Trying New Things

Doing City and Guilds Embroidery is certainly opening my eyes to all sorts of exciting things...I love it! I started last September and have relished every minute of it. There's certainly a lot of work involved, but can it really be called work when I enjoy it so much?! We've been looking at all sorts of things...line, colour, shape and pattern, texture and now form. I got so carried away with texture that I made a little fabric book and filled it with all sorts of examples...

A little bit of zig-zag stitch, a few beads, some transfer printing and suffolk puffs (which are currently my favourite variety of textile additions!) and a couple of vintage buttons all came together to create my little book.

I must admit, I tend to start creating something like this without rigorously planning it out...I just have an idea and start creating. This isn't always the best approach as I find myself having to cover up my mistakes, or thinking, "I'll remember to do that if I ever do this again"! I do think it's a great way to work sometimes though...it frees me from thinking I should be doing everything absolutely perfectly. It also allows for experimentation and 'what if moments' (as one of my tutors calls them). For the texture book, I raided my fabric stash and mixed vintage fabric scraps amongst new ones...Amy Butler sitting besides 1940's polka dots. I hid my messy edges by trimming them with ric-rac (another favourite of mine) and bobbles which, I like to think, adds to the notion of 'texture'. 

I really got into the idea of making fabric books after I made one for my Mum's last birthday. I made it from 1940's fabrics, filled it with photos of Mum from over the years (transfer printed on to cotton fabric) and embellished the pages with vintage buttons. Making it was fabulous fun and I was really happy when I saw how thrilled Mum was with my little offering. Now all I have to do is think of an idea for my next fabric book and then there'll be no stopping me!