Sake Boxes - Wisteria, Overcoming Obsticles

One of the things that first attracted me to Sake Boxes was the goldwork. I enjoy doing goldwork. I never anticipated that the goldwork on Sake Boxes would be an issue for me. It was. Specifically, the wisteria vine on the ladle brought me to a complete halt.

I made a very small start on it in March 2015 but that was just to learn the technique while in class. Two years elapsed before I returned to the ladle with the intention of stitching the wisteria vine.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

For some reason I could not get motivated to work on the wisteria vine. I stitched the outline and added the studs hoping this would get me moving and in a way it did, I made a start on the trailing vine. A small start, and then stopped.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I stitched the spout and made a fresh start on the trailing vine. Another small start, and then stopped.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

And Sake Boxes languished.

© JEC/Carol-Anne Conway

I am a little irrational when it comes to stitching (well, most things, actually) I create an order in which things should be done and I find it very difficult to transgress from that order. The rational thing would have been to carry on with other areas of Sake Boxes until I found the motivation to more on with the wisteria vine, but I could not bring myself to do that.

After a long and agonising hiatus, I again found the urge to stitch. I consulted the Japanese embroidery community and they overwhelmingly urged that I put my efforts into completing Sake Boxes. So, I returned to the SMART approach. At the beginning of each week, I posted my objective, an achievable amount of stitching, and throughout the week, I posted my progress. With the support and encouragement of my friends, I soon found myself not just pushing through a barrier but energised and looking forward to stitching each morning. Over the course of several weeks, not only did I complete the wisteria vine, I rekindled my passion for Sake Boxes and for gold work. With this phase complete, I knew that I was on the home straight to finally completing Sake Boxes.

Happy Stitching