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Yesterday I went to my first free motion machine quilting class. Here's how it started.
Stitching front to back and side to side to get the idea of controlling the direction and length of stitch. My next challenge was to write my name. Then lots of stippling practice. Stippling is a continuous meandering curved stitch path and I can't say I'm thrilled by it, but at least it's a way of training the right hand-eye coordination.
Probably the most useful part of the teaching came before all this. It was about setting myself up at the machine to make the task as comfortable and stress-free as possible. To that end I have a pair of rubber-tipped cotton gloves on my shopping list for today--they made a huge difference in helping me move the fabric without straining. And I'm going to have to have another look at how I have my machine set up in the studio to make sure I can sit easily while I sew.
It's been a difficult week and I haven't been feeling very creative. At the same time it's good to keep up routines and to have something to occupy my mind. I had some books to return to the library yesterday. I took a bit of time to look for something new to read. I came home with some journals and contemporary accounts of early European explorers of the East Coast of Australia.
In case you're interested, my train of thought went something like this . . .
- Last week I was looking at flowers for the Creative Kids. I took out some books about Australian wildflowers as a resource.
- I have a long time fascination with botanical art.
- I'm working to improve my drawing skills.
- Collecting and recording strange plants and animals was a major task of the early explorers.
- I'm keen to learn more about history. Personal accounts and biographies are one way of doing that--and I'm especially interested in the way individual characters come through.
So I came home with several journals to read. There are are a few original drawings in Joseph Banks' published journals. The letter above is one written by James Cook prior to his departure from England in 1768. Coincidentally, I'm going to a free-motion machine quilting class this morning. The flourishes and curls on the capital letters remind me of the sort of work I hope to eventually be able to do with my sewing machine.
While I was looking for suitable materials for collage last week my shelves received a bit of a shake up. This came to the surface:
It's a nearly completed little bag in a Jo Sharp viscose-cotton-polyester blend with gold sequins. And what's more there was a spare ball of the same yarn in the same bag. That means there's some chance of getting it finished. Let's see how I go. I even know where I can put my hands on the right sized crochet hook.
Despite the craziness of this week I did get to my new drawing class on Tuesday evening. I figure that maintaining a routine of good things is a helpful way to cope when life is rocky. We had been asked to bring in something to draw. On my way out the front door I picked a grevillea flower. It proved to be a worthy subject for our scaling exercises: draw it normally; draw a tiny bit in detail; draw it really big!
Here's one leaf that I saved for later.
In the class I concentrated on the flower. Now I'd like to really think about the shapes of the leaf. I continue to be amazed at how different things appear when I start to really look at them.
I've been wanting to have a go at basket-making for a while. Not that I expect it will become my primary passion, but the structural possibilities intrigue me. And I have some exciting ideas about ways in which my fibres and established interest in weaving may be incorporated. At last year's Sheep and Wool Show I promised myself a basket-making workshop. I even went as far as enrolling, but had to cancel because of a teaching commitment. I came across the Basket-makers of Victoria again at the Quilt and Craft show a few weeks ago. There was the workshop I had promised myself.
The flyer arrived yesterday. I've already made a call today to see if I can book my place. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it.
It's been a crazy few days for me with lots of things to worry about and lots of waiting for phone calls and processes that I can do little about. Sometimes having a bit of crochet in my hands helps to keep me sane. I'm back to the little flowers.
These are three versions of the same thing. The difference is simply in the pattern of increases I make before I crochet the little petal shapes. The fibre is a leftover bit of variegated corn-silk yarn.
Wise words from my new drawing teacher last week, "expect to make a lot of rubbish before you make something you're happy with . . . and then expect to make more rubbish as you go on". No, I don't think she was being negative. It really helps me to know that it's ok to make rubbish. Here's some of my rubbish from the weekend:
And at a personal level, yesterday was rubbish too. I spent several painful and stressful hours at a police station because a young man I care for was involved in a violent incident. Unfortunately that's harder to scrunch up and toss in the bin before having another go at it.
