A few years
ago, I went back to school to finish up my Bachelor’s degree in political
science and found I had to take a “stitching hiatus”. It wasn’t conscious, it just happened. Between a demanding full time events
organizing public service job, some housework, a tiny bit of cooking, tons of
reading and homework, and spending some time with my friends and family, I just
didn’t stitch anymore.
Let’s fast
forward a few years, to last spring. Wow,
instead of having only been away from stitching for a few years, I kind of felt
like Rip Van Winkle when I saw all the online communities of stitchers, forums,
blogs, Facebook groups, etc. that had cropped up. My LNS had closed down, but I could now
connect with stitchers around the world.
I voraciously read other stitchers’ blogs and discovered some amazing,
new to me designers, like Châtelaine and Little House Needleworks, who were
using eye popping variegated threads and silks, shiny crystals, along with
wonderful hand dyed fabrics. I bought
lots of new stash, participated in exchanges, got involved with a Mirabilia
Round Robin, and joined a Mirabilia Facebook group or two among others. I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to have
Nora Corbett, whose designs I have been stitching for almost twenty years, like
the photo of my finished Maidenhair Pixie.
I thought
about starting my own blog to keep track of and share my stitching, especially with
my Round Robin friends, but I barely had time to read other stitchers’ blogs
and with Facebook taking up so much of my time, I put that thought away for
another time. And then life dropped a
bag of lemons on my head. The government
needed to cut jobs and the powers that be in our department decided that one
member of my team had to go. I was the,
um, lucky one chosen. I get to be on a
priority list for the next year as I try to find another government job while
sitting at home. The logic there kind of
escapes me, but hey, I’ll take it.
And so,
with extra time on my hands, thoughts of starting my own blog going round and
round my head and a new year beginning, here I am, the Red Couch Stitcher. It likely will not surprise you that my living
room couch is red, and that I spend many hours on it stitching with my faithful
companion Bart the Pomeranian snoring by my side.
I hope you
will enjoy my blog, my stitching, my random thoughts about stitching and life,
and the antics of what is surely the cutest dog around. In my eyes at least. My sister is convinced Bart is part squirrel,
part cat. But anyways… Welcome to my red couch!
Julie
