I have a couple of rotation updates to post (as well as my TUSAL, which keeps getting forgotten), but first… SBQs  are back, thanks to Lee (woo hoo)!  I’m a month behind, of course, so here’s two questions to get me caught up…

First, May’s question:

Suppose we say that there are two types of stitchers.

There are those who enjoy the “process” of stitching. They stitch for stitching’s sake and if something gets finished, so much the better, but it’s not necessarily the end goal. Primarily, it’s the application of needle and thread to cloth that makes them happiest.

Then there are those who are “project” stitchers. They move steadily through their projects, certainly enjoying their stitching time, but finding their greatest joy in the completed stitching.

If you had to pick one to describe yourself, which type of stitcher would you be? I imagine that we could all say that we fall somewhere in between, but really think hard about this and try to pick just one. And once you’ve decided whether you’re a Process or Project stitcher, tell us if your recognize that approach in other parts of your life.

I’m definitely a process stitcher. I celebrate my finishes, of course, but I just love stitching – I love the journey, the movement of it, the stillness of mind that it brings me. I spend so many hours in complete multitasking chaos at work that the physical act of stitching is a blessing. I’m able to focus on ONE thing.

Because it slows my world down for a little while, I’m also able to remember the moments better. I can’t remember all of them, but when I look at the pieces I’ve finished (and the ones still chugging along at their own paces), I remember where I was in life and usually remember at least an evening or two working on that particular piece. The best example of this with my stitching is Teresa Wentzler’s Castle, which I stitched over a period of about ten years – I remember nights stitching in my dorm room with college friends, then later years curled up in my little studio apartment with The X-Files on as background noise, and even later as I moved in with my husband-to-be. I finished the piece a couple months after we moved into our house. So it made a huge swath of life transitioning with me… and it makes me smile when I look at the piece and remember the journey marked by all of those little X’s.

And June’s question…

Tell us about something that you have stitched or plan to stitch for any father in your life. Maybe it’s for your father, your father-in-law, your children’s father, your grandfather, your godfather, or someone who was or still is an important father-figure in your life. Why did you choose this particular piece of stitching? Tell us the story behind it.

And because a simple one part question is never adequate, let’s go some more:

Often times we identify our love of needlework and our skills with our mothers or grandmothers or other women. It’s understandable because often they were are first teachers or role models. Now let’s think about our stitching life as it relates to our dads. Is there anything about our approach to stitching that we can recognize as traits of our fathers? For instance, does your dad (or any other important man in your life) have an approach to one of his interests that you can observe and think, “Hey….if I substitute the word “needlework” for “fly fishing”, we’d be pretty darn similar!” So tell us about it.

This is a bit tricky – I’ve honestly never considered doing any of my needlework for my dad or any other father figures in my life. I think possibly he might not appreciate it that much, although he has a love of carpentry, so I could be wrong on that. It’s just never crossed my mind to do any stitching for him.

As far as being similar – I’m already well aware that I take after my dad in a lot of ways. I do think that the quiet hours of working on a hobby with my hands came from the blend of what each of my parents enjoyed doing when I was a child. My mom did a lot of sewing. My father was often out in his woodshop. Both hobbies, of course, have heavy use of handwork. So I don’t doubt that some of my patience and enjoyment of solitude comes not just from my mom, but my dad.