My pandemic hobby

In April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing, I wanted to keep busy while stuck at home alone. So I looked for a new hobby to keep me occupied.

I liked sewing by hand, my mother had showed me how to sew some traditional Inuit clothing with caribou and sealskin. I wanted to try something a bit different with sewing.

This chickadee is the first embroidery project Tanya Tungilik did when she took up a new hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Tanya Tungilik, special to Nunatsiaq News)

I went on Etsy.com and found my first three embroidery kits. They were of birds: one was a chickadee, another was of two Canada geese, and the third was an eastern bluebird.

I decided to try the chickadee first, they always reminded me of my maternal grandmother’s place in the Laurentians in Quebec. I love hearing their songs, and they are such cute little birds.

It was bit of a difficult first project. I tried following the written instructions as best as I could. I wasn’t quite satisfied with the results, but I kept it. It did teach me how to do the long and short stitch.

My second kit was of the two Canada geese flying, it was a vintage embroidery kit, perhaps from the 1970s or ’80s. I really enjoyed that one because it used thick yarn, which made it seem quicker to finish. I had a little practice now after my first one.

I also liked the fact that it had a preprinted background, with the sky and clouds. It became one of my favourites that I had done over the years.

Now, with the third kit of the eastern bluebird I really liked how that one turned out. I started using my own way of doing the long and short stitch, because I didn’t like how I did them with the first two. It’s still the best-looking one I have done so far, and I have done many since then.

I tried different kinds of embroidery kits, and I found a style I really enjoyed called crewel embroidery.

By the time Tanya Tungilik tried her third embroidery kit, this bluebird design, she felt she was getting the hang of it. (Photo courtesy of Tanya Tungilik, special to Nunatsiaq News)

There’s a Jacobean style of crewel from Britain, they have many different stitches and have a certain look to their designs. Each new stitch was fun to learn, though there are some stitches that I don’t like to do, such as French knots.

I am still perfecting my skill, especially with challenging stitches like battlement couching.

I think because of my experience with sewing small stitches with the traditional clothing, it was an easy transition to embroidery. I find it very relaxing to embroider, it grounds me when I am feeling stressed.

This would help me a couple of years later when I was to see the Pope. I made a beautiful amauti with my aunt, making my own embroidery for the occasion. I will get more into that eventually. For now, I would like to continue sharing my passion for my pandemic hobby.

Tanya Tungilik lives in Rankin Inlet. She shared this story about the hobby she picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nunatsiaq News is encouraging Inuit readers in Nunavut’s communities to submit freelance articles about what’s going on in their world.