Making Something Colorful
How I stitched my way out of the grey
The weather has made sidewalks treacherous this past month, so I wasn’t surprised when no one came by for the monthly sale of sewing supplies at my studio, but I said I’d be there, so there I was. This gave me 5 quiet hours to work with my favorite things. So much to choose from, and so many unfinished projects, yet I decided to start something new. Something colorful to contrast with the grey mood I share with much of the country, and this seemingly endless winter on the Vineyard.
A box of brightly colored fabric beckoned, the washed and neatly folded solids inviting me to play. These materials are part of a Tara Faughnan workshop I signed up for last year. Once a month she sends a new twelve-color palette and a new design for a patchwork block.
They’re like practice sketches, you could say. But I was not able to even begin the blocks for November or December or January. I have skills for days, yet just thinking about the precision piecing involved in these three designs made me feel tired.
To stretch and practice new techniques and color combinations is the whole point of this program, but I haven’t been in the mood to expand. I needed a lift, something comforting and cheerful.
The February block design instantly appealed to me, because it was all about rectangles and the color palette was bright and interesting. I wanted something simple and fun and this was it.
There are numerous articles about how color affects mood, but this simple & colorful one is pretty good, I think. In it they say “The human brain operates on wavelengths and frequencies. For example, brain frequencies in the delta range will decrease our awareness and make us sleepy. It is the alpha frequencies that are responsible for human creativity, and it is [those] colors that most change alpha brain waves.” (I’m tempted to make an alpha-gal pun.)
I had so much fun cutting and stitching up the February assignment that all I wanted to do for days after was think about colorful rectangles. During my next visit to the studio I could not resist sewing a new block, and have since started a third. My mood has definitely improved!
Looking online at what other students did with this prompt, I saw there is no end to the possibilities of what can be done with a simple rectangle and a lot of colors. Some people managed to make block letters into impressive protest messages!
People often ask, what are you going to do with that? Or what will you make with all those needlepointed canvases and embroidery compositions and scraps of fabric sewn together? How many pillows does anyone need (or want)? I have not made anything useful from so very many of my creations. I’m beginning to realize that for me the process might be the whole thing, not the end product. I guess I’ll just leave them in a portfolio and flip the pages as needed, getting a boost of color happiness from each one.
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For a different kind of texture/color story, with a hint of seasonal pink & red, check out this class description at Tatter, one of my favorite organizations.
I love this post, Kate! The colorful rectangles look like little ladders to happiness.
What a boost this gives after weeks of living in monotone!