Casual Cam – Strength to Break Cycles Art Journal

I seem to be bouncing around on a lot of different topics these days! What can I say – with my word this year being “create” I feel an unquenchable urge to stitch, paint, draw, and be creative in a hundred ways every day.

Sometimes this feels effortless, sometimes challenging. One of my favorite projects this year is my small art journal project. I start with pages created in-the-hoop on my embroidery machine, then draw, quilt, and decorate until the page feels done. Click Here to read more about it and how each page is created.

Last week I shot this Casual Cam video about my latest journal page about breaking cycles and habits. This is me – personal and unfiltered – and you might learn a thing or two about me that you didn’t know before. I share this stuff because it might help someone else, and it helps me to say it out loud.

Click Here to read more about this art journal page.

So how have cycles played through your life? Have you ever felt the urge to work through personal issues with a quilt project?

How would you represent this image – breaking cycles – yourself?

I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

5 Responses

  1. Lesa Lee says:

    Hi Leah. I think I would do a broken key. Where the outline of the key is a lighter texture than the inside of the key. Then do something similar to what you have done in filling in the "broken" pieces. Hard to describe in words, but I can see it in my head! I love your journal pages btw….

  2. Pat Smith says:

    Hi Leah: I am struggling with the cycle of resentment right now in my life. My way of dealing with cycles has always been thru work. I am not a quilt maker, but a bookkeeper that likes to make quilts. I have been struggling with this cycle for a couple of years now. At this stage in my life (58 years old) kids grown and for the most part on their own, I thought life would have gotten a little bit easier. Silly me . . . that has not happened. I have read thru most of your posts and really appreciate you sharing your struggles with us. You gave me comfort last year when I was going thru a challenging year. I almost felt like a stalker. But listening to you did bring comfort to me, I just can not put into words how. I know everyone is going thru something hard, everyday, and I try to remember that as I go thru my cycles. I love the ‘broken glass’ quilting on your block. Pretty much fits the way I feel right now. Thanks for sharing and listening. You are truly a wonder of a person!

  3. Leah Day says:

    Hi Pat – I'm so sorry to hear you are struggling right now. I really understand what you're describing. I think so often "I'll be happy when…" or "I'll be happy if…" and then when those things happen, where's the happy I was banking on??? Disappointment and resentment is understandable. I have found that expressing these feelings, through quilts or art, or just saying it out loud helps me get free and accept the emotion. I hope that helps!

  4. Denise says:

    I have freely chosen to break the cycle of abuse in my family by choosing not to have children. I am now well past my child bearing and or child rearing years and do not regret my decision.The cycle ends here, with me. Let loving parents raise the next generation and teach them good values.

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