Friday 10 April 2020

Feeling Unstitched


Since this all began
I've been stitching windy gusts around my windswept tree
happy to have work at the stage
when rhythmic stitched meditation can take over.


After a day's stitching
an important part of my process
is to pin the piece on a design wall
take a quick look and react.
Usually this means trying out bits and pieces of cloth or thread colour
and leaving them there overnight
to react to them first thing in the morning with fresh eyes.


On Monday night however
my immediate thought was
Oh, my goodness, I have to unstitch all that wind!
.....
I went to bed.
Next morning my reaction was just the same.
So I started unpicking.

How much unpicking you may ask
....well....
I started first thing Tuesday morning
Handy Hubby then decided he had to
vacuum all the rugs
and then
shampoo all the rugs.

He did that by lunchtime.
I unpicked for two days!


The Rusty Pups thought it was pretty boring.
I found it quite calming.
Once I have made a decision like that
I commit fully.

I should tell you why....
That Monday night
it hit me that my beautiful elegant tree
was being overwhelmed by those messy winds.
When I started the wind was an important part of the story
Now I am relegating it to background noise!

So today I will start calming the wind down
and feel secure in the knowledge that I have done the right thing.


Perhaps my windy stitching didn't work
because
for the past few weeks I should have been
with these two little monkeys
whom I haven't held in my arms for ages now.
Usually I get to visit them at least twice a year.
I wonder when I will see them next
in these days of uncertainty.
I know many of us are wondering the same thing.

Love my little honeybunches
See you on FaceTime tonight!

11 comments:

  1. unstitching ... I so get it

    likewise very much missing hugs ... and the poignancy of FaceTime ...

    may you be well

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  2. I'm glad the RPs kept you company, even if they were bored. Unpicking for two days straight would drive me wild!

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  3. Well ... sometimes unpicking is part of the stitching ....
    Hope you all stay well Penny !
    (and great there is FaceTime !)

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  4. I too have 'unstitched' for a day but for 2 days! Never!!! Kudo's to you!!!

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  5. Your grand daughters are darling!
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your project.
    You're tenacious!

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  6. Oh dear. I am not keen on unpicking I really am missing all of mine, especially the baby great grands. Will be glad when it is all over. It is so unsettling

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  7. So nice to see you the other day ! ... I am enjoying seeing everyone of CFA.
    Unstitching for 2 days would have driven me straight to the garbage can ... you have more patience than I will ever have !
    Beautiful girls, Penny. I have 5 grands between the ages of 3 & 8 who, although only 5 hrs away I ,too, wonder when I will be able to hug them to bits again ... awful times for us grandmas !
    Be safe Penny & yours.

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  8. Hi Penny - I am with Sharron - you are way more committed than I could be - I likely would have taken to my permanent markers and coloured the stitches and moved on - I love your commitment to your art! Be safe and well and HAPPY - life is moving forward, closer to freedom again every day!

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  9. I completely understand reverse stitching but my husband definitely does not. He can't understand why I don't get upset when I rip out a complete knitting project and yet I haven't one bit of patience when it comes to dealing with yarn barf and throw it in his direction. He's had tons of practice unraveling fishing line over the years so to him yarn is a piece of cake. I'm also with you in knowing how hard it is not to hug our 'little people' - Skype is wonderful, but it's not the same. Our two littlest were supposed to come from BC for a visit the end of next month but of course that's not going to happen now. Have a peaceful Easter - be safe, be well.

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  10. Oh what a lot of unstitiching! Good to go for it though if you are not satisfied. Stay safe. xx

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  11. that level of confidence, to unpick all that and know that you are doing the right thing! Greetings from Sussex by the Sea in the UK, glad you are still stitching and keeping healthy, thank you for sharing those two delightful smiles

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Thank you for taking the time to comment, your thoughts are most welcome.