After what once was a silly, half-assed attempt at ironic crafting, 30-year-old Maeve Donahue’s mild interest in cross-stitching has turned into an earnest and devoted hobby.
“At first I just started stitching the word ‘Fuck’ onto stuff because it was dumb and funny,” says Maeve. “But then I made some slightly more detailed ironic stuff, and before I knew it, this became a regular, calming activity for me.”
Maeve now stitches various landscapes, abstract images, and inspirational messages that are in no way ironic but are, in fact, extremely earnest.
“I even learned how to master the sort of 3-D effect I was seeing on Instagram, plus my blood pressure has dropped significantly,” adds Maeve. “This is how I spend most of my Saturdays now.”
Friends and family members have noticed the change.
“Maeve used to just make shitty joke gifts for us that I usually laughed at, then threw out,” says her sister, Terri. “But now her stuff is really good, like she should open an Etsy store or something. I don’t know how else she could make use of all that energy she puts into cross-stitching now.”
While having hobbies was once considered corny by many people in their early 20s, many 30-somethings have slowly but surely begun to trade in their heavy drinking for more healthy activities – putting them just one step closer to becoming their mothers. Or, getting really into CrossFit.
