Words
Since turning 13 in December, my son has started watching the news with us in the evenings. What a time to be a parent and feel torn between wanting to educate your children and wishing to keep them shielded. How to explain the terror that’s happening all around the world…
There are no words, and yet there are SO many words.
Working with the messages that people have shared with me, stitching them into this beautiful piece of vintage German bed linen, feels like therapy in my hands. It is a privilege to hold them, and so when I came to the edge of my fabric, there was no other choice but to add more fabric and keep going.
The messages are so powerful that they have trickled into my 52 Tiny Offerings Project.
I really look forward to sending them out into the world at the end of the year.
In fact, it seems every project I am working on this (insanely long) month is inundated with words.
This was a small quilt I sent off for SAQA’s Spotlight Auction.
Over at the Quilty Nook, I’m exploring “what if” through Zak Foster’s Wonder Year prompts. This first month, we’ve done a lot of reflecting on our textile roots and first memories. As the granddaughter of an avid Portuguese knitter, and the great-granddaughter of a master crocheter, textiles were always in my memory (sometimes in the less savory form of itchy sweaters). It’s been a really nice reason to take a trip down memory lane, dust off my sock yarn stash, and experiment with stitching with yarn.
More on this project coming soon.
Another big project occupying my time and my heart at the moment is my end-of-year recap quilt. Reflecting on 2025, I’ve been delighted to feel just how much color and courage crept into my life through Heidi Parkes’Quiltmaking course, especially thanks to my teammates on that journey. I started by chronicling the things I learned and my own textile finishes-
(I sent off 81 tiny offerings last year!)
and then enjoyed noticing how my quilt became enriched by nods to the colors, patterns, techniques, or concepts from each of my quiltmaking colleagues. I’m going to keep this project hidden until I can share it with them first, but here’s a little preview.
My word of the year for 2026 is NOTICE, and it’s quite clear to see just how powerfully text is taking over every part of my textile life. I am grateful for the power of these words and the solace they can bring.
I hope that in this endless first month of the year, you are finding pockets of solace and healing words as well.
Thanks for reading.
Claire