to Bali ----

Sunrise #8--

It was as if the sun knew, just KNEW that I needed a big finale today.

I tell you, this morning was a struggle for me.

It was our morning to sleep in. Our luggage is to be collected by noon, and we are to meet Mawa for the last time with the tour bus at the entrance to the lobby at 12:30pm to begin our journey home.

Did I want to sleep in? Or did I really need one more sunrise? Isn’t 7 sunrises enough to satisfy? I mean, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all, right?

WRONG.

I’ve started noticing things. Colors change. Clouds change. The breeze can differ and make the leaves and lanterns dance altering their choreography.

Each morning is unique. Don’t miss this one. Get up! Make the most of it!

I was about 10 minutes later getting out than I had been for the past week ---and I was going to really have to hurry to make it where I needed to be to get the best view ---

Here she comes! Big and round – no hiding behind the clouds today! Good morning, Sun!

I slow down – no need to hurry now. I cross the sand, climb up on to the brick walkway and make my way toward the pagoda. Another couple is here, I didn’t want to disturb their personal shared sunrise.

I could tell they were trying to set up the camera to take both of their pictures. I love what I call “random acts of photography” and will often step in and ask if I can take their picture for them. I was happy to do it! And I have fallen in love with the silhouette effect of things in the foreground being nearly obscured by the brightness behind. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing my pagoda photos from every angle as well!

In turn, they offered to take a picture of me:

Good gracious, I think I’m leaving my heart and soul in Bali!

The couple was Japanese, and I replied thank you with an “Arigato gozaimasu” which is about all I remember from my visit to Japan 23 years ago. Of course, this delighted them, and they thought I knew more Japanese than I do. This lead to more laughs and giggles and broken English and lots of pantomiming hand gestures.

Oh, I so love people! I explained that my group is flying home to the USA today, and they shared that they also were flying home to Japan today. What is the chance that our paths would have crossed at this far away place? Amazing.

As the sun rose higher and the morning became fully light, I made my way to check on my balanced stones. Yep! still standing!

Good bye, little shrine!

Good bye, lanterns dangling in the breeze!

Be well, bigger temple watching over the sea.

This girl is on her way home ----

The Batik Factory, Part 1

We spent our last evening at a delightful outside dinner on the patio ---the dinner buffet included all kinds of Balinese delights from roast pig to chicken satay and jumbo grilled river prawns.

The food has been really good here –and since I am a fan of Indian food as well as Thai, Chinese and Korean ---everything worked for me! I was surprised a couple of times by things that were hotter than I thought! But that’s all good too…

I’ve been reorganizing and repacking my bags..the treasures coming home with me are being carefully placed so all will arrive home safely.

In the mean time, I wanted to finish a post I had started writing, but had got put back because of the amount of photos ---and some little videos that I had to get uploaded to Youtube.

When we think FACTORY ---we think of machines and automation and assembly lines cranking away, don’t we?

Let me tell you…I was SO humbled and awestruck at what we saw going on at the “batik factory” on our first full day in Bali that it has stuck with me this entire trip and I haven’t been able to find the right words to put this all down as to how the experience affected me.

Those who say “oh, I don’t like batik” NEED to come down here and see how it is made. It’s a painstaking artistic process.

The photo above shows 15 meter lengths hanging and drying from ceiling beams in an open air covered area. Batik fabric is done in 400 meter “runs” and then these are divided into 15 yard bolts. The red you see on the ground has been wood block wax stamped, and died in huge vats….

And this is where the youtube videos come in. The clips are short because I had limited battery charging opportunities – but it will give you an idea of how things are done.

The wood block printing is a whole separate process and I’m going to work this a bit backwards….I’ll do the wood block printing in the next post. In fact, there will likely be several chapters to this “POST” because I can’t put it all in one!

This is where they take the dyed fabric and crinkle it up in preparation for putting it down on the ground to dry. Then soda ash and other chemicals are added – and the fabric dries in the sun.

How does the batiking process happen?

This is waxed and dyed fabric going through the boiling water and wringer process to remove the wax. This is the “inside” of the “factory” and the air is heavy with the smell of dye, the smell of wax and kerosene ---and wood fire.

This young man has the job of standing over metal drums full of wax…the wax is melted in the drums by the fire blazing below. Did I mention how hot and humid it is in Bali? It is hotter IN the factory than out of it….

The ever present offering, Please watch over my equipment and keep it running!

