“The power of community to create health is far
greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.”
– Mark Hyman
It has been a year since I last wrote in this blog. As you can guess, I have spent the past year as most others on this planet dealing with the pandemic. I have been fortunate as my health and my family’s has been good. There have been stresses, canceled trips, and minimal physical contact with our surrounding community but there have also been blessings.
What has kept me going through thick and thin is that I have had the support of a wonderful online international stitching community led by Karen Ruane. I have worked through a number of “classes” with Karen over the years and my skills have expanded manyfold with the encouragement of Karen and fellow class members. What is wonderful about Karen’s classes is that there are no expectations on your level of participation or what you choose to work on during the class. There is a private Flicker group for every class where participants can discuss, question, and post photos of their current work if they wish.
The result of this “class” format is that the participants become friends. People sign up for classes, drop out for a bit, and are welcomed back when they return, as most do. Everyone finds encouragement in Karen’s classes whether brand new beginners or polished professionals.
It turned out that Karen’s classes were a perfect way to navigate the Covid era. Classes provided a means of connecting with others with similar interests. It did not matter where on the globe we lived and whether we were in a lock down or not. We had a group with whom we could share both our pandemic experiences and our stitching adventures. This ability to share provided an anchor for lives that suddenly were uncertain, isolated, and open to threats beyond our control.
My main focus early on in the pandemic was creating a “pouch” for carrying my various projects about as I moved from studio to tv room etc. I chose a french theme as I had some beautiful lace I found at a quilt show a few years back along with a collection of ribbons from French General.
When completed, I decided the “pouch” was a bit big to carry around, so I immediately began a second smaller pouch. That first pouch now hangs on my design wall as an easily accessible storage place for my favorite threads and tools when I am working in my studio.
With my second effort, I began to incorporate paper into my design and a theme based on an abstraction from the Eifel Tower in my first pouch.
Both pouches are now done and happily being used. And, Karen has a new exciting class beginning in March that I am looking forward to. This one is all about embroidery and perfect wherever you are in your stitching journey. I hope you will check it out and consider joining us. It is an opportunity to learn, to play, and to enjoy companionship. Here is the link to Embroidery School Sewing Circle.
And I wish for everyone a brighter, more hopeful year as we continue to navigate these difficult times.
