For the love of vintage ... & the slow stitch.

When our eyes see our hands 

doing the work of our hearts,

 the circle of creation is completed inside us!

unknown.

Textile art is for me so beautiful and creative, we can express ourselves and stitch wonderful tactile things - it makes my heart sing.

Simple designs turn into stunning textile art and sewing a sampler for example is amazingly good when its kept simple.

 Let your work speak for its self - this is my motto I work by and I trust it.  When we look at our creations we know instinctively if it needs a little this or that or indeed it needs no more!

Textiles with old papers work beautifully and you now have a mixed media piece.  Add words either typed, embroidered or written by hand and you have a piece that is unique and combines different beauty and mediums, of course it has to be behind glass and something that does not need to be laundered ever, for obvious reasons - but it will be a statement piece that will catch the eye and get people talking.

Slow stitching is becoming one with your needle, thread and fabric and there is no speed to it as there is in machine work, I feel it lowering my heart rate and helps me crate a piece of textile art that has a little piece of me entwined in its threads, weave and layers.

In WW1 the injured soldiers shipped back from war and recovering were given needlework to do and it helped them not only earn a little income but it mended their damage minds and memories.

They thought about beauty and not the horrors they had seen - it is a soul mending exercise that also produced some exquisite works of embroidery and  art.  Some of the finest detailed and neatest embroidery I have ever seen was stitched by these soldiers and I am lucky enough to own a little
needle case.  I found it in a little old antique shop in the New Forest years ago for pennies .  The detail in the tiny flowers! honestly it work to be proud of.

I look at it and think about the man who stitched it and what he must of been through but I like to imagine that whilst stitching it he could forget awful images and filled his mind with beauty instead whilst he was slow stitching at least ... It is true that ' Stitching mends the soul' and our minds.  I know it helps me when I am sad about my mum and also it is a joy when I am happy too.

Well I tried again with my mum and it did not go well but I will try again in the next week.  I have been giving thought to my mums piece of stitchery that I would like to start and complete but I really do need some of her writing.  I have found a letter from her and it has with lots of love Mum on it so I could trace that off thanks to some of my readers saying that to me.  I am still going to try for a little more at least one more go.  She did not want to settle to it but was more awake so it gave me hope that I will get something maybe next time.

I can not believe it is Friday all ready, my week has gone fast and not at all to plan but sometimes it is the nature of the beast.  Yesterday ended up no stitching at all as my sister and I would not leave my

mum all day.  It was a bad one and not one we wanted her to endure on her own.

Today she has other visitors so I have the day and I am going to make the most of it.  I am very behind and want a good few hours with me and my stitching.  I have already set it all out and I am hopeful to really make some headway on some slow stitching. It is cathartic as well and somehow creating and sewing really does make me happy.  I do love my job, in case you all did not know that by now!! ( out loud laugh as I wrote that!)

I have so much to do and complete and lots of letters to write as well over the weekend so I am hopefully going to get my head down and tick some things off of my ever growing list of things to do.



Whilst I was sipping my first coffee in my chair in my stitchery room and cuddled into  my hot water bottle and vintage quilt I was watching the garden for activity.  Because of the very bad weather we were having this week the garden has been so dreadfully quiet, no sign of my feathered friends.

I crept out early and put a veritable feast for them out there and as the sun has come up - yes the sun!! I can now see Miss Muddy Beak and Mr Robbin redbreast, the chuckle brothers are in residence as well and Squire bushy tail too ( he has been renamed)  it has made very happy to see they are all well and accounted for.

The reason I am SO pleased is a new cat is on the block out there and been sniffing around our garden, not seen this one before at all but a hunter it is.  I go out there scarring him and actually look

like a demented Medusa  in the wind and rain the other day.  I do not want him to get homely in our garden.... now when he sees me there is a look of ' oh no not her' on his face and he jumps over the back fence.  So this morning as I type this the birds are feeding and all is well with the world, the sun is out and it is not raining today.

So today is all about some serious stitching and my basket awaits me,  and so with that in mind I wish you all a wonderful weekend whatever you are up to and of course Happy Stitching! XX