Stitching

I must confess to a small addiction.  I always have a cross stitch project going.  I find it a rather calming hobby.  I enjoy coming up with ideas for new projects.  I like the challenge of getting the stitches in the right place even though I sometimes end up pulling out stitches because of a miscount or some such thing.  It is the perfect winter pastime.  I suppose I could be reading more books and expanding my mind but I prefer stitching.  It's easier to put down at a moment's notice for conversation or whatever.  

I just finished another pillow.  It is a design called the Three Hares.  The design itself is quite old.  The first finding of it occurred in cave temples in China in the 6th-7th centuries.  It shows up in sacred sites from the Middle and Far East to England, in Christian churches and Jewish temples.  I find that rather amazing and intriguing.  When I first saw the design, I decided it had to be a pillow.  

I've been doing cross stitch for a long time now.  I honestly can't remember the exact year but I would say somewhere around 1995.  I've done more projects than I can count including this rug copy for Paul that took three years to finish!   It's actual size is 22 inches by 33 inches.  Paul has a rug fragment from around 1550 and he wanted to see what the rug might have looked like.  So he extrapolated the "cartoon"  from the fragment and pictures of similar rugs.  It was an amazing design feat.  That was the beginning of our working together on cross stitch designs.

Here is another favorite.  I originally found this saying on a bathroom wall in a small cafe in Salem.  I loved it and sat there on the commode copying it onto a piece of paper from my purse.  I had it painted on my kitchen wall in California.  When I moved here, I had to make it into a pillow so I could take it with me. 

Collaborating on designs with Paul is really fun.  I will come up with an idea and he will sometimes help figure out the design or, as in this one, create the design entirely.  This was for our dear friends, Christina and Roger, for Christmas last year.  The letters look like the Book of Kells and the adornments reflect their creative outlets, painting and jewelry making.  I love this pillow.



Now that the Three Hares is finished, I've started another pillow.  This one is a challenging design of fall leaves using 14 different but very closely related colors.  I may go cross-eyed but it will be lovely when it's done.  And I have at least three more ideas brewing for future projects.  It's good to have a hobby, right?