WIP Wednesday :: slow stitching

Despite my best intentions, I’m calling it officially done – my Christmas cross stitch is going away until December. If I only make it through three stitches before running to the group chat to complain I’m bored, it’s time to pull the pin. It’s just all so slow at the minute, and half an hours stitching barely makes any visible difference, so when I’m already lacking in motivation, it just exacerbates the issue.

The above progression covers about three weeks worth of progress. I picked away at it in different ways, first by colour, then I started doing blocks of the pattern and parking the threads, and finally, as the mojo started leeching from my fingers, stitch by stitch, I started clearing up the parked threads so I could put it away guilt free.

It’s a lesson I’ve learned, over the last few years. Leaving a project languishing in my active projects box, when I’m really not feeling it, is actually more guilt inducing than accepting it’s a “not right now” kind of project, and popping it away for later. In the case of this one, I’m going to stash it not in my WIP box, but in my Christmas box. I can put it down for a little rest, pack my threads away (ok, full disclosure I’ve already done that), and not even think of it until December. Doing so frees me up to work on projects that actually light me up – 100 Days, some weaving, a new pair of socks I’ve just cast on, my sketchbook.

Tis better to have caved and stored, than to have never crafted at all… or something like that. It’s been fun, li’l stitchery, enjoy your rest and I’ll catch you on the flip side.