I get bored easily when I’m tacking my quilts.
So I listen to a podcast. Today it was Hidden Brain, an episode called When it’s All Too Much. It was after hearing the essay by Pico Iyer on how he would retreat to the silence of a monastery at some of the most difficult times in his life, that I decided to finish tacking my quilt Winter Shadows in silence.
The repetitive work of tacking a quilt is a fine meditation, so, I thought, why not take advantage of it. Instead of getting bored, I’d bring my wandering brain back to the moment, to each push and pull of the needle though the fabric, to the tying of each knot and snipping of each end of the yarn.
I have to say, bringing my thoughts back to the moment kept me too busy to get bored.
And when my brain finally quieted for some moments, I found myself listening to the sounds around me.
This is what I heard…
The click of the heat
the muffled cooing of hens outside my window
the rush of wind and wave of a car driving by
The soft snap of my shears
the constrained yield of yarn though fabric, batting and fabric again
the throaty drag of two strands of yarn
rubbing against each other
as I tie them in a double knot
The whisper-thin whine of Fate anticipating the afternoon feeding.
Winter Shadows is sold.
The quilt is beautiful, as always, Maria. I especially appreciate your thoughts on working in silence. After many years of library work, I still like the quiet when I’m cleaning or creating in my craft room. Recently, during frequent drives every week, I prefer to have no radio and just use the time to think. Not every time but often. It’s calming and productive .
I find there are times when I just can’t think of anything I’d like to listen to Laura. But I like the idea of being more intentional about silence. For years I was afraid of my own thoughts, but now that happens less and less.
it turned out lovely and already it seems so functional– like it has served to add cozy warmth to a bed for decades…i love that.
pico iyer is a wonderful author. i will have to read his newest book on silence. thanks for the heads up.
curious what you are standing on in pic with shoes and fate. carry on with your photography. each walk pic a treat. the berries in the snow!!! i appreciate your eye for the unseen beauty in nature.
Thanks for all your good words Nancy, I’ve never heard of Pico Iyer before, but Im going to look into his books. And I’m standing on a little wooden stool. Just the right hight so I can reach the top of the quilt. :)
It was a meditation in itself reading the sounds you heard.
Oh lovely Barb!