These are stitch meditations for the 100 Day Stitch Meditation challenge I have set for myself. I am quietly sitting down twice a week in 2019 to hand stitch a five inch square of fabric.
What have you been working on? Keep practicing – one stitch at a time.
Stitching meditatively has been the focus of the last few post, but you could also unstitch meditatively! Read Patricia Belyea post: Unstitched where she talks about the experience of taking apart a kimono. Any repetitive project can be a meditative experience, as long as there is intention and focus.
I am a scrap keeper! My quilting friends and I have discussed: what is a scrap, how large is a scrap, how small can a scrap be? The answer differs greatly between us. I am one that keeps pieces of fabric of about 2 inches and larger. The 100 day stitch meditation project is a great place to use these small pieces. For example, the indigo scrap above was used to tie up a scarf before dyeing and the colour on this strip was pretty so I kept it. Below is a book on indigo that I have on my bookshelf to read and another on natural dyeing. There are so many books on and websites on these topics. Which are your favorites?
Have you been able to set time away to work on something you love? Keep practicing – one stitch at a time.
So far, I have been able to keep up with stitching quietly twice a week. It is difficult to quickly select the fabrics and thread for each square. I am spending more time in the selection process than I would like.
Stitching french knots on the meditation square for day 6 took longer than I thought it would. I chose to do running stitches on the other side because it suited the piece and also because it was faster. Now that I look at this piece, I don’t think it is complete and I may go back and add more stitches to the linen. Also of note, I’ve used both sides of the beautiful silk scrap above. Don’t overlook the other side!
Have you to tried a new pattern, technique, hand sewing needle? Take this opportunity to keep practicing – one stitch at a time.
There are many reasons for stitching mindfully and more importantly when this is going to happen. I was asked if I had planned when I was going to practice my stitch meditation. My plan was to stitch two evenings during the week – Tuesday and Friday nights. This is already a change from the response I gave the person asking! It’s important to be flexible in your practice. Life happens and you can easily and without guilt make accommodations.
Linda McLaughlin has been creating daily and weekly stitch meditations since 2012. Linda was already taking photographs daily and posting them online when she read a few blogs about daily stitching projects. She began because she wanted to see if she could commit to creating daily. Linda found she enjoyed having something waiting for her in her studio every day. Interestingly, Linda doesn’t always start her projects at the beginning of the year, they feel too much like resolutions which she fails at! Linda blogs about her progress at Linda McLaughlin: Notes from Studio B.
Linda’s second project began without a plan. She committed to creating daily using 4′ square blocks and stitching them with black perle cotton. After a few months, Linda showed some friends the blocks she had completed and “we all decided that I should sew them together, after that it just seemed like what I was suppose to do.”
Linda’s first stitch project was:
“Sixty five days to 65” to celebrate her 65th birthday. She was going to create an applique, or stitched or embroidered circle every leading up to her birthday, with the last one stitched the day before her next birthday. Her parameters:
Linda begin her weekly leaf project in January 2014 and has continued to explore this theme. Linda has used leaves in several of her projects. In 2018 she began her stitch meditations with eco printed leaves on silk, attaching these to canvas and added embroidery stitches. She did not know what she would do with them when the project was completed. One thought is to attach them together to make an accordion pleated book.
Linda has multiple projects on the go and is amazed at what she accomplishes even when spending as little as ten minutes a day on a project. Being organized and preparing the fabrics, threads, tools ahead of time are key. Linda has made it portable taking her stitch mediations to Europe, China, Canada and all around the US!
I think I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve stuck with it for so long and still love doing it. This will be my seventh year! I’m also a bit surprised about some of the things that have happened because of daily stitching, like being invited to do Quilting Arts TV back in 2013, and also doing some talks for guilds and ladies groups.
Linda McLaughlin
Linda also says not to “expect perfection if you are trying something new, the more you do it the better you get”. So I encourage you to try a new thread, stitch, colour combination and keep practicing – one stitch at a time.
I am so happy to have people express interest in following along on the 100 Day Stitch Meditation. I have already added a few more threads and fabrics to the box :). I look forward to seeing what you are making. Share your stitch meditations on Instagram and Facebook using: #stitchmeditation2019, #100daysofart, #slowstitchmovement or leave me a comment below.
A couple of people who were thinking about participating were having difficulty with the idea of creating just for the sake of creating. They felt they needed a goal to work towards. Two textile artists: Lisa Call and Linda McLaughlin have engaged in daily art projects with parameters around making with end goals. They have participated in daily, weekly and 100 day challenges. Each artist has their own reason for starting and continuing their projects over the years.
Lisa Call is a textile artist living in New Zealand. Her website is: Lisa Call Fine Art – Contemporary Textile Paintings. She began her first 100 Days Project shortly after moving to New Zealand from the United States in 2016. Lisa participated in this annual 100 Days Project which culminated in a Pop-Up, so she would set up her studio and begin creating. Her parameters for the project: create textile paintings that would finish at 6×6 inch (15×15 cm) and use monochromatic colours from her hand dyed fabrics.
Lisa continued her 100 Days Project in 2017. This time her parameters were to make textile paintings that finished at 5×5 inches (13×13 cm) and explored mark making on fabric. Her palette was limited to black and white. She also knew that to keep herself motivated to finish this time, she needed to have a goal at the end of the 100 days. So, Lisa contacted the Tutere Gallery and spoke to the owner. The gallery owner, an artist herself, along with Lisa and four other artists committed to the 100 Day Project and to hold an exhibit at the end. The photograph below shows Lisa’s artwork on display in the gallery along with the artwork of textile artist Sara Boland at the Tutere Gallery.
