{"id":9659,"date":"2023-06-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=9659"},"modified":"2023-06-09T16:12:28","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T14:12:28","slug":"stitches-and-garden-beds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/stitches-and-garden-beds\/","title":{"rendered":"Stitches and garden beds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I get out in the fresh morning air to dig my hands into the soil at our community garden allotment. In the evening I sit down with an embroidery. It occurs to me that these seemingly different creative outlets do have a common ground. Today I will guide you through stitches and garden beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Come what May<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

May is a hectic time in the garden beds \u2013 the window sill is filled to the brim with pregerminated plants looking towards the garden with longing in their buds, waiting to come out. To make room for them in the pallet collar greenhouses just outside the front door I need to find a spot in the garden beds for the plants already in the greenhouses. The plants need to go in the right quarter of the crop rotation and with the proper companion plants. It\u2019s a giant puzzle with aesthetics, context and function to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Baby kale plants accompanied by tiny Cosmos. Slugs have already started to nibble at the leaves. Imagine floral abundance and bombast in a month or two!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I plant, take a few steps back to imagine colours, height, shapes and space a couple of months from now, coming in closer to add another plant. Back and forth, trying to imagine all the parameters, worrying about plants that haven\u2019t germinated yet or the absence of rain. Taking into account trees and shadows, garden paths and soil depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flowers fit for a queen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I remove the lace curtain from atop the kale patch\nand look at the plants I have just snuggled down in the soil.\nThe pointy and dark black kale leaves with almost burgundy undersides,\nthe light green rounded brussel sprout leaves with a matte finish.\nAll plants only three apples high at the moment,\nbut in a month or two considerably taller.\n\nI imagine the bubbly black kale,\ntall and mighty, looking out over the garden like a queen at her subjects.\nYes, she is the queen of all the lands.\nI close my eyes and see the brussel sprouts holding on to the stem,\ntightly, tightly,\ntop leaves sprouting out above like tufts of hair.\n\nFlowers! The kale needs flowers, something fit for a queen.\nMarigolds, certainly, brightly orange in the sun.\nA nasturtium or two, winding their way between the stems.\nAnd cosmos, sweet cosmos with their pink flowers\nalmost floating on top of the dill-like greenery,\nmoving softly, majestically in the breeze.\nFit for a queen indeed.\n\nI open my eyes and tuck the plants back in under the lace curtain,\nheart singing of gardening joy.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Afternoon bliss<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At noon the sun becomes too strong. I wave the allotment goodbye and go inside. I tell myself it\u2019s enough for today, but I still get back a few hours later when the garden is cooler, looking against my better judgement to see if any plants have grown or germinated while I have been gone. They usually haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stay for a while, enjoying the stillness of the afternoon. Having my hands in the soil is a joy. I feel the earth in my hands, see the busy workers in the soil and smile at the sweet sprouts as I imagine them all grown up and ready to harvest in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Evening stitches<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the evening I work on  a p\u00e5s\u00f6m embroidery<\/a>. I have the main shapes all finished and need to embellish with greenery, small flowers and extra sparkle, fill out the empty spaces and find harmony in colour, shape and distribution. I stitch for a while, put the project down, take a few steps back to imagine the finished result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Stitch by stitch, petal by petal I grow my flower bed with yarn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Just as I am ready to walk away I see something in the corner of my eye, a shape for an empty patch. I can\u2019t help myself, draw the shape onto the fabric and start stitching again. Just one more leaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plentifully green <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Flowers all set, in pinks, whites, ruby and deep purple.\nnow to add greens.\nI want overwhelm, abundance,\nstitches so plentiful there is no room for a single more.\nStitch by stitch I fill in the blanks,\nadd leaves to every naked stem,\nsneak in a daisy or two.\n\nI stitch to the very last piece of the wool.\nI back away to see the entirety,\ncome back close to add another leaf.\nDetails and whole in a sweet dance,\nchoreographed by colour, texture and shape.\nWith needle in hand\nI grow a flower bed with yarn.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Parallel creative processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Creating an embroidery is not that different from creating a vegetable garden. As I work with these two processes at the same time, imagining a result I can\u2019t really predict, I realize they are in some way part of the same process; of wholeness and details, context and creativity. I have gone through these processes before, just not at the same time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It still needs lots of greenery, but it’s getting there!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
I can feel the neural pathways from the two processes come closer to each other and suddenly wave; \u201dHi! Fancy meeting you here, let\u2019s flow together!\u201d. And they do, side by side, diverging and converging, all at their own pleasure. The power of plants and stitches suddenly walk together in a new pathway, discovering new perspectives and aesthetic connections between beds and embroideries, plants and stitches, together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n