Canadian Smocking...and Writing

Canadian Smocking



Does the mention of smocking bring to mind the complicated stitches and pleats that look so beautiful when finished? How about the other equipment: ‘plates’, pleating tool, and various other things needed in English Smocking?

Not for me. Much as I admired the skill this is one needle and thread activity I didn’t attempt. Then I stumbled on a video on YouTube on Canadian Smocking. WOW! This wasn’t new! According to sources, this was a popular art along the time I was in college so I would have been focused on studies…and um…the male population. Not another needle craft.

Texture...aka Character

The video I found was by a British TV presenter, Debbie Shore. With fabric, a ruler, marking pen, needle and thread, you can create a beautiful pillow or other project. I was fascinated. Think…distraction activity…as mentioned in another post. But how does Canadian Smocking relate to writing except to take you away from your work?

Design...aka Plot

With a few tools you can draw a grid [or use gingham fabric] and create a pillow. Same as in writing when you start with an idea or premise and create a story. Also your project is simple as in KISS…keep it simple, says the experts. Keep your goal in focus.

Wrong side...aka...inner journey

And here’s another fact that caught my attention. Many of the designs are as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Are you thinking story goal and inner journey? Look at this perfectly plain piece of gingham. Add a few stitches and you have these flowers on the backside. With a few pearls sewn in the center, or using Satin fabric, the flower is beautiful. And on the front side…simple red and white checks become dramatic. Makes me think of Christmas and peppermint candy, and gives us another reminder that characters should always change.

Right side...aka...story goal

One of my favorite designs was on a video by a Brazilian TV presenter. The guest on multiple shows was the same talented artist.  I don’t speak the language but after watching the British TV host multiple times I was able to mute the sound and pick up the design by watching. This too relates to our writing. Our stories should have a Universal Theme…a message that reaches across language barriers.

Canadian Smocking can add texture and design to an ordinary piece of fabric. Let your story turn ordinary characters into people we want to spend time with and get to know.

Do you remember seeing pillows made by Canadian Smocking or North American Smocking as some sources label it?





The Big "C" Visited Me

Uninvited.

Undetected.

Unsuspected…there is no family history, you see.

Uterine Cancer is the fourth main cause of death in women so I’m sharing details in hopes that you can protect yourselves. Search for the the symptoms for cancer that were on Yahoo front page last week. But don’t let that be your only guide.  I only had two of those symptoms.

Fatigue…if you’re juggling family, job and writing then you’re bound to be exhausted. No surprise there.

Spotting…there is absolutely “No Bleeding Allowed” after menopause. I picked up a box of books, felt pain and then spotting. A Pap smear taken the same day as my biopsy came back normal. But the biopsy didn’t.

I am lucky. The surgeon found no attachment of the tumor to the uterus lining or any cells. Other than being larger than he would hope I seem to have a bright outlook.

My GP said lifting the box of books had nothing to do with the spotting…I choose to believe differently. You and I know we share a special karma with books and two weeks after surgery I’m itching to crawl back into my story in progress when the fog in my brain clears.

So stay alert about your health. Be your own best health advocate. Know your body and seek medical help if you have any suspicious signs. Stay safe.

And read…

So what are some of the good books you are reading now?

The Value of Hope...

I can remember the moment as if it were yesterday…

It was a brisk spring morning. The air seemed to crackle with the chill but the birds were singing…spring was on the way. And I was ‘stalking’ the mail carrier. Yelp, had a string of rejections from my favorite publisher and very much feared I would soon receive another.

I was tired of waiting and exhausted by the lack of encouragement missing in form rejections. I expected practice to make perfect. That’s what I’d been taught. What I passed on. What I still believed. I had been studying and practicing the craft of writing for three years…surely I had made progress. So I tried to focus on the joyous songs of the birds as I approached the highway.

And the long awaited envelope was in the mailbox. Finally! I dreaded what I might find inside, but unable to wait, I stood at the end of the driveway and ripped the envelope open. Another R…

I couldn’t allow my disappointment to show, the neighbors might see. Even at a distance they could see if I stomped my foot or hear if I yelled in frustration. But they couldn’t see the tears that filled my eyes as I forced my feet back along the drive. Nor could they hear the silent pray I sent winging heaven ward. “I’ve tried. Really tried. Dear God, please send me a sign to show I’m not wasting my time in vain.”

I stumbled on a gravel and opened my eyes to watch were I was going…and then I saw it. In the sunlight it sparkled bright as an icicle. Yet even with the crisp mornings, I knew it wasn’t ice. But it was silver and sparkling like a gem. How I missed the pen when I started down the drive, I’ll never know. I would guess it was because I was staring at the mailbox, my goal, and not paying attention to the steps I needed to take to get there.

Isn’t that true with many of the things we do in life? We forget the process…the baby steps.  I picked up that silver pen, read the publisher’s name printed on the side, and started trembling. My dream publisher…and not one in my life could have dropped that pen. It was a sign. It had to be. At least two vehicles had driven up and down that drive and not crushed the pen. How could I cave in after a few short years of trying to sell to this publisher?

I never expect to be one of the ‘big girls’ but I want to write stories.  I still have that shinny pen. I pulled it out today. It’s a new year, with renewed hopes and who knows; perhaps drafting my outline in ink from that pen will bring me luck.  Or perhaps the real lesson is that we should never give up hope.

Happy January to you all and here’s wishing you a very successful year!