Needlepoint musings
Jan. 26th, 2013 12:01 pmMy inner self conversation yesterday morning went something like this:
Me, drearily: It's a gorgeous yet not hot day! Should head outside!
Me: Bleh.
Me, slightly less drearily: It might cheer you up!
Me: Bleh.
Me: Also, I need to get a new space heater!
Me: Bleh.
Me: Or I could just stay here and stare at this not-exactly-progressing short story!
Me: Right! Where are my house keys!
Which is how I found myself at Jo-Ann's, not exactly a place renowned for selling space heaters, spinach or almonds, but known for selling little crafts. The sun had given me a touch of an idea: since various people have made the excellent suggestion that perhaps focusing on other artistic activities might help get me out of this creative dry spell, but since the little art classes run by the town have already started up (given the abysmal results of my attempts to do ceramics, perhaps not a bad thing), perhaps I should see what Jo-Ann's offers.
Jo-Ann's, in a word, offers too much. Eventually I found myself near the needlepoint/counted cross stitch, and thought, hmm. Long term readers -- well, actually, further back than that; this all happened well before I started blogging -- may remember my propensity for picking up large needlepoint kits, the ones with the nice stamped printed image on them to make them in theory the easiest crafts projects to finish, ever, a theory that died after meeting me, primarily because I inevitably managed to lose or badly entangle/destroy the yarn well before finishing the project. Since my prime reason for buying the things was to keep my fingers occupied while doing other things (television and so on), I eventually decided I could find cheaper ways to keep my fingers occupied. I did get another little one after moving here, assuming I would use it to combat boredom during doctor's appointments and the like, only to promptly lose first half the yarn and then the kit.
But, I thought optimistically, maybe I could get my hands moving again, plus, needlepoint sounds like exactly the sort of thing I should be doing during Downton Abbey. If I just stuck with a little project...
...and then my eyes caught something a bit different: counted cross stitch kits based on Ruth Sanderson images.
I have tried counted cross stitch before, with only one success, a very small Christmas ornament that![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anaisis yelled at me to finish, this largely because counted cross stitch involves something I am not very good at: counting. Given that, as I noted, I am pretty much invariably doing something else while doing this sort of thing, I also pretty much invariably lose count, and then mess up the project, while invariably losing the yarn.
So I resisted. Kinda. I picked up a little and considerably cheaper butterfly thing, while wishing that the Ruth Sanderson kits were also available as needlepoint. That way, when I inevitably tangled up the yarn, I might have made a little more progress first.
(I still might pick one up, but let's see if I finish the little butterfly first. It's unlikely, but you never know.)
Meanwhile, I have instruments resting around the house that need to be played. And they, at least, can't lose yarn. Strings, perhaps, but those can be replaced, letting me finish up songs.
Me, drearily: It's a gorgeous yet not hot day! Should head outside!
Me: Bleh.
Me, slightly less drearily: It might cheer you up!
Me: Bleh.
Me: Also, I need to get a new space heater!
Me: Bleh.
Me: Or I could just stay here and stare at this not-exactly-progressing short story!
Me: Right! Where are my house keys!
Which is how I found myself at Jo-Ann's, not exactly a place renowned for selling space heaters, spinach or almonds, but known for selling little crafts. The sun had given me a touch of an idea: since various people have made the excellent suggestion that perhaps focusing on other artistic activities might help get me out of this creative dry spell, but since the little art classes run by the town have already started up (given the abysmal results of my attempts to do ceramics, perhaps not a bad thing), perhaps I should see what Jo-Ann's offers.
Jo-Ann's, in a word, offers too much. Eventually I found myself near the needlepoint/counted cross stitch, and thought, hmm. Long term readers -- well, actually, further back than that; this all happened well before I started blogging -- may remember my propensity for picking up large needlepoint kits, the ones with the nice stamped printed image on them to make them in theory the easiest crafts projects to finish, ever, a theory that died after meeting me, primarily because I inevitably managed to lose or badly entangle/destroy the yarn well before finishing the project. Since my prime reason for buying the things was to keep my fingers occupied while doing other things (television and so on), I eventually decided I could find cheaper ways to keep my fingers occupied. I did get another little one after moving here, assuming I would use it to combat boredom during doctor's appointments and the like, only to promptly lose first half the yarn and then the kit.
But, I thought optimistically, maybe I could get my hands moving again, plus, needlepoint sounds like exactly the sort of thing I should be doing during Downton Abbey. If I just stuck with a little project...
...and then my eyes caught something a bit different: counted cross stitch kits based on Ruth Sanderson images.
I have tried counted cross stitch before, with only one success, a very small Christmas ornament that
anaisis yelled at me to finish, this largely because counted cross stitch involves something I am not very good at: counting. Given that, as I noted, I am pretty much invariably doing something else while doing this sort of thing, I also pretty much invariably lose count, and then mess up the project, while invariably losing the yarn.So I resisted. Kinda. I picked up a little and considerably cheaper butterfly thing, while wishing that the Ruth Sanderson kits were also available as needlepoint. That way, when I inevitably tangled up the yarn, I might have made a little more progress first.
(I still might pick one up, but let's see if I finish the little butterfly first. It's unlikely, but you never know.)
Meanwhile, I have instruments resting around the house that need to be played. And they, at least, can't lose yarn. Strings, perhaps, but those can be replaced, letting me finish up songs.
