Just Keep Swimming

One of the most motivational quotes that runs through my head on a regular basis comes from a cartoon. It's hard to believe but Disney Pixar's Finding Nemo offers some of the best advice with that one line.

Just Keep Swimming. It's simple, to the point and easy to remember. In my latest meditative stitching project, I chose these words to stitch. As I come up on a milestone birthday, deal with never ending house projects and manage through life's ups and downs, I try to remember to just keep swimming. Really that is what it's all about. We are all in this together and at different times we have to fight to stay afloat and other times we lead the tide.

Stitching and swimming; it's that repetitive motion- the stroke of your arm as it glides through the water or the motion of your stitch as it pierces the cloth. No matter how busy or stressful your life seems at the moment, taking that time to check back in with yourself slows you down and keeps you going at the same time. Just keep swimming. Just keep stitching.

Her Gloves

My grandmother- my Nana Dot, was a happy and strong woman that lived to be almost 95 years old. She was known for her signature drink; the whiskey sour, her family business; The White Swan and her childhood nickname; Giggles. To me, she was responsible for providing me with my favorite childhood tradition...Nana Dot's Christmas Eve party. To be honest, there was nothing innately special about this party other than it was about family, long time traditions and I loved every minute of it!

When she passed away in May, my mom gave me a box of her old aprons, linens, and gloves. I immediately knew that I wanted to commemorate her in some way through stitch using the stories, traditions, and memories that she left behind. I also knew that I wanted it to be a gift to my mom.

The aprons were beautiful and the vintage handkerchiefs were finely stitched but I was drawn to the gloves.  There is something so intimate about a pair of gloves.  The gloves were so carefully cared for that they did not even look worn but I know that at one time or another, her hands were tightly wrapped in this fabric.  Knowing this gave me a mutual sense of sadness and comfort. Stitching these gloves made me feel very close to her.

 

The stitching isn't perfect, some of the words are hard to read but none of that really matters. Christmas was definitely different this year but there will never be a Christmas that I don't think back to all of the wonderful Christmas Eve parties and remember Nana Dot in her party jewelry, drinking a whiskey sour and hopping around to her big band music.

 

 

A Memory Through Cloth

 

 

We said good bye to this beautiful lady earlier this week.  My Nana Dot, as she was called by everyone including my friends, lived to be 95! She was a happy, positive person who never complained.  She loved Big Band music, coffee with sugar cakes and her whiskey sours! As far as crafting and art were concerned, I never saw her take an interest in any of it but she always proudly displayed my gifted hand made wares.  It sometimes even surprised me when I would come across something I made and gave to her so may years ago... Something I had forgotten about would be proudly sitting on her side table or kitchen counter.

 

My mother found a box of vintage handkerchiefs that had been in my grandma's house. She gave them to me knowing how much I would appreciate them.  It's indescribable but there is something about a cherished piece of cloth that holds so much meaning. Opening the box and touching the pieces of fabric, I felt close to my Nana Dot.  I could smell her house and imagine her folding and pressing the handkerchiefs.

 

These pieces will sit with me for awhile.  I will give it time until I know how to use them. I know that eventually I will figure out the perfect way to stitch into them and create something that will honor her memory and help me heal as well.

 

Coffee & Stitches

When you really get into the practice of your meditative stitching it becomes something you look forward to each morning. And for me this means coffee and stitches.  The smell and sounds of the coffee brewing against the quiet of the morning is my favorite part of the day. No matter how rushed I am, I find that giving myself the time to slow down helps me better manage the fast pace of the day that lies before me.

 

My sweet dog Jasper also appreciates this morning routine as it means that he gets a rare chance to be up on the couch!  It also really feels good to have this time with him before I have to leave to go off to work.

 

 

Currently I've been working on a morning mantra piece.  This is going to be a class sample for a workshop that I will be giving later in the summer.  I love the look of beautiful script created with a simple backstitch.  The word I chose was Grateful.  I have so much to be grateful for and it helps me remember that as I stitch out the word on a beautiful vintage handkerchief. Getting lost in the word and what it means becomes easy.  You focus on each stitch and with each stitch is the reward of creating a beautiful mark in the cloth. A great way to begin the day.

 

Rampion

In the tale of Rapunzel, the allure of the root plant, Rampion was impossible to resist. It was ultimately this temptation that led to the ill fate for baby Rapunzel.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the idea of home has been at the forefront of my mind for quite awhile.  So when I heard the story of Rapunzel being retold on NPR several months ago, I could not help but have a new perspective on the tale. Rampion, otherwise known as a root vegetable, was the source of desire. We can all identify with this...roots and in its more basic form, shelter, is a fundamental source of human need.

With this piece, Rampion, my series into the home has begun. I have so many different ideas and alternate ways of looking at this topic that I can't wait to begin.  However, life imitates art imitates life.  The next piece might take a little longer...We are moving into a new home, one that we plan to stay in for a very long time. Our own roots are being planted and we will watch them grow!

