September textile love - part 1
I have been enjoying sharing my love of all things textiles in the Instagram September Challenge from the Seam Collective, #septtextilelove, a great way to discover some wonderful textile artists.
It has been an opportunity to reflect on my practice using the daily prompts. So I decided to collect them here rather than let them get lost in the depths of IG.
Day 1: Introduction
I’m a student at Bradford School of Art, the second year of a Foundation Degree in Textiles Practice.
As a former physics educator, the maths and engineering of knitting, weaving, patchwork and quilting really appeal to me.
I’m not good at sticking to a pattern, but love to learn new stuff and put my own twist on it.
I’m a member of the Quilters’ Guild and newsletter editor for Region 14 (Yorkshire).
Day 2: Discipline
Still exploring what is possible, the photos show some of my explorations.
I’ve been able to knit forever, almost, having been taught by an aunt many years ago. It was an eye opener for me when I came back to knitting in the early 2000s and discovered all the amazing yarns that were being produced, particularly by indie dyers such as @nataliesfergie aka The Yarnyard. The blanket here is a consequence of too many scraps from sock knitting, and of course once people find you like scraps, you get theirs too:)
In 2017 I discovered patchwork with Nadine at the @yorkfabricshop and became hooked on piecing and cloth. The quilt is my entry to the Quilters Guild competition FoQ in 2020, I wrote about this last year Threads that bind
In 2018 Helen Birmingham @untangledthreads invited people to embellish a sawdust heart as part of the commemoration of the end of WW1. I had never done anything like that before and surprised myself with the result.
Thanks to Helen, Nadine, and @carolannjallan for inspiration I was encouraged to sign up for the FDA in textiles practice at Bradford College. So now I am a textiles art student, learning so much from @bradfordtextiles and my fellow students. Including in the first year my first try at weaving, another way of using up my stash or an excuse for needing more?
Day 3: Current project
Summer homework for FDA Textiles Practice students is #patternfinder21
I have taken hundreds of photos of found patterns, both in nature and in the world around.
Through looking back at my photos, I realised that my eye was often caught by a radiating pattern, wonderfully exemplified by the passion flower here.
Over the next few weeks I shall be using my photos and drawings to explore these radiating patterns further.
Day 4: Method/technique
Two things that have become a theme in my making:
- upcycling and using every scrap
- improv piecing, both in knitting and sewing
I didn’t know it was called improv until I went to a class with @poppyprint where I made the bottom right blocks, but didn’t go on to make a quilt (that’s a third thing, not sticking to the instructions/recipe). I went on to use some of the blocks in a modern Japanese rice bag made from an old pair of jeans, pattern by @kzstevens
Top left is a panel made to identify my Mum’s wheelchair in the home where she lived. Made from scraps of fabric left over from other projects, including many she had saved from dress making over the previous 60 years!
Top right a Sock yarn blanket made from the scraps left over from many people’s sock knitting.
Day 5: Trying things out
This last year I have tried things out that I might never have done if I hadn’t been encouraged by @carolannjallan and challenged by @bradfordtextiles I have done eco-dyeing with CarolAnn and my Foundation Textiles Practice course has pushed me to draw and explore the possibilities in all sorts of media - including stitch.
I don’t draw every day, though I should, but I do try.
