--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once he had watched Liz making a silk…" description: "\"“Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. One end was pinned to the wall and on each finger of her raised hands she was spinning loops of thread, h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg" --- # Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. One end was… ![“Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. One end was pinned to the wall and on each finger of her raised hands she was spinning loops of thread, her fingers flying so fast he couldn’t see how it worked. ‘Slow down,’ he said, ‘so I can see how you do it,’ but she’d laughed and said, ‘I can’t…” quote by Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg) > ““Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. One end was pinned to the wall and on each finger of her raised hands she was spinning loops of thread, her fingers flying so fast he couldn’t see how it worked. ‘Slow down,’ he said, ‘so I can see how you do it,’ but she’d laughed and said, ‘I can’t slow down, if I stopped to think how I was doing it I couldn’t do it at all.”” [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skillful mastery often feels effortless, and attempts to slow it down can disrupt the flow. **In simple terms:** Mastery appears effortless; slowing it breaks the process. Key Takeaway Respect the natural rhythm of expertise. Themes creativity skill focus performance learning Mood reflective empathetic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - teaching a craft - performance arts - sports training Key Concepts Flow state expertise mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize when you’re in a flow state? - What strategies preserve momentum without sacrificing reflection? A Different Perspective Interrupting flow can cause loss of confidence and ability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Braid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/braid-406247/) [Fact of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-of-life-60060/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Liz Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liz-making-2720313/) [Making Silk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-silk-2720312/) [Silk Braid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silk-braid-2720310/) [Watched Liz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watched-liz-2720311/) ## Related quotes > [Even if one succeeds in making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, there remains the problem of what to do with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hickey/even-if-one-succeeds-in-making-a-silk-purse-out-of-a-sow-s-ear-there/) [Dave Hickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hickey/) > [See the thing about stepping up to the plate is you gotta be willing to handle business. But so many are still trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-cowell/see-the-thing-about-stepping-up-to-the-plate-is-you-gotta-be-willing/) [Larry Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-cowell/) > [Motivational posture can affiliate our life as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/motivational-posture-can-affiliate-our-life-as-well/) [Vino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vino/) > [You never fight with your best friend the way you fight with your boyfriend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-grace/you-never-fight-with-your-best-friend-the-way-you-fight-with-your/) [Lorna Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-grace/) > [I Realized.. A very good thing After A Very Bad Experience Extra ordinary care to anyone will give you always a Blame, Not Praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-realized-a-very-good-thing-after-a-very-bad-experience-extra/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Love Is Like Unvisible Things. You Feel It But Can't See It Just Like Gods Nobody Seemed But Believed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/love-is-like-unvisible-things-you-feel-it-but-can-t-see-it-just-like/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Follow the admiral image which will lead you in a great manner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/follow-the-admiral-image-which-will-lead-you-in-a-great-manner/) [Vino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vino/) > [“If you are striving to have a stable success and riches in joy, you need to be truly dedicated to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-are-striving-to-have-a-stable-success-and-riches-in-joy-you/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Never let a fool make you cry, everyone is always a senior on earth because even the last baby born is 1sec older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gbessoh/never-let-a-fool-make-you-cry-everyone-is-always-a-senior-on-earth/) [Joseph Gbessoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gbessoh/) > [So proud of myself! I have always wanted to fishtail braid my hiar and never could. I LOVE IT! :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/so-proud-of-myself-i-have-always-wanted-to-fishtail-braid-my-hiar-and/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [I have a lot of hair, and it's quite heavy: Sometimes I'll braid it for a match so it's all together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-ivanovic/i-have-a-lot-of-hair-and-it-s-quite-heavy-sometimes-i-ll-braid-it-for/) [Ana Ivanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-ivanovic/) > [“What power that girl wielded, though there was nothing striking or unusual about her - unless one considered her long braid and her common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/what-power-that-girl-wielded-though-there-was-nothing-striking-or/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [Can you braid three strands? Then you can make babkallah. The very idea of babkallah came about because the recipe avoids the complicating twisting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-saffitz/can-you-braid-three-strands-then-you-can-make-babkallah-the-very-idea/) [Claire Saffitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-saffitz/) > [It's all those stories and how they braid together that tells us who and what and where we are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/it-s-all-those-stories-and-how-they-braid-together-that-tells-us-who/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [“I'll braid you one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farley-mowat/i-ll-braid-you-one/) [Farley Mowat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farley-mowat/) ## More by Hilary Mantel > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The hunter is among the most innocent of men; living in the moment makes him feel pure. When he returns in the evening, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-hunter-is-among-the-most-innocent-of-men-living-in-the-moment/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But what would happen … I mean, what would be so awful … if they did meet up?” “Why, it would be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-what-would-happen-i-mean-what-would-be-so-awful-if-they-did-meet/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [When you have committed enough words to paper, you feel you have a spine stiff enough to stand up in the wind. