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Who is stealing your creative joy?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone,

I don’t know about you, but life has been one huge rollercoaster for me at least, over the last 6 to 12 months. So far I’ve:

  • Been vaccinated from new diseases
  • Had a long weekend on the Gold Coast
  • Had Covid and recovered with minimal ill-effects
  • Participated in a couple 5km fun runs after recovering from plantar fasciitis
  • Successfully gotten a new job
  • Moved interstate for the new job
  • Started renting an apartment for the first time in over 15 years!
  • Finally been able to increase the amount of running I’m able to do and sticking as close as I possibly can to a training plan
  • Printed many of my cross stitch patterns for sale
  • Opened an Etsy store in conjunction with my regular Hot Cross Stitching store
  • Created more cross stitch charts for sale and uploaded them to the Hot Cross Stitching and Etsy store (with same name)
  • Been consistently inconsistent with my flosstube episodes
  • Had multiple thieves come to visit and steal my creative joy

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Unknown

I’m not sure who said this and I’ve conducted some searches to try and find out! Simply put, I’ve been comparing myself to others and the levels of success my own flosstube channel and cross stitch websites have had with others whom I admire.

The comparison thieves in my mind have me contemplating if a flosstube channel is the right path I need to take to help with promoting the alternate career I’m wanting to pursue. Additionally, the comparison thieves have me thinking that flosstube is like being in school and there’s an invisible popularity contest happening and I’m on the outer circle.

Image says Don't compare yourself to others.
Photo by Bich Tran on Pexels.com

Admittedly, there are things in my control with my flosstube channel that I may be able to do to improve the situation. The questions however are:

  • If I become consistent now, will that help to improve my current stats on the channel?
  • What content do I need to create to remain interested in creating it and interesting for people to watch?
  • Should I start over?
  • Should I just abandon the channel?
  • Why did I start the channel?
  • How do I find joy in the channel again?
  • What is my gut or intuition about this?
  • Would collaborations with others help my flosstube and Hot Cross Stitching?

Regaining inner confidence and getting to know my audience again

Depending on the day (and time of day for that matter!), my head, heart and gut are saying Yes. No. Maybe. Just stick your head in the sand and pretend everything is okay.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

I need to remember that this is just temporary (hopefully!) and that I am not everyone’s cup of tea. Like with anything, there are ups and downs and the social media side of things is just a minute aspect of the bigger picture. It’s important – don’t get me wrong – having a digital footprint is important and the success of that footprint can make the world of difference with regards to what I’m wanting to achieve.

My questioning of things comes down to the bigger picture of whether I’m on the right track and if I’m not, how to get to that right track!

It’s a bit like any aspect of changing careers. There are good days and bad days and the challenge is to not allow those good days to be out weighted by the bad ones. Now the challenge is to remember this on those bad days!

Obtaining feedback and working with it

Talking to my viewers will certainly be another positive step forward and getting some feedback on what they want to see from me. Just assuming what they want to see and what types of patterns people are actually interested has not been the right track to date and it may be a small pivot that needs to be made.

It may be that cross stitch charts aren’t the way to go, but selling photographs are! Perhaps I’m suited to continuing to work in the background and have someone else be the face and voice of my flosstube channel?

Photo by Antoni Shkraba on Pexels.com

What’s the lesson in all of this?

It’s really hard not to compare myself to others and their achievements and wonder why I’m not seeing the same success. There will be good days and bad and I need to be comfortable with those bad days and the good. Allowing those thieves to creep in though, is something I need to keep an eye on and potentially create a cross stitch pattern out of it to serve as a reminder of how important joy is to my overall wellbeing.

Additionally, there’s been a lot going on and the stresses involved with those activities are bound to take a lot of energy out of me. So I need to give myself a break (to an extent) and figure out where my energy needs to be focused to be okay and stop those thieves at bay!

What do you think? Have you had the creative thieves creep in? How have you recovered from them?

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Crafting after lockdown – What does that look like?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

As restrictions ease in some areas of Australia – let alone the world, what does crafting look like for many of us crafters – introverts and extroverts alike?

Life over the last few years has been challenging because we are living through a part of history that is unique to this century, and the rose-tinted glasses view is that we’re all doing the best we can under the existing circumstances. Opening our lives up to a new normal and living with a new virus may be greeted with open arms by some, because living in confined spaces when they don’t “have to” (depending on many other factors I won’t go into) is too much. Too hard. A different type of torture that they would rather not experience again if they can.

On the other hand, if your lifestyle and circumstances have allowed it, living in lockdown and working from home has been wonderful. Because it’s enabled you to get so many other things done around the home, that pre-virus may not have allowed and potentially given you the opportunity to re-charge the proverbial batteries.

Fearing freedom or embracing a new way of living?

Fearing Freedom

There is a Spanish proverb loosely translated to English that says “to live a life in fear is to live a life half-lived”. This proverb was used in Baz Luhrmann’s movie Strictly Ballroom when Fran was expressing her frustration to Scott, because of his fear to try something new and step out of the mould of what’s expected or preferred for the finals.

Photo by Yan Krukov on Pexels.com

In the context of this post, the Spanish proverb can apply in a range of ways. Technology for example, has enabled many of us over the last couple of years, to work from home or communicate socially with others through crafting retreats or sharing of skills and knowledge. Because of this, some people may be accustomed to being at home and the comforts that may bring, and your region or country opening up may then require you to communicate or be around other people in-person. This can be stressful and scary because of the comfort zone that has been built at home. Additionally, the distance that a computer screen provides can remove the immediate reactions and triggers (positive or negative) that would otherwise be there when we’re dealing with people and situations in-person.

The flip side to the technology is from a seller’s perspective. Technology has made our lives 10 times more convenient than before through online shopping and home deliveries. Admittedly this is nothing new and lockdowns have forced many of us to do a lot more of it. Being able to purchase craft supplies has made life easier because our favourite stores may not have been able to sell online before now. This may be a good thing and a bad thing depending upon your chosen craft. The quality of the pictures we see on the internet have had a significant impact on our ability to determine if the products we need and want will be true to life. An example of this is the dye lots for custom made embroidery threads, paints, papers and fabrics and the fear of losing customers when people have the option of physically going to shops to purchase the things they need. Some customers may find that going to stores and being able to see the products they need in a different light and being able to touch the products before purchasing may have a negative impact on digital sales.

The above images are from Pexels.com and show the various ways in which many of us have grown accustomed to embracing during lockdown to pass time and express ourselves creatively.

