First Stitch Meditation (or Slow Stitching)

I recently discovered Stitch Meditation (a group on FB) with Liz Kettle and slow stitching on Rag Bag Girls (also a group on FB) with Jean Rubman. I've been admiring the other members' work for a while, and since all my art supplies are still boxed up, except for my sketchbook, Stabilo watersoluble pencil, a box of pan watercolors, and a couple of other pens, last weekend I decided to give it a try. I was immediately hooked!

My paternal grandmother taught me to embroider when I was a child, and my mom helped me what she could, but it wasn't easy, as she was left handed and I am right handed. Anyway, I haven't embroidered in a very long time, so I'm really rusty at it, but I took a few scraps, dug out some embroidery thread, finally found an embroidery needle, and proceeded to do the stitches I could remember, freehand. These are very basic stitches and they're not perfect, but they're not meant to be.

For the meditative practice (Stitch Meditation), there are no rules. You just pick up 2-3 scraps, set aside some time, and focus on stitching mindfully, which calms your mind and lets you forget about other things for a while, therefore, kind of rejuvenating you. I used a piece of felt for a backing to give it some body and make it easier to stitch on. Per one suggestion, I didn't allow myself to take stitches out, no matter how they looked. I used mostly the straight stitch in varying lengths, plus a few french knots, because that's what I could remember, and some of it resembles kantha stitching, which I love. It took a few tries to remember how to do the french knot again, but it came back to me! I spent about four short sessions on this piece and it's a little less than four inches square, and I was totally relaxed afterward.

Totally wild random stitches going every which way with no aforethought or pattern! Kind of Wabi Sabi, finding beauty in imperfections. Also a great way to use up small scraps!

I think to start with a small piece was to be completed in as short a time as fifteen minutes or half an hour. I spent quite a bit longer than that, because I got so engrossed that I couldn't stop. :D

So, I guess, technically, mine turned in to a slow mindful stitching piece, which I learned about in Rag Bag Girls. All kinds of luscious fabric creations in that group, machine and/or hand sewn and mixed media pieces. They have a slow stitch Saturday, where they do mindful hand stitching, which is also meditative, maybe a bit more thoughtful, but just as fun.

Thank you Liz Kettle and Jean Rubman for introducing me to this new way to meditate, and thank you to the members of each group for inspiring me every day!

There are so many wonderful things to try online, and I'm so grateful to those that create and share the how to with the rest of us. Not enough time to try everything, but I'm glad I tried something new over the weekend, and I'm glad it was this wonderful technique. Now I'm wanting to mix it with my painting media, which I have also seen done online. Can't wait to try it!

Creative people never get bored! Keep learning new things and stay creative!