HELLO CREWEL WORLD

Today I attended a beginner's crewel class at my local library. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised at my success at this, but more so with my attitude.

You see, I've been fretting over learning crewel for a long time and I had myself worked into a snit that I wouldn't be able to do this at all and then I'd look like a boob.

When did stitching become a competitive sport for me?

So I took a few minutes on the drive to the library to talk myself off the ledge and decided that it was a beautiful Tuesday, and that if nothing else, I was going to go be surrounded by books and other stitchers and just HAVE FUN. What a concept. Having FUN while doing a hobby instead of trying to figure out how I could a) make a living doing it, b) change the world with it, or c) convince the universe that I was the best at it.

For cryin' out loud.....this is supposed to be something that gives me the freedom to learn and to enjoy and to flex my creative muscles! So I walked into that library determined to just let it all go and sit my heiney in a chair and let it come in.

I did it! I really did it! I didn't care that my stitches weren't PERFECT or that it took me fifteen minutes to learn how to thread a needle the way the instructor wanted me to. I didn't agonize over the practice thread color or the quality of the cotton fabric or whether or not my scissors and fob matched the project perfectly.

I sat in a chair and I stitched and I talked and I laughed and I learned that sometimes it's perfectly OK to be new at something and not have one damn clue about what you're doing every single moment of your miserable little life.

I can now do the stem stitch and the split stitch without breaking a sweat and/or needing medication to do so.

La la la la la la la.