Fearing the known or unknown

Before our lives changed, many of us were able to enjoy the freedoms of attending crafting retreats locally, inter-state or overseas. We benefited from seeing projects, tools and equipment in person to help us to decide if we want to use it or create it that isn’t the same as seeing it on screen. We were able to learn new skills and tricks that can be challenging to learn via a screen, because we can have someone sitting next to us and help us adjust what we’re doing to achieve the desired result. If it were done via a screen, our eyes can become fatigued from looking at a screen. We may struggle with Internet connections and other interruptions we may not have control over.

We were also able to create and establish new friendships with people we may not otherwise be able to meet, because they may not have access to technology or want to use technology to connect with others.

No one really knows if things will get worse or better as the world opens up. There may be a fear around the possibility of complacency around hygiene and growing accustomed to freedom then having that freedom taken away again. There are some unofficial predictions and beliefs that highlight the possibility of more waves of the virus coming through. Unfortunately, it’s not known how the powers that be will react, should such events happen.

Knowing what we have experienced already can be good because we can prepare ourselves for further lockdowns and reverting back to the use of and reliance upon technology to communicate with the world again can be equally damaging. The fear of what we’ve already experienced through loved ones or ourselves catching the virus and not recovering from it at all or continuing to suffer side-effects. Which co-insides with further lockdowns, loss of jobs, slumps in the economy and struggles to survive because of these events.

It’s also important to note that the lockdowns people have experienced, may have enhanced some underlying anxieties and stresses that existed well before the pandemic. It’s also possible that people living on their own or with others may not have been aware of or recognised some of these underlying issues and the world opening up again may be triggering these issues.

This is where the world of crafting can continue to be embraced to at least partially assist with the stress and anxiety of what may come with freedom.

Embracing a new way of living

For many who have the ability to, the lockdown(s) have enabled them to consider a new way of living and how they want their lives. For some, this means continuing to work from home – either in their current roles or embrace a career change and start something new like their own business or going back to school. For others, it can be a physical move away from the cities because they have found that the hustle and bustle of the city life or suburban life no longer fits.

Photo by Anthony Shkraba on Pexels.com

From a crafting perspective, lockdown enabled some of us to start investigating what creative things we were curious about before lockdown, but may not have had the time or confidence to do something about it. Resulting in the embracing a new way of living can mean finding a new tribe or mob of people who love the same types of crafts as yourself. Which may often lead you to wanting to spend an increasing amount of time around those like-minded people and the locations that enable to go down the creative-crafting path!

In other cases, lockdown enabled us to completely embrace the crafty and creative life and get things done in the background, so that when we came out of lockdown, we can put those plans into action. You could be that person that brings others together to enable them to embrace their creative side and meet others who share similar passions and interests!

From an introvert perspective, lockdowns may have enabled you to find your voice through a craft you love. Because of your passion and love for your craft, you’re able to articulate things that may have previously been a struggle for different reasons. Painting can be a really good example of this, because it’s a creative outlet that has enabled people to capture their favourite scenes, things and people or image they see in their mind’s eye, such as fantasy worlds. Additionally, it’s been acknowledged as a useful form of therapy to help people process and deal with a wide range of things they need to work through (e.g. PTSD and other traumas).

By having a painting, drawing or other creative thing you have done, you may find a new confidence to talk about it and additional things you want to create via this new creative channel!

From an extrovert perspective, the lockdowns may have enabled you to listen more and hold space for the introverts who have found their new voice, and want to talk about their creative outlets. You may have embraced social media and started your own channel or group to connect with others.

Personal note: I want to acknowledge that we are living in uncertain times and my aim is not to be dismissive of the different circumstances that people are experiencing, by saying that there’s nothing to worry about. Or focus too much on the negative aspects of the world we live in because of things I’ve seen and heard through different mediums (e.g. the news, people I talk to, conversations I’ve overheard and social media). I actively swing between being excited about returning to the old normal and the positive possibilities of the new normal. Then feeling cautious and unsure about new strains that may or will happen, as we start moving around again through domestic and international travel.

Overall, I’m cautiously hopeful that things will be okay and we will be able to live with outbreaks as they happen; not through lockdowns, but through other means that enable people to continue to work and engage with others without isolation.

What do you think crafting after lockdown will look like?

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Why you should join a digital stitching retreat

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

With the current climate, international travel and in some circumstances, domestic travel is difficult and wont return to normal for a long time. Which is why a digital stitching retreat is an awesome way of connecting with people from across the country and internationally.

Meeting new people from the comfort of your own home

Pending your personality type, meeting new people can be exciting and fun, nerve-wrecking, curious and cautious or somewhere in-between. Thankfully with the help of technology (and some tech-savvy friends for support if needed), you can join chat groups via social media applications such as Zoom. Where you can choose to have your camera off and microphone on, both feature on or off or any other combination that works for you.

The aim is for you to be able to interact with the other people in a group, whilst stitching on a project and talk (or not, that’s totally up to you!) about whatever you want.

Photo by Lisa on Pexels.com

Personal note: I’m an introvert through and through with socially awkward tendencies – especially when I’m in a room with other people I don’t know at all or very well. Being at home and participating in these retreats was really good because I could talk as much or as little as I wanted and silences are okay. Because everyone is busy stitching on their pieces and no one is worried about superficial things and you can keep your hands busy with cross stitch!

Timing is up to you

Participating in international digital retreats can mean that your time zone may be out of balance with the timing for the event. This is where you can make it your own and participate in events and stitching sessions that work for you.

Photo by Andrey Grushnikov on Pexels.com

Personal note: Recently I participated in a digital stitching retreat hosted by The Black Needle Society – check out the links at the end of this post for more information – and the timing of the events were based upon Central Time in America. I’m in the Australian Eastern Time zone and that meant I would need to be up at about middnight or 1am through to about midday to 1pm or a little later to immerse myself in the retreat experience.

For my lifestyle, this was not practical, so I made it work for me by participating in the events that I could and it was an amazing experience!

The events and stitching challenges

This is what makes the stitching retreats unique and different. Some stitching retreats are based upon themes such as a television series or a movie franchise. Others may be based upon Halloween, Christmas or specific designer. Each of these retreats will have challenges based upon these themes and the organisers may have prizes connected to those challenges.

For example, one retreat may have a schedule of challenges for specific days and times throughout the retreat, that participants can take part in. The challenges will be specific to the theme of the retreat and there may be a prompt for you to work on a specific project in your collection. This can be a new start or an existing work in progress. Some challenges may have a time limit for you to complete the challenge and the set parameters may put you into the running to win a prize.

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Personal note: Recently I participated in The Black Needle Society’s Retreat in a Box called “Autumn in Stars Hollow” that’s based upon the television show “Gilmore Girls”. There was a schedule for when the challenges were going to take place and each challenge was based upon a specific episode from the series. Additionally, each episode took place during the season of Autumn and Gilmore Girls is set in a fictional township of Stars Hollow.

