Handwork

Handwork tends to be done in my house at the ends of the day. In the early morning gray before the sun is up and the computer is on I tend to pick up what I'm working on and stitch and think. This morning as I sat with the bunny, cat and dog I thought about all the other stitchers out there in the world quietly having a first cup of coffee or tea and enjoying the quiet before the rest of the household wakes up. We follow the stream of  spirit that tells us where that next stitch should go and what should be added to this project or that. We form a community of (mostly) women who still stitch and make things by hand honoring the materials we work with and the process that brings the final piece to completion. In some subliminal way we are all stitching the world whole again after the tears that life inflicts. Handwork does that. It is the attention to detail and small effort that makes something special that carries a small amount of the energy of the maker within it. It is why old textiles are so compelling and why new ones make you want to know more. I am taking classes right now with Jude Hill of Spiritcloth (see the link in the blog list to the side) and so have been thinking more about the importance of work we do by hand. In this world where perception is stood on it's head (corporations are real entities) we need a slow work movement. Let's call it Authentic Work. It would be like the Slow Food movement but with the work your soul says you need to do. In that early morning stillness when you can't get that idea for your true passion out of your head - that is the clue to your Authentic Work. In this time of business deflation where jobs are scarce and underemployment is the norm, Authentic Work is more important than ever. You are blessed indeed if you can find a way to make the calling of your soul into your vocation and earn some small amount of money with that to help offset these hard times.

This beautiful yellow came out of the dyepots yesterday. The fabric is kona and is part of the new offering of quilt fabric. I'm thinking some of it needs to be part of all this indigo I've been dyeing with lately, maybe in the form of a sun or star.

Whatever hand work you do in this world I hope today you find a way to celebrate it - to know in your heart that it is an important and good thing in this world. You are not alone. You are part of a community of stitchers out here in the world who are making a map of spirit with our needles and thread, leaving a trail for others.