Project 8 Stage 2 Ex 4

Experimenting with structures

I've had this idea in my mind for some time and have been quite excited to try it out.  I cut an A4 sized grid out of an old Ikea chopping board.

I toyed with idea of using a new board but felt it would be wasteful when this one was ready to be thrown away.  In the event I love the way the knife marks show on the plastic; it looks like it's seen life. I'm starting to get a real kick out of using rubbish.

I painted some tyvek with a copper metallic fabric dye and when it was dry I added a bit of green felt tip.  I heated it and tyvek did what tyvek does then I cut it into shapes that would approximately fit my "windows". The plastic was too tough to push a needle through so I made holes with my soldering iron.

I chose to leave gaps in most of the windows and I used copper wire to stitch the fragments in place.


I made some tyvek beads using the same colours and some fragments to just hang.

I've been really happy making this and I feel it's worked well.  If there's a bit I'm unsure of it's the hanging bits but I can live with them if only to add some variety.  I think the colours work well together and the play of light makes interesting shapes and patterns.  I like the unpredictable nature of tyvek and the contrast between it and the rigid shape of the grid makes an intriguing combination.  I think my delight in the work comes through in the outcome and that's a learning point in itself!

Mini review

I've enjoyed this part of the course very much; it's give me something of everything. I've been able to return to paints and yarns and make structures that have both challenged and intrigued me.  The failure of my first triangle (ex 3a) was largely because of poor choices.  The triangle itself was a challenging shape and the materials I originally chose were totally inappropriate.  Fortunately I've learned to back off when it's looking that grim and have a re-think.  Generally I'm quite pleased with my structures, my braids and my cords.

What I loved most was choosing the colours to paint match and put on to windings.  I found the water colours lacked definition for what I wanted to achieve and the crayons were too hit and miss; I find them hard to work with.  Acrylics gave me the best results.   I think it went well but I wonder just how good it has to be to be good enough.  The matching was often difficult because of light conditions or the lack of resources (not that my husband thinks that's a problem)!

Project 8 Stage 2 Ex 3b

Making cord

I've made cord before usually for bag handles and such like.  I gathered together wool of various sorts and made some more.

Four strands of chunky knitting wool gave a thin cord that could be couched on to fabric

Four strands of the same chunky wool twisted once then repeated was much heftier and suitable for a bag handle

Three strands of chunky wool in various purple tones was quite chunky and the colours looked good

Six strands 2 ply (pink is wool, pale pink is cotton).  The mix worked well.  The different yarn made no difference to the way it twisted

Four strands boucle alpaca loosely twisted.  Insubstantial and just so pretty

Three strands of embroidery silk in 3 different colours.  Once again the variation in colour is attractive.  It makes a fine silky cord.

Three strands of different novelty yarns looks very ethnic

Two strands of sari silk is very robust

Project 8 Stage 2 Ex 3a

Making a rigid structure 

For this exercise I had to decide on a shape and use whatever material I liked to make a structure that held together.

To say it was a difficult birth would be something of an understatement.

I chose to use a triangle mainly because the next piece of work will probably be a rectangle.  Each side of the triangle was made with three wooden barbeque skewers.  I stuck the angles I made with hot glue.  

I  had two attempts at binding it to give myself something to sew on to but I wasn't happy.

My first attempt was so twee it was untrue

My second try was bound in plastic strips and was no better.  I striped it all down and thought again.  I used the spaces between the three skewers to hold some split bamboo strips in place.  They were from an old table mat.  I wove them into a grid that looked pretty boring so I moved the strips so they were no longer regular.

Weaving into a grid

Knocking the strips about a bit gave a much better effect

I used each side of the triangle as a base and threaded through.  I liked the way the strips adhered to the backing of the table mat leaving cotton threads so I decided to tie the intersections with thin wool.  It's hard to see on the photo.

Showing the intersections tied with wool

I tied all the intersections on the triangle and just a few major ones in the body of the work.  When I'd
finished it was relatively stable so I took a big breathe and removed one, then two then all of the glued joints and it held together.  The shapes revealed are intriguing with no two the same.  It really is just stick and string.

