Peace, Serenity & Grace
100 Days | 04 & 05
Stitching: MYP2 Cardigan; Oodie adjustments because it’s so far beyond way too big, and sketching ideas for this new dress pattern.
Yesterday, half way between a misty valley and a sunny peak in the middle of a gigantic gorge, the insatiable need to create struck. No sketchbook, so I played with leaves to try and capture what was going on in my head – at least if I could fold, arrange and then snap these on my phone it might help me visualise, embed and work through to next steps?
Why was I so compelled? The colours.
Picture this:
Pale, sagey-green lichen fondling rough rocks which have pink streaks and mineral glistenings though them, bold on a tufted carpet of rusty sweet chestnut leaves or else dark brown earth softened by sand, fresh green spongy moss or patterned pinecones. (Hey! Head up! Stop looking at your feet!) Sky, a bright off-white with little blue traces high up above the valley mists. Keep climbing up. Keep going.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Peace, serenity. Be here now.
Stop battling and show yourself some grace.
The lovely feelings held me so tight, I wanted to invent something – a garment – to wrap myself in when I wasn’t climbing anymore, to translate this wild visceral into the everyday material, and perhaps carry some of this harmony with me. To enfold myself in it, physically. This requires grace – to stop grappling to feel worthy and just let myself be charmed by it all, to let myself off the hook and simply play, to respond and record any way I can without fearing looking like a wacko. Yes, even if that involves using dead leaves as mini pattern pieces!
A lovely soft, viscose fabric in my stash has all these colours and a sweet, modern design with a nature motif. It’s been on my mind to play with this and invent a new pattern, so today I took my gorge-ous inspo and sketched it all up. I have my idea.
I’m going to show myself GRACE with this, just let go and let it flow, and see what happens.
{ think about: }
Grace.
‘Let the soft animal of your body
Love what it loves.’
~ Mary Oliver
