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Snails Guide to Wandering

Week 1: Snails & Toxic Productivity

Week 2: Snails Check In

Week 3: Snails Make Space

Week 4: Snails Activate

Meanwhile, on Instagram…

raheliharper

Edited to add: Third time? Bobbin ran out… Seco

Edited to add: Third time? Bobbin ran out…

Second time’s the charm right? Stitched this neck facing to the wrong side the first time. Making a #louboxdress1 for a beach/pool cover up. @sewdiypatterns #fredsaidsew #warpandweftfabric

On Substack: when free time leads to a frantic gra

A snow day crankie with my wintertime anthem from

A snow day crankie with my wintertime anthem from @okeedokeebros - I like that I reminds me to sink into the hard days as well as the bright ones.

My kids and I are excited to see them in concert at the end of the month!

I am cutting the pills off my Letho Cardigan. Got

I am cutting the pills off my Letho Cardigan. Got to keep this FANCY lady looking good.

#mendmarch day 11 - FANCY - I consider this as part of my mending tool box because it refreshes a garment so much. Not all mending is patching - so if you feel like your sewing skills aren’t helping you, go ahead and find a different way to tend to your clothes. I think it was @whitebarnfarm who told me not to pull the pills because it will just pull new fibers out and help future pills to form. ✂️

#lethocardigan by @moonstruck_knits and knit with @kelbournewoolens #germantownyarn bought at @beetleandfred - it was my 2021 #rhinebecksweater (though I didn’t actually attend that year.

#mendmarch PESKY (day 9). Those pesky thorns do a

#mendmarch PESKY (day 9). Those pesky thorns do a job on our jackets. Or maybe it was those pesky low branches? My 9-year-old needed a bunch of holes stitched so his jacket wasn’t so drafty - it’s got polyester fill so it was pretty quick to sew them on my machine last week.

#visiblemending #mendmarch2023 #fashionrevolutionusa #clotheshaveastory #lovedclotheslast #makedoandmend #mendingmayhem

#mendmarch LABOR OF LOVE (LOL - day 7) I have a pa

#mendmarch LABOR OF LOVE (LOL - day 7) I have a pair of jeans whose fabric is wearing out - there are no holes, but the elastic is all stretched out and rippled, mostly in the thighs. So, I am covering it with patches to stabilize those areas and make them look better.

One purple Polka dot canvas patch, plus some stability stitching above that (look close, its red). And I am adding an EARTHY (day 8!) patch. I mean, yes, it’s water, but the earth is 75% water, so totally works for today’s theme 😂

#mendmarch day 6: BEDAZZLED I haven’t actually

#mendmarch day 6: BEDAZZLED

I haven’t actually mended anything - we’ll, I mended a boring design. @visiblemend I love the idea of a design mend. I use that phrase all the time.

Also, my day just needed some sparkles sequins. Sparkles to balance the (metaphorical) rain clouds.
#designmend #mendmarch2023 #clotheshaveastory #clotheshaveasoul

#mendmarch day 5: puzzle! This was a puzzle for su

#mendmarch day 5: puzzle! This was a puzzle for sure. I had the bibs for months before I was brave enough to try it. There is a big zipper at the bottom of the bibs, plus some other (seemingly random) technical hardware. Plus an inner liner with its own elastic hem. The bibs were 6 inches too long - I really couldn’t walk in them, but it wasn’t until I had to try a similar (but simpler) repair that I could wrap my head around the process. I shorted the pants at the mid calf, and now they fit great!

#repaircafe #invisiblemending #designmend #mendmarch2023 #skistyle #mendingmayhem #fashionrevolutionusa

#mendmarch day 4: PITY - you know what’s a pity?

#mendmarch day 4: PITY - you know what’s a pity? That my kids have outgrown this gorgeously darned sock, and it looks like they barely wore it post-mend. Sigh. They have been mended a number of times, so these wool socks got a lot of love and wear from my two boys. And now they’ll get passed along to another kid who can have warm feet in the winter.

#visiblemending #mendmarch2023 #fashionrevolution #clotheshavesouls #lovedclotheslast #darning #darnitall #darnkids

#mendmarch day 3: Cheeky. While I am tempted to go

#mendmarch day 3: Cheeky. While I am tempted to go find a stellar butt mend from the past, I do want to share my newly-hatched plan. These jeans have been downgraded to homestead projects and cleaning, because the elastic in the fabric has gotten all stretched out and the fabric puckers and ripples, especially on the thighs. It is the sorry state of modern jeans that the fabric loses its shape before the garment is worn out. Since there are no holes, it never occurs to me to mend it, but my epiphany this week is that I can treat this puckered fabric as I would any compromised, worn-thin fabric. I’ll patch it. I even thought about cutting out the puckered areas, but why make it weaker. So, I have already started patching it, and I’ll see how it goes.

The only other mend on these is a CHEEKY butt mend, which you can’t even see here. Oops!

#lovedclotheslast #clotheshaveasoul #makethriftmend #mendmarch2023 #fashionrevolution

#mendmarch day 2: YOU! Thank you to the menders! E

#mendmarch day 2: YOU! Thank you to the menders! Especially the folks who remind me the keep it fun as well as functional. When i get pulled down by the perfectionism or drudgery, the mending community reminds me that this can also be fun. And expressive. And irreverent. And I can entertain myself with my mends and find them charming, even when they don’t “match.”

