The importance of unfinished work

Came across this small unfinished tapestry recently. (The canvas has 22 holes to the inch).

I started it years ago and either lost it or lost interest, or both. But it's an image of one of my favourite birds – the stonechat. I've never taken to tapestry by kit – the textile equivalent of painting by numbers, so I work freehand, with minimum sketch marks on the canvas, and often with whatever threads are available. So part of the fun is – I haven't a clue how it will look when it's finished. 

Decided I'll try to finish it this summer in those odd moments when I need to be reminded that life will always have unfinished work, work in progress, and of the importance of finishing what you start, and using what you've got! Even if that means coming back to it – eventually, even reluctantly. Maybe as a reminder too that sometimes when pulled in several directions life goes skew-whiff – when finished this will have to be stretched and straightened before being mounted and framed.

One of the significant by-products of designing and working tapestry is the clear evidence of when you are stressed – you pull the thread too tight! And noticing that, the discipline of correcting the tension becomes an exercise in self-awareness and control, of deliverate restraint, that isn't far away from that experience contemplatives call centering prayer.

When finished it will be framed, and on my desk, as a reminder of the deadliness of deadlines and the therapy of stress-busting stitching!