Monday, March 18, 2024

Finishes and some progress

Here it is the start of another week and a week where I hope that I can continue to move things forward. It is going to be a busy week so now to focus on at least making some progress on things.

This last week I was able to spend some time stitching and I am happy with the overall progress that I was able to make on the projects that I picked up.

Sheltie - here is one of my old starts that I wanted to see if I could get it moved forward this week because it has been sitting around for a very long time.

This piece was only around 40 x 60 stitches, so it didn't take me long once I was able to pick it up and focus on it. It felt great being able to get this piece done so that is another project that was started years ago off my list of projects to do. 

I do have another project similar to this, but it is going to wait for a while. It feels great being able to continue to get more of the projects out and finally completed so now to see what happens and how I am going to finish this piece.

Blue bird - after I finished Sheltie it was time to look through my projects and see if there was something else so that is exactly what I did.

Here is a project that I started in 2019 and figured it was time to pull it out and see if I could get it finished. The key was the part of the piece that wasn't as enjoyable to do as it was using metallic thread. I figured it wouldn't take me long to move this piece from a started to a finished project.

The bird was a lot of fun to stitch, and it didn't take long to get it all done so that was great.  It was only two colours of thread for the entire project so that made it easy to do. I am not certain why I didn't get this piece finished before now but at least it is now finished and that makes me feel so much better.

There are two more birds in this series but once again as they aren't started yet I am going to wait and work on them later on. Currently I am trying to move things forward so will see how that goes.

This Blue Bird is by Wild Violet and now I just need to figure out how I am going to finish it but that will wait until I am in a finishing mood.

Star Touched Meadows Stitch Along - January - between trying to move projects to a finish I knew that I needed to spend some time working on the January section of the Star Touched Meadows Stitch Along.

I was going to focus on this piece over the weekend but after working on the blue bird I decided that this project would get some attention. I am enjoying working on this piece when i pick it up as I can sit and work on a colour and see some good progress.

I know that I am behind on this project as the February and March patterns have been released and in a couple of weeks April will be released but it doesn't bother me. When I started this project, I figured I wouldn't be keeping up with it because I also want to work on other projects as well.

It does feel good having a project that I can pick up and work on it for a little bit and actually see progress on it. I am going to see if I pick this up again this week because it would be nice to add some more colours to the piece. I am trying to work on the bottom section of the design so that I can at least get some of the white done on the piece instead of leaving it all to the end. 

Alzheimer's Poem - here is another project that was started quite a while ago. This project was started in 2020 and it didn't get any love in 2023 so I figured it was time to pull it out and maybe work on it to see if I could get it done.

I charted this poem myself after seeing the poem as a poster. It said a lot of the things that we were feeling at the time I started it, so I felt I needed to stitch it. We are still feeling those feelings now and I would like to see if I can get this piece finished before to long.

To complete this piece, I just need to finish all the last two sections and then the piece will be finished. I am going to see if I can focus on this piece this coming week to move it closer to a finish.

You may think that stitching words work up quicky but when you have to stop and start your thread between each word it does take some time. Also, this is on 22 count fabric so it takes a bit more focus given I am going it over 1 thread.

Let's see what I can get done on this project this week. I will try and continue to add more stitches to it each day as I would love to have it done before too long.

Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - my knitting did get some attention this week as I was getting closer to a finish, and I wanted to see if I could get it finished.

Of course, there were days when reading the pattern just didn't work as well as I liked, and it meant taking rows out a couple of times. It became my goal of when I was having a good knitting day to try and get as many rows done as I could. By the time we got to the weekend I have three rows left to knit and then the cast off, so I was determined to get it finished.

The shawl is now finished, and all the ends are sewn in so that means that there is another knitting project off the list of projects that I wanted to do.

I am going to see what project I pull out next because I don't have a project that is currently on the go that I want to work on. Last this week I do a Mystery Knit Along that I hope to start but will see how that goes. Before I post any pictures of this shawl, I will have to see what the rules are regarding doing that. I have never done a Mystery Knit Along, so I figured it was time to try and do something a little different.

Other projects - I have been working on my English Paper Piecing this last week so that is something else that has got some attention.

This coming week I am not certain what will get the attention other than the Alzheimer's Poem as I would like to get that piece closer to a finish.

I hope everyone is having a good time and you are finding time to do the things that you enjoy doing. It doesn't have to be major projects and for long times each day. Making sure that you are finding that time where you can relax and recharge your own personal battery is the important thing.

Hope everyone has a good week and hopefully I will have a bit of progress on things to show you next week. 
 

