surprising facts about sewing

I attended a fantastic lunch yesterday hosted by the athena network, who are a women in business networking group. Our bank manager had recommended this to us, and i had contacted the london head office of athena and been put in touch with a regional director called Marilena. As I am completely new to business, all this networking stuff was a little daunting....
Prior to my lunch, Marilena had put me in touch with a fabulous marketing lady, who had briefed me about how best to approach the lunch. Although very very out of my comfort zone, I had a great time, and was welcomed very warmly by a diverse mix of very talented women in business at all different stages. It is a great idea, and there were ladies there who could help develop the thrifty stitcher, and also ladies who were just keen on getting crafty!
One lady has really got me thinking however, she is a healer working with feng shui, and non invasive healing methods, and she came to talk to me about what a difference a practical skill like sewing could have for many women in these busy stressed out times. It is not so much a return to the past, as an opportunity to allow ourselves to stop and just take as long as is needed to get the sewing done. There are no software tricks that will speed up hemming, or gadgets to pin together your fabric.
Thank-you to Jacqueline Kassick (www.essencesforlife.com) for making me stop and consider my craft in this way!

So I had a look out on the net, as you do and I found this article on -
http://blog.hearttohandonline.com/?p=361

CLINICAL STUDY REVEALS THE STRESS-REDUCING BENEFITS OF SEWING

Surprise! Sewing May Be Good For Your Heart!
A clinical study commissioned by the Home Sewing Association (HSA) reveals that women who sew – both skilled as well as novice sewers — experience a significant drop in heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration rate when compared to women who participate in other leisure-time activities. Heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration rate are three key factors in the measurement of stress. The study’s results appear to indicate that sewing helps women to relax while they focus on a creative activity.

there is more on the above blog, but this was enough to make me thoughtful today!

So today was one of our first Drop in sewing sessions- with 3 of 6 places filled, we had a really intimate session. A highlight for me was seeing a colleague from a year ago, joining us in order to move up within our profession, theatre. Natasha has recognized that without sewing skills, she could easily get stuck in a career rut, and is taking any opportunity to push herself further.