A post on our local community Facebook page caught my eye – it sounded fun, and a great idea. Off I went, curious to see what it was all about, certainly not to stitch anything. My memories of school sewing disasters are still vivid enough.
At the Martinborough Library, a long table had been set up, and Steff Willmore – our stitching coach and organiser – was unloading colourful patches, fabrics, spools of thread and needles. It looked wonderfully creative, and slightly intimidating.
An hour and a half session, and I fully expected to slip out early. Then the women began arriving, clearly regulars, each carrying something beautiful they were working on. One was patching recycled jeans with lace from her mother’s ballgown. Another was mending clothes. Someone else was stitching art pieces to decorate a beloved, wellworn coat. Within minutes the table was full, and the room was humming with conversation.
I made a wobbly start on a stencilled denim patch, receiving generous encouragement from my neighbours. In between stitches I learned about their hobbies – one woman mad keen on fishing who plans her overseas trips around the best charters, another a DJ, another had pet sheep and always remain that! I didn’t get to talk to everyone but I’m sure they all had equally interesting stories and backgrounds.
Petra floated around offering advice and gentle guidance. Having moved from Nelson to Palliser Bay, where her partner is a fisherman, she’s an artist and organic gardener who loves creating free community spaces. She set up the seed library in Carterton and runs all sorts of gardening sessions.
Petra calls the session Mindful Stitching because you naturally slow down, focus on the moment, and connect around the table. And she’s right — the time vanished.
Stitching leans more to woman attending, though the occasional man has joined, everyone is welcome. At one point we all turned to a cheerful “hello ladies” as Marcus Harvey, Library Manager for SW Libraries, appeared with a tray of leftover morning tea treats for us, a lovely surprise. Petra calls the session Mindful Stitching because you naturally slow down, focus on the moment, and connect around the table. And she’s right — the time vanished. Suddenly it was packup time, and I was trying to hide my feeble stitching attempt. Everyone insisted it was a great first go. They were being kind, I’m sure.
Martinborough has a wonderful range of ways to connect — check out the Lions page to see what’s on.