Monday, March 11, 2024

Making some progress

Here it is the start of another week, and it is hard to believe it is already March 11th. This month is flying by and hopefully soon we will have the weather that says it's spring.

I have been able to spend some time working on my crafting this week and have made some progress on things. Now to see if I can continue to move the various projects forward.

Sheltie - here is another one of those projects that was started years ago, and it is finally getting moved forward. Before I picked it up this week, I only had a little bit of the black just behind the mouth section done. The project is getting moved forward but I have come to realize how much I enjoy using Pattern Keeper when I am stitching. This pattern is a paper pattern that I couldn't get into Pattern Keeper, so it is slower progress than I am normally able to do. This pattern means that I have to keep looking to see where I am instead of quickly seeing where the next stitch goes.

Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - here is the knitting project that I have been working on and yes, this week I was able to make a bit more progress on it. The lace section of this shawl is a lot of fun to work on once you get into it. I had a few challenges at first reading the pattern but then I realized what the issue was and now things are moving forward pretty well. 

This week I am going to be trying to see if I can get closer to finishing this shawl as it would be nice to see another project finished up quickly. The pattern isn't that hard, and I have seen this finished a couple of times and it does look wonderful when it's done.

Other projects - I have been working a little bit on my English Paper piecing as well this week so hopefully by the end of the month I will have some progress to show. It has felt nice getting back to doing the various projects.

This week I have a few things that I need to do and that means that I might not have quite as much time to craft but I am going to continue to try and find that bit of time each day to do something that I enjoy doing. I know that I would like to see the Sheltie cross stitch piece finally finished and getting the shawl finished would also be nice so I will see what happens this week.

I hope everyone has a good week and you find that bit of time to do something that you love doing. We may not be able to lose ourselves in what we love doing but even that little bit of time can make a difference on how you feel.

Next week I hope to have a bit more progress to show you, but we will just have to see how much I can accomplish. Have a good week and I hope to see you again next week.


Monday, March 4, 2024

Moving projects forward

Here it is the start of another week, and it looks like it is going to be another busy week but at least the temperatures are warming up so that makes me happy. Looking out the window it is hard to believe it is March as we have no snow on the ground right now.

I have been trying to find those bits of time where I could focus on a project, and I am happy that I was able to at least find a bit of time each day to work on something which was good.

Star Touched Meadows SAL - January - here is the piece that got the cross stitch attention and I am happy that I was able to move it forward a bit. Of course, I didn't get as much stitching done as I would have liked but at least I was able to move the project forward some this week.

I would like to see how much more of this I can get done this week as it makes me happy to see that I made some progress on it. Maybe just sitting and working on it one colour at a time is a good idea. I haven't finished the green yet, but the one pink colour is finished for this month and that made me feel good. I know that I am still a long way from finishing this month but at least I was able to get some of it done which is good.

There are still a lot of colours to go on this piece so I will see how this week goes and if I can work on this piece or not. I do have some other projects that I would like to work on so I will see what happens when I go to pick up a project for this week.
Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - I was able to continue to work on this piece. I finally finished the bottom section of the design and have now started to work on adding the lace section. The first couple of pattern rows for some reason didn't want to go in correctly but after that I seem to have been able to work on this section and I am enjoying it.

In the picture you can't see the actual pattern, but hopefully once it is completed it will show up in the pictures. It is a nice simple lace pattern, but it does take a bit of time to ensure you are working on the correct row otherwise it won't turn out the way it was designed.

Other projects - I have been trying to figure out some of the English Paper Piecing projects as well this week so that is something that has also taken a bit of my time. Now to see what I actually can get done on the various projects in the next little while.

This week I am not certain what I am going to be working on but will see what catches my attention. I do know that I have some other things that I would like to do so that means I need to focus on the various projects and then see what happens.

I hope everyone has a good week and remember to find that bit of time to recharge your personal battery. If things go well this week, I hope to have a bit more progress on things to show you next week.
 

Friday, March 1, 2024

English Paper Piecing - February Progress


It is hard to believe that another month and some and gone and now to look at what I have been able to accomplish in the last month. I have been able to continue to get some things done would make me feel a little better.

I have been able to work on a few projects this month and that makes me happy because at least I have been able to make progress on things.

Scarp Throw - I was able to continue to make more of the flowers for this project and just seeing that I can continue to move this project forward makes me feel a little better. I haven't been able to continue with the joining of the flowers to the overall throw but will see how things go in the next few weeks.

Table runner - this is another project
that I have tired to move forward and it is making me feel a little better.  It feels good to see that I am slowly getting closer to the end of this runner.

