A frustration, a finish, a new start and some progress

Here it is the start of another week and hopefully the weather will be nice without any major storms. It has been a little cooler the last few days so now to see if we can at least warm up just a little bit so we can get back to enjoying being outside and sitting on the balcony again.

Wishful Thinking - this is the project that I had hoped to get done on in the last week. I was able to get the border finished which is good. I hope to see more progress on this piece soon but while stitching on it last week I found an issue with the pattern. I had imported the pattern into Pattern Keeper and was working along well or at least I think it was going well until I looked at the word less.

When I compared the letter e to the ones in the words above it on the pattern, I discovered that there was a problem with the chart. When the chart imported into Pattern Keeper it removed a horizontal row of the pattern. This meant that the words in this section were one row short. This is an issue with some Long Dog Sampler patterns and Pattern Keeper, but I didn't even think to check. I was pretty upset when I realized that I was going to have to figure out how to correct this issue. After chatting with my husband, we realized that I could just add the row to the bottom of the letters and I would still have room in this section. So, my husband took the project away from me and he took out the two s's that I had stitched and the part of the e that was wrong. Now I will work on moving this project forward again and I will use the paper pattern to stitch the words in that row.

Vintage ABC's - H - here is a project that has been sitting around for a couple of months so I figured it was time to see if I could get it moved forward again. This is the third letter that I have stitched, and they don't take long once you focus on moving it forward. There are only three colours in all these designs so there isn't a lot of changing colours so they do stitch up relatively quickly.

I picked up this piece after the issue with Wishful Thinking and decided to just focus on it to see how quickly I could get it done. It only took me one day of stitching to finish the letter and the one holly leaf. I am happy getting this small ornament completed and am looking forward to getting the rest of the letters completed.

Vintage ABC's - B - Yesterday after a couple of days of no cross stitch I decided I would pick up something that was easy to work on. I started the B ornament and am happy with the progress that I was able to get done on it. These ornaments don't take that long to complete which is nice and I will see how quickly this one gets done. I hope that I don't put it down like I did the Holly ornament. I might try and get this completed before I go back and work on Wishful Thinking as getting another one of these ornaments done would make me happy.
 

Granny Wrap - grey - here is the crocheting that has got the attention this past week.  I have been enjoying having a project that I can just pick up and work on and see some progress on it.  I still haven't decided how big this is going to be, but I do know that I have some more crocheting to do before I can say that this project is done.

I have been thinking about the size that I would like to have so that means that there is going to be more yarn added to this piece. I am thinking that I still need to add at least a couple more 50 grams balls into this project and maybe then it will be big enough. It is a great project to work on when I have those few minutes as I don't have to complete a row as this is just pick it up and go without a pattern or anything else.

Other projects - I have worked on my English Paper piecing in the last little while and it makes me happy to be able to continue to work on that. I hope to be able to continue to move some of those projects forward a bit at a time.

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and finding that time to enjoy doing something that you like doing. If things go well, I hope to have some progress on something to show you next week.

English Paper Piecing - July progress

Here it is the end of the month and the beginning of the month of the month and time for me to start to show you what I have been working on over the last month. One thing that I can say is I have been busy this month moving a bunch of projects forward which has been really nice. I hope to be able to continue to move things forward over the next few months because of course I have another project waiting to be worked on. Yes, I have been working on kitting up another project that will be started soon because I am running out of motifs that I need to make.

My sister's throw - here is a project that I have picked up and worked on a little bit because I wanted to make sure that I have been able to move it forward a bit. The good news is I have all the motifs finished so it is just a matter of attaching of the motifs to the throw.

This past month I have finally been able to work on moving this project forward a little bit and it is making me happy to see the progress that I have been able to make. This project hasn't been a focus for me but at least I have been able to continue to move it forward a bit and that is the most important thing. I hope to be able to continue to move this piece forward in the next couple of months as I would like to see it ready to be quilted before too long.

