Lines and dots designs

As I posted previously, I have been doing some work on designing. Our focus for the first session, and the homework, has been on dots and lines.
We did some exercises using lines and dots to come up with designs.

We had to come up with a textile work based on the designs we were drawing.

My first sample was done on commercial felt. I used a programmed stitch, one lot with the teeth down and normal pressure, the others with the feet dropped and no tension. Then I did some free motion designs as well. And some straight stitching. The darkest lines are of Perle 5 thread used in the bobbin. I didn't use a hoop as I thought it might leave an impression on the felt. I notice that there is some buckling in the felt, I will have to think about what I might do about that.

One thing that has become immediately apparent (I think I already knew it) is that you can't really do dots when you are doing free motion machine embroidery. So a lot of my later designs, on paper, were using continuous line. Hence my reversion to doodling and quilting patterns.

Another exercise was to come up with a design that had three horizontal areas, each representing air, water and land. I diligently did some drawings but was feeling rather unsuccessful. Then I was putting my cliff face tapestry at the Handweavers and Spinners Guild rooms and was inspired all over again.

I traced one of my photos and drew the outlying on soluble fabric, then sewed over it, using doodle patterns.

I was also influence by an earlier drawing I had done, using a similar photo to the one above. 

The sewing on the soluble fabric.

After dissolving the fabric.

This textile work doesn't have the sky or water, I just played around with the earth aspect, not even trying to copy the actual photo, I just used it to get a general shape. I'm not sure what I might do with it, it is definitely an exercise at present.
Unlike previous work I have done, it didn't shrink. I will have to see if I can work out what sort of thread I used. I think it is polyester but can't read the spool. I used rayon for a past piece and it shrank quite a lot, so I am assuming that it is polyester. I'll have to do further research - like visit the Embroidery Source where I got the thread.

I am looking forward to the next class, to see what sorts of textile pieces the others have done. The other participants all do various sorts of embroidery and will not be restricted to continuous line as I have been.

I am also having vague thoughts of trying to come up with a design, based on lines and dots, for a tapestry sample. Of course, I won't get it done by the next class and we will have a new inspiration. Just something to keep in the back of my mind.