I have been doing embroidery work with my clients for several years. While each of my clients work on their hoop, I work on a hoop with them. Each of these hoops are imbued with the stories of the people I sit with. One client confided in me that after I taught her how to embroider, she stitched words of defiance on her jeans. She smiled confidently when I asked her what the words were.
I have seen such positive benefits of utilizing embroidery in the context of therapy. Embroidery can help to ground you. It gives a positive tactile experience in both the feel of the materials and in the repetitive piercing motion of the needle. Stitches build on stitches. Like a language - with each stitch you are able to communicate something different. And with each project, that language expands. The hoop becomes a mandala. Some pieces are simple while others are complicated and thick with thread. Each piece becomes a metaphor for life. We make mistakes, and either learn to live with our imperfections or pull out our stitches and start again. When our pieces are completed, we marvel at our work. We laugh at how they look beautiful from the front but can be a mess of knots from behind. I wanted to have a space to share some of the hoops I have made over the last several years.