This is a golden oldie from a many years ago. I do love plaids and florals.

#mendmarch you have returned to find my mending pi

#mendmarch you have returned to find my mending pile… well stocked. All part of my plan of course, I wouldn’t want to get so far ahead of schedule that I arrive at March with nothing to mend. Of course not! But March did find my sporting multiple mends on the ski slope today (and mostly 2nd hand clothes and gear). Some show their finery on the slopes, I show my thriftery.
I am wearing my cowl with 3 darns visible, and plenty of holes that aren’t visible, but will hopefully get darned this month. Not visible are my snowpants which I’ll show later this month, but also mended. In past years I have actually fixed my own ski boots with needle and thread, too.

I have been patching my clothes since high school. I have patched a lot of things poorly and eventually figured out how to patch things effectively.
- I am a repair coach for my local repair cafe!
- I love the creativity of repair - it’s always a fascinating process, I learn more about how things are made, and how we use them.
- this is my 5th!!! year participating in #mendmarch!

If you want to participate, no mend is too small to count! Check out @visiblemend daily prompts which are both cheeky meant to be interpreted however you want to interpret them. #visiblemending #visiblemend #darning #clotheshavesouls #fashrevusa

Snail’s Guide to Wandering closes tonight! Join

Snail’s Guide to Wandering closes tonight! Join the party before it’s too late. 🖇️👆

Only one more day to join us on a creative adventu

Only one more day to join us on a creative adventure! We will unwind toxic productivity from our creative practice and lighten the guilt-load. Though fun and unexpected daily exercises, we’ll be tuning in to what we WANT from our own days and our creative brains. We will not wait until the fantasy of “more time” arrives, we’ll figure out how to start small, in moments and breaks. We aren’t looking for a perfect creative practice, but a functional and nourishing one.

This workshop is for artists, hobbyists and makers who sit down to create and feel guilty that they aren’t working fast enough or should be working on the *important* stuff (ie. everything else on the task list today).

If you are considering, but still have Qs, DM me! I am happy to chat. The link has lots more details if you aren’t sure what I am talking about.

#snailsguidetowandering #wanderingsnailpost #creativepractice #artbrandalliance @artbrandalliance #artmom #creativefamily #makerslife

These mittens are SO beautiful!! It’s a delight

These mittens are SO beautiful!! It’s a delight to get to knit and sew and crochet and complain and vent and laugh with these ladies! And goodness, I love seeing what they make. These are all the mittens that were exchanged last knight at @beetleandfred for our first ever mitten exchange! Will post a closeup of mine soon! Thank you @chantesgottacraft for getting the ball rolling 😘 And to Katy for hosting us every week and keeping us supplied with yarn, fabric, wine and chocolate cake.

I only have a few days left to promote my workshop

I only have a few days left to promote my workshop, but instead I play with paper. Whoops.

🐌💌 No valentines here, but snail mail sent

🐌💌
No valentines here, but snail mail sent with love.

I am packing up the welcome packages for The Snail

I am packing up the welcome packages for The Snail’s Guide to Wandering! There are mini notebooks and stickers, along with a official Certificate of Relinquishment - what I made for myself to make the ending of a project more official.

Do you have a project that is haunting you? I use this especially when I start to have bigger and bigger ideas - not just a block but a whole quilt! Not just a painting but a whole series! I need to lower the pressure so I can just enjoy the making. And so I relinquish the idea or the series or the quilt, and let one painting or one block be my success. And that lets inspiration lead to more inspiration (not a longer to-do list).

Also included - just for fun - a few of my classics Wandering Snail postcards.

There is one week left to sign up…

#snailsguidetowandering #wanderingsnailpost #snailmailrevival #creativepractice #artistmom #artistmama #clevercrafters #creativefamily #makethriftmend #artistcraftermaker

One week left to join in on a journey to leave beh

One week left to join in on a journey to leave behind the guilt and practice making space for curiosity!

There are lots of workshops that will teach you how to draw or make repeating patterns or drive your craft business sales, but they don’t address the root of it - the way we are not making time for our own interests because we feel guilty. Because it feels self indulgent to make things when the market will sell you something close enough. Because our to do lists are never ever done, and we feel like we need to earn our free time. As a group we will practice shifting our focus away productivity and towards curiosity and play. We will still be productive members of society, but we’ll make a little space where we don’t need to hustle.

New blog post: I continue to move away from focusi

New blog post: I continue to move away from focusing on the products of my creative practice, and the language I use keeps evolving. I think I will separate the idea of the creative practice - engaging your creative thinking through tending, exploring, and making - from the creative tether. The creative tether is the moment or action or object that helps connect you to your creative self. Its a reminder of past work, but also tangible evidence of the bond that exists between you (the physical body) and you (the mind).

And I do need that reminder - especially when I become so focused on other people’s needs that I can’t even identify my own needs. I tune in to my self and just hear static. Those are the moments when I dearly need a tether. But having creative tethers throughout my week helps keep me from drifting too far away - from allowing other priorities to push my own priorities out of the way.
I am just developing this idea as I write this… so feedback is welcome, and expect some evolution to this idea. Is this something you experience? What are your creative tethers?

(Read the full post on my substack account)

Photo is one of MY creative tethers - getting dressed in outfits I love! Even if I wear them again and again.

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