For each challenge, we had an hour to put in as many stiches as we could on a project that related to the theme for a specific episode. For example, the first episode of the Gilmore Girls (aka the trailer) had the theme of laundry day. Therefore, the prompt for our cross stitch project, had to have clothes in it. We were required to take a photo of our piece before the challenge started with the name of the name of the project we were working on and a password we were provided 10 minutes before the challenge started.

At the end of the hour, we counted up the number of stitches we had done during that hour. We had to note down what that number was on the same piece of paper that had the password and name of the project and post the pictures to the social media platforms nominated by the organisers. We earnt points or a number of entries for a lucky dip that was drawn by the organisers of the retreat, and the lucky dip was drawn in the town hall meetings that started 15 minutes after each challenge ended.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Final note

I really enjoyed my first international digital stitching retreat that was hosted by The Black Needle Society. I’m a huge fan of the television series Gilmore Girls and I had heard about this retreat in a box through a flosstube channel called The Steel City Stitchers who are representatives of The Black Needle Society boxes.

In a future post I’ll share with you the pictures of the items in the stitching retreat box. If you can’t wait for that post, check out my flosstube episode #9 on Youtube, where I’m also known as The X Stitching Runner!

Each stitching retreat is different and unique and it’s important that you find one that fits your needs and interests. Below are some links and resources to help get you started and hopefully you’ll find one that works for you!

Links and resources to other stitching retreats:

  • Stitching for wellbeing by Fiona Doubleday – a virtual stitching retreat based in USA
  • The Black Needle Society – a stitching retreat in a box based upon different themes
  • Linen & Threads – this is an Australian based stitching retreat. The link will take you to the page for an even that has already happened. But it will give you an idea of what’s involved with a physical stitching retreat.
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April WIPGO, Haul and Stitch Maynia

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

It’s the first of May as I’m writing this and it’s a beautiful autumn day in Canberra. I’m making the most of the beautiful weather by writing this post outside, under my pergola because I spend 90% of my time in front of the computer or television. I’m not sure how long the nice weather is going to last. The weather people are saying that we’re meant to be getting some rain coming through next week. Maybe on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The other good thing with the weather at the moment, is that I’m trying to get outside more to start running more! Since December last year, I’ve had a lot of muscle tightness around my right heel because I wasn’t stretching enough (if at all) after any exercise I did and my feet weren’t happy with some of my running shoes. With a lot of help from my personal trainer and some stretches I’ve been trying to do at home, my right foot is a lot better. So much so, I was able to compete / participate in my first 5.4km fun run in over 12 months!

At the start of April Canberra hosted the Canberra Times Marathon that had a number of distances that people could participate in. Full credit to the organisers for this event because it was all happening on one day! This is significant because normally it’s spread out across two days – usually a Saturday and Sunday – where the shorter distances like the kids events (about 1 to 2km) through to the 10km event and maybe the half marathon (21km). Then the Sunday would have the marathon (40km +/-) and ultra-marathon (anything over 40-41km). So to have people competing in these different distances on the same day at different times takes a lot of organising and they did really well!

The additional challenge to this event was the weather. I have run in most types of weather combinations with the exception of snow. Mostly because it doesn’t snow frequently enough here in Canberra for it to really ever be something I need to consider. The day of the running event, it was really windy and a cold wind too coming in from the West. I really don’t like running in the wind and I was concerned about how sheltered the course was going to be and the hardest part was running into the wind for the finish line. But we got lucky for the 5.4km course. It was mostly sheltered and it was just towards the end that was hard. I really felt for the people who were running the half marathon and longer. They were out in the open for at least half of their courses and it takes a lot more energy and strength to be able to run in that wind and achieve the times you want.

With all of that in mind, I’ve signed up to participate in the 5km Gold Coast Airport Fun Run in July! It’s perfect timing because my boyfriend and I will technically have finished up our contracts with work and we will both be due for a good holiday then. Also, the Gold Coast is in the South-Eastern part of Queensland and is a winter escape for many of the southern Australian states that get very cold during winter.

But enough about that, lets get onto talking about some cross stitch!

April WIPGO

I’m starting to struggle with WIPGO. I know my goals were a bit too ambitious for the projects I have on my board and I’ve started a few more projects to balance out some of my struggles!

This month, I had to work on Fight Like a Girl by Tanya Amity and Dew Drop Daisy by Hot Cross Stitching.

Dew Drop Daisy by Hot Cross Stitching

My biggest struggle point with Dew Drop Daisy is I’m out by 3 stitches for nearly everything I’ve stitched so far. The slight positive is that I just need to add 3 stitches and normally this would be fine if I was just working on the background. The problem is that this is impacting the petals I’m starting to work on and I don’t have all of the colours I need to complete the petals – but I’m working on that!

So rather than adding the extra 3 stitches where I need them on Dew Drop Daisy, I found where the page ended and I’ve started stitching it from right to left. My aim is to use the right side of the page to see where I need to add the 3 stitches – especially when I get to the petals that I’ve started stitching. The image below shows you what I’m talking about…

Current progress of Dew Drop Daisy by Hot Cross Stitching

Fight Like a Girl by Tanya Amity

I’m struggling to pinpoint my exact struggles with this project. I know I’ve talked about them before and they seem minor now. Whenever I do pick it up, I enjoy stitching it! I think my problem at the moment may be that I have so many other projects I want to work on or need to for Hot Cross Stitching, that this one falls to the way-side.

For this month though, I think my biggest struggle has been having all of the threads I need to stitch it. During the last two weeks of April, my boyfriend and I went to the coast for a few days and I took this project and Autumn Castle with me. Because they’re both in the same bag and they share a similar grouping of threads. Big mistake! I assumed I had packed the threads I need for Fight Like a Girl, but I hadn’t because I was hunting through them for a colour I needed for a different project. This is where it was good that Autumn Castle and Fight Like a Girl share a similar colour pallet!

Disclaimer: I’m having an ethical dilemma with Autumn Castle. When I’d purchased it, I hadn’t realised that Heaven and Earth Designs have an identical pattern, but called Mini Trick or Treat and the designer is Randal Spangler. I’m feeling conflicted with this because I think I bought a counterfeit. I’ll leave it at this for the moment and I’ll write a separate post about this dilemma and why it is one, even though I had purchased it.

The main thing I need to ensure is good lighting with this project. I’m working on this project mostly at night time after work, and the room I normally stitch in has reasonably good light from the main light in the room. But I’m finding that it’s not quite enough for what I need. Thankfully I have my stitching corner in that same room, with my Over-the-top (OTT) light and it’s awesome!

