To the Ladies that do cross stitch

@marie2052 (3691)
United States
December 23, 2011 9:33am CST
Why is it if you are sitting in a park or doctors office etc, people will come by see what you are doing and state I would never have the patience for that. Or I meet people that are like 40 years younger than me stating they could not do that because of their eyes. Is that a simple way of saying interest in cross stitch is gone? I used to do Dimension kits that had the half stitches, 1/4 stitches and all the back stitching. It took me longer to do a piece. Thats when I found Mystic Stitch, Heaven and Earth Designs and Golden Kite. We can do whole x's nothing else is needed and at the end a beautiful piece comes out of those x's. While I realize the computer, and anything in electronics, even TV, has taken priority to crafting, I have health problems that if I did not sit still for awhile and work on my stitching I would probably be a drug addict by now. But it is very peaceful when you can just sit and stitch and even watch a movie as you stitch. I just don't understand why I hear the above phrases from everyone I meet in public while doing my stitching. Whats your take for those that do cross stitch?
4 people like this
5 responses
cerebellum
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
23 Dec 11
I think people want everything done instantly now. I have heard the same things as you, people don't have the patience or the time. I started doing crafts because I thought it might be a cheaper way to give gifts. Sometimes, it can turn out to be more expensive. I have health problems also and don't work, so I have plenty of time to put into it. My mother was just saying my cousin, who is in constant pain due to an injury in the Vietnam war, was told by his doctor to start cross stitching or something like that. I can't see how it would ease the pain, except by maybe taking your mind off it.
2 people like this
BarBaraPrz
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
23 Dec 11
Yes, concentrating on the stitching would take the emphasis off the pain.
1 person likes this
MaryLynn321
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
24 Dec 11
Stitching is very relaxing. I use to love to embroider and quilt. My hands just get so tired so quickly and my thumbs well they just don't work the way they use to, which makes stitching and quilting very difficult. I think alot of people do not take the time to teach others how to stitch. I actually taught myself. And I sure am glad I did. Infact recently I was thinking of embroidering again, until my other hand started acting up. So I will put it off for now, hopefully. when the weather gets warmer again, my thumbs will settle down again.
1 person likes this
marie2052
@marie2052 (3691)
• United States
26 Dec 11
Hi Marylynn have you tried those gloves you can get that helps ease your pain in your hands? Also did you think of getting a frame that would hold your work? My girlfriend sent me one for xmas one year and its solid oak and you sit on it and the clamps hold your frame. I use Q-snaps and it works quite well. Maybe it would help you?
2 people like this
MaryLynn321
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
27 Dec 11
I can't afford the gloves or the frame, but thank you for the advice. I have osteoarthritis of the basal joint, which is the joint that attaches the thumb to the hand. I have had surgery on the right hand where they removed the affected joint. And replaced it with a blood clot that formed into scar tissue which made a new joint. But, the hand has never been the same. Now the other thumb is going. I just had the right one done in 2007 and it too is acting up. It also affects my wrists too. So I just back off with doing alot with my hands. I do have braces for my hands, but I don't have the one to keep the thumb in place, at least not for the left hand, I do have one for the right hand. I have heard that the gloves work nicely. I bought some cheaper ones years ago from the store and it did help alot.
1 person likes this
cerebellum
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
26 Dec 11
My mother has arthritis in her hands very badly. I have seen those gloves in catalogs and was thinking of getting them for her, but I didn't know if they work. Have you or anyone you know ever tried them?
2 people like this
APasserBy
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
27 Dec 11
well if their eyes are bad, then they can't do it I don't see anything wrong with cross stitch it's a hobby. some people like it, some don't for whatever excuse or reason I like sewing but I did a whole frame cross stitch for house decoration now I use sewing machine but I used to sew by hand most younger people can't understand why I sew by hand but at the time I couldn't work the sewing machine out LOL I didn't take it to heart I mean it's different generation I use computer too, but only for things I can't do offline or I can do faster with computer I still buy books and go to nature, things I don't need pc to do
BarBaraPrz
@BarBaraPrz (51819)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
23 Dec 11
Well, I know that in the case of my friend, she wouldn't be able to follow the pattern as she has a bit of brain damage from skiing into a tree, that affects her mathematical skills.
1 person likes this
daeckardt
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
3 Aug 12
I've had people both younger than me and older than me tell me they would never have the patience to do stitching or crochet or any other form of crafting. Right now I don't get into it because I am so busy on the computer most of the time. When the power was out recently, I broke out the project I started in the hospital last December (about the time you wrote this post) and found I couldn't figure out where I was at on it. I decided what I needed to do was get a different size of material so that I could see the holes a little easier and start over again. I don't know if the yarn