During 2018, when I was pregnant and had severe nausea and insomnia with my second pregnancy, I decided to start weaving. I grew up watching my mother sew by hand and on the sewing machine so the desire to sew came naturally. In a way, I felt closer and directly connected to my Mother by using my hands to sew. I ordered a frame, some thread/yarn, and sat down to rest while I worked on my new project. It was extremely meditative and therapeutic for me and it was a practice that carried into my post-partum stage when I was up late at night nursing. So when my third and current pregnancy started out similarly with severe nausea in my first trimester, I reached for my thread again. This time I was drawn to embroidery. In 2018, I was inspired to create weavings based off my paintings I was currently working on.
This year (2023), I decided to try something new. A few years back, I had painted a collection of Conch Shells that I adored. I let my family pick their favorite piece from the collection and had them framed as a gift for each of them for Christmas. They currently hang in my home near my dining table.
So as I sat at my kitchen table, I knew I wanted to revisit conch shells and it occurred to me in the quiet loneliness that the first trimester is to try to embroider a conch shell. So I started experimenting, playing with different color palettes, and shared the project with my kids. We worked on our seashells every morning together at the kitchen table. I started sourcing the fabric and thread and through trial and error, settled on a beautiful cotton-linen blend made in London where the design was printed directly on the fabric. I loved dreaming up this idea and bringing it to life and I’m beyond excited to share these kits with you and your families. To view + shop embroidery kits, click here.
