a hobby long-forgotten

while waiting for the bus to JB last friday, i browsed thru a magazine
store in Bukit Bintang Plaza.
in the past-issues section, i saw a very interesting needlework magazine.

cross stitching.

it has been years since i last did any.
the particular magazine (british publication) is quite good, in many
aspects - contents, x-stitch designs, and useful information - especially
for beginners.
it was a pity i couldn't locate any craft shop that night. for surely i'll
be having my supply of threads, needles and the cloth to start work upon
during the weekend.

my parents taught me how to x-stitch when i was a teenager. in fact, i did
sign up for x-stitching class in mrsm for my elective course credit hours.
and being the only guy in class. asked the Pn. Toriah if i can be excused
from attending the classes, with the condition that i would submit my work
(quite big, compared to others) completed in time.
nowadays ayah spends his time at home doing x-stitch in his room in
senawang.

i asked my brother Amri where in KL i could find x-stitching materials. so
yesterday i went to Macy in KL - petaling street-kotaraya-puduraya area -
in front of former Rex cinema. they've got all i need, except for 4 threads
of different colours that i need. anyway, with 20+ threads (8m each), it
would take some time before i even need those 4 to work with.

the price of those threads has gone up now though - RM1.20 per skein. so,
if you do get a present in the form of a x-stitch work, do appreciate it.
the workpiece consists not only the expensive materials (count the colours,
multiply RM1.20), but also time, dedication and meticulous attention to
perfection by the person doing it.

i like x-stitching because it challenges my patience - something i'm short
of. it requires attention to detail, and dedication to perfection - traits
needed by my day job. end of the project, there's an eternity of reward to
have the finished hard work mounted on the wall.

i guess from now on, there's only one place to find me during lunch hours
in KL - sitting in my room, stitching for the full hour.

xxxxx
akmal hizam
xxxxx