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I'm learning how to embroider, which I'm pretty happy about. My grandmother is a seamstress and when I was a kid I wanted to learn how to sew, but I was a child with undiagnosed autism, plus two learning disabilities, and Grandma didn't know how to handle that/how to adjust her teaching to accommodate me. So, after several months of frustratingly crooked/uneven stitches that were not improving, it was decided that I simply had no talent for needlework of any kind. I accepted that, though I loved crafty things, I wouldn't be able to do any of them myself.
It was only as an adult in my late twenties that I took up crochet. It seemed like it would be easier to manage with my sensory and fine motor problems, which was absolutely true. But also, I was older and wiser, I knew where to search for resources that just didn't exist when I was a child. I was better at accommodating *myself*.
After gaining some proficiency with crochet, I wanted to learn embroidery. As with crochet, Mom used to embroider, so between her guidance and my own self-support, it's going well.
As it turns out, I deeply enjoy stereotypical "women's work," and I'm even decent at doing it. Big shock: women's work is actually quite difficult, requires patience and the development of skill sets, and is certainly not "idleness." One of my storytelling litmus tests nowadays, especially for high fantasy, is: Do characters often use sewing/knitting (it's always knitting for some reason...) as an example of wasting time/worthlessness? Example: "I won't knit by the fire while men fight for me." (Yes, the worst offender is, in fact, Game of Thrones. Surprise, surprise.)
Anyway. It's June and the average temperature is around 90 degrees. Usually, I would be miserable, but I am currently being mildly successful at keeping my mood buoyant through a combination of accepting that this is Not My Preferred Seasonal Environment, and so Things Will Suck, as well as keeping busy with aforementioned crochet and embroidery projects. Currently, I've started working on another blanket using a new granny square technique I learned recently because it's a large, time-consuming, and engrossing project, which is what I need in the summer (yes, I know, it's not technically summer yet. But as previously stated, the temp is regularly reaching high 80s/low 90s with assfuck % humidity, so it's summer; idk what the 'official' start date of summer is).
Obviously, I am also watching a lot of Critical Role, since it's what I have on while I crochet. I think I'm on episode 65 of C2? I've been power-watching recently, so the episode numbers have begun to blur. I've been really enjoying the party being in Xhorhas because a). this world-building and aesthetic is 100000% My Shit, b). Essek, and c). "main characters are socialized to hate the other, then they actually encounter the other and stuff gets complex" plots always fuck so hard, and I'm here for it. Also, the surprise domesticity of Essek gifting the party a house had me trembling. Caduceus' tree!!!!! The garden! The fairy lights!! Jester painting a flower mural for Yasha, my heart!!!!!!!!! So, uh, yeah. That gave me all the feels.
It was only as an adult in my late twenties that I took up crochet. It seemed like it would be easier to manage with my sensory and fine motor problems, which was absolutely true. But also, I was older and wiser, I knew where to search for resources that just didn't exist when I was a child. I was better at accommodating *myself*.
After gaining some proficiency with crochet, I wanted to learn embroidery. As with crochet, Mom used to embroider, so between her guidance and my own self-support, it's going well.
As it turns out, I deeply enjoy stereotypical "women's work," and I'm even decent at doing it. Big shock: women's work is actually quite difficult, requires patience and the development of skill sets, and is certainly not "idleness." One of my storytelling litmus tests nowadays, especially for high fantasy, is: Do characters often use sewing/knitting (it's always knitting for some reason...) as an example of wasting time/worthlessness? Example: "I won't knit by the fire while men fight for me." (Yes, the worst offender is, in fact, Game of Thrones. Surprise, surprise.)
Anyway. It's June and the average temperature is around 90 degrees. Usually, I would be miserable, but I am currently being mildly successful at keeping my mood buoyant through a combination of accepting that this is Not My Preferred Seasonal Environment, and so Things Will Suck, as well as keeping busy with aforementioned crochet and embroidery projects. Currently, I've started working on another blanket using a new granny square technique I learned recently because it's a large, time-consuming, and engrossing project, which is what I need in the summer (yes, I know, it's not technically summer yet. But as previously stated, the temp is regularly reaching high 80s/low 90s with assfuck % humidity, so it's summer; idk what the 'official' start date of summer is).
Obviously, I am also watching a lot of Critical Role, since it's what I have on while I crochet. I think I'm on episode 65 of C2? I've been power-watching recently, so the episode numbers have begun to blur. I've been really enjoying the party being in Xhorhas because a). this world-building and aesthetic is 100000% My Shit, b). Essek, and c). "main characters are socialized to hate the other, then they actually encounter the other and stuff gets complex" plots always fuck so hard, and I'm here for it. Also, the surprise domesticity of Essek gifting the party a house had me trembling. Caduceus' tree!!!!! The garden! The fairy lights!! Jester painting a flower mural for Yasha, my heart!!!!!!!!! So, uh, yeah. That gave me all the feels.
