Project Cross Stitch: The Roadblock

It's admittedly been almost a month since I've updated on my little cross stitch project. And I confess: I hit a major wall. It got really hard, and as a result, I got pretty discouraged. There's something about progress I'm discovering... when you can see it, it's inspiring; when you can't, it gets you down.

Up until this point, the progress I've made has been very visible. The pattern has taken shape, the colors have popped, and things began to come together. Once the major, bright colors and the defining outline were complete, the remaining thread options were endless shades of similar colors. I didn't even know where to start. After I completed the goldenrod yellow (which you can see above), I decided to tackle the dark, dark brown. This was a mistake. Why? Because it was almost impossible to discern it from the black outline, which made it incredibly difficult to track what I had done and what I hadn't.

Hobby fatigue inevitably set in.




It got me a bit overwhelmed, so I took a step away from it for awhile. I felt like I couldn't not finish the dark dark brown, since I had decided to start it. The longer I stayed away from it, the more I wanted to avoid it. Now, I realize that in order to pick this up again, I need to stop that color and go with a different one—something distinct and something contrasting. A small break might also have been the thing I really needed. So long as it remained only a "small break"... not an never-ending hiatus.

I do that a lot. Leave projects and never pick them up again. There's a travel journal I started while in Scotland 5 years ago that I got halfway through and never finished. I'm still delusional enough to think maybe I'll be able to pick it up again, like the time away didn't matter.

On this cross stitch, here's just so much more to be done, and even that isn't what daunts me most. It really comes down to trying to decipher the pattern, which is a maze of varying symbols that are frankly INSANE to navigate. It makes my eyes blur to stare at it, especially when trying to find a single symbol in a sea of others.



Aren't your eyes swimming, too? And that's just one of fifteen pages.

So I post this here today to kick my own butt for letting myself ignore this little project so long—and again, to hold myself accountable, as promised. This week, going into the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm bound to find some quiet time with nothing to do but sew. I'll also be staying with my mama, who is an expert cross stitcher, and I know that if anyone can get me back in the saddle, it's her. She might also have some advice for how to keep a clear head when counting stitches until your eyes cross. :)

What about you guys? How are you all doing on your hobby projects, if you're working on any at all? Did you hit any walls, like I did? Or have you finished and moved onto your next big thing?

I've certainly missed sewing. Time for a resurgence!