Project 6 Review

Project 6 Review

Working with fabric in this way isn't new to me.  The way it I've using it has been.  Manipulation is a terrific way to get, height and undulations that probably would be impossible with hand stitch alone. Layers can change how something looks almost beyond recognition, introduce a few slashes and the world changes again.  One of the good things about stitch is that it is slow and there's plenty of time to make changes.  The speed with which fabric can be changed is just the opposite and sometimes scary.  Combined with stitch or other techniques manipulation is an exciting prospect.

I'm generally pleased with the results I've achieved.  I've begun to think differently and be able to take paths I'm unsure of with more confidence. 

I particularly liked the gathering because previously it was a means to an end .  Now it has become an exploratory exercise that can throw up surprises.  I feel as though I've been given the best gift ever with Collete Wolffs' book and I know it will become a dog eared favourite.

I enjoyed being able to take a piece of my printed fabric and work with it again in the applique work. I wanted to keep the colour theme going but tried experimenting with the material I used.

I liked doing my Stage 3 Sample from the applique point of view.  There's a bit of design work to think about though.

I was rather lukewarm about the moulding and raised surfaces work maybe because it was unknown territory.  In the end the moulding proved a revelation.

It's so hard to identify best bits because they're so tied up with the pleasure factor and I've enjoyed it all.

I didn't have Tyvek so missed out on that.  However, I am now the proud possessor of a fine soldering iron so that will come soon.

I sometimes find a dilemma in changing halfway through when there's a plan to work to but I'm finding that I'm less worried about sticking to my drawing - more able to go with the flow.  I'm the sort of person who likes to know where she's going so this is quite a big thing.  In my last sample the challenge for me was not the outcome but the fact that I didn't know where I'd end up.  I think this must mean that the fabric manipulation took over.

I have come to like working from drawings; it's becoming part of my process.  It's a bit like knowing the provenance of food; it can be traced back to it's roots and I like the idea.  I think I would find it very hard just to pluck ideas from shapes and materials; it wouldn't mean anything.

Loving stitching is why I'm doing this course and I'm  just finding more things to love.  The breadth of my new experience is opening up other definitions of stitch, for instance fusing.  So a definite NO I'm not finding the idea of stitch limiting - quite the reverse.  

Wolff, C. 1996, The Art of Manipulating Fabric. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin