New Adventure, New Project!

I've been moping along for a while, wishing I had a good cross stitch project to dig into but not having the energy to find and start one. I had an extra day off this week though, so I decided to visit a local needlework shop, see if that could fire up the ol' inspiration. I've been trying to make more of a conscious effort to shop local/small whereever I could anyway so it felt like a good way to spend some time on my bonus day off. 

I really can't believe that it'd never occurred to me until recently to see if there were any such shops around me. I wasn't expecting a ton of hits and there's certainly more yarn shops than needlework stores but I figured there would have to be some around Boston at least. I'm very glad to say however, I was pleasantly surprised to find one with a much easier commute (though there are more out towards Boston of course). So, on Friday I headed out to The World in Stitches in Littleton MA (they don't have a website but they do have a Facebook page you can check out).

I always get nervous when I first visit a new small shop like that. First of all, I get very nervous about parking- I panic if there's inadequate parking and I have to search for it or parallel park (the HORROR). Then, there's the near certainty that you're going to have to interact more with the people IN the shop, which is hit or miss and especially awkward if I find the shop doesn't live up to my expectations and I want to leave quickly. 

That nonsense aside, I'm super glad I went. The shop was, to my overly organized self, kind of in disarray and it was small and a little cramped, BUT that means it had a ton of stuff to look at. I was a pretty overwhelmed to be honest so I only bought a pattern, but next time I'll be more prepared to look around. I noted that they had a lot of thread I don't usually see and would be very interested in, including silks, hand-dyed cottons, and metallics that look like they may not be terrible to use (does that even exist?!).

Nerves aside, it was still a worthwhile trip because I'm pretty excited about the pattern I ended up buying. There was quite the selection of patterns (TONS!) but the colors really drew me in to this one. Once I looked closer though, I realized it was exactly the kind of thing I felt like stitching. Patterns like that- actual patterns, not, say a picture or something- are, to me, extra satisfying to work on. Plus, being able to complete one square at a time really ups the satisfaction levels. 

I didn't have all the threads it called for (only about half maybe) but I knew this was a situation where I would have plenty of similar colors to switch out with no issue. Really, I could've chosen a whole new color palette if I wanted but like I said, the current color scheme is what drew me to the pattern in the first place.

The woman who owned the shop, Randi, was extremely nice and helpful and not overbearing at all (another small-shop related concern of mine). She was able to tell me a little about the designer of the pattern and answered a couple questions I had. I later looked up this designer to check out the rest of her work and it was a Bad Choice because now I know where all my money is going forever. SO MANY AMAZING DESIGNS! Seriously, so many beautiful patterns, check it out for yourself. 

I've already started it and it's a joy to work on just as I predicted. It feels really good to be excited about starting a new project. Getting comfortable on the couch, watching something good (or not good, depending on my mood) and getting into a stitching groove... it's so relaxing to me and such a calming influence that when I'm not working on something more immersive, I feel at a little bit at a loss. 

It took a while to get to this point, I've been in a funk for a while, but it sure feels good to be back. I thought about giving it a rest and wait until I was feeling more inspired, maybe try out something new in the meantime, but instead, I followed a fellow stitcher's advice and stitched up something small and silly to get help me back into the groove. I'm glad I did because that, combined with yesterdays adventure, and I'm feeling better already.

Luckily, recently there was a conveniently timed "stitch or dare" event in one of my stitching groups where three different people gave me a stitching challenge and I had to pick one to complete. Of course I chose "grumpy animal of your choice" and decided to do a small (that's a 3 inch hoop) tribute to that snake I almost stepped on the last time I went hiking. Sorry buddy! I'm sending it off to a friend who's always trying to harass snakes when we go hiking. 

Well, I'm going to get back to my project! Have a fantastic weekend!