OCTOBER 12, 2012 NEEDLE CRAFT

" Success is an accumulation of successful days."

If this is a true statement, then I have had success. As the Twelve Promises state, " Beyond my wildest dreams all has happened." Yet all has also gone away even when clean and sober. This was a hard concept to accept, but I had to. There even have been low times and 'the down and outs' in sobriety.
I have been searching for an answer for  my whole life. The question has been ' How to have peace and serenity?" The answer I know now comes from within. I also know now that to have peace and serenity will increase my longevity. Many things bring me peace and serenity today ! Having many hobbies is just one of them. A loving husband is another. Children are another. Family/ friends are another, yet my understanding of G.O.D., meditation and prayer has certainly been the highlight.

A Sad Boy

A PEACEFUL OLD MAN

Needlework is one of mankind’s oldest art forms. It dates back to Exodus in the Bible and stitch work has been found in the tombs of Egypt dating back to the 15th century. It came as its own art form in the 12th century in China. Due to technological advances and machinery, it became a dying art form. It was not until the early 19th century , that needle work had its revival. There are very few true 'needlepoint stores' left in most cities. In New York City, we have Annie and Company on the upper east ( east 90s) and Rita's Needlepoint in the East 70's. Stitches East closed about 4 years ago.

About eleven years ago, I realized I needed to find a hobby to idle my tension. I was in Fort Lauderdale walking on Los Olas Boulevard when I passed a store that had needlepoint designs in the window. I decided right then to start needle pointing. I went in the store and asked the owner,  Joan, who paints her own designs to quickly show me a stitch. I easily remembered from watching countless hours of my mother and grandmother stitching while sitting in the living room. I bought my first needlepoint, an Orchid Floral. Check out www.needlepointoriginals.com  At my graduation in 2005 I gave that needlepoint to the Fellowship of Integrative Medicine . In addition to reading medical journals I began to read books on stitching. 

I find needlepoint to be one of the most rewarding hobbies, you will ever undertake. Not only does it fill the hours, relaxes you but also provides you with a finished product which you can feel a sense of pride of accomplishment. It also serves as birthday and holiday gifts for loved ones.

Needlepoint as most hobbies, can be either simple or difficult.. This depends of the individual. I have met some people who always use the basic and easiest stitches. For these people I feel they use needlepoint as a restful pastime to create gifts for people. There are others that use needlework as a way to express their creative outlet. These crafters delight in working with complicated patterns using a variety of threads. Some compose their own designs. I am a needle worker whom is all of the above. Therapeutic though it may be, needle point for me is above all an artistic activity.

Another fallacy is the fact that needle work is not an exclusively a female hobby. I am sure we all remember when Hall of Fame Football player, Rosie Greer started knitting as a hobby. On a cruise, 6 years ago  , I pulled my canvas from my bag and started to stitch while sitting on a deck chair. When I looked up I saw two women also stitching, one doing needlepoint and the other, cross stitching. As we worked our needles, we talked about stitching and enjoyed the warm sun and cool breeze. We later met during the week to share our collection we each brought with us. One woman told me that stitching is a popular hobby among men whom spend a great deal of time at sea.
Needlepoint was another addiction that I had to realize and accept. This led me to timing my hobbies and doing a different hobby every day for at least 15 minutes. Some of my other hobbies include knitting, card making, quilling and NY 1939 Worlds Fair collecting.

I am currently working on 5 different needlepoint designs. I find this to be a problem which I am currently dealing with. I do like to buy a needlepoint from every city Rick and I visit.--Cluj, Romania was no exception. I found four great canvases . To find reasonable canvases: check out www.canvasesbegone.com  

Until tomorrow