What a difference a line makes

I did a one and a half hour workshop today at Contemporary Quilt Group with textile artist Bev Tarling. We had to bring along a stabilised piece of fabric, bits of other fabrics to go with it, some matching and contrasting threads and our sewing machines.

We were all given a small bag of bits. Some of them had a straight piece of crochet in a virulent green, some had a crocheted circle in the same green. If you got a circle you had to stitch curved lines and shapes, basically using a serpentine stitch; if you had a straight piece your shapes had to be angular and your stitching variations of straight stitch, including zigzag.

I took along one of the sundyed pieces I made a couple of weeks ago. Naturally, because it is so organic in feeling, I got a straight stitch bag! After stitching frantically for an hour (that was our time limit) this was my result.

I HATE it, but I am also thinking of ways I might be able to salvage it. I need to lose the green crochet bit, but also the plonked on feeling of the bits I added. I do have some ideas.

Here are some other results. All much more successful than mine. And I like the curved bits better than the straight lines. However, a very useful exercise overall.