Inspired by Others - and doing it all at once.

I seem to remember reading that someone whose blog I visit (I can't remember who) was weaving a tapestry and just developing it as she went.  I was very admiring of that.
Then I saw Misha's blog and was inspired - he mentioned an assignment in which one of the things to try was distressing the work - a change from getting distressed myself when weaving. (Actually, I can't find where I thought he said that but he did talk about using man-made yarns.)
Anyway, I had played around with some Tyvek, painted it, covered it with PVA and then embedded some words from the newspaper. This was one of the ideas in Mixed Media Explorations by Beryl Taylor. I was thinking of developing some fabric for an art quilt or wall hanging, or something.

I took it along to a group I am working with, with a view to having our own show later in the year (stress, stress!! - my very first group show that is not part of the textiles course). It was suggested that I could cut the Tyvek up and weave with it.  Blank look from me - then, oh yes, possibly.

Tyvek responds to heat - I am always thinking of doing some heat distressed art quilt work and have the supplies, just haven't done much with it yet.
So ...
I decided to combine these ideas.  I am using fabrics that will react to heat - I hope.  I am designing it as I go.

The not very detailed cartoon - I took the large shapes out when I began.

Some of the painted Tyvek in the top left corner, unpainted Tyvek, synthetic fabrics and wool.

It seemed that I might be well advised to put in some wool with the Tyvek and synthetic fabrics so that not all the work will disintegrate - if it does anything at all.  I am a bit worried about the feathery bits of yarn, I might have to cover them and see if I can keep the heat away from them, I don't trust them not to actually burn.

Then I remembered that I have wanted to do a tapestry with holes in it, woven deliberately.

I'll take out the cardboard when I am finished, hope it doesn't fall apart.
Note the painted Tyvek, the weft shows very clearly.

So now it is all in the same piece.  It is supposed to be some sort of cocoon but I haven't done my maths properly and there is no way it will close (if I decide to make it 3D, yet another thing this is an experiment for).  I will worry about that at a later date, if it actually works. I am not sure if I want to heat all the fabrics, I am quite pleased with it as it is at the moment.
Maybe I'll have to do some more samples with the various fabrics and just see what happens, not put them into a design at all - if I can bring myself to do that.
Hmm, this all sounds a bit ad hoc - which it is. But it is also fun.

Patchwork and Quilters Guild of Victoria

I was out walking the dog this morning and came across a sign that said Patch Work.  Intriguing - was it a meeting or an exhibition?  I called in and learnt that it was the monthly meeting of the Patchwork and Quilter's Guild of Victoria, it meets there every month.  Big hall, lots of people!  It had that happy buzz sound that you get with a group of women doing something they love.
Maybe it was a sign that I should join - I've picked up their leaflet at many a Quilt Convention but have been too lazy to join.  I can hardly say it is too far to go to meetings now that they have a new location.
I have been finding my interest in patchwork (not the quilting so much) reviving recently, after having not done any for several years (not much, anyway).  I decided to do my Studio Textiles and Design course to enhance my design skills and, since I started that course, have done very little patchwork.  The course has introduced me to many other textile techniques and skills and I have been distracted by them.  I have enjoyed them greatly and have learnt a lot but I am finding I would like to incorporate some of what I have learnt with patchwork and quilting.  I have a piece that I have entered into the Graphica exhibition that is very patchwork and quilting oriented.

It is based on the many tiles we saw and the tulip motif that is so often on show in Turkey.  The technique is based on Beryl Taylor's video workshop, put out by Quilting Arts. You can see my first attempts here.

Trying a new technique

I have played around for the last couple of days with a technique that I saw on a video and also in the last Quilting Arts magazine (Dec/Jan).  It is by Beryl Taylor and incorporates reverse applique.  It looks so simple on the video and sounds so easy in the article.
I have spent three days working on it.  I decided to adapt her work and use my own design, based on tiles I saw in Turkey.  The simplest was of stars as they gave me plenty of pieces to cut out to get the colours showing.  However, I had decided to try to use a blue palette based on the blue and white tiles we saw.  Consequently, the design is not clear - it doesn't 'pop'.

This was despite having 45 different fabrics in the piece - 9 piles with 5 fabrics in each.  I had done the classic quilter thing, finding fabrics that go together beautifully. I needed to use some that I would never put together, to get the contrast.
However, having seen the video, I will put this aside and think about some of the other things Beryl uses on her art quilts, things I would never have thought of doing.  It will be a good experimental piece, if nothing else.

Back to the drawing board.  I then thought about other designs we had seen in Turkey and realised that we had seen somes that had circles as part of them, the same shape that Beryl had used.  So more cutting out and putting together of colours - ones that would have a greater contrast this time.

After I had sewn and then cut them again, I attached the squares to the backing and started playing with the sewing machine.  It is a long time since I have done any free motion sewing so the circles are quite wonky - fortunately that is not only allowable in this design, it is necessary, otherwise you don't get the small sections for cutting into.

I even found some metallic thread in my stash.  I could have sworn I have never sewn with metallic thread but there was a bobbin with some on it.  After many re-threadings, I know why I haven't done a lot of metallic thread sewing.