12 Days of Christmas Crosstitch

I’ve been spending a ton of time crosstitching lately. With the year nearly half over and Christmas threatening to arrive before I know it, I’ve realized that if I want a stocking for Atti and to finish 12 ornaments for the Christmas tree, I’d better get the fingers flying. Plus it is just a fantastic portable project.

I’ve been sitting outside in the sunshine, or sacked out on the couch at the end of a long day, and just letting my brain shut up already while the meditative rhythm of the stitches lull me into a twitch-free state. That’s as close as I can ever get to truly relaxed.

These patterns come from a set called My True Love Gave to Me by Cross Eyed Cricket. They’re obviously intended for my 12 days of Christmas tree, if I can ever get them finished.

My friend Nicole, who I met right here on this very blog, turned me on to a message board of crosstitchers, and I can’t even tell you how much I’ve learned from(not to mention how much I’ve loved and been supported by) those women. They turned me on to a ton of fantastic designers and extolled the glories of working with linen so I can delve into my love of the craft but get away from the plain jane patterns and gross aida cloth I was finding at Michaels.

Crosstitching was the first craft I ever picked up, I’ve been doing it since I was 10, and until I became a part of this community I had no idea that there was a whole world out there of beautiful fabric and modern designs, and a lot more awaiting a finished project than the top of a jelly jar.

It’s funny to me, the deeper I get into all my different crafts, the more I discover just how similar crafters are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a scrapbooker, a quilter, or a crosstitcher, we all have the designer whose work we could pick out anywhere, our stashes full of projects we’ll get to some day, the wish list we pine after. That creative impulse pushes us all joyfully towards that expression, the only difference is the medium.

Now, I have to get back to work. If I’m going to make it in time I have to crank out one more of these every month until Christmas. I’m probably not going to make it. But it won’t stop me from trying.