The corner of the picnic table was dripping with mud, a dark puddle forming on the ground.
Four tin cups sat atop the table - some cups had water, some had clumps of dirt and mud stuck to the bottom and they were, each of them, part of an essential experiment.
Have you ever played in the dirt with a pre-schooler? That’s what I did over the weekend with my granddaughter. I can say from experience that it’s a very muddy, unpredictable and messy activity but also one full of wonder, discovery and joy.
It would be so easy to give in to the instinct to say, no, let’s not do that, it’s too messy. Why make a mess when there is no purpose to it, right? Why play in the dirt? And why, why, why would you add water to the mix?
Well, I say, why not.
And that is as good of an answer as any as to the question of, “Why do I Slow Stitch?”
The simplest answer to the question is this: Because it makes grounds me and brings me joy.
The longer answer to the question is that hand stitching fills me up – both my heart and my mind. It grounds me, no matter the circumstance, no matter the life situation, it brings me back to myself.
I never tire of layering fabric and covering it with stitch - there is always more to explore, more to try, more to expand upon.
Stitching by hand fuels my creativity and fills me with ideas that I want to pursue in their own right - and my love for stitching makes me want to freely share my passion with others. It's that important.
But why stitch? What is it for?
Yes, there can be a pull from within and without to be creating something useful, functional and that has it’s place – a bag or a pincushion or a needle book or a quilt – but there is also a place for the process, for the experience of making that is just as valuable.
I love hand stitching because it’s slow. Slowing down and stitching is generative. I can watch the colours and textures develop slowly and I can ponder my next move - in stitch and in the moment of life. I can think things through.
There’s no rush, no judgment, there’s no right or wrong, it’s just my very next move, my very next thought. It allows me to be present and alive.
The shortest answer I have as to why I slow stitch is because it’s my essential thing, and my advice is, if you can find your thing, do it.
It might not be Slow Stitching, it might be something else creative or something physical or outdoors.
If you haven’t found your thing, keep looking, keep trying new things, keep going.
Give yourself permission to play in the dirt and make mud. I believe you will find your thing if you keep an open mind and heart and allow it.
As I watched my granddaughter mixing the dirt and water, sprinkling dry earth on top, watching for what happened next, playing with possibilities – I realized that this time, this experimenting she was doing – it’s priceless, it’s essential and it’s necessary.
So, I stitch because it’s necessary, because it’s essential, and occasionally practical and useful, yes, but most importantly it’s because I am a Slow Stitcher and stitching is my essential thing.
xo ~Jo
She’s lucky to have a grandma like you! I was a little girl playing in the mud, using plantain leaves to make “salads” to accompany “fish fillets” (have you ever noticed that the seeds in a green milkweed pod look kinda like fish- before they are fully formed and fluffy?) My playmate was my little sister, and I’m thankful that my mom let us roam and play without restrictions! 💜