An almost finished cross stitch project on (formerly) white aida. It's showing a pig standing up, wearing a light blue Norwegian sweater with a dark blue scarf and pom pom / bobble hat. On the outstretched right had sits a little bird, I think it's supposed to be a robin. In the left hat the pig is carrying a Christmas tree. Most of the backstitch is already done but it's still mostly missing on the tree and sweater. They will probably remain missing. There are huge tea stains in the upper and lower left corner of the fabric and the fabric itself is soaked at least from the left edge to middle as I did not realise that a lot of tea had spilled over the edge of the mug. A LOT. I haven't been able to get the stain out with gall soap. The project was a kit from Oven, named "Pig with a Christmas Tree".

When you don't clear the side table before placing a full tea mug there *and* don't watch what you are doing you might end up ruining a cross stitch project. I did this morning.
Otherwise this could have been finish number 4 in 2026.

Started a new cross stitch project today as well, and no, I did not finished my last one, or the one before that...
You could try placing a tablet or bigger phone with a light background on your lap to help with seeing the holes. It doesn't have to be super bright, just enough to shine through.

Finished but unframed cross stitch project showing the text IT'S OKAY IF IT'S TAKING MORE TIME THAN YOU THOUGHT in two shades of blue. Each word is on its own line and the two shades of blue are alternating per line. All letters have been backstitched in a darker blue. The words are surrounded by small shapes like stars, mini hearts, snowflakes, ... in pastel rainbow colours. The project has been stitched on 14ct white aida.

After accumulating five WIPs 🙈 I actually finished one yesterday evening. Third finish of 2026.
Pattern by @samanthatextiles.bsky.social, available on Etsy. I used up left-over threads from another project and added my own as well.

#crossstitch #crossstitching #stitchsky

That's really impressive! 😲 And I forgot about four knitting projects 🧶 but these are longterm projects anyway that usually only see the light when I'm away from home.

Thank you :-)

I tried two different ones but couldn't get used to either or to working with both hands. Using a small wooden hoop works best for me these days. And taking regular breaks, roughly every half hour.

I used the sew method for most of my life until
a) I was told that it looks untidy
b) one of the two strands was constantly growing shorter
c) my hand, wrist, arm, ... would no longer support it.
Now I use the stab method but manage less crosses in an hour than I used to. That's ok, it's not a race.

Not quite that new to bluesky but didn't know about this starter pack before. Thank you for posting about it 👍
Would you mind adding me as well? I hope to post a couple of finishes in the next few weeks as I need to tackle five (5!) WIPs, at least two almost done, before I go into rehab in May.

And when you finally do have the time, you won't do all these things because you can't decide what to do first and end up doing nothing! 😉 But I feel you: I'm stuck with five cross stitch WIPs, my 🧩 pile is growing, so is my collection of diamond paintings to do and don't even mention the 📚.

Totally agree. I try to juggle diamond painting, cross stitching, knitting and gaming AND would love to learn crochet! It's not only a question of time, it's also one of what my brain-fog can deal with.

It's amazing! 😍 I admire you for being able to stitch so much on dark fabric. It would drive me mad, even with a backlight, white cloth etc. Looking forward to seeing what your next project will be.

I agree that it does look quite finished but found myself wondering about the smoke rising from the boat's chimney. It looks more like lightning coming from the cloud. Perhaps (re)stitch it in very light grey and let it reach a bit into the cloud like in the drawing? Otherwise great job well done!!

My DMC are sorted by number and in floss bags rather than on bobbins. Takes up a lot more space with one number per bag but then I mostly have two or three skeins of each.
However, I bought a 200 skeins set of cheapies for cards recently and wound these up on bobbins. Still sorted by number though.

Finished cross stitch project showing the phrase "Their opinions aren't your problem" with each word on a separate line. Except for the words "opinions" and "problem" there is a heart before and after each word. Next to each heart is a small star. The letters are in different colours: blue-green, rose, light orange-brown, rose again and then starting over with green. Every word starts with a bluegreen letter. This is my own colour scheme, using threads from my stash. The project was stitched on white 14 ct aida and is not framed or otherwise finished-finished yet.

Second finish of 2026. Enjoying it much more now that I have moved away from big/complex patterns. Cancer-induced fatigue doesn't mean I have to give up my hobbies entirely, just that I have to adjust.
Pattern by Samantha Lane (Etsy), colour choice is my own.

#crossstitch #crossstitching #stitchsky

Mostly I cross stitch, do diamond painting or jigsaws (1000 pcs). If my tennis elbow allows, I also knit. My favourite exercise is water fitness but I don't get to go very often. Otherwise I do dumbbell training at home to get rid of too much negative energy.

Counted cross stitch is easy to learn. Start with a small kit for children like this one: a.co/d/0aLBklpC It gives you quick results and you won't have invested a lot to find out whether it suits you. I'd recommend staying away from pre printed or stamped cross stitch as the print often isn't good.

Finished cross stitch project showing a sad-looking beige-brown cat with a white belly styled as cowboy with a red-ish hat on its head. It has tears in the eyes, and there is quite a puddle under its paws. At the bottom is the sentence "I'm not feeling very yeehaw." in capital black letters. The project is not framed yet.

Trying to get serious about cross stitching again and presenting my first finish of 2026 😃

Chart by HappySlothPatterns (Etsy), took 16 hours, colours pulled from my stash while trying to stay close enough to the called for colours.

#crossstitch #crossstitching

This is one study about interruptions but not about the mean time it takes people to get back to the task:
ics.uci.edu/~gmark/chi08...
I think Gloria Mark let other studies as well, and she also wrote a book about the topic. There's an interview with her here: www.informatics.uci.edu/regaining-fo...