It’s time to work on something October-y, right? I’ve always enjoyed Autumn colors, and I’ve had this cross stitch project in progress for several years now. A few nights ago, I decided it was once again in need of some attention.
I used to cross stitch a lot. In the beginning, I made most of my projects as gifts for family members and friends. I kept a few, but it was a way that I could have fun and also give a very personalized gift to someone. Over time, I stitched more and more for myself. And I filled up the walls of our house.
Before and directly after I had shoulder surgery, I found it harder and harder to stitch without pain. The movement of my arm/shoulder was too great to do much more than a few stitches at a time. During my recovery from that surgery, I discovered that I could do knitting easier than I could stitch (or do much else), and I began to get into knitting more and more. Even after I recovered, I found that I wanted to knit more than I wanted to stitch. And since I couldn’t do both at the same time, stitching fell to the wayside. After all, I was stitching mostly for myself, and my walls were full.
I recently downsized my rather sizable stash of cross stitch projects and supplies. The feeling of weight that was lifted was surprising. Rather than feeling sad about all the designs I had bought but would never stitch, I felt both liberated and elated that they were going to others who currently stitch – I gave them away, and I don’t regret it one bit. I still have more than I will do in the rest of my lifetime, and may further de-stash in a few years. The collection of “stuff” had its purpose at the time, but I’d rather those things that are still useful actually be used now than wait for me to pass on to the next life.
By the way, I started this in August 2012. For comparison, I stitched two other Donna Vermillion Giampa pillows in approximately 3-4 months each. That’s how little stitching I’ve done in the past 8 years. Perhaps I’ll finish it this year. I might if I don’t get distracted by… Look! Squirrel!