My regulars know I have a thing about the value of making samples when trying out something – an idea, a new technique, or even just doing a little thingy to hold that thought until later… Most of my sample making has been just trying something before starting a new project, however, the workshops in the Stitch Club have reminded me that regular exposure to to what others are doing is very inspiring and sometimes causes a penny to drop somewhere unexpected.

Earlier this year, Studio Art Quilt Associates, SAQA, ran a 100-day Challenge for interested members – the idea being to do some creative thing – a fabric or stitch construction, dying, painting, printing, sketch, finish off a work, audition fabrics and ideas for the next project – there are heaps of things that come under this category – just do at least one and post something on it every day on the dedicated FB page. At the recent annual conference held virtually this year, one of the presentations was about this creativity boosting activity. I hadn’t taken any notice of it at the time, focused as I was on other things, but that presentation and review of what some people did during that time, made me think seriously about the next one. Influenced by that conference presentation I decided doing one little samply thing every day before getting on with whatever I’m working on, would be a good habit to get into. In the last few weeks I have managed quite a few days, some days doing more than one, mentally allowing about half an hour perhaps – and sometimes racing in to my sewing room before I go down for breakfast, just do do a little ‘hold that thought’ thing. They’re not all ‘interesting’ enough to post, but I will share some from time to time.

This next one has just started – ‘Jump Into June’ runs for 30 days, and so far so good. Here’s what I posted today. Because I’m expecting my posts to be about shapes and textures through stitch, I’m posting images in black/white so that colour doesn’t distract from the purpose of the sample.

This morning I went into my sewing room and noticed these seed pods had been placed on a cloth by my cleaning lady – now I know, I think, why seed stitch is named so!

It’s a lovely filler, and the finer the thread the lovelier, so not one I use much! But of course, everything is relative, so in, say, the heavy neon thread of which I still have about 5750m, on a largish piece it could be very dramatic – and I’m thinking about that. I last used it in this sample piece from Richard McVetis’ workshop last year:

Following up on yesterday’s experiment, I hand cut a new template, less regimented – and again using gold paint, this time on black. Again the template was stitched into place with wandering horizontal lines. I used a much bigger machine needle knowing that with bigger holes a line of tiny dots would be left once I removed the template. And I used a cotton thread, figuring this might help wicking the slightly watered down paint through to the fabric beneath. Great result.

I could even use the very very blunt large needle I have (to puncture holes in leather) to get even more pronouced dots, and it’s not inconcievable that I could texture a whole area with masses of lines of dots… that might be useful some time.

The results speak for themselves – a really great result. I think I’ll do some hand stitching on this and mount it on a 20cmx20cm canvas stretcher, of which I have several sitting around.

Back in 2012 I did some stencilling samples for a work “Tidelines 8-12” that was exhibited in an Australian exhibition, “Golden Textures” the following year. I cannot believe I have been carrying this little image around in my mind since then, and can’t find the actual sample anywhere, but I’ve been pinning grids, and yesterday decided I needed to do something with this idea.

I’ve now realised the hole in the fabric template I used was much larger than I remember; but I’m liking the idea of a small, intimate grid, with holes more oval than this first lot I made today, and much more irregularity, too.

So I did some free machine embroidery with matching gold thread, and comparing it to the sample I remember but can’t find, and clearly that one was not free machine stitching, and I think that first effect is nicer.

Overall, a pleasing effect for a first foray, with more to come.

Still thinking about landscape segments and how to applique them, hoping to work out a process of using fusing to avoid hand basting of such little pieces into place before oversewing.

I fused silk segments onto the green polyester – and they stuck together long enough to go in and out of a spring loaded machine embroidery hoop a couple of times – but by then, in places the silk had started to lift, so on this fabric I wouldn’t be able to set them all out and fuse them all before starting the oversewing.

• If the two bonded fabrics were natural fibres, not synthetic, laying them all out and bonding into place before stitching should work well.
• I also found leather bonded onto cotton really well, but held the iron in place too long, so the edges of the leather curled a bit, so tomorrow/soon I’ll do some serious samples using those materials.
• Neon green polyester fabric and neon green polyester thread … might as well for the sample, especially – I just have so much of that stuff, probably still about 2.8km 🙂