My regular readers know I’m keen on making samples., and they’re are worthwhile investments in time for the following reasons:
- if an idea, material or technique is new to me, I learn just how it works in my hands
- trying out any options and making a sample of each enables valid comparisons.
- the relatively short time spent making a sample or two really does save time (and sometimes, heartbreak) Often art quilt makers in particular talk about having so many unfinished works, and sometimes it’s obvious to me that taking a little time – an hour, morning, or day – to work through a sample or two would have saved heartbreaking waste of effort and/or materials. I don’t think that’s just an older person’s pov, though there’s a lot of pressure these days to just hurry up and get on with things – “quick and easy” everything appeals to people whose whole lives are in a constant rush. Craftsmen who take their time to be meticulous and attend to fine details are a pleasure to observe, and as I wrote elsewhere on this blog, I find it quite hard for me to produce something that looks “rough” or “damaged” as my Out of Order series requires.
Walking in our neighbourhood recently, I took this photo of some fallen Ghinko leaves. The tiny green leaflets from a nearby tree instantly struck me as little seeds/tiny grubs/and of course, stitches…. stitches in a random pattern holding down leaflike shapes….Feeling sure must I have already done something like that sometime, I found several photos just like this one, but I hadn’t been thinking of sheer fabrics until seeing it.
- so here’s another good reason to make samples – another possibility may come to mind during the process of making one
- browsing on Pinterest and Instagram I sometimes find something I need to try out immediately to keep an idea in my mind before I forget that poster’s name. Yes, I could have drawn a diagram too, but probably needed to get up and walk around, anyway 🙂 A case in point this week was discovering an IG post by well known English embroiderer Karen Turner, (who my UK stitcher friends in PINKS did know of) I was smitten with the beauty, simplicity and potential of this one so I rushed upstairs to do this quick sample to hold the idea in my head,
and instantly discovered (1) if I use it this way, the corners need either a touch of glue or misty fuse to prevent them lifiting during handling, and (2) the stitch motif itself is divine to do ! so I’d most likely use it as either a texture/filler or quilting motif.
The sample’s up on my pin board to exert some daily influence 🙂
