The Art of Reflection

The content of this blog post has been on my mind for a while now. Then, on the very morning of me writing this, Sunday 4th May 2025, up pops a FB post from Lizzy herself, on her page. I suspect you won't believe it when I tell you I haven't shared my thoughts with anyone at all but hand on heart it is true! And Lizzy's post was as new to me as it was to you.

Here's a copy of the photo Lizzy added..

Keep this in mind as you read through my ramblings.

What can you see?

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Silly question? Well no, not really. I know you see you, right? But what else do you see? Do you notice what's in the background? Do you notice what's not in focus? Do you see what's off camera?

You see, whatever the focus of your image, however busy the photograph is, there's always more to be seen. There's a bigger picture.

When you see a photo of me, do you always notice what's in the background? My untidy workroom, the beautiful scenery at the seaside, the weeds in my garden? No, very often we only see the actual subject of the photo.

Have a look at this photo...

...what a beautiful tree. What a gorgeous colour. It's so cute and small.

However, what's in the background? More trees. But where is this? What's all the stuff that's out of focus? A wall perhaps, a boundary, an open space, buildings, what? When I look at a photo of myself, I may see wrinkles, I may see tiredness, I may see the weight of the world on my shoulders. However, I can choose to see other things. When I take another look, I see how lucky I am. I see an experienced, mature woman with laughter lines and a few stories to tell. I know what is out of focus and off camera. I know the bad times, of course I do, but I also see the good times, the opportunities, the lessons learned and the future.

Do you ever sit and reflect?

Reflection is a skill. It requires discipline and concentration but it is, in my opinion, an essential part of our existence and growth. It helps us to look at the obvious and the less obvious, the good and the bad, the useful and the useless.

Let's take a moment to reflect on our crafting journey.

You may have started crafting, like me, at a very early age. You may have discovered crafts later in life. In any walk of life, longevity does not equal experience. Just because we have been crafting forever, that doesn't mean we know everything about our craft or that we're necessarily good at it. It depends if we've learned along the way.

However, as we reflect on what we do, we can learn, turn the negatives into positives, make a plan for the next time and grow. I've lost count of the times I've made something that really was only fit for the bin. Have you ever done that? (You don't have to answer!) A few times I have indeed put something straight in the bin, which then hindered my progress. I was disappointed, I felt silly, useless, and my confidence slid right to the floor. So what happened next? I stopped trying. Had I sat and reflected on what happened to spoil my project, I would have learned much more and achieved much more. Not only was my confidence shaken, but it affected my crafting journey, taking more time for me to hone my skills.

In my nursing career. I was encouraged (okay, we had to, as part of our training theory and development plans) to use reflection of my practice. There are many ways to reflect. People have written books and spent hours teaching others to do it. I am no expert on the subject but there are a few things I've learned over the years. The process I use, is a very simple one. I'll share it with you but first the rules, there are only a few :

• Be honest...

• Be thorough...

• Be positive...

• Be open...

This is the Reflection Model I use

1. What? - what is the subject of your reflection to be? Examples could include:

I made a Bissy Pin Cushion in a workshop with Lizzy.

I tried to make an EPP project

I made a dress

You get the gist. Tips: keep the "What" simple, don't elaborate too much or judge.

2. So what? - give the details, what went wrong and what went well. Did you enjoy it, did it take too long, did you feel out of your depth, was it too easy?

This is the "be honest" part. No-one else knows your thoughts. If you're writing this down, no-one will ever read it. It's also the part where you unpick (please excuse the pun, it was intended!) your thoughts and delve into the reasons why you felt this particular issue warranted your reflection.

Now what? - what are you going to do next?

Here is where your positivity will bring results. Let's write up a very simple little pretend reflection.

What?

I tried to hand sew a toy mouse

So what?

I managed it but it didn't look much like a mouse.

My stitching was neat but I don't like the look of it on the outside

I think I overstuffed it and it looked ridiculous

The featured are lopsided and in the wrong places

The ears are too far back on the head

The head is too far forward, I don't think I read the instructions properly

I did a really lovely tail

I didn't enjoy it because I know I'm not good at it

I did finish it, which I've never done before

Now what?

I'm going to throw the mouse in the bin (nope - against the rules)

I'm never making another (nope - against the rules)

I might try again (ooh, better)

I'm going to unpick the features and see if I can do a better job (brilliant)

I'll unpick the stuffing gap and remove a bit of stuffing (perfect)

I like ears that are a long way back and his head is forward because he's dropping off to sleep, but next time, I'll have more of an idea where to put them (that's the spirit - you've already decided to have another go)

I'm going to make another mouse, I will read and re-read the instructions, follow the photos and ask for help if I get stuck (go you!)

Next time I'll stitch from the inside or I could use blanket stitch instead of whip stitch

I think it's a bit small and `i found it fiddly, so I'll make the bigger one

And so on, and so forth!

The idea of reflecting can obviously be used in every walk of life. It's good for us to examine what and why things went wrong and how we can put things right or have another go.

This type of exercise helps us to learn. Tutors, tutorials, workshops, instructions are all very necessary but in the end I learn a great deal from my own mistakes.

Going back to Lizzy's post then...

Having a goal is essential (I will make mouse).

Staying focussed on the goal is the way forward (I'm going to do it today when the house is quiet and I can concentrate).

I'm going to learn from the mistakes I made on the first mouse (that's why he couldn't possibly be put in the bin!)

Whatever it is that you do, you can do it! But remember...

Sometimes it takes us a few times to get it right

It will never be perfect

So,

Set a goal

Focus

Learn

Repeat

Happy Crafting

Have yourself a wonderful May

See you in June

Kath x