I have just come back from a very enjoyable ‘slow stitching’ workshop locally. Before I went I thought this was simply stitching slowly without pressure, but I have a better understanding now. It’s about stitching as meditation, stitching for well being and relaxation. It’s also a great way to use up small scraps, and odds and sods of thread, ribbon, net, buttons and so on.
The piece I produced gave me joy, as did the pleasant company. I let my stitches wander where they felt like. Some of the other pieces produced were far more imaginative than mine. But all were very different, given the same box of scraps to choose from, it was amazing how different personalities shone out. The leader moved around us, making quiet suggestions, as we stitched in companionable chat, learning from each other. My piece is basically a collage of fabric, stitched down to showcase the gorgeous carnation piece in the centre. If anyone knows what this pattern is called and who made it, please let me know in the comments.
Apart from the company, it struck me that slow stitching was similar to how I work as a poet. I am constantly trying to tap into my subconscious mind, get away from the world of ‘ideas’ to the world of instinct and going where the mind wants to wander, not worrying over word choices while at the writing stage. Before the writing comes the pondering and mind-freewheeling. Then comes the tentative scribbling down of phrases, half lines, sometimes if one is very lucky, a couple of lines. Those lines might end up anywhere in a poem, or not at all, but they are all gifts from the subconscious brain.
Slow Stitching might be another way to dodge Hughes’ ‘inner policeman’. It’s worth a try.
Angela Topping 