“Needlework for the Soul” – Has some form of needle art ever helped you? Do you have a story you can share with us? If you do and it is chosen to add to our book Needlework for the Soul, you will receive a free copy of the book.
We would love to hear your experience. Share what you can. We believe that you might be an inspiration to someone else who might relate and decide to sew, quilt, knit, embroider or whatever. You can include your name, or you can choose to be anonymous. Perhaps use your initials and your state/province/country.
Needlework is soul satisfying. It does soothe the soul. It helps to occupy the mind. It is meditative. It is healing. It does help mentally, emotionally and physically.
Calming types of needlework and art
Needlework is calming for me. I am completely comfortable doing my needlework, whatever type it is. I have been doing this art since I was a very young girl. I never realized how meditative it is. I guess I must have instinctively known that it calmed me down and kept me company without ever realizing it. I have always loved to create art. It did not matter whether I was colouring as a little girl, cutting out and outfitting my paper dolls, I always created art. I eventually moved onto other types of art. Art was and always will be a huge part of my life. I did not know or understand the psychological, physical, mental and emotional benefit that occurred. I loved the activities. Some of the art that I have had in my life are as follows…
Colouring
Painting
Drawing
Making little-beaded jewelry pieces
The knotted bracelets that we learned to do at camp (I think that there is a name for this but at the moment I do not know what it is).
Sculpting with putty and plasticine
Small rug hooking projects with a latch hook
Sewing buttons for practice when I was young (in a pattern)
Simple cross stitch on plastic and then on canvas. Eventually, I grew to love working on linen.
Tapestry particularly crewel work
Ribbonwork
Needlepoint
Sewing
Crochet
Embroidery
Knitting
Quilting
Millinery
I am sure I could find more and will add to the list as I think of them.
I believe that I have had a natural affinity for these activities. I enjoy it tremendously. I can have hours and hours go by where I stitch quietly in whatever rhythm it creates. Once I become adept with whatever the art is that I am working on, I now know and believe that it is meditative.
There was a time when I was having difficulty dealing with all of the events surrounding me. I was a caregiver to a few people. My sister told me that I needed to hand sew because it was considered meditative. It was only a few days after she mentioned this to me that I went to a needlework show in Toronto and I wandered around aimlessly, and the very last booth that I was going to see was from Toronto. It was a quilting fabric shop. A staff member did a demonstration on how to make hexies. I was hooked…hook, line, and sinker. I purchased some batik 2 1/2 inch strips of Bali pop fabric that all coordinated. I started my journey making hexie flowers. In times gone by, these were the grandmother’s flower garden flowers. They are ageless. I decided to add a couple of extra rows to my flowers and see where it went from there.
Please send me a message if one of the needle arts are or have been part of your day, particularly if they have been a benefit to you. I really would love to hear from you. If you do share your story and how it has helped you, perhaps we can include it in our book “Needlework for the Soul.”
