Knitting Samples Inspired By Sketchbook Work

As it is the Christmas Holidays and I have got such a long time off uni - The homework I have been set is actually enjoyable. For my technical file/workshops which I am currently on the knit rotation - Which I thought I would strongly hate but it turns out I love doing a spot of knitting in front of the tv. I have been asked to create some knitting samples which are inspired by the textures and colours from work in my sketchbook.

This sample above is inspired by the picture underneath it - It is my final design from my commercial designer project. The effect that was added to the leaf created an almost ink splat effect and left a lot of white space with pops of colours. The texture is almost bumpy and it looks tactile even though it is a flat design - I tried to take all these points into consideration when creating this knit sample. Using the same colour theme, I dropped stitches to create a 'hole' effect to show the white bits on the design, I used different knit stitches and also re-stitched into my sample. Even though it felt so un-natural dropping stitches it has turned into my favourite sample as it looks so experimental and fun, However it is not something I could recreate again exact. 

 The sample above is the first sample I have ever done with more than one colour. Sticking with the colour scheme from the sketchbook page I took inspiration from I tried to create movement and texture by experimenting with knit and purl stitch. I also tried to blend out the colours to make the change from one colour to the next not as harsh.

The sample above is a simple yet very colourful and complimentive sample. The colours look amazing together and it was inspired by a quick task I did blending pastels together. I tried to blend the colours and I think it worked well. I used all purl stitch.

If you have any experimental ideas for my knit samples please comment below!

The Blood Bag Project Workshop With Leigh Bowser

A few day's ago I wrote a post on Leigh Bowsers project called The Blood Bag Project. You can find that post by clicking here. 

Today I did a workshop at university with Leigh Bowser. Firstly we sat and watched Leigh give a presentation about her project. Although I had already researched it quite a lot I was amazed by how many people from all around the world had taken part in this socially engaged project! I then made my own blood bag to be part of the project which you can see in the picture above.

To make your own blood bag you can download the template off The Blood Bag website which is linked below. I was so happy to be a part of this project and the story behind it! 

Its amazing to see craft and textiles having such a world wide effect on people.

The Blood Bag Project Website - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Blog - Click Here

The Blood Bag Project Facebook Page - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Blog - Click Here

Leigh Bowser's Website - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Portfolio - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Facebook - Click Here

Leigh Bowsers Etsy Shop - Click Here

Lise Bjørne Lennert - Desconocida Unknown Ukjent | Workshop

'A global mass collaboration, protesting continuing murders of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. 6200 hand embroidered nametags (by January 2013). Each 2 x 8 cm, stitched by 4500 individuals in 375 globally arranged workshops.

Desconocida Unknown Ukjent is an international art project utilizing a mass collaboration, stitching nametags to protest the continuing murder of women in Ciudad Juaréz, Mexico and in remembrance of similar crimes worldwide.

Ciudad Juaréz:

Since 1993, more than 1500 women have been brutally murdered, and hundreds disappeared in Ciudad Juaréz. Explanations for the murders range from the use of women as prizes for drug cartels, domestic violence, and so-called sexual violence tourism. Many of the victims worked in the numerous sweat shops in Juaréz and the name tags inside their dust coats were often used to identify the decomposed bodies. The Mexican Government has done nothing that has improved the situation, solved cases or prevented new from happening.

I heard about the situation in Ciudad Juaréz for the first time in 2000 when I was living in Houston, Texas. At the end of 2005, the Station Museum of Contemporary Art in Houston, a museum that is dedicated to a political and social agenda, invited me to create a work dedicated to the women in Juarez, for the exhibition, Frontera 450.

