The last day of December and the 2024 stitch journal is complete. A map of my year.
366 days, 366 blocks, a few simple stitches marking the passing of each day.
Days of different shapes and sizes, different colours and textures. Minutes, hours, and days that fill a life.
This is what I mean by Stitching Life. It’s verb, noun, not adjective, noun. Stitching my life, to be more precise.
Every month seems to pass in a blur, however much you try to slow it down. December has been no different.
I like the way this cloth displays its memories in a non-linear sequence. Because of the way I laid out the monthly blocks, the month directly above December is May, and I like the way memories of the summer sit next to the winter days. November sits underneath June, early winter sharing an improbable border with midsummer. But the flowers of summer became seeds that sleep in the winter earth, ready to wake up and grow again in the spring.
I guess stitches are seeds too.
The stitched area measures about 31″ square. The fabric is the French cotton/linen bed sheet that I used last year and the year before. Next year (tomorrow!) will be the last of it.
Its function is to be a visual depiction of time passing. It’s also a mini-reference library, showing the effects you can create with a small range of very simple stitches.
It will rest in the cover that I made for it earlier in the year.
It feels right to put the year away like this, on New Year’s Eve.
Ready to continue tomorrow.
Not starting again, just continuing. That’s what we do every day, all our lives.
Next year will be long and thin, only because that’s the shape and size of the last strip of bed sheet. If you want to try something similar, there’s a stitch journal FAQ page here on my blog. There’s also my Intuitive Daily Stitching course with instructions on how to work and combine a range of simple but effective stitches. I also show you how to choose suitable fabrics, threads and needles for your daily stitching. The course is prerecorded so you can learn at your own pace, and comes with lifetime access so you can watch as many times as you like. You can find my daily stitching templates here, or of course you can design your own.
Tomorrow, we go on. Wishing you a happy and peaceful 2025.
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Fabulous! Thank you for your inspiration throughout the year. Happy New Year to you!
thanks so much, and a happy new year to you too
It is wonderful!
thanks so much Laura
Truly inspirational, and uplifting. A very Happy New Year.
thanks so much Diana, and a happy new year to you too
It’s stunning to see the whole piece! It reminds me of a map. Gorgeous work Karen 💙💙💙
thanks so much Pam. Nice to see it finished.
It is fabulous ! I love the little Christmas Tree ! Happy New year to you ! x
thanks so much Daisy. Happy new year to you too
“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” – Seneca
Your post brings this quote to mind… thank you so much for your inspiration this year! Happy New Year!
Thanks so much, Kat. Exactly that. And so we go on 🙂 Happy new year to you too
Kat introduced me to you in her blog. I have started to stitch a scroll and to follow one of your courses. Thank you for sharing your work.
oh how lovely, thank you so much 🙏🏻 Happy stitching!
Thank you for sharing this lovely practice with us. It has been such a delight to stitch each day with the freedom of simply progress not perfection. Happiest of New Years to you and yours!
thanks so much Rebecca. There’s enough trouble in the world without fretting about a few stitches 🙂 Hooray for freedom and progress, and happy new year to you
Beautiful stitching, and beautiful words to think about. Thank you for sharing both!
thanks so much Shauna
Beautiful! Happy New Year. x
thanks so much 🥰 happy new year to you too
Really loving the layout this year; as a completed piece it really works and I just love the way that the whole year radiates out. A good choice!
thanks so much 🙂
Beautiful work as always, so nice to see a year of daily stitching, much nicer than looking back on a written diary….IMHO.
Look forward to seeing your creations in 2025.
thanks so much Fiona. I agree, I’d rather see something visual than pages of writing. I often think stitch is more like writing than drawing though.
Your finished piece looks like an aerial view of a beautiful landscape. I’m steadily losing my fine motor control due to neurological disease, and your method of doing little daily bits of stitching at a time is very hopeful and inspiring to me. Thank you for sharing your skills and vision with us!
thanks so much Carol, the aerial landscape vibe is what I was aiming for. A bit at a time is usually the best way to tackle anything large, I find 🙂
(((Karen))) I love how you stitch time !
thanks so much Mo. Rendering it in stitch doesn’t slow it down any! x
I agree, nothing seems to slow down the rush, but a few minutes with the needle do at least provide a pause at the time, even if not in retrospect. And the landscape of your year has a lovely fruitful feel to it.
thanks so much, it’s always an adventure seeing how these things turn out. Good to slow down for a few minutes each day at least.