a little discouraged
 

Cleaning today I found some embroidery that I did 10 years or so ago. I did such better work back then. I don't know if it is my eyes are worse, my hands are shaky or what is going on. My work then was so nice. Now, not so much.

are you sure? i mean...we are always so critical of ourselves.

and if it is objectively true, maybe you can find different thread arts.

embroidery is hard. really hard. i am relatively young and i find myself so very frustrated by how tired my hands get, how strained my eyes feel sometimes, how disappointed i can be in my own work.

be gentle with yourself. and if the best days of your fancy needle work are behind you, choose the best pieces and treat yourself to a gorgeous framing job, and celebrate your own good works.

aileen

be gentle with yourself. we are always our own worst critics

Do you really think it could be your eyes? Have you tried using something to help you see your work better? Like magnifying tools or lighting? Or did you simply get more practice before, and you're just a little rusty? That happens to me with a lot of things, just takes me awhile to get back into the groove. :)

Excellent advice!

As we progress each pice we do has a different challenge. You are doing far more difficult pieces now and have more on your list to do than at the beginning.
We each progress with love.

I love the advice about framing. Some times we get so caught up in how a piece looks as we first planned, we forget to look outside the box. Great idea.

IF, your embroidery is not as good as it used to be, looking at your avatar I would say your quilting is pretty fantastic. Why do we always see the one stitch that is out of place but not the thousands of stitches that are perfect.

Just keep doing it if it gives you pleasure. Some of our most treasured notes are from a grandmother who was nearly blind. The lines are crooked, cross each other and no i's were ever dotted nor t's crossed as it that would cause her to lose her place. The heart is what matters. At any age, our talents vary.

Maybe you were more enthusiastic about embroidery then and it showed in your stitches. I know I went through a phase where I was very passionate about embroidery, and now I'm more so-so about it. I'm sure I did better work then than I do now...and we are only talking a matter of a year or two!

Don't worry about perfection, just be glad you can still do it. I could do a lot of things better when I was younger, same for most people.

We are ALL getting older by the day. Be proud of the quilt you made that you are using for your avatar. I use to win lots of ribbons for my quilts but being disable now, I am still happy to be doing what I can. Be happy with what you have NOW. Don't look back, just look ahead !! XOXOXO

Thank you all for your encouragement. I really have done a lot of embroidery that I am really excited about so that can't be the problem. I should be all practiced by now. I have had these glasses for 18 months and never very happy with them so I have ordered new ones. I have a wonderful new OTT light with a magnifying glass but it does not 'fit' to put between my work and the light. I do remember that I had a magnifier light when I did this piece. The work is so fine and nice. I am doing the Crabapple Hill Gingerbread Village. Also a Crabapple Hill Dresden plate piece that is embroidery...both are combos of quilting, piecing and embroidery.

Also, as I looked though books in my cleaning I saw stem stitch instructions showing the thread on top of the needle but all my new books say the thread is at the bottom of the needle.

I am hoping that my kids and grandkids will say, "Oh, Nana (Mom) did not do the best work but we sure did love all that she did."

I am shaky these days. Looking forward to my new specs. Hope they help me.

Hey Jingle, I know you're right. I used to do a lot of stuff that I can't now do. Dirt hides now and I can't find it. Back then I looked until I found it. LOL Now my leg muscles get sore and I haven't done ANYTHING!

Getting old ain't for sissies! Celebrate what you have accomplished in the past AND what is in your future. Do what brings you JOY. Life is too short to worry about what you can't do so focus on what you can. Your worst work may be better than most people's best work. It is most likely WAY better than anything than I can do right now, but that is OK! {{{{HUGS}}}}

You might be surprised about what a new pair of glasses will do. I had a horrible year or two of not seeing well closeup but eye doctor had said I would never be 20-20 again...I went to a new opthalmologist and a new optician - the optician said that my insurance paid only for cheap glasses so most of my close-up prescription got sanded off before shipping. My opthalmologist corrected my bad astigmatism which the other doctor never tried to correct (it might make me dizzy - oh, dear!) and I see a lot better. I was surprised to learn that my handwriting had deteriorated and that I had made numerical errors reading and typing, and not noticed spelling errors due to typos.

So, short story - give yourself a break and work on your eyes and your light source! good luck!

It might be your glasses are not as helpful as they could be.

Keep doing your embroidery if it brings you joy. I hand quilt and when I get out of practice, it sure shows in my stitches for quite awhile. If you have progressive lenses in your glasses, perhaps you just need an adjustment in your frames. If your hands are shaky, keep your elbows supported with firm pillows.

I used to love handwork, that was before arthritis....got myself an embroidery machine and I still get to have beautiful embroidery in my quilts when I want, gotta love some of the new technology!!!!

I thought the same thing when I started doing some applique blocks - why can't I embroidery now when I use to do beautiful work? I think I answered my own question, I was our of practice. I used to do a lot, hadn't done any in years! But now that I am whipping out some wool appliqued blocks they are turning out stunning. Keep up the work, don't be so hard on yourself. I have adopted the attitude that whatever I do is my design, be it perfect or with boo boos!

