Needlepoint: An exercise in perseverance and myopia
“Myopia” is the clinical term for nearsightedness... and the street term for naive, naive, naive...
Following a brief hiatus to re-launch our women’s entrepreneurship program (a personal passion project) at our bike shop, I’ve come back to my crafting with a growing urge to smack my forehead.
Projects that seemed passably quick or verifiably easy (seriously - they looked so simple on YouTube!) have turned into epic cross country marathons through thorny hedgerows and creativity marshlands.
I fell (and keep falling) for the craft kit booby trap… meaning, of course, that I forgot to account for the motor skill development needed, the time vacuum of life, and - frankly - reality. No project worth its salt is going to wizard its way into existence. Sweat equity, people. Sweat. Equity.
My gobelin (tapestry) embroidery kit was the first victim of mid-project solitary confinement. Followed by my rug hooking pony. Miniature greenhouse. Locker hooking. Crochet flowers… (One day, I’ll do a full inventory of my project collection for your entertainment and my memory.) And now, I’m ignoring my poor, beautiful, counted needlepoint kit.
It’s time to make amends with one of these babies, and nurture it to completion, if only to unblank my walls and break the cycle of myopic project purchasing.
Needlepoint, I choose you.
Image credit Needle Delights Originals
I found this counted needlepoint kit (left) early last year on NeedleDelights.com. The website is full of daydream-worthy color, texture, and variety. I loved this particular kit, oh-so-appropriately dubbed “Tilemania” (in Cypress), because each color block is packed with stitches to learn, it “plays nice” with our home’s wall colors, and it isn’t a run-of-the-mill craft kit. Artist Kathy Rees organized a creativity explosion into brain-tickling patterns and poured the palette into this one!
It’s the right combination of challenge and attainability; it’s portable; it’s mathematical; it’s friendly; it’s stunning.
You can see in the slide show above that I’m now about 2/3 of the way through. It travels with me, it’s quick-at-hand and, because of its convenient geometry, it’s remarkably easy to tackle small sections and feel like you’ve really accomplished something.
Showing my progress here today is a way to hold myself accountable - if you don’t see a blog featuring my completed needlepoint within the next couple months, then I need to reevaluate my prioritization skills!
What project - that you had shelved until further notice - can you pull out today and move toward the finish line?
