I have been getting a bit carried away with doodling this week. But it has yielded some fabulous results.
I thought I would share some of them with you - just for fun. And this is how they turned out. Im not sure about the mid air 'duck' - he needs some legs I think! Although they look quite striking in black and white, I think they look even better with some colour added.
Why not have a try?
doodle........................ stitch.................................paint!
Thanks for reading!
Doodling v Drawing Let's just clear one thing up. Doodling is not the same thing as formally drawing. A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. So, if I sit down and focus on just drawing, then that is a drawing. To be a doodle I am drawing, but not really thinking about it. Doodling has a bad reputation Now - when I was in school, doodling was severely frowned upon as being a waste of time , or even worse, proof that you were not concentrating. How wrong they were!!! Recent studies by Professor Jackie Andrade, of the School of Psychology at the University of Plymouth have come to my rescue and give scientific proof (obviously the best kind) that doodling is NOT the product of a wandering mind, but, in fact, the complete opposite! Doodling is not my mind 'daydreaming' but rather a way to force it to stay focussed on the present. In fact, much like chocolate and red wine, doodling has benefits. Who knew?
So what, exactly, are these benefits?
Doodles and Quilting
Doodle Birds Which brings me on to my latest project: Doodle Birds. I am actually revisiting a technique which I tried out about 5 years ago, early on in my ventures into Free Motion Quilting. I decided I wanted to get better at FMQ - and there is nothing like a bit of practice to see improvements. It all began with a doodled bird.................... and this is where I have ended up. It takes time and patience to create a Doodle Bird, but it has improved my FMQ enormously. If you think you would like improve your FMQ then why not give one a try? I will be teaching a workshop at Midsomer Quilting in Somerset on 14th November, but why wait? Get out a pen and some scrap paper, phone a friend and go for it! What have you got to lose?
Here are some pictures of the great work in progress.
The techniques we used included:
fused raw edge applique using soluble thread machine trapunto free motion quilting layering transparent fabrics cutting away fabrics to reveal lower layers creating a net from thick thread The workshop was quite intensive, and we didn't manage to complete the whole quilt in a day, as I had hoped. But everyone had a great time, and people who had never stitched free motion quilting before all had great success in stitching the scales onto their fish. It is always such a pleasure to see people learn something new.
Thanks so much for looking!
Claire
Over the past few weeks I have met so many very nice and talented people, some just starting out with textiles and quilting, others who have been stitching for years. Regrettably, I was not able to chat for long to all of them, but every single person I spoke to was interesting and for that reason alone, I had a fantastic exhibition at MQ.
As you can probably imagine - I do not have a lot in the way of quilting work I can share with you this week, but what I do want to share is the work of some of the visitors who came who do have an online presence. Not everybody wants to put their work on show, for personal or professional reasons - so I have included the work of some of the visitors - but I can assure you, everything I saw was fabulous. So, when you have an hour to spare (!!) make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, and settle down and have a look at the websites of some of the visitors. Click on the pictures and follow the links.
Thanks for looking.
Julie was extremely generous in offering her skills and time when I was writing my book. She created her own version of the 'Sardine Run' quilt, using my written instructions - making sure it all worked out.
Her quilt is almost finished and I am hoping she will allow me to show it at the workshops on the 16th and 17th here at MQ. (There are just a few spaces still available if you would like to attend.)
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