Enjoy today. The sun is shining, and that's a pretty good reason to. Enjoy today, because it will be over before you know it. This is the deeper message behind my blog title which I've pinched from my latest cross stitch.
This sentimental pattern was picked up from the Knitting and Stitching show in November 2016; I bought it when my mum's back was turned with the intention of stitching it for her after she got quiet emotional reading its sentiment. Little does she know that I caught her buying a pattern when my back was turned (ironically, it's of a clock showing time passing) which hasn't been gifted to me yet. Judging by where I found it the other week, in with her old work papers, I think it was a Christmas present which was forgotten about. Perhaps this will remind her. I do hope there are no tears when I present this completed project as a birthday present next week (and that I don't get told off for it's unframed appearance)!
You can probably make out that it's a very straightforward chart made up entirely of whole cross stitches. If you're interested in making it too, it's produced by Lizzie Kate, 'Let them be small'. I kept quite true to the pattern using DMC threads; the only change I made was to substitute the main text colour from brown to a variegated blue from Classic Colourworks called mermaid's fin. I think the subtle varieation adds some more depth and is effective against the rustico aida.
The last seven hours or so of stitches were completed listening to S-Town - the new podcast from the team at Serial and This American Life. Imagine my pleasant surprise when the story, which delved into the life of a man from 'Shit' town Alabama, unfolded and touched on his work as a clock restorer and sundial maker. The man named John had a tattoo of a Latin motto, reflecting his sentiments as a maker of sundials - vulnerant omnes, ultima necat - ‘they all wound, and the last kills’. Time is a gift, but it's also a punishment. I hope this cross stitch will remind not only my parents, but also myself, to live a full life and not to worry about the little things.
Its been a year give or take a few days since I completed my learn to crochet course and my Easter wreath is hanging once more in the kitchen, bringing the Spring indoors. I recently revisited a coaster pattern and played around making several up in neutral shades for a birthdy present. It's satisfying to see how much easier and quicker these were the second time round, and also how my tension has improved and regularised. 