Home

What does Home mean to you? Is it a white picket fence with a perfectly manicured lawn, a status symbol of accomplishing all of your goals? Do you think of the home as a symbol of security, domesticity, family?  Or is it an essential form of shelter? For the past two years I have become preoccupied with these ideas.

And this is how my work comes to life. It all started with a trip to Washington DC during the coldest night of the year. I saw so many homeless makeshift beds over the sidewalk vents.  It was not a new sight but for some reason on that particular night, I was haunted by the image of these beds across the backdrop of the DC capital skyline.  That skyline which represents power, money and prestige grossly contrasted against a living visual of  poverty.

Flash forward to my own personal life in the past two years.  I went from living a comfortable independent life in my own home to happily moving in with my fiancé. Despite the joyous reason for my home upheaval, there was a lot of adjustments to work through. I'm a creature of habit and love to be settled- not to mention have all of my sewing supplies in their place and out of a moving box!

Now happily settled into my new home, more exciting changes are on the horizon- a wedding, once again a new home to move into, and more decorating!

While all of these changes are wonderful, the haunting image of  the disparity of my own selfish complaints of home versus the need for home as a source of survival has spurred a series on the home. My first piece is nearly finished as I gather research and thoughts for the next few. I look forward to working through some of my feelings as I explore the various implications that Home represents.

 

 

 

Enjoying the Mundane

Sometimes moments of peace and tranquility can be found in the most unexpected of places.  Meet Tippy, the sweetest, most precarious dog I know.  She is owned by my dear friend and jewelry artist, Chrissy Gemmill.  Aside from making her beautiful jewelry, Chrissy has a fun blog that chronicles her business as well as her family adventures and life with Tippy.  Recently, Tippy happily destroyed Chrissy's favorite mushroom pillow!  She looks quite proud of herself doesn't she? 

 

 

I offered to repair her beloved pillow.  After pinning it back together I began stitching.  The repetition was relaxing and I enjoyed what might typically be considered a task.  The simple act of mending can be a meditative process if given the right mindset.  Folding the laundry, washing dishes, even sweeping the porch can be an opportunity to get yourself into your head and focus on the task at hand.  In a life filled with constant overstimulation and interruptions, the simple act of  vacuuming can be a pleasure in itself. Another part of the joy is the immediate satisfaction of a positive result from your productivity. Let's not underestimate the benefit of a clean and tidy house!

 

Visit Chrissy's blog at here, to read more about her and check out her jewelry!

Feeling Overwhelmed

This week has been a little extra stressful for me.  I'm a planner...it keeps me on track & it helps me feel like I can get what I need to get done within the time I need to do it.  On the alternate side of this- when I can't complete my to do list and things go off schedule I can start to feel overwhelmed.

There's nothing like planning a wedding and buying a house to throw a wrench into your already busy schedule of life and work!  This week we started arrangements on our wedding and have put in two offers on a house that we love.  As I write this, the anticipation of the answer is looming over me.

So this morning I woke up feeling completely overwhelmed and unwilling to get out of bed.  I forced myself up and started on my morning routine.

On a busy morning when you feel like there are a million things you should be doing and you already feel behind, that's when you need your meditative practice more than ever! Since I recently finished a project, I didn't have anything specific to stitch so I have been working on a scrap piece that I have been slowly adding to over the past year. 

 

 

Today I picked up a new color and didn't give it too much thought and just got right into it.  The pink design was what I added today- no plan, no stress...I just followed along intuitively.  It wasn't long until I got lost in the pattern and repetition.  Exactly what I needed. I know the day will bring chaos and I will forget to stop and breathe but I had my 15 minutes of  complete "me" time and that's what it's all about.

Stitching through Loss

Growing up I always had dogs in my life.  When each one of them passed I was either away at college or already moved out and on my own.  Their absence was felt and it was hard to say goodbye. It was not until my own dog, Banyan's passing this past summer when I actually felt the true devastation and loss.

Banyan was my 15 year old miniature pinscher who I had with me through many stages of my young adult life. He was with me as I got my first adult job, slept on my many sewing projects, lived with me in various apartments, and finally accompanied me into my current stage- meeting my fiancé and moving into his home. He was with me through it all.  In July he quickly became ill and I had to give him the gift of letting go. 

So many of my artist friends were so kind and offered to sculpt, paint or draw Banyan as a way to commemorate him. I appreciated their generosity but nothing seemed exactly right. I had to honor him in the best way I knew how...in cloth.

I used the background as my morning meditation.  As I stitched each row, my mind wandered. Sometimes it put me at ease, sometimes it brought back memories.  The piece to honor my friend Banyan ended up being a piece to heal my loss. Now as I'm finishing up the piece I realize, I don't want to finish this piece.  It feels too final.  I'm not exactly sure how I will feel when the time comes to bind it and frame it up.

This kind of piece is not typical for me. I usually tend to be less obvious with my subject matter.  But I felt the need to use his picture and write the text. This was not a piece that I will enter in a show or use as a representation of my art.  This piece is for me. I created it for myself and for Banyan.