Learn about Kelly’s fiber arts hobby and the intersection with Craftivism
I’m excited to talk to Kelly about her cross-stitch and can’t wait to show you some of her fiber arts. You’ll love to hear the stories behind the different pieces she’s chosen to share with us. I think you’ll be as touched by Kelly’s story as I’ve been. She lives in Overland Park, Kansas, United States.
Coachable Heart: How do you describe your hobby?
Kelly: My hobby is cross-stitch, a part of the fiber arts, a type of embroidery, what pixel art was before there were pixels.
Coachable Heart: What is your favorite part of your hobby?
Kelly: Starting with a blank piece of fabric and seeing an image emerge is very gratifying. The process itself is my favorite part, though.
Coachable Heart: How did that become your hobby?
Kelly: My mom taught me how to cross-stitch when I was 19. She’d always been crafty. She was a quilter at heart but growing up, she sewed my clothes, she taught me and my brother how to cook, all sorts of things.
Coachable Heart: What other hobbies do you have or have you had in the past?
Kelly: Well, I dabble in sewing, I made a few dresses and lots of pajama pants. During the first wave of the pandemic, I sewed probably hundreds of masks. I recently taught myself how to crochet. I love cooking and baking. Summertime is canning season. I make blackberry jam and straw jam. In the fall we go apple picking and I make apple butter and pie filling.
Coachable Heart: How much time do you spend on your hobby? How do you find or make the time?
Kelly: When I’m in the zone, I’ll stitch at least three hours a day during the work week, and up to 8 hours a day on the weekends. During my not-in-the-zone weeks is when I take care of other stuff. I don’t consciously make time, I just do it when I feel motivated to stitch. Sometimes I hit a slump, like the one I’m just coming out off; and I might not touch any project for a few weeks. Recently, we had a couple of big projects around the house that took a lot of time and energy.
Coachable Heart: How long has this been your hobby? How did you get started?
Kelly: I first started stitching 31 years ago. I had a time in my 20s when I had no interest in it, but then picked it up again in my mid-30s. I really dove into cross-stitching again earnestly about 5 years ago. I started when I found myself pregnant at 19 and the baby was being adopted. Only my mom and my best friend knew. I was too scared and ashamed to go out very much during that pregnancy. It was barely the 1990s so there was no internet and no cell phones, let alone apps to while away time. My mom taught me how to cross-stitch to keep me busy and I fell in love with it.
Coachable Heart: Is your hobby a solitary activity or do you spend time with others while doing your hobby?
Kelly: I don’t belong to any official guilds, the embroidery guilds tend to be rather stuffy and not welcoming of the themes I’m interested in stitching like various Fandom stuff, feminist messages, and profanity. I do belong to several groups on social media that are geared to bring like-minded stitchers together. Sometimes we’ll have in-person meet-ups where we all stitch and chat. I’ve participated in several virtual meet-ups too. Typically, I make myself comfortable on my couch and make sure I have a drink, maybe a snack within reach, a much-watched and loved series streaming. I particularly enjoy stitching on weekend mornings since everyone else in my house sleeps in. But I stitch during family movie nights too, or just when hanging out with my family and talking at the same time.
Coachable Heart: What skills or qualities have you developed while practicing your hobby?
Kelly: Patience! And how to properly frame textiles, and how to properly hang and display them. There are so many ways to finish a cross-stitched piece; frame it, sew it into a throw pillow, incorporate it into a quilt, bookmarks, key chains, and clothing. There was an amazing woman in one of my stitch groups who cross-stitched a billboard and put it in front of her house with an activist message during the last administration. It was incredible!
Coachable Heart: What is the most memorable opportunity you’ve had to use your hobby skillset?
Kelly: My very first big project was a baby blanket for the child I had that was adopted. We met several years ago and he still has it. I made his mom a set of Nutcracker character ornaments a few years ago and she was so touched.
Coachable Heart: Are you a reader? Does your reading support your hobby in any way? What are you reading?
Kelly: Oh, absolutely! Stitching up a pattern centered around a favorite author or book series is so fun! I think I have a Steven King mystery cross-stitch box coming this October that I forgot if I actually ordered, haha! Currently, I’m reading The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler.
Coachable Heart: Is there anything else you’d like to share with me that I haven’t asked about?
Kelly: Well, I could talk about this all day, but I’d love to bring up that cross stitch has become quite the medium to express activist ideas. It’s known as Craftivism.
Selected works from Kelly
The Game Over piece was the first one I completed after a few years of hiatus.
The Cryptids piece was a stitch-along I completed in January. SALs typically have a corresponding Facegroup so we can post our progress pics, communicate with the pattern designer, and hype each other up.
The Sunflowers piece was from a pattern that the designer was asking for donations only that went to relief funds for Ukrainian refugees.
The long piece is a current work in progress (WIP) from a pattern called Death by Cross Stitch. I am incorporating some causes colors that are important to me. You can see the rainbow border for Pride, the blue and yellow tulips for Ukraine; and I plan to incorporate the trans pride colors in a block coming up, and BLM in one of the alphabet spaces. There’s a part with a tree, I’m thinking about replacing it with a uterus surrounded by flowers.
Thank you Kelly for sharing your story with us. I love how Kelly’s hobby allows her to express her activism and connects her with the things in life that she loves whether that’s supporting one of her causes, or supporting her fandoms. Your work lifts up what’s important and I love that.
Let’s remember
You can spend as little or as much time on your hobby as your heart wants or life allows. Hobby time can vary over weeks, months, and years. No matter when you do it, it’s all okay.
Are you a hobbyist? Get in touch on Instagram or leave a note in the comments section if you’d like to be interviewed!
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