January Creative Roundup 🌀
The Checking In Deck, ice process dye, & a fictional heirloom tapestry
Hi! Wow, it has been a while. But things are kinda a lot out here, aren’t they?
I thought as a way of easing back into the swing of this newsletter, I’d share a little creative roundup: five different tidbits that I find noteworthy and share-worthy. I hope you enjoy these recommendations and invitations.
You might notice that things are looking a little different on my newsletter. I’m slowly rebranding a bit from craft + reverie to The Patchwork Hearth. Going for more of a soft launch at this moment, so more intentional explanation on that later. In short, I started craft + reverie on Substack in 2021, and I’m ready to update it to fit a little better with the work I’m doing right now as we move into 2025. Thanks for being along for the ride!
What I’m Reading
Textile art in a book rec! I just finished a new novel by Asha Thanki called A Thousand Times Before. AND WOW. It is a multigenerational tale of women before, during, and after the Partition in India, and it is centered around an heirloom tapestry with more to the inheritance than just weaving and threads. Check it out from your local library and watch a reading/book talk by the author here!
An Inspiring Color Palette
I recently decided to try out ice process dyeing fabrics by watering down paints and freezing them, then leaving them out in the sun to melt onto a piece of fabric. This was so fun! I love art like this that is more about the process of creating it than the final product. It was truly an exercise in letting go and seeing where the process led. I’m now left with this beautiful piece of canvas, colored with both neon and muted colors, splotched with concentrated color and watery drips. Can’t wait to turn this into a banner or something of that sort. I’d highly recommend trying it out for yourself. If you have kids, I bet they’d love doing this, too.
A Community Shoutout
Last weekend, I visited one of my new favorite stores in Fort Worth, Flipstone Vintage and Thrift. They were having a special sale where all fabric bolts were only $5. This was nice stuff too, y’all, I believe from a local upholstery shop. I got NINE partial bolts of fabric for less than $50! Beautiful stuff—velvets, linen, tweed, lots of great finds! I now have so much wonderful new-to-me secondhand fabric for stoles, banners, and other projects. If you’re in the area, you should really check them out if you haven’t already. You can also follow them on IG. The desire to gatekeep is strong (I want my super secret fabric spot??). But the desire to celebrate the amazing women business owners in my city is stronger.
A Creative Spirituality Snippet
I recorded a video workshop this week on Creative Discernment that I thought was reaaaally good. Then I went back to look at the footage. So blurry it was completely unusable. This was incredibly frustrating! But as I sat with this for a couple of days, I’m allowing my creativity to bump up against the limitations of my frustrating situation. Because to be honest, creativity loves a good boundary, a limitation. With unlimited resources and with everything going our way, there’s really no reason to get creative, is there? But when things go differently than the way we plan, we are given an opportunity to get creative. How can I salvage things what I do have? If I can’t, what value have I gained from this experience that I can pass on to others, letting it hone my own discernment and practice?
I’ll invite you to take some time sitting with a disappointment this week. Maybe that is on a large scale or on a small individual scale. Feel the emotions. But don’t stop there: What is your next step? If you allow your creativity to bump up against those emotions, what new ideas emerge? Toward what next step are you feeling led?
Something to Look Forward To
I am so, so excited to tell you that The Checking In Deck will be released and available for purchase on February 1! This deck—a contemplative spirituality tool made especially for teens—was created by myself, Elizabeth Caldwell, and Ryan Wilkerson. We put a lot of love into it, and we really love it, y’all. I hope you also love it. And I have to say: even though it was made for teens, it’s a pretty wonderful tool for adults, too.
NEW: Around the Hearth
Are you leading an upcoming workshop or retreat? Publishing a new book? Starting a new community initiative? I’d love to help you spread the word! Send a short little blurb about the exciting thing you want to announce to info@molliedonihe.com. Think of this as a community bulletin board. As long as I feel like your offering is aligned with the central values of this publication, I’ll include your blurb here in my free newsletter! (If you want to include an image with your blurb, even better.)
BTW: “Around the Hearth?” Is the the final name? Idk. Hold it loosely.
An Invitation to Connect
I’d love to hear what’s inspiring you this month! What creative practices or ideas are you exploring? Feel free to reply to this email or connect with me on Instagram.
If you're interested in learning more about my work or upcoming events, check out the links below.
Hope you’re staying warm by the Patchwork Hearth <3
The Aforementioned Links Below
My website: molliedonihe.com
Instagram (my most active social): @molliedonihe