It’s time for another eye-opening #ilksidehustle, where we show off the quirky skills and hobbies our team have been messing around with. Sorry, upskilling themselves. Check out what others have been up to below, but it’s not about the others today. It’s about Sarah. And her needle.

Describe your side hustle in a sentence.

Needlepainting, or hopelessly stitching a piece of fabric in the blind hope that it resembles the pattern I spent a fortune on thread to create. 

Now do it in emojis.  

?⏳??

 

What inspired you to give it a go?

I asked for the set for Christmas but never got around to giving it a go. Then hey presto lockdown arrives and I have all the time in the world!

What’s it taught you? Give us the full Eat Pray Love.

It’s actually taught me that I have way less patience than I originally thought, but that’s been a good thing. Lockdown generally taught me a slower way of life, and this hobby actually fit perfectly into that lifestyle. It allowed me to focus my mind, show that I can actually be a bit creative (something I didn’t think was possible) and felt quite meditative in that sense.

Tell us about your proudest side hustle moment.

It has to be when I mastered the French knot stitch. Turns out the basic stitches go completely over my head, but I can skip to intermediate stitches no problem.

Any chance whatsoever you’ll still be doing this next year?

I can’t say that it’s stuck since ‘normal’ life has resumed, but I do keep looking at the box sitting in the corner of the room and feeling slightly guilty at not finishing it. So perhaps!