Waxed and dyed fabrics go through a whole rinsing and dipping process.

Everywhere you look, someone is working at preparing the fabric for the next step.

Much laughing and joking about this bus load of crazy tourists who come to visit! I know for certain that I’ll never be able to look at another batik fabric without seeing these faces.

More batik workers, stirring and resting.

Rinsing vats and piles of damp fabric ready for the next step. I can still hear the sound of this water running…

See the different colors of lots of fabric in the different vats?

Now maybe you can see why I’ve had such a hard time putting this into words.

Newfound awe for the working areas.

Newfound respect for the artistry that produces such beautiful fabric with no two pieces alike EVER.

Newfound understanding for a process that is NOT automatic or machine printed, but is painstakingly done by hand…..

Just wait til you see how they do the wood block printing with wax BEFORE the over-dying starts….

If there is a jump in between posts ---just know that it is because we are traveling. It’s a 4.5 hour flight to Hong Kong where we have a 3.5 hour layover before catching our flight to Los Angeles. That’s 15 hours or so there…..it will be over 24 hours before our feet touch down on our home continent.

Farewell, Bali! We are heading home!

12 Days of Show & Share! Day 9!

Do I or Don’t I have a suitcase full of batiks by this time? A few more days and you will find out!

As I packed my clothes for this trip, the thought of packing an extra empty duffel bag in the top of the suitcase did cross my mind!

It’s been a lot of fun for me to go through these archives ahead of time and revisit the photos that people have sent in of really GREAT quilts they’ve made all from the use of every-day scraps.

My first Show & Share today is by none other than Nann H herself!

I’ve met Nann in person, and we’ve conversed via email over the many years I’ve been blogging. She is a fabulous quilter, and such a sweet, sweet lady! I featured one of her quilts not too long ago –she had done Grandpa’s Star from my Addicted to Scraps column in Quiltmaker Magazine.

You can also catch up with Nann and her doings on her blog, With Strings Attached HERE!

She writes:

Welcome home, Bonnie -- I hope you'll be able to get some rest before you race off to the next location.

I thought you would like to see my version of Four Patch X.

Nann’s 4 patch X as found in Quiltmaker Magazine!

It's 72x80 and used 5-7/8 yards from my stash. The border is a Cranston print that I got from the estate purchase in 2007. It worked just fine for this very scrappy design.

Nann, I just LOVE this quilt. It’s exactly what I had in mind when I suggested in the article to set it with sashings and black cornerstones so that the cornerstones turn the block corners to shoo-flies! You captured it perfectly! It makes me want to finish mine so badly, it’s gotta come out of quilt-storage and be pushed front and center.

You really CAN’T have “too much yellow” in a scrap quilt!

Next up we have Elise all the way from Israel!

She writes:

Dear Bonnie,

I am sending you a photo of a second quilt I made inspired by your web site. It is all scraps of different colors, and I grouped the blocks by color .

Thanks again for your great ideas!

Elise’s Carolina Chain as found in Quiltmaker Magazine!

When people send photos, I am just as much captivated by their surroundings as I am by the quilt in the photo…I just could NOT crop out the beautiful view of Israel in the background behind the quilt….beautiful! I really love how your colors change spectrum as my eye moves from upper left to lower right! Great job, Elise! And thank you for sharing!

And since the previous two quilts featured blocks from my Addicted to Scraps column, Let’s keep with theme and show one more!

The next quilt is from Jitka O!

Jitka’s Antique Tile as found in Quiltmaker Magazine!

Jitka writes:

Hi Bonnie,
I like very much your way of sorting, using scraps and making scrap quilts.

I have made a top use your pattern Antique Tile. I modify it a little and I will gift it to my mother. Thank you very much for job you do and you way of making things.

I also used another you patterns in the past and I will use another in future. I found Quiltville two year ago and I love it. Now I follow you blog and I find some inspiration and some trick.
If you like it, use the picture on your website.

I love this! There is so much going on! From the center with alternating hour glass blocks to the braid border that ends where it ends..to the friendship stars in the corners! It’s a fabulous quilt!

Thanks everyone for sharing! Come back tomorrow…we aren’t done yet!

Balinese Sunrise #7

I don’t know what I’m going to do when I can’t wake up at 6am and trek myself down to the beach to watch the world unfold.

