I've taught surface design for years. Piles of painted and dyed fabrics created with direct application, resist, sponging, printing, tie-dye and Shibori were waiting to be liberated! This was the weekend to set them free!
Choosing my color palette is always my first step. I have a general concept in mind when beginning, but it may change drastically as I proceed.
Here is a little bit about my process:
1. Let something in your stash inspire you.
2. Keep playing with it and adding color.
I next added a few hand-dyed fabrics in orange tones and found it boring.3. This might take a while. You'll know it when you see it. If your mind is open, the fabric will "speak" to you.
I added more oranges, corals and blues to the mix. A little better, but it still needs "punch."
A master gardener once told me "every garden needs yellow." She was right. The fabrics are beginning to "speak to me", but very softly.
I tried the inspiration piece with greens and other blues. Lame. 
The yellow adds a bit of spark but I still don't feel this combination is worth pursuing. Weak. 
A favorite piece of cloth is a sop-up rag from a Procion fiber reactive dyeing session.
I like it with the ART cloth, but don't really want to cut into it for such a small piece.
Once again - yellow to the rescue.
After trying the piece with corals, I decided not to use it after all.4. Sometimes your first instincts are the best. I've decided to go with a mixture of blues, oranges, corals and yellows for my composition. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
