A Winters tale in stitches

 

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home and slow stitching ..........

The hygge that surrounds me is so cosy, happy and full of contentment and warmth. 

 Right now I do not mind at all about the weather.  Switch on the fairy lights, light a fire and candles in all the darker corners, with a faint smell of cinnamon and design and stitch.

I have been listening to podcasts as well , which have been interesting but equally the sound only of the crackling fire and the needle and thread through the layers of fabrics are very enjoyable too.

Not having to go out to my Mum daily has been both strange (and I do miss her so ) and freeing - my mind is now fully only on one thing and that is to be creative and stitching.

Having several projects on the go is really delicious for me.  Firstly I have been tearing strips of fabrics in different widths to do some wonky log cabin work, yes wonky not at

all perfect and it is so much more beautiful to me than precise strips and using hand dyed ribbon pieces too.  Some raw seams on show it has been a epiphany of sorts.  In my world the more naive it is the more I adore it, tattered and torn and worn with a few battle scars and darning to wonder at.

So the reason I am quietly stitching some wonky log cabin squares is because I would like to also do some hand embroidery on them and then make a Japanese rice bag or two .... Gorgeous to look at and of course you can put things in them so beautiful and useful .

So I have found making a little snip in fabric and then tearing strips very satisfying and mind freeing.  Making a box of light and darker strips.  It is something I can do when it is darker in the early evening and then as the stitching is by hand and running stitch it gives me a break from the beautiful quilt that I am adding to which is more precise in every way. although the fabrics that I am adding here and there on that are antique beautifully worn and wonderful too.

 Some of the fabrics I have chosen are holey and scrappy which adds such charm and wonders in my opinion and because it is not as precise as normal log cabin I can do it

on my lap and not be at my work table it is perfect for later in the day.

I came across a tutorial on how to hand sew rice bags and I was enchanted and the same lady also showed you how utterly beguiling wonky log cabin can look.  It is so tactile as well I am just loving the results.. It has become fairly addictive I have to add, and I can see that I may have to cover a journal in some of these fabulous wonky log cabin squares. You can use frayed edges which you do not turn under and it brings texture and interest and with finger pressing which is encouraged  there is no iron in sight ..

And the other project is book covers, well hand made paper journal covers actually and you know me and my love of journals if you are a regular reader .. by the good daylight it is the Red Cross Quilt and by the time the sun is setting I am tearing strips of fabric with a grin on my face and maybe listening to a pod cast by the fire or indeed watching a film  or maybe listening to Lucy Worsley on a podcast or one of her historical programmes which I simply love.

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.

 ***  Paul Theroux  ***

Also this year I have told myself I need to sketch and water colour more and my

thoughts are that when the weather gets better and the beauty of nature wakes up a  little that I can combine a lovely walks  and some sketching ... this is my plan this year as well as go on a holiday somewhere later in the year. 

Having the River Stour on my doorstep as well as the gorgeous Jurassic coast line no more than an hours drive away I have the best of both worlds.  Going along a beach walk with rock pools and seaweeds to sketch and of course to dry and press it makes for a long and happy walk, granted not a fast walk but so enjoyable never the less.

A beach is not only a sweep of sand, but shells of sea creatures, the sea glass, the seaweed, the incongruous objects washed up by the ocean.

Henry Grunwald

I have bought myself a seaweed book to identify the types and there are some beauties along that coast line. In the warmer months and during the week before the School holidays will be a perfect time to indulge my new found interest in seaweed to sketch and stitch ..  Who knows if I am very lucky the sea may give up some of her treasures to me such as sea glass and old pottery fragments and some amazing shells

to photograph and draw.

As you can see I have some clear ambitions this year and I intend to honour them too along with as many vintage fairs I can get to.  My first one for me is on Saturday 2 March and it would have been my Mums 80th Birthday.  So I am going to the wonderful Re-Claimed fair held in Chipping Norton.  I am in need of some more delicate antique fabrics for my latest passion of log cabins and English paper piecing!

Well that is enough of my ramblings for today and I hope you have enjoyed your read.

As always take care and Happy Stitching!

Sarah XX