Where I live in NC ---my house is down in a hollow, surrounded by woods….I don’t think I see the sun when it rises….there is too much vegitation and other surrounding homes for it to rise over……sure, it gets light out, but to SEE the sun rise from the horizon? Now that is special.

I will remember this place.

I will remember these people.

I will remember the culture, the kindness, the gentle way of bowing with hands pressed together. It’s become such a habit with everyone I meet ---we are greeted with a bow, palm to palm with fingers pointing heavenward. It’s more than an acknowledgement, it’s a show of respect. Of yes –you have my full attention, I’m so glad you are here.

This morning I was excited to reach the beach, certain that sunrise would happen and it would be GLORIOUS!

Just a little farther and I’ll be there ----at the first pagoda.

I take time to really notice the detail of the curved and carved corners of my temporary shelter. Quintessential Bali. Gorgeous craftsmanship!

And here she comes….Morning Sun!

The clouds part and blow away—it’s going to be another awesome day as we make our way toward Ubud and our planned activities there.

No, I won’t forget this place. I have one more sunrise….tomorrow……and then we start our journey home.

Bali is definitely the most magical place I’ve ever visited in my life!

Bali!

*Singing* And The Corn Is As High

As an Elephant’s Eye -----

Did you ever get close enough to an elephant’s eye?

If so you will have noticed how long and thick their eye lashes are! How their tear ducts look so very much like our own.

And you will have been so drawn in to wonder just what they were thinking behind their gaze ----

I sat here making this post, looking at this photo…and in the eye itself I see the reflection of a crowd all gathered around –It’s another day at the Bali Elephant Safari!

I just wonder what all these elephants think about the likes of US?

In the quiet central highlands of the Indonesian island of Bali, just 20 minutes from Ubud, is the small town of Taro, home to some pretty impressive residents: Sumatran elephants!

After deforestation in Sumatra, the elephants were left homeless and with a depleted food supply. Fortunately they were rescued and now live happily at the Elephant Safari Park.

The park was founded by Australian Nigel Mason, who took nine neglected elephants from the village and travelled to Sumatra and rescued another 18. His operation is part of the World Zoo Association, so animal welfare is the priority.

There are now 30 elephants living at the park including 3 babies! And another mother is expecting –elephants are pregnant for 22 months, the longest of any mammal. 22 months! Oy!

We loaded up on to our elephants and headed out on a ride through the park!

Our elephant’s name was Daisy! Did you know that elephants have exceptional hearing? My hotel room key fell out of my pocket – and Daisy stopped, backed up, turned around and retrieved it off the ground with her trunk! Good girl, Daisy!

There is all kinds of vegetation around – can you see the cacao pods on this tree?

At the end of our ride, the elephants got to take a dip in the pond….with us still on their backs! Yes, some got squirted with water, and some felt they were in danger of falling off of the chairs, but we all survived unscathed!

Mike and Mary kickin’ back in style!

After our rides we enjoyed watching the elephants show off for us….here they come marching in to ---guess ----the baby elephant walk, of course!

((Is there anything cuter than a trunk holding a tail? I don’t think so!))

Fun stuff! I am amazed at how strong their trunks are! It’s an arm….or stronger ---with a fist at the end that is also a nose….One elephant held a harmonica at the end of its trunk and actually played a tune by blowing in and out of his nostrils through the harmonica. So funny! You couldn’t get the harmonica away from that elephant either, it wanted to keep playing! LOL!

This sweetie marched around the whole ring twirling the hula hoop round and round on her trunk. Now THAT is skill…I don’t think I can even do a hula hoop the way I used to as a kid –I haven’t tried in 40 years!

this one shows us the Slam Dunk!

Can you tell the one on the left is spraying the crowd in the front row? LOL! They seemed to love doing it too….

The big finale and final bow -----

It’s definitely love at first sight!

PS – with Sumatra Elephants, only the males have tusks. This is one smiley girl!

Every time I see an elephant I’ll remember my time at the Elephant Park! They are doing such a great job in helping to preserve these beautiful creatures.

Today we head back to Ubud for several activities! We are going to a Balinese “opera’ kind of traditional dance, and we will be visiting a typical Balinese house, as well as a family temple. These activities will require us to be in sarong out of respect.

And then we will top off the day by shopping the popular shop section of Ubud’s main streets. It’s our final full day --- we start our long journey home on Thursday.

I can honestly say we have filled this entire trip as full as we could fill it – brimming over and changing our lives with the experiences shared.