Sometimes things are not easy. They seem that way but they are not. And you try to keep Going. And you ask yourself sometimes what am I doing? Why do I do it? When it is so hard?
And morning breaks and you get up, with all these questions in your head.
And you open your email.
And you read this.
Dear Jude
I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed working my way through your Spirit Cloth 101 class series. I know, I speeded through it, but it was just so exactly what I wanted & needed that I just kept nibbling away until it was all gone. I found some of your methods very illuminating, but much more so was your attitude towards stitching. I work in textiles, in yarn dyeing, and I’m a knitter, but I needed to do something more for me, unrelated to my business, and something that really expressed myself creatively. I wanted this year to be the year that I started to really believe in myself as a creative person. But it’s hard for me, I battle major self doubt, and I get very impatient with myself if I can’t do something perfectly right away. Once I started stitching, I knew I’d found my medium, the one that slows me down, grounds me, makes me feel calmer and creative in my own right (as opposed to knitting from someone else’s pattern, for example), but I was still feeling very constricted by rules, very blocked when it came to exploring new techniques and styles, and basically frustrated and anxious. Your classes have enabled me to learn some skills that help me get over those issues... I had already discovered by trial and error that the only way I could design anything or work creatively with imagination, was to get a box of fabric scraps, and collage them on my design wall – but I was struggling to find a technique that allowed me to proceed with the piece from that point, without the restrictions of seams and squaring up, and all the traditional patchwork methods. I absolutely love this new method. It has also revealed to me that I really do dislike machine work, and love hand stitching. I am a very anxious uptight person, with a history of severe clinical depression, and I find it difficult to relax, but hand stitching really winds me down. Your what if attitude has really infected me too. I have been approaching each project as though it was a battle zone, me versus the fabric, or rather, me versus The Rules. But you’ve helped me to see that that is not necessary or helpful, and that creativity can only flow if we are open to breaking the rules and taking chances.
I also read your blog, so I know you have a lot on your plate at the moment, so don’t feel under pressure to respond to this. But I just wanted you to know how much of a difference your course has made to me, not just to my crafting, but to me personally. I thank you very much indeed for that. When I have finished the piece that I’m working on at the moment, which I have been using to work through the lessons in the class, I will email you a picture of it. I am delighted with it already, for the first time in my narrow little life, I have something that really represents my imagination and says something about me to the world. I feel creative, for the first time.
Many thanks and warm love,
This is it. I do it for this. Is this the most beautiful thank you ?
And this is amazing.