For her 2018 100 Days Project, Lisa continued her exploration of mark making using pencil, ink and charcoal on paper. Each piece was 5×5 inches (13×13 cm). She also considered finishing the drawings and making them available for sale. At Day 50 of the project, Lisa decided to not worry about selling the sketches and this gave her freedom from the pressure of creating for others. As well as participating in the project, Lisa was leading a group of over 50 artists from around the world in their own 100 Day practice. Each artist set their own parameters around the project and their progress was shared on Facebook. Lisa has written a blog post about her feelings and experience around 100 Day Projects. She found that making one piece of art every day was not realistic for her lifestyle. Lisa changed the parameters around creating in order to make it work for her, she says: “I will complete 100 textile paintings by the end of the 100 days – working on the project every day that I am home, which will be most days.” Now Lisa finds that the project has become a habit, where she consistently sketches, not everyday, but as a part of her art practice.
In the next post I discuss the daily and weekly projects of Linda McLaughlin.
I hope reading about Lisa’s experiences with her 100 Days Projects will give you some ideas for your project. How are you feeling about the project? Are you enjoying just playing with colours and stitches to create something pleasing? Are you stressing about it being perfect? I encourage you to keep practicing – one stitch at a time.
One of my very long term unfinished projects was reupholstering an armchair from my mom. She no longer wanted it and offered it to my sister and I. I accepted it for my sister 🙂
The plan was to remove the red velvet, reconfigure the seat, change the tufted back and paint the wood frame. The french provincial style and the new feminine fabrics would be perfect for her dressing room.
One of the first stumbling blocks to this project was the size of the chair. I could not get it down into our basement, which meant I could only work on it outside or in the kitchen. As you can see in the previous photos, the removing of all the old upholstery and painting happened on our back deck. The rest of the work was done in our kitchen! When I say my entire house is my studio, I am not kidding.
My very first Instagram post was a photo of the fabrics for this project! Did you notice the date? It only took three and half years to complete – May 6, 2015 to December 30, 2018. I may not be speedy, but I am persistent!
Finishing this project and another even longer term unfinished project is helping me focus on what I want to achieve in 2019. It has freed up space for new projects, including a new series of textile paintings, and the 100 Day Stitch Meditation Project. How have you prepared for 2019?
2019 will be a year of slowing down and being more productive. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but my hope is that planning, prioritizing and scheduling will keep me motivated in creating artwork and spark some new ideas.
I have been rushing my projects to meet deadlines and not enjoying the process. So, I decided to begin a 100 day Stitch Meditation Challenge for myself. Twice a week for the year 2019 I will sit quietly and hand stitch.
In the past few years, I’ve seen creatives embark on their own year long projects and wishfully thought about joining in. Realistically, I didn’t and still don’t feel I have time to work on a creative project daily. I certainly daydreamed about how that would look for me. But, the reality of sitting down to incorporate a daily project into my routine only caused me to become anxious and stressed.
As daily and 100 day projects popped up on social media recently, I decided to see how I could realistically commit to a year long art project. 100 days sounded more doable than daily. Then I calculated that 100 days in a year works out to twice a week. I certainly could fit two sessions of 20-40 minutes into a week!
I researched what other creative people did for their daily projects and have listed a few resources below. 100 days of Stitch Meditation is tailored for my life and my schedule. I want this project to work for me. I invite you to create your own year long practice. It can be machine stitching, drawing, painting, singing, whatever makes you happy. I’ve set out an outline of my project and will experiment with what works and what doesn’t, changing and editing as the year progresses.
This is only a brief list of resources available. As my year long stitch meditation journey unfolds, I will be sharing photos and more resources. Are you planning on joining me? I would love to hear from you. Share your favourite photos, websites, and books with me.
I hope you take time this year to really enjoy the process and to create what makes you happy and feeds your creativity. Let’s being the journey!
The Fergus Pod of SAQA issued a challenge to create a quilted artwork based on the workds piece/peace. I created: Walking in Peace, a log cabin with spiral insert.
Oakshott cottons, hand dyed linen and a Kaffe Fassett print are combined to make this 12″ x 12″ art quilt.
I have been experimenting with inserting strips into my work. I love the challenge of cutting into completed tops! Each turn of the spiral slightly distorts the log cabin block.
Once the quilt was completed, I struggled finding a title for it. One of the members at the meeting suggested the title: Walking in Peace. The green various shades of green reminded me of a garden maze and the bright spiral the practice of a walking meditation through the garden.
How do you name your artwork?
Set of five of my Chakra series of quilts is available in my shop.
These all occasion cards are blank inside and come with envelope. They are printed on glossy paper that show the beautiful colour of the original quilts. On the back of each card is the title, the medium and size of the original artwork.
These greeting cards would make a wonderful gift for the holistic seeker, yogi or quilt lover in your life.
Individual fine art photo mount cards of these Chakra Quilts are also available individually in my shop.
So many factors of the dyeing process contribute to making each scarf unique: fibre content, dye colours, amount of snow used, amount of dye used and folding techniques.
Every time I hand dye, I am surprised and happy with the results.
Even so, there is always one from each small batch that captures my heart!
I’ve chosen a few of my favorite snow dyed shibori scarves that still remain in my shop.
I would be happy to send one of my favorite scarves to one of your favorite people (including you!)
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