What to do with first efforts?

Mmeindia wrote:

What do you all do with your first efforts in a particular craft or style? I
suppose I could give them as gifts (some of my first needlepoints are hanging
in my relatives' houses and they are treasured, though I'm way beyond them in
skill now), or keep them around in a box as a reminder of how far I've come,
but I'm wondering how other people handle this.

I have held onto several of my very early pieces. They're not necessarily quite
finished, and they're certainly not good, but I do like to look back at what I've
done. (The retro factor is kind of fun, too. Crewel from the mid-70's is something
else.) I've seen more than one EGA chapter have a show where members displayed
both their first (or earliest available) piece and their most recent.

Karen E.
--
_______________________________________
"Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example"
Mark Twain, 'Puddn'head Wilson'

Hi India

Your no different than any other artist!

In addition, artist's go through periods of changes in their styles
and tastes.
Sometimes for the better, sometimes as experimentation, and sometimes
simply because of old age.

All of my completed works, barring only a select few, were given as
gifts to the person they were made for or to someone who truly liked
them. None are perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But in
most cases, they are nicer than what the new owner would ever attempt.

I'm working on a piece right now that I though I would be able to
finish in a year. Well, it's almost two years and I'm still at it!
And I'm not doing other things in between, other than setting it aside
temporarily (for about 3 months) while I make a long distance move to
a new state and preparing a home there. On occasion I have
sidetracked to help the frau with one of her stitching projects in an
area that was giving her trouble.

Each time I stitch, I am thinking of improvements to incorporate into
the next piece. Sometimes these improvements will take longer to
implement, but the finished piece will be much better for it.

Although I don't have any of my early stitchwork, on occasion items
will appear in photographs taken at others homes and bring back fond
memories of the time when doing those pieces.

As far as drawing type art. I followed the 'drawing on the right side
of the brain' course, and have kept every single lesson throughout the
book. I had always wanted to be able to draw. My father even hired
Jon Gnagy for a month to teach me. But it was all to no avail.
Then I ran across that book, did everything they said, and now I can
draw, very slowly, but I am pleased with what I can draw. Even if it
does take a coons age plus a decade or two to draw a simple object.
The point is, I can do it, finally!

TTUL
Gary

This is the definitive answer India - particularly the response to
'neat backs' - I have asked many real experts in my time, and they
all said the same, no rats nests acceptable, but apart from that if it
is not going to be seen, you are too anal if this is the beginning and
end.

Sheena

PS Dianne - we are just going to have to keep pushing and pushing
about those damn 'neat backs' !

I'm just going to add one comment about neat backs. I do needlework for my
own pleasure, so I do not worry overmuch about the back. That's not to say I
don't have pride in a job well done, but I just attempt, but don't sweat it.
My cross stitch buddy on the other hand has beautiful backs. But she has a
technique for doing it, and I don't believe it adds any time or stress to
her hobby. It has more to do with her personality and method of work. So
while I agree, that neat backs are the be all and end all, but I don't think
that people do so always do it just to be superior. Some of them do it
because it adds pleasure for them. Does this make sense or am just talking
in circles?

Rachel

India,

I think counted thread embroidery seems to attract people who have very
perfectionist tendencies, so you have plenty of "kindred spirits" in this
group!

It used to bother me when a project did not turn out "perfectly" and a lot
of times I would frog work that probably others would have left. I always
frogged if I had followed the pattern wrong and sometimes even if I didn't
like the way the stitches were done. I also have abandoned work if I
thought I could have done better.

Now, I try to do the project as well as I am able at the time and know that
the next project will be better because each project teaches you something
you didn't know before.

If I were you, I would hang the pieces. You probably liked the look of the
project or you wouldn't have chosen it, and over time, the little errors
will be less bothersome to you. And believe me, people who come to your
home, will never ever know unless you tell them. Staying quiet about the
glitches is always hard though!

This was a great post...will be following all of the answers with interest.
Allie Orange
Tallahassee, FL


"Mmeindia" wrote in message
...
Hi, I am a longtime lurker/infrequent poster here on RCTN. I mostly do
painted
canvas needlepoint, and though I have branched out into using specialty
threads
and doing specialty stitches, I've become a little bit bored with it
lately,
probably because I just finished a monster piece that took me 10 months
and I'm
sick of looking it at. I did just start a new canvas, as posted
elsewhere, but
I am also taking Dianne's advice to expand my horizons to heart.

I have periodically started counted cross stitch projects and thrown them
away
in frustration, but I finally realized that (a) I was working on projects
that
were too hard for my skill level and (b) it doesn't always make sense to
start
in the middle of the chart. Now that I've picked a more appropriate
project
and learned I can start it where I need to, I'm having more success.

My problem is this-- I'm a total perfectionist. I'm working on the piece
and
intend to finish it for the learning experience, but it's not up to my
standards as a needlepointer, so I'm afraid I won't want to hang it when
I'm
done. I also recently found some needlepoint canvases that I did at the
start
of my learning to needlepoint, and though there are months of effort in
them,
they are not up to my current standards. (I remember when I first started
stitching and my favorite curmudeonly shop owner cracked me up by saying,
"A
real person keeps the back of her work neat." Apparently I have finally
made
it to "real person" status, at least with needlepoint.)

