I've just read a blog post that is making me wonder about it. I am, probably...
I gave up years ago mostly because I was totally fed-up with everything that went with cross stitch. Increasing prices of charts (more than 25€ for a chart ? really ???), more secret clubs where you have to buy a project without having any clue of what you'll get, sometimes you win, sometimes you loose... all the local craft shops closing, the few left are now more than an hour far from here, driving, no access if you don't have a car... total impossibility to find a thread you NEED for a design, not to mention the fabrics. Do you know I still can't stitch a chart I bought in 1996 just because I can't find/afford the suitable skein of thread I was needed ? No, another colour wouldn't do the trick. I need a thread gatherer silk, nothing else, and to get this silk thread I have the choice between ordering one in France, from a shop I'm not really sure about, in Paris, for about 9€ + 5€ something for a basic shipping in a simple envelop. Really ? 14€ for a tiny skein of thread, send without any protection in a simple envelop ? that would cost about 1€ something. Where are the 4 others gone ?? I have a clue...
Grrrr. I can order it from another shop, but it's almost the same price, and people mentioned having troubles to get what they ordered. At some point it could be more or less the same price for me to order it from a US shop. Silly world...
French (or so called) DMC thread is less expensive in other countries. I mean LESS. Here a skein is about 1.80€. YES. WHen you need 30 colours for a design, I let you imagine the grand total : fabric, threads, needles, chart, and not to mention the finishing. A fortune. And of course you can't get all those things at the same place so you'll pay 2 or 3 shipping cost as well. Once in the past I managed to order skeins of DMC in the USA when they had a kind of sale, and WITH shipping cost I had 120 skeins for 15€.... I let you compare. The thread supposed to be from MY country is so much discounted elsewhere...Oh, and of course, DMC thread is not "that" french. When I hear french stitchers saying yes they are, they paid the visit to the "factory", and they told them it's french so it is. EXCUSE ME... but will someday people of this country get a brain ? I doubt about it. I'm sure they will never. I'm exhausted. The thread is from Egypt, colours in Morocco or so, and then send God only knows where (even him is wondering I'm sure), to finally come to France, where it's packed with a nice label. The only real part of the job done in my country is the "laboratory" thing, where they test threads, colours, etc. It's a board to create, nothing related to production. Some years ago someone on a forum gave the proof of it, like customs papers. She was flamed, ang maybe banished (or she gave up too, I don't know).
I also gave up because I had enough of fake friendships, those people who can squeeze you up to your last drop of blood, to get whatever you create. They are very clever to ask, ask, and ask for more. I spent billions of hours stitching, doing cartonnage, mounting things a creative way. And spent all the money that would help me survive NOW to send all those things to them, they were just sending a tiny gift certificate in return. They KNEW that I was too poor to afford, but as long as it was working for them... As soon as I became ill, they all disapeared, to show up when I started posting pics again. Shhhhhh... They knew I was alone, depressive because of my health/marriage situation, nobody helped me. They were clever, really, knowing I was too lonely to answer no to their requests. They wanted expensive charts I could have never get for me, they kept telling me how lucky I was to be able to make a box, a bag, a doll, etc. NO. I wasn't lucky, I was just a hard worker, trying to learn more each day. But it was less stressing/efforts for them to just get MY work than learning themselves how to make this.
Of course my eyes situation made it hard for me to do any crafts... and sitting hours to stitch a tiny piece is no more an option. I can't sit for a long time. I can't do anything for a long time in fact. I'm suffering too much. Here, they offer NO help to people with my condition...
Also, what will happen to all my things when I'm dead ? They'll surely just go to the loony bin, with my dolls and precious books, I have NO family, be it close or far, and for the friends case, well....
So : no money, no health, no perspective, no real sincere friends. That was yet quite compromising.
But then came something else : I can't follow on the new communication channels.
I am a blog girl. I don't match facebook, twitter I'm not even on it, flickr or so is too elitist for me...
I had some hopes with what is called "flosstube", a kind of you tube dedicated to thread works. When I started viewing videos, I must admit it was entertaining... But... (yes, there is always a "but")...
