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Thursday, December 15, 2011

From the Beginning


There's always something very exciting about beginning a new piece of work.  My thrust this coming year is to create abstract wall hangings - breaking out of the box of 5x7 pictures and oh so structured hearts, pockets and birds.  Just sitting around I doodled out these two designs on a piece of lined notebook paper (the closest thing at hand at the time).


From the scrap of notebook paper to a larger piece of paper for the 'real' design to be drawn.  Although I want to be as 'free' as I can be - there are a few limitations in working loop pile embroidery.  The fabric has to be very taut so I use a frame to stretch it.  The largest frame I've found is 10" x 10" square and I doubt if I would be comfortable using anything larger just due to the sometimes cumbersomeness (is that a word?) of the larger frame. So, when creating a design I must take my framed space into account - while I can have wavy edges, or go from thin to wider, I do have to stay within a 10" borders.  A longer or wider width/length can always be achieved by making two sections and stitching them together but I've not tried that yet.


So here we are, with punching begun.  This is the fun part because, although I have my design drawn, I now get to fiddle with colors and fibers and threads.  I can change a design component as I go along if I wish.  Who knows what I will end up with -- and that is part of the joy!

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiousity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit". - e. e. cummings.

5 comments:

  1. It's nice to see your process that leads to one of your lovely pieces, Penny. You've embraced the freedom to be more abstract in the coming year, and I'm eager to see the results. This first one looks like a great start! I think I may already see a lot of whimsy here. :)

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  2. I have no doubt at all, Penny, that whatever you endeavor to do with this, wherever you wish to take this, you will...with your own singular voice and punch (stitch) :>]]

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  3. Large frames are cumbersome!

    An extra-long piece of punching for a new piece of work will be done in sections and stitched together.

    I'll let you know how it works out :-)

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  4. I'm sure it will turn out well. I suspect that if you were to sew two pieces together, the pile would cover the join, so it is probably worth investigating one of these days..

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  5. This looks wonderful, Penny - I'm so happy to see you wading into unchartered waters! My goal for the coming year is also to incorporate more art and freeform work into my quilting.. I had such a blast with my first one - I'm sure that you will become totally addicted to art needle punch, and I can't wait to see what colours you choose!!

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