Saturday, May 24, 2008

Still Here!

I know it's been a long time but my stitching mojo completely disappeared and so blogging became impossible for me as I'd nothing to talk about or show.
I've had a couple of weeks with no stitching whatsoever, but yesterday I decided to pull Cirque out and just see how I got on stitching for half an hour. When I picked up my needle I literally panicked, it was such a strange feeling, I didn't know where to start. Anyway, I put in the first stitch and felt better.
Then I realised that I was thinking "how much can I get done tonight"? That made me think, I'm always thinking this when I stitch lately, how much can I stitch in a session or how soon can I get this finished? Then it finally hit me why my mojo has run away....
At the beginning of this year I signed up to two SAL's on the HAED bulletin board, as well as signing up for a Quaker RR with Sally and three other stitching friends. This was the first year I've signed up for any formal SAL's and I've never done a round robin before.
So a lot of my stitching time has been taken up with stitching on certain projects at certain times. The SAL's have found me trying to stitch as much as possible in the alloted time for showing progress pics, and the RR has meant stitching to a deadline which I'm not used to.
I've never liked being told what to do right from being a child lol, and even though the SAL's and RR are things I willingly signed up for, I've felt like I had to stitch on those projects at times when I didn't actually feel like it, and to get as much done as possible, which has resulted in my not enjoying my stitching.
So last night while stitching on Cirque I kept telling myself to slow down, stop rushing, just enjoy the process, and it worked!!!! I was so excited I was buzzing!! I thoroughly enjoyed the bit that I stitched and can't wait to pull it out again tonight! Whoohoo!!
So the result of all this is that I've decided to pull out of the SAL's. I'm due to get the last part of the RR around the 6th June and instead of pressuring myself to stitch it as fast as possible I'm going to practice my new mantra and "slow down and enjoy the process" lol.
I can't believe it took me 5 months to work this out and I am a bit sad that I've wasted 5 months of my life not enjoying my hobby which I've always loved so much. I've also been struggling badly with my moods and depression this last couple of months, and I'm wondering if my not being able to escape into my stitching has actually played a part. I guess only time will tell, but here's hoping the worst is over I have loads of fun stitching in my future!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see you back and stitching! I am alot like you-I don't like being told I have to have something stitched by a certain time, therefore I don't get involved with the SAL's/RR's(except HAED's), because then I would dissapoint not just me but someone else! And then I would feel even worse!

Keep us updated on your progress-sometimes just a pic that shows a little progress can keep you motivated!

jane said...

Hi Lisa
great to see you back blogging, please don't worry about my RR when you get it, take your time and if you don't feel like stitching on it just send it home and I will finish it. Don't want you to not be enjoying your stitching.

Karan said...

Good to see you back posting again Lisa. :0)
Glad you've sussed what's been causing your stitching block - hope you get back to enjoying your stitching as much as before. :0)

Sally said...

Finger's crossed you've hit the nail on the head with your stitching mojo and you'll be stitching up a storm.

Stitchingranny said...

I stopped doing RRs for exactly that reason Lisa. I found that stitching was becoming a chore - something I had to get done instead of a pleasure to pick up and put down as I chose.