Linda McNutt...Healing with Cloth

 

I'd like to introduce Linda McNutt ....creator of small, inspiring works of art made from bits of cloth and hours of hand stitching.

The beginnings...Linda's first healing cloth in process.

I first met Linda when she journeyed to Virginia (with her friend Ruth T.) from New York to take my

Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth workshop in March 2015. Above is the first "healing cloth" (in process) that Linda started in the workshop. 

Linda and Ruth recently returned to Virginia for my Jumpstart in Hand Stitching workshop. At the end of the first day, Linda pulled out a selection of healing cloths. Seems that she caught the "stitching bug"! The entire class was astounded by these amazing jewels!

I was fortunate to be able to purchase this particular piece from Linda. It really spoke to me.

This final piece has a beautiful story. We didn't actually get to see it in person, but Linda told us about it and later sent me this photo with the story behind it.

Linda created this piece for her friend Julie W., who is a psychotherapist as well as a healer. Her friend works with energy healing and channeling, prayer, astrology, and crystals. Linda's friend wanted a piece that would cover a person's chest for when she does her crystal healing work. When working with someone, she could lay it on their chest, or on another affected area of their body, then sometimes place crystals, or a laying on of hands.

The antique quilt centerpiece has a very special story. The original quilt was given to Linda by a mutual friend of both hers and Julie's. This friend was also  a therapist and Buddhist teacher and unfortunately lost her life to cancer. She was Julie's best friend and even though Julie didn't request it, Linda felt it seemed right to include something that evoked the love and energy of their friend from a quilt that lay at the end of her bed.

In Linda's words:
Parts of the quilt block that were frayed and torn were mended or embroidered over to make them whole. I found this a very powerful part of the  Meditation and Healing Cloth (Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth) workshop, by the way: the idea of mending, binding, patching, reweaving, with stitch and color. Perhaps not always able to keep the old, but transforming into something new.

The circle is a symbol of unity and oneness, the wheel a reference to the wheel of life. As a "coincidence", the back of the stitching looks like an astrological chart.

The leaves are about new growth, new flowering, spirals of energy radiate from the center. Other symbols came from an intuitive flow through meditation, and I tried to intentionally leave openings and opportunities for the healer and the individual to find their own meanings and purposes.

 ...I must say this stitching process is as much a healing for me...

Thank you Linda for sharing your beautiful, rich work with us!

I will be teaching the next Patching, Stitching, Weaving: Creating Healing Cloth workshop on June 17 and 18. Click on the highlighted words for more information.

Jumpstart in Hand Stitching

Imani W-R: Running stitch in blue velvet.

Oh my...it's been a month since I last posted!
I'll be catching up over the next few days with posts about stitching.

This first post shows work from the Jumpstart in Hand Stitching workshop that I taught in early January. The Jumpstart workshop is a 2-day fast track version of my five session Hand Stitching class. It includes Journal Prompts, Samplers and Challenges (though not as many as the five session class...obviously!). We had a great weekend...and the students really bonded over stitching.

Here are some of the journal entries...

Imani W-R: Journal with stitched samples.

Linda M.: Journal entry.

Patricia de P W: Journal entry.

 Here are some of the stitch samplers. Students focused on line stitches, looped stitches, and texture stitches.

Linda M: Line and Looped Stitches Sampler

Linda M.: Texture Stitch Sampler.

Jodie F.: Stitch Sampler.

Liz E.: Line and Looped Stitch Sampler.

Ruth T.: Line and Looped Stitch Sampler.

Patricia de P-W: Texture Sampler.

Susan G.: Line and Looped Stitch Sampler.

Students then did some Challenge pieces which included reverse applique and layering.

Helen B.: Couching on wool jacket.

Helen B.: Reverse applique.

Helen B.: Weaving with cheesecloth.

Imani W-R: Texture Challenge.

Jodie F.: Layers.

Laurie T.: Texture and layers.

Linda M. : Commercial Fabric Challenge (see journal entry above).

Linda M.: Layers.

Liz E.: Layers.

Liz E.: Layers.

Liz E.: Line and Couching.

Melanie H.: Layers.

Patricia de P.-W.: Layers.

Ruth T.: Couching.

Ruth T. : Layers.

Susan G.: Texture

December 2016 Stitch-In

Roxana F.: Boro Crazy Quilt style

We just had the last Stitch-In of 2016. It was great to get together for stitching and sharing.

Roxana brought in a piece that started with some of her Boro and Beyond workshop samplers. I think it's still going to be a purse...but has now morphed into a Crazy Quilt style. So fun! During the Stitch-In, Roxana worked on a set of fabric cuffs that she'd stenciled and cut (reverse applique).

Roxana F.: Reverse applique cuff.

Helen brought in a piece that she's been stitching off and on (sort of a meditation cloth).

Helen B.: Meditation cloth

She also sent along a photo of her finished hanging.

Helen B.

Susan continues to add to her collection of black and white and red squares (love that spot of red from the pin!).

Susan P.

Barbara brought in some of her little house patterns and almost completed one during the Stitch-In.

Barbara C.

Barbara C.: House

She sent along some photos of the little village she's created of cloth houses.

Barbara C.

Barbara C.: Village

She also shocked us with her fearlessness.... Remember this piece?

Barbara C.: India piece.

Well, Barbara cut it apart to make the clothing for a series of little dolls!

Barbara C.: Dolls.

Cheryl completed her safety pin piece started in the previous Stitch-In.

Cheryl C.

I forgot to bring an envelope for the cash we bring to rent the room. So I decided to stitch one using an upholstery fabric swatch donated by Helen. That was actually fun!

Julie B.

It was a great year of Stitch-Ins! Looking forward to more in 2017.