Slow stitch, a potholder made of tiny scraps

One of the most inspiring books I read last year was Claire Wellesley-Smith’s Slow Stitch: Mindful and Contemplative Textile Art. It talks about practising slow making, creating a journal of stitches, of repetitive embroidery as meditative practice. It’s beautiful and inspiring, and I recommend it to anyone interested in slow living, sustainability and fibre arts.

So, inspired by this book, I took a look with fresh eyes at my scrap pile, patched them together in as I went, without trying to make it perfect in any way, and then added simple embroidery on top.

I love the idea of making something I can use, where I can use things I already have at home. I am interested in exploring more hand sewing in the near future. It’s soothing and portable and quiet.

I had dyed the textile pieces for this project beforehand in a rather failed experiment. I tried making a solution of acrylic paint (which I already had at home) but the dye set into the wrinkles of the fabric and didn’t transform as I’d have imagined.