I didn’t achieve my goal for Fight Like a Girl, but I am happy with my progress which is shown below:

April progress for Fight Like a Girl by Tanya Amity

Haul

Earlier I mentioned that I competed / participated in the 5.4km fun run and it was windy and cold. I came down with a minor cold as a result of the run and the weather, which meant that I took a day off work to recover. To make me feel better (and while I was waiting for a heap of wax to melt) I went online shopping!

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated in any way with the shop I bought my supplies from. I’m shouting them out because of their amazing turn around time and customer service. Especially since many of us have been experiencing slow shipping and challenges with getting the supplies we need.

I ended up buying some fabric and big bundle of threads to help me with Dew Drop Daisy and Pink Bottle Brush from OzStich. They’re an online Australian store and are awesome! To search for the threads I needed, I just entered in the DMC colours I needed and how many of each skein I needed and the site added the skeins to my basket. This is something I’ve not experienced before and I think it worked really well because it saved me time trying to search for the colour I need and finding out that it’s not in stock or scrolling through pages to located the colour and add it to my basket.

The fabric I bought is the Magic Count, 20×20 gridded, 25 count fabric. I’ve just started stitching on it (barely made a dent in the pattern, but that’s for another time!) and it’s awesome! I’ve never used this fabric before and I love that it’s available from the majority of craft stores we all get our supplies from.

One thing I’m playing with and learning with this fabric, is how many strands of floss I can use. At the moment I’m using 2 strands per 1 square which is providing more than enough coverage and I’m going to need to drop it down to 1 over 1. Mostly because of how bulky my crosses are looking on the fabric and in some cases, my crosses are looking un-even. But that could also be a lot to do with the way I’m stitching, where I might be pulling the thread too tight or not tight enough.

Side note – melting wax

I make my own candles out of the left over wax from other candles I’ve received as gifts or purchased. Some of the wax I was melting in April, has lasted me a few rounds of candle making!

Before the pandemic, I was in the habit of burning a candle while I work on my blog posts or when I was studying. When the time came to work from home, I debated whether or not to burn a candle during work time because I’d been so accustomed to burning one outside of work hours. Most days I light a candle while I’m waiting for the computer to load and get ready for the working day. I like the ritual and most of the time, the candle still has a nice perfume, even though this may be the second time the wax has been in the form of a candle.

Also, I really like the candle holders the original candles came in and I want to keep using them as candle holders for as long as I can!

Stitch Maynia

Leading up to May, I was debating whether or not to participate because I’m already struggling with meeting my WIPGO goals. And by adding any Maynia goals to the mix could lead to nothing getting done!

To try and make it a little easier on myself, I added all of my patterns and projects that I want to work on (at least during May) to the decision maker wheel app I downloaded to my phone. With today being the 1st May, I’ve spun the wheel and a new start has come up for me!

Seahorse (mini) by Heaven and Earth Designs

I bought this pattern as a PDF recently when HAED had their 50% off sale. I remember a while ago seeing Jessie Marie Does Stuff showing this project on her flosstube channel and I really liked the look of it.

Cover page for Mini Seahorse by HAED

This pattern has been designed to be full coverage, but I want to try something a little different and stitch it on a moss green 25 count Lugana and not stitch the background. The deceiving part of this pattern is that it doesn’t look like there’s a background to stitch. Stick with me over the next few months and you’ll start to see what I mean!

May WIPGO Goals

I won’t talk too much about my goals here, since much of what I’m going to be working on will be connected to Stitch Maynia and the decisions app. This month Autumn Castle and Santa’s Coming were called up and hopefully I can make some progress on at least one of them!

Wrap up

This has been a long post, so if you’ve made it to the end, thank you! I’m going to finish up the post here and enjoy the rest of the day and beautiful weather.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

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End of year WIP Parade 2020

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

*Big Sigh* Wow, what a year it’s been! Happy holidays and happy new year to all of you. I hope all of you have been able to celebrate the holidays as well as practical. I’m so thankful that this year is ending very differently to what last year because this time last year in Australia – especially along the East and Southern coast – so much was on fire. Now, as I’m writing this post, I’m at the coast with my boyfriend and we can breath easy, the sun it out and it’s a lot more comfortable (weather wise) than last year!

I’ve been doing a lot of stitching this month and trying to get myself a bit more organised for the new year. I’ve been working a lot from home, so my motivation to spend more time than necessary in front of the computer screen and my craft room has been reduced significantly. I’ve also been battling analysis paralysis with some of my computer related cross stitch tasks and confidence levels for ‘putting myself out there’ on social media. But it’s a necessary evil if I want things to progress!

I’ve also been running a bit more which has been good. I’ve got a new pair of shoes that have bluetooth in them that enables them to talk to the Map My Run app. As I’m running, the app gives me feedback on how I’m running and what I can do to improve it! For example, I might be looking down at my feet too much because of something that’s interfering with the footpath (plants, uneven sections etc.). The app will tell me that I need to straighten my back up a bit and pretend that there’s a string attached to the top of my head like a puppet. Straightening up should help with the way I place my feet when running and reduce my risk of injuries and make running feel less like an effort.

WIP Parade

But without further adieu, here is my WIP (works in progress) parade for 2020. It will include many patterns you have seen over the year and a few new ones:

12 Days of Christmas designed by Rhona Norrie

It’s been a long time since I last worked on this project. I’m thinking it must have been June or July this year when I started it and I haven’t touched it until about a week ago, for the lead up to Christmas.

Ryan’s been a good boy designed by Durene Jones

Similar to the 12 Days of Christmas project, I haven’t worked on it since June or July this year and as part of getting into the Christmas mood, this project came out again and got some love.

Gundaroo Mini Mushrooms designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching

I have been working steadily on this project for a while now and towards the end of November, maybe early December, I finished another page (que mini happy dance!). I’m now working on the bottom of the project and playing fabric chicken to see if I need to add more fabric.

Meanwhile, the images below show the progress of the project over the course of this year, with the final image showing what it will look like when it’s finished.

Black and White Rolled-up Daisy designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching

As excited as I am to have started this project and even happier that it went smoothly into Pattern Keeper, I’m already needing to fudge things to figure out where I went wrong and what I’ve accidentally marked off.

Pink Daisy (November or December new start) designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching

I had been procrastinating this start for way too long. I had been debating about starting this project and another one I’m still trying to perfect the pattern before I’m happy with starting it, let alone releasing it for sale.

Start of Pink Daisy – Designed by Kristen Gawronski for Hot Cross Stitching
Pink Daisy – what the pattern should look like when it’s finished

Gingerbread Train designed by Shannon Christine

I haven’t worked on this project since June or July this year. When I was going through my projects in preparation for this post, I was reminded of how cool this pattern is and how much I want to eat jelly lollies when I’m stitching it!