What do you all do with your first efforts in a particular craft or style?
I
suppose I could give them as gifts (some of my first needlepoints are
hanging
in my relatives' houses and they are treasured, though I'm way beyond them
in
skill now), or keep them around in a box as a reminder of how far I've
come,
but I'm wondering how other people handle this.

India

WIPs: Hummingbird needlepoint canvas; Remember the Ladies Kreinik
Milkpaint
Series "Enough Is As A Feast"; striped quilt needlepoint canvas.

Rachel Janzen wrote:
"I'm just going to add one comment about neat backs. I do needlework
for my own pleasure, so I do not worry overmuch about the back. That's
not to say I don't have pride in a job well done, but I just attempt,
but don't sweat it.

"My cross stitch buddy on the other hand has beautiful backs. But she
has a technique for doing it, and I don't believe it adds any time or
stress to her hobby. It has more to do with her personality and method
of work. So while I agree, that neat backs are the be all and end all,
but I don't think that people do so always do it just to be superior.
Some of them do it because it adds pleasure for them. Does this make
sense or am just talking in circles?"


It makes perfect sense and I don't disagree. My backs are generally
very neat, tidy, and sometimes the uninitiated can't discern readily
from the front. It only takes a second or two.

I didn't mean to come off so strong. It's just that I've seen some who
read posts about neat backs and get so timid they stop embroidering.
So, I was mainly aiming at that. Also aiming at those judges in juried
shows that have anal personalities (or are looking for an excuse for
disqualifying someone) and judge according to backs.

You put perspective to my post. Thanks!
Dianne

I'm a new needlepointer, embarking on what I think of as my first "real"
project. I've done several small (6 x 6) things for learning - and even
stooped to using cheap acrylic knitting yarn. It's not that hard to take
apart into strands, and it's been a help in getting the feel of tension,
and coverage, and other things without spending an arm and a leg.

I'm an "old" crocheter, and an intermediate knitter, so I know the old
"first effort" thing. I had to tell my husband to quit wearing the first
sweater I made him. I was wincing every time I saw it!

Having that background, I approached needlepoint accepting that I wouldn't
make anything worth keeping at first. So the fact that one of my learner
projects turned out nicely is gravy!

...no rats nests acceptable, but apart from that if it
is not going to be seen, you are too anal if this is the beginning and
end.

I just joined this NG today, and I'm glad to read this thread! I was
beginning to get a bit anal about those backs.

Some of them do it
because it adds pleasure for them. Does this make sense or am just talking
in circles?

I must say I do like the nice basketweave back, but it's nice to know that
I'm not "bad" because you can see where my ends are buried.

So what about the spots on my backs where I can see a stitch or so's worth
of the canvas? Are they OK, or am I doing something wrong?

Some of them result from my habit of burying my thread to go back and fill
in a skipped stitch...

Ruthie

--
alowan("a" in a circle)earthlink(small round thing)net

In article ,
am (Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.) writes:

As far as drawing type art. I followed the 'drawing on the right side
of the brain' course, and have kept every single lesson throughout the
book. I had always wanted to be able to draw. My father even hired
Jon Gnagy for a month to teach me. But it was all to no avail.
Then I ran across that book, did everything they said, and now I can
draw, very slowly, but I am pleased with what I can draw. Even if it
does take a coons age plus a decade or two to draw a simple object.
The point is, I can do it, finally!

Gary, I tried this course around 10 years ago and had astonishing success with
it. Congratulations on discovering it and putting it to good use!

India (I had the best luck with the upside-down drawing)

In article , Dianne Lewandowski
writes:

You are not a lousy embroiderer if your backs are not neat. That is a
mid-20th century phenomena and from masters that I have talked to,
nobody really knows how this got started. One-upmanship, I suspect.

Neat backs are only absolutely necessary if you will be "seeing" the
back, such as a napkin, towel, etc. And if you think this is "personal"
opinion, it's not. I just talked to the chair of the Judging
Certification program at EGA. I'm chairing a new program and discussed
this issue at length.

Dianne, thanks for some much-needed perspective on this. I didn't mean to
imply that the first efforts I was less than proud of were bad because the
backs weren't neat-- the particular pieces I was thinking of have problems on
the front (namely unintentionally split stitches, tiny bits of darker thread
showing through light colors, and "stripes" in my basketweave). However, I did
have the idea internalized that my best work wasn't so great because the backs
were messy. (I don't use knots and do know how to properly start and end a
thread but I have a very bad habit of "travelling"-- if it's 3/4 an
inch or less I do it, and then hate it when it's done.)

One thing that is personally important to me in needlework is "stretching"
myself: different techniques, different effects, and especially anything that
approaches design work, even if it's only changing colors to suit my own taste,
or doing my own stitch guides. (I have a friend who does needlework and thinks
it's sacrilege to change a design in any way and it drives me crazy.)

I think I need to remind myself that *for me*, if there are two pieces of equal
difficulty, the one with the neater back is better, but if there is one
challenging piece and one easy piece, the challenging piece "counts" for more
even if the back is messy. It is nice to see that there is "official"
justification for this.

I also appreciated your advice on trying new techniques on very small,
manageable projects. It is the perfect justification to join some of those
fabric-of-the-month and thread-of-the-month clubs I've been looking at lately.


Thanks to everyone for some wonderful suggestions on what to do with these
pieces.

India