Moving things forward

Here it is the start of another week and yes it has been busy around here, so I haven't had as much time to sit and do my crafting.

The weather has started to cool down, so it is easier to focus on things and actually try and get things done. There are still lots of things to do around home so that is also taking some of my time, but I am happy with the progress that I am seeing on everything.

This past week I didn't get as much crafting done but at least I did find a bit of time most days to work on my projects so that is good. Now to see what this week is like.

Arabesque - I was able to pick up and work on it for a while and am happy with the progress that I was able to make on it. I only worked on this twice in the past week and have now got over 75% of it complete and am going to be trying to see when I can get it done.

I am loving how it is turning out and maybe I will be able to finish up the alphabet before too long. I only have three more letters to go and then I have the top section to do. I know that being able to focus on this a bit more this week would be nice and maybe then I might get it even closer to a finish. I had hoped to have it finished by the end of September but that isn't going to happen, but I will just continue to work on it and see how quickly I can get it finished.

Beige shawl - this is the shawl that I have been working on and am happy with the progress that I have made on it. The pattern is very simple as I am just increasing a stitch at the beginning of each row. I am not certain how large this shawl is going to be because I am just going to work on it until I have used up the ball of yarn that I have.

It does feel good having a project that I can just work on without having to look at a pattern. This has been fun to work on and when I have a few minutes I can at least get a couple of rows done on it. This project I hope to get more done on it this coming week as I would like to see how quickly I can get it done.

Other projects - I haven't worked on much of anything else this past week as I have been trying to get other things done. Hopefully I will have some progress again this coming week as I would like to see things moved forward. I did pick up my English Paper Piecing a little bit so at least I have some progress to show for this month when I write that blog tomorrow.

I hope everyone has a good week and you find the time to recharge your personal battery each day. Making sure that you can spend some time doing something that you enjoy is important for your mental health. We all need to take that bit of time for yourselves so that we can be there for those around us.

Have a good week and hopefully I will have some progress on things to show you next week.

Slow and steady

Here it is the start of another week, and it looks like it is going to be another busy week for me. The weather has been pretty nice here, so that has meant that we have been able to sit on the balcony some days before having dinner. It is always nice when we can do that because it gives us a chance to talk over the day and figure out what is ahead for the next days.

It is always nice when we can spend some time sitting and talking things over because it means we both know what the other one is working on and what our schedule looks like.

Arabesque - here is the cross stitch project that got a little bit of attention this past week. I was able to roll the piece up and have now reached the top left corner of the design.

I hope to be able to continue to work on this piece as I am excited to see what it looks like when it is all done. I am almost at 70% complete but there is still a lot of stitches left to go on this piece. Hopefully this week I will be able to find some time where I can work on it and move it forward again.

Simple Shawl - here is the project that did get quite a bit of attention this last week. I was able to work on this quite often and have just about finished the shawl. I had hoped to finish the shawl this weekend, but it didn't happen.

I have started to cast off the stitches now so it should be done within the next couple of days if I can just sit and work on it for a little while. You can see what a difference in colour that this piece looks, and it all depends on the lighting when I take the piece. The second picture is more like the colours of the yarn. It has been a lot of fun to work on and once this is finished, I will be picked up and working on another shawl. 

Other projects - I haven't done a lot of other things this past week as it has been a littler busier for me than normal. Hopefully this week I will be able to find some time to sit and work on my English Paper Piecing for a little while as it hasn't got much attention this month.

I hope everyone finds that bit of time each day to do something for yourself. It doesn't always have to be your normal things but at least taking that bit of time each day to recharge your personal battery is very important.

This week I am not certain what crafting I will be doing but I do want to finish the shawl as I am so close to having it done. I will also try and work on Arabesque as getting more of it done would be great.

If things go well, I should have something to show you next week. Have a good week and I will write again next Monday.

Some good progress

Here it is the start of another week, and I have at least been able to spend some time working on my crafting. I know that this last week was a little different so now to see what this week is like as I would like to continue to get more crafting done but there are work things that also need my attention.

We have had some nice warm days lately and that has been nice but we are going to be getting rid of the humidity after today so things should get back to normal on that front. It has been nice to spend some time sitting outside and enjoying the weather.

Arabesque - here is the project that I focused on again this week and am happy with the progress that I have been able to make on it. It has felt so good being able to work on moving this project forward even if I don't get a lot of time to work on it. 

I am looking forward to seeing what I can get done on this piece over the next week because it would be nice to continue to move this project forward. It has been a lot of fun to work on and each time I work on it I am getting closer to the top of the design. 

It is now time for me to scroll the design up again so that I can have more room to work on it and hopefully I will be able to get more of this piece done. I know that the left side of the pattern is getting closer to the top and maybe that is what I will try and achieve this week. If I can at least get part of the pattern up to the top I will then know the area that is left to stitch.

