Playing

I have been playing at making fabric. I confess that I have exceeded my 15 minutes although I really don't spend big chunks of time doing this. I keep going back to it throughout the day. If I can figure out how to keep all the scraps controlled as I work I can leave this out almost all the time. If I can use this as my frustration buster, instead of heading for the refrigerator, it will be a big plus or maybe I should say a big minus (pounds that is).These are my two work tables right now and I really don't work well with everything jumbled up together. I do have a plan to get this under control but I had to play a little first to understand how I want to approach this.

On the left is what I had this morning when I started. and on the right is where it is after playing awhile.













  I read through Victoria's book and all her exercises and pointers and I have learned a few things that were only learned by doing.

1. If I am going to cut up the fabric that I make, I will need to use slightly larger pieces so I will not have a lot of bulk in the seams especially at the corners.

2. Those small scraps can best be put to use in blocks that will only be trimmed to size.

3. I don't want to use fussy cut motifs unless I am making smaller pieces that will be trimmed individually. I don't want to be fussy cutting made fabric with a motif that I don't want to cut through.

4. I might want to foundation piece some specific shapes like triangles and hexagons in order to avoid having seams or narrow pieces right on the edge.

5. Many things I already know about sewing and quilting and about my own preferences and way of working apply to making fabric.

It is my usual habit to have what I am working on up on the wall; as I walked past it struck me that it was kind of shaped like a house. Why not add a couple of strips for a roof and trim off that part on the upper left. I  can layer it and turn it pillow case style. I had started with some scraps that I would not want to cut through and they kind of look like people on the second floor. I can use this whole piece as my first project and have a start on another piece of made fabric with that section I cut away.

 I think know this is going to be fun.