As someone with ADHD (PI) and hence quite broken executive functioning, this year I'm very proud of myself for setting a (modest) goal and then completing it. My Timasomo goal was to make embroidery kits to sell at the local (extremely small rural) craft fair

My half table with some of the kits -- each of them contains items made in japan: 100% cotton sashiko special woven thread in 10m or 22m, embroidery needle x 1 (longer ones for easier straighter patterns), momen woven cloth with pattern I pre-drew. And instructions with full colour photos of the finished products, the names of the traditional pattern if they want to look up further info or colour inspiration, and my email if they run into trouble. I also sold additional small bundles of other colours for $1 if they want to do their own design.

The goal wasn't to make money, it was meant to be an easy way for people to try a new hobby that, for me, had a high initial startup cost: all the Japanese items not easily found on Amazon had to be ordered from Japan with duties at the border. And a few things I tried to get from Amazon were fake drop ship nonsense and the quality really poor.

Anyway this was a show off piece: light grey thicker border, light blue edges, white center, and a red accent. The pattern I bought from Olympus had all the lines drawn, but someone doing one still get to decide what colour or thicknesses and how they want to join or not join intersections.

This is the traditional kasumi (mist) pattern embroidered onto an airplane tossaway cotton napkin I decided to re-use as a handkerchief. It has two different blues, red, and a very very faint white wisp that you can feel rather than see.

This is the easier package template, the traditional Asa-no-Ha Hemp Leaf pattern. So many colour and pattern variations can be highlighted in these simple geometric lines. When I have time I might make a little fabric booklet of the exact pattern done in wider or narrower stitches, in different colour combinations.

One of the major differences from Western embroidery is that in sashiko you load up a few stitches to inspect for evenness before pulling all the way through, like this (Edit: typo. And also little tips like how knots are done differently or how to do curves or how to set it all up in the beginning and how to make both sides beautiful by hiding the stitches etc. hopefully folks can jump right in and have a cozy fireside craft they can finish and be proud of)

This is the other kit option, a gradient from half of shippo-tsunagi (Seven Linked Treasures) to a full pattern in the middle with the interlocking circles, and Hana-zashi (flower stitch) with yellow added. The more traditional colouring would be two layers of circles instead of having the flowers be highlighted like this.

Anyway I got compliments and the people who bought the kits seemed excited to try!

So I realize I didn't quite make the end of October target - in fact I finished this piece just this evening, right in time for Christmas tomorrow (it's intended as a Christmas gift for my sister). I didn't get many early progress pictures, so all I have are some from the last couple of weeks. The whole thing is hand stitched, including the whipped edge.

Nearly finished piece without the outlining:
https://postimg.cc/kB5HYKnM

Outlined:
https://postimg.cc/7bHtb0Jh

Off the hoop, washed, cut, and whip-stitched.
https://postimg.cc/FfbGHH9C

I think I'd like to try some more variety on the types of stitches I use to fill areas next time. I pretty much only used basic back stitches and satin stitch for this. I tried a tight seed stitch initially for the dog's fur, but didn't like it and spent a whole evening picking it out.

I also found the process of washing the piece (this isn't strictly necessary but I had used water soluble pen to trace the image and needed to wash it to get the ink out) and cutting it very nerve-wracking. It took so damn long to sew and I was terrified I was going to fuck it up right at the end. There were a couple of spots where I felt like I didn't cut it quite as evenly as I wanted, but after adding the stitched edge you can't really tell at all. I also had no idea what I was doing when fusing the initial piece to the felt backing with interfacing, and the interfacing didn't fully adhere to the fabric in a few places, but it worked out fine.

All in all it took forever and there are a few noticeable mistakes, but overall I'm pretty proud of it and I'm hoping the next one doesn't take so long.

There was quite a bit of interest in last week's thread and I'm happy to say that I'm finally done with this project!

It has taken about a month and a half, it's full coverage 100 stitches in diameter - 18 cm using 14 count aida - and thankfully fit perfectly into my grandmother's hoop! The pattern is by Sarah Baumann (NeedleMinderLair on Etsy)

Anyway, here's The Kawaii Wave off Kanagawa!

I'm a knitter, cross stitcher, and general nerd. I can't actually create at the moment due to probable carpal tunnel, but I would love to see my fellow fiber artists of any and all genders speak up.

As for me, it's more about the process than the product! I love Grandmother's Favorite dishcloths as a mindless knitting stim, or cross stitching on a project until my hands hurt.

ETA: I'm not trying to ignore everyone. I'm really excited with the responses I'm getting. I'm just fighting some serious pain this morning. I'll try to reply to folks as soon as I can think!

ETA2: This got bigger than I had hoped! I don't think I can catch up and reply to everyone, but I do appreciate reading everyone's experiences! Thanks for humoring me today.