Do you think you're getting any of the health, emotional, financial or spiritual benefits through your stitching, knitting, crochet, needle arts, etc.?

8 Comments

  • Mirjam Bruck-Cohen - 2 years ago

    In two months i will be 79, as far as i remember myself, from the age of 4-5 i loved cloths and threads and handcrafted. Both sides of my familes were crafters. Even as a young pupil in school, when we learned to knit socks, i was punished for being` too creative` , as i was bored by the [bad quality after ww2 war wool] and added some red stipes to the second sock. I am a fiberartist, showed in solo and group exhibions, and upcycle my clothes. Your article is wonderful, but do i need it to be a `movement` ? . Many people like me create because in our genes and souls. I lkie the idea of calling it slow stitch, but once it is a` Movement` , one has [as you wrote] the deffinitions of `Slow Stitching is ..........` and Slow Stitching Is not .......` and the people who tell me what my creations are or aren`t ....I I will create whether it is a movement or not. I created when people asked me if i am too poor to buy `real pictures` or real factory cloths. Still having written all this i am glad the talk around Slow Stitching , has opened the minds of many people to the possibility of crating something, out of something else. How not to waste resources. That could be the biggest important message.

  • Gabriele - 10 years ago

    Your post made me think a lot.
    I had a really good carreer (not as big as yours, of course) and had to slow down from 2008 onwards due to health issues. If you worked 7 days a week before, that's really a life turning point and I am still struggling with finding possibilities to support my family.

    I am new to the sewing world (I've been knitting and crocheting for decades now and up to no I've been trying to buy from my local shops, not only yarn, fabric etc We cannot order online in order to get the cheapest stuff and moan that our city centers are closing down at the same time. And I had a discussion with somebody who thinks I am partly responsible for the hunger in third world countries and people losing their jobs here as I refuse to buy cheap clothing made in Asian factories under inhuman conditions) - especially the quilting world. But I try to find the history behind quilting: the origin and the symbolism behind quilts. And that was one of the first things I stumbled upon when looking for interesting websites (apart from the fact, of course, that I first have to learn tons of technique issues): on the one hand, quilting is a form of art and it is, of course, wonderful to see beautiful, well designed quilts. But you even see a difference in the art quilts you showed for example from the Morris museum, respectively if you browse through the artists' websites and galleries: it is not only a matter of beauty, design... but also a matter of telling a story or communicate a message.
    I appreciate Slow Stitching - you see so many websites with quick beautiful quilts. Some are able to produce (and I use this word deliberately) 2 each month - maybe more (?) I wonder if they also find a kind of "relaxation" in sewing or only stress and pressure.
    (hm, a bit too much text, sorry! But I've been thinking about your post quite a time now)

  • Karen at Quilts, Crows & Cardinals had a link to your site so I came over to visit :)

    I hand-quilt, and hand-applique, and projects take a long time. It's very nice to have a weekly supportive gathering over at Kathy's Quilts...she has a Slow Stitch party where bloggers link up their projects pertaining to hand work. So she's got an online salon going :) It's been helpful to me to have a place, a group...where none of us are going to have a 'finish' right away ...

  • Carmen - 10 years ago

    I loved hearing you talk about legacy quilts. I do so much quick quilting that I sometimes forget that it is a process. 5 years ago I celebrated my 25th wedding anniversary and made a photo quilt which encompassed 25 photos. It was such a joyous process

  • Suzanne - 10 years ago

    What a great concept. I will be following your blog.

  • Dianne Ritter - 10 years ago

    Thanks goodness this concept is coming into the forefront. Several years ago I spoke to my guild during show and tell about how uncomfortable I was with the notion that we were being sold a bill of goods that we had to make quilts faster and faster. I asked them "isn't the point of our craft to slow down and enjoy the process? We are being encouraged to create like a machines and it sucks the joy, creativity and passion from our craft."
    Thank you for starting this movement. I have liked slow stitching on face book and look forward to seeing how it develops.
    I hope your health is greatly improved.

  • Donna Sebastian - 10 years ago

    I think I embraced slow stitching when I realized that basting and ripping are just part of the process.

  • Mayann Weinberg - 10 years ago

    Awesome, your really back in the groove Mark!

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