Are You A Reader....Or An Eyeballer?

When people learn to make jewelry, sew, crochet, embroider, paint...whatever thing!  Maybe even, repair computers!  I find that  they usually learn by one of two methods:

1.   They read.  They can follow directions, understand the step one, two, three process, follow it, make sense of it, achieve success by looking at diagrams and studying print.

2.   They can't stand to read.   They are very tactile, very visual, they must be shown.  

That's why for example, written tutorials with some step out pictures are good for both types.   You get the best of both worlds!  Directions AND photos----you can read, you can be shown.

Videos and classes are better for others, they want to watch....and then they want the teacher to go away and they want to do it themselves without someone hanging over them as they make their attempts.....come what may.

For yet others, a picture in a magazine, on a Pinterest board, in a book may suffice.  Or, perhaps, an attractive display in a store.   Many's the time, back when I used to sew, that I'd see a dress in a catalog and say...I can do that.   I'd go through my patterns drawer, find some patterns that had similar parts, pull them together, make some alterations and make it work.

WELL....SOMETIMES it worked!

I gotta tell ya:  I'm a big time eyeballer.  I love to read, but the pictures and being shown do it for me, personally, every time.   Even though I don't always succeed!

For some time now I have been so intrigued with the idea of making fabric flowers, you know, those little twisted balls  of fabric spun, wound and folded, tacked at the end and voila, you have this sort of cabbage rose thing that you can now sew to another cabbage rose thing until you build yourself a necklace, or maybe if you are truly clever some sort of a scarf or maybe a collar for a necklace.

The idea of those turned and wound balls of fabric or ribbon were the inspiration for my sari ribbon necklace:

Now then, I'll be honest and say, I LIKE this necklace...it's all over the place, stylewise, and the colors are a real riot.  The rolled and twisted thing is working okay.  I'm not embarrassed to wear it and I have, and I enjoyed wearing it.

But, I eyeballed fabric flowers and I can't say I quite "got" it.  Even though I showed how I made it in a video!

Today at Pinterest I found a really cool, very straightforward tutorial from a popular blog, Cherry Street Cottage

Realizing I needed to stop eyeballing and discipline myself to read, I think I got straightened out.  The great photos didn't hurt my eyeballing soul, though:

Fabric Flower Tutorial

You, too can learn to make lovelies like these:

When I see stuff like this, I don't see decor items, I see jewelry.   A little smaller, a little less thick, but jewelry.

This evening my intrigue got the better of me and I started a new Pinterest board:

Mixed Media Ideas: Jewelry with Fabric, Fiber

It's late and I've only just begun my research.   It's not that we will be carrying lots of fabric and fiber at B'sue Boutiques......but I realize more and more how swell the stuff goes with the gorgeous American made brass stampings and findings we carry, as well as polymer clay.

And, to be sure, I'm always thinking of what we could do about carrying a few more flowers, or ribbon....just because I love to play with it and think you would, too!

Anyway, enjoy the tutorial, maybe you could leave a comment on their blog and thank them for it, if you like it.  I think it's really great, I'll be following this blog.   Checking out sites and Etsy shops with fabric, fiber, crochet jewelry  will be a fun bit of research......what can I say.

I DO LOVE THOSE PRETTY PICTURES.   I'm an eyeballer!

Comments

[Candy W.]

I'm both. For the most part, I eyeball everything. If it's something technical ie: resin I read everything I can about it.

[chic and frog]

Oh well, I am definetely an eyeballer. I cannot read tutorial, I just skip through. And I also fast forward video tutorial! But pictures are soooooooo nice!

Ambra

[Jennifer Smith]

I think that I do it all. I love magazines with the beautiful photos. Sometimes they discourage me tho. I think, "Those are some talented people and I could never do that." Other times I wonder how it ever made it into a magazine. I love craft shows. Cliff will say, "You could make that and make it even better!" when I see things. I watch all your videos and learn from them every time. I picked up knitting this fall and learned it from videos on line. When I sew I do the same as you. Dig thru the patterns and put several together. That's how I did my daughter's wedding dress. It's all fun.

[Hilary Frye]

I liked this post! My preference is videos, but I do all three. Those roses look cool! And, great idea for a Pinterest board!

[Beetique]

I'm a reader.

[Grace]

I'm totally visual. When I'm out shopping I spend more time looking at the back of jewelry than I do at the front!

If I need to figure out a new technique, YouTube is the first place I go.

[Maryanne]

Hi Sue, I'm new to your site, blog and newsletter. I have to say I'm more visual. I like to have someone show me how to do something, although I can often figure it out by reading and looking! So, I guess that makes me both. As for fabric/fiber/bead jewelry, I've been doing it for years. Not a lot, but some and I even have some patterns for knitted jewelry. For someone like me, who started this obsession with creating with canvaswork embroidery, combining all my loves is really fun.

[Maryanne]

Oh and I love your necklace! Your roses turned out great!

[Brassy Steamington]

I'm a speed reading scanner. Then I go back and really munch on the meaty parts that intrigue me.