During the past couple of months the weather has frequently been inhospitable for wildlife photography, either hot, humid, or rainy (or some combination of those three conditions). Some times in the past I have gone out anyways with my camera, but this year I have been increasingly staying indoors.
What have I done to keep myself occupied? During the mid-1980’s I was introduced to counted cross stitch. One of my friends used to stitch quite often and I commented to her that someday I should try it myself. I was a bit shocked the next time I saw her when she gave me a pattern, a needle, an a cross stitching kit. When I was growing up, I remember my Mom cross stitching some pillow cases, with the pattern printed onto the fabric. This “new” version that I was introduced to was counted cross stitch, i.e. the fabric was blank and I had to replicate the pattern with a series of x’s in the designated colors.
I discovered that I really liked this new hobby and found it to be both creative and therapeutic. I continued to cross stitch regularly throughout the late 1980’s and 1990’s. Cross stitching seemed to be really popular at that time and I remember subscribing to multiple cross stitching magazines (and accumulating a lot of cross stitching patterns and materials).
My life style changed when I retired from the Army in 1997 and my attention shifted to other aspects of my life. I gradually stopped cross stitching completely, though I never did get rid of my “stash.”
I returned to stitching a few years ago after I finally stopped working and had a bit more free time. Several ladies from my church work at a wonderful local needlework store called “In Stitches” that focuses exclusively on needlepoint and counted cross stitch and they encouraged me to get more involved in activities there, including stitching nights twice a month.
I’m discovering that cross stitching has had a kind of resurgence in recent years and there are numerous FlossTube channels on YouTube in which stitchers of all sorts showcase their works in progress (WIPs) and completed projects. More recently I’ve been involved with a number of cross stitching channels on Twitch. I used to think that Twitch was only for gamers that wanted to watch others play video games and only recently learned that there is a whole series of “Makers and Crafters” channels in which you can watch others working on their own projects and chat with them as they do.
On one of the Twitch channelsI was watching, the streamer @TheDaceman0 was working on a sampler called 100 Owls by Owl Forest Embroidery. I loved the pattern, which is available as a free download here, but did not want to commit to stitching all 100 Owls. I started with the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) in the second photo below and recently stitched the Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa) that you see in the first photo below.
As you can see, my wildlife interests are sometimes reflected in the subjects of my stitching as well as in my photography. Last year I happened to stitch yet another owl pattern, shown in the third photo below, that was a bit more stylized and was included in the Halloween edition of Just Cross Stitch magazine. It’s fun to rediscover a dormant hobby and to see how it has evolved during the period when I was inactive. There are now a lot more options for fabrics and threads than in the past, but, for the moment at least, my tastes have not changed and I continue to use the same materials and techniques that I used in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Great work Mike. This was a delightful surprise today! Thank you.
Thanks, Suzette. I haven’t been photographing wild life as much as usual the last few months, so I thought it might be interesting to share with you all what I have been doing. I’m glad that you enjoyed seeing some of my recent cross stitch projects.
Thanks again Mike. Have a great day!
Those are well done. And such hard work! I did counted in the past and much prefer printed. Just lazy I suppose. Carry on!
Thanks, Molly. The world of stitching is diverse enough to include all kinds of different tastes. I prefer patterns with only full stitches and little to no backstitching, but no others who love the kinds of details that partial stitches can provide. I’ve not yet tries a printed pattern, but am not sure I would like it.
I had two enjoyable (to me) reactions to today’s inspiring post! The first came whilst reading the commentary : “This world is but canvas to our imaginations.” – Henry David Thoreau. The second is about the subject of your delightful cross-stitching : The Owls. My mind went to a book by Ilan Shamir that I purchased when Benjamin was still quite little titled “Advice from Nature” and I share this one that is most definitely YOU!
Advice from an Owl :
Stay focused
Be “whoo” you are
Trust in a wise friend
Live off the land
Glide through the dark times
Be observant
Life’s a hoot
Thank-you, Mr. Mike!!
Thanks, Ellen. Your quote from Throreau brought to mind a comment that I have made to others multiple times that the photos in my blog often serve as a jumping off point for me to express myself about thoughts and issues that go way beyond the subject of the photos. Thanks for sharing the Owl’s advice–it definitely applies to be.
VERY cool owls. And great reading about returning to earlier-years artistic practices. For me it was needlepoint … maybe will be again? Would get my eyes away from computer screen light!
Thanks, Jazz. I laughed a little when I read your last sentence. Increasingly I have been getting cross stitch patterns in digital form and have been using my computer sometimes to view the charts. It’s really handy because I can blow up a section to make it easier to read if I need to, rather than resort to a magnifying glass to read a paper chart.
Lovely owls, glad you have “another” hobby to carry you through the dog days of summer.
Thanks. I am balancing photography and cross stitching. I went out yesterday when it was a little cooler, but it was really humid and I was sweating a lot. Your use of the term “dog days of summer” made me smile and recall I pattern that I stitched last summer and featured in a blog posting. https://michaelqpowell.com/2024/07/14/dog-days-of-summer/
Great minds, on the same path! What fun!
I enjoyed learning about another of your hobbies. You are multi-talented. The owls are delightful.
I think there has been a resurgence in such hobbies as a reaction to the pace of life. It is therapeutic to create something that slows us down, requires commitment and focus, and generates a sense of well-earned accomplishment.
Thanks, Laura. I used to worry that only older people did crafts like cross stitching, knitting, and crocheting but have been delighted to find a whole new generation of young people taking up these hobbies. There is something therapeutic, as you noted, about creating something physical with your own hands. Little kids know that instinctively and are excited to share what they have made. I have dabbled a bit in watercolors and managed to overcome my adult inhibitions enough to share with others my joy in the simple act of creation. Taking wildlife photos is different in some ways, but the very traits that you enumerated apply to photography as well as other artistic pursuits.
These are beautiful, Mike, and an excellent subject. I spent years cross stitching, for similar reasons. I got rid of my “stash” when we moved south but have thought about picking it up again.
Cool hobby! Great to have an indoor activity when the weather outside is too hot and muggy.