This term, I’m trying to experiment more with techniques and how they can be used within my final collection.  Below is a picture of a toucan drawn freehand using the sewing machine.  It took a few hours to do as I tried to blend colours and add details.  Next week, I plan on creating an identical toucan using the digital embroidery machine.  Finally, I want to create a digitally stitched toucan which I will then freehand stitch on top of.  Lining them up, I will see how they compare and how I can use them within my pieces.

Digital v.s. hand rendered

To conclude, I’m very happy with the final outcome of my toucan.  I’ve also included the toucan behind a quick pattern I designed for my moodboards.  I’m pleased with my drawing techniques but I think I would use different colours next time…

I’m so happy to be back in the stitch room. Its somewhat therapeutic sitting at a sewing machine. I think this has led me to wanting to work more with embroidery this term as it encompasses my love for digital design and stitch. Today was a refresher session of each machines little tricks and how they can create stunning textiles. I’ve posted some of my work below for you to see. Its pretty basic stuff but really gets the mind thinking about how simple lines can be developed and manipulated.

I spent most of my morning trying to correct a design for screenprinting.  Firstly, it didn’t align properly, then the printer ran out of ink and because I was in a rush, I then had to scan and edit the design in Photoshop whilst at uni.  *Sigh*  And after all that, it doesn’t even align properly when printed *even bigger sigh*

I also had a lecture and two meetings today so it seems that my timetabling was just all over the place and I found that I couldn’t really commit myself to one specific task.  Oh well… Tomorrow is a new day and although I’ll have lots more to do than I initially expected, I’ll hopefully make a big dent in my ever growing to do list.

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Our lecture  today was given by Esyllt George, the careers advisor.  It was a great chance to talk about the job opportunities we have as textile designers and what we need to do to enhance our chances of work after university.  At the end, we were all asked to stand and talk a little about what we’d like to do as a career and personality traits that may help with that specific job.  I’m still not sure what I want to do, but I don’t think its a bad thing.  In the world of art and design, we need to keep our options open and opportunities will follow.  A few members from my peer group suggested I should be prime minister which I thought was quite funny.  It was interesting to know that 80% of artists and designers stay within their chosen field of work as opposed to working in another field.

As well as printing onto ceramic tea cups, I also wanted to try an idea of making tea cups using textiles.  With the help of the stitch technician, Maggie, some dissolvable fabric, thread, liquid soap and a tea cup, I was on my way.  I stitched some designs onto the fabric, soaked it in a little water, draped it over my soapy tea-cup  and then played around with the positioning.  Some worked a little better than others as you have to get the right amount of invisible fabric for it to keep its form.  My first  one was a complete disaster!  As I lifted it from my tea cup, it just flopped.  The rest of which I’m very happy with and they’re proudly hanging in my space.  I hope to make a few more but time is against me…

As part of our fundraising for the textiles graduation show, I decided to make some earrings and felted hearts for our Christmas craft fayre. I usually leave this type of thing until last minute but with a cup of tea and grand designs on the tv, I was on my way!

I’m pleased with the outcome and although I have no idea how to price them, I’m hoping people will reach into their pockets and buy my crafty products. I’m kinda wanting to keep them for myself but I’m thinking this is a good thing because if I like them, hopefully others will too.

*crafter at heart *

My second lot of workshops at university were stitch which ran from the 23/1/2012 until the 3/2/2012. I surprised myself a lot in this set of workshops because I didn’t really get a long with stitch last term and I found myself experimenting more and found it exciting and different.

On the 23/1/2012 I walked into the stitch room and one of the large tables in the middle where there are usually sewing machines was covered with newspaper, I was slightly confused. I sat down at the table and Maggie explained why there was newspaper on the table. We began the day by painting onto bondaweb, which is a strange material thats rough on one side and soft on the other. When I painted my design I think I used to much paint and water because the bondaweb rippled. I thought this was going to ruin my design but luckily the effect was really cool and I liked it a lot. After painting onto bondaweb I went over to the iron and ironed my piece onto some poly cotton just to see how it would turn out. Unfortunately it came out backwards which is fine but I didn’t realise you had to paint it backwards, oh well note to self for next time. I also painted an abstract piece which I used for a background and used to create my pearl necklace, I still need to finish this. After lunch I sewed into my first piece which was a clock, just to give the outline a bit more definition. I really enjoyed painting onto bondaweb because this is a new technique for me and have never done it before. I liked the effects that came from this and thought they were interesting and fitted really well for the objects I had chosen.

