My friend, Kellie, taught me to cross-stitch. I admired her cross-stitch pieces until I grew the courage to ask her to show me. It turns out; it may be an old-fashioned sewing thing, but it’s totally addictive. When life gets bustling, sometimes you need to slow down and recognize life sometimes needs a good cross-stitch kit.
There is the thrill of the lining of the 14-count Aida across the wooden hoop to the frame so you can get the first stitch–getting the Aida to be taut and without wrinkles.
You sit back and admire the Aida in the hoop. Already it seems to be perfect.
Then you look at your floss, it’s like you have the range of shades to create Joseph’s Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is pretty exciting. The sheen of the floss makes the color pop and you run your hands across the skeins, allowing your fingers to graze in the colors of the rainbow.
Now if only you had the time. But blocking awaits!
Then you decide to abandon the cross-stitch kit and create your own, only to realize that wasn’t a good plan because of all that time; it doesn’t turn out quite like you thought it might.
Then suddenly, you’re back at the store, eyeballing another cross-stitch kit because you need to feed the addiction. Each one reminds you of someone it would make a great gift for; how will you ever choose?
There’s something about counting stitches, splitting skeins of thread, and dreaming of projects in between searching the carpet for dropped needles.
So? You have to unstitch 30-some squares because you counted 14 instead of 15, and now everything is off.
You understand life moves on.
You see life as a large grid.
You like it that way.
I don’t seem to have the time I’d like to commit to cross-stitch, but I often can be found with a cross-stitch kit in my purse, blocking the grid with colored thread and letting life slow down just a bit for me to relax.
If you like cross-stitching, you may enjoy some of the crafts on Mommy’s Memorandum.