There’s something I love about hand stitching. Actually several things.
- The stitcher must slow down and focus on the work at hand.
- There are choices to be made (threads, colors, designs), or not – free your mind and choose intuitively and quickly, with no plan.
- The mind opens to dimensional possibility (beads, buttons, tassels)
- Stitches, colors, shapes bring memories of past projects, events and people
- Thoughts and feelings, sometimes about others, are incorporated into the stitches
When I stitch I do not always plan the colors or stitches. I like to see what develops as I go along. I add dimension as I stitch, and use a variety of stitch styles and a variety of cords and threads. Today, I used wool felt squares and DMC #8 cotton embroidery thread – my fave. These are what I call Prayer Flags. I know, there are prayer flag traditions all over the world. And each style is unique. Mine are a little unorthodox and wonky, but meaningful to me. I stitch tiny pockets on the back and write names of people, events and such on small papers and tuck those into the pockets as prayers. As I complete each set of 5, they represent time spent in conversation with the creator of the universe, and a time spent not thinking about myself.
As I stitch each ‘flag’, I may go back and forth between them until I’m satisfied that the square holds all the stitches (prayers) it can hold.
The chaos of every day. How do I focus on each one? Do we need to? should I prioritize?
And then there are the storms. Do I cause the storms? Am I in the middle? the sidelines? Am I being injured by the swirling winds? Can I escape? Where can I hide?
Roots run deep. What you see is only the tip of the iceberg. Patience is the gift of the gardener. Nurture the place where you are. Can I really do that?
Do I struggle to open the door to something different? Why is the door closed? What is hiding there?. Is it locked? Perhaps it’s the wrong door.
Am I in a precarious place? Should I run away? Or should I stay? There is comfort in a safe secure place. Remember, the ship that never leaves the dock does not experience adventure. Fly. Fly Away.
Done.
When do you find time to think of others – of their pain, their needs? How do those thoughts manifest in your life?
