Community

No matter who we speak to, we often find that a conversation about stitching quickly leads to a conversation about community.

When Jenny McWhinney first opened her shop, The Bobbin Tree, in our home town of Adelaide, she was telling us how much of the life within the shop comes from the regular ‘Stitching Together’ classes they hold. Each class provides an opportunity for like-minded people to gather within the store and share their collective passion. They come together to learn from their teacher as well as from those around them and often inspire individuals who happen upon the shop while the class is in progress to take up their own needle and thread and try their hand at something they never believed possible.

Of these sessions, there’s one group that has gone beyond the pleasure of simply stitching together and has formed an incredibly tight knit community. They can often be found sharing a meal together before stitching and rarely arrive at The Bobbin Tree empty handed, their arms laden with baked goods to share, extra produce that’s been grown in their gardens or with a favourite, time-tested recipe.

This community allows them to enjoy each other’s many talents as well as share in the love, laughter, tears, triumphs and burdens of those they stitch alongside. And isn’t that what community’s all about?!

The sense of community that surrounds stitching recently came to mind again when a couple of us from Inspirations had the pleasure of visiting two needlework stores in Sydney, Stitch and The Crewel Gobelin.

Their owners, Tessa from Stitch and Julie from the Crewel Gobelin, shared how many of their customers will call past to share some recently completed work or seek their guidance as they struggle through part of the stitching process that’s unfamiliar or difficult for them. One of the regulars at Stitch, who now feels most at home there, even sought to hold her 90th birthday in store. While we’re sure Tessa hasn’t shifted her focus from needle and thread to event hosting, she was gracious enough to agree to host the celebration and has even collected gifts from customers who won’t be able to make it to share in the special occasion!

Whilst stories such as these aren’t unique to these stores, we left our time with Tessa and Julie reminded about the kinship that is built around needle and thread, and how incredibly grateful we are to work within such a community.

Our hope for each of you is that you’ll find yourself well entrenched in such a community and that the gratitude for what it adds to your life will always be at the forefront of your mind.