Why feedback is so vital

I know some people work in isolation and only reveal their stuff when it is finished. Me, I like to talk :) I know, you couldn't tell ;) I thought I would share some of what has been going through my mind for the 'bags of fun' challenge and thus reveal how important feedback is to me.

Firstly on a very basic level I believe it will help me to complete this piece of work. Today I haven't had the opportunity to sew. Busy morning building shelve (don't ask!) and this afternoon taking DD and kids to the beach. By the time we got back and fed bathed an put the little one to bed I was shattered. But I am disappointed not to be able to show a picture and wait for some feedback to it. I have resorted to adding my WIP photos to the flickr group before I intended to, attention seeking :) Anyway I digress, I think the desire to hear what people think of what I am doing will keep me going so

1) completion.

2) Evolution. I started with my mother figure and through blogging her creation I came to the idea of the Maid and Crone. It was pondering why 'Mother' is so important to me so that I could explain my choice of figure, that led me to consider other aspects of myself.

3)Confirmation. Whilst I had the three of them it was comments from Belle which led me to a lovely phrase like 'stages of womanhood' :) This brilliant turn of phrase, which I have heard before but had not connected with what I was doing, has consolidated my idea for me. Having the appropriate terms makes them real, and other people's positive comments validates my choice too. Thank you :)

4)Deliberations, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Belle and I have had an email conversation about my Crone. She suggests the term 'wise woman' which I wholeheartedly accept. This is lovely. I was stuck at the witch/hag/hooked nose/warty chin/greenskin stumbling block. Was that really what I wanted to represent maturity? No! But I had gotten no further. Belle's wise woman answers the dilemma of giving equal weight to the third of my figures, and of maintaining a positive outlook for my ladies. I still have to work out how to capture those ideas but at least now I start from a happy place.

Back to the practical rather than the theory. My Maiden (again thanks to Belle) was made by tracing a drawing from my original sketch onto bondaweb for the hair. I had started out intending to use freezer paper but all those spiky bits defeated me :) I did use freezer paper for the body though' as I didn't want a blanket stitched edge to the body. Initially I didn't intend to pad the body but in order to make the breasts padded it seemed best to pad the body too. It also tied in nicely with the look of the Madonna/Mother figure. The breasts were made like yo-yos but then padding was slipped in behind them as I neared the end of sewing them on. Nipples are red french knots. The belly button was originally pulled in too tightly by a stitch from the back but I didn't like the way this creased the tummy so I undid that and will replace with another french knot slightly indenting as before.

Work still to do. In order to secure the hair without sewing completely around it I am intending to sew strands of 'hair' on top of the fabric bonded to the bag. The face I have already drawn out on the original pattern will be softened a little by using less threads, maybe only one strand of cotton. I don't want her to be too obvious, but quite delicate. My DD says that if she has diaphanous fabric clothes she will look like a hooker! I jokingly said I would make her a stripper and put tassels on her tits! But the effect I am looking for is more virginal whilst still voluptuous. If that is possible. I hate embroidering faces! So I am very nervous about this. I have drawn the features quite large on the original but may scale things down to make her less cartoony if I can. Hmmm still thinking about this. Rather than adding fabric clothes I am considering making her dress from stitches again still a new idea.

I have already learnt something very impotent - it is okay to take my time, and wait to see what I will think of. Also to know that I will think of something!

Good night everyone and thank you for your help - it is invaluable!