Hello Readers! Happy Friday.
Today I have something completely different. I know, I know, I said I would review THE NAME OF THE WIND, and I will next week, but in my own selfish brain this is more exciting.

So another one of my hidden talents? interests? obsessions? is cross-stitching. I come from a family of, shall we say, ‘traditional’ women who emphasize sewing, both decorative and functional. In childhood I received many learn-to-sew kits–cross stitch, embroidery, crewel, and more–but few held my attention. The one exception was a counted-cross stitch pattern of a colorful lizard that I lazily finished and gave to my grandmother. All other project attempts were abandoned mid-stitch. Honestly, I can’t stand most traditional cross stitch and embroidery patterns, with their saccharine sayings and froofy flowers and whatnot. The art was left in the dust of my childhood closet–literally and figuratively.

Until! A couple years ago, as a senior in college, I was poking around tumblr–as you do–and found a listing for this:

Hold the charge–a resistor-themed cross stitch pattern? With a pun? HELL YES. Despite being neck-deep in classes and senior design, I bought it immediately and completed it over holiday breaks. It’s awesome. It’s the first thing people see when they walk into our apartment–so they know what kind of wierdos they’re dealing with. (As if they don’t already.)

All this is to say that if a cross-stitch design is interesting and fun, I like doing it! And as such I just finished my latest masterpiece:

IT’S A DRAGON.

[HAPPY YODELS]

With the wedding and the fact that it’s 14″x16″, it took me 10.5 months to finish. 10.5 months of staring at every bloody shade of blue imaginable. Seriously, it has like 40 colors. Also 10.5 months of watching YouTube videos and listening to podcasts while stitching, because I can. And because I’d feel guilty if all I did for hours was sit and watch YouTube–but no, see?  I’m bring productive at the same time. I’m working with my hands.

What’s cross-stitching like, you ask? Well, tying a ridiculous number of knots, counting a lot, trying not stab yourself with the needle….But what is it really? Really really?

World’s. Slowest. Loading. JPEG.

No Joke.

Like the Ohm, I’m keeping this one. It’s going up on our  wall over the fireplace as soon as I can find a suitably epic frame. My next project is an abstract cactus thing for my uncle in Utah, and after that? Who knows! Should  I do a mini-sampler or a giant blanket?

Yay making things! Go make a thing!

UPDATE 12/9/15

The dragon has a home! I will be v-e-r-y carefully hanging it up tonight.

LOOK AT THE EPICNESS