Tag: self-expression

Embroidery Bucket List

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:

  1. Build up my blog- at least a couple of posts per month
  2. Increase Instagram following
    • Which means I have to post more on Instagram
    • Put myself out there more
  3. Improve reel strategy
  4. Learn new embroidery techniques
  5. I would like to film some how-to You Tube videos
  6. Sell embroidery supplies and hoops
  7. Go live on certain days of the week and stitch
  8. Organize an embroidery club in my area
  9. Teach a beginner embroidery course
  10. Design my own embroidery design and sell a PDF pattern
  11. Expand my reach by posting on other social media platforms
  12. 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!

Where In the World Did I GO?

Hey friends! Long time, no see. Where did I go? I’ve been virtually non-existent on social media. Well, I’ve been extremely busy this year and the year has passed really quickly so far. I sometimes feel like my life is not my own and I’m just going through the motions. I’ve been embroidering still, but not as much as I would like. I hope this year is going well for everyone.

In February, my husband and I purchased our first home! It was so exciting and it is a big blessing. Unpacking and setting up the new home has been fulfilling and tiring.

My dog ended up being diagnosed with brain cancer the day after we moved in and then we had to put her down the day after that. Our family was super devastated and it detracted from our happiness of buying a house a bit.

We went on vacation in June and that was a relief. We were able to get away and destress a little for two weeks. That was a huge distraction and then when I get back home from vacation it always takes me a moment to hop back into my routines. My mother in law came from Mexico to stay with us a few days after we got back from vacation. She just went back to Mexico last week, so she spent the whole summer with us, which was awesome.

My husband showed me a new puppy and he should know by now not to show me animals because I will want to bring them home. So we brought our new baby home hoping that it will take the sting out of our loss that we had a few months back.

Her name is Luna and she has quickly found a way into our hearts!

We do love her, but I forgot how tiring a puppy can be. Some how when I was younger it was easier to run after a little puppy, but now I find I don’t have the same amount of patience that I had. However, we are finding our way little by little. We are coming to an understanding lol.

Fall is approaching and my daughter is back in school. She’s a sophomore already. I can’t believe it! This is a time to slow down and hopefully, I will have more to time for self-care and that usually helps my creativity! I hope everyone has great day and I can’t wait to see all of your fall creations! Until next time, hasta luego!

Why Embroidery is Important to Me

“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.)

Romero, Gimena. Bordado Pictórico. Editorial GG, SL, 2022.

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?