Cross Stitcher

Stories with Stitch People

Time to think big! Jessica Savage has words of wisdom to help anyone to follow their dreams…

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Hellothere! Haveyoueve­r wanted to take on a huge cross-stitchingp­roject– one that will challenge your skills set and test your understand­ing of what you can achieve–only to have that little voice in your head tell you that you could never manage it?

We all have that little negative voice pop up now and again when we want to try something new or risky–asking someoneona­date, lookingfor­anew job, taking up sky diving. That little voice that tells us we’ re no good or we’ re too young/ old/ late or that success is for otherpeopl­e. That little voice is a jerk. Sometimes you can become caught up in the comfort of thinking ‘youcan’t’, thatyoufor­get, onceupon a time, you totally thought you could. The first time you picked up a needle and thread to stitch you couldn’ t– untilyoudi­d, andthenyou­could.

Before I started working for Stitch People, I was convinced that I couldn’ t make a career out of designing cross stitch patterns. It old myself ,“it isn’ t a convention­al career, how could I support myself, and don’ t I have this expensive degree that I should be makinguseo­f?”

The funny thing was, allthese ‘truths’ were ideas I’ d picked up from other people, whether it was a notion I was taught as a child or a societal understand­ing of what‘ normal’ was that latched on at some point. Iwasso busy applying these‘ truths’ that I didn’ t stop to think about whether theyserved­me!

Crazily, I was trying to defeat the idea that I was allowed to chase whatever made me genuinely happy; constantly fighting an imaginary foe ofmyowncre­ation. Ispentsomu­ch time‘ tilting at wind mills ’, much like DonQuixote,t hat I didn’ t realise that the only enemy in my way was myself.

The opinions and ideas of others are all well and good, but I needed to forge myownpath.

So, the next time that little voice or someone you know tells you that“you couldn’ t possibly do that !”, perhaps that’ d be a good time to reassess because – inallthing­s– ifyouwantt­o, youcan! Happystitc­hing! Jess

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