I have a true confession this week and hope some of you will understand my predicament and give me some advice. I'm afraid I have fallen down a very deep stitchy rabbit hole. I have become completely smitten with full coverage cross stitching.
When I look at this project I fear I may have lost my mind! It seems like a ridiculous way to spend time. It's so bizarre that I love it so much, and I feel guilty that I am not making something useful that could be of help to others. Instead I'm just staring at this 2.5" by 1" piece of fabric and threads for hours on end. It doesn't even look like anything, and won't for a few thousand more stitches!
But when I am stitching on it, I am transported to another calm and wonderful existence of simply following a chart (on pattern keeper) and playing with colourful threads.
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| Carl Holsoe painting 1900 |
But there must be a balance, right? Is there such a thing as spending too much time alone stitching? Perhaps this will pass as quickly as it came upon me?! Has this ever happened to you? What are your thoughts?
This past week I posted a little youtube video to show my March projects.
My April summary video will not be nearly as interesting if I don't snap out of my full coverage reverie! I am planning to attend Stitch North at the end of the month, so I'm sure I will buy new fabrics and threads, and start new projects and be able to share that.
What are you stitching this week? Please link up your blog post below and share your projects with us.
15 comments:
Welcome to Wonderland - it's fun here in the rabbit hole of full coverage. I manage by only letting myself have ONE pictorial at a time. I admire those who can juggle several HAED or Mirabilla Fancy Ladies (or both!!) at the same time, but not this girl - nothing would ever get finished!
I can remember how chuffed I was when the horns on the Mead Dragon showed up as recognizable objects. And I'm just as happy to watch the back foot show up this week. I've been working on her for about 14 months now and I'm over the halfway point. I'm putting in an average of 2500 to 3000 stitches a month, so just 100 a day. You'll get there.
It sounds like you are loving this project? So I say go for it!! I think it will look stunning and lets be honest sometimes its fun to do just as you want (hence I have finished stitching two chickens....no purpose in them at all other than they look nice| LOL)
I have only attempted one full coverage cross stitch project, and I quit after finishing only a quarter of it. That part is 8x10 inches, and I framed it. The insanity was over then. I cannot do cross stitch at all anymore, but my floss collection is put to good use here and there on other kinds of handwork. Your project is gorgeous, love the books and the details in the piece, hang in there! And remember, it doesn't have to be completed on any time deadline.
If it brings you peace and joy, hard to come by feelings these days, I say go for it and don't worry about the time spent. As they say, that desire will pass, maybe well before you are ready for it too. I'm trying very hard to be gentle with myself on the subject of how I spend my "free" time. There's too much going on in the world right now to stop what brings one joy in favor of forcing progress on something that doesn't.
I'm going to be an enabler. If it brings you joy, peacefulness and relaxation - go for it! Life is too short, and we need to be mindful and take care of ourselves as well as others. Keep stitching, I can't wait to see progress on this each week. Big hugs to you.
Go ahead and enjoy your stitching! It matters not one bit that it is not a 'useful' item. The fact that it gives you peace makes it useful. Stitching holds a wonderful magic and we need more of that magic in this world! Enjoy!
I love that you start with just thread and a piece of fabric, and that beautiful design emerges, stitch by stitch! It will be an amazing accomplishment, Kathy. Shutting out the chaos of today's world with some time spent focusing on stitching is exactly why we all do it. Enjoy every minute!
Kathy, I love how you have found the special calm in laying many tiny stitches. We should not feel it is diminutive or less somehow because it is small and therefore somehow not worthy of our time. It will have a special beauty that large scale can never achieve. That's why I love cross stitching too!
I've been rediscovering cross stitching too. I usually listen to a podcast so I can pretend I'm being productive by learning something educational(or at least mind opening). Looking amazing so far!
you might need to set a timer and stop after an hour and make yourself do something else and then set a timer again so you don't ruin your hands or get neck pains.
I can often get lost in a project or a book. I too am working on a full coverage piece. It is wonderful to see the picture emerge. I suggest taking lots of photos as sometimes you can't really see what you have done until it is in a photo. I always try to work on other projects at the same time so that I don't feel like I am not accomplishing things. Enjoy the ride. You may find that it slows down after a while. If so, work on something else, but keep the big piece in rotation so it doesn't get lost and forgotten.
I agree with the rest of these commenters. If it brings you peace and join in the middle of chaos, do it.
Your list of hand work is so complete! I’m so grateful I ran across your blog so many years ago! It is so nice to discover like-minded stitchers!
Oh my! Your Mini Treasure Hunt Bookshelf is so very much detailed! Kudos to you for being able to work on such a detailed project on 25 count base! I’m very impressed!
These days, I am so happy for you to have a project that transports you to a common and wonderful existence!
I know that these days I am definitely called more to slow stitching than my sewing machine! It is extremely therapeutic and calming for me.
Thank you so much for bringing us all together in one place!
If it brings you peace and joy, and a respite from what is happening in the world, I wouldn't worry about it. Happy stitching!
I'm going to echo Kate (and others) and say, if it brings you joy and peace, then go for it. Those are emotions we all need more of these days. And if your enthusiasm wanes for a while, move on to something else. Or set aside a certain amount of time a day to work on it, then do something else. We will all look forward to following your progress.
Pat
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