Back before Christmas I mordanted three test pieces for Lisa's summer cloth. One has a fragment of the proposed pattern drawn on with marker and then painted with fabric paint and waxed, one
has the drawing without the paint, and then waxed, and the third is just the pattern drawn on with wax. They have been waiting in the fridge for me to clear a space to work on them, and finally I have. Today I took them out and painted over them all with the same concentration of myrobalan, which gives a buttery yellow. When it has had a chance to soak in (three days or so), I'll dip them in indigo and then remove the wax and see what survivies.
In the evenings I have been sewing my blue and black squares into nine-patches as a way to ease myself into the project prompted by Jude's blog. Since she has put her tutorials back onto her blog I have been watching two or three posts a day and marveling at the ease with which she amalgamates her vast scrap collection into compelling "stories", using the fabric like paint. (Hazel is also a master combiner....check out the pink ground on her latest.) Watching Jude and then actually taking up fabric scraps in my hands with the intention of making them into a picture reminds me of how literal I am. When I think back over what I have made I see that I always want to make my point clear. My method of working usually requires a fairly detailed plan and pre-made pattern (see Lisa' summer). My stuff definitely evolves as it forms, but always the idea comes first and I judge my success by how well that idea comes through. I think being a designer drilled into me the necessity of clear communication, but I see Jude communicating clearly but much more organically and I admire that. I will not be able to replicate her delicacy because I am not her and I am working with much heavier, stodgier material, but I am trying to imitate her more open way of working, always wishing for the depth of feeling she is so good at expressing. Whether I will be able to maintain my enthusiasm in the face of the discomfort of this new path remains to be seen.