Cross Stitching Paradise

Formula Student
Sep 14, 2020
3 min read

The pandemic proved more positive for me than I was expecting. I finally had free time.

I usually work during the summer, but my internship was cancelled so it was time to focus on my hobbies instead!

Formula 1 came into my life during the summer when I joined Formula Student and I love it! As part of the Media and Marketing team, my role is to control the Facebook and Instagram accounts (don’t forget to follow us!). I post a story every Monday, trying to benefit from the interactive side of social media. Fridays are post days, and it’s fun coming up with material to post. It’s good to be active online for all our followers and sponsors!

Playing badminton has been my biggest hobby for the past two years, spending hours at it each week. However, some blokes in NPHET decided that the naturally socially distant, non contact sport that is badminton shouldn’t be allowed during the pandemic. Who’d have thunk it?

It was time to try something else.

I tried and failed at a few hobbies, such as knitting and playing the keyboard... they didn’t catch on.

However, my passion for one hobby in particular has been re-ignited: Cross Stitching.

I started this hobby back when I was 14, when all the girls who did Home EC would complain about their cross stitching assignments. I never did Home EC, but I thought the pictures they created were so cool. I was imagining all the possibilities!

Cross stitching is a very relaxing hobby, since you follow a pattern and repeat the movement of little crosses. The method is shown in the image: button left to top right, and then bottom right to top left. You’re basically spending your time filling in the pixels of a picture. The finished product always looks great, and it’s clear to see the time and effort put into it.

I bought myself a few beginner kits, and was very proud of the result! Seeing an image produced from some thread and cloth captivated me, and of course I flaunted my products to my family.

Moving on from that, I bought

a bigger kit (10”x10”) of an Italian Chef around 3 years ago.

I took a picture of it in June 2018 and again in May 2020, when I finished it.

It was slow going, I’d do bits at a time whenever I had the free time and motivation.

The finished product is so satisfying!

As soon as the Italian Chef was done, I started my next project straight away!

A picture of a Turkish Angora (breed of cat).

It’s still a work in progress, and I’ve started taking pictures of it every day to record its progression. Have a look at the gif!

I love listening to audiobooks while I stitch, I use Audible and BorrowBox and it’s made the experience so much more enjoyable.

The anxious feeling of needing another project lined up before I finish the current one gripped me hard. I quickly made my way to Vibes and Scribes in Cork where I purchased enough kits to last me at least 10 years! They have such a good selection there with cross stitching kits for all different levels. The benefit of getting a kit is great. You get the cloth, threads, pattern and needle all included.

Something you’d have to buy separately is an embroidery hoop (you can see the outline of the hoop used in my gif), which keeps the cloth taut while you’re working on it.

The plan is to frame the Italian Chef and all the other projects once they’re done!

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to pick up your needle and thread!