On the second day in stitch which was the 27/01/2012 we began the day with a demonstration from Maggie on quilting. This is where you sew 2 pieces of material together and then sew lets say a circle for example. You then cut a small hole in the back of the circle and stuff it with a wadding and it makes it puff up like a quilt. I was eager to crack on with this technique because it looked fun and have never attempted this before. I unfortunately picked my hardest object to use this technique with, I picked my quilt because I thought that quilts puff up and it would look really great. I traced a picture from my sketchbook of my quilt and began marking out where I wanted different colours of fabric to be. I then had to sew each individual line which took the rest of the day. Unfortunately I still need to finish this as it takes ages. I really enjoyed experimenting with this technique because I found it interesting how you can sew such boring pieces and make them look really different by adding a bit of wadding to them. I will definately be using this in the future. At the end of the day Maggie came and spoke to me about what we would be doing next week and about which objects I had chosen and how to make them 3D. I found this really helpful because I had no idea how I would make a 3D necklace, clock or even quilt, she gave me some great ideas about what to bring in and how I could possibly incorporate print into my piece.

I was really looking forward to our next 2 stitch workshops which took place on the 30/1/2012 and the 3/2/2012 because I couldn’t wait to sew my hexagonal quilt shape using one piece of fabric. I began the day really confused and worried about how I was going to construct this piece. Luckily, Maggie came over and gave me a template of the hexagonal piece, which looked very complicated. I began by drawing the template onto calico and cutting it out. I then cut out the small ‘y’s’ which I had drawn, these are used to help make the hexagons. It was a long process of asking Maggie for help and ironing individual pieces. After ironing and lots of folding, it began to take shape. I then had to hand stitch each side together both front and back. It took forever and I began to get stressed and my eyes were starting to hurt from concentrating on one piece for to long. I really enjoyed this technique and it has given me a great starting point for my final piece. After I had made one, I wanted to make it bigger but unfortunately it doesn’t look as good as the smaller piece. I don’t know whether this is because I had done to much and was getting frustrated or whether it just looks better smaller. I also tried to make one using a coloured fabric, which I found absolutely impossible because there was no way of seeing the pattern through the fabric, so I couldn’t draw the template. After all this I decided to blow the template up on the photocopier to see how this design would turn out. I really like the bigger hexagonal piece and hope to produce another one to see if I can make it better. I still need to practice to make my pieces perfect. Overall, these were my favourite 2 days in the stitch workshop because I produced something that I really liked and once I got the hang of the technique it was really easy to do. I hope my final piece will work and turn out how I want it to and just as good as my first sample.

With its own in-house design team, Accessorize holds a unique position on the high street with its inspirational, globally sourced, well-priced and good quality collection of fashion accessories. Displayed in an original and impactful colour-bay design, the constantly changing range includes every kind of accessory including; bags, purses, jewellery, belts, hats, scarves, flip flops, gloves, hair accessories and cosmetics.

I believe Accessorize has a broad market sector including teenagers and women up to the age of 30.  They cater for a mass quantity and therefore their stores have a range of styles that any woman would want to walk in and buy something.  I believe their targeted customer would be a woman in her early twenties who likes to stay on top with the trends but also wants affordable fashion.  She has just started a career and wants accessories that will make her stand out from the crowd.

My broad aims for this brief are to

• Use professional skills and attitudes
• create concepts and mood boards
• specialise in techniques for designers
• research and experiment with colour theory
• Plan my types of design
• design layouts and placements
• use croquis designs
• experiment and use repeating structures
• play with the use of colourings within a collection
• research into fabrics and associated substrates
• Use Photoshop and Illustrator software
• Experiment and learn more about Digital Embroidery
• Use CAD / Hand Visuals
• Finish all samples to a high quality, professional standard.

