Month: March 2015

Oh my gosh, it’s the middle of November already. Where in the world did all the time go? Can I have have time back, please? I’m not ready for Christmas!

I mean, I am ready for Christmas. I’m from a family where we start decorating as soon as Halloween’s over. I’ve already got Christmas music on the radio. I’ve done a lot of my shopping already. (A lot – but not all. I’ve still got a lot of gifts left.) The boyfriend and I are getting our first tree for the apartment. It’s the kitten’s first Christmas. I’m excited!

What I’m less excited about is that I wanted to do stitched gifts again for Christmas this year, and yet again I haven’t started on any of them. We all know how well last year’s Christmas gifts turned out. It seems like I’m always too busy to start on projects for Christmas this time of year… I’ve moved three times in the last three years and each time it’s been towards the end of the year. But I don’t want to start working on projects in January or February!

I think part of the reason why I’m so behind on gifts this year, more so than even last year, is because I’m not sure how much of my family actually appreciates the stitching, and I’m nervous to give them anything. Stitching something takes a LONG time, especially if you’re slow like me. I’ve been seeing more and more stitching horror stories lately about people making pieces for their friends or family and having the gift go totally unappreciated, and in some cases, thrown away or given away in donations. With the amount of time I spend rescuing pieces from being thrown away and from thrift stores and the like, I’m terrified my stitching will end up in the same place.

It’s like… I see projects all the time and I think, “that will be wonderful for so-and-so!” But do I really want to put in hours and days and weeks of work into something if the other person is going to think it’s cheap or not valuable? Look, So-And-So, I spent a MONTH working on this, for YOU, when I could’ve been doing a hundred other things!, is what I would like to say to this imaginary person.

I guess the easiest solution would be to ask the intended receivers of the stitched gifts if they would like to actually receive them. My mind rebels against that. I don’t want to ask. Don’t ask me why. Maybe I’m afraid that I ask and it turns out no one wants my stitching that I put so much time and effort into. Thousands of stitches a month, hundreds of words on the blog, devoted to this one subject, and yet no one in my family will take a stitched gift.

I know that isn’t true, though. I know several relatives who would love a stitched gift, and I don’t have to worry about them ending up in the trash or some thrift store donation box. So I suppose I should stop worrying about imaginary people and focus on the people I know WILL want the gifts. Make things for them. And if there’s someone I’m on the fence about, I can either ask or let them approach me about stitching something for them. I’m not so poor I can’t buy those people regular gifts, and take the time to make things for people who will appreciate them!

… Of course I have this epiphany now and once again I’m reminded there’s a month and a half until Christmas. And I’m a slow stitcher now on crunch time who does not do well under high pressure, as we learned last year. So… I should probably put my grand plans to bed until next year.

My Sweet Baby finish is definitely being given away for the baby’s first Christmas, and I have another project I’ve yet to start but is a very fast stitch as an insert for a photo album. There’s two. Same number as last year. I can reach this one manageable goal, right?

Right. I can do this. Christmas 2014, here I come!

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“Random Corner” is a place for all articles related to all manners of cross-stitchery and the cross-stitch community that don’t fall into the topics covered in the regular segments. There is no set schedule for Random Corner articles, they’re just random!

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