For me, crafting has become a power for good in my experience of dealing with the pandemic. I live in the Bay Area, where there have been forest fires all around us and the number of COVID cases is somewhat high. If you let your thoughts dwell too much on what is actually happening it can be overwhelming. So it is a unique opportunity to channel restlessness and anxiety into creating pieces that illuminate the darkness. So I started seeing the image of a dark garden. The background of the fabrics I will use will be mostly black but there will be colors or flowers still shine through the darkness, preventing me from dwelling on what is missing. This is a way of telling myself that although at times it feels black, some flowers and plants can still grow in the deepest shade. The first piece of fabric I found that makes sense of this to me is a Moschino cotton that displays a black background with crimson and white and orange and pink roses. I’ve also purchased some black lawn fabric to sew a simple sleeveless top to go with it. I added some black tulle to poof out the skirt to make it feel a bit more playful and fun.
I like to knit pieces to bring out one of the colors in a printed fabric, so I am planning to knit the following lace vest pattern, called Bourne by Sarah Hatton.
I have some kidsilk haze in my stash in the color Blushes that I think will go beautifully with the colors of the skirt.
I will keep you posted on how the progress goes with my little capsule collection. In the meantime, I am continuing to focus on trying to bring more enchantment into my daily life because while I am spatially limited, the span of imagination has no boundaries. So I knitted myself a pair of Choose your House Socks in the Gryffindor House colorway to remind myself of this:
Sometimes the most difficult times bring out the best in us and I look forward everyday to seeing the creative inspiration my fellow crafters are finding in their own lives. What is inspiring you lately?