I like the way the ends project from the frame. They have a "what next" quality.  At some angles you would hardly believe there was a frame at all.  It wouldn't stand lots of rough treatment but it's not really going to get any.

After a fair bit of angst at the start of this work I'm pleased with the outcome.  At the beginning of the course I would have thought my twee starter triangle was pretty adventurous.  How far I have travelled.

Project 8 Stage 2 Ex 2

Experimenting with structures

My task here was to make plaits and braids out of three and four strands of material.  I found it quite a tricky exercise from the dexterity point of view.  My fingers seemed not to be flexible enough to guide the threads and get any sort of rhythm going.  However, I made some braids and used a variety of materials. I'm slowly learning not to dispose of anything however remote the chance of it being reused.  I've found  I very much like using things that would otherwise be thrown away.  A case in point is the elasticated edging from the sheet I used for fabric manipulation. I used it to make a four strand braid with sari silk as the other material.

It's wonderfully bumpy and unsurprisingly, it's stretchy.  Some of the braids are quite stiff but this one has quite a lot of flexibility.

Another example of waste not want not is this one:

It's made from four strands of the nets that fruit comes in and it's given a strong, shiny and smooth finish.  I plaited loosely so it's quite bendy.

The next one is four strands as well but is much more swish (although it too is "rubbish").  It's made from the cut off hemmed edge of organza I used some time ago.  It's a standard three strand plait and it's hard, stiff and quite scratchy.

This is my least favourite.  I cut bubble wrap into strips and combined it with some paper ribbon (four strands)

On it's own the bubble wrap easily broke but the paper added some strength.  The result is unattractive and very lumpy.  However I quite like the combination of the shiny plastic and the matt paper.

The next two are sari silk.  I love the deep, midnight colours and they lend that sort of quality to the braids.  There's a sort of huskiness to them.  The thicker one is longer and flexible whilst the shorter one (only three strands) is altogether finer, more like a bracelet.  The thicker one has some glue in so it's stiffer but the other one is soft and one of the threads picks up the light beautifully.

The smaller, finer braid

The next ones are wool.

The first one is four colours of tapestry wool and it's quite lovely.

Most of the time I've managed to get the tension right so it looks uniform.  The four different colours give it a spotty sort of look that's attractive..  It has a rustic, workaday feel because the wool is quite hard.  It looks efficient and traditional.

This one is two sorts of wool but it couldn't look more different if it tried.  The wool is novelty yarn with a graduating bobble effect.  This makes the braid change dramatically throughout its length such that you can't tell its a braid at all; it just looks like a length of novelty yarn.  This would be suitable for couching and rolled it makes a good flower.

This shows the variation in the braid

Rolled into a flower which could be couched on.












The next is my favourite.  It's made of four sorts of silk and they're special because they were part of a Christmas gift.  Each thread is beautiful in it's own right; there's a silk chiffon ribbon, a rolled ribbon, a 75mm striped one and what I think are called silk tops.  Together they make a lovely braid.  Their individuality is lost in the new material which is quite extravagant and sophisticated in its look.

My collection

I've got lots of variety in my work in this exercise and can see the possibilities for lots more.  I do have a real problem with arthritis in my fingers but if I needed to work in this way I'd manage.

Project 8 Stage 2 Ex 1

Experimenting with structures

This section introduces weaving.  I've been looking around to see how many of the things around me are woven.  I lost count.  I thought it was more manageable to look in the garden, maybe there would be less.  I was surprised.

Garden chair

Another chair

Hurdles that hide the compost

Another chair

Playing at weaving

I must tell you that in spite of how it looks I don't spend all day sitting in the garden.  The weaving with dogwood and raffia reminded me that the warp doesn't need to be tight; I reached a point where I couldn't do any more.

I've done some weaving of this sort before.  These are felt that I made:

Felted once

Felted once...

...and again

This time I need to be a bit more inventive.

My first try was with rolled up magazine pages which were then flattened.  I've had to staple them to keep them secure but the result is surprisingly strong.

The next one is also from a magazine but this time it's the glossy cover.  There's no coherence to the design but it feels quite swish; it's probably the shiny surface.