At the time, I was again living in Norway and my immediate thought was to use the physical distance as a starting point for my contribution. I wanted to find a way to spread awareness about the horror happening in Ciudad Juaréz, and simultaneously enable a feeling of connection. In essence, abuse and murder of women are about us. It is something that has happened and continues to happen in every global society.' (http://www.lisebjorne.com/art_projects/desconocida-unknown-ukjent/)

Today I took part in a workshop, To contribute to Lise Bjørne Lennerts Unknown project. I watched a small clip of the video for this project and it was so upsetting! I can't believe the government is not doing anything about all these women going missing and being murdered, It is like it is the norm. Which is not ok! I contributed to this project by picking out a name of a women that has been a victim to sew onto a little strip of fabric. I also did the same thing again but with the word 'unknown' for all the body's that have been found with no name. The exhibitions that happen all over the world are these little strips of paper with names on or 'unknown' on just pinned to a wall, There are so so so many of them! She often go's to each of her exhibitions to stand on the stage and scream in pain so show people how much it hurt's! 

We gathered around as a class and started to sew into our little strips of fabric, doing this together sparked conversation of the project as well as other things. It is really quite clever how the project has been developed, It is quite a slow process to sew, Giving you time to think about what you are doing and why you are doing it.

I feel really happy to be involve in this socially engaged project, I think using craft to change something is really amazing! 

Go check out Lise's website: Click Here!

Spread the word of this amazing project and lets make some changes!

Free Machine Embroidery

During the first year of the course I am studying, You do workshops in rotation through out the year. Then you chose which to specialise in for your second year. I am currently doing the embroidery workshop which I am throughly enjoying as I love doing messy and layered stitching  mostly free machining, So I decided I would share with you a couple of samples I have created in my own time just experimenting with colour, stitch length and type. 

Setting my stitch to straight stitch and putting the thickness of the stitch quite low, I got my fabric and embroidery hoop ready. To do free machine embroidery you MUST have an embroidery hoop, They are not at all expensive and you simply cannot free machine without it. This is because the embroidery hoop creates tension on your material which allows the needle to have more control. To free machine you also need to take the foot off your machine and put down the teeth of your machine, Their is often a button/switch under neath or at the back of the machine to do this. I had pink thread in my bobbin and blue on my spool. I linked it into my most recent work which was based on colourful nature. I began by free machining a flower, I tried to layer it up a lot and make it quite sketchy and messy!

I then changed the colours and did a smaller flower, A little more messy. In green and pink.

The back of the second flower I created, I though it looked better than the front!

I then did a second sample focusing on leafs.

For this sample I set my stitch to zig zag and set my stitch length to a higher setting just to play around and experiment. I found that with these settings I was unable to create a 'messy' looking effect however it did look quite 3D. I used yellow and orange for this first leaf. I then added a few other leaf's at the side of this sample and put the settings back to the original straight stitch and layered it up to create a more sketchy effect.

I really love the colour's on this sample. They really compliment each other. 

Whilst examining my work I realised how amazing it looked when put up towards a light. As the fabric is quite sheer you can see the shadow of the thread at the back of the fabric and it gives a really nice effect.

I was in such a motivated good mood to get lot's of samples done however when I started my next sample my needle decided to snap and I don't have any to replace it, However I will buy some more and do some more sample's and show you guys as I would like to incorporate different materials into it to make it more interesting!

String Art - Memory Drawing

I am into my new professional practice rotation now and I will be learning all about contemporary practitioner's. My first lesson was rather different than my first lesson of commercial designer. We was told to meet up at university then we would be taken somewhere, That place turned out to be the local shopping market called the packhorse centre in Huddersfield. We will be working in there most wednesday's. The task set for this lesson was memory drawing - with string! 

I was put into a group of 6 other peers and we went outside to the square and looked at different view's and we all had to memorise one of the views to then go back upstairs into the area in the shopping markets to draw it out in string.

The area we decided to draw was the entrance to the shopping market's; It was the packhorse centre sign and christmas lights underneath it. 

We started by recreating the view on the wall, As a group we decided to take advantage of the column just a couple of meters from the wall we were drawing on and decided to bring out our string drawing off the wall. So from one angle you can see what the drawing is of and from others it looks completely abstract.

We also screwed up balls of masking tape and used yarn to hang them this way it looked like christmas baubles, We also twisted the hanging string to make it look like fairy lights!

I am really happy with how our drawing came out and I really enjoyed doing this activity.