Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Um, whaddyacallit? Stitching Bloggers QOTW

How do you explain cross stitch to non-cross stitching people? Do they get it or do they say “Oh, right.. you do knitting then (or sewing, or needlepoint)"?
As I've reported my father calls me Madame Defarge to which I reply, "she knit!" Some days I think he's just baiting me. I usually tell people that I do needlework and let them think whatever they want to about it. Sometimes while I am doing it--and I do it publicly all the time--people will ask about it. They tell me that their [fill in female relative here] did [fill in craft here]. If I do the things they're talking about, say knitting, I say "Oh, I knit too." It distinguishes what I am doing now from what they are talking about. I always correct people when they think I sew. I don't try to teach them how to do it, unless they're little kids. Then I'll let them pull the needle through the fabric and tell them to stop pulling when the tension's right. They dig that. I will pull my work away and shout, "don't touch" no matter how young or old the toucher is and I'm willing to give a long lecture on the conservation of linen fabric and cotton floss. I mean how rude is that?

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