Yesterday night’s program went off better than I expected! There was a big turnout, people seemed to enjoy it, and a couple people came up to me afterwards and said this was the best program they’d seen in awhile. I talked about three things: (1) common fears around creativity/how to address them, (2) the creative process, and (3) my design process for the project currently in process, i.e. the Handwoven garment contest you’ve been reading about 🙂 . Two of my favorite topics were “The importance of incompetence” and “Fail faster”. I’m hoping to turn those into blog posts in the near future, because I think they’re vital parts of the creative process.
Anyway, I met up with Sharon for dinner, and showed her my samples/a few more patterns I’d purchased. We decided to switch patterns to this one, “A Flair Affair” by the folks at CNT pattern:
I’m planning to do the tunic on the left (click on the photo if you want a bigger view, it’s hard to make out in the smaller version).
We picked this pattern because we both thought it would be really interesting if we made the stripes run parallel to the slanted edge on the top part of the front, and vertically on the bottom part of the front. That would add a great deal of visual interest. It would also require taking the fabric off-grain, but Sharon thinks she can make that work. I’ll be interested in seeing how she does it.
We’re going to use 100% silk. The bonus there is that I already have gobs of silk yarn, so I won’t have to buy anything or wait for shipping. (Sharon suggested bamboo, but trying bamboo – or other fibers – would cost me an extra week or two to do the samples, plus I’d have to buy more yarn, so I don’t think we’ll go there.)
So now I am sewing frantically, as I told Sharon I’d come over to her place on Sunday with the first muslin! I cut out all the pieces this morning and am hoping to finish sewing them tonight or tomorrow morning. Then, on Saturday, I’ll start winding the warp for the yardage. I’m planning to make this warp 12 yards long – long enough to cut all the pieces, plus an extra 2-3 yards of “safety factor”. I figure that if I don’t make any mistakes, my safety factor can become a shawl. Which would be great, because I’d like to get a shawl in this fabric – I think it’s really pretty.
Cool pattern! I’m delighted to hear your program went well. I think a lot about fear and art and how in adulthood we tend to lose that exuberant willingness to throw yourself into something completely beyond your skills and just try. Is it any wonder that kids learn stuff faster? My current musings have been on “fear of finishing” the reluctance to take the last steps necessary to end the project.