Beauty in Symbolism

When it came time to create this line, Cathe chose imagery that was not only visually arresting, but also held personal meaning. “I thought about feeling brave and tough and delicate and fragile all at the same time, and that’s where the leather and lace came in,”she says. “I also wanted to emphasize my faith in dealing with something beyond my control—in letting go and letting God—and Amazing Grace speaks to that.”

 

Healing Creatively

Working on this collection (and others) during her treatment and ongoing recovery provided Cathe with a much-needed escape from the world of chemo and radiation. “Being able to do that made me feel grounded and more like myself,”she says. “It was everything.”

The collection’s focus fabric is designed in the digital collage style that’s made Cathe’s lines so beloved. Working from her studio on her family’s property in Northern California, Cathe layers scans of vintage postcards, antique textiles, buttons, and more from her vast collection of objects and ephemera. These fabrics work equally well as yardage for quilt backs or fussy cut for blocks and English Paper Piecing.   When creating these fabric collages Cathe enjoys contrasting the masculine and feminine, the hard and soft, and artfully placed an industrial pin next to pretty little birds, and a label’s sturdy typography next to curvilinear roses. 

 

Click PLAY below to hear all about the elements of Cathe's fabrics and how they represent her own personal journey with breast cancer.

 

For resources and information, please visit https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org 

To make a donation to NBCF and help get women access to the education, screening, and support they need, click HERE

Moda is a proud supporter of the National Breast Cancer Foundation. 

Join us here tomorrow for Episodes 5 & 6 to hear all about projects you can make with this and any other fabrics

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FOLLOW CATHE

INSTAGRAM: @CatheHolden

FACEBOOK: Cathe Holden Design