embracing the beginner's spirit

stitch by stich

Hello sweet creative soul,

Of all the many (many!) art books on my shelves, there's one category that takes up more space than any other, and it's not what you might think. It's not painting, nor art journaling. It's… textile art! Here are my favorites:

William has prepared a list for you with links here:

browse textile books!

Textile has always been a huge inspiration to me, and it's actually one of my earliest memories of making art, way back in primary school when we did a collective weaving (our city, Angers, is big on woven art, with one of the oldest and longest tapestries in the world, and a wonderful contemporary textile art museum). I do love freestyle weaving and I do it from time to time. I even have a lovely online workshop called Woven Dreams if you’d like to come weaving with me!

cherished vintage fabrics

But sewing and stitching is something I've had a lot of resistance to. I have collected and cherished vintage textiles for as long as I can remember, even adding bits of them to my art, but a part of me feels too precious about them, afraid I might ruin them. This is a bit strange, given that I have no problem using vintage papers and tearing apart vintage books.

But there's something different about fabrics, especially embroidered bits and vintage garments. They were made by hand, skillfully and thoughtfully. Whenever I hold such a piece in my hand, I can feel a connection to the person who took the time to create it, maybe wore it and cherished it, or gifted it.

And so, for the longest time I've simply enjoyed having these items in the studio, holding them in my hands from time to time, enjoying their softness, letting their beautiful off-white tones inspire my other art, and only cutting out little bits from pieces that were too damaged, to use in my paintings and art journal.

getting ready to learn

But when I cleaned up my bookshelf lately, and realized how many textile books I have, and how much I love them, I realized it was time to be brave and make a change. As usual, I started by reorganizing the studio a bit:

I took all my precious fabrics out of their baskets, to be stored and displayed on shelves, so I can really see what I've got.
Since I'm not planning on doing much filming in the coming months, I've cleared my filming area to make it my textile table.
A few months ago, I had set up an extra table for my sewing machine but it was in a tight, badly-lit spot, not ideal for handling fabrics. So, I've moved it to give it more space.

Speaking of my sewing machine, I have to admit I have a lot of fear and resistance there too. Even though I did quite a lot of sewing before I ever started making art (mostly washable nappies for my babies, which can be quite tricky!), I still haven't even tried this new machine I got last Christmas. But that's about to change and I've got the perfect, basic project to get over it: sewing the hem of some curtains. Not a bit of creativity in sight and straight lines that nobody will look at, that should do it!

our cat Pollock supervising my progress...

a practice piece

But back to art: I figured I just had to start somewhere and do a "practice piece" to try my hand at stitching. So, I cut a placemat-sized piece of canvas to use as my cloth "substrate". I have a huge roll of painting canvas and I thought: why not? Turns out it's a bit too thick to handle but I'm not about to get all perfectionist just yet.

Then I started arranging little bits of fabric in a grid over it. That felt a lot more familiar as I love collage and grid paintings! The next step was to decide whether or not to use some Bondaweb (the kind of adhesive sheet that you iron to adhere patches) or to simply pin. I went for pinning. After all, best to start in the simplest way possible that people have used for hundreds of years right?

Well, as you can see, my fabrics don't lay super flat and my cloth buckles a lot. I kind of like it, but would still like to know how to control it. I'm pretty sure it's in part due to the thick canvas underneath. Next I'm planning on doing a series of mini artworks (my go-to method to learn anything new!) and this time I think I'll try the adhesive, and a different base-cloth like a vintage cotton napkin.

embracing the beginner's spirit!

Here's what I most want to tell you about though: I'm having so much fun being a beginner again! It's just fascinating to notice all the thoughts and sensations I'm going through, my "mistakes", my progress…

For instance, I love that the creative part and the "making" part are more separate than when I paint. Here, once I've planned my composition and placed my "stitched collage" pieces, then the next step is a lot less creative: pinning everything in place, then attaching every little bit, one slow stitch at a time. I didn't expect to enjoy this part of the process so much, but I do! I'm fully embracing the slowness, the mindfulness, the very meditative quality of this practice.

falling in love

Here are the things I'm most enjoying on this new journey:

I love being able to make art in a comfy armchair in our living room, surrounded by my little family and cats! The kitties keep trying to climb on my lap and they get a little bit grumpy when I tell them off, oh well…
The other night I indulged in a Jane Austen movie in bed, and kept stitching all along. I was surprised how much progress I had made in those two hours, and how much more regular my stitches can get when I'm not trying too hard and am thinking about something else. It's still far from being "automatic", but I can see I'm getting better, and that's super rewarding! Allowing yourself to be a beginner again is so good for the soul.
Treating myself to some lovely printed fabrics! I mostly had whites in my stash and even though I managed to source a few vintage prints, I also purchased some new ones with a timeless or vintage feel. They bring a lot of joy to the process as they feel less precious and more fun!

Using an old silver thimble from my grandma. It's thin, softly worn and misshapen in a way that makes it fit my finger perfectly. Completely different from regular thimbles: why on Earth do they make them round? If you look at the tip of your fingers, you'll see they're flatter than that! This thimble looks so old, I wonder how many generations of women in my family have used it before me, and it gives me a lovely sense of connection and support.

Letting intuition take over and trying my hand at some freestyle stitching to embellish the piece. For now, this means continuing the printed designs with thread so they overlap the fabric edges, and adding the odd cross-stich here and there.
Knowing that this slow practice is also sustainable. Apart from buying some cotton thread and a few fabrics to get myself started, I'm working mainly with materials and tools that have been passed down to me. I'm using natural materials like cotton, silk and linen, and any little left-over bits can either be reused, recycled, or put in a little hanging basket outside for birds to use when building their nests!

When I look back at the list above, I realize how much there is to love about this process, and I can hardly wait to get back to it and see where it takes me! Right now, after spending several hours on the computer, my mind and fingers are really looking forward to some relaxing, stitching time.

Tell me in a comment!

What about you? When was the last time you enjoyed being a beginner? Are you into stitching or any other kind of fiber art? Any tips to share with a complete beginner? Let me know!

I wish you a lovely day and hope you can savor some sweet and slooow moments too.

Light & Love

let's create together!