I recently undergone a rotator cuff surgery for an injury that I have for over a year. I initially wanted to avoid surgery because of personal reasons (like a fear of the anesthesia). As my movement became more impaired, I bit the bullet and and went for it.
To be honest, I’m still going through the recovery as I type this (1 week out), and while stiff in many places, I’m thankful to be on the other side of the hill.
One of the orders I received was no weight bearing activities, so besides not lifting up the kids (which I stopped a while ago), just holding something with a bit of weight (iPad) seems too much at the moment.
I really want to knit so bad but I want to wait before I tense up my shoulders getting into a pattern. Instead, I’m looking into another hobby I can do from the comfort of my chair that will still give me the satisfaction of a completed project.
Here comes in cross stitching. I bought a cross stitch pattern a long time ago from Michael’s thinking I’ll try it. We’ll I started it and then put it off to the side never to touch it again for over two years.
At the time of purchasing it, I guess I wasn’t ready to try it. I was enthusiastic about getting it, but at that time nothing could have drawn me away from my knitting. Well now I have time and the motivation!
My very first cross stitch pattern is a cupcake. It’s honestly not the prettiest. I’ve learned that my stitches are going in two different directions and I now know I need to focus on a direction. However, I can say that I completed the project.
The lesson that I’ve learned from knitting is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. For your first project you just have to do your best to finish it. Yeah it’s going to look a little wonky and crossed, but it was a first project that needed to be completed to feel occomplished.
The best part of doing a new craft, is picking it up in front of my kids. My children have gotten the impression that all I do is knit (don’t know why they would think that), but them seeing me pick up a new craft is wonderful. They see the struggle but they also see the determination to actually do—regardless of it’s not perfect.
So while I finished my first cross stitch pattern, I know that I’m going to be interested in embroidery and many other things. So don’t be surprised if you see those things on my blog or my feed!