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| Log Cabin blocks trimmed to 12" sq. |
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| Slow Stitch book by Claire Wellesley-Smith, published by Batsford 2015. |
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| My own 'slow-stitch' project, violet alphabet.. |
Happy Monday!!
My Log Cabin blocks are progressing! I built them up and now they are trimmed to 12" sq.. I'm calling it 'Green at Heart' because most of the center squares are green.
I found the most amazing book at my local fabric store, 'Slow Stitch' by Claire Wellesley-Smith from UK. I picked it up and started looking through it and it was 'yes', 'yes' and 'yes' ,in my mind, all through her book. She writes about thoughtful creating, using repurposed fabric and gorgeous vintage threads or hand dyed threads. Her methods of dyeing are natural, not using toxic chemicals requiring
respirators. It was just the encouragement I needed to slow down and create in a more relaxed state of mind.
Sometimes when following the quilt fabric industry I get the feeling that I need to be punching out a quilt every week and then having it heavily machine quilted to within an inch of its life using expensive foreign produced thread. Wow! Talk about pressure! What if my husband is unemployed right now and I can't afford all that? Tough luck I guess!
Is that the way our grandmothers and their grandmothers sewed and made quilts? I'm not saying I want to totally ignore progress but do I have to be a slave of the current quilt industry's theme of faster, faster, more, more?
That's why I appreciate Claire's book, Slow Stitch, it's a breath of fresh air.
Enjoy your day, happiness is a state of mind.
Violets are my favorite flowers. I think slowing down is good. I sometimes feel like I have to be finishing things, when I really just need to enjoy what I am working on as I work on it.
ReplyDeleteYes to that, Pamela.
DeleteThis book is going on my wish list. It sounds like just the philosophy I try to follow. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteYour welcome.I know, Mary Ann, that's why I follow your blog, good stuff.
DeleteGosh, Janie, I love that violet sampler! It's very rich. Love the butterfly in the following post too! I think I'm enjoying all the purples today. :D
ReplyDeleteYour log cabins are still looking great and I love your violets - made me think of my Gran as they were her favourite flower. The Slow Stitch book is great, isn't it? It's easy to feel pushed by other people's levels of productivity and to forget this is all supposed to be fun, so it's good to have voices putting the opposite point of view and encouraging us to enjoy the process, not always be rushing to the end.
ReplyDelete