Obligatory First Post

Introduction to BAD Stitch

** This is a repost from a Wix Blog I’m abandoning **

Hello, stitcher friends!

This is my obligatory first post on a blog that I may or may not be able to keep up with. I have this habit of writing epic walls of text in my head, while no where near a computer, so this is my attempt to get down some of my thoughts about cross stitching, designing, and our amazing community. Who am I? I'm Amanda! My pronouns are she/her, and I've been seriously designing since 2019-ish. I started cross stitching in 2012, after getting married. I DIY'd everything back then, Pinterest peer-pressured me to make and design everything for my wedding. After the wedding, I had no idea what to do with my hands, and I stumbled upon Steotch and Subversive Cross Stitch, and my mind was blown.

I'm a self-taught stitcher, and had the same hiccups as everyone else. I didn't know how to find the center of my fabric, I used 6 strands of floss, and I lost so many needles before getting my first needleminder. I'm going to be honest, I still don't know how to pronounce AIDA. I say it "aye-dah." But I love the serotonin that comes from stitching. I love pixel art. I love mashing these things together to make my own creations.

I'm the most extroverted introvert you'll ever meet. I recognize that sometimes things won't get done the right way unless I do them, so that was one of my inspirations in creating a local stitching club in Austin, Texas called Austitch. This club really helped me build up my ability to manage communities and charity events. If you're in the central Texas area, I hope you check them out!

I have high hopes for this space. Social media algorithms are destroying small businesses and as a GenX person, I know when it's time to adapt. I'm a normal person. I don't make websites, I'm not a graphic designer, and each time I have to google how to add bits to my blog, it takes me away from designing. This blog likely won't be as pretty as others, so I hope you're ok with that.

Stuff I want to talk about in this blog:

• Cross stitch. My patterns, other designer's patterns, notions, fabric dyeing, my favorite stitchy things, etc.

• Being a designer. What that entails.

• Articles about my favorite stitching things, interviews with different designers, local needlework shops

• Modern issues impacting the stitching community.

I hope you stick around. Bookmark me, hit that Subscribe button, tell your friends, write me a comment about what you want to read about!

~Amanda

** Reposts of my interviews with pattern designers and pattern showcases incoming intermittently **