Project 8 - Stage 2 - Exercise 2

I was really determined to exhaust all the methods this exercise wanted me to so that I had some good samples for future reference.

I decided to start by producing a group of braids made from 2, 3 and 4 strands so I could see how they looked and make sure I had mastered each method. I chose 4 different materials , a thick jersey, twine, a thin wool and a 1" ribbon.

I gave up with the wool after attempting one, four strand braid. It was extremely time- consuming and fiddly and the results were poor in my opinion as the detail was so tiny. It might be better though when using a mixture of different colours. I much preferred working with the chunkier materials.

The samples I produced gave a good variety of surface quality and for this reason I went on to use the same materials to test contrasting textures. I tested them using a flat four strand braid. I really liked the way the thinner yarns looked like a cage round the thicker fabrics. My favourite was the jersey and ribbon braid. I loved the combination of colours, textures and the pattern it created.

n.b. I always started with the same colour strand on the outside if alternated a different pattern would be produced.

Project 8 - Stage 1

I think this part was originally the most difficult for me as I live in an area where you can not get scraps for free from any of the textiles shops, the wool supplies in the charity shops are also extremely scarce. When I'd decided to start again I went out and bought every type of material I could get my hands on.

I discovered that pound land is great and they stock a really good selection of acrylic wools. I then had to go to hobby craft and bought a multipack of 104 different embroidery threads and lots of weights and types of wool. It was an expensive trip but I found the first time I tried this project that not having the right colours was a real disadvantage. It also made it look like I couldn't match colours properly which was the whole point of the colour analysis exercise.

I now just need to make sure I put it all to good use and I must not forget that I should use my fabric scraps from earlier in the course too.

Project 8 - Starting Again

Having already attempted to work through this part of the project I found myself becoming increasingly frustrated with my work and disappointed with my results. I then became increasingly stressed as the deadline date approached and I was no further along. I was becoming more and more tempted to rush work and to say it was "good enough" yet when I looked at other peoples learning logs in an attempt to inspire myself I just found myself feeling even more downhearted. I really needed to break this cycle so I contacted my tutor who is always extremely helpful and supportive.

After a break I decided to go back to the beginning of this project and start again completely. I really want to focus on producing quality work and making sure I really use the exercises to try all the methods I can so that I have a good set of resources to build on further along in the course. I think it's important to do a great deal of experimentation now so that I don't have to do it all again in the next module.

A positive thing to come out of this is that while frustrated I found it very therapeutic to collect source material for my theme book and work freely in my sketchbook. I have previously struggled with this area of work and so it's nice to see the improvement. I think it will also put me in a good position when I come to start my final project.