Time Out
I had a really unsettling time last week. It seemed like every bit of news I read, heard, watched was either horrible, heartbreaking or anger-inducing. Until finally, on Thursday, when I couldn't take anymore, when I realized everything was seriously denting my head, I turned it all off. No internet, no social media, no outside influences allowed until today.
It helped. It really did. Maybe, for me, it's easier to imagine that things are good in the world rather than hear--in endless media loops--that things are terrible. It might seem like the Ostrich Syndrome, but really, I prefer a little sand in my ears as opposed to mind meltdown.
So, to totally change gears, I started an embroidery project I've been wanting to do for ages. For several years I've been following an amazing embroiderer, Mary Corbet, at Needle 'n Thread. Her website has tons of tips and videos, many examples of her work, plus current works-in-progress which she updates in her newsletter once or twice a week. She also teaches a Summer class every year for kids/teens--except sadly, not this year.
I've done a few of her projects, though this one, The Leafy Tree, goes a bit beyond anything I've done in the past. It's a doozy, but one I thought would truly take my mind away from my immediate reality. Thankfully, she puts together really wonderful kits, with all the instructions, photos, and stitches/techniques for each leaf on the tree. All 104 of them...(gulp).
Here's the front page of the 30-page project. I fell in love with this tree last year when Mary first designed it but had to wait until last month for her to not only finish the original, but to then write the instructions, make the pattern and layout guides, show (in words and photos) how to make the stitches for each leaf and put the kit together. Did I mention there are 104 leaves?
I spent two days sorting through my stash of embroidery floss to find all the thread colors and only had to substitute three colors that I didn't already have. Then I had to transfer the pattern onto the fabric, which took another few hours. Finally, early Sunday afternoon, all blustery with thunderstorms, I sat down to stitch...
I relished the stillness in my mind as I played with the threads, blending my tree trunk into wood-like colors. I still have a ways to go with all the limbs before I can start the leaves, but it really doesn't matter how long this project takes me. As I build my Tree, thread by thread, my thoughts can wander wherever they want in the quiet of my own little world...
It helped. It really did. Maybe, for me, it's easier to imagine that things are good in the world rather than hear--in endless media loops--that things are terrible. It might seem like the Ostrich Syndrome, but really, I prefer a little sand in my ears as opposed to mind meltdown.
So, to totally change gears, I started an embroidery project I've been wanting to do for ages. For several years I've been following an amazing embroiderer, Mary Corbet, at Needle 'n Thread. Her website has tons of tips and videos, many examples of her work, plus current works-in-progress which she updates in her newsletter once or twice a week. She also teaches a Summer class every year for kids/teens--except sadly, not this year.
I've done a few of her projects, though this one, The Leafy Tree, goes a bit beyond anything I've done in the past. It's a doozy, but one I thought would truly take my mind away from my immediate reality. Thankfully, she puts together really wonderful kits, with all the instructions, photos, and stitches/techniques for each leaf on the tree. All 104 of them...(gulp).
Here's the front page of the 30-page project. I fell in love with this tree last year when Mary first designed it but had to wait until last month for her to not only finish the original, but to then write the instructions, make the pattern and layout guides, show (in words and photos) how to make the stitches for each leaf and put the kit together. Did I mention there are 104 leaves?
I spent two days sorting through my stash of embroidery floss to find all the thread colors and only had to substitute three colors that I didn't already have. Then I had to transfer the pattern onto the fabric, which took another few hours. Finally, early Sunday afternoon, all blustery with thunderstorms, I sat down to stitch...
I relished the stillness in my mind as I played with the threads, blending my tree trunk into wood-like colors. I still have a ways to go with all the limbs before I can start the leaves, but it really doesn't matter how long this project takes me. As I build my Tree, thread by thread, my thoughts can wander wherever they want in the quiet of my own little world...
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