Mending Magic
My tent blanket with a couple of patches and a couple of holes
Mending is magical. It is the act of truly taking CARE of something that will take care of you. Now if that is not a relationship, I don’t know what is! Having a meaningful relationship with the things you have adds a richness to life because everything you interact with becomes more intentional. That intentionality can bring you back to this present moment from whatever mental gymnastics you were doing before you saw or touched that item you have cared for for years.
The picture above is my “tent blanky” It is a blanket my mom made for me when she was my age. It was used to drape over my crib, hence the name “tent” blanky. As you would expect with this blankets 28 years of life under its belt, it as tears and wear all over it. So over the last month I have embarked on the journey of mending it. I have chosen to mend it with fabrics from my sewing stash that will kind of match as well as putting a new up-cycled wool batting layer and backing on it. Then it will make a great little couch blanket!
While I mend this blanket I intend to embody the energy of the nurturing mother, and I intend to pour that love into the blanket. That means that as I am hand stitching square patches onto the tears I will be watching shows, listening to music, smelling smells, eating snacks and using materials that I associate with the sacred mother or maternal energy. I think a fresh batch of my moms chocolate chip cookies are in order! And maybe I will put on some of her signature vanilla perfume with orange hand lotion! Oh, the ideas are endless!
Once I complete my project and I get to use my mended blanket on my couch I will be able to feel all of the love my mother has for me, as well as the love I have for myself by making sure I have an all natural fiber blanket free from chemicals and full of love an intention on my lap in the evenings.
9-24-21
Update
I spent a lot of this Autumnal Equinox working on this quilt! I have now finished covering the pink squares with the dark blue striped ones, as well as patching some of the white squares. I love that the white fabric I used to patch with is so crisp (top right corner). It really adds to the story of this quilt!
While this is just one example of mending magic in action, this principle of mending magic can be applied to many different projects. Here are a few examples to get the creative juices flowing.
Examples of Mending Magic
Maybe you get a hole in the crotch of your favorite jeans. You can patch the inside of the jeans with a red colored fabric to help activate and balance your root chakra if that is something you’re working on. You could even hand stitch it in a spiral pattern the way that the energy flows into you through this chakra to be a reminder that you are safe in your body.
This will work for a hole in most fabrics. Say you’re having a tough time moving forward in your life because you are scared of something. You can create a patch that you have written your fears or concerns onto with a pen and sew that patch facing out on the inside of the hole. Then when you are stitching you can focus on the needle piercing and letting light into the fears and dissolving them. This would be helped by using a bright colored thread. Every time your needle goes through the fabric you feel the light enter yourself. This could be very powerful, especially while listening to “Here comes the Sun” by The Beatles!
If your vintage wool sweater has a thread bare spot or a hole, you can make an embroidered moth patch to sew onto the hole to help you accept what happened, (that moths ate your beautiful sweater) while also taking care that the hole doesn’t get any worse! This would be a great practice for someone who is a perfectionist and wants to accept that there is a rhythm to nature and that everything is temporary. That moth patch can be a reminder of that inner acceptance of that lesson. (for patch inspo check our these or the photo below as well)
Suggestions for Mending Magic
Just know that when you are deciding to practice this magic, you need to do what feels right to you. If moths make your stomach turn, that might not be the right choice for your mending project at this time. But that upset tummy might also be a signal that there is some resistance there you could explore. Its all about what feels right for YOU. Only you can know what is meaningful to you and what is just… eh. Choose to make meaningful mending magic decisions because they will likely take a while.
Maybe you noticed I don’t have photos of my finished blanket… Its because I am not done yet! it is a slow and loving process so it is important to love what it is you are mending and the way you are mending it! I will be sure to share my finished blanket when I am done, but I have all the slow of the fall and the calm of the winter to work on that!
Sew, whether you have been sewing your hole life (hahaha get it?) or you are just starting out, Mending Magic is a great and meaningful adventure to embark on!
And so it is!
With much love,