Boo Sheet (November new start and finish)

This particular pattern had been a free one as part of the online Mittagong Stitcher’s Retreat I had been part of in late November. I was able to get it stitched in about 2 days and I stitched it on 32 evenweave I had purchased from Spotlight and dyed using orange and purple fabric dyes, also from Spotlight.

Curglaff (November new start) designed by Bendy Stitchy

I have been wanting to stitch this pattern for a while. It’s designed by Bendy Stitchy (check out her YouTube channel) and inspired by Mich Stitch (she also has a YouTube channel)! At the end of each episode, Mich reads a random word from a dictionary she has on old English words that are rarely or no longer used, and ‘curglaugh’ had been one of those words.

I’m stitching it on the same fabric as Boo Sheet and this time I’m using some specialty threads that are made by Aussies! I’m really excited about this because I’m supporting an Aussie business and I’ve never used such fancy threads before. I predominantly use DMC and Anchor because they’re readily available and aren’t as expensive as the specialty threads. That said, these threads are well worth it! They are beautiful and I appreciate the time and effort the team has gone through to create and package the threads.

Curglaff designed by Bendy Stitchy (C) 2020
Cottage Garden Threads

Fight Like a Girl designed by Tanya Amity, Illustration by Elena Gnedkova

It’s been way too long since I’ve worked on this project. The good thing is that it’s included in my new WIPGO board for 2021. When the squares for this project have been called, I’ll hopefully be able to get a lot more work done on it!

Check out the related posts section for more information on WIPGO.

Autumn Castle designed by Evgenia Kolesnikova

This project has received a very little bit of love in November, but nothing substantial enough to notice much of a difference. Similarly to ‘Fight Like a Girl’, it’s on my WIPGO Board and it will get some more love in 2021!

The first three pictures below show what the project will look like when it’s completed and what my earlier progress had been at key points during 2020. The fourth picture is my progress as of December 2020.

Progress as of December 2020

Three Dogs by Luca S.

This project has not been loved for some time and it’s long overdue to get some attention. Thankfully it’s on my WIPGO board and it will get the attention it deserves next year!

Trio of dogs progress

Moon Lit Waters Heaven and Earths Designs

Whenever I look at this project, I’m reminded of why I started stitching it and then when I start work on it again, I’m reminded why I paused it. Which explains why I haven’t worked on it for a while and why I need to do more on it.

Merry Colourful Christmas by Tilton Crafts (December new start)

This is a very new start, so I don’t have any comparison pictures. I’m currently stitching it on 25 count (I think) and using all DMC threads. I’m using two threads over two squares and I’m playing a bit of fabric chicken with this project because I haven’t properly measured it out!

Merry Colourful / Merry Christmas designed by Tilton Crafts
Cover page of pattern by Tilton Crafts

Moonlight Owls designed by Jenny Barton

Honestly, I forgot about this project when I first started drafting this post. Thankfully, drafting this post has meant that I’ve remembered that I have this project and I now have it in the same bag as the projects 12 Days of Christmas, Ryan’s been a good boy and Gingerbread Train.

Rainbow Zebras by Artecy Cross Stitch

Like Midnight Owls, I forgot I had this as an active WIP! How could I forget something as colourful as this?! Because I’ve forgotten about this project, it hasn’t seen much attention, but that will change in 2021.

Barnyard Cats by Dimensions

I completely forgot about this project. It didn’t even make to my WIPGO board! That said, like the Trio of dogs, I’ll try and include it when the number 13 is called and it can get some attention then!

Four Seasons Kittens by Dimensions Gold Collection

This project has been dragging on for longer than what it really should be. Thankfully I have remembered to include it in my WIPGO board and it will get some attention next year!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching and Happy New Year!

Related resources

Posted in Hot Cross Stitching Business, Uncategorized

Introducing…Hot Cross Stitching

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

It’s been a while between drinks (ages since I’ve published a post). A lot’s been going on since I last posted to this blog. My main focus has been on developing my new side hustle – Hot Cross Stitching!

Logo for Hot Cross Stitching.

The purpose of Hot Cross Stitching is teaching people how to cross stitch face-to-face and selling selling my cross stitch patterns online. The classes will initially be held in my home town, Canberra with three different types of classes people can choose from – Beginner, Intermediate and Social.

The beginner class will focus on people who have never done cross stitch or it’s been a very long time since they’ve done it. People will learn how to read a pattern, thread their needle, change colours, convert what they see in the pattern to stitching it on a blank piece of fabric. As well as finding the centre of their fabric and marking off the pattern as they stitch/keeping track of where they’ve stitched just to name a few things!

The intermediate class will focus on people who have been stitching for a few years and want to improve their skills and tackle some more challenging projects, whilst having the support of stitching friends around them. People in this class will learn how to kit up their own projects, which includes choosing the right size and amount of fabric they need for their project. People will also be able to use the class to bounce ideas off their stitching friends regarding the different ways to store their projects – especially the threads – and try out some different types of threads such as silks, verigated threads and metalics to name a few.

Meanwhile, the social group is for anyone and everyone – regardless of how long someone has been stitching for. The aim of this group is for people to come a long for as long as they want and to stitch with some friends and chat as much or as little as they want. Over the years I’ve found that I have learnt more through just stitching and chatting and comparing notes. However, I’ve not taken any formal cross stitching classes to be able to compare!

Over all, the aim of all of these classes/groups is for people to connect safely face-to-face, learn something new that hopefully they like and make some new friends. This year especially has been a testament for how important human interaction has been for everyone and the use of art and craft to enable people to have a creative outlet.

I’m hoping that over time, I’ll be able to run some classes from a public space at the South Coast as well. But that may happen once I’m no longer working in my current 9 to 5 job.

The patterns people will be able to purchase as PDF downloads are of photos I’ve taken over time and converted to patterns. One of which will be the Gundaroo Mini Mushrooms that I’ve been stitching for potentially a couple of years. I haven’t kept exact track of when I started and it feels like I’ve been working on it for the last couple of years! Below is a sample of images that I’ve converted to patterns, that will be available for purchase:

The website is currently under construction and I’ll let you all know when it’s publicly available. This blog will be connected to the site and my aim over time (and let’s see if it actually happens!), is to use this blog to still talk about cross stitch and a bit about the business as well.

Aside from working on the website, I’ve also been travelling to the coast a bit and as I’m writing this post, I’m at the coast looking out the window from the dining table and at times it’s really hard to concentrate! As I’m looking between the two trees in the image below, I’m on the look out for any breaks in the water that can’t be explained by waves crashing on rocks or boats sailing past.