I do know that just sitting and focusing on this project would help as well because when I am bouncing between projectsI never feel like I am getting somewhere on it. What I am going to do with this project is figure out just how many more motifs that I have to add and then try and figure out just how to get them all attached before long.

What I would like to try and do is focus on this project for a little while and see how much of it I could get completed. I am not certain if that is going to happen or not but at least I can think about doing it and maybe it will happen.

Stir Fry Fabric - now to explain why this is called stir fry and not something else is because the fabric that I am working with is from three stir fry bins that I picked up at a quilting store. Basically, each bin contained pieces of fabric and you didn't know what you were getting until you had purchased the bin so that was a lot of fun. Quite a few of these colours aren't colours that I would normally purchase so instead of just putting these fabrics aside I ended I was going to challenge myself to work with all these fabrics and see what I can make with them.
 
I have started to cut the fabric into squares so that I can make some motifs and then see what size this project is going to be when I finish it. I haven't figured out how many squares I will get yet so that means I don't have a clue how bit this project is going to be, but I think it will be fun and it will be out of the normal colours for me.

Other projects - I haven't worked on any other projects this month but have been thinking about one project that I might be changing up how it will be made. I guess I will just have to do some more planning and maybe see if some of the other projects can get some attention as well. It does feel good just focusing on a couple of projects instead of trying to move all of them forward at once.

This coming month I hope that I can make some progress on a couple of the projects, and I will see what happens. If things go well, I may even have a bit more progress on things to show you at the end of March. Have a great month and if you are working on some English Paper Piecing, I hope that you can also get some progress on your projects this coming month.

Monday, February 26, 2024

A finish and some progress

Here it is the start of another week, and another month has almost come to an end. It has been a busy month and I know that the next couple of months are also going to be busy so will just have to see how things go.

If someone told me, it was still February when I look at the temperature I would laugh because it sure doesn't feel like that here. We have had temperatures above freezing most days and the forecast for this coming week is once again warm weather.

Red Rose - here is the cross stitch project that got the attention this past week. It was started quite a while ago but over the last week I decided to focus on it and see if I could get it finished up quickly.

Being able to focus on just this piece it made me happy, and I was able to get it finished. So, a project that was started over 10 years ago is finally finished. It would have been nice to finish this project years ago, but at least now it is one more thing off my list of projects to finish.

This project was Red Rose by Linda Overduin Designs and it was a kitted project, so I didn't have to find floss or fabric for it, so it was a fun project to get back to working on. By focusing some time on this it means that other projects that I have on the go, got very little attention but now that this is done it is time to start working on another project and maybe see how much of it I can get done.

Star Touched Meadows - January - here is a very small start on this project. Being able to at least get the border completed was good and hopefully this coming week I can spend a bit of time working on this and maybe get some progress done on it. 

I hope to at least get some more work on this before end weekend as I would like to see what the colours are like on this piece. The flower for January is Carnation so I think the colours are a lot lighter so will see how they turn out.


Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - this is the knitting project that has got some attention over the last week, and it has felt good. I am still working on the increases and hopefully this week I will be able to start the pattern section of the shawl. It is fun having something that I don't need to look at a pattern for a while. 

I have been trying to spend a bit of time each day working on this shawl, and I think that has helped me see some good progress on the overall project. This week I would like to once again try and add some more rows to this and get into the lace pattern. Time will tell how much of it I can get done before next weekend.

Other projects - I haven't worked on any other projects this past week and I do know that I would like to make a bit more progress on my English Paper Piecing before I write that blog on Friday. Maybe that is going to be a focus for at least one day this week and I will see how things go after that.

I hope everyone has had a good week and you have found that bit of time each day to do something for yourself. It can be a challenge some days to get that time but at least if you can find that time most days that is what is good.

This week I have things that I need to get done so it is going to be a busy week, but I also hope that I can find some time to sit and recharge my own personal batteries by picking up one of my craft projects and work on it for a little while.


Monday, February 19, 2024

2 finishes and some good progress

Here it is the start of another week and for us the winter cold is back, and it might be here for a little while. I hope that it warms up a bit because I am getting tried of the cold weather. We did have snow this week but not much at all.

Hopefully we will start to warm up just a little bit so that we can enjoy going for walks outside. Right now, with the minus temperatures I don't feel like going out for a walk. I know that it is the middle of February so I shouldn't be expecting really warm weather.

Star Touched Meadows Stitch Along - December - here is the cross stitch project that I was giving my attention to. I have been working on this project for a while and was at the point that I wanted to see it finished.

After some good effort this week I am happy to say that I have got this section of the stitch along finished. The December block is now finished and that means it is almost time to get the January block out and see if I can get it started.

