Small stitches getting me through a February slump
It’s already six weeks into the new year. Lots of great things have happened. Lots of mediocre stuff happened too. Lots of very un-good and quite crappy stuff happened too. Life.
This stitch piece I am working on is almost about the single-most joyful thing at the moment. And the Monday afternoon stitch gathering where I sit and dedicate to my needle, thread & fabric.
Sometimes all we need is a few small hours to ourself within a whole week. Well - actually more than that would be lovely. But life.
So :: I am making sure that I dedicate at the very least to this quilt, this fabric, these women. And to myself.
What are you dedicating to this month?! To yourself I hope — but in what way. Tell me what you’re doing to tend & nurture & nourish YOU.
*fabric details are:
Mostly linen with some other pieces, dyed with loquat leaves, avocado seeds, iron extract, dahlias. The blue thread is dyed with indigo.
Learn how to make my ‘Outside the Lines’ quilt. It’s a hybrid improv + pattern quilt, which was fun to design and to make as well. Step-by-step downloadable pattern and YouTube video on how to make a quilt from start to finish.
I used beautiful fabric, which features Indigenous artwork from the Warlu designers.
Slow Stitching is a new term for an age-old practice of quiet gentle making, mending, repair and stitching. Here’s what slow stitching is and how to do it, as well as what you can make from all your beautiful stitched pieces.
The stitch circle community is an online space to connect, share, inspire, create and converse with hand stitching enthusiasts and textiles lovers from all around the world. Here’s some of their creative makings - pouches and a book pouch
Improv quilts sometimes meander where we haven’t quite planned, which can mean a mess that isn’t really inspiring. This can be good for the journey of learning. But a great way to help with this is to choose colours colors before you begin that help with the focus on the quilt design.
How to fit creativity into the everyday busy of life can be a big challenge for all of us. It doesn't matter if you're a parent of 6, or 1, or have no kids at all. Life can be full, hectic, non-stop. Just regular living - cooking, cleaning, buying food, paying bills, going to work, sitting in traffic.... all those things seem to fill our days before we even get to think about spending time with family and friends, before we can even consider adding in our own creative making time.
I’ve been listening to an album called 12 Moons, by Jan Gabarek Group. It’s mostly instrumental with some vocals (in a language I don’t know, which makes it sound like an instrument rather than words).
And now I’m stitching moons. Small squares (ish) of indigo dyed linen and whatever bits of thread I have left.
The Fearless Quilt came to be quite unexpectedly, as does the nature of some things. Divine Inspiration, being open to the muse, listening & actioning, being guided..... or simply following along a path (however wonky & meandering it has been & will be) that you set out on some time ago. It doesn't matter how a thing comes to you, I think what matters is how to receive it and what you do with it, and where you take it, and how you hold it.
Ellie ~ Petalplum
Textile artist, writer, and photographer (among quite a few other things).
I love working with textiles, natural dyes & slow mindful moments, as well as guiding creatives (artists, crafters, photographers, alternatives therapies) on how to best share their work, voice & authentic self with their community & audience.
Mama to 3, live in Northern NSW, Australia
Instagram @petalplum