One of the most beneficial books I've read is The Vigorous Mind by Ingrid Cummings (I've written tons of posts about this on my book blog). Cummings recommends becoming a dilettante and being proud of it! Expand your horizons, experiment with your interests.
Although our society has come to prefer the specialist over the generalist, Cummings recommends developing diverse interests and enthusiasms, becoming more well-rounded, and reaching for things to expand your pleasure in life, without striving for the perfection of the specialist.
"REACH" has some wool stitching at the top, but the rest is all pearl cotton. I like the feather stitch, but wasn't too creative with it. I've seen some really creative versions here at Jizee's blog. She has 3 posts this week on variations of the feather stitch. Inspiring!
"TINY DEVOTIONS" also ended up with a lot of feather stitch. The butterfly is paper, but coated with a Modge Podge. The fabric is some of my eco dyed experiments with rings from rusted bottle caps. The stitching on the prayer flags has been a kind of tiny devotion in itself, but as I stitched, I found myself thinking of many things that are tiny devotions in life: slicing baby carrots for a spinach salad, unrolling my yoga mat, taking a walk to appreciate the warm weather we have been having, grooming the cats (oh, no--that doesn't count because I often curse during that chore).
And while the Triad may consider grooming a way in which I display my feline devotion, it really has more to do with wanting less cat hair to deal with. :) Totally self-serving.
I've completed 4 flags so far: Fresh, Balance, Reach, and Tiny Devotions, and there are several more in progress. I have all of the original words and phrases I jotted down before beginning this project, but keep adding to the list.
You can see more work by TAST participants at Tuesday Stitchers, TAST Facebook, and Stitching Fingers.
More about prayer flags here
Reach reminds me of tiny tropical fish swimming in a sea of coral. I admire the patience you show with Tiny Devotions -- and grooming your feline friends!
ReplyDeleteLove that sun shape and the blanket stitch "C"...way cool!
ReplyDeleteLaurie - I thought Reach turned out kind of tropical waters, too. Too bad that purple leaf is there; I should have made a shell!
ReplyDeleteThe Triad--an infamous, furry, and egotistical threesome who don't know how lucky they are--rush to the stairs where I groom them, pushing and shoving each other as they vie for attention. Ill-mannered, undisciplined trouble-makers....
Nancy -- Thanks, Nancy. Moving right along as these babies. Who'd a thunk it?
Thanks for the behind the scenes explanations of your stitching details and word choice. Your felines sounds like they're related to ours!
ReplyDeleteJudy - Cats! I love to hear them purr and to have them knead me with their paws, but...they are always in trouble! Surely yours are better behaved?
ReplyDeleteI love the vibrant colors in the Reach flag-just gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherri! I like using the variegated threads.
ReplyDeleteoh, that book page butterfly! love it! and the flags are perfectly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteJane - Thanks! I have really enjoyed working on the prayer flags.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite colors! I just love the prayer flag idea!
ReplyDeleteMary-Frances - It is such a lovely project, and I'm enjoying participating in it!
ReplyDeleteThese are really neat. Thanks for the book tip, too.
ReplyDeleteMama Pea - I really love this book. It started me on so many adventures in life and reading. One of the things it encouraged me to do is to become a registered yoga teacher (RYT), and I went to Austin, TX for a month for training for my 200 hour certification.
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