Embroidery Project

I recently took up cross stitching with gusto. I embroider at a feverish speed of a recent convert - wanting to prove my allegiance and worth to the faith, father or both.

Everyday I cross stitch for at least an hour if not more, hoping to complete the project in a month or so. At the face of it, cross stitch is a fantastic no brainer. All you need to do is cross one stitch across another. Several such crosses assembled in close proximity reveal a design, symmetry, pattern or picture. The challenging bit is to go through with it, one stitch after another and never quite know how much longer before the disparate stitches finally yield to a picture, pattern, symmetry or design.

As a rule, I try and embroider one yarn every day. One yarn is made of 6 strands. Two strands are used at a time to embroider a cross stitch. A standard length embroidery thread allows one to embroider roughly over an inch by an inch. Multiply this by three and you have a rough idea of how much I manage to get done during the day.

Output is dependent on several things. Primary among which is the pressing urgency of other projects/commitments. I find myself embroidering fervently especially when I have deadlines to meet - especially on projects that fetch me monetary remuneration.  The closer the deadline, faster my speed and longer the time I spend on my embroidery - anything to get me away from the accountability I owe elsewhere.

The availability of natural light and relatively clean glasses are quite the game changer. Trying to embroider in artificial light slows things down and one is not quite sure of making the jab at the right place. Add to that the horrors of threading a needle. Every time the yarn runs out or you yank out the yarn in a frenzy to do things faster, you are reminded of your meditative practices and presented the golden opportunity to bring them to bear. Clean glasses first, moisten yarn with spit and without quite getting your eyes permanently crossed, attempt, once again, to thread the needle. Most attempts are met with success!

I also embroider with greater concentration when I feel 'stressed' and on the cusp of having strong, verbal disagreements. Nothing better to cool off than the finely chequered canvas which mutely accepts jab after jab of needle pulling thread behind itself. All the anger either melts,  finds an avenue, or gets pent up even as the embroidery canvas comes to live like a cactus bursting into flowers after the first rains.

The other alternative to working out the disquiet are a long walk, a quiet smoke or a 'long-ish' bath. The walk was an absolute favourite until recently, but unfortunately none of the three yield a memento at the end. No keepsake, just muscle memory which sends tingling sensations of happiness in the deep inside - sometimes momentarily. 

There are certain rules that I play by while embroidering. I finish a 6 strand thread per day and do not start with a new strand no matter how tempted I am. This usually means I embroider in bits and parts. And the work looks like tufts of hair on a mangy dog's back. It takes a while before the piece takes shape and resembles anything at all.

I play games with myself by betting myself on how far a particular strand will last. If the strand goes beyond my imagination and bet, I am absolutely thrilled that I lost the bet to myself. Yes, sounds cuckoo, and probably is.

I also take part of my embroidery time to graze through the vast savannahs of Amazon and look up more embroidery kits printed in China which I can buy, complete and gift. There is no high greater than gifting one of your pieces to someone you love. I believe it is similar to what a cat feels as it reverentially lays down a dead mouse at the owner's feet - My master, this is my best and it is a skill, please accept it.

Receivers of my embroidery pieces react a bit more favourably than most people do to cats which lay down dead mice at their feet. Most of them are genuinely happy for the little gift they got. I assure them, and it is truthfully so, that I thought of them while completing the project and the piece is everything about them and what happens to me when I am with them or think about them - random stitches which take on a pattern and a thing of beauty evolves quite on its own.

P.S.: The unsuspecting victim of these countless hours spent counting and filling stitches is of course the assignment which would have earned me some remuneration...that will happen, when the time is right :).