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in Blog on December 8, 2020 by Meagan Francis

Meagan’s Holiday Help, Day 8: Embrace messy making.

All month long, I’ll be sharing daily pick-me-ups, tips, and doses of inspiration to help us all find perspective during the month of December. We invite you to check back daily for these mini pep-talks as we prepare for a very unusual holiday season. –Meagan

For as long as I can remember, I have had a fascination with embroidery and needlework. An embroidered farm scene hung above my bed when I was very small; I remember standing on my bed at the age of three or four, tracing the threads with my fingers. My mother’s pillowcases were embroidered with pink and red roses with pale green stems. When I was sick and got to stay home from school, tucked up in her bed with the TV, I would stare at those pillowcases for hours, wondering how they were made.

But it took me a good fifteen years of adulthood before I gave embroidery a whirl for myself. And even then, I took it up in fits and starts, leaving several rather ambitious projects unfinished. This year, I was determined to finally pull it off, and gathered together all the needles and thread, patterns, and motivation – a gift list and a Christmas deadline – I’d need to finally crank out some finished works.

The first one? The embroidered bear you see above, stitched on a flour-sack towel. Such a simple design came together quickly; I finished the whole thing in around an hour. And to make it even more meaningful, as I was still waiting on my new embroidery floss to show up, I remembered that I’ve been carrying my mom’s around in a tin for the last 21 years. Her brown, green, and variegated yellow threads were perfect for the job. I was pretty satisfied with the finished project when I set it down.

But soon after, I started noticing little…problems. Like that line across Mr. Bear’s muzzle. It looks out of place to me. Is he a circus bear? Maybe I should have done it in a lighter color. And those flower details on the arrows? Those abstract “sunflowers” don’t look anything like the multi-petaled daisies I was supposed to stitch. While we’re discussing those arrows, anyone else notice that one of them is pointy and the other rounded? And don’t even get me started on the hot mess that is the knotty back side of the towel..

If you thought you could just glance at this and think “cute bear”, boy, were you wrong! There are myriad errors I can point out to ruin your experience of it. Shall I keep going? I have material for days!

In all seriousness, though, isn’t it funny how we do this to ourselves? Whereas I could focus on the positives – wow I MADE this with my HANDS – instead it’s only to easy to see the flaws first. And instead of giving it to someone I love, a little part of me wants to hide it away in a drawer and take up a new hobby, perhaps something that doesn’t involve following patterns or tying neat knots.

But here’s the thing: I really enjoy embroidery. My approach may be more “bull in the china shop” than “delicate and painstaking” but hey, I’m having fun, I’m learning as I go, and finding that my goal of giving handmade Christmas gifts is doable…as long as I don’t add the word “perfect” or “like store bought” to the description.

Over the past two weeks I’ve finished stitching designs on two more towels, two pillowcases, and the cover of a heating pad. I’ve learned a lot in the interim, too: how to create my own patterns and transfer them to fabric, how to keep the back neater as you stitch, how to thread the needle without having a panic attack (most of the time), and how to fix mistakes as I go.

It takes time to learn how to do things, and it takes even more time to learn how to do them well. (And if you involve your kids in making things, your finished projects will likely never be magazine-page perfect.) But isn’t that what makes them charming, heartfelt, and totally unique? Imperfect as it may be, that first – or fifteenth – messy attempt is worth giving as a gift, hanging up, or displaying in the middle of the table.

As for myself? I’m glad I finally picked up needle and thread and kept at it long enough to finish something – several things, actually. And I’m proud that I’ll be able to give some of the results of that hard work away this holiday.

Including magically messy Mr. Bear.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Holiday Help 2020

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« Meagan’s Holiday Help, Day 7: Plan to finish what you started.
Letting Go of Perfect-Holiday-Mom Pressure (For Real This Time): Episode 290 »

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    December 9, 2020 at 10:35 am

    I think he is adorable and yes, we should be kind to our growing selves!

    Reply
  2. Michele says

    December 9, 2020 at 7:15 pm

    I bet that whoever gets Mr. Bear is going to love him! When I was 7, I cross-stitched a design of a cardinal for my grandma, and my mom sewed it into a throw pillow. Even though the bird definitely looked like it was created by a second-grader, that pillow sat on my grandma’s couch for almost three decades. I think she liked the imperfections, and thinking about my tiny little self working so hard on it, and I bet whoever gets Mr. Bear will feel the same, even though it doesn’t look like a machine made it. 🙂

    Reply

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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

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#mommath #drowningindishes #summerbreakisnotreallyabreak
Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June spons Happy weekend - and a big thanks to our June sponsors! Every month, we like to take a little time to shoutout our partners who help support the show + remind our listeners of some of the great deals our sponsors are offering. For more info, specific promo codes, and links, just search the brand name on our website, and they'll pop up in our episode show notes. We also collect ALL our active promo codes (even the old ones that are still working!) in our email newsletter - which is full of other great things we want to share with you, too. Tap on this image at the link in our bio to subscribe today. 

Meet our NEW partners this month . . .
🗣️ @connectspeech (early language support!)
💙 @appahealth (1st month of mentorship free!)
💄 @thrivecausemetics (15% off your 1st order)

And welcome back to . . .
⭐️ @paireyewear (15% off your 1st purchase!)
⭐️ @autoapprove ($100 when you refinance!)
⭐️ @outschool ($15 off your child's 1st class!)
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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #travelingwoes #travelingwithkids #familytravelmishaps
New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learn New on the blog this week from @kiamhammond: Learning About Juneteenth, As A Family.

"Like many families, mine is still figuring out how to teach our children about Juneteenth, as learning the history wasn't part of my education or my husband's when we were kids. The good news is, books written for children and families are a great way for the whole family to learn (and there are a lot of them!)."

Click this image at the link in our bio to read Kia’s book recommendations and more ways to start the conversation at home with your family.

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Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #momtruisms #momtruths #parentingadvice #motherhoodstruggles
Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 Just a “hello” from last-week-me, who spent 30 minutes moving 25 chickens by hand from their home to the new chicken yard, because they refused to go on their own. And then an hour moving them back, because same.

It reminded me a lot of mothering a toddler, and got me wondering: what’s the most ridiculous thing mom life has brought you in the past week? -M
New episode! Have you ever fantasized about atten New episode!

Have you ever fantasized about attending a camp-like environment for grown-ups? Much about the classic summer camp experience is appealing to us (though not EVERYTHING--we could certainly do without the bugs), and the idea of simply showing up for a perfectly curated experience without any responsibility, or planning, sounds AMAZING. Listen to this fun More Than Mom to hear all of our must-have activities (like food and wine tastings, yoga, personal style consults and more!), things that would be a hard no (like swimming in the gross, murky lake or participating in corny, guided crafts) and our daydreams about creating a Mom Hour Retreat (maybe someday?)!

Find the episode wherever you get your podcasts, or click this image at the link in our bio!

#themomhour #motherhood #mompodcast #podcastsformoms #parenting #parentingpodcast #podcastlove #trypod #podcastersofinstagram #shepodcasts #summercamps #womenretreats #momretreat
New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBT New on the blog this week from @jaymesherrod: LGBTQ+ Resources For Parents (And Anyone Who Wants To Learn!). 

"The fact is, none of us will get it right every time. Not with each other, and certainly not with our kids. But it’s important that we keep showing up and having the conversations anyway."

Click this image at the link in our bio to access Jayme's roundup of resources.

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