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I’ve had this crewel embroidery kit (which is actually still on the market!) sitting in my stash for years. It was one of the crafty goodies from a little meetup I went to with Craft Gossip before I even worked there, so it was a long time ago. 
I’ve been cleaning and purging craft supplies and I thought about adding this to the donate pile. But I really like the look of it, and I thought it would be a fun creative challenge.
While I was able to go shopping in my house for this challenge, you may have to hit an actual store to try a craft kit for yourself. But I like this as a creative challenge because sometimes it’s hard for us creative types to actually follow directions, and sometimes we’re resistant to trying new things. 
I’m very much a novice when it comes to embroidery, but I want to feel more comfortable with it, so this is a great project for me.
And sometimes I really love to work on something that isn’t knitting. 
This will be an ongoing project for me for a long time, but I did get a little done and it’s not completely horrible.
It may not have been the best idea to start at the center of the project, because I should get better as I go, but I’ll keep these hesitant stitches to remind me that there is always progress and room for improvement whenever we try something new and keep trying.
This is a good lesson for me as I think about teaching fiber arts — which will include embroidery — to kids. They’re a lot less likely to get to the giving up level of frustrated as quickly as grownups do, but it’s helpful for me to remember what it feels like to be new at something. Which is also why I may be doing some spinning this spring. That I’m really bad at.
Have you tried anything new lately? Is there a craft you’d like to try that you can pick up a kit for on your next trip to the craft store? I’d love to hear about it!
