Stitching Our Stories
Throughout time, women have gathered in circles to quilt, knit, and stitch clothing. Before there was the mass production of ready-to-wear, women hand-crafted their family’s garments. Handcrafting was part and parcel, a way of life. There was far less distraction in previous centuries, so it can be said that in some ways it was a simpler time with a slower pace for daily life. Hand-stitching was a necessary skill for not only making clothing, but for mending and darning, or as the French call it, Raccommodage et Reprisage.
When browsing an antique store or flea market I’m always captivated by vintage quilts, sewn with countless stitches made by a woman’s hand or a delicately stitched, heirloom Christening gown once lovingly passed from generation to generation. Equally interesting are vintage sewing baskets and boxes filled with tangled arrays of old sewing notions and threads, thoughtfully used and cherished in a bygone era.
Lately, I’ve been putting forth the call for a contemporary circle of women sharing a common creative focus…to prayerfully and intentionally hand-stitch our personal stories, inspirations, prayers, and visions onto cloth. I believe that the practice of slow-stitching a sacred story cloth, when crafted with ritual and conscious intention, becomes an animated form of prayer. Imagine a story cloth as a kind of stitched journal…the needle as your pen, the thread as your ink. Stitch by stitch, the cloth is transformed with meaning and illuminated with prayer through your personal mark-making.
I’m currently cultivating my slow-stitching practice and adding new techniques while contemplating creative ways to share the practice and craft of slow, meditative stitching to create sacred story cloths and stitched journals. I enjoy looking through my clothing and linen cupboard for possible items to be repurposed, cut apart for backgrounds and applique. Each piece is ironed and set aside to be embellished with my stitched stories and prayers. Cloth appears as: a silk jacket, never worn, but can’t be parted with because the pattern is so beautiful, and bits well worn bed linens, pillow cases, tablecloths, dish towels and napkins I will never use again, and so on.
Selecting a color palette from a variety of threads: embroidery floss, perle cotton, silk, metallic, etc. is also a meditative and very satisfying process. An old bread bowl has become the container for my collection of embroidery threads spooled on wooden close pins. I am swept away with enjoyment as I create a palette for a new stitching project, savoring my time to select the “just right” threads and colors. Spooling the skeins of thread is also a prayerful practice.
I have recently enjoyed studying various techniques to transfer family photos to fabric. Imagery will be incorporated with other embellishments such as: bits of old jewelry, buttons, anything that can be stitched onto the fabric. In this age of recycling I’m enjoying contemplating how to repurpose fabrics, imagery, and notions I’ve stuffed into closets and boxes.
I’ve discovered in recent weeks, while experimenting with various stitches as I begin a sacred story cloth, that the practice goes in tandem with keeping a story journal. While stitching my stories, thoughts swirl and dance in my mind. It’s essential to keep my pen and journal nearby to note the memories, reflections, inspirations and images that arise. My new journal, designated to document my ideas, discoveries, and inspiration for stitching projects is also a place to add bits of threads and notations to tangibly capture the process of my stitching.
A string of words keeps arising in my mind… Story Stitching: Praying with Needle and Thread.
A new book title…perhaps…but I believe that for now these words are my calling to deep exploration of the possibilities. With autumn’s arrival the clarity I’m seeking will no doubt arrive. For now, I’m cultivating my ideas and vision and nurturing the seeds so they will grow to fruition as the leaves begin to turn.
I’m enjoying exploring all the possibilities of Cousion d'Histoire, Story Stitching. I’m a Francophile, so I can’t help but add a bit of French flavoring and stitching history/herstory to my Story Stitching experience. Listening to Edith Piaf while stitching carries me to inner rich and inspirational terrain!
It’s time for a cup of tea and a bit of journaling to capture all that’s percolating for my vision of Story Stitching.
I invite you to be in touch. I’d love to hear your thoughts.…
Do you carry a story you’d like to stitch, to become your story cloth?
What do you imagine when you contemplate praying with needle and thread?
How is your creative spirit speaking to you in this moment?