Different craft..different feel.

Last month, we had a spell of hot, dry weather.  No forest fires erupted, no fans whirred through the afternoons, no fainting spells happened, but it felt hot and horrible. A brown shower of pine needles carpeted the forest floor, and the skies were a clear canopy of blue.

Knitting would not happen. I could not bring myself to sit with warm yarn in my lap. Cotton or linen could have been knitted, but I wanted something new.

It was time to pull out the embroidery hoop, find a blunt tapestry needle, check out the colour codes of the embroidery skeins, and begin a project with my first love….CROSS STITCH.

Embroidered on even weave Aida cloth ( matty material for oldtimers), cross stitch embroidery can be meditation for “nimble-fingered-and-sharp-eyed-souls”. Sharp eyes for cross-checking the pattern and one’s project, nimble fingers for ensuring that all the crosses are in the same direction…there is no question of watching TV, or reading books while doing cross stitch..something I so love about knitting!

I had forgotten how much pleasure can be gleaned from this entire process of counting squares and filling in the correct colour threads. Our home is festooned with cross stitch frames which kept me sane through every challenging phase of life. I proudly point out  the-waiting-to-become-Mommy series, the divorce series, the girls-leaving-for-boarding-school series, the planning-to-return-to-India series…cross stitch stopped after that.  They are all special to me, and they cheer me on just by gleaming on the walls.

This project, a lovely pattern from Satsuma Street, has been a very happy experience. Do check out this website. I enjoyed the large printout of the pattern, the different symbols for each colour (which can be deciphered by colour blind crafters), and the wonderful depth of the trees. The twelve trees were embroidered at the rate of one tree every day ( talk about systems!), and one additional day for just staring at the picture! :-). There is a lot to be said for the precision and perfection of cross-stitch. As one colour gave way to the next, looking at the stitches ( crossed in the same direction) did give me a feeling of instant accomplishment. I do get a similar feeling while knitting Fair Isle, but it gets delayed till final blocking and completion.

To  complete a cross stitch project, soak it for a good twenty minutes in a tub of lukewarm water with a gentle detergent. Three rinses in cold water, and then it dries flat on a Turkish towel, with the embroidered side facing downwards. When dry, iron gently with a steam iron, on that same Turkish towel, with the embroidery still snuggling into the towel. The steam iron needs to be patted on the fabric, not moved up and down.

When the embroidery is turned over, the clear definition of the stitches stands out so beautifully that its time to feel good about one’s stitching prowess, once again! Framing with non-reflective glass is an absolute must.

Our tiny town does not stock non-reflective glass. I can either wait for a trip to the city to frame this precious bit of embroidery.

Or, I can wait for one of my precious offsprings to visit the mountains, and hand over this piece of work for her viewing pleasure in her space.

After all , every city dweller needs a bit of forest in front of their eyes!