Sewing

Or, I suppose more precisely, embroidery.

I've enjoyed embroidery for years. I don't believe I have the first embroidery piece I ever did--very large and misshapen cross-stitch on gingham fabric, which actually was a very good method for learning. I don't remember exactly how the progression went, but eventually I started doing a bit more mature and neat work. (Neat in the real sense, not in then, "Oh that book/movie/card game is so NEAT!") Eventually my aunt and uncle gave me a kitt of samplers for Christmas or birthday. These were the first real challenge I had. Real embroidery linen, one strand of floss, four samplers, one measuring only about 2 1/2 by 3 inches. I loved it. I'm not sure exactly why I find embroidery so relaxing since, with work that delicate, you're all hunched over a square of fabric. But I do. Maybe it's the satisfaction of doing something with my hands, of making something lovely.

As the years have gone by, embroidery has been pushed to the side often. I go through fits and starts. I'll embroider every day faithfully for a month and then forget all about it for three. Of course, I do that with almost everything. (One reason why NaNoWriMo worked so well for me is that it's a concentrated month's worth of writing. But I digress.) So I hadn't embroidered in a while when a discussion at Aman-Valinor reminded me that I had a project lying around somewhere or other. I worked on it some yesterday and intend to today. The current project is the Schoolhouse Sampler from The Heart's Content. (I couldn't find it on the webpage, but you get an idea of the products.) It's a little less than half-way done and I've been working on it for several years, but in fits and starts, as I said.

Audience particpation, if you care to join in: What do you enjoy doing with your hands?