Hello everybody! I can’t believe it’s November. It’s almost 2025 and I feel like 2024 just started! Where has the time gone? I started this year with the best of intentions, ready to accomplish a lot of embroidery goals. However, for some reason, I feel like I’m in a rut.
Usually, when I feel stuck, I like to make lists. Yes, I’m one of those people who love to make a list for everything. I make lists of places I would love to travel, I have lists for housecleaning duties, my never-ending grocery run lists, list for what I need to pack when I go on vacation (even though I’ve traveled a million times. I think I have packing down by now), basically a list for everything lol.
Making lists helps me to feel centered and visualize what I need to do. So why not make a list of embroidery goals. I may not finish them all but they are something I can aspire to. Here’s a few:
Build up my blog- at least a couple of posts per month
Increase Instagram following
Which means I have to post more on Instagram
Put myself out there more
Improve reel strategy
Learn new embroidery techniques
I would like to film some how-to You Tube videos
Sell embroidery supplies and hoops
Go live on certain days of the week and stitch
Organize an embroidery club in my area
Teach a beginner embroidery course
Design my own embroidery design and sell a PDF pattern
Expand my reach by posting on other social media platforms
Explore selling my work at craft fairs
This is just a start of what I would love to do. What are some of your dreams for the rest of the year or upcoming year? Let’s make it happen!
From time to time, I would like to highlight embroidery from different parts of the world. It’s nice to look at things from a different perspective and see what others do outside of our bubble that we live in. This time I want to take a look at Mexican embroidery. I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico and it’s like my second home. Mexico has many different types of embroidery but I would like to focus on Otomí embroidery, also know as Tenango. Throughout the years, tenangos have gained popularity and are known worldwide.
Tenangos come from a community in Hidalgo, Mexico called Tenango de Doria.
Hidalgo, MexicoTenango de DoriaMountain View in Tenango de Doria
Tenangos are characterized by a burst of colorful threads in the shape of flowers and animals. The designs are drawn onto a cloth by artists and then embroidered. They not only draw the wildlife around them, but sometimes they also draw other situations in their life such as immigration, the planting of the years corn crop, or celebrations like the Day of the Dead. They can be embroidered on various items, but they usually apply these designs to tablecloths, table runners, bed spreads, blouses, and dresses. Cotton thread in bright colors is usually employed for these embroideries and each stitch is small and tightly woven together. It’s a laborious process and a bed spread can take years to complete!
The first Tenango was made by Josefina Jose Tavera. In the 1960’s, there was a severe drought in the area and the community was devastated because they depended on agriculture for their livelihood. Josefina was a single mother with children to support. The story goes that one day she went to the market and saw a piece of cloth. She took it home and drew animals and plants on it and then embroidered it with brightly colored thread. A man came to visit the town and a saw the piece and decided to buy it. On his next trip to the village, he told her he needed more of her pieces because people in Mexico City liked it so much. The demand became so great that she taught other women in the community how to embroider.
Josefina Jose Tavera
Josefina died in 2020 at the age of 87. Her legacy lives on through her embroideries. Tenango embroidery is now considered a national heritage in Mexico and you can find it in many museums. I think her work was wonderful not only because it’s beautiful, but also because she gave a voice to the women in her community.
Throughout the years, because of the rise in popularity, many companies have started using tenango embroidery in their products without proper credit to the Otomí artists. For the Otomí people, it’s very hard to compete against big, wealthy companies. They are still fighting to have their work protected.
If you want to learn how to do this stitch, here is a video I found on YouTube:
Inspiration can come from anywhere. Different things inspire people . It’s not always the same for everyone and it’s fascinating to me to see sources of inspiration for others. Here’s a list of my sources of inspiration!
My family
My husband Arturo and my daughter Natalya. Ignore the creepy dude in the background
My family is my main source of inspiration. Whenever I don’t like a piece I’ve done, my husband or daughter encourage me to keep going and finish it. Most of the time I end up glad that I took their advice.
2) The Ocean
This is a picture I took when I was in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We love to go to Mexico every year!
I absolutely adore the ocean. The colors and the sound of the waves as they hit the shore are so soothing to me. I know some people are afraid of the ocean because they can’t see everything it contains. However, that is what’s so intriguing to me. The ocean has treasures and creatures waiting to be discovered. So when I’m not sure what I want to create next, I can use the mystery of the ocean as my muse!
