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the 30 day meme: day 20
Jan. 4th, 2010 10:34 amDay 20: A Hobby Of Yours
as much as i'd like to lump all of my needle arts in here, i'm going to focus on cross stitch.
my sister was into counted cross stitch when i was younger, and i tried it out and thought i'd never be able to do the kind of work she did. it seemed to take so long and be so hard to count. i'm going to blow my own horn here, but i now stitch circles around her. not that i have any more skill than her, just more time and patience.
many of you know of the peacock tapestry. theresa wentzler is well-known designer in the cross stitch world, renown for her difficult patterns and wont to use double- or tripple-colored codes (which means little to you maybe, i assure you, it's a pain in the ass). and peacock tapestry is her most difficult design. many attempt it, few finish. several have called it "the albatross around my neck." i happened to pick it up when i came home from korea and my sister was pregnant with jack and wanted to sit around and stitch together.
i put it away for a couple of years until carin started up her stitch-n-bitches. while all the other cool kids knit their hearts out, i made some progress on that damn tapestry.
then i moved to california. i had no friends, trouble finding employment, and too overwhelmed to get started on any theatrical pursuits. i remember sitting on the couch and thinking, "i can't let myself sink into despair here. i must have other skills, other hobbies, something to focus on..." and out came the tapestry, which became an obsession.
there were all kinds of little projects in the meantime, and i started compiling a list of everything i wanted to do. i joined a community online and realized that i'm a huge snob because people who cross stitch seem to like to stitch disney winnie the pooh and cheesy shit with roses on it and such. and i just can't go there. i started hunting down the alternative sites like subversive cross stitch where people were being ironic or scarlet quince which recreates fine art. anything that wasn't made by dimensions or precious moments.
i've learned that i have a rare talent for perfect tension and am able to trust myself to count without markers. i'm pretty proud of that.
the day i finished the peacock tapestry, i cried. it took me nearly 6 years from the first stitch to the last and it's probably the most beautiful thing i will accomplish...but i hope not. when people see it, the most common reaction is "you have a lot of patience."
i don't really see myself that way normally. but cross stitch is a meditative art for me. when i'm worried, it calms me down. when i'm restless, it makes me feel productive. i know it's just following a pattern and filling in the proper places with the proper color of thread, but it feels like building something, centimeter by centimeter, or taking a walk step by step. i'm conscious of every solitary stitch and its place in the universe of the piece. sometimes i worry that i can't possibly be using the correct color, but then i realize that yes, sometimes it takes blue or yellow or beige to make something you originally thought was just white. and it reminds me that behind an illusion, there are a multitude of realities.
anyway. i didn't let the thought of another 6 year bulk get in my way. i've taken on another BAP ("big ass project"). it's bigger, uses more thread, but is still much simpler than the peacock tapestry. some people get a good stash going, hoarding all of these big patterns they want to work on. not me. one BAP at a time. i'm hoping to finish this one within a couple of years, but by then my tastes may change, so why plan the next big one yet? if counted stitch is my means of focus, there's no need to look beyond what is in my hoop right now.
( the list )
as much as i'd like to lump all of my needle arts in here, i'm going to focus on cross stitch.
my sister was into counted cross stitch when i was younger, and i tried it out and thought i'd never be able to do the kind of work she did. it seemed to take so long and be so hard to count. i'm going to blow my own horn here, but i now stitch circles around her. not that i have any more skill than her, just more time and patience.
many of you know of the peacock tapestry. theresa wentzler is well-known designer in the cross stitch world, renown for her difficult patterns and wont to use double- or tripple-colored codes (which means little to you maybe, i assure you, it's a pain in the ass). and peacock tapestry is her most difficult design. many attempt it, few finish. several have called it "the albatross around my neck." i happened to pick it up when i came home from korea and my sister was pregnant with jack and wanted to sit around and stitch together.
i put it away for a couple of years until carin started up her stitch-n-bitches. while all the other cool kids knit their hearts out, i made some progress on that damn tapestry.
then i moved to california. i had no friends, trouble finding employment, and too overwhelmed to get started on any theatrical pursuits. i remember sitting on the couch and thinking, "i can't let myself sink into despair here. i must have other skills, other hobbies, something to focus on..." and out came the tapestry, which became an obsession.
there were all kinds of little projects in the meantime, and i started compiling a list of everything i wanted to do. i joined a community online and realized that i'm a huge snob because people who cross stitch seem to like to stitch disney winnie the pooh and cheesy shit with roses on it and such. and i just can't go there. i started hunting down the alternative sites like subversive cross stitch where people were being ironic or scarlet quince which recreates fine art. anything that wasn't made by dimensions or precious moments.
i've learned that i have a rare talent for perfect tension and am able to trust myself to count without markers. i'm pretty proud of that.
the day i finished the peacock tapestry, i cried. it took me nearly 6 years from the first stitch to the last and it's probably the most beautiful thing i will accomplish...but i hope not. when people see it, the most common reaction is "you have a lot of patience."
i don't really see myself that way normally. but cross stitch is a meditative art for me. when i'm worried, it calms me down. when i'm restless, it makes me feel productive. i know it's just following a pattern and filling in the proper places with the proper color of thread, but it feels like building something, centimeter by centimeter, or taking a walk step by step. i'm conscious of every solitary stitch and its place in the universe of the piece. sometimes i worry that i can't possibly be using the correct color, but then i realize that yes, sometimes it takes blue or yellow or beige to make something you originally thought was just white. and it reminds me that behind an illusion, there are a multitude of realities.
anyway. i didn't let the thought of another 6 year bulk get in my way. i've taken on another BAP ("big ass project"). it's bigger, uses more thread, but is still much simpler than the peacock tapestry. some people get a good stash going, hoarding all of these big patterns they want to work on. not me. one BAP at a time. i'm hoping to finish this one within a couple of years, but by then my tastes may change, so why plan the next big one yet? if counted stitch is my means of focus, there's no need to look beyond what is in my hoop right now.
( the list )
