For most of my life, it has played a large part. It has been a social thing, an outlet for stress, a calming practice. A few times it even made a tidy sum for me to tuck away. A cookie jar cash stash. Except, I stashed it in a Kotex box in my bedroom closet or a tampon case in my purse.
The ex-had a delightful habit of going into my purse, taking money from it without asking me or even telling me.
He had an aversion to touching those menstrual things much less feeling around inside them as if he might get an STD from them.
My cash stash was safe from being stolen.
Mostly, I'm a money saver, less of a spender. As a counter to this, being generous with those I love puts joy in my heart. Also, when I go on vacation, loosening up the purse strings seems logical. It's a time to cut loose a little. Know when to hold 'em, know when to.......
Ever since I learned to stitch then expounded on that afterward, it has been an honor to teach others. Teaching the basics is easy. Teaching more advanced skills in needlework, I have to say, is more gratifying.
The challenge lies in helping my students to understand that Hardanger, pulled thread, drawn thread, hem stitching is just a few simple stitches repeated over & over.
It does look intimidating. Yep, all by hand starting with totally blank fabric.
Remembering how I was so intimidated, using the fear as fuel helped to propel me into teaching myself. While living in a village in Germany, Hardanger embroidered items adorned the large street front picture windows of the homes of the people in the village. I lived in the village of Rodenbach, Kaiserslautern innerhalb Deutscheland. Having a great knowledge of the language, I ventured out a lot. The German grocery stores had magazines filled with Hardanger patterns to enhance just about anything.
Window curtains
Baskets
Candle holders
Aprons
Blouses
Table linens
Hand towels
Clocks
Mirror backs
Door Hangers "Wilkommen"
The motivation was all around me.
Hardanger can be combined with basic cross stitch in complementary ways. It can also be impressive on its own.
With a situation that would allow me to take some time to teach myself in a trial & error way, with trepidation I decided to do it.
Learning on my own, self-teaching has always worked best for me. After 2 hours of more errors than success, it began to click in my brain.
An "aha" moment is a thing of beauty.
It was close to midnight when I could feel dopamine kick in from finally understanding. At that moment the only occurrence that could have enhanced the experience would have been to have someone to show & tell what I had accomplished.
It would have been even better if that person was, themselves, a stitcher. Preferably one that would want to learn Hardanger embroidery or have some pointers for me.
I would have loved to have shared the new knowledge of this beautiful form of needlework. It opened a new dimension to a deeper dive into my passion.
Needleworkers have their own adages & acronyms. For instance, a "unicorn" pattern is one that a stitcher deeply desires, wish so much for it thinking they most likely won't ever have it.
UFO - Unfinished Object
WIP - Work in Progress
Stash - The cadre of needlework paraphernalia
SEX - Stash Enhancement Experience
The Frog - A creature that causes errors in stitching.
(when it visits you must live with the error or rip it - rip it)
PHD - Project Half Done
SABLE - Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy
LNS - Little/Local Needlework Shop
SINS - Stuff I'll Never Stitch
EGA - Embroiders Guild of America
SAL - Stitch Along
Frogging - Ripping out mistakes in projects
It's a dominant trait for stitchers to have more than 5 projects in various stages of completion.
Okay, 10 or maybe 20 or more.
There are so many beautiful patterns from so many skilled designers! New ones are published regularly. There are also new designers to compound the temptation to start another project.
My reason for starting a new project is a bit different. People with creative minds are 10x more likely to have bouts with depression, anxiety.
When I was very new to stitching, there was something that happened in my mind every time I started a new project.
The way I would describe it is that it caused me to feel the same sensations' as if I were falling in love.
A giddy excitement, spinning around sensation.
I fear that if I counted all of my UFOs or WIPs, it might be frightening.
There are many pieces which I have finished the needlework pattern part, just waiting for the inspiration to make it into whatever. Framed or sewn or attached to a vase or basket as decorations to further enhance the aesthetics of the item.
So, I do complete many projects.
A solution to conquering my UFOs is that I'm putting 4 at a time in a basket. Having them in a basket is so much more attractive than having them in a box or plastic bin. I work on those, rotating them if it becomes too tedious or boring.
In between the 4 I will sometimes sneak in a very small design. The
falling in love feeling carries me to finish the large projects.
No judgy- wudgy.
It works!
This is a suh-weet Hardanger heart I stitched as a small, motivational interim design. The penny is there for scale.
Using this method, I have completed one large project, closing in on a second one. This also allows me to stitch seasonal items. The last project I completed was an Autumn sampler. It's washed, pressed, ready for finishing into a whatever.
