Choose Joy

As we continued to make our way through the pages of the July/August issue of Needlepoint Now over the last week, we came across Debbie Preissinger’s article that gave us some food for thought.

Titled ‘Keeping the Motivation Going’, Debbie opened her article with a simple question, ‘Do you find yourself overwhelmed and unsure where to go with your needle arts project?’

Like Debbie, we realised there are times when the thought of needle and thread can feel a little overwhelming. Sometimes it’s the complexity of a particular stitch or technique that brings with it a sense of unease, or perhaps an intricate project has us questioning our resolve to see it through to completion, or maybe it’s simply the myriad options laying before us that make deciding what project is next a seemingly impossible decision to make.

Whilst Debbie went on to unpack some of the ways she keeps her motivation going, it was the statement that she closed her article with that was somewhat of a lightbulb moment for us.

‘Simply pack the joyless project away for another day and pick up something that sparks happiness within you.’

To be honest, we’re not sure we’d ever considered seeing the work before us in such a light. Sure, we’ve abandoned learning new techniques in frustration, given up on a complex project as we doubted our ability to finish it, or continued the stitching before us with but nothing but a sense of obligation urging us onward, but we just don’t think we’ve used joy or happiness to inform our decisions. That, however, is going to change as Debbie’s closing words have given us permission to do just that!

Whilst we’re not suggesting there’s not ever a time to ‘fight’ our way through the overwhelming feelings needle and thread can sometimes bring with it, there are times making the decision to choose happiness and joy in our stitching might just be the circuit breaker we need. After all, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and maybe a little time away from the ‘joyless’ project before us might just be what we need to maintain our motivation to keep laying stitch after stitch through to its completion?!

If nothing else, reminding ourselves that the pleasure our time with needle and thread affords is one of the many reasons we stitch, choosing happiness and joy above all else shouldn’t feel like such a difficult decision to make after all.