3) Trees and Flowers
tree by my house. I love the bright orange and reds!Lake of the Clouds here in Michigan
Taking walks through the forest also is incredible to me because I love looking at all the plant life. Right now in Michigan it is fall and it’s the most beautiful time of the year because all of the foliage is changing color. It’s truly a marvel to behold! Even driving isn’t so bad. I hate driving but at least I can watch all the trees as I whizz by. (I’m watching the road too! No accidents here!)
4) My doggies
My boy Sam My Bella andTacoTacoAn embroidery I did of Sam
I love all animals with a passion, but my doggies are my life. I have four of them and it’s a ball watching their antics every day. They are also my company while I embroider. My only complaint is that when I ask their opinion about my work, they never answer….Hmph!
5) Music
Man, I love music! I listen to all different genres, but my favorites are Alternative Rock, 80’s rock, country, pop, and reggaeton. I think that music creates bonds between people. Our love of music is something that we all have in common. There are a ton of album covers that I want to embroider. One of these days I will get around to it.
6) Anthropology
Coba in MexicoView from the top of pyramid
If anyone really knows me, they know I have a love for Anthropology. I love learning about other cultures and societies. I took a ton of Anthropology courses in college. The two main cultures that are fascinating to me are the Mayans and the Egyptians. I’ve been to the Mayan pyramids in Mexico and my dream is to make it to Egypt one day. I have several pieces planned to show my love of these cultures.
7) Travel
Thinking about all the places I want to visit gets me thinking creatively also. Some of the places on my bucket list are Scotland, Ireland, Oaxaca Mexico, England, Italy, Greece, Thailand, Egypt, and India. I would love to do some landscape embroidery pieces to represent each of these places. My idea is to do one after I visit each place.
“Bordar es encontrar el balance entre lo que soy, lo que veo, y lo que quiero decir.” (Translation: Embroidery is finding the balance between what I am, what I see, and what I want to say.)
Many people feel that embroidery is only a woman’s art and mostly older women are envisioned as partaking in it. During the pandemic, many people picked up embroidery as a hobby. Everyone was looking for something to keep them busy. Today, women, and even men, embroider and age is not a factor. However, to me, embroidery is so much more than a new hobby or favorite pastime. It is a form of expression, a connection to the past, and it greatly improves my mental health.
Embroidery can be a way to express yourself. I’ve never thought of myself as a creative person. Growing up, I always wished I was able to draw or paint well. I’ve always been attracted to the arts, but I just never thought I had a place in that world. As time has gone by, I have slowly grown more confident in my abilities. I see embroidery as an art form and myself as an artist. The fabric is my canvas and the threads are my paint. The finished product is my voice and what I want to portray to the world.
My interpretation of The Starry Night by Van Gogh!
Embroidery is my connection to the past. My grandmother taught my mother the basics of embroidery. When I was a child, my mom taught me how to embroider also. I used to embroider pillow cases. It wasn’t anything close to what I do today, just simple line work. My journey didn’t last long because the attention spans of children are usually very short. However, I’m grateful to my grandma for teaching my mom, and for my mom teaching me because it’s something that I love to do today! I taught my daughter some basic embroidery stitches when she was younger. It was fun working on samplers together, but as expected, she lost interest. I hope it’s something she will pick back up later on to continue the chain.
My daughter’s first sampler
My mental health has also greatly improved since I started doing embroidery. I find the repetitive motion calming and I tend to get into a zone once I’ve started. It’s a great way to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is a way to be fully present and aware of your body and thoughts. I love doing it first thing in the morning because it sets the tone for the rest of the day. In 2020, University College London confirmed that artistic activities can lower cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and it decreases your risk of dementia. Any problems that I’ve experienced throughout the day suddenly don’t seem that important or I’m able to come up with solutions much easier because I have a calm mind. Here is a link to an article about ways embroidery can help mental health https://handembroidery.com/12-ways-embroidery-can-boost-mental-physical-wellbeing/. If you suffer from anxiety or are stressed out, I definitely recommend embroidery as an option to help.
I’m curious. Do you embroider? If so, what are some reasons that you do it? If you don’t, do you think it would be something you’re interested in learning?
