I don’t know if this is much of an update, but it’s Friday, and Friday morning means a cross-stitch update. So here goes. I hardly stitched this week. Rick and I have been tackling the garage, reupholstering barstools, and doing lots of other little jobs. In the evening, when Rick isn’t here, I’m busy trying to keep stuff together for the blog and the house, going to Carver’s ball games, and occasionally babysitting.
By the time I sit down to stitch at night, I’m pooped. I turn on a ball game and end up getting into it, and very little stitching has happened. If I pick up a piece with lots of color changes or a detailed motif, I’m just not interested at all. So then I don’t stitch.
I decided I needed to do something that was fill-in or repetitive…
A piece like this would be perfect…I could fill in the house and work on that repetitive border. This is Heaven and Nature by Teresa Kogut.
This border would be perfect, I’d be able to memorize parts of it. This is Newcastle Bouquet by Teresa Kogut.
This border of Christmas Garden by Blackbird Designs would be awesome. It’s wonderfully repetitive.
So I pulled out my Consider the Lilies again. I worked more on the border. It is a little harder to memorize, but I almost have it down. There are a lot of flowers in this, so I could be busy for a while.
This Faith, Hope, Love, Peace from Teresa Kogut could work too. I could finish that grass.
My Serenity project from Teresa Kogut would be another I could do.
Right now, between being tired and distracted, I think I’m dropping some of the other things I was working on and just working on these borders and grass.
I always stitch less in the summer, but this is the least I’ve stitched in a very long time.
You sound a little discouraged, but then you said that you usually stitch less in the summer. I think your brain needs a rest! This year, you have other priorities – grands, Rick, gardens, garage transformation, etc. Your idea of picking something repetitive is a good one – you can give your mind a rest and still be productive. I think I would pick the Serenity piece. You’ve already started, and it looks easy to memorize.
As your relations with family and friends get richer, you stitch and sew less. That’s okay with us. Just take pictures!
Greetings from my summer in England, by the way!
I’ve also found that I’m stitching less – cross stitching and quilting. Just other stuff going on, right? And that’s ok. When I do stitch at home, I’ve actually been half stitching so that when we travel or I’m waiting at an appointment, I just take the piece and a few bobbins and I’m set.
Love and prayers
Even if you didn’t get a lot done there was still progress. I like your idea of working on borders with outs of repeats. That way you will have the boring part done ! Allyor projects are lovely!
I stitch less in the summer. Too many other things going on I guess. I do have a piece going that is just a one color quaker style. It’s called The Quick Quaker from The Modern Embroidery that was a stitch along and was supposed to be finished in a month. I went rogue as you like to say and just stitched it as I wanted AND I haven’t finished it yet but close. One color stitching is pretty relaxing.
Seasons of life. This is the slow sewing season. Other things to fill your life with. Sew your borders if you feel like it. You are using your body energy in other ways and when you are physically tired your mind tires too. Your body is working with your chemo also, so that will affect your energy. You do what you want to do. Sew or rest. We understand. As one person said, please take pictures and continue to write. But we also understand if you only write once a day and use your energy some where else. Hugs to you. Prayers continue.
Stitching is something you can easily do when you feel like it whenever you are alone. It is so important to spend time with others be it Rick or grands/family. Enjoy your time doing all the fun things you are doing.
Rick’s fault!!!! — but good for you. I find myself in the same ‘looking for repeats’ or large areas at this time. So I found needlepoint to be a good detour ….. enjoy the family and projects!!!
Totally get where you are coming from! I’ve been working on new quilt tops and tackling some UFO quilts. By the time I’ve worked on them in the morning, combined with a few daily chores, detailed cross stitching seems to take a back seat. I much prefer to fill in blocks of color or read some books from the library. Right now here in NC the weather and birds singing make for a peaceful afternoon on the porch.
Jo, I love reading/seeing what you have stitched each week, no matter how much or how little you were able to accomplish on your projects. Seeing what you have added to each lovely piece always motivates me to keep moving forward on my own stitch work. I’m going to look at my projects today and see if I can choose a couple pieces to try your new approach. Thanks for being an inspiration once again! ~ Suzanne in Michigan