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/when-you-have-committed-enough-words-to-paper-you-feel-you-have-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [At New Year's he had given Anne a present of silver forks with handles of rock crystal. He hopes she will use them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-new-year-s-he-had-given-anne-a-present-of-silver-forks-with/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The story of my own childhood is a complicated sentence that I am always trying to finish, to finish and put behind me. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/the-story-of-my-own-childhood-is-a-complicated-sentence-that-i-am/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“He wants to say, because Anne is not a carnal being, she is a calculating being, with a cold slick brain at work behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/he-wants-to-say-because-anne-is-not-a-carnal-being-she-is-a/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Come to that, don't pay out good money for horoscopes. If things are going to go badly for you, is that what you need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/come-to-that-don-t-pay-out-good-money-for-horoscopes-if-things-are/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“But my sins are my strength, he thinks; the sins I have done, that others have not even found the opportunity of committing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/but-my-sins-are-my-strength-he-thinks-the-sins-i-have-done-that/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [Feminism hasn't failed, it's just never been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/feminism-hasn-t-failed-it-s-just-never-been-tried/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Mirabeau: “If you have been told to clear us from this hall, you must ask for orders to use force. We shall leave our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/mirabeau-if-you-have-been-told-to-clear-us-from-this-hall-you-must/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Cardinal Campeggio has implored Katherine to bow to the king's will, accept that her marriage is invalid and retire to a convent. Certainly, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/cardinal-campeggio-has-implored-katherine-to-bow-to-the-king-s-will/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“Sion calls Anne an eel, he calls her a slippery dipper from the slime, and he remembers what the cardinal had called her: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/sion-calls-anne-an-eel-he-calls-her-a-slippery-dipper-from-the-slime/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“At the front, people die for their mistakes. Why should politicians be more gently treated? They made the war. They deserve a dozen deaths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/at-the-front-people-die-for-their-mistakes-why-should-politicians-be/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) [Explore all 559 Hilary Mantel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) ## More Fact of life quotes > [Motivational posture can affiliate our life as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/motivational-posture-can-affiliate-our-life-as-well/) [Vino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vino/) > [I Realized.. A very good thing After A Very Bad Experience Extra ordinary care to anyone will give you always a Blame, Not Praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/i-realized-a-very-good-thing-after-a-very-bad-experience-extra/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Follow the admiral image which will lead you in a great manner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/follow-the-admiral-image-which-will-lead-you-in-a-great-manner/) [Vino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vino/) > [Never let a fool make you cry, everyone is always a senior on earth because even the last baby born is 1sec older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gbessoh/never-let-a-fool-make-you-cry-everyone-is-always-a-senior-on-earth/) [Joseph Gbessoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gbessoh/) > [“If you are striving to have a stable success and riches in joy, you need to be truly dedicated to God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-are-striving-to-have-a-stable-success-and-riches-in-joy-you/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Love Is Like Unvisible Things. You Feel It But Can't See It Just Like Gods Nobody Seemed But Believed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/love-is-like-unvisible-things-you-feel-it-but-can-t-see-it-just-like/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [You never fight with your best friend the way you fight with your boyfriend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-grace/you-never-fight-with-your-best-friend-the-way-you-fight-with-your/) [Lorna Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-grace/) > [See the thing about stepping up to the plate is you gotta be willing to handle business. But so many are still trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-cowell/see-the-thing-about-stepping-up-to-the-plate-is-you-gotta-be-willing/) [Larry Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-cowell/) [Browse all 9 Fact of life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-of-life-60060/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. One end was pinned to the wall and on each finger of her raised hands she was spinning loops of thread, her fingers flying so fast he couldn’t see how it worked. ‘Slow down,’ he said, ‘so I can see how you do it,’ but she’d laughed and said, ‘I can’t slow down, if I stopped to think how I was doing it I couldn’t do it at all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Mantel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-braid-one-end-was-pinned-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fact of life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-braid-one-end-was-pinned-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/859/hilary-mantel-440_fact-of-life_once-he-had-watched-liz-making-a-silk-br_1889562.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once he had watched Liz making a silk braid. 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