Seasonal stitching - From Snowflakes to Tulips via Ferns and Snowdrops

It made sense for me, when I thought about it, to shift my stitching to more seasonal motifs. Well, it does and it doesn’t, I can be so slow sometimes that depending on the project if I wanted something for a particular season I might have to start it 6 months earlier!! I can’t be the only one who has to start Christmas projects in August, surely?! But generally speaking, when I’ve been thinking of what I wanted to stitch lately, I’ve found that in general I’m shifting to more seasonal living. I love my allotment space and live in Scotland so the growing season is short and sharp and you have to be quite quick to make the most of it. With winter being so long and dreich I do notice that I switch up my routines, lighting candles after work and leaning into the cosy vibes, then in summer living with the windows always open and fresh flowers everywhere.

But I digress. I was talking about seasonal stitching.

Using the seasons to create a series of patterns has allowed me to focus on the joys of each, which is such a key part of living mindfully. If we’re forever waiting for our favourite time of year, then we are just going to be grumpy and miserable the rest of the time. So why not, if winter is your worst time, get all cosy, coorie down, make your favourite hot drink and stitch a beautiful snowflake? And when it’s a bit wet and grey in early spring and everything is muddy, stitch up some beautiful tulips and an unfurling fern that promises drier brighter days are just around the corner?

The work I do has taught me many things (I’m a specialist physio, supporting people with chronic or life-changing illness to improve their functional ability), but one of the main things is relatively common sense, and that it’s always always helpful to find just a little bit of joy in each day. And for me, recently, that’s been in stitching what isn’t quite yet ready to grow in my mostly-defrosted allotment!

Watch this space for summer and autumn…