Bravery
3rd March 2023
A recent email from Ingrid Fetell Lee opened with a question that got us thinking about our time with needle and thread.
‘What's something that you think would bring you joy, but aren't doing because you're afraid?’
Whilst ‘afraid’ may be a strong term to use in terms of our stitching, we quickly realised there are things we have put off in our time with needle and thread and we have a feeling we’re not alone.
As Ingrid reminded us in her email though, whilst ‘many of these things don’t seem that consequential in the moment’, the truth is, the ‘risks’ we take in our time with needle and thread determine the stitcher we become and the joy we experience throughout our journey with needle and thread.
Whilst the reasons will differ for each of us, we have a feeling things like the time required to complete a particularly large project, confidence to tackle a complex design, new techniques we aren’t confident we can master, expensive supplies that require the ‘perfect’ application and bucket list needlework adventures we’re yet to prioritise over our day to day, may be common ‘risks’ for many of us.
Ingrid went on to suggest several ways we can reframe our thinking so we can move from a place of fear to bravery and tackle some of things we’ve been putting off.
Simply being curious about what’s before us will give us the permission to explore something we’d like to do without feeling the pressure to complete it, and who knows where that curiosity will lead?!
Telling select people about all that we hope to achieve with needle and thread will allow them to inspire us and hold us accountable.
Taking small steps allows the task before us to seem much less overwhelming. It may be as simple as buying the supplies we need one day, and then putting them where we’ll use them the next.
Imagining the task completed, then borrowing courage from our future selves will allow us to believe in our ability to complete what’s before us, making the task seem infinitely easier.
Asking ourselves what’s the worst thing that can happen can often make us realise that the risks involved probably aren’t as big as we initially thought, with many being forgotten about in a relatively short space of time.
‘A good life is doing the things that make you feel alive, and not letting fear, or obligation, or anything else get in the way.’
And so, we’re off to become ‘brave’ stitchers by tackling at least one of those projects we’d previously put off, hoping that one will lead to two will lead to…