This one is flimsy paper with holes in.  The cuts I made are far apart and very curved.  This gives irregular shapes.  I found it difficult to make this lie flat.

I couldn't resist playing about with it.

I put running stitches along the edges then used the holes for a variety of threaded ribbons.  It was all a bit intuitive but it's feminine and pretty.

The weaving has really gone in to the background

This one is made from an Easter egg wrapper and the leftovers from printing on Bondaweb a fortnight ago.  I used straight lines that were not parallel.  The Bondaweb leftovers were so curly they were impossible to work with so I had to snip them apart.  The result is very attractive in a blingy way.  It has lots of texture and reflection.









This one is made from polypropylene parcel strapping in white and pale blue.  My original intention was to thread it on the diagonal as well but I started using the brads and found I liked them and didn't want to cover them up.  This material was hard to work with as is is very slippery and I had to stick it down with masking tape.  The completed structure is decorative and very firm.  Last year I saw some work by Lois Walpole and she used this material to wonderful effect although her work was plaited.

Lois Walpole

My final experiment is with plastic bags.  I've used the heavier weight variety simply because last time I had a real static problem with the flimsier ones.  I used two contrasting colours and put snippets of lime green and blue randomly over the surface.  I then ironed but got it a little too hot.  The edge shrivelled but the centre is something like what I'd got in mind.

Showing the overheated edge

This is a bit better

These experiments have been fun and at times frustrating because I could have done with six hands!

With the enormous variety of material available and a good imagination the sky's the limit with this.

Part 4 Analysing colour, texture and proportion

Analysing colour, texture and proportion

For this task I need to do some colour, texture and proportion matching.  I've not done a wrapping requiring proportion before and I'm a bit uncertain how to make the judgements.

I have been reminded that when I first got The Art of Embroidery by Francoise Tellier-Loumagne  I was intrigued by the image of the mouldering orange.  I let some oranges from my fruit bowl go mouldy and took a picture. This is the first image for my analysis.

I started with a list of textural words particularly for the mould; soft, furry, bumpy, pitted were all words that helped me to decide what sort of thread to use. Because I see the mould as the prominent feature here with the orange receding into the background I thought soft wool would work for the mould and because my orange words were smooth and shiny I went down the route of silks.  The paint was easier to manage than the thread - I never seem to have quite the right shade (no matter what my husband says).

The second colour down is too dark and  I could have done with something lighter after the blue. I felt that I could go on and on with the threads for this.

Wrapping for the mouldy orange

My second image is a birthday card done on an i-pad.  It has lots of bright colours and I think it will be a challenge.  I like it because it's innovative and not afraid to shout.

Birthday card by Sue Spivey

The image itself looks quite flat so I chose standard six strand thread.  The texture comes from the marks on the page so the stitches would be crucial here.  I did my paint samples in acrylics and I only have very basic colours so I did lots of mixing and struggled a bit.  The darkest blue was too intense  and the green was troublesome but turned out OK in the end.  I'm not entirely happy with the two tones of red;  I didn't manage the paint very well and when it came to threads I'd not really got anything approaching the brick colour I needed. Nevertheless I'm fairly happy with what I did.  When the card and the sample threads are placed together they are clearly intended to match up.

Wrapping for the seascape

This is my third image.  It's a succulent plant that thrives in our garden.  I took the photo last year because I thought the colours were amazing.  What at first sight looks grey is anything but. I used pencil crayons and I find them the most difficult medium to work in.  When I wet them I'm never quite sure what I'm going to end up with.  This was so for the turquoise in this exercise.  I really wanted something more sage so I introduced it in the wrapping.  I think the pinks and purples are good matches but I've overdone the quantity of both of the bright pinks. For the soil I've introduced a pink/beige thread that wasn't noticed originally.  The brown/lilac at the top is a wild card.  It's a varigated thread that later has some green.  

This work has been really very enjoyable and I think I've made a reasonable job of it. One big question I have is

How accurate do I need to be?

Will an approximation do if I haven't exactly the right colour.  I'm not talking about making do I talking about reasonable alternatives.  I'm sure that if I was doing something that was more than an exercise I would buy threads specifically but what's reasonable I want to know?