Specifically throughout the project, I would like to work with:

• Macro Photography and how it could be used for digital print.
• Photography and scanning to translate into Illustrator to create patterns.
• Use Gouache in my drawings as well as other mediums to find what styles suits me best
• Create hand rendered designs.
• Use a mix of digital print and stitch onto designs.
• Experiment with embellishments.
• Explore techniques of laser cutting.
• Create a range of mood boards.
• Compare and contrast digital and screen printing as well as digital and free machine embroidery.

An important part of the design module is research.  I plan on discovering and researching an extensive amount of information about accessorize to be in the best possible position as to when I start designing my patterned samples.  I will do both primary and secondary research to find out as much as I can.
For the primary research, I will create a survey for members of the public to fill in about what they think Accessorize signifies as a brand, what they usually buy at the store and what colours and trends attract them.  I will also email Accessorize to find out any extra information, such as mood boards, look books, and their design team.
For my secondary research, I will use both the internet and written resources such as journals and books to find out about trends, colours and themes.  If I am to make a successful collection, I need to know what’s hot on trend at the moment and how I may be able to predict what will happen in seasons to come.  I may need to look briefly upon the business side of fashion and textiles to find out what the average woman can afford and how this may influence my designs in a recession.

The concept of my commission is to create a range of patterns for accessories designed and influenced by the company Accessorize.  I will target my designs towards the twenty-something female and will focus my attention on designing fabrics for handbags and scarves.  It will be a collection, so whether I have one theme or more, each piece will link and have a connection.  I will be designing a Spring/Summer collection that could be used mainly for daytime although I may create a few evening fabrics depending on trends and colour charts.  They will be designed for a mass market and should be commercially appealing.

I have decided to base my collection around the theme ‘Fly Away.’  After extensive research into different market sectors, I have noticed that at this moment in time, birds and travelling seem to be very much in fashion.  I would like to have my own interpretation on this idea to create unique designs.  I will focus my designs around anything that can fly or be seen in the sky.  This will include birds, hot air balloons, butterflies, travelling, the sky and other topics.

As an overall view, I will have a collection of designs presented as print and stitch that have been digitally rendered.  I would like to use both screen printing and the Mimaki printers to see how they differ.  I would also like to mix print and stitch onto my pieces to create a more tactile effect.  I’ve noticed that many of Accessorize’s bags and scarves are printed, stitched and embellished.  I think it adds a third dimension to their designs.  I will also experiment more with the Mylar foil to see what effects can be created.

I will also keep in mind what fabrics to use for my designs.  If I am designing scarves,  I will need to experimenting printing on much lighter, softer fabrics such as Chiffon and Silk.  However, with handbags, many will need a heavy duty fabric in order not to break when carried.  A canvas or equivalent will be suitable for this.

My intended product outcomes will be a collection of 30 or more designs that work together as a collection and could be used commercially.  I will have designs that show alternative colour ways, concept of co-ordination, accurately repeating layouts, as well as, mood boards, extensive research, drawings and photography.

I spent the afternoon with Maggie learning about digital stitch.  It was surprising how much I’d remembered from last week without taking any notes.  I’m good at grasping onto new tasks quickly, and was soon helping others when mine went into the embroidery machine to be stitched out.

As you can see, it’s not the most ground breaking pattern, but it was a great starting point to learn how to use the embroidery software and machines as well as being able to incorporate digital stitch into my future designs.  I think if I get the chance next week, I might try to create some hot air balloons onto fabric and see how it turns out.  I doubt I’ll have much time before Tuesday to go in and get a head start due to the Pecha Kucha and commission deadline looming.  Hopefully I’ll have time in the lesson to start, design and stitch.  I doubt it though…

For people who know me, I’m probably the least stubborn person you’ll ever meet.  I like to stay cool and collected.  I have a way of calming others down without getting stressed myself.  I think this is such a positive in the field of textiles because I can walk away from a situation, take a deep breath and come back feeling motivated and reassured.  I like to stay organised and write lists everyday to make sure that I keep on top of my work load.  Today, I walked into textiles with a new mind set.  I cant wait to get this brief started and really show my capabilities as a designer.

So here is my new brief….

