Thread by thread, stitch by little stitch.

I find stitching by hand extremely rewarding.  The pleasure of making beautifully made pieces from gorgeous vintage fabrics and notions, truffled at fairs, far exceeds the time and effort required to complete them. 

One of the joys of creating and hand stitching something is, that no one else has the same thing, not the same wall hanging or picture or any other beautifully crafted thing you make.  The joys of slow stitching is taking pleasure and pride in the experience of making something with your own hands. 

Thread by thread, stitch by little stitch, something unique begins to form. Stitching is not always easy,  in fact sewing can be quite hard and frustrating when trying something new but the rewards, for me 

anyway, are great both mentally and visually.

The challenges are part of the reason it is so rewarding and to be able to say "I made that" is immense Stitching little pieces together gives me a peaceful heart and a happiness in my soul. There are no rules just personal creativity.

I am so looking forward to being able to attend some vintage fairs later in the year, to be able to look around, feel the fabrics and see them up close.  Catch up with my friends and have a coffee and catch up is so very exciting. The online fairs have been really good and kept us vintage lot sane, but it is so not the same for me at all. The buzz is missing and the atmosphere is zero.  To see all the stalls dressed beautifully makes hearts sing. Also the chatter going on and the laughter in the air along with the smell of coffee, ahhhh bliss.

As I am writing this there are all kinds of birds flying around and it seems they are gathering for their nests to rear their families.  I have been gathering little snippets of gorgeous vintage soft fabrics for them to weave into their nests.  Around here I am sure they have never gathered such materials and I am determined there will be some very outstanding nests in bushes and trees for their young to nestle into.

We have had a mixture of rain and sunshine here in Dorset and between showers I have managed to escape down by the river in my trusty red wellies for a wander. It has been wonderful to feel the air on my face and stretch my legs.

With that in mind I have baked another tea loaf and this time it is a cinnamon swirl tea bread with a icing and cinnamon drizzle.  Sorry Peggy Guin! another bake to test your taste buds with.  A slice of that with a warm drink has brightened my afternoons again, thus the walking. I can highly recommend this one...

Remember, no matter what life throws at us, 

we can always bake a cake!

In addition to all of the above I have been writing in my journals again, which has been cathartic and catching up on my letter writing too, you know who you are! It has also been good to re-connect and I do enjoy a hand written letter popping through my letter box and on to the mat.  I save them until later in the day when I have time to curl up and savour each word.

My first Covid jab has been done and the second one is scheduled for May, this will offer me protection for myself and family along with others I meet.  I will be able to go to Vintage Fairs and know I am as protected as possible and able to mingled with friends. I long to get on a plane again and go visit another country and friends.

Today I am going to be stitching quietly curled in a chair as I still feel a little flu like after jab, nothing

bad but given in to it to be honest, I just feel great that I have had my first jab under my belt.

So my stitching is laid out for me to start and it is also a bit dull and rainy today so its a nice cosy day with candles and a slice of cinnamon swirl this afternoon but still a productive day.

Well that is it for today and I will be back later in the week. so as always ....

Happy Stitching and do take care.

Sarah XX