Simple Shawl - here is the knitting project that I picked up and work on this week. It is nice moving this piece forward and I am looking forward to having it finished.  

I still don't know how much bigger this shawl is going to get because I am just working on the ball of yarn and will use it all up on this project. It is fun not knowing the actual size it will be because it helps me want to continue to work on it to see what it looks like and how big it is once it's done.

Of course, I am thinking of starting another shawl so that I can have two on the go. It would be a different pattern but again it is using up some of the yarn that I have which is one of my goals for this year. I am enjoying working with the fingering weight yarn as a ball of yarn does last a lot longer than a ball of worsted weight yarn.

Other projects - I haven't been working on a lot of other projects lately as I have been trying to stay focused and get things done. Hopefully if I can continue to stay focused, I will get these projects finished up and then be able to work on some of the other things that I would like to do.

This week I am not certain what I have to try and get done but I do know that I am going to try and stay focused on my crafting projects to see if I can get them moved forward again. If the weather is still hot and humid I may take my knitting out onto the balcony and see if I can move it forward some.

I hope everyone has a good week and you find some time to do the things that you enjoy doing. Being able to spend that bit of time each day doing things that you enjoy is important as it does help recharge your personal batteries.

Next week I hope to be back with a bit more progress on my projects if things go well. 

 

More progress and a finish

Here it is the start of another week, and I am looking forward to seeing how things go. It is going to be a busy week, but I hope that I can continue to find time to work on some of the projects that I currently have on the go. We are dealing with the roller coaster of weather right now, so that means one day it is warm, and then the next one is quite a bit cooler. Hopefully this week, the weather will warm up just a little bit, as I would like to find some time to sit outside.

Arabesque - here is the cross stitch that I picked up and worked on this week. I am happy with the progress that I was able to make and hope that this coming week I can add more to this piece. I have reached the 50% complete, and now I am looking forward to seeing how much more of it I can get done.

If I can focus on this piece for a while I might be able to get it closer to a finish but will have to see how it goes. I do know that I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like when I can see the piece finished.

Easy Goes It Shawl - this is the knitting project that I have been working on and am happy with the progress that I was able to get done this last week. I was determined to see if I could get the piece finished by the end of the weekend and with some focus, I was able to accomplish that. This shawl was nice to work on and now I just need to block it and then it will be ready to wear. The yarn was nice to work with and now to pick up the next project and see how it goes.

I think I have figured out the next project that I will work on but that could change when I go to pick it up. I have been enjoying working on the various knitting projects and am looking forward to working on the next one. I do have lots of fingers and sports weight yarn that is waiting to be made into something so now to pick something up and get to work on it.

Other projects - I haven't worked on any other projects this past week and will have to see how this week goes. I do know that I have things that I would like to work on, but I am trying to keep a focus so that I can get things done.

The one thing that I have made sure I have done even when I have been busy has been to ensure that I take those few minutes each day to do something that I enjoy. It doesn't have to be a long time but even those 15 - 20-minute escapes can make such a difference.  This week I will see what I work on and hopefully next week I will have some progress on at least one project. 

 

Fox and Rabbit Mystery Sampler Box

Here is a blog that I have been looking forward to writing as I was fortunate to be able to get a Mystery Box from Fox and Rabbit when they came available on June 30th here in Canada.  I have delayed this post to make sure that most people that ordered the box should have received it and opened it.

Karen and Brendon Kirk are the owners of this company and they had been mentioning this box quite a few months ago on their Youtube channel. When they told us about the box, they had said that there would be a sampler pattern, fabric and floss in the box along with some other surprises.  

You can probably guess how excited I was when they went on sale, and I was able to purchase the box before they were sold out. It felt wonderful to be able to order the box but then there was the waiting until the box shipped. As the box was coming from Australia, I knew that it was going to take some time once it was actually mailed. The box was mailed on Friday August 12th, and I received the box on Monday August 19th so that didn't take too long to get here. I was tracking the box all the way on its journey and was excited to see it was out for delivery.

The box couldn't have arrived on a better day and when the postal carrier knocked on our door, I was quickly there to receive my box. The box was so nice to see with the Fox and Rabbit logo on it and on the side, it says Mystery Sampler Box 1. It was then time to open the box and see what we received and there was a lot of stuff in this box. Here is a list of everything that we received:

• Half yard of Vintage Sand aida (colour created especially for this box)
• Elizabeth Cheavins 1869 chart
• Fat quarter of Baked Clay linen for chart
• Elizabeth Cheavins Pinkeep chart and finishing instructions
  
• Piece of Baked clay linen, finishing fabrics and LadyDot trim for the Pinkeep.
• Cardboard templates for Pinkeep.
• Pin pack for the Pinkeep.
• Thread pack for both projects
• Embroidery scissors
• Fox and Rabbit enamel needleminder
• Elizabeth Cheavins thread ring and charms
• Bee wax waxer
• Caramello Koala chocolate
• 20% off voucher for PDF charts from Fox and Rabbit
• Fox and Rabbit sticker

As you can see there was a lot of stuff in the box, and I am looking forward to working on these projects. The half yard of Vintage Sand aida will going into your fabric stash for now and it will be used for a special project or two in the future.  