The focus of this module is working to a self-set hypothetical design commission, based on creating a collection of designs for one of the following market areas:

1. Fashion Textiles
2. Interior Textiles
3. Paper-based Markets

Research the markets:

Thoroughly research into the Fashion, Interior and Paper-based market areas. Become acquainted with lots of designers and design companies, especially those that really attract and inspire you. Evaluate each company’s stance on environmental awareness/ ethical issues/ sustainability. Make notes/ images to analyse and evaluate why you are drawn to particular designers or design companies.

Select 5 favourite individual designers/ design companies for each market area. Collect together images/ information to represent your interest in these (15) designers/ companies. Create a digital/ hardcopy file to hold all this information.

 Identify your top 3 designers/ design companies and create a presentation:    

After further analysis, reduce the list to your top three designers/companies. Identify what makes a strong, market relevant house style. Establish the key concepts, styles and approaches that give your 3 designers/ companies their winning market identity. Think about these concepts, why you rate them and how you can make connections to your own identity as a textile designer.

This will form the content of a presentation you will make to the group on Friday 3^rd February.

The presentation will be delivered in a Pecha Kucha format. 

 Hypothetical Design Commission:

Write a hypothetical design commission appropriate for one of the above designers/ companies, this is to be submitted on Friday 3^rd Feb.  You will have guidance on the correct way to format a commission:

From your research, identify:

• a company or designer
• their typical design house-style
• the market sector they represent
• client/ targeted customer
• product for which you are designing
• whether your designs to be submitted as hand or digitally engineered; on paper or fabric; stitched; screen/ Heat Transfer printed; laser cut;  etc..

The collection will demonstrate a growing understanding and competency with specific studio designer’s skills:

• Professional skills and attitudes
• creating concept and mood boards
• specialist techniques for designers
• colour theory
• types of design
• design layouts and placements
• croquis designs
• repeating structures
• co-ordinating concepts
• use of colourings within a collection
• fabrics and associated substrates
• Photoshop and Illustrator software
• Digital Embroidery introduction
• CAD / Hand Visuals

Failure is opportunity in disguise.

So here is my summary…

Within the Live Module, I feel I’ve had highs and lows.  But isn’t it the same with every project or brief in life?  We’re not always given things we enjoy or play up to our strong assets, however it’s through these challenges and mistakes that we learn and ultimately grow as a designer.

The theme for my project was corporate life but I also had to include the themes of Wales, sustainability, and civil engineering.  I started my project visiting sites around Wales.  These included the Wales Millennium centre, St Fagans archive and Swansea.  I tried to get an aspect of what corporate life was all about.  In each different scenario, it seemed that corporate had a different meaning.

Later in the project and after extensive research, I decided to base my project on forms of money.  Money comes in many different forms whether it be coins, tickets or receipts.  When I initially think of the word corporate, I think big businesses, franchises and a lot of money to finance it all.  However, not everything comes in the form of bank notes and coins.  For example, we use stamps as a way of sending letters without sticking a pound to the top of our envelopes.  Also, after visiting the St Fagans archive, it became much more apparent that money was very structuralized years ago with the use of ration books and regional bank notes.

I have worked in my drawing book throughout the project producing both hand rendered and digital pieces.  I have experimented drawing on and with different mediums, such as acetate and oil paints.  I decided that with the given brief, I would create digital pieces to symbolise corporate in a much sharper detail.  I used different techniques such as layering and pattern making in both Photoshop and Illustrator.  I particularly liked playing with the scale of buildings and how they can be morphed into patterns.

As I began sampling, I was intrigued to work and experiment with recycled materials that are unusual.  This led me to work with spectacle glass, plastic spoons and toilet roll.  Although some worked better than others, I have walked away from this project with a much broader sense about materials and how they can be used.  As a designer, I don’t think I should stick to one medium.  This would cause me to lose interest very quickly as well as not having the drive of creativity.  I also printed on the PPE to see what results could be obtained.  In all honestly, these aren’t my favourite samples due to the PPE being very difficult to work with and being impossible to sew.  It seems that whatever you do to it, it still looks like PPE.

