The last week I have spent refining my space, myself, and my goals. In the process, I decided I wanted to keep only the most cherished textiles, trims, buttons, books and magazines in my workspace. It fits with my new model, a transformation that is slowly growing within and without and is promising to be more self defined. Therefore, the last three days I have been going through all of my new and old textiles, books, magazines, vintage clothing, and vintage textiles. I am clearing a path so I can better see where I am headed in the weeks and months ahead. It feels completely cleansing as if my body has been on a fast but instead it is my creative room and storage that have been purged…..in a good way. So I am having a sale the third Saturday of February. I am going to serve tea and cookies and cake and offer my things for sale at a fair and enticing price.
All this sorting has consumed the better part of my days. How could I have accumulated so much STUFF?? But I have been sewing for nearly 43 years and never thrown anything away. Now it is time to save only what speaks to me.
Some vintage textiles piled in a chair….
More vintage pieces piled on stacks of magazines…..
Decorator pieces….
And a box of solid-colored cottons I have had since I first began quilt making many years ago.
When the last of the tea has been served and the cake and cookie crumbs cleared from the plates, I intend to sit down in front of the fire and celebrate.
I’m seeing some very beautiful fabrics in those stacks! And you most definitely deserve the celebration!
Thanks for the kind comments…I think we’re all going to have a great year (and more)!
Stella xxx
2010 has a great combination of numbers, and I feel the same way. Thanks for returning here. I am still dreaming about the Vanessa Bell hat!! So very beautiful!
Well done!
It is very hard to keep a mental list of all we have in our heads. I think that having a lot of stuff can cause unconscious tension and slight anxiety if it isn’t consumately organized. Mine never is.
I’m sorting my clothes out and discovering things I had forgotten I had. I group them into optimal combinations, mostly colour coded, sometimes with all the layers that work well.
I’m also isolating garments that could be up-cyled or altered in my eco-garments class into a pile. At least I’ll have a good choice when the 10 week class opens in April.
As I’m sorting clothes I’m also sorting fabrics. I find those more difficult to categorize. At the moment by colour. Anyone have other ideas?
I absolutely agree about lots of stuff causing tension and anxiety. I am a little frustrated trying to figure this out so I am now shrinking the piles so I have less to think about. I think with clothing that we all tend to forget what we have. I like sorting through my closet occasionally and figuring out ways to make certain things “new” by combining them with different accessories or matching separates in different ways. Sometimes you realize your closet potential is vast if you give it another perspective. This is always fun and illuminating. Suddenly something that seemed boring or tired reaches another stage of importance. I think this is really what creative dressing is all about. It will be fun to see what you learn in this eco-garments class, and I hope you share some of your insight.
Sorting fabrics has always been baffling, and then I decided one day to group things according to type: linens, silks, woolens, cottons, etc. and then not worry about the colors. I also think it is an individual preference. What might work for one person would be completely confusing to another. If you discover any ideas about this I would like to hear your insight too. I forgot to mention, I do sort my cotton quilt fabrics by type and color so I can find them more easily but I am getting rid of at least 70% of these in a few weeks.
Ooooh! I wish I could drop everthing and fly over for your sale, what fun that would be, and tea & cakes too, I cannot think of anything more wonderful. Good luck with it all, sometimes one needs to have a clear out, to make sufficient ‘space’ for fresh ideas to grow & be nurtured. I find too much clutter almost become ‘noisey’, if you know what I mean, it stops me from being able to focus. Once sorted, the mind is peaceful enough to create again! xx
Oh please do stop by. That would be so much fun. I suppose after I quit sorting and pricing, I should start baking and freezing a few things or I will never be ready. Clutter is okay if you know where everything is, but my tendency is to never unload the piles, and then I can’t find anything, and that is truly ‘noisy’ and irritating, not to mention a waste of time when I have to stop and look for something. I am searching for that peace for sure!
well i would stop by if i could… such a gentle ceremony celebrating less….
I know you would stop by if you could, and I would love that. You could stitch and I could sell, and before we knew it the time would be late, and we would pop the bottle of champagne and have a little toast to your stitching progress and my sale!
