Slow stitching is a calming, meditative practice on its own, of course, but when I began embroidering the messages that were showing up for me in my journals, I didn’t realize that slow stitching these words would become such a nourishing practice. At the start of 2022, I had the idea to create a “thrive wall” because I knew my word of the year, “thrive” was way too big for me without the help of lots of little messages everywhere to keep me mindful of my hope for well-Being. Over time, as my thrive wall filled up, I found myself sitting and looking at the messages, and they reminded and encouraged me on my journey as I had hoped they would.

I hadn’t realized, though, how much they would become companions on my journey, having these words on my walls. I have often said how much I need lots and lots of reminders in order to stay faithful to my practices. Somehow, I seem to get going in my day and forget all about how I wanted to approach it with intentionality and awareness. Having these hoops on my wall reminds me to show up for myself and for my life.

Although I have my hoops mostly hung on my thrive wall, I also scatter them in specific places around the house. When someone in my family was injured, I hung these three hoops.

 
I’ve hung this one on the wall beside the door that leaves the house, to wish my family well throughout the day and remind us to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the new day.
And then I have another place where I hang the one I’m working with currently. I will often sit and simply gaze at it, letting the message soak in and become more a part of me. When I’m ready for a new message to focus on throughout the day, I change the hoop in that spot. This has been really interesting and has helped me to tune in so much more to my inner voice.
Using my finished embroidery in this way has really deepened my slow-stitch practice, and I hope it will yours as well. Not only do I get to enjoy the calming benefit of the stitching, I also have the added benefit of meditating on the messages while I’m stitching and beyond. I am loving this way of expressing these words, slow stitching each message with intention and then continuing to grow with them once they’re finished and in place on my slowly-expanding thrive wall. ♡​​​​​​​​