Monday, January 28, 2013

Loving Imperfection

Today I am going to talk a little bit about my quest for imperfection. I have come to (grudgingly) accept imperfection.

I have been sewing for as long as I can remember. I have always had something in my hands whether it was mending, embroidery, or crochet. When I shattered my leg in a car accident I was unable to sit like a normal person for long periods of time because it was too uncomfortable, yet I really wanted to sew. I set the sewing machine up on the floor and stuck my broke leg out at an angle and used my right knee on the push pedal. Sewing is my creative outlet.


I am drawn to vintage and many times friends have commented that I was born in the wrong era. I adore things that have a history and a story to tell. My mother and I cannot walk out of an antique store without a doily in our hands because we both know some woman put the time and thought and effort into making something so exquisite that it breaks our hearts to see them languishing unloved. When I shop I tend to pick out things that are just a little odd and I try to inject them with a dose of modern to make them relevent to the way we live today.




Both Sheska and I were inspired in different ways by the interview with Danielle Henderson on Design*Sponge. Danielle states-
I’m actually really bothered by this recent turn towards perfection in design/craft. I overheard someone in a craft store recently say that she didn’t know how to sew but was saving up for a $1300 machine so that she could make the perfect projects when she learned. What in the what? Just buy the $100 machine and learn how to sew, figure out what you like. Stop trying to curate and just develop your own aesthetic.
When I started making things for Meandering Design I was very conscious of my audience. In the past I was sewing for myself or for friends and family. I am very good at what I do, but I am not perfect. I have had to let go of that notion of perfection and it has been very difficult. I now 'practice my craft', which means every time I make something I get a little bit better and a little bit smarter in how I make it.

My favorite phrase in Arabic is 'wahida wahida' which means little by little. Sometimes I just have to stop and remind myself wahida wahida and I can continue doing what makes me happy.

P.S. In my head I was going to take a gorgeous photo of doilies and share it with you, but I let that perfect idea go and found this fantastic photo of doilies on Pinterest. 

KMC


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