Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Stitching Blahs? Who, Me?

Loretta at Stitching The Night Away asked us stitching bloggers to talk about the subject of stitching blahs.  That's an easy subject to write about because it does happen, and I'm pretty sure it's very common among us stitchers.

Even though this is my favorite hobby, there are times when I just don't feel like picking up a needle.  Many times it's because I'm tired, like when I get home from work.  But lately I've figured out that getting my stitching stuff out when I get home (and don't have any other pressing matters) kind of refreshes me.  Maybe it's a little decompressing time.  I just have to remember this -- that it's possible that what I think is a "stitching blah" time is actually the time I really need to stitch!

I have gotten a little burned out with stitching when I was a one-project-at-a-time stitcher.  I was fine doing the one project thing for a while, but it was easy to get, dare I say, bored with one project.  We all know about the wealth of beautiful projects out there, and the internet is a great place to be enabled.  So I solved my one-project blahs by becoming a three-project stitcher.  Work on one for a while, and then pull out another!  Wow, it's like starting a new stitching project!  This is especially true if the charts, fabrics and floss colors vary a lot.  I'm currently thinking about four projects at a time.  I'm such a daredevil.

Three cats live in my house.  They're all fascinated by things like ribbon, cords, rubber bands, and floss.  One of my cats ate approximately 16 feet of ribbon last year.  (Yes, he lived to tell about it, and is the picture of health). Don't ask me how we figured out it was 16 feet.  I have to take precautions not to leave any of the above items out in the open.  Therefore, sometimes I don't want to get all of my stitching supplies out if I don't have a lot of time to stitch because then I'd just have to put it all safely away soon after.  This could be considered kind of a "blah".  I always feel like I have to have a good block of stitching time or I don't stitch at all.  Which can lead to long periods of no stitching whatsoever.  I think I just have to get it into my head that even 15 minutes of stitching is pretty wonderful. 

There are lots of great ways to get out of a stitching slump.  Join or start a stitch group and get together at least once a month.  Read stitchers' blogs (like this one).  Check out designers websites.  Go to stitching message boards.  See what other people are stitching and soon you'll be getting out the fabric and floss!

Visit all the blogs in this round of the Stitching the Night Away Stitching Blogger Blog Hop:
Find the instructions on how to participate in this round by clicking here

8 comments:

  1. I can relate to not wanting to get everything out and then put it away. When we moved into this little house 4 years ago I realized I don't have a lot of crafting space to work with, so my larger projects often go quite neglected because I get tired of pulling them out and then putting them away again.

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  2. I don't have cats, so I'm able to leave my stuff out. I can stitch whenever I have a few minutes, but I do like having bigger blocks of time so that I feel like I'm getting something done.

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  3. I have 7 cats...yes, 7...so I know what you mean about dragging everything out just to put it away again. I have found that having a project that's just 1 or 2 colors and in it's own project bag works great for nights like that. Maybe it'll work for you too. :) And you are right about rotating projects! 2-3 works perfectly for me. 4 gets me overwhelmed.

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  4. I do have a kitty and, oh boy, he loves my floss. If I'm not watching - he steals it!

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  5. Hi
    Hello

    I'm a new follower of your blog.

    I rarely get the stitching blahs, only when i have to repeatedly unpick. I put it away for a few days then try again.
    We have tow kitties who like to chew thread so I always have to pack my stuff away.
    Happy Stitching!

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  6. 16 feet of ribbon! Wow...what a kitty. I can understand about taking everything out and putting everything back again, it can be time consuming! Now I keep my current project in a small tote so I can easily take it out and put it back again without a lot of trouble.

    Hope you get lots of stitching in today :)

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  7. I have cats too, so I sure know ALL about having to make sure things are put away! My cats always try to eat my threads when my stuff is left out!

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  8. My cats are constantly trying to steal and eat my threads when I am stitching! I'm kind of relieved to know that it's not uncommon!

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