I am excited to start working on some of these projects, but I am going to be good and wait for a little while to make sure that I can give these projects that attention they deserve.

Progress and a start and finish

Here it is the start of another week and yes, I was able to make some progress on some projects in the last week. It was a nice week when I was able to spend some time working on projects and seeing progress on some of them. Now to see what this week is like as I would like to see if I can move at least one project forward a bit and then see what else I can get done.

Arabesque - here is the project that got a bit of attention this weekend as I wanted to see if I could move it forward a bit. I haven't spent a lot of time on this cross stitch in the past week so now hopefully I can get back to working on it as I would like to see how quickly I can get this piece done. I am loving how the colours are turning out on the piece so now to spend a bit more time working on it and maybe get those two missing letters done before too long.

I will see how much of it I can get in the next week because seeing some more progress on it would make me very happy. The only way I can see progress is if I pick it up so that is what I am going to have to try and do in the next little while.

Chew Magna Project #1 - here is the project that I did work on this week. This is a cross stitch that I did based on a picture of this pattern that was in St Andrews Church in Chew Magna, England. My sister saw two cross stitch pieces in the church and immediately thought that it would be nice to stitch it. We couldn't find any pattern, so I charted the piece from the pieces she had. This piece was quick to stitch up as it only took me three evenings to get it done. Now, I need to chart and stitch the other cross that she saw because it would be nice to have both. This church is where our grandfather went as a boy in England.

Easy Goes It - I have been able to make some progress on this project in the last week. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but at least I have been able to move it forward and that is what is important. Now to see if I can continue to get more of this shawl knit as it would be nice to have it finished before too long.

I am enjoying working on this shawl and it is a pretty easy pattern so just being able to focus on it for a little while would be good so will have to see how it goes in the next week. Being able to sit and knit for even an hour a day is good and I do need to get back to doing that as it moves projects forward and it also helps me regain a focus when things are busy.

Simple Shawl - this past week we were doing some driving so I wanted a project that I could work on in the car as a passenger. I was able to get some of this knit last week and it will be a project that I will pick up and work on either when we are driving somewhere or when I just have a few minutes and don't want to worry about a pattern. This didn't take long before it was growing and now that the rows are a bit longer it does take more time to see progress, but it is still very enjoyable to work on. I am not certain how large this shawl is going to be because I have 115 grams of this yarn, and I am going to just knit until it is finished. I love patterns like this because it means you don't end up with little bits of a colour. 

Other projects - I haven't been working on anything else and given what I was able to accomplish last week I am happy that I had a focus. Now to see what this week has in store as it is a holiday here today so that means that I might be able to find a bit of time to craft, but I also have some other things that I also want to accomplish.

I hope everyone has a good week and you find the time each day to recharge your personal battery because that helps you focus on the things that you need to do. My goal this week is to try and make some progress on a few things and then see how things go. It is going to be a busy week for me so I will see what crafting I can get done. If things go well, I should be back next week with at least a little bit of progress on something.

 

English Paper Piecing - August Progress

Here it is the start of another month, and I have been able to spend some time working on my different English Paper Piecing projects. It feels good to see that I have at least been able to make some progress on things and that is great. Being able to pick up a project and work on it for a little while is always nice and these projects are the ones that do work when you have just a little bit of time to work on something.

Table runner - here is the project that was my focus as I was trying to get all the motifs added to it so that I could say that the top of the table runner is finally complete.

In August I was determined to get the rest of the motifs joined onto the runner and I got it done. It is nice to know that I have the top of the table runner completed and now what I need to do is figure out the backing that I want to use and then do the actual quilting on it. 

Popsy's throw - I am continuing to work on getting more of the motifs made for this throw. The pile of completed motifs is growing so that means that I also need to get back to joining these into flowers so that I can work on moving this project forward.

Other projects - I haven't picked up any of the other EPP projects as I have been trying to focus on just working on one or two projects at a time. Once the weather was cooled down a little bit I may try and work on a couple of the projects that are further along so that I can see if I can get them moved forward and closer to a finish.

In September I haven't decided what the focus is going to be, but I do know that I want to continue to move my projects forward so will see how that goes.