I launched my first collection of hand embroidery for sale almost a year ago. As my work has reached new audiences and demand for my artwork has increased, I've also spent many more hours of my day stitching than I had in the past. And let me tell you, stitching for hours on end can be very hard on your body! So in this post I wanted to address a few self care tips that I practice to ensure I'm still able to get up every day and stitch.
Use a timer.
When I am deep into a project, I can stitch for hours and hours without getting up. While this is great for making progress on a piece, it's horrible for my body and hands! So I use a timer that reminds me when I need to get up and stretch, switch tasks for awhile, or just take a general break. Granted, sometimes I just turn the timer's alarm off and keep stitching, but I'm trying to get better about actually stopping what I'm doing and take a moment. Moving the timer to a different part of my studio or even the hallway helps ensure I actually get up and move.
This cube is my favorite timer. I just flip the cube to whatever time increment I want.
Awareness of body and posture.
I really try to pay attention to my body and posture while I'm stitching. How is my neck positioned? Is my back hurting? Am I leaning awkwardly? I keep a little post-it note on the wall across from where I stitch that reminds me to check my position every so often. I sit on an awesome Aeron chair that has great lumbar support and adjust the height of the chair so it meets my stitching table perfectly.
Wear special gloves for hands.
From time to time, my hands can grow fatigued from stitching, especially if I am doing very detailed work like filing in a flower. I purchased these gloves awhile back and really feel like they make a difference. They are made of a stretchy spandex that slightly compresses your hand and eases the fatigue that can come from the repetitive nature of stitching. I don't wear them all of the time, but try to remember to put them on when I am working on a large project or if my hands start feeling tired.
Use a good light.
Another key component to my stitching setup is this sunlight lamp. The light emulates natural sunlight - it's a soft, white light versus the standard yellowish light bulb. It eases any eye strain and helps me see my hoop and stitching very clearly.
Lavish Home Sunlight Floor Lamp
See professionals as needed.
I have a mini squad of healthcare professionals that I see regularly - an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, and a massage therapist - that help me stay feeling good. I don't know what I would do without them! I'm only able to stitch and continue to do what I love if I feel good, so I definitely prioritize visiting professionals that can work with me so I'm at my best.
Want more of my hand embroidery tips? You can find them here.
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It's the end of July! How is that possible?! I've been busy stitching new embroidery pieces and brainstorming some new card designs. Here's some of my recent favorites...
Watch: With only a few episodes so far, The Night Of on HBO is quickly become a new favorite.
Listen (Music): With summertime comes a lot of road trips into the mountains for hikes. My favorite traveling music is Lord Huron's Strange Trails.
Listen (Podcast): With only a few months until the election, I can't get enough of political podcasts. My top picks: Slate's Trumpcast, NPR Politics, Slate's Political Gabfest, The New Yorker: Politics and More, and Keepin' It 1600.
Read: I just finished Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden, the executive editor of The New Yorker. It is a fabulous nonfiction read about Dorothy's grandmother and her best friend, two society girls from New York, who move to the Western Slope to teach in 1916. I loved reading about these tough women and their experiences in the rugged West.
Follow: I'm a longtime fan of artist Lisa Congdon (@lisacongdon) and love her Instagram feed - especially shots from her amazing sketchbook pages. Her work is so colorful and always makes me smile.
Shop: Nothing frustrates and angers me more than when large companies rip off independent artists. Tuesday Bassen, Adam J. Kurtz, and others have had their enamel pins blatantly copied by Zara and its subsidiaries. So what better way to stick it to Zara than by supporting these artists? Check out Shop Art Theft.
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Do you follow Happy Cactus Designs over on Instagram (@happycactusdesigns)? This is where I love to share works in progress, new product news, and what's inspiring me. Here are a few favorite snaps I've shared over the past few weeks.
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My newsletter went out today (are you subscribed?) to celebrate wildflower season here in Colorado. Columbines, lupines, daisies, and more blooming in the mountains, and I couldn't be happier. If there's one common theme in my work, it's a love of bright and bold flowers.
Here are some my favorite designs that I've created featuring wildflowers. You can find all of my wildflower picks in the shop here.
Summer is the perfect time for hanging out at the pool, reading a good book, and sending letters! How about writing a kid you know who is at summer camp? What about sending grandma a long overdue thank you note?
Here are my favorite summertime note card designs. You can find them all in the shop.
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Well, it's been a crazy June. We moved houses (and my studio) and I've been busy getting settled in my new abode! Here's what's on my radar this month.
Watch: Lately binge-watching Showtime's Masters of Sex. Very intriguing show about Masters and Johnson, who pioneered research on human sexuality.
Listen (Music): The new album from Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Jesca Hoop, "Love Letter for Fire," is just gorgeous. Watch their NPR Tiny Desk concert here.
Listen (Podcast): I've quickly become addicted to "Untold: The Daniel Morgan Murder," which chronicles the investigation into the death of a private detective in 1980's London. It's kind of like a British version of Serial.
Read: I love a good mystery and already finished two at the top of my summer reading list: I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh and Before the Fall by Noah Hawley.