Ocean view from the dining table – as of 22 October 2020 – Image by Kristen Gawronski

One of the last times I was here, I was able to see some sprays of water from whales cruising past in the distance! That was something really special, as I never thought we’d be able to see something like that from this window. Normally when my boyfriend and I have been here, we’ve gone for walks to the nearby cliff tops and we’ve been able to see the whales from there and some dolphins. It’s really exciting and special when that happens, because we’re not always lucky enough to get our timing right to see them.

The other awesome thing that’s happened recently (last week to be precise!) is a really awesome experience my boyfriend and I did as part of a birthday present from my parents and boyfriend. We stayed overnight at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra. This particular stay is part of the Jamala Wildlife Lodge that resides within the National Zoo and Aquarium.

When you’re booking your accommodation, you’re able to choose which lodge you stay in an nominate which three animals you would prefer to see. I need to point out here, that the three animals aren’t in the same enclosure together! The need to nominate which three animals you would prefer is part of which lodge is available at the time and which enclosure is connected to which lodge. For example, I chose the Jungle Bungalow and there are 5 lodges that are part of the Jungle Bungalows. One enclosure is assigned to each bungalow and I had the choice of the Sun Bears, Lions, Tigers and Cheetahs. The top three animals I nominated were the Tigers, Lions and Cheetahs and we were lucky enough to share our space with Ravi the male Tiger!

The images above were taken from the room we stayed in and Oh. My. Gosh! It was just amazing to see him doing his thing. For the most part he was on patrol and keeping an eye on things in his enclosure. His brother lives couple hundred of metres away from him (so that they don’t kill each other, the guide told us the next morning!), so he was calling out to him every so often and checking on him every so often. There’s clear window in the brother’s enclosures that enables them to look across a path and into each other’s enclosures!

When we left for dinner, Ravi was on patrol and when we came back, he was up close, next to the window and sleeping. It was then that we really got to appreciate how big he is. We found that he’d had most of his sleep by about 1 or 2 in the morning and he woke my boyfriend up, by calling out to the rest of the zoo from the spot we saw him sleeping at when we got home from dinner. I was sleeping very well at that stage and didn’t hear anything until about 4 in the morning or so.

When it was lighter in the morning, we found Ravi doing his rounds again and there were a few times that we thought he’d come up to the platform you see in some of the photos, but he kept going with his rounds. Just before we left for breakfast he did come up and sit down and it had been the first time during the day on either day we were at the zoo that he’d come up to the platform. We really didn’t want to go to breakfast at that point as we weren’t sure if he’d still be sitting there when we were due to get back. Thankfully he was and that’s where most of the pictures above have come from. It was amazing!

After breakfast we did a guided group tour around half of the zoo, which was really cool. Some of the animals we saw include some cheetahs, rhinos, monkeys, leemahs, zebras, giraffs and an ostrich. I took a lot of photos along the way and I’m wanting to turn some of them into cross stitch patterns for the website.

With all of this in mind, I haven’t done as much stitching as what I would have liked. I’m aiming to make amends for that over the next few days and get some more stitching done this afternoon and tomorrow. The weather from tomorrow afternoon ’til about Sunday/Monday is meant to be raining and indoor weather kind of stuff. So hopefully, I’ll have more cross stitch related things to talk about next time and there won’t be as much time between blog posts!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Posted in Uncategorized

Can Cross Stitch be Promoted as Artwork?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been contemplating the following question off and on for a while, and I’m keen for you to let me know what you think. In front of you is a photograph, a water colour painting and a cross stitch picture of the same scene – a waterfall in a rainforest. All three are for sale and priced at $2000 each. Which one do you purchase and why?

In September last year (2019), I was watching Jody Ellis’s Flosstube episode 33 (aka Unconventional X Stitch) dated 23 May 2019 and towards the end of clip, she talked about the value that many people place on cross-stitch when it’s compared with other crafts such as sculpting, painting, drawing and in some circumstances, photography. Finding that many people are willing to pay more for the traditional arts to have in their homes than the available embroidered works.

Because of this clip, it got me thinking about how we, as stitcher’s, can change people’s perceptions of cross stitch and the value it has, so that it’s perceived at the same levels as the other crafts where people pay hundreds and thousands of dollars. Additionally, Jody’s clip got me thinking about my blog post earlier in 2019 where I questioned the importance of perceptions – especially when it comes to cross stitch. Looking back on this piece, it had very much a rant vibe to it – mostly because of some things I was experiencing at work – and I don’t think my message came across as well as what it could or should have.

So what would be the best approaches for changing people’s perceptions and understanding of cross stitch?

The Archibald’s/ARIA’s/BAFTA’s/ACTA’s of Cross-stitch

Nearly every industry has their own awards to recognise the achievements of people working in that industry. Many of us will have heard about the Archibald’s, ARIA’s etc. and we know that they are prestigious awards and highly coveted by people who are part of those industries. The closest cross-stitch gets to these kinds of awards and accolades is winning best in show at the regional show or royal show. We may be pushing it a bit if we say that we can get awards from Fashion Week or Golden Globes for costume design.

What I’m getting at with this, is that people perceive cross-stitch as something to do to ease stress and anxiety. That it’s something that our grandmother’s do or did. I definitely use cross stitch as a way of unwinding and reducing my stress. Additionally, there are a lot of people out there who make their own clothes, paint, sculpt etc for the same reasons. However, there are many more people out there who are wanting to make a living out of cross stitch and are struggling to do so, because it’s seen as just a hobby or a form of therapy.

By having some prestigious awards associated with cross-stitch, it will elevate the works of art to the same levels as fashion, music, acting, painting, drawing, photography etc. People will start to appreciate the time and effort that goes into the creation of these artworks.

Cross-stitch reality television show

Master Chef, My Kitchen Rules and similar cooking competition shows gets us excited and interested in cooking. The Block, Flip or Flop, Masters of Flip etc make some of us want to renovate or at least give our current interiors a make-over. And talent shows like Australia’s Got Talent, The Voice, America’s Next Top Model and So You Think You Can Dance have us wondering if our singing in the shower or a secret talent could be our ticket to some fame and fortune.

These shows also take us behind the scenes to some of the industries that we do in our daily lives, but don’t always do for a living. They also provide us with ideas for what we can do at home, aspire to be when we grow up or become as part of a career change.

What would we need to dramatise to make a cross stitch reality show interesting for people? In many of these shows we get to find out a bit about the people who are on the show and by the end of it all, we feel like we know them a bit better and, in some circumstances, they become a part of our family. We have achieved some of this through social media channels. Via Flosstube especially, we have gotten to know many of the people with their own channels and the projects they’ve worked on.

