Slow down and make things

Sarah Woodyard asks us to remember what our hands can do and she says, “Hand sewing has the power to calm the mind and re-connect you to yourself.” Sarah will be in Lexington in August to teach hand sewing napkins, beginning with pulling threads to achieve straight square edges. She’s a journeywoman milliner and mantua-maker with a Master of Arts degree in Material Culture whose thesis is about hand-sewing as a form of inquiry. I hope you’ll consider attending Sarah’s class in Lexington and learn more about her practice.

Hand sewn napkins | Photo credit Sarah Woodyard/Sewn Company

Katherine Ferrier taught at Make It Sew last fall, and she returns to teach at our Holding Space retreat in October. She tells us that “When nothing makes sense, I try to remember the gentle medicine of making something with my hands.” I met Katherine in 2019, taking a version of her Making, Being, Being Made writing workshop for makers (October 13) with the sounds of Frenchman Bay behind us. This fall workshop, along with all of Katherine’s making and teaching, connects hands with hearts and souls.

Katherine Ferrier’s & her students’ hands, November 2021

I encourage you to take and make opportunities to slow down and make things. Thread a needle to repair or sew a button. Do some embroidery. Learn to punch needle. Take a class. Come to our retreat.