There seem to be two camps in the textile art world - those who believe that they're being "good" when they refrain from adding to their stash of threads and fabrics and those who unabashedly collect whatever moves them. I am definitely in the latter camp. For me, limiting my stash directly translates to limiting my creativity. So often, the process of going through my stash to collect fabrics for a new project takes my idea in a new direction or brings it to a new level.
Case in point, the vest I'm going to make for Peter Zimmerman to wear at the Winter Lights III reception on December 3. When I started considering this, I had in mind a hand-dyed, discharged and printed fabric from Mary Walters paired with something pretty neutral - and masculine - maybe black. When actually pulled out the black fabric I had in mind it seemed deadly dull to me, even when I tried to imagine it with the piecework I planned. So I kept digging through my fabric bins. I came up with this combination which I found much more inspiring.
Mary's fabric is in the center and I'm seeing it featured front and center, but in a relatively small amount. The heavily textured fabric on the left will be the main fabric and the "michi kanji" fabric on the right will be the lining. With this selection, I'm excited to get going. I want to do something on the main body of the vest to echo the design in the center fabric. I just need to figure out what.
