From thought to fruition - or how I create.

First of all, apologies for it being so long since I last posted.

How do I decide what am I going to make?


The answer to this depends on why I'm making something. If it is for a present, this can be more straightforward as I usually know exactly what I'm going to make, either because I've had a request (for example, my sister asked for a brooch cushion for Christmas) or I've decided that a certain piece of fabric would be great for a cushion, lingerie bag, scented heart etc for so and so.

Some of my fabric stash

If I'm making something for Elsie May and Bertha, so not creating with a single person in mind being and faced with a pile of fabric, my mind usually goes one of two ways; either I have loads of ideas or one big blank.

Some of my 'house' books

Both come with their own problems. If I have too many ideas at once, if I'm not careful, I can end up with lots of projects started and none finished.. When this happens I have to be strong with myself, decide what I'm going to do, cut them out and don't do anything else until they've passed the loaded onto the website finishing line.

Some of my vintage Japanese fabric.

When my mind is blank I dive into my books, magazines, notepads and 'idea' folders for inspiration. This in itself is a great way to spend your time. I do this with one of my notebooks at my side ready for notes and sketches that arise from what I see. I don't want to copy (nor are allowed to commercially for that matter - it's different if you're making something just for yourself) anyone else's ideas, but quite often seeing something on a page sparks something in the little grey cells and away I go. This could range from colour combinations in a pile of cushions, or tiny motif on a carpet or fabric. It's all grist to the mill. It's like feeding in a lot of data into a computer and it coming out with the answer at the end.

Brooch cushions awaiting completion.

For my next set of cushion covers I've decided on using patchwork. Will report on my progress via Twitter @emandblo and post the full story in my next post.

TTFN
Louise