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Sunday, January 19, 2020

More slow stitching, meditation style

I've been doing some more slow stitching. This time with a little meditative quiet time added in.

Slow stitching, meditation style

In the October/November edition of the Quilting Arts magazine, I read an article that spoke to me. The article, Stitch Meditation, by Liz Kettle talked about meditating while stitching, since she found that regular meditation didn't really work for her. Wow! I've been trying to meditate and find it one of the most painful things to do. Quieting the mind is really difficult, except when I'm immersed in my quilting, or playing with code! Since I rarely play with code except occasionally at work, my best bet is probably stitching and quilting.
First four meditation squares
In the article, Liz says that she only has a few guidelines and one rule.

  • Avoid planning - choose your supplies quickly (less than 5 minutes)
  • Minimize distractions (for the meditative part)
  • The one rule: don't undo stitches - there is no need for perfection
Liz does talk about doing this every day, but I'm staying away from that since I don't need another commitment that I won't follow. I do it when I remember and when I feel like it. I trust that I will remember to do it when I need it.

I've cut up a bunch of 4" flannel squares from a dearly loved flannel blanket. I use this as my backing. For the fabric on top, I have a small bag of my hand-dyed fabrics. They are really perfect for this.

Angles is made with hand-dyed fabrics and stitched with several weights of thread and embroidery floss.
Angles
Green & Blue with bark includes an unraveling piece of dyed fabric, thread and wool, and two pieces of hand-dyed that friends though was bark .
Green & Blue with bark 
The moon in Pretty moon and star was made of pieces of felt from the backing of my daughter's embroidery pieces. The stones are pretty pink quartz and the star is a Murano glass bead bought in Venice last year.
Pretty moon and star 
For Shining rose, I cut up a hand-dyed cloth napkin that I had embroidered a very long time ago. I added shiny ribbon that I save up when I buy things. I also used some metallic floss.
Shining rose
Last week I started this piece. I was in the mood for ruffles so I just took another fabric piece and stitched it on. I used sewing thread, embroidery floss and even did some chain stitch. I like the look of the feather charm.

Orange, pink and a feather
If you've seen my Flower of Life piece for the first challenge of Project Quilting last week, you will see where I got the inspiration for this block. Now that I know about the Flower of Life, I see it everywhere! In this block, I did some embroidery, including fly stitches without tails, and added beads.
Web in the Flower of Life
What I learned

  • Making these blocks is really meditative.
  • I often start with fabric or embellishment from a recent project.
  • I really don't plan what I'll be doing. If I have some embellishments that I want to use, I'll make the block around them. Otherwise I take a piece of fabric and start stitching.
  • Some of the blocks were finished the same day I started them, but others took a couple of days working on them. They usually take about an hour to make.
  • I don't name the blocks when I make them - but it's fun to name them when I'm saving the images on the computer.
What's on this week
  • Today Challenge 11.2 of Project Quilting came out - something about Team Colours. I'll have to think about that since nothing jumps to mind. The project is due next Sunday morning - so I'll be working on that this week!
  • Join me on Tuesday for my post in The Winter Blues Blog Hop hosted by Carla of Creatin' in the Sticks. My piece is done but I have to figure out how to bind it....????
  • I will also be hosting Free Motion Mavericks on Thursday - so come back and link up your post - it doesn't have to be FMQ.
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking this post to many fun link-ups. Follow me and see what's going on out there in Winter Quilt Land! Slow Sunday Stitching, Oh Scrap!, Off The Wall Friday, Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, What I Made Monday, Free Motion Mavericks with Muv, Colour and Inspiration Tuesday, To-do Tuesday,


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16 comments:

  1. Kathy S.20 January 2020 at 05:47

    Stitching is very relaxing. I never thought about adding meditation to it. Hmmm.

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 January 2020 at 21:15

      Hi Kathy, it`s very possible that you do already. :-)

      Delete
  2. Denise :)20 January 2020 at 12:41

    These pieces are just amazing ... I love the art of them! You do really good work. :)

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 January 2020 at 21:19

      Thanks Denise. It's always fun to see what will come out of them!

      Delete
  3. The Joyful Quilter20 January 2020 at 13:21

    You've created some very interesting pieces this week. How do you store or display these mini works of art?

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert20 January 2020 at 21:21

      Thanks. So far they are just hanging on one of my design walls. Eventually I'll think of something, but part of the process is not to think of them as projects, so that it doesn't matter what you make as long as you're making. :-)

      Delete
  4. Kathleen21 January 2020 at 11:07

    I love this! I am so afraid I would just sit there and stare at it and never sew anything!

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert27 January 2020 at 20:59

      Hi Kathleen, well, if the objective was to meditate, then sitting and staring at the fabric would be just fine :-)

      Delete
  5. Home Sewn By Us22 January 2020 at 10:46

    Hi Andree! Oh, I can totally see this as being meditative. And very, very relaxing. Thanks so much for linking up! I think you need to share a picture of all of these pieces being displayed - we want to share the smile that it brings to your face. ~smile~ Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert27 January 2020 at 21:40

      Thanks so much Roseanne. I will certainly keep posting these and will eventually do something with them....I can't help myself. And it would bring a smile to my face :-)

      Delete
  6. Caryl @ cinnamon holiday workshop28 January 2020 at 18:34

    These are wonderful.......creating little pieces of art.....makes me want to do this!

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert10 March 2020 at 20:38

      Thanks Caryl, there is certainly little risk in trying. I'm really loving making these.

      Delete
  7. Muv31 January 2020 at 06:58

    Hello Andrée,

    These are lovely. You are putting so many detail and memories together. That little bit of Venetian glass really caught my eye!

    Love, Muv

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert10 March 2020 at 20:40

      Thanks Muv. I'm really enjoying the process and finding bits to put on them is always so much fun!

      Delete
  8. Karen20 February 2020 at 09:56

    These are so creative! I also can’t calm for meditation. My mind goes everywhere! Working in small projects like yours puts me in a meditative state! I listen to classical music and work away! I enjoy your blog very much! Think spring and summer!

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    Replies
    1. Andree G. Faubert10 March 2020 at 20:41

      Thanks so much Karen. I've put on some of my favourite classical music - it's really soothing.

      Delete

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