by Rebecca on 2008-01-17
One of the things that Iʼve often thought about is my stunning lack of hobbies. I mean, there are things that I like to do, like cooking and reading, but I wouldnʼt really call them hobbies. The cooking thing is mostly out of necessity, in that if I donʼt cook for myself, Iʼm going to be really hungry all the time. I used to work out at the gym, and that, too, was mostly out of necessity because I wanted to be healthy and amazingly strong. (And Iʼm getting back into that, so Iʼll let you know if it turns into a hobby.)
Anyway, in my efforts to find useful things to do with my free time, Iʼve decided to do a counted cross-stitch. Iʼve done cross stitch before and think they are fun to work on and easy to store and display. However, Mom can tell you that I tend to work on my cross stitch projects in fits and starts, and they end up taking me months and years to finish. With all that said, Iʼll be working on a cross stitch of this painting by Greg Olsen, Light of the World. Much better than the kitties and wizards that most craft stores sell.
The dimensions of this cross stitch are 12 × 15 in. and there are about a million different colors of thread to be used. This is easily the most daunting cross stitch that Iʼve ever worked on. I sorted most of the threads out last night and was dismayed to learn that, in the eyes of thread manufacturers, there are 7 different shades of peach and that Very Dark Peach and Darkest Peach are entirely different shades. And I swear that Pale Peach and Cream are the same shade, but whatever. My goal for tonight is to finish sorting the different strands of floss and to make at least an inaugural stitch.
I have a feeling that this project could take on magnum opus status in my life, one where people will talk about me after my death and say, “You know that cross-stitch? She spent 16 years of her life working on it. Think of the history that was made during that period.” And people will admire it reverently.
Weʼll see how it goes.