I teach classes on color tinting and hand embroidery and sometimes it makes sense to put the thread on top of the needle and sometimes it works better at the bottom. I always tell students to go counter clockwise on circles and arcs if possible, but if you can't--- put the thread on top (and it produces smoother stitches). Also on tight circles tack your stitches down so they don't slip out of their spot. Hope this helps. IMHO hand embroidery is always wonderful because it's done with love and patience.

I have macular degeneration and my eyesight is really bad. Can't tell one dark color from another and seams are not as nice as they once were. Does that stop me? NO! I just call my DH and he tells me what color I am looking at. I also use an OTT light beside my easy chair so I can see enough to knit and even that is getting harder. I am looking for a light that hangs around my neck now so I can aim the beam right where I need it. Also use magnifying glass and a Kindle to read. Depend heavily on my needle threader on the machine. Don't give up without a fight! My grandkids and great grandkids don't care if their quilts are not perfect. They are still warm and remind them of me.

Perhaps the distance of time has made it look better. I know when I'm working g on something, whether it's embroidery or quilting, I'm so close to it and used to seeing it, that sometimes I don't see it as good as it is. When I've put it away or haven't see it for awhile, I have to admit it often looks better. Maybe that's what's at work here - just a thought!

I have been getting increasingly frustrated with cross stitch over the past two years. Got new glasses a few weeks ago and I am enjoying it again. I did have to accept that it was time to add a pair for reading/computer/close-up work to my wardrobe in addition to the pair for driving/distance.

Cheers, K

Have your tried a new techinique? I used to do brilliant back stitches but now am going needle down, needle up, needle down, needle up. The work looks as good as it did in the olden days, but either the needles got wonky or my astigmatism got worse and the old technique just doesn't work any more. To tell you the truth, I kind of like the new way best. It wouldn't hurt to try a new way. froggyintexas

Good advice about honoring ourselves as we age. None of us acts like, works like, or feels like we are 20 anymore. I am grateful I am still able to do some of my crafts as I age. A dear friend told me when I was in my 20's that I should prepare myself for getting old: learn several crafts so that if one ability were taken away, I could do something else. I think that was some of the best advice I ever received.

That's a bit of a disappointing discovery isn't it?

I started a set of CCS "advent ornaments" I want to give to my DGD, one each year (her 1st Christmas, 2nd, etc.). I finished them all about a year ago and am saving them, 'cause by the time she's older, I may not be able to do CCS any more. Of course at some point, I'll probably just give her the rest of them.

If it's true that your embroidery skills are suffering, maybe it's because you have all of that quilting talent ;-), because your avatar is WOW. Our lives are about counterbalances ;-).

you had more practice then, if you keep at it you will see your stitches improve ten folds. Practice makes perfect

If embroidery gives you pleasure, just keep doing it. It may be you need to practice to get your skills back where they were but even if they don't come back fully, just have fun!

Don't be so hard on yourself. The embroidery I did years ago is different than what I do now. Then I took such tiny, tiny stitches, however, I believe my work is still beautiful, just different. I think that if I invested in brighter lighting and perhaps a magnifying piece, I could do that again, as I know my eyes are so much different now, things change.

I think this message from Aileen is really beautiful and oh so true! Maybe that is what old age is for: to celebrate our past triumphs and expertise and share our wisdom with others. Embroidery is hard. Life is hard!

embroidery is hard. really hard. i am relatively young and i find myself so very frustrated by how tired my hands get, how strained my eyes feel sometimes, how disappointed i can be in my own work.

be gentle with yourself. and if the best days of your fancy needle work are behind you, choose the best pieces and treat yourself to a gorgeous framing job, and celebrate your own good works.

If ten years have past then you are entitled to be a little shaky. Do it for the enjoyment and not for perfection......

I use crafters gloves. Sometimes I just wear them during the day. I take them off sometimes when I sew or hand embroider. It helps a lot. Luann Also available at amazon and overstock and walmart.
http://www.joann.com/creative-comfor...l/2309623.html

Dotha, You are MUCH TO CRITICAL of your work. I also do embroidery and yes we do see differences in our work, but a LOT of things have to do with this. How much or how little you have been doing it at that time. I have found that if I'm honest with myself, my work is still as good if I don't embroider as long at any one time. Between my neck, back, hands and eyes taking brakes keeps my work looking the way I like it. So PLEASE STOP being so hard on your self.

So very weird to run across this post just now.....because I too just found this morning an embroidery piece with trapunto that I did back in the late '80s, early '90's. It was a pillow top and I never made it into a pillow so I was able to inspect both sides. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean it was so good I looked at it for several minutes asking myself...."Did I do this on a machine?" But I know I didn't, I did not have a machine and I distinctly remember embroidering by hand. Sigh, I was a lot younger then and it did make me a bit sad. There is no way I can sew that beautifully today. And sadly I didn't even realize way back then that I was that good! Age.......Blech! :D

Dotha could it be you are just out of practice as far as your embroidery? Because the quilt that is your avatar is stunning.

Amen sister. I was born in Sherbrooke, Que. Hope your not freezing too bad.

What a beautiful comment on the perseverance of effort, and the perception of observers at a later date. How well would we do with kerosene lamps or firelight? Or, before cataract surgeries were available? We must do the best we can with what we have, and pray that those in the future will appreciate our efforts.