Sewing salve

Definition, courtesy or Merriam-Webster:
1. An unctuous or adhesive substance for application to wounds or sores;
2. A remedial or soothing influence or agency

I've been struck by recent blog posts on stressful situations sapping those bloggers creativity and desire to sew.  While I can certainly see how this could be true, for me, it is the opposite.  I have found sewing and stitching to be such a comfort / salvation / salve etc, whenever stress strikes.

First, knitting: I find this almost meditative, it is a fantastic stress relief.  I have noticed myself thinking, "I need to calm down, I need to go and knit.  Immediately."  After a few rows, or a few hours, I have always felt better.  It is slow and steady, you have to keep the tension even, it is repetitive, meditative and, ultimately, productive.  I turn to knitting to keep my hands busy and let my mind wander.  (A complicated lace pattern would also work well if you wanted to keep your mind occupied and off any unwelcome thoughts.)

Then, sewing: During a recent stressful situation, I found sewing to be the most marvellous displacement activity.  No matter how many late nights I was working through, how many times the printer jammed, I could walk away, head over to my sewing table and carry on with my project.  It was absorbing and the output was tangibly coming together before my very eyes.  Would I have been better off pushing on and just finishing the job at hand?  Maybe, but I could keep the unpleasant job in perspective when I had another, pleasant, job to flit back to.

Finally, embroidery: I love emboidery!  I'm doing counted cross stitch and I think of it as colouring in for grown-ups! I don't have to do anything but count properly and put the stitches in, one at a time.  It is really, really slow but it is lovely to see something pretty growing from out of the mesh fabric.  Again, absorbing for the hands, and the eyes, but your mind is mostly free to think about what it wants.

I also love how the knitting and embroidery is portable, and sociable.

I do agree that there are times when life gets very busy and finding a way to stitch is not easy or desirable.  I usually find this happens at times when there are other stimulating (as opposed to stressful) experiences happening.  They might be stressful too, but I think it is the stimulation that is keeping me from stitching, not the stress.  ie: I am finding other outlets for energy and creativity at that time.

I'm very grateful that I have these hobbies that provide me with so much comfort and satisfaction, I would venture to say that I do something with a needle and string every single day.