Snow might visit us next week. I wanted to share our own splash of fall color, which we look forward to each year. We so enjoy our pistachio tree, which has taken years to reach this fullness. It stands out beautifully against the scrubby olive and locust trees. Don’t get me wrong. I treasure every inch of our two acres—scrubby brush and all—with our view of Mt. Rose, even before the snow caps its majestic peaks.
October is extra special. I have one treatment left to go and then maybe I can grow back my hair.
In my bio, I call myself a multi-crafter. I even share photos of my works because I can’t help myself.
In simple terms, it means I engage in multiple crafts. But there are layers to this label. Maybe levels is a better word. Some love all things fiber (the yarn hoarders). Some love all things needlecraft (cross stitching, embroidery, needlepoint, etc.). Some love mixed media because you can hoard every kind of medium found in traditional art stores or out in the world if you’re one of those who love to repurpose discarded things.
Then, there are the ones like me who become obsessed with all of the above either at separate periods in life or all at once. See what I mean? Layers. These are my main obsessions. There are others I won’t bore you with. Ironically, writing has been the cheapest craft of all and takes up way less space in my craft room!
I have enjoyed every crafting journey over my rapidly growing decades. But the one I went the most crazy for (while also engaging in knitting and crocheting) was the modern cross stitch wave (as opposed to the 80s wave and the 90s wave I also went crazy for… in bursts). The period started somewhere around 2014 with the first YouTuber stitcher creating a “Flosstube” channel. The stitchy video sharing blew up and reached a peak around 2018 or 2019 (which is where I came in) and is still going strong.
This fun channel belongs to a hard-working wife and mom in Pennsylvania. Karla is listed in my acknowledgments in Tigris Vetus because she’s also an avid reader and did an ARC read for me. I’ve been following her since 2019 (from my crafty account) and when I sent her signed books, she kindly featured them in her latest video.
This is the crossover part. The layers. The levels of multi… the obsessions that make a community.
Karla’s channel is called Craft_Adictk. She likes to work on full coverage, massive projects, and they are amazing.
Other amazing stitchers who have influenced me…
Mother and daughter, Pam and Steph of Just Keep Stitching. I have a T-shirt with their faces on it. They’re up to 350 plus videos with thousands of views.
Ellen Reid of Crash Test Dummies fame shares her Maximum Cross Stitch Power Hour. Talk about multi-crafting! She has recently become a designer of vintage samplers in between touring with the band.
Mostly, I felt the need to talk about a craft where the obsession has waned a bit since my Pod People took over my brain. I miss it. The obsession that is. I still stitch in my rare downtimes. But instead of rotating twenty projects, I’m rotating about eight. There are even layers in the amount of the obsessions inside the obsessions.
Happy stitching and happy writing or whatever craft is in the air tonight.
Oh and that 40-year obsession with cross stitch that keeps cropping up. It finally resulted in a finish for a project I started for my dad during the first craze – Finished in 2020 and fully finished (the term stitchers use to mean framed or otherwise finished for display) by my stepmom in 2022.
Me and my Pod People packed up to petsit for two weeks.
I had the idea I would get to play with two amazing, adorable three-year-old brother bulldogs while I enjoyed a writing retreat, away from my own home and all the responsibilities. Somewhere quiet without interruptions.
The first part came true. I had so much fun with Mack and Elway. See? I pooped them out.
My Pod People? They still got a little air time over the keyboard but mostly they clamored around in my head. Still, my charges were so good, they let me sit for a couple interviews, and create a new story for a group project. I hadn’t thought about pet sitting as a retirement perk. But coming up with new things to do is what it’s all about, right?
This was my biggest writing hiatus since I started three years ago! But look at them. It was worth it. First day back home, and I miss them.
For me, winter writing means cozied up with blankets, my dogs, coffee or tea, and my laptop. It’s blustery at my house, with snow all around, and it’s been bitter cold. But that all adds up to the perfect conditions for writing.
How about you? What is your favorite season for writing. If you love writing in every season, what is your favorite thing about each?
I have been writing nearly every day for a year and a half. But I once enjoyed other crafts before the written word and my pod people took possession of me.
This year started with compiling a chart and goals to log my cross stitching as I’ve done for the last several years, and to go for some finishes of my many WIPs. Sadly, my beautiful stitching projects have languished in their beautiful project bags for most of the year. But this weekend it was movie marathons with the hubby, and because I can never just sit and watch movies without keeping my hands busy with some craft or other, I made some great progress.
My pod people were not necessarily silent the entire weekend, but they seemed to understand and made sure to mill around in my head and keep the ideas flowing, and I did manage to work on a book cover, one of my newest favorite pod people refusing to stay completely in the background… but she still let me spend lots of time stitching…
So, that is all this blog is about. Doing something other than writing for a change. Here’s my stitching progress, just in case you were curious.
Book Three, Tigris Vetus, in my series has also been calling to me. And with my mind freed from the pressures of writing, I came up with some great stuff I’m anxious to get to… all in good time… My friend Lucky has been encouraging me to work on balance, which is a thing he strives for, and this weekend’s activities reminded me how important mindful activities are to maintain balance.
What are your favorite mindful activities to keep you balanced in life? Share with me in the comments. Hope you had a great weekend, too!
By D. L. Lewellyn 