#patchoflove

 

The #patchoflove project is a direct, personal response to the third lockdown.  I know that many people are finding things really tough; the weather is bad; the novelty and fear of the first lockdown has well and truly gone; new variants and initial doubts of when any of us would get the jabs (and would they work?) seemed to build anxiety and uncertainty.  I am married to a front line NHS worker who at least three times a week was up on the ITU at the QE Hospital in Birmingham, the busiest ITU in the UK, dressed up like an astronaut, and I can see in real terms the effect that a year of pressure can do to someone.

But I am an embroiderer.  Yes I could do something for the local foodbank or support my elderly neighbour  like another human being (and I do) but I wanted to find a way to use this specialist skill in a positive way.  On the first lockdown I hung a quilt in my front window declaring ‘Stay Safe’. Now many of you will know that I am a recent convert to Northern Soul and before the pandemic had begun to collect the fabric patches associated with the genre; I had begun to make my own and signing off my quilts with a defiant fist holding a pair of scissors with the caption ‘Quilter ‘til I Die’ reminiscent of a Northern Soul patch.

I had begun to play around with a ‘Stay Safe, Stay Strong’ message on one of my patches before I was in the audience for the In conversation between Craftspace’s Deirdre Figueiredo and the legendary Craftivist Betsy Greer.  I was familiar with Craftivism and Betsy’s work but hadn’t really given it considered thought relating to my practice before.  And it was a light bulb moment.  I could make a patch telling people to Stay safe and Stay strong and give them to people who might be struggling in some way

And well that’s what I did.  I had some technical problems as I was embroidering in a way that I hadn’t before but after a couple of trials, I think that’s been sorted.

And so I have begun to leave them in spaces where I think that someone who might appreciate the equivalence of a pat on the back or a socially distanced hug because they are low. Entrances to hospitals and bus stops seem like good starting points.  I know that it’s a small, tiny gesture and I am sure some will think that it’s a waste of my time, but do you know what its makes me feel that I am doing something and its my time to waste.

If you don’t think I am wasting my time please DM me through Twitter or Instagram @karinaworld2

Thanks for reading.  Keep the Faith