Art, Craft and Needlework, September, 2011

[Harriet]

Creativity is calming,

says Jonathan Alpert, a psycotherapist who regularly treats anxiety. He says artistic time-outs such as painting a mural, assembling a model or even dooding on a sketch pad actually can help work through stressful situations. "And pride in creative efforts boosts self-esteem. High self-esteem makes us better problem solvers and better decision makers. We gain the confidence we need to be more resilient. And a resilient person handles stress better."

Creativity helps work through problems,

says Carl G. Arimoldo, Ph.D. "As human beings, we cannot think of something positive and something negative at exactly the same time." He explains that, "Finding an enjoyable activity to focus on serves as a mini mental vacation from the stress-provoking issue. When we then turn attention back to the stressor, we have more positive associations and our minds will be more relaxed and open to working through the problem."

What are the calming, problem-solving arts you are focusing on this month?

[BookSaver]

Aww, I feel bad that poor September AC&N doesn't have any posts. Let's save it from a total shut-out!

I haven't been able to get to any actual sewing, but I have done sewing-related stuff.

Early in the month my sewing group had a program from a local fabric designer. It was really interesting to see how she started with a basic hand-drawn sketch for a floral print, worked out colors for it, then figured out other coordinating prints and colors to make a fabric collection. She has a pro helping and advising her. She described the process of working out the exact colors with the company that manufactures the actual cloth. And the bolts of fabric she brought as finished designs were totally cute.

Middle of the month I researched very simple tote bag instructions for our charity projects.

I am trying to make final decisions about what projects to take to a 3-day sewing retreat in a couple of weeks.

Tonight I'm going to a sewing class about adding interesting details and professional finishing touches to clothes. That will finish out September's lessons in creativity.

Then tomorrow I'll be with the same designer/teacher all day to see her trunk show called "Clothing is Art" and learn more techniques.

This custom designer does a lot of jackets. I have that very simple jacket pattern I bought last month, and the red fabric I picked up last week. I'm hoping to practice at least one of the things I learn from her right away at the retreat, before I forget what she says!

[Harriet]

Oh, that all sounds so interesting, BookSaver! You're so right about practicing techniques and ideas before you lose them. I was envisioning a red jacket as I read your post.

You're right, September seems to have been a month many of us were taken away from our creativity!

Here, my ddad's needs expanded greatly, so that ultimately we brought him to our home 24-7 for the last couple weeks, so my projects came to a screeching halt.

I did get a quilt label printed out and went over the words with a fabric marker, and I changed the thread in my sewing machine. Sigh. Let's see... ... dd has been sketching up a storm. She left her sketch book behind in her last class the other day and had me hurry her to school first thing the next morning. She loves that book and doesn't want to lose it!

[Nancy]

I've been prepping some fleece to spin on my drop spindle this week it's been very peaceful doing that!

[Sunny]

Taking a few minutes here to post progress on the quilt project for dgd14. It had been put on hold for a long time while I tried to figure out in my mind what to do and how to do it. I finally took out all the stitching I had done already and decided to use lighter weight batting, which meant taking out all the pins. I am using the light weight 100% cotton batting now and repinned and remarked new stitching pattern, a very simple grid pattern, all straight stitching. I also ended up getting a new sewing machine. My old machine, a Kenmore, is now 43 years old and needs some maintenance work for sure. It doesn't sew as smooth as it once did. Anyway I love the new machine and I can fit the rolled material through the arm much better. I will be glad when this one is done; I'm sure dgd is anxious to see it as well!

A week or so ago I had an idea which was inspired by our own DNancy!. She had mentioned before getting yarn at a favorite thrift store. I decided to see if one of our stores around here (we have many) had any material for sale. I was able to find a couple of pieces that were 100% cotton. I also found a sheet set and two tablecloths all cotton to add to my small stack of material. Oh, and some single sheet block patterns - 25 cents each. I want to go back again next month to see what else I can find; maybe even try a couple of different stores.