A lot of drama can happen with cross-stitch if we show people what the creative process is like (e.g. designing a pattern), how many times we lose the needle or have to figure out what colour changes we’re going to do because we don’t have the floss colour we need. Then there’s the amount of times we may accidentally stab ourselves instead of the fabric and draw blood and the decisions we need to make about our finishes. Then there’s the innovations that go into cross stitch design and how the patterns have changed over time and what’s available to us now. We would be able to have challenges such as time limited shopping sprees and creating a project from those sprees. Alternatively, finishers would be presented with partly completed projects with multiple issues that could hinder or enhance the finish.

Collaborations, exhibitions and back stories

If cross stitchers got together and had an exhibition, what would it look like? Would we have a variety of sections around the room dedicated to samplers, photograph conversions, landscapes, HAED’s, Biscornu’s and similar finishes, subversive and modern designs?

Additionally, what would you want people to know about the pieces you have designed and stitched? Aside from the usual of telling people what materials I’ve used, I want to tell people how long it took me to stitch it and what I love about it. I would want them to know what was going on in my life at the time of me stitching it. By telling people all of these things, my aim would be to find someone who would connect with those pieces and want to buy it and take it home with them because they resonate with it. They relate to what I was going through and love the results of what I’ve done.

Related posts

Posted in Uncategorized

What’s your Stitch-piration?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

I’ve been having a bad case of writer’s block for my next post (this one). I’ve been having trouble figuring out what to write about, mostly because my attention has been on actual stitching, which I’ll talk about soon. I’m also working on a stitching related career changed as well as working full time – partly from home and partly in the office. So my motivation and energy levels are being stretched in different directions!

Meanwhile, I’ve finally been able to get back into running and as Murphy’s Law would have it, I’ve injured myself and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to run again! The good thing is that I’ll be seeing a professional about it and hopefully they’ll be able to tell me what part of my left ankle I injured and what I can do to get back into running! The conundrum with this injury is that it didn’t hurt at the time. I ran the same path I’ve run many times and it doesn’t hurt when I walk. The main thing that told me that I had hurt my ankle was the ample swelling that I noticed at the end of the day – after lounging around for the majority of the day! I do not remember ever having an injury like this before. Whenever I have hurt myself, it happens straight away and I have a basic idea of what part of my body I’ve hurt.

Update: I’ve seen a physio and thankfully I’ve sprained my ankle and I can get back into running! It will be Murphy’s Law that by the time I can properly get back into running, spring will well and truly be in full swing. Meaning, the weather will be beautiful but…it will be really windy, the magpies will be swooping and hay fever may become a pain – i.e. I’ll be a gross mess at the end by sneezing too much and potentially watery eyes. Even though I’d be wearing sunglasses, a hat and taking antihistamine’s.

Now, I’m sharing these two stories with you because of the main theme for this post – What’s your stitch-piration? Meaning, what inspires you to stitch? What inspires you or motivates you to keep going?

This post is quite similar to a post I did earlier in the year/last year regarding ways to help you stay motivated. Throughout this post, I’ll share with you some of the things inspire me to keep stitching and running after injuries and feeling worn out from life.

Seeing other people’s projects

I really enjoy watching Flosstube on YouTube and seeing the different projects that people are working on and the stash they have accumulated. In older posts, I’ve shared some of the Flosstube clips that have been relevant to my blog posts at the time.

For example, some of the Flosstube people I follow and watch regularly (Bendy Stitchy, Stitchin Mommy, Jessie Marie Does Stuff, are stitching some Heaven and Earth Designs (HAED’s) and making the most of the Pattern Keeper app to help them stitch. Which meant that I was inspired and motivated to get some stitches done on Moon Lit Waters. The images below are my progress:

The first two images on the left is my progress (and a close up of that progress) as of 22nd August 2020. Meanwhile, the image on the far right is my progress as of early September and it felt really good to start stitching the the ends of the fairy’s wings and more of the moon. I’m also really looking forward to finishing this page in the hope that there will be minimal fudging!

For the current page I’m working on, I’ve started worked from right to left which is helping me to identify how much out of balance the page is. I may have mentioned in an earlier post, that I normally stitch from left to right and I’ve tried to fudge and fix areas as part of commencing the use of Pattern Keeper, part way through this project. By stitching right to left now, I’m finding that I’m out of balance by at least three columns! This is a huge difference for all cross stitch projects and it can have a significant influence on how the project looks at the end.

The intriguing part is how the project will look when I start stitching the bottom of the moon. I’m hopeful that with the use of Pattern Keeper, that it will balance out okay. I’ll keep you posted!

Pinterest and other social media channels

I can easily spend hours on this app! I scroll through it to find inspiration for photography, cross stitch, running and potential places I want to travel to. So much so, that I’ve created some boards on this app so that I can refer back to it, if I’m needing some inspiration.

I’m also part of a few Facebook groups that are dedicated to cross stitch and a running app called ‘Zombies, Run!‘

The great thing with the groups for cross stitch and running, everyone is so supportive of the achievements and struggles that members of the groups have. Another way the groups are supportive is that people can ask questions of the group and people will answer their questions where possible, or refer them onto other spaces that can answer the questions.

Finishing one page and starting a new page start

I have been going gang-busters on my Gundaroo Mini Mushrooms project and I’ve finished another page and I’m really enjoying working on a new page. What I’m loving about it – at the moment at least – is the small blocks of colour. It is such a nice change to the confetti stitching that I had been working on to finish the previous page and the confetti stitching I was doing on Moon Lit Waters.

The first two images on the left is my progress as of early September this year. The image second from the right is my progress as of August 2020 and the last image on the right is what the project should look like when it’s finished.

The current page I’m working on marks the half way point of the project which is adding to my motivation to keep going. It’s also inspiring me to work on some more of my photos and convert them into cross stitch patterns!

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Posted in Uncategorized

Why should you learn how to cross stitch?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

Have you been contemplating learning to cross stitch but used some of the following reasons not to try it?

  • It’s too hard…
  • That’s what my grandma/elderly relative did…
  • I don’t have the time for it…
  • Isn’t it expensive?
  • I tried it and it’s just not for me…
  • It’s too girly…
  • I don’t have the patience for it…

Some of these reasons may be legitimate and you may have found your creative outlet that fits within your lifestyle. I hope this is the case if cross stitch is legitimately not for you.

However…if you have used any of the above excuses and not really given cross stitch a go, here are some reasons why you should!

1. You’re stuck in your head

You may also be thinking that there are so many other things that are great stress relievers. Some legal…some not so legal. Running for example is a great way to get rid of any excess energy you may have caused by so many different things. At the moment, my muscles are giving me grief, so it’s causing me more grief than what it should be. But humour me for a moment and lets say your chosen physical exercise has helped you as much as it can for today. But you’re still feeling stressed or anxious and you don’t want to undo all of the awesome work you’ve done with your physical release. This is where cross stitch comes into play.

