LAKES COAST VISITOR GUIDE | PAGE 33 TRARALGON Summer. Salads, white wine, beaches, warm evenings, light loose clothes and road trips. Crafty people get to travel too, but the downside is they leave their sewing room and cumbersome tools of enjoyment behind, or do they? Enter the world of slow stitching or mindful stitching. This basic hand stitching method of bringing together a collection of previously cast off or mismatched fabric and yarns has created a storm of interest across the crafty people’s world. A project can be as small as a make-up bag, a project pouch, a needlebook or up to a table runner, a wall hanging or even a quilt. The method of stitching fabrics together goes back hundreds of years but the present ways of combining leftover or recycled items are as modern as tomorrow. As we strive to be part of a less disposable society, crafty people are doing their part, as they adopt slow stitching. Leftovers from quilting projects, pieces of dress fabric, old doilies, and tail ends of silk thread and yarns, odd buttons, beads and brooches are all candidates to be turned into something new and exciting. The methods of combining different techniques, fabrics, colours and textures, in a random or organic way is all part of the attraction of making something out of nothing. There are no rules, no expectation to have a perfectly stitched border or a perfectly straight sewing line. Of course, all this creativity can be done at the beach, nestled into a deck chair at the caravan park or sitting in the passenger seat on those long road trips. Slow stitching can be as solitary as sitting alone creating, or as sociable as a group of rowdy enthusiasts, laughing their way through a day of inspiration and laid-back enjoyment. Talking about groups. Interest in slow stitching classes has been so strong that Miss Millys Crafts continue to add more workshop classes to their already busy schedule. These classes bring together a group of eager minds being instructed and guided by a highly enthusiastic lady who has taught a wide range of sewing disciplines for many years. So, as the days get longer and the highways and byways of the open road stretch before us, crafters can have their fabric and sew it too. It’s time to rummage through the sewing room stash, pick out the ones you thought you’d never use, gather up the needles and thread and get on the road and start making. That long road will appear much shorter, when being inspired by nature and the times of old when things were slower and we stressed less. In these busy times when we are all seeking a slower more relaxed way of life and embracing the benefits of wellness, wellbeing and mindfulness we can use our hands and hearts to relax and create. A stitch in time relaxes the mind Extensive best brands range of wool, yarn, patchwork fabric & all types of threads and associated accessories. All year round classes to preserve the skills, knowledge & traditions of crafting. PB28990 Call for upcoming dates for also online & instore Call in & have a browse! 1/74 Seymour St, Traralgon | 0419 321 479 | Shop Online! missmillysmytime.com.au
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