Wabi sabi textiles quilts

Last weekend we had an unexpected snow, which added a little bit of magical charm to a morning at Old Sturbridge Village with the New England Quilt Study Group (a subset of the AQSG). I felt a little shy about going on my own (the old "who will I sit with at lunch" middle school feeling), but once there, as is per usual with quilters, I found the room to be friendly and welcoming. It was so fun to finally meet in person the delightful Wendy from Maine and her friends (Check out Wendy's blog…

simple quilts, scrappy quilts, sometimes sashiko

Amazon.com: Contemporary Patchwork: Techniques in Colour, Surface Design & Sewing: 9781644033753: Khounnoraj, Arounna: Books

It is from Vermont, at least that's what I was told when this quilt became mine. It is made from a variety of fabrics, wool, cottons, thin, thick, even some polyester mixed in here and there. It is probably not ancient, but it is still old, or maybe just used often. The true history of the quilt does not matter so much. Somebody made it in log cabin style, lovingly piecing the rectangular shapes to the backing fabric by hand, then throwing in some machine stitching to keep the layers…

detail from "Hide and Seek" by Megumi Mizuno A wonderful exhibit of "new quilt works" by 50 quilt artists. Here were some of my fav...

And the pattern is finished too! This is a raw-edge machine applique quilt. The final task is trimming off all the loose threads after machine washing and drying. But then it has a nice soft texture. Wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in simplicity, authenticity, imperfection, and the natural cycle of growth and decay. It also involves asymmetry which goes against my natural default settings. That's part of the fun of making a quilt like this. Wabi Sabi quilt by Karen…

And the pattern is finished too! This is a raw-edge machine applique quilt. The final task is trimming off all the loose threads after machine washing and drying. But then it has a nice soft texture. Wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in simplicity, authenticity, imperfection, and the natural cycle of growth and decay. It also involves asymmetry which goes against my natural default settings. That's part of the fun of making a quilt like this. Wabi Sabi quilt by Karen…

wabi sabi meditation scrolls by Emma Freeman, hand stitched wabi sabi fabric scrolls, stitching as meditation, stitching as spiritual practice, intuitive stitching, slow stitching, stitching as therapy, intuitive embroidery, spiritual artist, art as therapy, art as spiritual practice, vintage Japanese textiles, Buddhist artist, queer, HSP, sober artist and poet, Wisconsin artist, poet Emma Freeman

wabi sabi meditation scrolls by Emma Freeman, hand stitched wabi sabi fabric scrolls, stitching as meditation, stitching as spiritual practice, intuitive stitching, slow stitching, stitching as therapy, intuitive embroidery, spiritual artist, art as therapy, art as spiritual practice, vintage Japanese textiles, Buddhist artist, queer, HSP, sober artist and poet, Wisconsin artist, poet Emma Freeman