I think one of the hardest things for me about this move is going to be having my sewing machines packed up for who knows how long. Sewing is messy and takes up lots of space and isn’t going to be very conducive while trying to keep a house spotless for realtors to show. Creating keeps me sane, so during this time of transition, I’ll be resorting to more portable creativity, like knitting and hand embroidery.
Last year, my new skill for the year was hand embroidery and I love, love, love it. The projects can be as simple or complicated as I want and the options are endless. Housemate actually got me hooked (or should it be needled me into…) embroidery, and she recommended Jenny Hart’s book Sublime Stitching. The book has 48 pages of basic instructions from the supplies you need to a good variety of basic stitches and websites for resources. My favorite part of the book however is the hundreds of iron on patterns. They are hip and cool and fun and not the stereotypical embroidery of old. As Jenny points out, embroidery is an inexpensive and easy hobby to pick up. You just need a small pair of scissors, a few needles and some embroidery floss, which very regularly goes on sale at JoAnns for 
something like 5-10 for $1. You can embroider on just about anything. If you can get your needle through it, you can stitch on it – t-shirts, blankets, jackets, dish towels baby sleepers – endless options!
So, if you’re looking for something simple and easy to pick up and do while watching tv, or riding in a car, try embroidery.
i loooooooooooove Sublime Stitching!!
You got me hooked!!!
I tried embroidery many many years ago. I just can’t get a uniform stitch. AJo tried to teach me and she was quite good at it. Lacking in patience? Maybe but every now and then I get a desire to cross stitch. Never quite got the hang of doing it in the car though. I’m never told when a bump is coming. Lol When you get into knitting more you need to try duplicate stitch it’s the art of putting designs on knitting and it is so fun.
I already picked Knitting back up becuase of you…now I’m on to trying embroidery! I’ve always wanted to learn…I may have to give it a shot after I’m done with my current scarf and dishrags. 🙂
Mom, maybe you’re like me with knitting and you were just thinking about it too much and making it more complicated than it was. You should try it again!
Jennifer, that makes me so happy that I inspired you to pick up knitting again!! How awesome! You would LOVE embroidery. It’s simple and small and fun!