S.E.X. with a Mermaid

I haven't been able to post about this until today, as part of the S.E.X. experience involved a friend who's birthday was last week while I was away in Lanzarote, so I didn't want to spoil her surprise!

I know there are several non-stitchers who read this blog, or even newbie stitchers who have not yet come across the acronym. Maybe I should actually define what S.E.X. stands for before I go any further and they automatically start thinking Splash and Darryl Hannah!

S. E. X. stands for Stash Enhancement Experience.

The need to buy stash and the pleasure derived from it is something that non-stitcher's probably can't appreciate. We love cross stitching, but we also love buying new cross stitching things. It starts like this:

• You buy your first project - this is usually a kit - or maybe a magazine freebie, you start to stitch it (usually making a few mistakes along the way), and then.... whilst your finishing off your first project, something new catches your eye.
• You are immediately thrust into a quandary: do you finish what you started - or buy the new project and promise yourself that it will sit there until you've finished the first?
• This is the start of the downward slope.
• Of course you buy the new project.... but then it sits there... and you know that you can't start it until you've finished the first, but it starts to call to you.... to lure you.... do you have the strength of resolve to ignore it?
• I guess this all depends on how much resolve you have and how far away you are from finishing the first project. People with little resolve (and this includes the majority of stitchers) cave in at this point and start stitching on their new project. What usually happens at this point is that project no. 1 is abandoned in favour of project no. 2 and then becomes [shame] a U. F. O. an UnFinished Object.
• Invariably the above scenario happens again with project no.3 and project no.4. Yes you do get pleasure from finishing pieces, but the need to shop for new things gives you pleasure as well.
• The pleasure that you receive from shopping for cross stitching materials increases immensley when you start buying specialist fabrics and materials. You end up getting a small stash of charts and then start pre-planning by buying this piece of material to stitch project A on, this metallic thread for project B and these beads and embelishments for project C.
• What do you with all these "to be stitched" items? You "STASH" them away, in drawers, in cupboards, in storage boxes, in the back of your wardrobe. Hence the word: Stash.
• Beware: you are on the slippery slope to stash addiction at this point.
• Large amounts of stash usually mean large amounts of UFOs too. I've encountered online stitchers with over 30 UFOs.
• I guess I should confess at this point that I've got quite a few UFOs myself - but I taunt myself by displaying them all here in public (in the side bar on the right) as a reminder that I really must get around to finishing them.

So my latest Stash Enhancing Experience was:

I've now bought the new Enchanted Mermaid chart! I actually ordered two copies, the first for Dawn, my Stash Buddy from the Stitching and Stash Group. Dawn stitched Miriabilia's Shimmering Mermaid chart last year so I hope she will enjoy the experience of stitching this one up too... and whilst I was buying I got another copy of it for myself.

Maybe we can stitch it together? Stitch-a-longs are fun and a great motivating factor for finishing a project.