Vishivat

If I were to name one element that has defined my life since the beginning of the quarantine, it would be vishivating (embroidering). Before coming to Ukraine, I gathered up some embroidering supplies and patterns from an Austin-based company. I was hoping it would become my cure-all. Very Pushkinesque; sitting at a candlelit kitchen table on a cold wintery night in my Ukrainian village, all alone, embroidering some saint or hedgehog.

True, I did bust out the collection once and a while my first few weeks, but the quarantine has greatly changed the dynamic. Peace Corps requires us to do a "Self-Directed Learning" project. Our group decided to learn how to cross-stitch, in part because it si so popular and that we're all in love with the draperies found everywhere. I'd never cross-stitched before, only embroidered. We bought our supplies right before the quarantine began and started to practice our flower patterns whenever we had any free time together. I had no idea how addictive it would be. I've found myself sitting in class moving my fingers in a cross pattern lately. Sadly, I think most of us are finished with our first patterns. I'm really hesitant about getting another one. Too little self-control.