letting go can be the hardest action some of us may take. be it letting go of feelings for someone. letting go of things we have painstakingly collected through the years. or letting go of preconcepted ideas and plans. having been laid up these past few days or so with a horrific cold, i have had a lot of time to think on such things and have decided that this year will be the year of letting go for me.
being the classic "collector", this will not be easy. i will be letting go of more than just "things"...as i have collected so much more than that. I will be letting go of ideas that limit and contain. of friends that restrict and denigrate. of finished projects that need to go out into the world and share their being-ness. of habits that destroy...or at least severely hamper...personal growth. and of attachments to these ideas and the methods with which to do so. as clean a slate as is possible for a man in the heyday of his middle age!
to start with, remembering not to overdo it today simply because the sun is finally out again, but i am still weak from this cold, i pulled out very traditional ohio star quilt top that i had pieces ages ago and never did anything with. it is much too "traditional" for my current tastes and has been sitting forsaken in the oubliette, the "forgotten place" that is my great, great uncle's steam trunk. i had such plans for this quilt at one time! but now am letting go of them as they no longer interest me. i've helped it along on its new journey first by giving it some rustic, big stitch quilting stitches, in a very traditional manner. just to lay some ground work and keep things from shifting about too much. the rest of the afternoon, i think, may be spent digging through scraps and finding a fabric palette from which to pull some new elements to breathe new life into this cloth. trees. critters. i can almost hear a story beginning to whisper from the depths of this cloth's soul...
meanwhile, i've been inspired lately by this and this...
blogger is acting up at the moment and not allowing me to add to my thread trails list, but i wanted to share one of my new favorite blogs today: snail cloth her work is overflowing with exuberance and a zest for life that i can't help but smile whenever i visit her blog. i'll get it on the list as soon as blogger behaves...
namaste'
Change is good...
ReplyDeleteLove that antique truck on the quilt and love the quilt too!
Do little things for you.
: )
thanks, marie...yes...little things for me. that's what i'm trying to do...
DeleteI like the mix of traditional patchwork with our more free style cloth making. I think this could be a very special project.
ReplyDeleteI am a bit of a hoarder too. It is difficult to let go of some things...material and physical.
Enjoy your new project.
Jacky xox
yes, jacky, *very* difficult to let go of some things... but i'm getting better at it!
Deletei am enjoying the mix of styles, too...can hardly wait to really push that envelope!
Blimey Joe, I thought I was being good giving up smoking and chocolate! :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you're undergoing quite a special transformation, letting go and moving on. I wish you all the best! That quilt is beautiful, hold on to that one!
ah, but tallulah, if i'm gonna be willing to let go of things, i'll have to be willing to let go of that quilt, too... some day. perhaps not just yet, though! ha!
DeleteLetting go is very hard. The trick is to know what to hold on to...and that quilt is one!
ReplyDeletefor a little while, anyway, penny. that's the problem...when you've been as prolific throughout your life as i have, you accumulate too many quilts (etc., etc.) and they begin to take over your life...control you instead of enhance your space. it's time to let go...though it is a painful process...
Delete