Many years ago I severely struggled with anxiety. Evenings were especially difficult as there were less distractions. The anxiety caused my body to be fidgety and unable to rest. But there were two things that could calm me. One was giving into the motion that my body was craving and rock. I lived in southern California at the time and year round good weather allowed me to go in the backyard and swing on our hammock a lot. Other times I rocked in my mom’s old rocking chair.
The second thing that calmed my body was doing cross-stitch. I guess the constant movement of my hands and focus I needed to keep on the pattern, took up all the jitters of the anxiety. I’m not sure why I picked up cross-stitch at that time. I had done a few little projects when I was young, but I hadn’t done any cross-stitching in years. I don’t know what gave me the idea to do it, but I’m glad I did as it was relief for my mind, soul, and body.
It has been over a decade since that time, and last year I picked it up again. A few years ago I had found a pattern that my mom had cut out of a magazine because she liked it and decided that I would make it for her. After just holding onto the pattern and the Aida cloth for a few years I decided that I just needed to make it. So I bought all the thread colors I could find and began stitching.
Two colors I needed were not available (it was a very old pattern by this time). I had trouble even finding similar colors by other thread manufacturers. One evening I remembered that I had a bunch of threads from my grandma after she had passed. I pulled out the box and decided to see what was in there. Most of it was fancy types of floss, but there was a toilet paper roll filled with new skeins of the types of thread that I needed. I didn’t hold out much hope for finding the colors that I needed. Imagine my surprise when I found the color that was still manufactured but just sold out everywhere. And then my shock when I found the color that was not even manufactured anymore. Out of 15 random colors, the two I needed were provided. Amazing!
I didn’t get the cross stitch quite finished in time for my mom’s birthday. I finished it up and got it framed the following week. She loves it! And then I did one more cross-stitch, a Christmas scene for myself. I loved cross-stitching last year; it was a fun, productive thing to do in the evenings while I watched TV. I don’t have my next pattern picked out yet and I think I’ll take a little break to do some quilting or painting. But I look forward to doing this calming and creative hobby again one day.
What hobbies do you have that provide relaxation and joy?
