leather project final piece #3 & 4

3rd and 4th ones are done :) the next is the last!

knit rotation finished

   And there's only one left—print!

I feel time pasts faster than the last year, and I'm really enjoying it. Needless to say the school work is becoming harder and harder, and getting good mark is difficult as well, but still I'm pretty sure about myself being able to make better stuff than 2 years before. I feel myself changing anyway!

shake it

My development samples of this week were especially related to fringes.  The key image is the one below, a photo of flower which I found in the botanical gardens. The idea of making fringes had been developed while I was working on technical samples.

These two designs are more successful in comparison with the other development samples, because I could relate my drawing to the contextual awareness. 

Tim Ryan S/S 2010

ready to cast on

   The main task of this week is drawing more knit-related design and making development samples alternatively. I've been enjoying this process so far, although I found it difficult as well.

   On Monday, I had the last tutorial before hand-in day, and I was made to be aware of quite a lot of things which should be revised. One of two major parts is contextual awareness, and another is about my kitted samples. For contextual awareness, I've got information from varied sources where is too far from the context. Although it is still inspiring, what I need to get is knitted design rather than the others which is linked to my primary idea of design. About my knitted samples, Leigh suggested that I could make smaller samples so that I could try more different patterns instead of spending time on only few.
   Two things above are fundamental issue of my working style, so I really need to improve them one by one, bit by bit. As the first step, today I took my old drawings down, and pinned contextual images on instead, then now I feel my work desk is become more comfortable space to work between drawings, contextual awareness and knitted samples.

There's a couple of my development samples.

by accident...or by chance?

   I've enjoyed making technical samples over the last week. Especially making lacy patterns was interesting for me, so I did ladder stitch and hole stitch a lot. When I was doing ladder stitch, I somehow did it wrong and made loose stitches by accident. It was definitely accident but I liked it to be honest.     

  After a while, when I started making developed samples I felt like to make the loose stitches again, but it was very difficult to do something in purpose which I did once by accident. Finally I found out how to make them, then decided to apply for design of one of my developed samples.

  The photo below is my developed sample's sample. I'm thinking of making it in other several colours.

a mum of wool is a shorn sheep

   There are few photos of my knitted samples which I've done in the last week. 

I didn't expect that I would do such a lot of handwork together with the knitting machine before getting into the knit group. Because of it, I felt it's weird when my friend said that she was knitting 'by hand' although she's actually using a knitting 'machine'. Now I got what she meant, and I also agree with her in that way. 

   Those knitted fabric below are showing lacy patterns, but it is still in progress—they  need to be washed. The main purpose of washing fabric is removing oil inside of yarn, and making the stitches tighter as the woolen yarns shrink well. 

   A funny thing is, my tutor also told me that the fabric would smell and feel better by washing them with laundry powder.

Tutor: well, now your samples smell of a sheep yeah? (he sniff one of my samples)

Me: yes. (I sniff another)

Tutor: They'll smell and feel nicer after you wash them! (he sniff&crumple it with a smile on his face)

I doubt somebody who looked at us by chance might wonder what was going on between our conversation :)

knit workshop has started

So excited!

the height which I want to reach after 3 years

The degree show has begun!

End of Year Exhibition

was really nice. It was good to see other courses' projects as I didn't see them while I was doing mine. 

There're photos of the exhibition and schoolmates' pieces which I especially liked including a couple of images from their sketchbooks.

To watch someone's sketchbook is very interesting because I feel like I'm looking into his/her head, and I can know how their ideas have come up with and developed. I saw many people have done amazing work, and am so happy to be in the same school and the same year with them.