Hey Friday buddies…
Time is the most powerful crafting tool there is.
I want more of it. Every day I want more. The ideas that come to me are like a tsunami wiping out the available hours I have every day, week, month and year.
Sometimes I feel so frustrated at not being able to just stop everything and spin, weave, make rugs, sew clothes, knit jumpers, make pottery, carve wood. The list goes on and on.
When I look at that photo above I want to shrink myself and jump in there, walk amongst those darling textures and colours.
I have this dream of living in a space that is made up of things hand made by me.
It’s not an ego thing, haha!
It’s not like I’m imagining sitting amongst stitched fabrics throwing them up in the air like an influencer in a bathtub of money with a cigar sticking out of her gob.
Wrong picture.
My dream is made up of holding stories. Being amongst stories. I can’t explain it, but a wordy explanation doesn’t actually matter.
It just makes me think of being inside my own world that I understand so well and that I fit into. A world that loves me and reflects the things I love.
Who would have thought you could get that from some hand embroidered table runners an zipper pouches.
I’m kind of digressing…
I had a theme for todays newsletter and it’s this:
If you want to be a prolific maker and you want to make beautiful things then just go ahead and make them.
Don’t roll your eyes, wait, hear me out.
What are you waiting for?
To be better at embroidery?
To finish the housework first?
To be neater?
To retire?
My most beautiful things and my favourite things are the ones that are wonky, stitched last minute, thrown together in an hour of frenzied inspiration, while procrastinating doing my taxes.
Children are so good at this. They just step over their mess on the floor, pick up coloured paper, scissors and glue and make.
We should be more like that.
And before you take a breath and say something like: “Yeah but….”
I won’t hear it.
Life is too short. Self criticism is lame and belongs in the rubbish bin. You are brilliant I don’t care how messy your satin stitch is.
Nice segway into this weeks stitch along. You better watch the video this week, there’s a cool leaf in there. You’ll like it.
Close up
See those leaves…?
I’ve stitched them before, not that often but this is the first time I actually filmed how they’re done.
Super easy. So easy you could teach your father in law.
And as always we hand draw the flower together. Just a few straight and curvy lines. Grab a pen and follow along. See you in there!
Wait.. I just read what I wrote… i didn’t mean to say that I AM the first one to film this stitch, haha! Lord all mighty! You’ve probably seen this on the tube a gazillion times. I meant that in my own videos of my own work, I’m demonstrating it for the first time.
If this is your first time seeing this newsletter, we’re up to week 7 of an ongoing project. You can see the start in issue 79.
Maker Of The Week
- Mariette Ennik -
Well if it isn’t pure joy in the form of a square cushion. Mariette sent me some photos of her finished projects last week and this cushion looked divine. The colours that she chose are like a song. I swear! Look at those navy blues dancing around. And if I may just draw your attention to the little blue daisies… swoon! Mariette, I’m sending you big high fives!
From The Tribe
We are now in the November issue of TWT and I’m slowing things down as we get closer to the end of the year. December will see gentle and quick projects. I promise you my TWT munchkins!
One of my favourite techniques is stitching with scraps of knitting yarn and that’s what I put on the cover for this month.
Even if you’re not in TWT (it’s ok… we can still be friends…) you can use any pattern, grab some bits of left over yarn like fingering weight, 8 ply, single spun, mohair. Pretty much anything you can fit through your needle (I use a size 22 chenille needle) and have a go with satin stitch, basketweave, couching, leaf stitch.
It’s really fun, the results are wonderfully thick and tactile and fast. Plus you don’t have to be as neat when you’re using thick wool. Well.. you don’t have to be neat at all.
Let me know if you’ve had a go with this kind of free range stitching and what you think.
Till Next Week!
I’m so glad I’m stitching this top willy-nilly because it’s helping me get over my obsession with symmetry.
This is my “I’m-learning-to-be-ok-when-things-are-not-symmetrical” project.
Therapy in a way, haha!
Big hugs and oodles of love xxx
Kasia 💕
Did you have fun?
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