Monday's Mending Pile

Lately, I've been mindful of the fact that I need a winter coat.

Unwilling to dish out seventy dollars for a new zipper and heaven knows I'm not willing to do it myself especially when I've been feeling under the weather.

Oh good grief, who am I kidding? I wouldn't even be willing to replace the zipper on a down-filled coat if I were feeling better and had all the materials to do so. I'm not into that kind of self-inflicted punishment.  

Nicole Salimbene:  Mending 2016
{Source}

Since my work life involves spending quite a bit of time in the great outdoors, I really cannot go without a winter coat, especially now that winter-like weather has finally arrived. So what's a gal to do?

Buttons. I'm going to tackle this mending project with buttons found in Mama R's button collection. As I searched for these buttons, enjoyed the weight and sound they made while I scooped them up in my hands, to the sounds they made against the fabric of my coat as I stitched, I thought that Nicole Salimbene was onto something with this insight,

By drawing attention to the art of mindfulness practice and to the act of threading a single needle, Mending encourages us to contemplate the stitch-by-stitch process that may lead to transformations in our lives and in the world.

Mending as a mindfulness practice. Shut the front door! This is absolutely true. Sewing buttons, just as mending, threading a needle or stitching, can absolutely be seen as a mindful practice. Just like being aware of one's breathing, there is a rhythm associated with stitching that quiets our inner world.  That's why we sew, it's relaxing.

In turn, it changes our perception of the outer world. And in the process, I ended up with a much-needed wearable winter coat and a calmer mind. What a wonderful theory.

So why is it that I dread mending most of the time allowing my mending pile to grow?

Oh yeah, sometimes things don't go as planned.

Thankfully, a few deep breathes, exhale, pick up seam ripper and repeat, it worked out in the end. So, what about that theory? I guess there is something to it, thinking of sewing / mending as a mindfulness activity certainly cut down the frustration that happened with less-than-perfect buttonholes. According to Dr. Sarah McKay, research has shown that textile crafting share positive characteristics and outcomes with mindfulness and meditation. Hmmm, maybe I just need to throw on some mediation tapes CDs, be mindful of the process, have that seam ripper close at hand, and just get to work.

Happy Mending!