Just under 11 weeks ago
I was sat at home two weeks over due and utterly boiling as the UK
experienced an epic heat wave. It turns out I was pregnant with a ten
and a half pound baby (I KNOW!) and as the days ticked by I realised
I was staring down the likelihood of having my baby induced in
hospital. There is little that could raise the spirits of such a
person but one thing saved my sanity in those days and that was cross
stitch.
Gone were the days of
dressmaking as one, I was huge so there hardly seemed any point
making anything. And two I could no longer bend over to cut fabric. I
couldn't really do much that involved heaving my oversized body out
of my chair. But I desperately needed something to engage my hands
and slow my mind. I can really see why colouring has made a come back
for the same reason. Don't we all need something to take us out of
ourselves for a minute, even if we aren't massively pregnant?! I'm no
psychologist but for me time to not think, rather weirdly, seems to
bring more clarity in the mind. Like your brain needs time to rest
itself so that it can order itself well.
It seems I'm not alone
in rating the theraputic benefits of stitching and the fab online
shop Sew and So have recently hosted a blog series for Mental Health Month with stories from people who have found sanctuary and healing
in their creative projects. The stories are really worth a read and
chart how having a craft to focus on helped these people through
everything from anxiety to depression to chronic illness. I know for
me, in the long road to having a bambino, taking a dressmaking course
gave me a new joy and passion in my life when I needed it most. So
much so that the baby now gets some quality Daddy time for a couple
of hours every few days so I can get behind the machine again.
One of the lovely side
benefits to something like cross stitch for relaxation is that you
have something beautiful in the end. The cross stitch I took on in my
last days of pregnancy, and finished up a few weeks after Luke was
born, was the Love Tree by Bothy Threads. There is something very
special about stitching the word 'Love' over and over again as you
wait for your greatest love to arrive on the scene. My house is
rapidly filling up with things that have emerged in this way but
isn't it lovely to look around you in your own home and be surrounded
by things that mean something and tell your story.
If you fancy giving it
a go then cross stitch really is ridiculously easy. Just stitch in the same direction and maybe get yourself a snazzy magnifying mirror to hang round your neck if you really want to channel cross stitch cool. Next on my
project list is a Christmas sack for Luke and then I am stitching an
A-Z of the Christmas season called Oh Holy Night. Like a true
Vicar-geek I exclaimed to my husband that I just had to have it
because the theology in it was so sound. I know, I'm beyond help!
Still, I can't think of any better way to really dwell on the true
meaning of Christmas.
So how about you? Any
tips for creative ways to unwind and rejuvinate? I'd love to hear
them.
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