How did you choose your shape/size?
After sticking with it for the whole year,
are you still satisfied with your choice?
Why or why not?
What suggestions do you have for new members joining the 2008 BJP regarding this important decision that must be made at the very start of the year? How will you choose your shape/size for 2008 now that you have a year's experience behind you?
Thanks for taking your time to comment! And congratulations to all those who are now finished (or finishing) with 12 pieces. Every day I check the member gallery on our website with eager anticipation of seeing more! To say they are awesome is such an understatement... words fail me...
Robin A.
13 comments:
For my part, I did a tiny test in May 2007 to see if I was up to the job, to find it was a little too small, so I decided to go for a postcard format.
Being a beginner, I was afraid to start big and not be able to follow through. I know that I have a tendancy to be very enthusiastic in the beginning and lose energy as time goes on. The first 3 months, were difficult. But after about 6 months, I found that this format was annoyingly small ; however it felt good because it meant I had grown in confidence and ambition, and that I was hanging on !
I must say that one of my pieces is much larger than the others, the January one, but it records a time when I stretched my dreams, so I think it is OK.
I am still thinking about the 2008 format, but I think I might go for spirit dolls - my first beading love - and, so my family tell me, the best I do with beads.
Or maybe I will use half of a felt square, as I have discovered felt thanks to Freebird, and found it very satisfying.
Hugs,
Hélène
Last June I chose my page size based on what I had thought would be the notebook binder I would use for all of them -- so my pages are 6x8 inches.
As a rule, I liked working in this page size but I must admit there were some months when I wished I had chosen a smaller size! As it is, I have changed my mind about using that binder and we will be displaying my pages in shallow shadow box frames instead.
Still mulling over what shape or size I will be doing for the 2008 BJP. Like Helene, my first love is dolls but knowing how much detail I would end up doing, there probably wouldn't be much hope of finishing twelve dolls on time . . .
Kathy V in NM
Working with a 4x6 size worked out pretty well for me. It's large enough to put a detailed scene like my swing, but not so large that it was overwhelming to encrust it, which I do most of the time. I probably will stick with that size unless I go to dolls. Isn't it odd how so many of us are considering that for next year?
Arline
The size I picked (finished 6inch circle) was great for the theme of memories that I used as it gave me room to decide month by month whatever but it was too big for putting down lots of beads so this coming year I am using a piece about 3 inches square. I plan to cover each one with beads so it will still be a lot to do- hopefully not too much as I don't want to worry (I know we shouldn't but that's what happens as the year winds down and you are behind) about getting behind.
My shape being mostly square is because I am going to join them all together in one piece at the end of the year.
I started out with six inch squares. At first the size was formidably large, but now it seems very doable in a month. I guess that shows growth. I knew I was going to do my own photos of flowers, and wanted to be able to get enough detail using size 11 beads (mostly). I am happy with that size for the 2007-08 BJP.
For the 2008-09 BJP, I am considering doing a puzzle of pieces that will all hook together in the end. (They will be approximately 4-1/2 inches "square"). That means that since I will be doing picot edges on all the edges, I will need to trim down the innies and outies on each puzzle piece so they will link without being too large or have too much space between. It will be interesting to see how this works out and if that is still my idea by September! LOL!
My size was chosen on the fact that I had a picture sitting in my journal & I needed something to trace for my class with Robin! :) Sometimes my 5x7 has felt huge, other times it has felt small. As this is my first contact with bead embroidery, I have been having a lot of fun experimenting with different things, colours, ideas.
I have decided what I'm going to do for 2008 BJP - or at least I think I have. I think I will do a sample to see if it will work. I want to do a 3-D piece working with colour. I have always struggled with colour and I would like to explore that issue a bit further.
My advice would be, for a beginner beader, don't go too large. Choose a theme that you have always loved or wanted to experiment with. Maybe not something you have been using in your work but something you constantly think about. This is a great place to bring those ideas out.
I knew that I wanted a theme, and when I thought about doing one for each month, the zodiac and the moons came to mind pretty much right away. Since I'm not a zodiac kind of a girl, I settled on the moons, which I figured would be perfect to make with my antique optical lenses.
I also thought a lot about size and orientation, since I wanted them to be an obvious uniform set. 6x4 was the perfect size to try a new style or stitch each month, but not to become a total time-hog.
For next year, I'm thinking about doing something wearable so that I can combine my loves.
As a beginner I also thought small I made my pages 4"x6" but as there are no BJP police I was able to get away with a couple being a 'bit' bigger.
Next year Ive decided to use half a felt square. Just a bit bigger than this year. My theme went out the window as I progressed but once I finished the journal pages for each it actually becomes clear.
Remember it does take time and you will have month when you find life will intereput your beading, but as I have only one and a half pages to go, it can be done.
How I arrived at my choice for page size/shape: It was a harmonic convergence of circumstances. I chose 5 by 5 (inches) because of a phrase used in communications - check out the Wiki on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_by_five
Sums it all up for me. Also, in my job at the bookstore, I always need an extra pocket - I had just made some small purses on long cords for just this purpose. I realized the 5x5 would be perfect as purse flaps, so I'd have a way to show them off all year long. The flaps are interchangeable on the little purse, and the grommet holes are ideal for "binding" with binder rings. So the concept for the size and shape, display and use all melded at the same time.
It's a very workable size and I'm still delighted with my choice. At this point, I really can't conceive of how I might have done it differently.
Hi, I sort of just jumped in and am glad I did it that way. I had prior bead embroidery experience, but I learned so much this past year and feel like the experience opened up my work.
I had a lot of ideas, so have a head start on ideas for next year and more or less have kept to the planned ones for each month. My main theme was things I liked and then journaling to what was going on for me in any given month. I have not had as much time lately to bead as I did in the beginning. But everyone's work has been so inspiring that I felt the need to get started on my November piece and get my 8 pages so I can post on the web site.
I picked the size I did (4 x 5) in part because of some archival cards I had that I would would be the backing. And that seemed like a good size. It was perhaps too big. Next year I am going smaller. My advice for new people next year is to just jump in and listen to yourself. Can't go wrong that way. And perhaps go smaller rather than larger!
Sometimes I think I chose too large a size, 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" approximately, but when they're finished, they look like the perfect size, or even a bit small. I chose that size because I sketched out a basic rectangle that seemed about right, and that was how it measured out.
I find that what has really held me up hasn't been size or format, but Life In General. 2007 was a completely horrible year for me, and having this project to come back to really helped me get through it all. However, I ended up having to take long stretches of time away to deal with various events. I wanted to be much closer to finished by now than I am! But there you are. For 2008 I may decide on a different format (circles or squares, maybe, or pieces that come together as an entire design), but I'm not sure I'd size down by very much.
My advice to newcomers to the BJP would be to stay on the small side in terms of format. I did 8 1/2" x 11" journal quilts for this year's project. While I never intended to bead them heavily there were times when the amount of beading I felt was necessary to carry the design felt overwhelming. And in a smaller size one may be more inclined to experiment than on a larger project.
Originally I was planning to participate again next year and use a 4" x 6" format so I could bead more heavily if I felt like it. I'm having so much trouble finishing up the last few months of this year's project that I'm having second thoughts about being a part of round two. There seem to be other paths calling to me...
I agree with other comments about page size... perhaps if I chose a smaller more realistic size I wouldn't be scrounging now for more time. Also, maybe each page doesn't have to be the same size? ~Monica
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