For me, stitching is much more than just a hobby - it helps with my horrible anxiety and sometimes depression and although my main source of pride is of course, my daughter who is now 12, it also brings me so much pride, peace and a sense of calm which is something a person with anxiety doesn't get often.
It’s no coincidence that the growing appetite for crafts is linked to our increasingly digital lifestyle. When we spend so much time tapped into technology, the appeal of making something with our own hands has become much greater.
I can't believe how things have changed. No more backstitching (or very little), they used to recommend that you wash your project in a gentle soap and press it dry. Don't hear of that anymore either . . . several other little things, but things tend to move forward and I sure love what I have started up again!
If you're not sharing your cross stitch WIPs (works in progress) over on Instagram, where have you been?! Insta is the place to be these days for craft lovers alike where you can find a huge selection of stitching inspiration, connections and beautiful work to drool over.
The funny thing is that I started cross stitch classes when I was a teenager and I hated it. That was until last year when my mother-in-law taught me again in a simple and neat way, without knots!
My mom taught me how to cross stitch when I was 10 or so. I remember charting copies of cross stitch patterns zoomed in to the pixels on MS Paint to pass the time during the summer when I would be stuck in her office at work on a military base in Texas.
If you're interested in cross stitch and love flowers and gardening, this is the stitch-a-long you've been waiting for! We actually carried out a (totally non-official) survey earlier in the year and found that along side reading, gardening was one of the cross stitching community's favourite hobbies!
