lyttel stitches

In an environment heavy with destruction and grief there are always those things that will blossom and nurture new life.
Here in Lyttelton, the "heart project" has been one of those things  over this last month.

A circle of people gathered together and a simple project; an old woolen blanket cut into the shape of a heart, buttons and wool stitched on with love, a safety pin to attach and given away freely to whomever may pass our way.

Mainly sitting vigil outside the library at what has become "the coffee corner," we sit and do our bit at stitching the community's heart back together. 

People come and go all day. Some appreciate the chance to sit and chat, others stitch their own heart. All of us able to take a breath together, enjoy the chance to focus on a simple project and remember that we do not need to face uncertainty alone.

This is no small thing.

And as we sat among the rubble of our beloved buildings - the places that were integral to our lives here - we discovered a small way to grieve a little for what we had lost. We wanted to make those fences our own somehow and stitch a little beauty where there was lose and collapse and so hearts began to appear on the barricades.

And when the news came that the local schools were to reopen it seemed an obvious place to take the heart project. Creativity heals; it allows one to be alone and yet together with others. It allows the body to relax and the mind to focus on a single thing rather than worry about what is to come.







Families had moved away and children would be without their usual friends. The children  needed their own heart and needed to be part of the larger story of Lyttelton stitching their community back together again

All through this project we have been deeply grateful for those people who brought supplies to us or sent them from other parts of the country. With these gifts we sat each day and stitched and as we gave these gifts to others we reminded ourselves and each other that the perfect way forward is with an open heart. 


by Jacinda, also at watchingkereru.blogspot.com