For writing, it's the blank page. With embroidery, it can be the dish towel, the tote bag, the pillowcase, or what my embroidery kit calls "14 ct cotton Aida," a nice inflexible mesh thing riddle with needle-sized holes.
14 ct Aida (Stole it off this blog, from someone way more crafty than me.)The blank space is totally terrifying.
Because the image in your head is the end product.
And your outline is incredibly unhelpful.
But somehow, you start. At first, it doesn't look like much, but you're pleased with your progress nonetheless. You brag about it to the people around you: Such a great start. Such promise. So easy, etc.
Then, getting nervous about the real work, you find a way to stall. For me, it was adding the second border. It looked nice, but really, it was fluff. Finally, you can't procrastinate anymore. It's time to dive into the meat of the piece.
(And just so you know, inside the border...is just more empty white space. Like you're starting from scratch again.)
You begin with what's straightforward (ie. the boxy sign) or your favorite part (ie. the pretty pink heels!).
Then you start of the other stuff. The doubts begin again. (For ex: Ugh, who the heck would ever where such a dumpy blue-and-green-striped two piece?)
You push through. You add a few more details. Suddenly, it begins to look more like what you set out to do, and you like it again. (Ex: Omg, look! Pink hair! That's so cool!)
You finish the cross-stitch portion - ahem, I mean, the first draft - and suddenly, it looks a lot like the image you started out with...
...but you're not done yet.
You do a little more work: straighten out some hazy edges, outline a few things that could be clearer, and add an embellishment or two.
Then, finally...
....you get to the point you were trying to make.
But the best part is this: The end product doesn't give off a hint of the mess you went through to create it.
Especially if you mount it to a plaque, sew it to a tote bag, or um, bind it between to the covers of a book and stick it on a shelf.
Note: The sign was originally supposed to read, "Put your big girl panties on and deal with it." But because I'm a writer, and I wanted to put this on a tote bag that my sister could take to grad school without embarrassment, I tweaked it a little.
Disclaimer: The designer and the kit all belong to Janlynn and Dolly Mamas. More awesome designs are here.
