Hand Stitching is Equal to Meditation

I am pleasantly immersed in hand stitching.  I have discovered that my usual maneuvers in my studio keep me on the move.  Rarely do I ever sit down.  Sitting during the day is not allowed in my rule book.  This has to be saved for the evening when I rest.  Where did I come up with that crazy thinking?  My cats are so happy that I have decided to take a seat they might actually get petted or allowed to commune with me.  My studio is where all my stuff is which is great; but, this also interferes many times.  I can get so easily distracted.  I am exhausted by dinner time, so I how did I think doing hand work would make sense after a full day?

Lately I have been focusing on hand work.  This is a totally different channel.  I am out of my comfort zone but for good reasons.  I want to explore Slow Stitch/Slow Cloth.  I am not crazy about this term but it is the most common that describes a long running stitch that is used many ways.  I like the peacefulness that hand work produces.  I can slow down in a number of ways.  I want to “be in the moment”. It is working.  I am calmer than I have been in a long time.  This is good.

I have set up a new blog called Zen Cloth which will focus on hand stitching and associated topics.

This is an extension of my dedication of 2010 as “the year of the stitch”.

I am discovering more and more artists that create beautiful and very interesting handwork along with expressive writing.  It is joyful to read their comments.  Many of them share insight and poetry.

Here is one I discovered today Albedo Arlee Barr is a Canadian artist and her work is exquisite.

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