Thursday, December 11, 2008

USING SAMPLES

Posted by Peg in South Carolina

Dave’s  idea of hanging yardage/scarves on a wall for display has been a great inspiration for me.  He used hooks that he screwed into the wall onto which the hanging rod could be laid.  Not willing to put needless holes into our walls, I went to the store and bought a pair of over-the-door hangers.  Hanging my samples from them has worked like a charm.

But what is really good about them, is that they are a hung on a door that I constantly pass through.  Now I find myself stopping and looking from time to time.  Right now my focus goes to the part of the sample that is the impetus for the shawl I plan to weave. 

Sample to use for next piece Today as I stood and stared at that part of the sample (photo to the left), ideas started coming into focus just a bit.  I realized that I was looking at motifs—some primary, some secondary.  Finally I couldn’t abide standing and looking any more.  I grabbed the sampler off the hanger and took it to the computer.  I brought up the notes I had started for the shawl and began typing away ideas.

Ideas are starting to come. Many will be discarded almost immediately.  Many will spur on more ideas.  And so my excitement grows.  Thank you, Dave.

Related Posts:
   Resisting Doing the Work
   Crackle Shawl/Art Piece


"Using Samples" was written by Margaret Carpenter for Talking about Weaving and was originally posted on December 11, 2008. © 2008 Margaret Carpenter aka Peg in South Carolina

4 comments:

Donatella said...

I think hanging your samples is a fantastic idea and a great way to get new ideas about what's coming next - but sometimes samples are just so nice they deserve to be hung on a wall only for the sake of enjoying them!

Peg in South Carolina said...

Hi Donatella, thanks for dropping by and posting.

Dorothy said...

I hang samples on the back of my loom as I walk past it several times a day and see the samples in different lights and from different angles.

I've had the same experience you describe of just suddenly seeing something different.

I think that if you sit down and look at the sample you miss things that you can find when just passing by and glancing at at from time to time.

Peg in South Carolina said...

Dorothy, thank you for telling me what you do and how it works for you.