Let's go slow - and get Grounded

The weekend just passed was the loveliest, most life-affirming one I have enjoyed in what feels like a very long time. I took part in a workshop which left me feeling inspired, lost myself in an art exhibition, and enjoyed an impromptu mini family catch-up, followed by a gorgeous family Father's Day. My heart is so full ❤

I've been in something of a rut for the past few years - a statement which looks bleak when I read it back! While there have certainly been some tough times, my life's been far from bleak.

I'm blessed with a beautiful husband and an incredible family, and we all adore each other. Some of my best experiences and proudest achievements have taken place during this season of life, and I have learned and grown as a person.

But it's become the norm for me to feel like I'm running on fumes. Once the basics of adult life are taken care of, I rarely have enough fuel left in the tank to do the things that light me up, and make me feel like 'me'. Like making stuff, writing this blog or spending quality time with my favourite people.

This weekend I've done all three and I feel so happy and grateful. I'm a bit too jaded and superstitious to declare that a Brand New Season Of Life has dawned - but there's a little green shoot poking defiantly through the frost.

Speaking of green shoots... that unplanned mini reunion saw my mum and sister visit our house for the first time since we moved in earlier this year. While showing them the garden, we discovered raspberries, blackberries and apples growing that I had never seen before. Coincidence? ✨

Slow Stitch on Linen workshop at Island Arts Centre, Lisburn (Sat 14/06/2025)

I was five minutes late, rain-flecked and flustered as I bumbled into Workshop 2 on Saturday morning, babbling my apologies. Internally, I was berating myself for being "late AGAIN"... "ALWAYS the last to arrive, I am SUCH a...."

I can't remember her well-chosen words, but Millie Moore gently interrupted my self-flagellation.

She told me in a kind voice that I was welcome, I could take a breath and there was no more need for me to rush. We were all here today to take things slow.

Just like that, she guided me in... and I landed. I took that breath. I let my shoulders drop.

Moore's Slow Stitch on Linen workshop at the Island Arts Centre invited us to "slow down and be creative". Her exhibition, entitled Grounded, includes some fascinating and evocative uses of stitching in her mixed media pieces, which include textile 'maps' and linen thread motifs on painted canvases.

We got to see some of these textile maps up close in the workshop, as Millie shared the ideas behind them, and some of the processes she used to create them. Like many interesting artworks created since 2020, some of these pieces emerged as expressions of her lockdown experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visual artist Millie Moore shows us a textile map at her 'Slow Stitch on Linen' workshop. (Sat 14/06/2025)

As many of us did, Millie used daily walks to step away from the frenetic news cycle and re-set. She also found solace in slow stitching - sewing patterns and motifs onto fragments of linen, and following instinct and impulse rather than patterns or plans.

It was only later that she would look at these pieces and recognise semi-abstract images of things from her walk routes, like railway tracks, elements of nature and architectural details. It felt as though sewing gave her brain some downtime to process all its inputs, and Millie was subconsciously stitching visual memories into the linen, creating little maps.

What is Slow Stitching?

Slow stitching is a form of hand-sewing in which the purpose is to find enjoyment in the act of doing it, rather than to create a piece of work. Its focus is on process rather than outcome.

It's one of the latest expressions of Slow Living, or the Slow Movement, a cultural philosophy which advocates for a more thoughtful, mindful approach to life.

Photo by Pew Nguyen

The Slow Movement seems like a reasonable response to our noisy, hyper-connected, digital-first world which grows noisier and more intrusive by the day.

In fact, it's already been around for nearly 40 years, beginning life as the Slow Food campaign in 1986, a backlash against the dominance of fast food giants. Offshoots have included Slow Cities, Slow Schools, and Slow Parenting.

Slow Fashion is fairly well-established, opposing 'Fast Fashion' (cheap, low quality apparel, produced in developing countries by low-paid workers) by campaigning for more ethical, sustainable, planet-friendly ways to produce and consume the things we wear.

In Praise of Slow by Carl Honoré, published in 2004, describes itself as the "unofficial handbook and bible" of the Slow Movement and is widely credited with repopularising it. Millie produced a copy of the book and read us an excerpt from its Introduction, The Age of Rage.

In it, the author says his 'eureka' moment was sparked by how he reacted to the idea of One Minute Bedtime Stories - namely, that reading condensed versions of stories to his child would save valuable time at the end of his day.

As I begin to wonder how quickly Amazon can ship me the full set, redemption comes in the shape of a counter question: Have I gone completely insane? ... I put away the newspaper and start to think. My whole life has turned into an exercise in hurry, in packing more and more into every hour. I am Scrooge with a stopwatch, obsessed with saving every last scrap of time, a minute here, a few seconds there. And I am not alone. Everyone around me—colleagues, friends, family—is caught in the same vortex.

Millie invited us to simply start with a stitch and see where we end up; to follow the stitches around the fabric. I actually struggle to create without some constraints or structure, so my brain scrambled for an idea to get started.

Thankfully, Millie had liberally scattered the workshop tables with visual examples of slow stitching and I was instantly drawn to the circles.

I greedily select a chunky wad of little linens, a few threads, needles and scissors, and I start sewing myself some happy little circles :)

Check out what my clever friend created - a beautiful poppy, complete with lots of perfect little poppy seeds!

I've spoken and written before about the magic of participating in a shared group activity - especially simple hand crafts - for eliminating social awkwardness, bypassing small talk, and allowing meaningful, heartfelt conversations to bloom. This workshop was one of the purest examples of this I have experienced.

I met some incredible people, learned about some really exciting creative initiatives, shared ideas and thoughts, chatted about craftivism, and felt more like 'myself' than I have for ages.

Thank you, Millie, for bringing us together and expertly holding space for us to take things slow.

My praise of Slow

I've heard the word "slow" levelled at me - or said about me - as a criticism throughout every stage of life since I began primary school. For as long as I've been able to read the word or write it down, I've been told I should be doing it more quickly.

I've only recently recognised that "slow" is embedded in my psyche as a negative word, even when it's not being used that way.

This workshop was a welcome reminder that I'm right to want to unpick how "slow" has been woven into the fabric of my mind by others.

I can and should fight to reclaim, reframe and de-shame "slow".

What if "slow" means I'm careful, methodical, thoughtful, persistent, determined, committed?

Aren't I worth the time it takes to figure things out at my own pace?

Given time, could I figure out better - maybe even faster - ways to do things?

If I'm not worth waiting for... are they worth the rush?

Millie Moore's Grounded exhibition

Millie's mixed media exhibition utilises paint, textiles, found objects and natural materials and explores "themes of migration and humanity".

After her workshop, I spent a lovely hour exploring Grounded. I am always drawn to stitched textile art, so these pieces below were the first to catch my eye (click/swipe through the slideshow to see all the photos).

I particularly loved the piece embroidered with footprints, and the daffodil yellows and embroidery hoops of the triptych.

This piece below, made from driftwood and found metal, is entitled I've Been Found and it made me feel quite moved, maybe because I feel a bit like I've found myself again :)

Check out a few more of my pics of the exhibition below, and make sure to pop in and see it for yourself - there's LOTS more to see that I haven't included here. It's free to visit and on now at the Island Arts Centre until 5th July. More info at this link.

🔗 Millie is on social media as @millie.studio on Facebook and @milliemoore_artist on Instagram, and her website is milliemoore.co.uk