After extensive research, I decided I would make a purse for my final piece.  With my theme of forms of money, my concept was that a purse protects your valuables just like PPE protects the body.  I planned on filling my purse with tickets and credit cards.  Unfortunately, the purse did not turn out as well as I would have liked.  I used transfer paper for my design but it came out white in patches and did not stick to the fabric well.  Although I believe my purse is well made, the presentation lets it down and I’m disappointed overall.

I wasn’t really looking forward to the stitch workshop as I’m not that experienced on the sewing machine. Of course, I’ve used one but whenever I seem to do anything on the machine it goes horribly wrong. The morning was health and safety of the classroom and all the machinery which is always fun! We were then shown how to use the machines properly and all the different facilities which I find utterly boring.

In the afternoon we moved onto different stitches on the machine and experiment with the twin needle and putting a thicker thread into the bobbin case, I really liked doing this because I had never done this before and I enjoyed the results that came of it. I have a really nice sampler from today and its probably my favourite from the stitch workshop.

We started with a simple introduction with sampling with all kinds of straight stitch design onto Calico fabric. I took up my time sampling all the kinds of varied stitch marks possible, playing with the key chart stitch options located on the right hand side of the machine. After warming up, we had the opportunity to further develop our knowledge of the technique, by experimenting with a double stitch needle, and using two colours together to form a multicoloured stitch. Later in the day I especially enjoyed the use of hand threads on bobbin, achieving a unlike surface design on the back of your sample.

The different techniques we used were:

1. The Ruffler.
2. The Binding foot.
3. The Wing needle.
4. The Pin Tuck foot.
5. The Needle Punch machine.
6. The 1/4 inch seam foot.
7. The Digital Sewing machine.
8. The Fringe foot.
9. The Piping foot.
10. The Cording foot.
11. The Double Cording foot.
12. The Triple Needle foot.

I wont explain every technique or I’ll be writing all day.  I will, however, talk about my favourite technique, the one I feel I’ll be using the most and my least favourite. 

• My favourite technique…
  It was a tough choice between the wing needle and double cording foot.  Both were fun to use and are very decorative.  I liked the fact that the wing foot could be used through paper and metal, however, I think the double cording foot was definitely my favourite.  It’s not the easiest to use but the results are so pretty!  Its made using three embroidery threads which are then sewn together on the fabric using a decorative stitch.  I’m not sure whether this stitch could be applied in my work without looking a little kitsch.  It would look great on children’s clothing though.

  Speed Dating Summary -
  Double cording foot
  Definitely a pretty boy but that may come in the way of the relationship.  He wont be in your life much and wouldn’t make a great boyfriend,  just a fling.

• The Most Useful Technique…
  I definitely feel the binding foot will be the most useful to me compared to the other techniques.  Most of the machines I used today, I can definitely see me using again, however, I’ve used bias binding in the past and its a bugger to get on if you’re not careful.  A little sway of the stitches and its no longer attached to your fabric.  This nifty little foot does all the work for you!  You simply feed the bias binding into the foot with the fabric and away you go!  So simple to use and a great foot to save a lot of time.

  Speed Dating Summary -
  The Binding foot
  A very helpful guy who knows and wants to make life easier for you.  Any sign of trouble and he’s there to put you back on the right path.  A long-term relationship with this man would be stable and loving.

• My Least Favourite Technique…
  Again its a tough one but the prize definitely goes to 1/4 inch seam foot.  It was so hard to use!  It’s quite a simple process of sewing lengths of material together, and then pulling the tube inside out.  Sounds easy right?  Wrong!  It was a nightmare to get the fabric through and there’s then the heart breaking moment when the string snaps and you’re stuck with a half inside out tube.

  Speed Dating Summary -
  The 1/4 inch seam foot
  You’ll forever be pulling at him but he’ll never fully be there for you.  He will snap at you and never come back, leaving you heart-broken.

Before the lecture started, I went to find some books that might help and give me more of an insight into fabric.  I actually found the most useful book called ‘Fabrics for Fashion.  The Swatch Book.”  This book basically contains everything you ever need to know about material qualities and an example of each fabric.  For some reason, I had some trouble taking out the book from the library but after waiting a little and a very helpful receptionist, I am now the proud owner of the book, well for a week anyway.  I’ve only flicked through so far but it seems to take a very in-depth look at the different types of fabric, what they’re made from and other useful handy hints.  The swatches in the book are all in perfect condition and it obviously saves time than if I were to collect and research them myself.  I definitely would love to buy this book but its on amazon for £32!  I may have to save a little before I add it to my library of textiles. 

