God love my mother, but she made me take embroidery and sewing lessons from our grouchy old neighbor lady. At the age of 8 or 9, this was sheer punishment. Her house smelled funny, she screeched, and unless my stitches were perfect there was no lemon meringue pie for dessert.
At my age now, all I can think is, why didn't I pay more attention?
I really just picked up hand embroidery again as a form of relaxation and therapy earlier this year. You see, late 2012 and early 2013 weren't/haven't been very good to me health-wise. I went to some dark places and needed an outlet. I had no idea that I would ever be brave enough to display my work online or ever blog about my exploits/life.
Hand embroidery is something that lets me experiment and be creative with pattern, color, medium and application. I can be doing something mindful and mindless all at once. It takes patience and reminds me that I don't have to be perfect. Perfection is not realistic. Good is better than perfect.
Beauty and joy can be found in such little things sometimes. Hand embroidering a pillow case for each of my children put smiles on their faces and they continue to be my biggest fans (and sometimes my toughest critics). I know that hand embroidery is not a "fast" past time, but people seem to like things that are made just for them.
I hope you find something here at The Red Bumble Bee that makes you smile, pause to think, or remember. I don't know where this journey will take us, but I look forward to the trip.
Renee
Le Bourdon Rouge
