I have pressed on with the children’s string quilt, teaching
the technique at the Gresford group this week. Several attended the
demonstration with enthusiasm but it will be interesting to see how many were
inspired to have a go. I expect that the few weeks before Christmas is not the
best time to start a quilt but, as a quilt is usually a long term project,
there’s nothing to stop them from getting started. Remember that a journey
starts with the first step….. and a quilt starts with thefirst stitch.
I too decided to embark on a creative journey this week. I
am a constant pencil doodler and my doodles usually consist of making shapes
and then colouring them in a positive/negative way, as can be seen below. I
wondered if I could take one of my doodles and interpret it in fabric. The
process had to be enjoyable to encourage me to continue.
Doodle
Usually, I leap straight into working with fabric but this
time, because of the complexity of the design, I decided to work the idea out
with coloured paper first. I drew my design onto a sheet of card using nothing
more than a compass, drinks mat and pencil.
Design onto paper
I then placed 3 coloured sheets, one on top of another, and
secured them for cutting out. Why 3 sheets? I don’t really know but it just
seemed to be a good idea at the time.
3 sheets
I cut out the individual pattern pieces and placed them back
in their sequences.
Pattern pieces
Then came the fun bit (allegedly!) where I reassembled the
pieces so that no adjacent shapes were the same colour (perhaps I did 3 sheets
for added interest and variety!)
Re-assembled pattern
Then I stepped back, like a designer ought to do, to assess
what I had done. It didn’t ignite any enthusiasm in me or inspire me to
continue; in fact I couldn’t make head or tail of it. I also concluded that it
would be a very difficult pattern to use as there are many curved edges. Back
to the drawing board!
So I did what I usually do when I hit a mental barrier; I
returned to something I knew I could do and which I really enjoy doing: namely
using fabric as a paint palette. I have many ready-fused and pinked strips left
over from previous projects so I got them out and started to explore making
squares with a vertical line, rather than my preferred diagonal line. I drew several
4 ½” squares onto baking parchment and started to overlap the strips and bond them
with the iron.
First strip
Initially, I worked 4 squares at a time, trying to get a
gentle movement of colour from one end to the next. Once cooled, they are
lifted from the parchment and cut into accurate 4 ½” squares.
First 4 squares
As I trimmed each square I placed it onto the design wall
trying out different lay-outs, alternating the direction and just generally
‘playing’.
Squares on the design wall
This is what I came up with over the next few days. It is 7
squares across by 6 down but, as yet, I don’t know what I am going to do with
it. Perhaps it is the start of a series; perhaps it will be a ‘play’ piece
which I can use to explore an idea. Again, who knows, I certainly don’t. All I
know is that I felt compelled to use the fabric and to see where it led me.
Completed piece
Here’s my latest art project. We had to compose a still life
using torn paper from colour supplement magazines.
Paper still life
It was great fun and very freeing and, as usual, my mind
starts to wonder if it could be done if fabric. Of course it can, I have done
it many times before!
Fabric still life
