I have wanted to keep an "cross stitching journal" of some sorts for the many years. Many of the cross stitchers I know and follow have blogs and I decided I would try one too. It is a good way to keep track of projects I have started, plans to finish, and display pictures for myself and others to see. Many of the cross stitching blogs I have followed have motivated and enabled me so maybe mine will do the same for others. At the very least it will be a good record of my cross stitching for me.
I have been cross stitching since I was an early teen. Maybe before. I can't remember when I started my first counted cross stitch project but I remember it was from an issue of a magazine that my mother had a subscription. Family Circle is my guess. My mom did some needle work and set me up with Aida, DMC and a hoop to keep me busy one summer. The love of cross stitching was ignited and has been a part of my life since then.
I have stitched off and on over the years. I stitched some in high school and college. I actually had several friends who cross stitched in college and we would watch "Friends" and "ER" while stitching on Thursday nights.
I took a break in my early twenties and picked it back up again when friends started to get married. I made so many wedding samplers as gifts over a number of years. Maybe why I don't have my own wedding sampler...I burned out stitching ones for others!
After I was married my husband and I bought a house and it happened to be very close to an amazing LNS store. I was introduced to the world of cross stitch outside of Michaels and Joanne's and I haven't looked back since. Linen, silks, and Q-snaps...oh my! I also met an incredible group of stitchers there who were great role models and fun to be around. I went to weekly stitching nights and yearly trips to Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH.
Over the next fifteen years (and three children later) I stitched off and on. Life often intervened and kept me too busy (or tired) to stitch. The LNS sadly closed. Weekly stitching nights became a thing of the past because I was juggling three kids extra curricular activities and their school schedules. I missed a few Celebration of Needleworks because once again, life was happening. But I typically had a project or two going and I seldom went too long without cross stitching.
Then about three years ago we moved. I packed up all my cross stitching supplies and projects in boxes, sealed them tight and moved them carefully into the new house. I had plans to turn a bonus gabled closet in the master bedroom into my stitching nook. I had never had a closet to myself to organize my crafting and stitching supplies and I couldn't wait to have this area organized and used.
Fast forward two and a half years and the closet was still all boxes. None of my cross stitch items were unpacked and even worse my future craft closet became a dumping group for all the other boxes I wasn't sure what to do with after we moved. I hadn't stitched since we moved and I missed it but I was overwhelmed by the thought of unpacking the closet and turning it into a functional space for my cross stitching. I didn't organize or purge my supplies before we moved because of time constraints so I knew this was not going to be a quick project. And I kept putting it off.
This summer, when we hit the two year point in our new house I decided enough was enough. I either needed to start stitching and unpack my closet or get rid of all my cross stitch stuff that was taking up a lot of room in a perfectly good closet. I opened a few boxes, fished out a couple of projects and what I needed to stitch and closed the closet door again for a few months.
What I discovered when I started stitching again is I missed it. A lot. And I loved stitching. It was so good to be back in my zone. I also discovered the world of cross stitch groups on Facebook and Flosstube on YouTube. So much enabling! So many fun projects! So many other stitchers out there. I'm not alone!
Of course all was not rosy and perfect in this new cross stitch enlightenment. My eyes were only three years older but big changes had happened. Our new home had very poor lighting for cross stitching. And that closet was still an avalanche waiting to happen.
Little by little this fall I unpacked the closet. I bought a new Ott light (with magnifier!) so I could see to stitch. I organized my supplies. My wonderful husband helped me plan out how to maximize the storage space in my gabled closet and braved Ikea with me twice to get the necessary supplies. He assembled the furniture too. And was patient with pile of boxes I had in the bedroom and hallway for weeks (okay maybe months) while I was sorting and purging and planning.
But it's done. The closet is unpacked and organized. I have so many projects to stitch. Both started and not. I have light and magnifiers. I have Q-Snaps and needles. I have Facebook groups and flosstube to see other stitchers work.
And now I have a blog. Bring on 2018.