2. It’s as time consuming as you want it to be

When was the last time you learnt something new that wasn’t because of work or because you had to, rather because you wanted to? Also, how long are you expecting cross stitch to take? Are you wanting to complete a project in one sitting or are you wanting it to take some time to see the end result?

Depending on who you talk to, some people may argue that they find it a hassle to get it out of the spot they store it when they’re not working on it. Depending on what your home situation is like, the amount of space you have and the size of your project, I can understand why it will seem like a hassle. My counter argument is how big is your project and is there a smaller project you could be working on that doesn’t require as much space?

When you next remember to, have a look around your home and see if there’s a corner or space that you can setup a space for yourself to stitch in. If you have a dedicated space, it may make it easier for you to sit down there and spend as much time as you have available there.

3. You can be as extroverted or introverted as you like

Our current climate is making life a bit difficult with catching up with people and doing anything fun. If you’re needing human interaction, there are numerous forums on a broad range of platforms that enable you to engage with fellow cross stitchers. Some of these forums include:

  • Virtual Stitchers (YouTube)
  • Cross Stitch Forum – Facebook
  • Cross Stitch Australia – Facebook
  • Cross Stitch Addicts – Facebook
  • Cross Stitch Unlimited – Facebook
  • Stitch Maynia – Facebook

Also, check out the related reads at the end of this post for some more suggestions.

4. It’s an opportunity to feel good

When was the last time you created something from scratch and felt good about the end result? You may have cooked a meal by following a recipe, repurposed some furniture or painted a room. It may have involved a bit of hard work because you may not have done it before or it took a bit of elbow grease. But in the end, it came out pretty good. That’s what cross stitch can be like. When you’re stitching, you are creating something out of nothing and giving a space some new life. When you have finished a page or section in the pattern that may have been challenging or the entire project, it feels really good because you persevered and achieved something.

5. It’s only as hard as you make it – stitch what you like

When you’re learning to do anything, at first it can seem daunting. Cross stitch patterns can look confusing with all of their different symbols and colour combinations. But it has evolved so much since you last saw someone doing it that technology has joined the party. Some designers use coloured squares in conjunction with the symbols to help stitchers clearly see the pattern and what colours go where.

When you have found a pattern that you really want to stitch, you will be amazed by how quickly you get through it. Or at least how often you find yourself wanting to stitch it if you’ve chosen to stitch a huge project! I have certainly found over the years that if I’m really not feeling the love for a project, it becomes a chore and I don’t really want to work on it any more.

Then there’s the app Pattern Keeper. If you have chosen a pattern that’s compatible with this app, it will make your life so much easier with reading the pattern and keeping track of where you are.

But wait…there’s more!

These reasons for why you should try cross stitch is just the tip of the iceberg. My aim with this post was to add to what so many awesome people have already written about and I’ve tried to keep this post as light hearted as possible.

To me, cross stitch is a way of being creative when I have the time and getting out of my head and focusing on just one thing – the pattern and what colour I’m going to stitch next. It doesn’t always work. I still have times when I’m still stuck in my head because my thoughts are getting to me and I need to talk to someone. Which is why I love being able to catch up face to face or virtually with like minded family and friends who enjoy stitching as much as I do. It’s also good to talk to someone if your thoughts are becoming too hard to handle on your own and you’ve done as much as you can in a health and safe way.

Also, cross stitch is just one of the many different creative avenues that people can use to be creative. Check out the related reads below to see a bit more about how cross stitch may be able to help you find your creative side.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

Related reads:

Posted in Uncategorized

Can you get a grant for cross stitch?

Posted on by Kristen Gawronski

Hi Everyone

At the end of June this year, it came to my attention that if I were part of a community group, organisation or on my own (as long as it was not to make money), I could apply for a grant from my local government that could be used for improving the mental health of my community! This particular grant I have in mind, is specific to the current pandemic and wave of infections we’re all trying to avoid.

But it got me thinking…aside from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Innovation Grants Program, what other grants are available for the creative arts that can assist with our current environment, let alone the creative arts generally speaking?

Artwork Archive Complete Guide to 2020 Artist Grants & Opportunities

This site is amazing! The Artwork Archive have listed all of the grants and opportunities that they consider to the be the best for artists who are needing a helping hand in some shape or form. The opportunities are from around the world and some are specific to people who are living in a specific area, region or country and in some circumstances, the type of art that’s being done. The list is in order of deadline date and I think is worth checking out!

Advance-Africa – 1000+ Artist Grants and Opportunities

This site lists a looong list of creative grants and opportunities – over 1000 as the heading says – that are connected to Africa. They also have scholarships and volunteer options for different areas of Africa.

VicArts Grants – Creative Victoria

This site is a little closer to home for me because it’s Victoria, Australia. This grant, like many of the others in this post are for a variety creative arts. Ranging from theatre productions to concerts to art installations such as sculptures and paintings.

Just the tip of the iceberg

The grants mentioned in this post are just a sample of the huge variety grants out there. If you’re having trouble deciding on what grant to apply for, here are a few things to consider:

  • Why are you applying for the grant?
  • What are you going to use it for?
  • How is it going to help you?
  • What are the conditions with the grant?
  • Is it the right grant for you?
  • Is it possible for it to benefit others as well?
  • What work do you need to do to prepare for the grant?
  • How are you going to prove you’ve used the grant the way you said you would?

There are a lot of questions and potentially more that you may need to ask yourself and others who may be involved.

How do you apply for a grant?

This depends greatly upon what type of grant you’re applying for and why. Some grants may require you to submit a portfolio of your work to prove your abilities and how you may use the grant. Others may require you to provide the panel or board with a cover sheet or series of forms similar to a job application.

The awesome thing is that there are numerous websites and guides on how to apply for grants. The related links section provides you with some links to sites that can help you with this process. Additionally, the sites you go to, to apply for the grant of your choice will have supporting documents on what criteria you need to meet to be considered for the grant.

You have successfully received a grant! Now what?

If I were prepared for it, I would apply for the grant I mentioned at the start of this post. It would be used to try and bring my local community together to hang out and do cross stitch and learn how to do cross stitch. Some of the funds could go towards gift cards for people to use to purchase the supplies they need to start or complete a project. Whilst other funds could go towards gift vouchers for people to purchase food and drink from local cafes that they can eat and drink whilst stitching.

But that’s what I would do. Have you successfully received a grant? What did you do with it? How did it help you?

Until next time,

Happy stitching!

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