Trying to meld different ideas

At the design workshop I attended last year, with Petra Meer, we discussed having two ideas on the go at the same time.  Petra said it can be good as it allows you to keep going even when you have a mental block with one idea.  I am not sure that is what I am doing, I think I am just all over the place at the moment, but I will hope that it is keeping my creativity going.

So ... I have been playing around with ideas incorporating blackwork embroidery.  Now I am trying to use the geometric designs of that technique with free motion embroidery.  I originally thought I would draw up some patterns and use the special stitches on the machine that I have played with a little but quickly realised that that was rather pointless, dropping the feed dogs takes away the control and the patterns do not appear.

So I just tried to make my own designs.  I did them freehand, using ribbons for the outlines and then just trying various grids and filling them in in ways that occurred to me after browsing blackwork embroidery books.  (Two I really like, here and here.)

I only used one layer of soluble fabric and an embroidery hoop.  I decided that as it was a sampler, just to see what I could come up with, that I wouldn't be too precious about being geometric.  I thought some of the patterns would fall apart when I dissolved the backing but I was pleasantly surprised.  Most of them worked.

With the backing still on.

After dissolving the backing. 

I think I might try drawing some of the more geometric patterns onto the backing before sewing next time and see how they come out.  I will just have to be careful to make the supporting grid. 

By trying to incorporate aspects of blackwork I have made it easier in one way, I don't have to worry about colour.