I was reading the "Reality Check" entry in Cindy's blog this morning.
Who among us doesn't have a stack of unfinished finishes? Why is that? With a few exceptions, we all seem to have this same "problem". Maybe we all have different reasons for our "problem". Cindy lists laziness twice, and althought I don't know Cindy personally, I have to say I sincerely doubt that she is lazy. I sincerely doubt that any of us are lazy. If anything, I find most stitchers tend to be ambitious! "Sure, I can finish that in time for Christmas!" "It is so small, I'll have it finished by the weekend." "It is full of partial stitches, blended needles and loads of backstitching but the finished size is only 25" x 30" - I can do that!"
I don't find the same joy in finishing that I find in stitching. That plays a big part in why my finishes remain unfinished. When I finish stitching a project my interest is gone and into the cedar chest it goes. I want to get back to the joy of stitching, not putter around with finishing.
As Cindy said in #5 on her list, I also lack confidence in my finishing abilities. That may explain (in part) my lack of joy in finishing. Never mind that I'm a perfectionist, struggling with an "if it isn't perfect it isn't worth doing" attitude. My involvement in the Stitching Bloggers Exchange is helping (or forcing?) me to overcome my lack of confidence and perfectionist tendencies. My confidence is growing and I'm learning that good is good enough and perfect isn't necessary or possible.
If you are a regular reader of Lelia's blog (and you should be!) you know that she has been working diligently this year to finish projects. Way to go girlfriend! You've had so many awesome finishes this year; you are my hero!
The finishes I see posted in all of your blogs inspire me to completely finish what I've started. My interest in the finishing process is growing and I hope to find more joy there as well!
If you are interested in stitching - and finishing - smalls, check out this Yahoo Group. It is awesome!
One last thing, I've mentioned joy several times in this post. I can't think or use the word without my sister Joy coming to mind. Love ya, Sis!
10 comments:
I think it is a common thing among a lot of stitchers - we missed the 'finishing gene' somewhere ;) I'm guilty of dozens of UFO's for different reasons, but finishing is definitely not my forte - I need to find a book that has really clear pictures to follow to give me more confidence - probably just need to bite the bullet and 'try it'. You're also right that other stitchers' blogs are inspiring ... it's great to see what others are doing, and hope the inspiration rubs off on you ;-)
I agree with you - I thoroughly enjoy stitching. For me, finishing is a challenge, it's time consuming and quite frankly, I'm afraid of it! I'm worried about ruining the piece I stitched!
Seeing so many finishes on various blogs is helping me to develop confidence though.
Thanks Chelle - you were one of the first blogs that I visited and it inspired me to start my own!
chelle: your last finish was so very awesome. (did your exchange project arrive at the destination yet?). I didn't read Cindy's post yet; however, I agree that stitchers are very ambitious!
enjoy the week-end ; )
It's scary to jump in and just start - I hate the thought of ruining a piece I've spent so many hours stitching - but now that I've taken the plunge to really finish a few pieces, I've discoved a whole new dimension of cross stitching and I really enjoy it!
Hi. Sorry to bother you again about the Mary Mack pin, but I'm having trouble finding the Tin Pin for this. I can find the pin in Twisted Tyhreads kit but just not on it's own. Any suggestions?? Have you found the Pin??
I just love this pin idea!!!
Thanks
Missy, about the tin pin frames, here's a link to see them at Nordencrafts: http://www.nordencrafts.com/CHARTS/TT/ttframes/ttframesmain.html
You should be able to request your local shop or online shop to order it for you. HTH! :-)
Hi Chelle, I'm with you in that I find much more joy in the stitching part, than in the finishing. My finishing skills have come a long way in past few years, thank goodness! Even though I know how to do some things now, I still have my 'pile', because, like you, I just enjoy stitching so much more. It's therapy!
Hello sweet lady :)
I am just now getting around to catching up on blogs and read your entry about the SBEBB...you are so kind and I love each of you that are members there-you make my board such a home and I am so blessed to have the board and the wonderful group of ladies that are members.
I also read about your autumn exchange and wondered if you have heard from Julie yet??? If not, contact Melissa and see what you can find out :) Let me know if you will please :) :) :)
I too have had a year for doing the finshing on those stitched finishes :) I am so pleased with the number of pieces I have now done the finishing on and given to others. My drawer of stitched pieces is a lot less now than it was at the start of 2005. It was over 100 and now is down to 63 :)
hugs to you :)
FEAR!!! That's why I don't *finish* anything! I am afraid of ruining it...and I am SUCH a perfectionist. And I worry about how others will *perceive* my ability to finish my work. I obsessed when I finished a Halloween exchange piece, it wasn't *perfect* so I wasn't perfect either. Isn't that silly?! But I am challenged and inspired by the finishes of others so I am diligently working on more finishes.
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