Quite difficult

Do you know how difficult it is to find a poem I want to embroider? Quite! And do you know how difficult it is not to get sick every other week? Very, very!!

I've been thinking my immune system took a break and it is somewhere in the Caribbean getting all soaked up and relaxed. I'm not sure which island it is at exactly or when it will be back. I just hope (fingers crossed) that it doesn't like it too much over there, and decides to join me soon.

It hasn't been fun having one thing after another, week after week, and month after month.

Crafting, embroidering, even reading has been a struggle, but somehow some days I find a bit of strength, like magic, and I get to do the things I like.

I haven't wanted to complain or talk about it here on the blog, because it is nothing serious, and I know that there are much bigger issues than this one, but it has been what has been going on in my life. Like this embroidered handkerchief that took a long time in the making and eventually found its way out, I'm pretty sure I will too.

It amuses me that I decided on a poem that is called Prayer, and whose first line says; "God give me the strength to lead a double life." One where I get to craft, and another where I get to be sick without being annoyed that I'm sick.

Without knowing it back then, this was exactly what I needed. Even though this poem is about something else, I like what the part I embroidered means to me.

I think with some things, I have to learn to take it slow and allow the process to unfold itself, without forcing it, and without getting impatient. I really need to work hard on that issue (and of course so many others as well).

I'm trying to accept that there is a process to everything and that even if I want things to work out quickly and the way I want them to, they simply won't because they must take their time.

I hope all is well on your side, and if you want to share with me some of the things you do to take it slow, I would love to hear them.

Wishing you a great beginning into the month of June,
Giova

#3 - A poem in a Heart

I really like this poem, i carry your heart by E.E. Cummings. This was an experiment to see how much of the poem fitted in a "normal sized" heart, and to see how the letters looked this way. A bit crooked, a bit difficult when it got to the last part.  I added some pieces of fabric as I went along, it seemed to me that the heart needed some sort of frame.

I'll be selling this piece on Etsy, if you are interested take a look or if you are curious about measurements, etc… take a look too!

I'm trying to "let go" of some of the things I make, since my drawers don't have that much space.

Have a great start of the week!
Giova

My Stitched Narrative

Getting started was a bit difficult. Finding a story I wanted to embroider was also tricky.

I thought I wanted to stitch the one camisole I had brought to the workshop, and at the beginning I was quite stubborn in trying to keep the camisole intact. By the middle of the week, I just cut the whole thing up, and fortunately didn't feel an ounce of regret. The back part of the camisole is what you see.

This is the story of my grandfather (symbolically of course),  and how very important he was to me. The birds, "la garza," poem and handkerchief in the back are all because of him. I didn't discuss this with the group at all, as any talk involving my grandfather involves a tear or two, and I really didn't feel like crying.

The poem I stitched was found through serendipity, which is how I like to find most things. Thank you Mary for the poem.

The poem "I thank you God for most this amazing" is by E.E Cummings. I loved this poem, (I love poetry a lot), and this one spoke to me that day, which is what I love most about poetry, it finds you, and it speaks to you at the right moment.

I also tried to stitch it in the form of a letter, as if it was coming out from the inside of that little envelope.

And I do thank God for everything in my life, I've always have, so this poem seemed like a perfect fit.

And my 3 guys that are always in my heart.

So this is what I did when I was actually doing something. I also talked a lot, got distracted by this or that, went to the pool a couple of times, and learned a stitch or two (but those are somewhere else).

It is much easier to show someone else's work, admire it and compliment it. When it comes to our own work, all of sudden our judging wand goes bonkers. Why, oh why, are we so tough on ourselves??

I hope you have a wonderful day.
Giova.