Stitch People
Jessica Savage ponders her ‘white whales’ of stitching – those which are hard to let go of…
Whi let he sun is hopefully shining in the northern hemisphere, I’m sheltering from the storm sand winds lashing outside my window. Winter has come to Australia and the sun and beaches have been replaced by rain and blankets. My go-to winter wear is this super cos y teddy bear fu ron esie!
In this instalment of literary Stitch People, we find ourselves in company with Captain Ahab and that dastardly White Whale. Many of us have our own ‘white whales ’– those things that we just can’t let go of. Captain Ahab was probably most angry about the fact that his fluffy o ne sie would no longer fit properly after the whale took his leg. I hear you, Ahab!
My cross stitch‘ white whale’ focuses around a perfectly stitched piece. How many of us have that voice inside our heads that pipes up when you notice one stitch out of place?
I’ m always designing patterns, so it’ s nice when I find time to cross stitch. However, because I’m always designing, I’m a really slow stitch er! Not only am I sluggish, but I make mistakes all the time. Across too far here, a gap too wide there– even when I’ m marking off my chart carefully.
While accuracy is good, the majority of the time no one will notice a misplaced stitch here or there. It took me a while, but rather than trying to kill the whale( and frog more stitches than is medically recommended), I have be friended the whale. I’ve embraced the imperfections and the challenge of incorporating those happy mistakes into the finished piece.
And guess what? I look at pieces I know I made mistakes in, like this magnificent uni corn( right ), and I can’t find the faults. I languished over these errors and, in the end, they only detracted from my enjoyment of my craft. How silly was I?
Do you have any cross stitch white whales? Have you befriended the whale, and overcome challenges that have made cross stitch more enjoyable for you? If you stitch this Mo by Dick piece, take a photo and share your‘ whale’ of a tale with us, tagging@ stitch people. Happy stitching!
Jess