Ahhhhhhhhh

Start of a punchneedle piece, "Antique Coverlet" from The Old Tattered Flag. Using Koigu yarns, medium tip, setting on 2.

Ahhhhhh...I can feel a giant sigh of relief as I begin this 9"x9" piece on my punch needle frame.  While I knit every night, and that in itself is calming, there is nothing like textile work--punch needle  or traditional rug hooking--for relieving creative tension.  A dilemma which had been building for days because of too many other obligations.

How is it that just the feel of cloth or thread moving through my hands brings such a sense of release and equanimity?  It works like a charm for me and for so many other textile artists.

I did the same pattern last year in another colorway with cotton (Valdani) threads, but I know I'm going to prefer it this way, done in wool.  What is it about wool?  I love it.

Art has to do with the arrest of attention in the midst of distraction. (Saul Bellow)

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