I now have two of the blocks completed and already have the pattern for the January and February so I better get moving on at least the January block and hopefully I will feel good about it.

Red Rose - here is a project that I don't have a starting picture for because I forgot to take one when I pulled it out this weekend. This is a project that I started quite a few years ago and figured it was time to pull it out and see how much I could get done. I worked on this for one day and am happy with how much of it I was able to get done. Now to see if I can get this project also finished up soon so it will be one of the many old projects finally completed.
Beach Haven Shawl - this is another project that this week got the attention that it needed. I had started to cast off the shawl before the beginning of the week, so it just meant spending some time working on getting the rest of the stitches off the needle. 

I am happy with how this shawl turned out and I had given myself to the middle of March to get it done and I was able to get it done by the middle of February so that made me feel really good. The only thing that is left to do is to block it a bit so that the edge lays nice and flat. Of course, after finishing the shawl it was time to figure out the next project that I was going to put on my knitting needles and it didn't take me long to do that.

Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - here is a new project that I started this week as I had some  more of that yarn available and wanted to try it on a different shawl. This pattern is an easier pattern than Beach Haven as the pattern is only at the top of the shawl so that makes the initial section of knitting easy to do.

I am looking forward to working on this shawl and hopefully it will knit up quickly. Seeing that I have been able to get a bit of kitting done most days is good. What I try and do is spend 30 minutes a day working on my knitting, and it seems to help me make progress on the different things. 

Other projects - this week I didn't work on any of the other projects that I have on the go as I was trying to keep a focus on just a couple of projects.

This week I am going to be trying to make some progress on my new shawl and I am not certain which cross stitch project will get most of  the attention. I may try and focus on Red Rose for a little while longer, but I also want to start working on the January section of the Star Touched Meadows Stitch Along. I guess I will decide what gets the attention when I do to pick up my cross stitch this week.

I hope everyone has been able to find that bit of time where you can do something for yourself. It does make a difference because you then have the energy to be there for the ones around you.

This week I will see what I do and hopefully next week I will have some more progress to show you. Have a good week and take that time each day to recharge your own personal batteries.

Monday, February 12, 2024

Some good progress this past week

Here it is the start of another week and yes, I have been able to make some progress on a few things this week. It makes me happy to see that I have been able to continue to work on a couple of my projects and move both of them forward.

The weather here was really nice for a couple of days but now it is getting cold out again so that means it is time to hide here at home and maybe continue to make some progress on my projects during the next week. This coming week is going to be busy, so that also means that I might not have as much time to hide and work on my projects, but I will see have to wait and see how things go.

Beach Haven Shawl - this is the project that seems to have got most of my attention this last week. I have been trying to move this forward, so that I can get it closer to finish. 

The good news is that by Sunday evening I have started to do the cast-off on the shawl so that means that I should be able to get this shawl done before the end of this coming week. I am so happy with the progress that I have been able to make on this shawl. I have been trying to move this shawl forward and this last week I ended up spending most of my free time working on getting the rows done that I needed to get done. 

I have now started the cast off edge on the shawl and given that there are 517 stitches on the needle it is going to take a bit of time to get all of them off, but I will continue to work on it a bit at a time until it is done. I wanted this shawl completed by the middle of March and I should be able to get it done by the middle of February, so that is one month before I said I wanted it done so yes, I have been really working on getting the rows done when I could. Hopefully, next week I will have picture of this shawl finished and all the ends sewn in.

Star Touched Meadows - December - this is the cross stitch focus and I must admit that this past week it didn't get as much attention as I would have liked. I have now at least got this piece to the 75% completed mark so will see how things go in the next couple of weeks. Maybe, now that the knitting is closer to a finish, I will be able to get back to focusing on getting this piece completed.

I was able to add some stitches to the piece this past week and now to see if I can continue to move it forward again. I would like to see if I can get this section of the project finished so that I can start the January piece.

This coming week I am going to try and spend a bit more time working on this cross stitch so that I can get it finished. Seeing it done would make me happy so maybe this is going to be my focus moving forward until it's done. 

Other projects - I haven't worked on many other things as I have been focusing on getting my shawl finished. I did work on my English Paper Piecing for a little while this week so that was nice but not much to show yet.

I hope everyone is finding that little bit of time to do something that you enjoy so that you can keep your own personal battery charged. I know for me being able to sit and work on a project even for half an hour makes me feel so much better. 

This week I hope to be able to get the shawl finished up and then see how much I can get done on my cross stitch. Hopefully next week I will have some more progress to show you.