Pure and Simple Things

Photograph by Brent Kane and Adam Albright for Martingale. Used with permission.

I woke up and immediately found myself in a contemplative state, pondering my numerous blessings, sending prayers to friends who are going through an arduous journey of sickness, and getting energized for my day. In the end, I realized as the beautiful artwork above depicts, that life is really good.

And so, I give thanks for the many freedoms I enjoy, to the opportunity to learn new things (I am a learning junky), and for being able to use my talents in the service of the highest good.

Designing, making, selling handmade things, giving handmade gifts are all noble ways to use our creative talents to bring happiness to others. As we create, we seem to be gathering all the abundance from the universe and packaging it into a vessel – a pincushion, a quilt pattern, a quilt, an embroidered something – to deliver it back to the universe in a new form, though its substance is still the same: love.

Maggie Bonanomi, the creator of the projects I am showcasing here today, has the gift to find the love, the simplicity, and the beauty in the simplest things around us and turn them into woolen projects we can enjoy making, displaying in our homes, or gifting.

Maggies’ book,  Pure & Simple – 17 Primitive Projects Inspired by the Seasons (published by Martingale), has fun projects which do not require advanced skills: take wool and thread and begin creating. Her designs aren’t elaborate, allowing colors and textures to show through. In no time at all, we can have a project done thanks to her patterns’ clear instructions, the ready availability of the materials, and the tips she gives us throughout the book.

I have a ‘thing’ for strawberries and this one is so darn cute!  Many primitive designs involve dark materials – not in Maggie’s work: her primitive creations are sunny and fresh, preserving the basic characteristics of each object of her inspiration, yet infusing it with just enough whimsy as if to say: “This is how I see the strawberry’s or watermelon’s sweetness – pure and simple.”

I am in a frenzy to finish patterns and quilts before I go visit my Mom in Brazil next week. Maggie’s Pure & Simple – 17 Primitive Projects Inspired by the Seasons reminded me to pace myself, to not go an hour without noticing the magic of everything around me, and to make time to create without the pressure of a deadline. And for this reminder, I am thankful.

Such is the effect of our creations on others…

Have a fantastic Fourth of July celebration!