Follow: I can't get enough of @flora.forager, the beautiful feed of botanical artist Bridget Beth Collins. A must follow!
Shop: Having just moved, I raided The Container Store's online shop to buy so many random items from my home - soap dispensers, drawer organizers, knife holders. It's probably a good thing we don't have a Container Store here in Durango because I would be stocking up on a lot more!
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At the request of one of my retailers, I designed three different cards to celebrate a baby's baptism. I wanted to keep the cards fairly gender neutral, simple, and sweet. You can find all three in my online shop!
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I write this blog post as I look at my studio desk, littered with thread, scissors, and a handful of works in progress on hoops. Selecting a hoop for your hand embroidery project is no great mystery, but I thought I'd share some bits of advice about the types of hoops I use.
I prefer wooden hoops to plastic hoops. And I prefer well made wooden hoops to inexpensive ones. Now, when it comes to wood versus plastic, that may be a personal preference. I find that wood is gentler on the linen fabric I embroider on. With my wooden hoops, I also wrap the inner hoop with cotton twill tape. This helps to minimize the impact of the linen being bound inside the hoop and better protects my stitches as I work. You can do a simple Google search to find some good tutorials for wrapping a hope with tape.
Hardwicke Manor wooden hoops are my favorite. These are German birch hoops with brass hardware. Put them side by side a wood hoop from your local craft shop and you can immediately tell the difference. Hardwicke Manor hoops are stronger, sturdier, and better made.
I recently purchased a Morgan lap stand hoop and have experimented with it a bit. I was looking for a way to lighten the load on my shoulder. It can get sore and tired from holding the hoop. So far, it's been tricky to adjust to using since I still have to flip the hoop back and forth. We'll see.
I've also looked into different types of stands and have bought some Evertite stretcher bar frames that I've yet to put together and experiment with. I will report back any findings here!
Want more of my hand embroidery tips? You can find them here.
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I'm thrilled to share that my hand embroidered artwork is featured in Issue 4 of Knit Wit magazine, a quarterly magazine devoted to contemporary fiber arts and craft. It is a truly beautiful magazine with gorgeous images and profiles of people in the fiber arts community.
My work was photographed alongside the work of Liz Payne and Jane Denton, two spectacular artists, on a feature about hand embroidery.
You can order the issue on Knit Wit's site or check out their list of stockists.
Holy moly, it's almost summertime! Here's what I've been liking lately...
Watch: There are a handful of television shows that I've been watching while stitching: The Family (so weird, but so intriguing), The Catch (the latest from Shondaland), and The Night Manager (kind of like The Bourne Identity meets The Thomas Crowne Affair meets Hitchcock).
Listen (Music): I've been revisiting an old favorite lately - The Traveling Wilburys. The Traveling Wilburys, formed in the late 1980's, is one of the original rock super groups, comprised of Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, and Jeff Lynne. I've been listening to their albums on repeat.
Listen (Podcast): Terry Gross' live interview with one of my favorite creative minds, Questlove, is a must listen.
Read: I'm about halfway through The Nest, a novel that centers around four siblings and an inheritance they've had been led to believe they will receive as adults.
Follow: I am completely in love with Tiffanie Turner's amazing paper flower creations. They are astounding and just about larger than life.
Shop: I've been scoping out furniture for our new home and have been eyeing a number of modern and mid-century modern pieces at some of my favorite home stores: Design Within Reach, All Modern, and Y Living.
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A lot of my designs are big on color and pattern. With my latest paper goods release, I wanted to try something a bit different and create a small line of sweet and simple greetings that combines a lovely sentiment with a hand illustrated icon. Shop all of the new cards here.
When asked about the hand embroidery process, these words always come to mind: slow, meditative, fun, tedious, enjoyable, calming, tiring, invigorating. Clearly, it can be a study in opposites!
Hand embroidery is also a test of my patience. A piece doesn't just take form in a matter of minutes or even hours. It happens over days and weeks. I don't really plan out most pieces ahead of time, so I never really know how long something is going to take. I sometimes track my time from the first stitch to the last stitch, but this can get a bit laborious.
I posted this photo on Instagram recently to demonstrate how slow and methodical the process is for me.
The three flowers above took about one and a half hours to complete, and most of the work was stitched with a single strand of thread (from a skein of six strands). Each flower is about an inch to an inch and a half.
Hand embroidery has also taught me a lot about listening to my own body. The process can actually be quite physically grueling - there is a lot of leaning, neck strain, and an intense use of both hands and arms (one hand for stitching, one hand for firmly holding the hoop still). At the same time, I'm focusing my eyes on the exact point of stitching. I've become better about taking breaks, stretching, noticing and correcting my posture, and switching tasks, plus I see an acupuncturist, chiropractor, and a massage therapist regularly (it takes a village!).
All of this is to say, when you buy a piece of hand embroidered artwork from me, a lot of love, patience, and time went into each and every piece. It's a process I love more than anything. Through embroidery, I've been able to push myself creatively in ways I didn't know were possible, and I hope that comes through in my work.
Want more of my hand embroidery tips? You can find them here.
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