Thoughts on Winter, Slow Cloth, Garden Quilt

I struggle to not feel the downward pull of the short, gray winter days in Chicago. I had hoped this year would be different. Unfortunately, it hasn't. However, I am working which always gives me hope.

I have admired the Slow Cloth movement for some time. The idea of reusing textiles, layering, handwork, hand stitching and stories has always appealed to me. There was a time when I only hand pieced and hand quilted. For a while now I have moved toward handwork. On Tuesday, I posted a Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview with Jude Hill. I admired Jude and her work and her interview is a great addition to the project. I hadn't intended to make a Slow Cloth quilt for my garden piece but her interview got me thinking. I'm going to give it a try and hope this honors the movement. The background is a piece of denim (approx. 17" x 18") from a friend's skirt that she cut up and the light blue fabric is a napkin my friend Elizabeth Cherry Own. She had used part of it and it reminds me of all the grasses I have in my garden. I'm also hoping that this will help me keep away the winter blues.