Oh, I hope that I will follow your lead and do the same. I know I could think more clearly if I had less clutter. And I, too, wish I could be there, just to be with you! I love your title, “Tea and Textiles,” and it suddenly occurred to me to look up the relationship between the word “text” (which is my first love, the love of words in a text) and the word “textile” (my second love, the love of fabric). It seems they both come from the Latin, “text-,” meaning “woven.” How perfect is that?? The weaving of words into text and the weaving of threads into textiles. I am off to do some weaving, of one kind or another! xo Kari
I really like your description of “text” and what it means in terms of weaving words and thread. There is so much in common between the two. A room that is too clean and too perfect is not a comfortable room. I need to organize my things so I can begin some projects that will only make more mess and chaos. Managing all this stuff is too time consuming. I really want my mind cleaned up too! Wish you could come as well. What a party we would have with all the blogging women!
I have been reading your posts, that I missed…I have been on a blog break. One that I needed to handle what life has brought me these last few months.
I am slowly coming back.
I read your post Integrity and Focus several times and all the comments and your replies to those comments. I am so touched by this post…I now know why I feel that we are kindred souls…so much of your early story is my story.
I have always enjoyed reading your posts…It is good to focus, at the same time there is so much life to live and so many stories to tell…and you tell yours with thoughtfulness and elegance.
I wish you good luck on your sale and happy celebrating.
Oh thank you so much for your very thoughtful comments. I was wondering why you had not posted on your blog. Sometimes we need to take breaks and restore ourselves from time to time. I hope you are feeling better and back in the groove of life. It is true there is so much life to live, always something around the next corner that draws us in.
Perhaps one day we can talk about our similar childhoods. I think that a lot of people who blog just might have had similar experiences and perhaps that is why we are drawn to this medium of communication.
I am glad you are back and posting your delightful photos and stories again. I have missed them!
I can not think of a more delightful way of celebrating “letting go.” If I was near you could count me in for attendance. Meeting you
having tea, and being surrounded by beautiful fabric would make my heart sing : )
Did I see a needlepoint canvas in there? I used to paint my own.
What a party that would be if everyone who made a comment here and said they would like to come could actually do so. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? We would probably all talk at the same time, and then have to figure out how to take turns, we would have so much to say!
Yes, I have quite a few needlepoint canvases to sell. I am very impressed that you used to paint them. There is definitely an art form to that, You should post one on your blog. I would love to see it.
That’s going to be quite the sale!
In the process, I found some flannel, finally, that I was telling you about. I will send you an email.
Since your post regarding the change in focus of your blog I’ve been meaning to write to say that no matter what you decide to write about, I will be a faithful reader because of the thoughtfulness and deep sense of self that comes through your posts, words and pictures together.
..and I got all excited when I zoomed in on that box of plain cottons and saw the wonderful soft textures. It’s a grand life when one is easily amused.
What a heartfelt comment, Deb. For someone who makes such exquisite pieces, I am honored that you feel this way. I will still have my hands in textiles, but in different ways I suppose.
Do you realize that box of plain cottons is actually almost 30 years old? That would place it in the category of “vintage textiles”, and that makes me laugh as well as feel like I am a vintage piece too!
What a glorious post celebrating the joy of life and less. You will truly enjoy your celebration and also the sale itself.
I think it might be a good way to initiate 2010, a clearing away of things that weigh me down and seeing a lighter way of existence. Thank you!
what am amazing stash you have…some wonderful textiles.
Love the stitchery in the post above too. Lots of potential there.
Jacky.
This stash is going to be shrinking by design and urgency!
I like the stitchery, but do not know how to do crewel. I would love to take a class and be able to finish this piece by an unknown person.
I would love to attend this sale if you are still having it. Your piles look intriguing! I noticed your picture of our beautiful Mt. Hood…I have almost the same picture posted! We are so lucky to live where we do. I came across your blog this morning with coffee. I smiled as I read about fabric sorting and the keeping of things…weeding out and arranging is a constant…I think anyone who is creative has a tendency to collect things…we are able to see the hidden potential…color, texture, design, form, all are immediate draws. I have a lovely studio room with fabric on both sides. Way too much…but…I think of the arranging as an exercise in relaxation. Once you get those colors placed in just the right order the walls just “sing”. For years I separated the fabrics by content or purpose. No longer. Now I just go for the color and let them co-mingle. I think it stretches the creative possibilities of what will be made out of what!