So onto the lecture, it was so fun!  We learnt about the different qualities that fabrics have and how you can tell the difference between natural and synthetic.  We also learnt about how they’re trying to invent more sustainable ways of creating fabric such as bamboo which apparently grows at an astonishing rate and is very environmentally friendly.  Theres a bamboo sample in my book and it strangely looks and feels just like cotton.  We also talked about the different terms used when sewing which we may not have known before.  I’ve been lucky enough to have a photocopy of a book which contains a wealth of terms but any others I can always look up on the internet.

Now to the fun bit… burning!  The best way to tell what a fabric is, is to actually set it on fire.  It was fascinating to watch how different fabrics burn.  Synthetics just turn back into plastic whereas natural fabrics char and turn to ash.  Each fabric burns differently but the one I found most interesting to burn was felt.  I had 2 different types of felt with me, one I’d made in mixed media and another from poundland.  The natural one didn’t really want to light and then went out instantly, whereas the synthetic felt literally melted in big, long strands, a bit like mozzarella.  It was fascinating but obviously you can’t always burn your fabrics to see what they are.  I learnt that some synthetics look very much like natural and are almost impossible to tell.  An amazing day and I know I’ll definitely learn more from reading the book.

For my final piece I created a felt book with the story of little red riding hood in Welsh and a felt doll and jam jar.  The three objects I chose for this project were all sentimental pieces and the book was sentimental to me.  It reminds me of my childhood so I wanted to create a book that a child could enjoy and interact with.  I think considering I only had a week to make this piece, I’ve done a very good job.  I could have just made a print of a pocket watch onto some voile but I really want to push myself.  I successfully did this as I spent most night up until 3am.

Each page has been printed, stitched and needle felted onto.  As my target audience are children, I wanted the pages to be exciting and colourful without looking over crowded.  I wouldn’t like to think how much time I spent making each individual page.  Some of my favourite pieces are the more unusual ones like the page where I’ve included a paper jam jar and another page where I’ve needle felted a bridge.

The felt on the piece is all individually hand-made.  I’m not sure how I did this, maybe with a lot of practice but all my pages are pretty much the same size and width.  I thought this may be due to luck but it can’t be, I mean I made 20 pieces of felt.  I think my felting skills are much better than I give them credit for.  Some pages had colour added to them as they were being felted, others were needle felted on afterwards.  Although it took ages, it was definitely worth it.  I didn’t want to just make a big piece of felt and cut it into squares because I wanted the rough edges.

The stitching on the pages was the most difficult to do.  Each word had to be stitched over twice to make it look more professional and bold.  I also stitched much slower than I usually would just to make it much neater.  I found the hardest bit was keeping the words straight.  When stitching they all looked very straight until I pulled it out from under the sewing machine and then found it was tremendously wonky.  I also had problems stitching the capital ‘G’ on the front.  I’m not sure why this happened but it took 4 attempts to get it right!  I’m very proud of the stitch work I’ve accomplished on my final piece.  It’s neat, readable and adds a different element than if I was to just print the words.

The printing on my book was either done using bondaweb and acrylic paint or screen printing.  I think the screenprinted wolves definitely make an impression.  I especially like the wolf that looks like he’s creeping into the woods.  The only thing I was unsure about with the screenprinting is that you can’t always see where your putting the screen on the felt and I was afraid that I’d have wolves flying through the forest.  Thankfully everything I printed was straight and in the right place.  I used a dark grey for the wolf as I thought it would be more realistic than black but more mysterious than brown.  The printing onto felt with bondaweb was relatively easy.  Your just have to make sure you cut very close around the painted piece or you’ll see the bondaweb.  I think it worked well throughout the book and meant I could add more colour to the piece.

