Don’t even ask me why I decided to pick up cross-stitching. I don’t have enough time for all the things already in my life, the last thing I needed was another craft. And a pretty impractical one at that. I mean, at least when I’m making quilts, I know it’s a blanket that will keep someone warm and cozy. It’s likely to get used in a very tangible way. Same with knitting or crochet, both of which I loved for a while and then abandoned. But cross-stitch? I mean, what do you even DO with cross-stich? Stick it in a frame and hang it in your bathroom? That’s hardly my style.

But dangit, I couldn’t resist. I saw people tweeting about the Woodland Sampler and thought it would be a fun project, so I joined up. But then I figured I might want to, you know, try cross-stitching something before I started in on a year-long project. I came upon this pattern and decided to give it a go. If nothing else, at least I could feel good that the money was going to a good cause.

Well, I loved it. I love how satisfyingly precise and even those little stitches are. I love how easy it is, how it requires virtually no special skill or accuracy other than counting correctly (which, OK, is sometimes easier said than done). I love the fun patterns that are available now, especially the pixel people by weelittlestitches on Etsy. I picked up a few of those patterns when they were on sale and have been working them on and off when I get a chance.

So, now the Woodland Sampler is underway. When I signed up, I got a PDF pattern with all of the thread colors listed, as well as the layout for the frames. Then, each month I get a new pattern to fill in one of the frames. January’s was this sweet little deer couple. Cute, right?

The frames are finally complete and ready for the next months’ designs. It took longer than I imagined it would to finish all of those boxes, but again, it certainly wasn’t difficult. Just something to do while watching TV.

What will I do with this when it’s done? I haven’t got the faintest idea. And for now, I don’t really care. It’s just a fun project to work on and carry around with me.