Helpful Hand Embroidery – Feb. 2023
Wednesday 1st February 2023
Hello everyone,
As it’s national embroidery month, I thought it would be nice to show some appreciation towards hand sewing.
I only got into hand embroidery roughly 2 years after I originally launched Sew-Drops, but since then it has become one of my favourite things to do with regards to crafting. I’m enjoying hand embroidery so much that I have recently started a mini online course with the Royal School of Needlework. It has helped me to work and improve on my hand sewing skills, as well as learn stitches I’d never heard of before e.g. blanket stitch, lazy daisy, french knot, etc.
However, it has also helped me help others in times of difficulty.
Some of you may know (from reading my previous blogs) that my Mum suffered with anxiety back in early 2020 and that had a massive impact on her self-confidence. For a long time, my Dad and I really didn’t know how to help her get better, until one day, I decided to try doing some hand sewing with her. After a few months of stitching, my Mum’s condition improved, until eventually she felt confident enough to get out and about again e.g. walking the dog with me, driving into town, meeting up with family and friends.
I was so happy that I’d been able to help my Mum, and since then I have been doing little hand sewing projects with her in the hopes that we would never have to go through anything like that again. However, that wasn’t the case, because last year, I had to help my Mum go through one of the worst moments of her life.
(So I haven’t openly talked about this next part before, because it upset me too much, but I’ve had some time to process it all, and I’m ready to share it with you.)
In early July 2022, my Mum was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. As you can probably imagine, my family and I were completely distraught by the news and we all began to fear the worst…especially me. I started experiencing my own form of anxiety, and during the summer months, I decided to take some time away from social media, and spend it with my friends and family instead – particularly my Mum, who I would continuously hug as much as humanly possible. In August, my Mum had her operation to remove the cancer, (which fingers crossed has been removed completely and won’t come back), had radiotherapy treatment in October, and has since been recovering at home.
Whilst all this was going on, I worked extra hard with my Mum to do some hand embroidery projects, one of which I’d like to show you all. This is a 2019 Advent Calendar project designed by Corinne Lapierre that Mum and I made together. Now, I know that Christmas was just over a month or so ago, and that this project is at least 3 years too late, but we’ve been working on this “on and off” since November, and I thought it would be a shame not to mention it in this blog (plus we’ve only just finished it). Anyway, we’re going to frame it and hang it up on the wall.
This is just two examples of how sewing / embroidery has helped me and my Mum during difficult times. Maybe you’ve had a similar experience you’d like to share. If you do, please email me (details are on our ‘Contact’ page).
This leads nicely into my final piece of news. For the whole of February 2023, I’ve decided to offer 30% off all ‘Felt & Embroidery’ products on our website; including kits by Corinne Lapierre, Hannah Burbury, Hawthorn Handmade, Oh Sew Bootiful, and Wrendale Designs. So if you love embroidery, or you’re thinking of taking it up, then now is a great time to do it! To receive this discount, use code HANDSEW30 in your basket or at the checkout.
This offer will end on Tuesday 28th February 2023 at 12 Noon (UK delivery only)
Well that’s all for this month’s blog, thank you all so much for reading. I will be back in March with a special fabric panel, courtesy of Lewis & Irene, that’s fit for a King’s Coronation Day! 🙂
Best wishes,
Rebecca x
