I have just finished reading a recent article by TextileArtist.org about using sampling as a crucial, creative process in textiles for pushing the boundaries, to play, to create and to explore. I was really struck by this article as it talked about how it can feel quite scary and overwhelming to jump straight in with making a whole textile piece straight away (don’t get me wrong, if you can do this then that is AWESOME and keep going!). There are 2 ways to respond to that anxiety, you can either let it dictate what you do next and therefore not create, or you can start making something which is doable, small and fun. Sampling typically works on a much smaller scale so if you try something and it doesn’t work then you haven’t lost lots of time or resources. You can also then use those small samples that haven’t worked out how you wanted them to in your mind’s eye, to then start exploring and creating in a different direction next time.Straight away my mind jumped to the #fussycuttingsewalong (just search for that hashtag on Instagram to see som of the blocks being made by people from all around the world). I’ve never thought of the sewalong as a sampling process before but this article really made me reflect on its role in the creative process for me. We make 1 block each week rather than a whole quilt (although people can absolutely sew them together into a quilt!), no 2 weeks are the same (in terms of theme + fussy-cutting style combos), if a week doesn’t work out how you planned then it is forgotten about by the following Monday as we start making for a new theme, and these fussy cutting samples enable us to develop, play, explore and strengthen our own style and tastes. These weekly blocks are achievable and doable around our everyday lives as a way of sampling and stretching our fussy cutting wings!For example, I made this block as a pattern matched seaside scene. If I am completely honest, I really wasn’t happy with it because all I could see were the flaws, the wonky angles, the lines that didn’t match up.
If I hadn’t made it, then I just wouldn’t have known that it is a process I a not comfortable with (despite wanting to be) and that I need to keep playing with this process. Furthermore, if I’d jumped straight in with pattern matching as a whole quilt, especially being the perfectionist that I am, I would be feeling really gutted with using my time and energy to make something that didn’t work out how I’d plannned. Viewing this block as part of my fussy cutting sampling process means that I can acknowledge that this is only a 2″ hexagon and it is only one part of my exploration of fussy cutting using 6-point diamonds for 2019.
Once it is added to, and becomes part of, my #fussycuttingsewalong quilt which is made up of all of my fussy cutting blocks, it is just acts as a representation of another week of sampling fussy cutting styles/themes/prompts with 6-point diamonds.