Age And Infirmity

Day 112: There's no dodging it. I'm not getting any younger, and these last two years have made me more keenly aware of the fact than I'd care to admit. Idleness and stress are taking their toll on my health and stamina, and although I could still probably drop a fairly large percentage of people half my age on a hike, the old grey mare just ain't what she used to be. Hard truth, but there you have it. Perhaps the most noticeable decline is in my joints. No longer as flexible as they should be, they're getting arthritic and stiff to the point that it's painful to hold an embroidery hoop for any length of time. That said, I flatly refuse to give up the things I enjoy just because it hurts when I do them, but when there is a simple solution available, far be it from me to scorn it. I've eyeballed sit-on embroidery frames for years, but never felt I could justify purchasing one. My left thumb recently convinced me otherwise, and oh, what a relief it is! Now I have both hands free so that I can work cross-stitch in the same manner I'd do needlepoint or quilting, one hand above the piece and one below. As an added benefit, the stress on my shoulders is less as well. The base is not nearly as uncomfortable to secure beneath my legs as I was afraid it would be. In fact, I don't even notice that I'm holding it in place. Like it or not, sometimes accommodations for age and infirmity must be made, but now I'm kicking myself for not making the small investment years earlier.

Floss Daily

Day 38: One of my favorite needlearts is counted cross-stitch. When I first took it up...must have been half a century ago...I decided to collect all the DMC colors so that I wouldn't have to make a special trip to town when I wanted to start a project. It took a while to build up my stash, money being somewhat scarce, but I reached my goal. I filed them away in three fifteen-drawer cabinets, organizing them by number so they'd be easy to "look up." Just a few months later, DMC added another twenty colors, and one color family in particular crowded the drawer. I reorganized, and of course that meant I had to renumber the drawers as well. Somewhat smarter for the experience, I left some room in each drawer, but I failed to anticipate DMC's next move. They added a whole new series at the end of the numbering system a few years later, and I had to reorganize the collection once again. Later, when they came out with a variegated assortment, I bought a fourth cabinet expressly for "specialty" floss.

If the drawers still seem crowded, it's because I have inherited several floss collections from friends who have given up embroidery or came by them when mom passed away. I seem to have an abundance of red #321 for example, left over from a project I was commissioned to complete, and at least a dozen skeins of black because I enjoy doing blackwork. Any time I find myself at half a skein, I put the number on my shopping list and pick up a spare when I go to town.

Once the collection was complete, it was easy to maintain, only replacing colors when I run short or adding in skeins as new shades are released. You'd think with all that floss, I could match every color in the rainbow, but I often find myself wishing for a purple with just a little more blue, a green just a tad richer or more golden, a slightly warmer brown. You can never have enough color in your day.