An Out-Dated Hobby

I like to cross stitch.  And before you frantically check my About page, no I am not 80 years old, I don’t breed cats, and yes I still have all my teeth.  I may be going a little deaf, but that’s neither here nor there.  I know it’s not a glamourous hobby like scrapbooking or jewelry making, and it’s certainly not “hip” like knitting and crocheting have become over the last few years, but contrary to popular belief cross stitching is not just for little old women.  In fact, my aunt was probably around my age now when she first taught me 20-or-so years ago.

For those who don’t know (and I haven’t lost you yet), cross stitching literally involves sewing little crosses in a certain number of rows and columns, often in various colours, in order to make a bigger picture.

Sometimes they are very complicated.

And sometimes they are incredibly simple.

From the time my aunt taught me, I was hooked.  I found all kinds of patterns and I experimented and cross stitched to my heart’s content.  There was a period in junior high and high school where I did less because “it wasn’t cool” and I had “better things to do,” but it was fun and it let me stretch my creativity muscles.  It’s really an art form because I can make up my own patterns and switch colours around so that it’s literally something that I created from concept all the way to completion.  And they usually look pretty rad.

I enjoy giving these pieces of art away to people I know will appreciate the time it took to create it – it’s a select group of individuals, to be honest.  Most people see cross stitching and think things like “old-fashioned” or “kitschy,” but not all patterns are out-dated and some are downright awesome.   Like this one I purchased from Ludivine Creations on Etsy.

I made this for a friend I’ve known since forever.  She likes dragons, the colour pink, sparkly things, and her name starts with A, in case you couldn’t tell.  She also dabbles in cross stitching herself so I knew she’d appreciate a crafty gift.  I originally started it last summer and intended it as a Christmas gift, but I didn’t get it done in time so I aimed instead to complete it for her birthday last month.  It felt great to get it done and framed and I think she really liked it, so success all around!

Now on to my next project.

S