inspiration.

This winter, I'm learning to quilt on Sundays from my mum. She's been a beautiful hand quilter for years, and I'm finally ready to learn her craft. At the Deerfield Fair this past weekend, I saw one of the more incredible hand quilts I've seen at the arts and crafts building in years. This quilt had an amazing back story too--the woman who created it spent 4 years toiling on this piecework--1976 to 1980.There's been a lot of talk about this "Slow Fashion" movement, but I think the conversation can be extended to "slow making" as well. I see a lot of makers churning out item after item and I often wonder, "How do you have time to complete all those projects so quickly?"One of my goals this year is to slow down and enjoy the making. In the past, I too, have churned out garment or hat after hat, and never wearing them again or even gifting them out, only to find them years later and say "Oh, yeah. I forgot about this one." I know inevitably, with knitting for more than a decade, a bit of that is bound to happen. But, my goal is to try and remember the things I make--take time, and care--and not worry about speed or how many items I'm churning out.This summer, I didn't knit or make a single garment. And it felt good to take a break. Now that the weather has turned, I have that itch again; I'm just going to be more intentional about where I itch. And that itch may just be in quilting.