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Stitching - Pass It On
Lindsey's First Stitches
Lindsey, Age 2, Stitching |
Besides being my first Christmas with my neice Lindsey, this was also our first time stitching together! I was so happy Christmas Eve night when I first put a needle into the little one's hands. It was a magical experience for me and I have to share it with you, other stitchers, who will comprehend how magical this experience was for me.
There's nothing better than having an eager student. As a teacher of needlework, a shopowner who supplies stitchers with the best materials the market has to offer, and a designer who shares my love of color, texture, and stitching, this experience with my niece was the highlight of my "passing on the love of stitching". Here's the story...
On Christmas Eve, it is our family tradition for the children to open ONE and only one gift - this started long ago when my brother and I were little and the anticipation of Santa's arrival took our breaths away. Over the years we discovered the gift would always be something to occupy us and take our attention away from the anticipation (as if that were possible!), usually a game or small toy. My sister-in-law's tradition of having this gift always be pajamas has taken on a new twist of wondering what they will look like and we all laughed when my nephew opened his gift this year to find only pajama bottoms - I pointed out he was lucky to open anything as he just turned 22 and no longer fits the "children" category! Anyway, I digress...
Lindsey, my two year old niece (three as of Jan 10th) had her bath and came up to get Santa's goodies ready. Everyone was lounging around the room relaxing at this point. I pulled out my needlepoint (it's always close by for these times). As my frame came into view, Lindsey stopped in her tracks (she's constantly in motion) and stared at my piece. She was fascinated, mesmerized, and oh so focused. I asked if she wanted to help me stitch - she came right over and scooted up into my lap. This was a "grab the camera moment" as 1. she was on MY lap, 2. she wasn't trying to get down, and 3. she was interested in my stitching!
I pushed the needle up from the back and showed her how to gently pull it up so as to not unthread the needle. She'd then hand it to me and I'd poke it down into the canvas, push it up from the back, and repeat. After doing this six or eight times, she announced she wanted a new color. I convinced her to wait until we finished the thread. While I rethreaded, she patiently waited and we started again. After four or five stitches, she said, "I want my own". I put her on the floor, dumped my bag of threads in front of her and let her choose one. I had a small piece of canvas and let her make her own stitches wherever she wanted. It was amazing to watch her know exactly what to do with the needle, poking and pulling. After a few minutes of this, she took it over to her mother (who does NO stitching) and told her to try it. She then showed her mother exactly how to properly grip the needle and poke it straight down into the canvas - her mother wasn't really interested but was quite amazed that her daughter was so quickly comfortable holding a needle.
Once I got over the sheer surprise of the experience, I remembered the day Lindsey was born. I was holding her in the hospital when she was about two hours old and was amazed by how long her fingers were. My mother and I both have long fingers. I was convinced then Lindsey's fingers would be stitching fingers. However, never in my wildest dreams did I think she would take her first stitches at only two!
I'm so happy to have had this experience it and that mom was there - Lindsey certainly has good stitching genes and I look forward to many happy stitching times when I am with her.
I hope you will find someone to pass on the love of stitching. If you've never taught someone to "just make X's", consider trying it. You may be giving them the gift of a stress reducing, relaxing activity to bring them many hours and happy times. I don't know about you but I cannot imagine life without a needle and thread.
