Stitching Home
Stitching Home brings together Calderdale Valley of Sanctuary (CVoS) and embroidery artist Elnaz Yazdani to explore the meaning of home. After welcoming six new trustees, five with lived experience of migration, the organisation took time to reflect on how they work and how they can create a place that feels warm, safe, and supportive. Stitching became a way to connect, share experiences, and shape positive change.
Over two creative professional development sessions, we explored the themes that unite CVoS. The first session introduced hand embroidery, paired with conversations about making our organisation feel like home. Everyone noted or drew their thoughts while learning new creative skills. In the second session, we reflected on our creations, our stories, and the meaning of home, deciding how our handmade work could come together, shaping a shared understanding of what “home” means within our organisation.
Using embroidery as a gentle way to explore the idea of home gave us the space to open up and reflect. The steady, calming rhythm of stitching helped everyone share stories, learn from each other, and think about questions: Do I use the word home differently with friends and strangers? Is the place I was born always my home? Is my house the same as my home?
Our conversations about home showed that it isn’t just a physical place. Feeling calm, accepted and able to be ourselves mattered most “if I feel free, where I am is less important”. Home was tied to the people around us, the things we care about, and the connections we hold “friends and family are the most important thing”. Some talked about places in nature or familiar landmarks that bring a sense of home “sharing the same moon as people back home”. When asked “Where are you from?” some answered with their hometowns, while others felt that the place they grew up no longer fits who they are now.
People described home in different ways. For some, it was staying near family or the place they grew up. For others, it was finding safety, comfort, and loving company “Hope is on the horizon; Kindness is ray of hope” . Some shared stories of leaving behind harm and creating a new home elsewhere. "Home is where you can unmask"
Each embroidered piece shares a story from the Stitching Home project. These pieces act as gentle reminders to help us explore new ways of working together. By learning from these stitched reflections, we can better support our members as they build deeper connections with people who have experienced migration. These insights can guide us in keeping these ideas about home alive and helping their organisation feel more welcoming.
We brought our embroidery pieces together in the final
session to build a shared banner, giving us space to think about
our own making process and what each piece meant. Using
embroidery helped us notice the themes, words and ideas
we held in common, and consider how these could be used in real
ways within our organisation. The next steps for us are to reflect
on how we work in CVoS, what we already do that supports these themes,
and what we can now develop or introduce as a result of the
Stitching Home project.
