Appreciating Design!

One of my favourite occupations is to admire creativity - whether it be in the form of words (written or spoken), pictures (2 and 3D), sounds, textures, aromas or tastes!
I love catching up with blogs, facebook statuses, on-line crafty shops, and being antisocial with a good book!  I am intrigued by knitting and crochet patterns, inspired by tutorials, calmed by photos, delighted by illustrations, and prompted to think by musings...
I know how much time, dedication and thought is put into designing each and every  post, project pattern, perambulation, piece and product..

I have mentioned before that I have a scientific background, 

however, I might not have said out loud that my early attempts at  creativity were frustrated by the finished article not bearing a suitable resemblance to the fabulous image in my head! 

I know I have confessed to wanting to run before I can walk... 

and have been thinking about all of this a lot recently... in particular the fact that in the past I seem to skip the experimental or design part of a project entirely, in a sprint to finish, and consequently land at a less than satisfying final product.

I was enabled to appreciate design earlier in the year when I made a birthday cake - easy peasy..round cake, white icing and a green X  - sorted! 

It wasn't until I looked closely at the iconic logo that it is so much more than a green X on white! (Maybe I was subconsciously avoiding the white box that generates so many emotions and gobbles so much time!) 

I'm sure the multi-talented design team that produced the logo would have been disappointed in my dismissive initial impression, but I hope to rectify that by saying how much more I appreciate their work now that I have studied it carefully!

The silvery wool top was great to needlefelt with  - I'm not sure what it was as it came in a bag of mixed fibres from Sara's Texture Crafts....

It was a well received birthday card!

On another designer subject...the process of wet felting is liberating and I have been really pleased with all of my pieces so far, especially as there is still an element of surprise in the finished product.  Some fibres disappear when wet and slowly reveal themselves as they dry, some move or wriggle or wiggle and others change shape as they are felted. Colours blend and different tones appear depending on neighbouring hues.
I have been having fun designing and experimenting; choosing colours, techniques and textures for a project a friend has requested..this week she's hopefully going to see some of the ideas I have so far..and maybe I'll have the confidence to reveal them here too! I am hoping that the element of surprise will be reduced slightly in the finished piece..as I have another one of those fabulous pictures in my head....

In a bid to encourage my stages of  design-ability  (and to aid my sieve like memory) I do now have a bulging sketch book full of scribbles, hastily jotted notes of quantities, colours, things to improve and what worked well, and lists of what went where so the same item is not given to the same person twice!

Speaking of designers...Jenny over at love and peas* designs the most amazing mixed media and fabric creations...she is currently running a giveaway for a custom made embroidery...if you hurry you might catch it!

I'm off to appreciate some more designs...thawing footprints in the snow and snowpeople!
and later this week I'm going to (get) Lost in Lace at BMAG....