Most importantly, I would also tell fellow stitchers or those wanting to stitch that stitching should be non-stressful and can be a great coping mechanism to help manage stress and anxiety! I make time every day to stitch and use it as my time to reflect on my day and process my emotions.
Here’s a little Hula girl I just did so I can look forward to going to Hawaii in October for my best friend's wedding (where I’ll be a bridesmaid!) I love cross stitching because I find stitching so meditative and relaxing and the patterns are so beautiful. There’s such a sense of accomplishment when you’re done too!
If you’ve been working on cross stitch in a hoop then it’s easy to finish off the back with a neat piece of felt. You’ll need your finished cross stitch piece, the hoop you want to frame it in, a pencil, some scissors, a needle, cotton thread, embroidery thread and a piece of felt that’s at least as big as the hoop.
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.
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.
When it comes to Christmas, are you a meticulous planner who has everything sorted before the shops bring out the mince pies? Or do you leave everything to the last minute, vowing this is the last year you’ll resort to socks?
After graduating and starting my career as a pharmacist, I jumped back into stitching. The piece that has inspired me the most since then is Farewell To Anger by Leonid Afremov. After a falling out with my immediate family, this piece represents my husband and I walking away into the sunset together.
