The plan for the sewing machine cover is starting to come together. I've pulled out the vintage German fabric that
Isa sent me eons ago. I'd love to use them in a way that I will see them every day. I like how they look with the Victorian lady, too.
The next embroidered part is going to be a quote. I've always been fascinated by words. I love letters, words, sentences. Verbalizing things has a strange power that I've never fully understood. The quote is from
Henri Michaux from his book
Tent Posts:
Keep your weakness intact. Don't try to acquire strengths, above all those that aren't for you, not meant for you, that nature has preserved you from, preparing you for something else.
I love that *you* were preserved from the strength and not the other way around. I've never (fully) subscribed to the self-improvement crazes of our culture. They always seem so empty and sheep-like. Do we all really want to be exactly the same? Do we really want to be perfect? How freeing would it be to tell people (and have them believe) that the way they *really* are can be used to their advantage?
Instead of spending your life and energy trying to become something else (which will never work), why not embrace what you've got? Look at what a unibrow and a moustache did for
Frida Kahlo. Since reading this quote, I've adjusted the way I think about myself. I try not to be embarrassed by or to correct my faults. Instead, I try to see how they make me unique. I try to see what I've been prepared for.