Planning

A discussion came up about how projects are planned.  I’ve always found it interesting how artist find their way from the initial moment of inspiration to the completed piece.  Each person develops their own process so I though I would share mine here.

As for design planning – When I get an idea for a design, I collect a whole series of images from books and from image files on the web. Once I find a picture or series of pictures that feel like I want things to look, I work up the design in PCStitch since I do a lot of cross stitch and petit point. I work with several images until I get the feel of what I want into the space I have set up and go from there setting up the colors and borders. But the colors on the computer screen are never quite the same as ones in real life under real light, so the next step is getting out my floss boxes and sitting by a sunny window to fiddle with the colors until they are all right with the piece and each other.

Its the nature of the project that determines what kind of fabric I use. If I am making pin cushions or smalls, I favor cotton floss on Aida cloth or hardanger fabric for its tight structure, washability and durability. I expect smalls to get a lot of use and wear and I want them washable after life in the work box. Linen, especially evenweave linen doesn’t have the firm feel I like and tends to get small pulls in the weave after a while. But if I am doing samplers, bell pulls or similar pieces that don’t get a lot of hand wear, linen is so lovely and agreeable and partners so well with silks. So its finding a balance with materials and purpose.

So I guess for me planning a project is a juggling and balancing act bringing images, fabrics and fibers into agreement with each other all before I sit down to stitch. But the true test of a design or project comes in the working. Sometimes no matter how careful you are with planning it doesn’t come out like you want it in the execution. The last stage of a project is not being afraid to take something out if it doesn’t work.