More Fun with the Sewing Machine

It's a all trial and error, sometimes mostly error!

Just some more 'drawings' from the last week. I've found though that I really need to use a much thicker interfacing, as you can see there is a quite a bit of puckering from where I've worked into the fabric more intensely or when I have set the piece on an embroidery hoop first. some of them have come out well, others not so well but then that's the point, to try different things and see what works.

Freehand Machine Embroidery

I started trying freehand machine embroidery ages ago but hadn't gone back to it for a little while but then these last couple of weeks I'd felt a growing urge to try it again. I think I was feeling inspired after going through bags of my vintage textiles and the simultaneous need to draw. Once I'd given it a go again, only this time with a more ordered process I realised that I'm a bit in love with it!

My process involves lining a nice piece of fabric with interfacing, to make it more stable, and then sewing appliqué pieces from another piece of fabric, usually flowers on to the fabric for added colour and interest. Once that was done I used a pencil sketch, either of my own drawing or of a photo onto thin tracing paper and then with a freehand machine foot and the right stitch setting would 'draw' around the outline of the sketch. I'd then take the paper off, ripping it carefully to remove it from the stitches, and would carry on filling in the details and the rest of the drawing so that most of it really is freehand.

Here are some photos of the results, I think they turned out well, better than expected. I've started setting some of them on embroidery hoops for frames and selling them on Etsy. I intend to do a lot more and experiment with all kinds of designs. I'm genuinely feeling excited about this whole new way of working. It allows me to work with beautfil textiles, patterns and colour AND drawing, it really couldn't get much better in my world! I would highly recommend people give it a go.

Progress!

It seems to have taken me forever to get to the point where I had a few finished pieces that I was actually happy to put online for sale, and even then I wouldn't say I was particularly confident with them. What I've learnt though is that it is so true that you learn by doing more than anything else. I realised quickly that whatever I had planned in my mind about how things would work out with new projects, art, life, work etc were always going to be different from the practical application of any ideas I had in those areas. I think though that just getting over the initial anxiety and actually just making a start is sometimes the biggest hurdle. So today I have just listed two of my prints on Etsy for the first time. It might not seem like a big deal but in my head it was a mountain to climb. Anybody who makes art or creates things in some form or another is acquainted to some degree with that feeling of 'putting' yourself out there. Sometimes though, you just have to bite the bullet and do it!

I'm quite pleased with this particular piece. I did a pencil sketch then traced over it in graphics pen. I then scanned that into Photoshop where I added colour. I've found that I very much enjoy creating drawings with an eclectic mix of motifs, patterns and images, all inspired by my interests in nature, femininity, line and colour. This one uses motifs inspired by vintage chinese fabric patterns and I think it does have a slightly oriental feel. 

This was a fun project. It was just a doodle that turned into something I thought I could actually use. I did the original line drawing in ink then scanned it into Photoshop where I added colour and used some of my watercolour washes for backgrounds. I enjoyed it and I think it makes for a decorative print. I'm selling prints of it currently in my Etsy shop.

Mixing Mediums I Enjoy

This was a quick sketch I did last year that I then scanned into the computer and worked on in Photoshop. I had the idea to make little coloured pencil drawings based on pretty origami paper models that I liked onto paper from a shop bought maths notebook and then cut them out. I then scanned in some vintage fabric and pink lace. I liked the contrast of delicate textures and colours. I'll try and refine the sketch a bit more. This is was just a personal project to try a few things out but I like it.

A Change of Direction

    Finding a Focus

It's been quite some while since I last posted on here but you could definitely say I've been through some major life changes over this last year and a half. One of which has been to decide where to take my creativity and focus my skills and interests. At the moment I seem to have arrived at the point where I really want to be producing art work based on the subjects that I love and homing in on that as a career move while having other interests as side lines that I go to for fun and enjoyment.

This piece was done as a detailed freehand pencil sketch which I then traced over using a variety of  different width graphics pens. This was the scanned into Photoshop for some reworking and tidying up. I wasn't sure whether I should go with a stronger colour palette but settled on a very subtle simple touch of colour to emphasise the colour work and harmonise with the femininity of the pice. This is really my first finished worked up piece. I learnt  a lot from the process about my personal working style and what I need to improve on next time.