When my oldest son was a baby, I decided to start cross-stitching as a hobby. Cross-stitching & embroidery evokes the feeling of a Jane Austen scene for me – its a hobby that creates beauty and no purpose beyond that. It’s also like a puzzle – sorting the thread & translating the pattern onto a blank canvas.
I started with a small cross-stitch, a peacock that hangs in my office. Then lured by a pattern of a winter goddess, I launched into a larger scale project which took me 10 years (see above).
This one hasn’t been framed yet, but I admire it sometimes and decadence of creativity for the sake of creativity. I enjoy cross-stitching in the summer months when I can sit in my sun-room at home and have some good quality light for my eyes while I listen to a pod-cast or the birds in my back-yard. I cross-stitch when I feel like it.
With summer almost upon us here and as I wind down these posts for the summer, I wanted to send you my wish that this summer I hope you find something to do that doesn’t add anything practical to the world – something where the treasure is the labour itself.
Below is my current project which I’m a number of years into – a Provencal market.
What do you like to create for the sake of creativity?
