Does fabric "pick up" emotions?
#1
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Location: MN
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Does fabric "pick up" emotions?
I have seen lots of posts saying "the receiver of that quilt will feel all the love that is sewm into it" and one lady posted she did not want to make a quilt while she was feeling sad because she did not want the receiver of that quilt to feel sad.
Do you think/feel a quilt does pick up (and keep) the feelings of the maker? And if that would be the case - would it pick up any emotions of other people that handled it along the way?
I don't know the answer - just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or feeling about it?
Do you think/feel a quilt does pick up (and keep) the feelings of the maker? And if that would be the case - would it pick up any emotions of other people that handled it along the way?
I don't know the answer - just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or feeling about it?
#2
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Wis
Posts: 5,928
Well, when I'm making a quilt for someone I try to be in a positive mood and say nice things while working on it. Just in case bad vibes could be "felt" by the recipient. It's the same way I speak to my car so it treats me right. My daughter had a boyfriend once who asked me if I talked to things when no human was there to hear. What a dopey question.
#4
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 3,255
I don't know if it does or not, of course, but I'm not taking any chances! Recently, while I was working on a quilt for 3 year old DGS I was having some problems. Told my husband I was not going to complain about it because I didn't want negative thoughts going in to it. Plus, I don't want to put more negative thoughts out into the universe, either.
#5
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 41,538
No I don't think inanimate objects can hold emotions. The people who give or receive quilts have the emotions. All you have to think of are the many posts of quilters who lovingly make a masterpiece only to have it become the dog bed.
#7
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 9,299
I'm in Tartan's camp on this one. I think it's actually kind of creepy when people start in with anthropomorphism (assigning human qualities to inanimate objects) unless I'm reading fiction or watching TV. If I thought that every feeling of sadness or frustration would be "picked up" and passed on to the recipient, I'd never give away a single quilt. I'm often sad or angry about the reason behind I'm making one--for someone with cancer, a child in foster care, a sister going through a divorce. If cancer, abuse, and infidelity exist and propel me to try to comfort the one suffering from the effects, then my love is going to be felt (I hope) by the recipient.
#8
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Chula Vista CA
Posts: 7,401
I am one of those people that have extra electricity in my body - I know it sounds crazy, but it is true. And If I am upset my body has a tendency to cause other items that draw electricity to short circuit, I can't even use a phone. So I would be afraid to use my machines, even if I was trying to calm myself. I don't think fabric will hold on to the negative, but when I make my quilts I do it to feel good. Sometimes they don't come out the way I hope but my intentions are there.
#9
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Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 4,688
If I am upset when I am quilting, nothing goes right. If I am depressed (especially after loosing some good friends to ovarian cancer), then quilting is not a joy. I don't know if my feelings go into the fabric, but I do know it affects how I feel about what I am working on -- I usually don't care for the result and have a hard time finishing the project. Sigh...
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