My current project is a beautiful Christmas piece. Although it's large, because the Christmas season is here, I feel the push of inspiration to keep going. Because I like this design so much, I had partially stitched it then I "lost" it. As in misplaced it, I restarted it, finished it then, decided to treat myself with a custom frame. Sending it off to a very creative, professional framers, I knew I would have to wait for it. Most good things are worth waiting for.
While I was organizing, clearing clutter, I found it! Decided to finish it. My progress on Lavender & Lace - Gift of Peace #1.
Social media can be a bane of many people. It can also be a source of shared creativity. Bringing people of like minds & hobbies together. It has been my pleasure to have online drawings. To have the ones who wish to enter to possibly be chosen to receive a design that is in hot demand while also being out of print for several years. These patterns are often for sale for hundreds of dollars, yes, for one pattern.
Being well aware that I could easily sell even one of my OOP patterns for $200 - $400, there are some things that are worth more than money. To make the drawing even more fun I ask a question which is optional to answer by those who leave a comment to enter the drawing.
Giving happiness in the form of a "unicorn" pattern.
Spreading some happiness in the world that needs it!
On several occasions, other stitchers have been oh so kind to me by giving me patterns that I had desired. The stitchers were so kind in that they wouldn't even accept the money for postage. Some of the patterns were sent to me from:
Queensland, Australia
Tokyo, Japan
Cardiff, Wales
Quebec, Montreal, Canada
Some were also sent to me from:
Chalk Hill Pennsylvania, USA
Mancelona, Michigan, USA
Hoonah, Alaska, USA
Needmore, Indiana, USA
Some of the names were a bit cute, funny. The stitchers who shared with me were so warm & genuine. With the caveat that not all stitchers are so generous, giving, kindhearted, just because they are stitchers. When I have gone to a couple of needlework retreats some of them were downright two faced, mean, even stingy. The kind ones outnumber the others by far.
Maybe the mean ones were from Hell, Michigan. JK!
Since I first picked up needlework when I was 20 years of age, it's been a learning time. It's almost like meditation. Most of the same stitches over & over.
My hand to brain connection goes to cruise control or auto pilot or even numbskull fiddling. Several hours can pass by that feel more like 30 minutes. It took some time for me to refrain from picking up a project at 8 pm. The house would be quiet, Star Trek would be on the telly. I would sometimes hear an odd noise only to realize it was the birds outside singing as the sun was slowly rising! Becoming so engaged in my project, 5 hours or more had passed.
The reward in this is that when I woke up after a few hours of sleep, looking at the progress I made in my project. It felt like the sewing fairies had visited to do some of the stitching for me! I know they don't exist. Do they?
Sometimes when I feel energetic, I will still pick up a project, knowing I could very well stitch from 8 or 9 pm until 6 am. Time has made me a bit wiser, just a bit. I have learned to set a timer to help me keep track of the time. Sometimes, I decide to live dangerously, start stitching with no timer. Whewwwwwwwwww! Wild one, hah!
This is my opportunity to dispel a few myths.
1. Cross Stitch, Hardanger, Needlepoint, Macrame, Crewel, Knitting & Crochet. They are all very different. All some of them have in common is that some are done with a needle. Some are done with an instrument that has a hook on the business end.
2. Needlework & sewing are a craft for all ages & genders.
3.Many people who are unfamiliar with the amount of time that is invested might offer to pay $50. for a needlework piece that took over 200 hours to create. The size of the finished piece is deceptive.
4. Whether stitched on Aida fabric or fine linen, it will last a long time. Nope. There are beautiful hand stitched linens that have been found in the pyramids of Egypt as well as some shipwrecks in the Atlantic that are still intact. Aida fabric gets dry rot after 50 years.
Maybe this blog entry became tedious to read or you, my dear reader, stopped reading long before this. It felt necessary, even joyful to write about something I'm so passionate about.
Maybe it will even encourage some of you to give it a try or go back to stitching after a long time of not stitching. That's okay, too.
As long as people know that stitching can comfort the soul.
It's all good.
My red & green conversion of a pattern that is still free, online for download. I kept this one for myself. The pattern is listed as
2000 Christmas Angel.
This is the same design done in a palette of white & ecru colors. I stitched it, framed it myself. Gifted it to a lifelong beloved friend.
It's rare when I gift my stitched pieces to others. She is very special to me, to my heart. We have made so many memories together.
It's a copyright violation to post patterns online. For anyone interested, this designer, Marilyn Leavitt Imblum, was so generous with her free designs. Sadly, she passed on in 2012. Her web site is still online. Look under "Other Products > Free Christmas Designs.
Happy browsing & I hope you find some inspiration as so many have.
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