so empty
yet so full
so awake
yet so exhausted
drained and dragged and spread thin
and still eager to give more and more and more again

~ vessel: to hold and be held. Ellie 2022

After my three day slump I got out of bed with some sort of renewed feeling. A more positive energy of sorts. It being a Saturday I sat down to stitch. I have decided that I will aim to not do any ‘work’ work on weekends.

Anyway, being a Saturday I took over the kitchen table (that is my only space for working, still not having cleaned out the mess {that’s a gigantic understatement} that could be my studio) and I laid out an assortment of fabrics and threads to work with.

Lately I’m wanting to make things that are small. That I can finish. I don’t want a lot of process things sitting around right now. I already have too many. And there’s a deep knowledge that I need to work on that, to progress through it somehow. Not saying that having wips (work in progress) or ufos (unfinished objects) is bad - but right now I need some sense of completion.

Perhaps its because the house is a mess. My mind is a mess. My soul and body are a messy tangle. My thoughts are scattered random unknowns. My family life is frantic, disjointed and erratic at the moment. So, having some small stitch pieces that I know I can complete in a short time is helping me.

Here is the little circle drawstring pouch that I made. I completed it in one day. To be truthful though it was a few hours of sitting, of working the pattern and sizing out. Of playing with fabric and threads. And sipping tea. But that was what I really truly needed.

This is what I made. Using some indigo block printed fabric I bought from a lovely shop in Maleny, in a fine soft cotton and some naturally dyed madder-red stitching thread (in fact it’s actually sold as fine loom weaving thread). I haven’t bought fabric for so long, apart from the base-cloth linen I use for my natural dyeing. It feels good to have a few special pieces to work with that are so very different to what I usually work with.

I since have started and FINISHED (!!!) two more pouches. One slightly smaller than this and one slightly bigger, in different colours and stitches. And I love them - can’t wait to photograph and share them with you, too.

This one below is the back of the fabric before I sewed it into the little circular bag shape. I always love the back of stitching - sometimes messier than others. This one quite neat as I didn’t want any loose threads to catch when using the bag. It won’t be seen of course, but that’s a bit like when we wear special underwear just for ourselves.

This little pouch will become a pattern and a video project that I’ll share inside my Stitch Circle Community (I create a new video how-to tutorial each month for the community space). I’m also going to be part of an amazing-sounding online creative retreat workshop space where I’ll share this and some other special pieces (if you want to know more about when this launches in late April you can join my mailing list.

If you’re new to hand stitching, slow stitching or boro and kantha-style stitching I’ve written a few blog posts that might be helpful, including how to start slow stitching, using improv designs in your stitching, how to make a quilter’s knot (which is a great little trick to use for all stitch work projects) and this tutorial for a fabric drawstring pouch.

My free online video course showing the process of slow stitching is a great start and you’ll learn to make your own needle case so you can take your creative work with you wherever you go - once you start this wonderful new craft I know you’ll be gently addicted.

Happy happy making dear creative one. I’d love to see what you create and share in your stitching stories. Many people send me photos via email, or leave your blog / website address below so I can visit, or say hi on Instagram (I’m @petalplum) so we can connect that way.