Certificate Module 5, Chapter 7: Tactile Contrasts. Self-imposed challenge of posting every day, day 30, made it!

Well, in truth I must confess I missed four days through lack of time, but the principle remained a good one, in that it made me work and post regularly.  That's something I'd like to continue - but not every day!  I've found it rather stressful, particularly when there have been days that family and other commitments have meant I am busy all day.  I have at times been burning the midnight oil!  However, perhaps trying to do a little work every day and posting once a week might be a sustainable plan.

Here is my sample for today.  I again used the technique Colette Wolff calls "furrowing" in her book "The Art of Manipulating Fabric".  I cut a square of cotton about 3 inches square and another twice the width and length.  I ran a gathering stitch along each side of the larger square and gathered it up to fit the smaller square.  I then caught up the loose fabric with random stitches, only this time I secured each stitch with a bead.

5.7.3

My first thought on reading the student notes for this chapter was "Oh no, not more samples!"  I often find that at this stage in a module, I feel overwhelmed and besieged by the sheer amount of work on seemingly endless little samples.  Knowing that I usually hit this low point helps me to get through it, because in previous modules, when looking at my final assessment piece, I can see that it would not have been possible had it not been for all the samples, which themselves kick off and generate ideas.  So on starting Chapter 7 I just gritted my teeth and decided to keep going.  However, to my surprise, I find I am enjoying it enormously.  Its challenge to make each patch contrast with its neighbour, and the freedom to explore many different ways to manipulate fabric give it more interest than more directed sampling.  I enjoy having my ingenuity tested and I'll enjoy exploring ideas here, particularly now I don't have to post every day and can take a more leisurely approach.

I shall endeavour to post each Sunday from now on with the work I have done (much or little) that week.