Just do it

Hello people.  Got snow?  Good grief!  Some areas have been hit hard so am I going to accept my few inches with a smile and be thankful?  Hell no.  I'm crabby and will stay that way.  It's the nature of the bitch beast.  Temps are supposed to rise which is good because every morning my pounding head has to search the house for escaped brats.

 

Yesterday I received a note from Jean at The Attic and the Nash bag is traveling to Mesa as we speak.  It was very quick, not much time to say goodbye, but I'm OK with it.  Adios!  You were a lovely visitor but a little too good looking and neat for me.  So here's the thing - I had a little pang of panic when I realized that really experienced and serious stitchers will see it, maybe look closely.  I think we all feel that our work is never quite as perfect as we would like, our errors are sometimes left in, our placement a few stitches off, the finished seams maybe not be straight.  Let it go.  It's from our hands and no one's hands are the same.  Never be embarrassed or feel it's not good enough.  There's nothing wrong with striving for needlework perfection and many of you achieve it, enjoy competing, and are very proud of your work.  Me?  When it's for my own pleasure, I could care less.  I drop it on the floor, eat while stitching, threaten it with flame, my threads are very uneven and twisted, tension depends on hot flashes......but it's me.  My handwork.  A reflection of my attitude toward stitching?  Yes.  I don't take it too seriously.  A reflection of my style?  Yes.  I prefer things that look old and used.  I've said before, the benefit of primitive pieces is that people don't know if your house is really dusty or if those pieces are old and actually look like that.  Same with my stitchery.  If anyone would criticize your work, just tell them you strive to be as perfect as they are but aren't there yet.

 

If your stitching pleases you - perfect.  If you would like it to be better - go for it.  But if you hesitate because you think it won't be as good as other's - let it go and just do it.  Don't ever think that it's not good enough because as with any work of hands, it will always be different than others.  With many reproductions having error after error of all sorts, we still celebrate it!  Were their stitches perfect?  No.  Maybe after many years they became so, but it didn't make their first pieces any less important. 

 Just do it.  Have fun.  Keep a match handy.