Thursday 11 September 2014

Fear grows if you tend it....









I thought I'd share this with you, again a personal piece I made a while ago. I was stitching my way through a period of anxiety.. I shared glimpses of it with you in this post. It's a patchwork of vintage fabrics including a very old piece of quilting which is almost threadbare in places. It is edged in a lovely raw knobbly silk (not vintage - I do occasionally mix in bits of new fabric!). The piece with the tiny red pattern on in the image above,  I picked up at my local car boot sale. That's one of the things I  love about gathering vintage materials, remembering where I found them and wondering what stories they have to tell.

11 comments:

A bird in the hand said...

Beautiful post. I understand this so well. I did a similar thing with "fear" as the subject... we are sisters in thread.
Love, Colette

Andy Lloyd Williams said...

I really love the plant embroideries - and that material you got at the car boot sale: what a find! You have such style at putting everything together. Thank you for the inspiration.

Jayne said...

This is a beautiful piece Christine, I hope it helped allay your fear whilst stitching. I love to wonder who owned the pieces I pick up too. I would love to know the story behind them.

Unknown said...

This truly is lovely, and so appropriate today for those of us in the US...

Karen Larko said...

Your work is such inspiration!

epocktextiles said...

this is such a beautiful piece, and I cant remember having heard the saying before, but its so true. all that kantha in the background creates tension (of fear) and it is topped off by your usual beautiful composition and stitching

susan hemann said...

just stunning! I need to stitch more when I'm anxious. i too love old cloth, stories could be written about where it might have come from.

Mo Crow said...

Oh this has the "muchness" as the Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's film) said to Alice

The Rustic Victorian said...

Wonderful piece. .. Very true.
Joy in Your Day!
Marcie

Starr White said...

This piece is really striking to me - the many stitches like quiet whispers of prayerful meditation..sort of like rosaries in stitch...wonderful!!

Betsy said...

Oh....this takes my breath away...I am in tears, recalling my own very anxious periods in my life, and imagining that I had tried to embroider my way through as you have. Actually, it was the knitting of the sweater for Grandgirl*1 that helped me. I had to focus so hard on that pattern for days, and weeks, and when I learned how, I knitted another one. I hope that your anxiety has not been as difficult for you as mine has been for me, though I am sure it is. All of it is difficult and challenging to the very depths of our souls. I wish none of us had to go through any version. Yet, there is much I have learned, and by this embroidery, I see that you have as well. I will remember your saying...and add to it that "love casts away all fear, if you also tend it". I am learning to focus on tending the flowers after focusing and tending the weeds for so many years!
Oh, I just remembered that I also got through a "short" 4 month period of anxiety while I was hand quilting a Queen sized quilt for Daughter*2...I had not made that connection...I think I am seeing something....Thank you for your inspiration!
hugs,
Betsy