Videos can be 50mn long.... to show nothing I can actually use. I mean it's great to know someone got 200 charts but... and so what ? It's great to know someone is making progress on this huge design they started working on... but... making a video about it each time they stitch like 3cm²... really ??...Not to mention all those who have their baby screaming, calling for attention, the floss tuber holding it, giving him his toy, again, and again... I sometimes wonder if they are not going to change their diaper in front of the camera LOL. The one who is putting on lipstick (WTF ????), or sipping coffee before starting to speak (yep girl, you CAN do it prior to put the camera "on", I promise)... Those speaking about their holidays (but nothing related to cross stitch at all)...
Little by little I've stopped following most of those channels...
If it's just to brag about their huge stash (when I thought mine was indecent & how much I felt ashamed about it, I feel it is just ridiculous in quantity now), WHERE is the interest ?
Everything now is about "my perfect life in a perfect house with the perfect family"... and ?
I must admit what I LOVE is to read a blog where people tell about what went well or wrong in their life, what is life like in their corner of the world (is it hard to find this or that ? is there a total lack of access to some things like health things, do administration is a nightmare or is it just french ? Is a bottle of milk expensive ? etc). I love blog where people share REAL life, not PERFECT life.
About cross stitch it's the same.
I love reading about someone who bought a chart, and tell why they finally liked it or no, did they stitch it or no, how do they plan on finishing it, how they tried different ways to store their things...
I mean... Wasn't it ment to be a place to LEARN something ?
I expected people to speak just like what I am looking for on blogs, show technics, ideas, etc
There is the designer problem too... I have been SO deceived lately by 2 of them... they are people from which I bought quite a lot, and I hate it to stop my story with them, but I'll do.
About Lizzie*Kate as I already said it's about her way to spit at the face of all the tiny shops which supported her for years and years. But the major deception went from Little House Needleworks. I subscribed to the facebook group, and was happy to publish a design that I modified, telling the story about it. Surprise : the comments were blocked. What ? Why ? I was not giving a chart of any kind, I was not lacking respect to her work, I was just telling why I enclosed a particular verse of a song... I didn't understand what happened, mostly because nobody told me, or answered my questions about it. So I made the "mistake" again, and same, then my publication was just ripped of the group. That's when a very kind stitcher had the same problem, with a sampler she was dedicating to her grandfather, and it's her who could explain me the whole thing. To be totally honest HER sampler is 10 times better than the original one. I guess the designer was upset with her tallent. I NEVER expected this from a designer. NE-VER. Such a childish behavior really broke my heart. So, from this designer, I'll finish what I already have, but will never get again a single new chart from her. She is no more getting a single penny from me. If there is something I want, I'll buy a 2nd hand chart. And modify it if I want. Grrrrrrr. Oh, and I'm not speaking of all those designers who copy each others, sometimes the design is so close that I can make the mistake when it comes to tell who did what....
I 'm still watching a couple of floss tubers, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to last long. I'm following more than 250 blogs, but I hardly have to ready more than 20 posts per week... It's SO frustrating...
The last stupidest thing they've set up (who ? where ? I don't kow..nobody bothered giving more infos about it, just they asked "follow the movement") is a challenge, when you are supposed to start stitching a new design each day of the month... EACH day. When it's yet very hard to actually have time to finish one in a month or year, you are supposed to be excited by the idea of starting 31...
This world is mad. This world is not mine...
I almost subscribed to a thing about 12 months 12 designers, but I quickly realized I would not have the time for it, not the money too. And I don't have more than 4 designers listed in my stash. I can't buy a single thing now, and I don't even want to. So... I didn't register...
I know most of the people doing crafts no more have a blog, or take time to read a blog, I don't know if I'll keep my 2 last blogs up, because there are few people reading, I don't know if it's worth the effort to create some tutorials, and about what. My few knowledge will be gone with me, it's making me sad to see everything now is a competition, not a huge sharing thing. I'm done I believe....
Is it making me sad ? Sure. But I'm yet depressed with everything else... so it's going to match the general mood let's say...
