Review & Reflection

I chose the image of the woman gathering water from my sketch book, mainly because I liked the idea of having more scope with the fluidity of the water. I felt that once I had really looked at the photo that the sketch came from, there was more to this than just a straightforward idea of water as blue and flowing.

I had already started on a piece from this image and I was initially pleased with my progress. However I seemed to reach a point where I wasn't satisfied with the range of stitches or the ideas I was trying to get across. Nor with the size. I felt it was actually quite small when I reassessed it.

It's really difficult when having already done several hour's work, to make the decision to start again but I really wanted to do this, the image/sketch was important to me in that it had already stretched my imagination on the  ways in which I could move ahead.

I was still happy with my choice of base fabric and really happy with the effect of the netted material on it. This time, rather than use just a small section of the netting, I used a much larger piece and laid it on the fabric in such a way as to create layers. The frame held this in place while I stitched. I'm glad I didn't sew it into place, as the flexibility of it, helped to guide many of the stitches around and on it.

I used the sewing machine to create lines along the bottom of the image, going over the mesh fabric but I still don't feel confident enough in getting the right look with the machine. I need more practice in directing the stitches rather than letting the machine guide me. It did however form a really good base for me to add other stitches to, as can be seen in the photo below.

I did wonder at what point to stop. It was incredibly easy with this piece, to keep sewing and to keep adding to the work.

I like the way that the french knots in the white and lighter shades of blue give a seafoam effect on one side whereas the greener french knots on the left give an idea of plants.

I am really pleased with this piece of work. I feel as though I have managed to capture the lines and the flow of the water. I am left wondering though, if I could have achieved that feeling, if I had chosen another colour range, would it have appeared water like in shades of red or green?

Project 2 - Stage 6 - Using thread and yarns to create textures

The first picture I chose was my sketch from the Georgia O'Keeffe 'Calla Lillies' that I've used before in the early stages of project 1. I really like the colours and the flow of the strokes and this definitely guided my choice of image.

The first attempt was a real hodge podge of stitches, from satin to running stitch and then to seeded stitches combined of white and black strands.

The image below was entirely chain stitch but with varying thicknesses of thread and wool, I felt that the natural curve of the chain stitch made this easier to achieve the curve of the stamen and the lines.

The yellow raffia thread was perfect for the stamen when I chose couching as the next stitch. I felt that I was moving away from the original image. Although it maintained similar lines and colours, the couching and thickness of threads and wool seemed to make it look very bug like. Of all the hand stitched ones, I think this one was my favourite.

This project was my first attempt at machine stitching. I have used the sewing machine before but mainly for unsuccessful attempts at halloween costumes. I know that I got my tension wrong on this fabric but I got so caught up in the sewing that I didn't notice until I was nearly finished. It was incredibly easy to get the lines right although I did feel that the stamen ended up much bigger than I originally intended. 

Below, is the first attempt with the machine. I was really happy with it but this was a case of getting totally carried away. I ended up doing far too much to it and completely destroying the effect. What started off as a quite gentle flower, seemed to take on a life of it's own. It was only when I stepped back from it and had a good look at it that I realised the truth in the saying 'Less is More'.......

I decided to choose a different image to work from and have a second try at this stage. I chose the sketch and photo of the African woman gathering water that I used in the making marks stage from earlier.

I love this imagery. I feel that I need to do more to this or at least make a larger version, it is incredibly easy to give more thought to the water, maybe because it is an active object.

The base fabric definitely gives more life to the image (part of me wondered if that was a slight cheat on my part) but as I worked, I came to realise that the shimmer of the base fabric actually gave me more ideas for the fluidity and the colours of the threads and netting used. This project most definitely isn't finished.

Project 2 - Stage 5 - Stitches to create texture

Believe it or not, I did iron this piece of stitching before I took the photo!

It was during this exercise that I really became a fan of 'couching' and probably used it far more than I should have. I loved couching with the raffia thread - because of the texture of the raffia, it was very easy to make it do more than plain cotton or wool. I was able to raise the raffia between the couching stitches, giving it far more texture and life.

I really liked the effect of the seeding stitches especially when placed over one another repeatedly. Again with the couching but I felt more confident about making curves and shaping the base thread as I sewed it.

This exercise pushed me slightly more towards using more imagination. Again, it's hard to break away from the cycle of staying within the lines or following patterns but I actually feel as though I'm starting to do that now.

Project 2 - Developing your marks

Preparation - I'm never the most organised of crafters. Usually I have a mess of threads and fabrics strewn around which I grab at whenever I need it. To have to 'prepare' was not something I'm used to but I can only say that it helped. It gave me some fresh ideas where the fabrics were concerned and also the combination of colours. Putting the various similar coloured fabrics and threads into plastic bags, I then set to practising some of the stitches. Some were very familiar but others were dredged out of the memory banks and I'll be honest, I struggled with a couple of them.

Exploring marks and lines through stitch techniques

Although I can be very disorganised with my materials, I have always tried to be very disciplined with my needlework. It has always been about keeping within the constraints of charts and patterns but here was a chance for me to let loose I suppose.

I definitely left my comfort zone after the first few lines but I really enjoyed it. I felt freer and in the end it was just a case of ignoring all the previous rules. This was fun!

Stage 3 - A sample


I used a much finer linen for the background fabric of this exercise. I picked my sketch of the woman fetching water because I really liked the lines of her arm as well as the texture and shapes of her hair.

I didn't feel very confident at the start and found it quite hard to put the needle into the linen. I had to fight against basically recreating the image but once I had an idea for the hair, I was off! I was never intending to move as far along the sketch as the sarong but loved the colours in the original photo and just carried on.

Being in Qatar can be a bit problematic when it comes to getting materials and I know that I need to stock up on more fabrics (which isn't too hard - we do have some fantastic fabric shops in the souqs) but things like wool are very basic acrylics. So online shopping and a trip back to the UK at Christmas should swell the material boxes. I am finding this 'freestyling' way of sewing very therapeutic and I know that my imagination is getting very stretched by these exercises.