There’s also quite a lot of symbolism on the piece which I only realised when I was thinking about and reviewing my piece.  Things like I’ve mentioned before about the ribbon going through the eyelets and then out the other side symbolising how little red riding hood gets eaten by the wolf but then survives.  I think the fact that the whole book is soft and very tactile also symbolises that little red riding hood is just a story written for children but the fact that the edges are rough shows that the story is quite dark and mysterious.

If I were to change anything of the piece, it would definitely be to change how I presented it.  I had many problems with how I wanted to exhibit my piece but due to the lack of space it just wasnt possible.  I would have liked to put the doll and jam jar on a shelf above the table but someone elses work was there.  I also would have like to prop the book up on a stand but I didn’t manage to get one.  For some reason, people seem to like the book but don’t actually look through the pages, I can’t work out why this is.  Maybe they do look through the pages but while I’m not there?  It may be nice to change my piece into something different.  Maybe if I changed it from a book to a series of wall hangings or a patchwork.  Its something to think about for the future.  Also because it’s a children’s book, if I had the time it would have been nice to make more dolls like the wolf and the grandmother.

Overall, I’m very happy with the piece I’ve created in such a short space of time.  It’s clear to see the hard work that’s gone into it and I think I’ve definitely got the point across that its a children’s book.  It was nice to take something that has been so sentimental to me for years and change it into something different for others to enjoy, well if you can speak Welsh!

I believe the three objects I chose linked through sentimentality.  The pocket for example was sentimental to my boyfriend’s father.  The charm bracelet is sentimental to my Gran.  Many of the charms are Welsh themed such as the Welsh lady, the Welsh dragon, the harp and the love spoon.  Some are very symbolic to my grandmother’s life such as her star sign, a wedding and engagement ring and the globe.   The book to me is very special.  It reminds me of my childhood and times at school as well as at home.

The drawings I created through the term, I personally prefer to last term.  I struggled slightly last term because the brief was too broad and I like to concentrate one subject, look at it in different ways and how I could maybe improve.  I used a lot of  fineliners within my work and started to really work and experiment with ink which I would like to take with me into my next project.  I also worked on alternative surfaces such as a book page which I think adds a different dimension to my work. 

I enjoyed my time spent within the workshops and really believe I developed on my skills.  Within the workshops, I explored more experimental ways of developing on and working with screen printing, Teflon, Bondaweb, felt and making paper. I made many 3D objects such as a globe made from papier-mâché and wire, a street lamp made in stitch, a felted  little red riding hood doll and a jam jar made with paper.

I believe I enhanced my skills within the workshops.  I had never before worked with acrylic paint on Bondaweb which I believe creates a great effect and I found it worked well on felt.  I didn’t particularly like working with Teflon however when sewn in with fabric, it can create some really interesting results.  I made two different versions of the 3D lamp, one stuffed and one unstuffed.  I decided to make another lamp because in my Gran’s charm bracelet , you can see right through to a pink gem stone.  I wanted to recreate this and I put a piece of dyed chiffon with the colours pink, yellow and orange within.  I really enjoyed making the lamp as it really opened my eyes to the world of 3D.

I also really started to experiment with felt in this project.  I experimented with colour, adding things to the felt and also making it 3D.  I loved working with felt!  I think it’s such a diverse material and you can make it exactly to your specifications whether it be thick or thin, chunky or flat, 2D or 3D, the list is endless.  I particularly like the samples where I really played around with colour, adding material and foreign objects.  They are some of  my favourite samples as I find them so visually interesting. 

I enjoyed papermaking within the mixed media workshop and again, I really started to experiment with colour and adding foreign object.  I played around with the tone of my paper and how many shades I could get from one colour but just adding white pulp each time.  My favourite pieces that I’ve made from the paper workshop are the ones that contain book pages.  I would love to make a notebook or something out of that paper in the future.

Within the print workshop, we started screen printing.  Although I missed the first week of this due to tonsillitis, I really tried to catch up.  I found the silk screening very addictive and I have more print samples than from any other workshop.  I loved just trying it on different fabrics and paper.  I particularly liked working with flock and mylarfoil as I believe it adds another dimension to your work. 

I also mixed many of the processes together, for example I would stitch onto my prints, add bondaweb to felt and then stitch onto it.  I believe this process led me to my final piece as the mixing and experimenting from the workshops showed me what was successful or not.  I think you can really see how my samples have helped to develop my final piece.  Sampling, I believe, is crucial.

