Since last year sometime I have been playing around with the idea of stitch meditations. ( Not my idea , TY Liz Kettle for the inspiration ) This is where you take just a few moments to select a few fabrics and string to work with and then take 30ish minutes to create a small piece for the mere sake of stitching . Using the cloth and string along with your breath to bring the awareness back to the now. You are not supposed to remove or correct stitches but rather accept the finished piece as is,which is a lesson in letting go which most artists , and let’s be honest most humans could use.

Last year I began with good intentions around the end of January but sometime around the end of the school year I feel off track. With kids at home, and a business to run I had trouble carving out time in my day to just stitch without an end in mind . Since then I have been doing some therapy and have come to realize that my mental health suffers when I do not make time for just me, so I began this year with a determination to start again. Just a few minutes at the start or end of every day to come back to the now. A few minutes a day to let my mind work thru the events of the day, or perhaps make a solid plan of attack to get thru an especially hard day to come. Better than traditional meditation for me at this point in my life because keeping my hand active allows my mind the freedom to roam . Using stitch with breath , as you move with your breath in yoga brings awareness to your body and calm to the mind and heart. Some days I find I stitch more than others but I am coming to accept that ebb and flow just as my other appetites and needs fluctuate throughout the day, or month, or year, or even lifetime.

So today is February 1st and I am happy to day that I did achieve all 31 meditations for January 2020 and while I have not made one yet today I have every intention to continue this journey as I am learning so much about myself as I go. Here is a look at my pieces for January and I will leave you with a poem that came to me while stitching one day last week that encapsulates how I feel about the process .

Solace comes in quiet moments

Cloth and thread in hand.

Breath and needle work in time,

Stitches piling up like tiny grains of sand.

A push , a prick , a pull , a breathe

The rhythm of my day.

Inhale , exhale stitch , repeat

Mending mind as well as cloth along the way.

The inner turmoil of my thoughts come to rest in moving hands.

Untieing snarls and tangles,

from both thread and muscle bands