Cross-stitching is my go-to.

Give me any creative activity and I am usually all in. I haven’t ever settled on just one type of hobby – all attempts are a success, in my book. Did I enjoy it? No? Success…I can eliminate it off my long list of things I’d like to try.

Except cross-stitching. Since college, making little x’s with thread is the most therapeutic way to spend my time. I think it largely has to do with the small amount of space this hobby takes up. I can throw a project in my bag and head out the door, or I can sit with it on my lap in a small space at home. This is also where my audio book listening really shines. Mixing these two activities together – the engagement of my mind through audio reading AND keeping my hands busy with cross-stitching – is a very good thing for me. I am as tactile-driven as they come!

I recently finished a big sampler and then immediately started one another project. I love the americana colors and its subject matter: women’s suffrage.

Below is a fall project from last year. I picked approximately one zillion acorn caps from the approximately fivety-eight gajillion acorns in our front yard. Armed with my glue gun, I adhered the acorn caps to the felt balls I bought online. Such a simple project, but one that will forever remind me of our towering oak tree.

They sit in a big wooden fall leaf-bowl on our coffee table. Nostalgia and a pop of color. A perfect combination.