Although I didn’t realise this at first, from looking over my work, I can see that there is more sampling and drawings to do with the little red riding hood book, and I feel this may be due to the personal link I have with it.  Therefore, for my final piece, I wanted to create something that was special to me and encompassed my childhood.  Through sampling and drawing, the final piece I created was a book made entirely from felt telling the story of ‘Hugan Goch Fach’ using stitch, screen printing and acrylic paint on Bondaweb.  I wanted the book to represent the techniques I had learnt in workshops and how I’ve developed through the term.  I’m really happy with my final piece even though it took so long to make all the felt and then stitch into it, I believe it was definitely worth it.

I have really enjoyed the overall experience from this term and I feel I have really improved on both my technical and drawing skills.  I found that I really like working in 3D, bondaweb and felt and I really do believe that I’ll take these techniques with me into my future practice.

I didn’t start my mounting until about 8pm as I thought it wouldn’t take to long.  Oh how I was wrong!  I was still mounting at 3am!  I didn’t think I had that much to mount because I kept everything in different places in my room for the main reason of keeping it tidy.  I literally thought I had about ten to fifteen samples to mount but it was actually more like 50!  I have never been so stressed in my life.  With a constant coffee on the go, I ploughed through the massive load hoping there was light at the end of the tunnel…

I’ve learnt from this that although I’m quite an organised person, my tidiness actually caused more problems in this instance as I didn’t realise how much work I actually had.  Maybe next term I’ll keep a tally chart or mark down in a notebook how many samples I actually have.  This way I can be more prepared and do the mounting in more than 2 occasions.

So today didn’t exactly go to plan, I went into the print workshop and prepared a screen with images of wolves and a forest to print onto my felt book.  I planned on preparing the screens and printing on the same day but there just wasn’t enough time.  Preparing screens takes so long!  Nevertheless, I found other things to do to keep myself occupied.  I went into the mixed media workshop and made another jar made from paper pulp,  I only made half of one this time as I plan on putting it in the book.  I’m not sure if this will work yet but it’s definitely worth a try.  I then went into the stitch workshop and overlocked most of my samples.  I did not enjoy this experience!  I was there for hours and I couldn’t seem to get any of my samples straight.  I think I may invest in some pinking sheers for next term.  Thankfully, all my samples are now ready for mounting.   I didn’t get home until 6pm so a relaxing evening is definitely in order.

I then went on to finish a quilting sample that I’d started a while ago.  I mostly used applique to create the desired results and stuffed the anchors.  This sample was inspired by both the pocket watch and the charm bracelet because the charm bracelet has an anchor on it but the pocket watch also relates with the U.S.S constitution on the front.  I cut round the edges of the sample so it would create more of a watery effect.  I really like the sample and considering it was relatively easy to make, the results make a real impact.  I think the sample would look nice on a larger scale, maybe as a wall piece with beads and it could be stitched into.

In the afternoon we moved onto faux chennelle.  I have made many of these in the past and have experimented with material, shape and colour.  I made three samples using different techniques but my favourite is probably the most basic as it frays better and I believe it creates more of a statement.

My first sample was inspired by a sketch from St Fagans.  I started to sew the Turog bread house using the thicker bobbin thread in parts.  After finishing, I decided that I didn’t really like it but I can’t really explain why.  I made quite a few free machine embroidery samples later that day including a teapot which is incredibly cute.  After the bread house not turning out the way I wanted, I think it showed me what direction in which to take the other samples.

Towards the end of the day I made a sample using dissolvable fabric.  The sample was inspired by the woman off the film ‘The Pillow Book.’  I wanted the sample to stand out so I used two contrasting colours, black and white.  I am very happy with how this sample turned out and I was even happier that it didn’t fall apart when put in water.  However, her face has a backing of organza otherwise her face would have flopped.

We then moved onto looking at the different stitches the sewing machine could do.  We also used twin needles and putting a thicker thread in the bobbin which I had never tried before.  It was interesting to see the results, especially using the thicker thread.  I have lots of samples to show from today and I believe today was a good introduction into the stitch room.