Sunday, August 1, 2010

Slow Stitched



Somewhere along the way I may have mentioned slow stitching. I read about "slow design", in the Alabama Stitch Book. Natalie Chanin refers to this approach as embracing the long-term view over the short-term gain by using age-old techniques to create products that celebrate strong design principles for modern living. The designs in this book are fashioned by hand. In other words hand stitched. I love the thought of this. Taking time to thoughtfully stitch something up- enjoying the slow measured pace.

Never again will I use the words slow and stitched in the same sentence. This dress took me about three weeks to complete. I could never find time to work on it. So I stitched it- a few minutes here and there.




Finding myself at the end of the day dress project, frustrated and in need of a sewing fix, I couldn't be bothered to hand stitch the Alabama project and I stitched it entirely on the machine, so there.

7 comments:

Tilly said...

Hehe good for you!

2WeeMonsters said...

Hahaha! That's pretty much how I feel about the whole thing. I've tried. I like the idea, but in order for sewing to be 1)sustainable for me and 2)pleasurable, I need to be able to get it done when I have time. And that means I use and love my machine... a lot!

Queenplinker said...

Haha, I'm slow enough with a machine. I do enjoy the quit moments to do hand work...on occasion.

I love the pics and glimpses of the farm. Your chevre looks sooo yummy!

have a great day, Lynea.

Sorka said...

No worries I love how you overlapped the reverse applique with the image on the under layer. It looks cool!

Spindlejigs said...

It's a beautiful dress, I've been forced into a summer of really slow stitching since the day my son decided to see if my machine could sew and wind a bobbin at the same time...I like hand stitching for small projects but find larger ones sit for months because they are so daunting.

tea and cake said...

Superb!

Anonymous said...

I'm so inept with my sewing machine that sometimes hand stitching is quicker. Still, I sympathize with your feelings. The book is beautiful and a great inspiration, but I'm really not sold on the whole embroidery embellishment thing.
Fabric painting was a bit more my speed.
Your dress is gorgeous, by the way!
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