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Sunday, January 05, 2020

Slow Sunday Stitching

Welcome to the first hand stitching party of 2020!  
I have been sick since just after midnight on January 1, so it's been a miserable year for me so far. I have been cheered up by a couple of stories that I want to share with my favourite hand stitchers!


The beginning of Rita's embroidered quilt
First is a lovely story about a quilt project started in the mid 70's by a woman named Rita. She started by cutting up bed sheets to make hexagons and then began the embroidery on her U.S. bicentennial quilt.
A woman named Shannon Downey found these pieces at an estate sale 30+ years later.


Rita's quilt is finished by instagram stitchers
She asked her instagram followers to help her finish this quilt and here it is! You can read all about this inspiring story on the BBC website and the Washington Post.


Another lovely story features Royal baby Archie's hand knit hat and has shone the spotlight on a wonderful New Zealand charity called Make Give Live
Make Give Live's Cocobear hat
On the website it says: "Our purpose is easing isolation and improving mental health and wellbeing through connection and the well proven therapy of knitting and crochet." 
Doesn't that sound a lot like Slow Sunday Stitching?!?
I love the tagline at the bottom of their site...
"What is the most important thing in the world? It is the people, it is the people, it is the people!"

And my third stitching story happened during my norovirus extravaganza over the past week. In the middle of the misery I received a parcel from Deanna my "Northern Blog Stalker" (as she calls herself). When I started blogging I was amazed that anyone was reading my blog at all, and to have a "blog stalker", well that was totally exciting! 
Max and my new socks!
I quickly learned that Deanna is a loving, kind, and generous "stalker" and for Christmas she sent me a pair of her hand knit socks (and some rotary blades for all the fabric cutting I need to do)! My Granddog Max loves to eat/consume socks, but he will never come closer to these socks than he is in this photo! Thank you to Deanna for this wonderful gift that arrived at my door just at the perfect moment to comfort and cheer me up!

These kinds of stories and experiences encourage me to continue to create a slow stitching community through my blog and in my life. I look forward to new stitching adventures in 2020 and when my energy returns, I hope to start organizing the second annual real life Slow Sunday Stitching retreat day!

I do hope you'll cheer me up today by sharing lovely pictures of the projects you are working on this year. Please link up your blog or instagram post below.


You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

22 comments:

  1. That is no good to start the new year with feeling under the weather. Love those socks. Such a lovely gift to cheer you up. The look on your grand dog's face did make me smile. Clearly he would love to get close to those socks. I look forward to many slow stitching Sundays throughout 2020.

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  2. isn't it wonderful to have a blog reader that sends you socks - I had one also and about 6 or 7 years ago - or maybe longer she sent me a pair of socks from Germany so very well made and warm. I complemented her so much on those socks that the following year she sent me 2 more and then another - I now have four pair of hand knit wool socks that are still going strong and have only one to darn one toe so far!!
    I do hope you get to feeling better soon - that baby cap is so cute

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  3. It sounds as if the start of the year has been miserable for you. I wish you better. Those three stories would cheer anyone up. I've seen and read quite a bit about Rita's quilt but this is the first picture of the complete quilt, it's a really inspiring tale. It's always lovely to receive an unexpected parcel in the post, especially if you're feeling low and there's nothing nicer than hand knitted socks (that reminds me I have a ball of sock wool waiting for attention) You definitely need to keep that rascal away from them. I have a sock thief in my house also but she doesn't chew them fortunately!

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  4. thanks for the stories... sorry you are feeling sick as the new year comes into focus Kathy. Praying for you to recover quickly... thanks for the linky! Now rest and recouperate :D Kathi

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  5. What a lovely gift! I have recently started knitting socks again after many years. I forgot how enjoyable it is for me.

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  6. So very sorry to hear that you've been ill. I hope you feel like your old self very soon. I had seen that quilt story previously, but it was nice to revisit it. I love your socks and that New Zealand charity is doing what we should all strive for. Thanks for such an uplifting post to start the new year of Slow Sunday Stitching.

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  7. Oh what a world it would be if everyone just did a little Slow Sunday Stitching!

    Sorry to hear about the miserable start of the new year. It can only get better!!

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  8. I didn't know about Rita's quilt. What a lovely story and so true about crafty people. We are so generous with our time. Shannon did an extraordinary job by calling out for help to people all over the states. Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
    Sorry to hear you are still not feeling good. If it helps, I would suggest eucalyptus oil for the stuffiness and peppermint oil for aches and pains and plenty of rest of course. Hang in there. ;^)

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  9. The story of the hexies is pretty impressive. It's amazing what one stitching community can do. Hope you are feeling better, at least well enough to do some hand stitching.

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  10. I hope you feel better soon! 2020 will get better and better with a start like this. LOVE the socks! LOL on the blog stalker. Happy new year. :)

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  11. What great stories, and hope you are feeling better real soon. How funny for her to call herself a Blog Stalker. Great socks!

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  12. So sorry to hear you have been ill. I know some slow stitches will help and love the stories you shared.

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  13. Lovely post Kathy. Thanks for continuing to host this also lovely linkup and do hope you are feeling completely yourself soon!

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  14. Glad you like the socks and so does granddog by the looks of this pic! Just to clarify...someone else named me the stalker...I just added the northern part!! Feel better friend...you have lots of cutting and hst triangles to do for the mystery quilt Frolic!!

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  15. I also got sick on New Years Day!! It has been awful. I love reading your blog and I love hand stitching on Sundays. I hope you feel better soon. Hugs,

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  16. I'm so sorry -- it's NO fun to start the new year with illness! I hope you're feeling better and continue that way through 2020! :)

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  17. I'm sorry to hear you had the dreaded norovirus. It certainly leaves you feeling weak and headachy. It's good to know you are recovering and hope you'll soon be back to full health. Love the stories, especially the one about Rita's quilt.

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  18. Sorry to hear that you've been so unwell, and hope that you're rapidly getting better. I thought you might be interested to know that the 'tagline' you quoted from the website where Baby Archie's hat came from is a very well known Maori proverb. It is often quoted/used (and rightly so!).
    I've copied this from another NZ website —
    He aha te mea nui o te ao
    What is the most important thing in the world?
    He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
    It is the people, it is the people, it is the people
    Maori proverb

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  19. I love these stories! I hope you recover quickly from your illness and are back in the pink of good health very soon :)

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  20. Such a lovely gift... Socks. I love mine too that were a gift.
    So many people have linked up. Always good for a read and inspiration..

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  21. Glad you are feeling better! Thanks for sharing those wonderful stories!! Happy New Year!!

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  22. I sure hope you are well by now. Get Max some of those ugly white tube socks. Tie a knot in the middle of each sock, and let him have them. Discipline him when he touches any other socks, then hand him one of his tube socks. He'll learn pretty quickly which socks he can play with. We did this with one of our dogs, years ago, and it worked great. She never chewed on my socks (or other things) again.

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