New Year Bookmark

Sunny Flowers

Welcome to this New Year of 2011. I am back now in normal mode having recovered from the worst jet lag I have experienced to date! Our holiday period was fantastic with some great family get-togethers and lots of games with my grandsons. I think all the little storycloth presents were well received. It certainly gave me satisfaction to give them. It was not a warm few weeks in Australia but we did get to the beach once and have returned to Winter here with a slight tan.

I made this bookmark around New Years Eve in the midst of post travel dizziness. I am using it myself and derive pleasure everytime I take it out of the book I am reading, put it back in, or just notice the flowers poking out of the book as I walk past. The black fabric is some sort of grosgrain tape that I had lying around - it feels a little synthetic and I won't use it again. But the overall effect is very cheery and striking.

I made a minor New Year's resolve pertaining to clothwork. After I had finished the Sunny Flower's bookmark and realised that the feel of the tape was not that pleasing I decided that this year I will not use any fabric that I know will detrimentally effect the completed article. As a consequence I began work on a small linen storycloth, the first piece for 2011, using a similar flower theme as the bookmark but in different colours. I will post this as soon as it is completed.

I have also been thinking about another perspective on creating storycloths. This time inspired by my four year old grandson. He constructs very complex lego designs using book length instruction guides. He will not budge on replacing the exact required piece with another, rather he will search for the 'right' piece. He knows every piece of lego in his enormous collection. He describes his process like this: "I always follow instructions". As he grows older he may become more flexible, which I am sure he would be even now in an emergency! But his approach, and his dedication to his approach, gives me cause for contemplation as I have always been the opposite. I have historically felt constrained by instructions, thinking that I am not being creative if I follow them. But I have realised that there is a place for deriving satisfaction from following instructions well. Doing something 'right'. Firmly establishing a base of knowledge and experience from which I can later experiment. I mean, in the case of recipes for example, there is something to be said for following an expert's recipe closely, being able to repeat a wonderful culinary experience time and time again. Likewise, perhaps, following cloth making instructions from an expert, from someone who knows how to make certain effects with cloth, is manifestly satisfying. For me, maybe creativity can be found in the dedication to learning an art well, humbling myself enough to learn deeply, exactly, thoroughly from another.

At close of needle yesterday I had outlined the vase on my first storycloth for 2011.

Happy stitching everyone. I will be getting around to blogs in the next few days. Thankyou for the comments on my last post for 2010. It is really great  to read over them.

Gilly