Do People Really Enjoy Counted Cross Stitch?

Do people really enjoy counted cross stitch? I don't. It makes my head hurt. I have a problem with the grids and counting the stitches, and maybe that's ADD-related. I don't really know. But truthfully, I don't think my lack of love for cross stitch is because I'm impatient. Rather, it's that I love crafts of two different varieties: 1) the kind that allow me to flow with my creativity and 2) the kind that allow me to relax in front of the TV. And cross stitch doesn't really allow me either of these things.

For creative flow, I love spending time in my craft room, where I can get tangled up in ribbons, get my hands dirty with rubber stamping ink, heat up the room with a lampworking torch. I just love seeing where my creativity takes me. Now, counted cross stitch...it's just something that requires constant, vigilant attention...attention I simply don't have. I've done some pretty cool things in cross stitch, but I sure had to force myself to stick with it. It wasn't easy.

Now, having said all that, I do envy cross stitchers. I think their work is stunningly beautiful, and I confess to having more than my fair share of cross stitch kits that I was absolutely certain I was going to complete...but didn't even start.

My favorite pattern from
Subversive Cross Stitch

Of course, today, I have a fairly firm grasp on the fact that I quite simply don't enjoy cross stitch and shouldn't invest any more money into that craft. That said, if I was going to try again, I think I'd like to try the kits available from Subversive Cross Stitch. Julie's been in business for several years and now has a wide variety of hilarious patterns, including one that says, "Shut your piehole" in the style of an old Amish sampler. The irony is what makes me giggle most.

So that's my take on cross stitch. Maybe it's just me.