Somewhere along this stitching trail I’ve developed the opinion that somehow “slow cloth” is more–what?–authentic? meaning FULL? moving, intense, honest? And I’m looking at that now because I have no idea where that notion comes from. Actually I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the polarity of ideas and opinions we all seem to have and promote. And I’m always amazed that say two people can have diametrically opposed opinions on the same topic and each believe in their heart-of-hearts that THEY are right. And something has been niggling away at me presenting the notion that perhaps the truth lies outside–or within– this seeming duality of thought.
So what started this off today–I’ve been digging out old pieces from months ago, pieces I clabbered together by the seat of my pants–feeling what I wanted to stitch down but tool-less in a sense. I painted and dyed fabric to get the colors I was after–with little idea of what I was doing. I free motion stitched patterns because that’s all I knew in terms of how to sketch image. I embellished with bead–and some hand stitching only after I saw it executed by Susan Sorrell over in Greenville, SC. http://www.fibermixedmedia.com/ And some of the work was really o.k. But lacking in some THING. And now I’m realizing what that THING is–STORY.
So then I stumbled upon the mother lode of slow cloth as executed by amazing artist’s such as Jude Hill–I thought “yes” this is what I’m looking for. This is the way I want to proceed. This work has guts and blood. Aha. And because I loved it so and wanted to grow up to be just like THAT–slow cloth became branded on my heart as THE way to go. I still feel very much inclined in that direction.
But today I pulled up this piece. I call it “One World” and it’s been in a drawer for many months. When I held it and looked carefully, I was surprised. It feels GOOD. Resonates with energy and intent even though it’s not slow cloth. It was executed on a machine using free motion stitching with only a spattering of hand work. Yet I really like it. And there IS a story here. And, again I’m realizing that I don’t have to see through the filter of always “this” OR “that.” In fact, I can embrace both with equal passion. And I can continue to notice this dogmatic tendency I have to label things into division. One world. Cloth is teaching me THIS.
One World
following thread 
yup. i Knew it. this is beautyFull, so rich of imagery, stitch, and the colors are just
so wonderful together…
how great that you have the open~ ness to receive spirit and story however it comes
to you
LikeLike
i’m feeling like you could be my next door neighbor. this is sooooooooo so MUCH.
LikeLike
AND, now that i clicked follow, each new post will pop into my email!!!
LikeLike
i don’t know how you did that–but glad you did. still so much to learn, and to answer your question, i went with wordpress because a friend of mine was able to help me and she said it was very “intuitive.” couldn’t prove it by me. but as long as we can converse, well that’s enough for me.
LikeLike
So that is how it is done, mine all just Appear in my google reader! Haha. I also have Much to learn x
LikeLike
I really like the naivety of this; is the middle part velvet or does it look like it is because of the hand painting? Lovely anyway.
I agree so much with what you said- it is all about the story- or stories, as we may all see different ones. What if Jude’s ‘remember without judgement’ could morph into ‘do without judgment?’ – so machine or unplugged, if it feels right then it is. xx
LikeLike
thank you for the reminder of Jude’s words–i think i’ll come up with a bumper sticker–the word judgment in a circle with a slash through it. what do you think?
LikeLike
Perfect!
LikeLike
and to answer your question–the middle part is very lightly tinted/dyed fabric–velvet would have been nice too
LikeLike
and to maybe minmim and others, the only thing i wish about wordpress is that i could
double click it to magnify. i WANT to see this piece CLOSER and i cant. with typepad,
you can. and that’s important to me…it’s an objectivity that i can’t have with my own eyes.
interesting….
LikeLike
Hi Patricia I use wordpress too
re making hyper links
go to edit on this entry
highlight the word (or words) that you want to make a hyperlink
click on the link button (looks like a chain) in your tool bar above the edit window
then tick the open in a new window option so the page you’re on stays open
if you don’t like the link highlight it again and click the broken link symbol
LikeLike
thanks Mo. that was much simpler than i had been making it! hope i may need to call on you from time to time with questions!
LikeLike
any time Patricia! wordpress as your friend said is intuitive but it is a template and can’t be shifted past the template’s parameters (I found that out very early on!) saying that there is 100’s of different skins and layouts to choose from and can be quite entertaining to try them out sort of like trying on lots of frocks knowing the right one will fit perfectly! and if something simplywon’t work 3 times in a row give up go for a walk and have another look at it tomorrow!
LikeLike
Hi,
I was the first to write about and use the term Slow Cloth (have been using it since 2007), and it certainly is not limited to hand-stitching — it’s much more. See my blog at http://lainie.typepad.com; you can download and read the presentation I gave on Slow Cloth to the Textile Society of America symposium in September. While everything Jude does so beautifully fits perfectly within the principles of Slow Cloth, there are many other ways to approach it as well. Thank you, Elaine Lipson
LikeLike
thanks for taking the time to comment! will check out your blog soon. best wishes
LikeLike
Well, I LUV this cloth. Glad you found it again. Personally, I love using both machine and hand stitching in the same piece. And machine stitching can still be slow. Why set limits?
best, nadia
LikeLike