Sewin Studio at Stanley Arts Sunday Market

Sewin Studio handmade luxury zafu cushions and quilts at Stanley Arts Sunday Market

I finished two zafu meditation cushions this week and brought them along to the Stanley Arts Sunday market in South Norwood SE25. ( London UK )

It’s a different dynamic to finish a thing when there is an in real life deadline involved.

‘Baby’ Zafu meditation cushion and baby/ meditation Quilt by Maggie Winnall @sewinstudio.

The regular routine is thrown out of whack but it was so worth it !

‘Blue’ zafu cushion and Red Quilt by Maggie Winnall @sewinstudio

I met so many lovely people and enjoyed chatting with the visitors and traders. It felt good having beautiful work for people to enjoy alongside all of the other rich offerings.

This social aspect is in direct contrast to the ‘day job’, where I’m with lots of people and minimal engagement.

Later in the evening I went to the Effra Hall in Brixton where the ‘Soothsayers‘ were playing. What a find ! A funky mix of jazzy reggae vibes , dancing and cider finished off the day perfectly.

I’ll be doing a shop update soon, stay tuned !

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‘Baby’ zafu meditation cushion

Rushing the making process doesn’t work. I realised today that the process needs to be slow and deliberate, so as to put the best healing energy into the work.

It may be that the lining cushions can be batch made quickly but the covers need care and attention

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‘Baby’ is the first of three luxury zafu meditation cushions under construction. The luxury of time and energy, years of lived experience and skill. Problem solving the best way to make the cushions with attention as much to the inside as to the outside and then the joy of composing and sewing the hexagon shapes together.

This zafu cushion will be at the Stanley Halls market this coming Sunday 24th April 2022. Stanley Halls is in South Norwood. Please do come along and meet ‘Baby’ in person to get the full benefit of the work.

There will lots of other traders to see too. My friend Andrea will be there with her beautiful Crystal beaded necklaces and meditation boxes.

See you on Sunday !

‘Baby’ zafu meditation cushion

‘Baby’ zafu meditation cushion

Hexagon Mandalas

On the design wall . Hexagon mandalas awaiting transformation into zafus. Next up is to find complementary colours for the side panels and the bases. Long enough pieces to accommodate pleating. Oh and to order buckwheat husks to fill them into plump satisfying cushions.

The Finishing Project

‘State of Mind Map’ started a good while ago is coming along. It’s part of my Finishing Project , which comprises small and now large scale work and studio tidying /decluttering.

It came to the point where I couldn’t start another new piece when there were so many unfinished pieces needing attention.

I’ve completed about 18 small wall quilts , a baby quilt and a bed quilt. This piece, a stitched mind map in is intended for the wall. Bringing words to life in fabric and thread. It is part machine and hand stitched.

I’m looking forward to hand quilting it. The words are all completed so it won’t be long to quilting time.

What are you hoping to finish ?

Επφάνεια 2

When I returned, the same calm descended. It was serene. So it is, that this corner of suburban south London has taken me completely by surprise. It never occurred to me that an artbritary new place, or any place for that matter, could conjure up the same magical feeling I’d had in a different place, hundreds of miles away and over half a hundred years ago. That one place could unlock the lived experience of another, opening me up to so many happy memories.

Previously.
I find an alleyway between terraced houses, I venture along there and find myself in a neglected garden flanked by tall trees on one side. It’s early on a Sunday morning, so no one is about. I sit on a bench, I am alone. A wood pigeon and crow simultaneously call in unison. In an instant, I am called back to Owston, to Grandma Kiv’s, to the vivid feeling of being in the woods, truly at one with nature and connected forever. I find this place outside and in, where spirit child in me lives. Returning the freedom and long lost feelings of safety. Grandma is watching, reminding me, guiding me home.

A perfect blue

I spent a good part of the day taping around the edges in no 4. The hall, the dining room and stairs.

I took lunch on the Veranda then later on my afternoon break I ventured into the garden, sat myself on the earth, in the warm afternoon sun. At first, sitting there, I struggled with the brightness, then vivid spears of green, delicate and slender emerged from the shadowy background. It was a magical moment.

Stretching back into the longish grass, I gazed up, through the gap created by tree leaves and the side of the house , into heavenly blue, perfectly clear sky.

Far far above a tiny arrow shape moved across The Above whilst I lay on The Below, connected, present and in awe at the beauty. Everything else melted away. It was a moment . I was born to be outside. I was restored to my home.

My prayer has found me

Cynthia introduced me to ‘The Lotus and The Lily’ by Janet Connor. Cynthia was finishing up her mandala and had posted it on Instagram. I was curious. Cynthia is a person to trust, being a true voice in the scheme of things. Always holding heart and space for women’s creativity, she walks her talk.

The process of going through ‘The Lotus and The Lily’ was a revelation. There are so many syncroncities to become aware of. I can’t remember if ‘The Lotus and The Lily’ came before yoga and meditation practice but it all happened around the same time and has changed my life.

Why? Because it introduced me to prayer. Because it deals with Buddhism and Christianity, it uses teachings from these faiths, not a singular dogmatic message. This aligns with my sensibilities, as personally I believe that ‘God’ , The Universe, or ‘The Higher Power’ is ‘One Thing’ only, bigger than we can ever comprehend and that the various world religions are human/regional interpretations of One God.

Just as we need food to eat, each locality produces its own cuisine according to ingredients available. And just as how food culture has criss crossed over the world, we eat a diet from a variety of influences, so too has the message of spirit. The essence of each is the same, the rules of each is the same. It’s how we use it.

My prayer has found me. To break some hidden taboo that permeated into my life unseen. To be allowed to pray, to be free to pray, not a secret thing. And I’ve noticed that most faith practices pray kneeling, sitting, genuflecting. It seems that to get to heaven you have to humble yourself and connect with the earth on which you rest. The earth that provides you with food.

If you are interested in cultivating your creativity and /or your spiritual practice I recommend checking out :

Cynthia Morris – Artist, Writer, Creativity Coach at Original Impulse

www.origialimpulse.com

‘The Lotus and The Lily’ by Janet Connor

https://janetconner.com/books/

Detective

Journaling and personal detective work pays off. It unearths ‘The Truth’ that has buried you in a lie

Keep going with your words, keep inquiring, keep learning, open your heart, access your truth. For it is true, the Truth shall set you free. Free from fear.

Over the years, I have learned that establishing a regular prayer and medition practice, yoga, stitching meditation is to learn to belong to self. To have these habits in place, makes you feel at home in your own mind and body. They make you happy and being happy is empowering. These habits are portable and can be practised anywhere. Regular actions to support your day and your being .

To learn to align with chakra energy and crystal vibration alongside yoga and meditation, is to is to learn about grounding. Which is to literally feel where you body makes contact with the earth / solid ground. And when in this state of being, is to belong to the here and now.