Crafting with Purpose

Louisa Chisholm-Kelly

My favourite craft is cross stitch. I stitch for myself, I stitch for the house, and I stitch gifts often. I almost always have a piece in progress. Greetings cards, framed pieces, bookmarks, all sorts of different hand stitched pieces, gifted for all sorts of occasions.

Crafting is good for the soul. Creating something with your hands gives you such a rush, a strong feeling of accomplishment. My pieces are never perfect; crafting isn't about perfection. It's not really about the end product, it's about the process. Due to a disability, I live in chronic pain. Crafting, specifically my favourite, cross stitch, gives me a creative outlet that is gentle on my body. It keeps my mind active when I'm forced to rest and be still.

A few years ago a moment of realisation hit me. A friend was going through a rough time and I gave her a piece to make her smile. It was a quote about strength, and she told me that every time she looked at it she felt a boost of energy hit her. As I was stitching that piece, I was thinking about what she needed, what was going to help her and how seeing it would make her feel. Without realising it, I had literally sewn my intent into the piece. It wasn't just made of fabric and threads, it was also infused with intent. It was infused with magic.

When I'm ill, my husband likes to cook my favourite meals for me. They always make me feel better. It's not just that the meals make me happy, that they taste amazing, it's that he also pours his intent into what he's creating. Crafting, creating things - with purpose - isn't confined to cross stitch or cooking. It works in all types of craft, everything you make with your hands. It also works when you run someone a bath, make the kids’ beds, put a flower arrangement together, hunt the internet for the perfect gift, write a birthday card or a letter... Anything you pour love and thought into can become spellwork when we do it with purpose. With intent.

As a little gift, from me to you, I've put together a small cross stitch pattern.

You will need:

Embroidery needle

Embroidery threads

14 count Aida*

*The finished design is 60 x 60 stitches, or less than 5 x 5 inches (13 x 13 cm).

It is best to use a piece of aida that is a couple of inches bigger than the design size, that can be cut down to fit a frame once finished.

Feel free to use any colours you like.

Here's my version of the finished product:

There are a lot of excellent guides on how to cross stitch on You Tube. They can explain it much better than I can!

Happy Stitching!