This week I've been so glad to have my Stitch Journal to focus on. I was feeling a lot of anxiety before the election, and afterwards . . . well, even more anxiety, along with shock, disbelief, grief, and even fear. It's helped a lot to sit down each morning and simply observe nature and stitch for a while.
In the past week, I've stitched dark red-browns, for changing maple leaves; white for frost on the fields and for chickadees; green for lush grass after rain; golden brown for oak leaves that are always the last to fall; dark brown for tree trunks in morning light.
The morning after the election (Day 314 of this project), I thought at first I would stitch something disruptive and shocking, maybe a dark wedge. But then I thought, no—no negativity. I chose white thread instead—the color worn by the suffragists who fought for women's right to vote. For the past couple of mornings, I've stitched white French knots in a dense circle expanding outward. It's my way of holding on to hope at a moment when it would be so easy to succumb to despair.
To quote Robert Frost: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."
Day 309
Day 310
Day 311
Day 312
Day 313
Day 314
Day 315
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If you are enjoying my Stitch Journal project, I hope you'll consider making a purchase from my Etsy Shop to help support it. Funds are needed for stretchers, professional photography, and a website to serve as home for this project and my other artwork.
If you don't wish to make a purchase but just want to support the project, you can do that, too. Thank you!
If you don't wish to make a purchase but just want to support the project, you can do that, too. Thank you!
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2 comments:
I love the white for the suffragettes. Stitching, knitting, walking, writing, drawing (in other words - creating and making) is important these days. I keep reminding myself that I live local and find things to do to lift up others in my community.
That's a beautiful way to look at things, Jane! Thanks so much for your comment.
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