Scrap Throw - this is another project that I have been able to work on over this last month and the biggest goal that I had was to get all the denim motifs finished. Well, I am very happy to say that the motifs have been finished and now to figure out if I have enough to complete the border of the throw or do I need to make more.

Next month I am going to look at this project and try and figure out where I stand on it and figure out if I need to make more border motifs or not. I guess we will see what I have to say next month on this project.

Popsy's throw - this is another project that got a bit of attention over the last month. It felt good seeing that I have been able to make some good progress on making the motifs and hopefully I can continue to move this project forward even if it is slower than the other projects.

I am going to try and move this project forward this coming month so we will see how things go. I would like to continue to get the motifs finished up and see as continue to attach the motifs to the overall project. It would be nice to move this project forward a little bit so we will see what happens in the next month. I hope to be able to move this project forward a little bit.

Oh, Oh project - here is new project that we are currently calling the oh oh project because it is me looking at all the 2-inch squares that I have available and deciding that it is time to start another quilt top. Yes, this is another project that is going to be started before a bunch of other quilts are finished but this project is going to be a great project for travelling and working on a little bit at a time. I don't expect to get this project completed quickly but at least it is something that I can work on a bit at a time.

Other projects - yes, I have other projects that need some attention and a lot of them are at various stages of completion. I have quite a few projects that either need a few motifs to be made to finish the project or projects ready to be quilted. I hope over the next couple of months I can move all of these projects forward and we will see what happens. 

I looked forward to the end of August when I can show you what I have been able to accomplish because I think next month is going to be very interesting if I can continue to move these projects forward.


 

Progress on a few things

Here it is the start of another week and hard to believe that July is almost over. I know for me this month has been flying by and now to see what I have been able to accomplish.

This past week has been one of those weeks without a really focus so that means that there are quite a few projects work on instead of focusing on moving only a couple forward. The weather was also cooler than it has been so that meant being able to focus on things that I normally don't in the summer.

Wishful Thinking - this project did get a bit of attention, and I am finally getting closer to having the border completed. Getting the border completed would be nice and then I could focus on filling in the words and the rest of the design. The border is what is taking so long because there are lots of stitches in it, so getting it done would be great.

I am not certain if I will work on this piece this coming week, but we will see as I haven't put it away so that helps as it is available for some attention.

Star Touched Meadows - February - here is a piece that hasn't had any attention since early June, so I thought it was time for it to at least get a few stitches in on it.

I was able to work on it and my goal was to see if I could complete another colour on the piece and I accomplished that. It is an easy project to work on because as each quadrant is the same so once you do one section you know what you need in the next section.

Of course, this project didn't get a lot of attention as my brain wanted me to work on other things so we will see how things go in the next little while if this piece gets some more attention.

I am not certain what cross stitch is going to be getting the attention this week as there are a few that I would like to pick up and maybe work on but I guess we are going to have wait and see what gets attention and what is going to have to wait for another week.

Granny wrap - grey - here is one project that did get a bit of attention this week as it was a great project to work on while watching some videos. It doesn't look like a lot of progress, but I was able to get just over four rows completed so that was nice. The rows are getting longer so they do take more time to complete but I am enjoying this project and am still figuring out how large this wrap is going to be.

Other projects - this week I can say that I have been working quite a bit on my English Paper Piecing and it makes me happy. I have spent quite a bit of time moving some of those projects forward.

It has felt great seeing projects moved forward and I will write more when I write that blog at the end of the month.

I hope everyone has been having a good summer and you are finding that time to do the things that make you happy. Being able to at least do some things that make you happy is important. If you are dealing with storms or extreme heat, please try and stay safe. Before long we are going to be complaining that it's too cold and there is too much snow.

This week I am not certain what I will be working on as each day I just work on something that makes me happy. I hope to have something to show you next week and until then take care of yourself and I will be posting my English Paper Piecing blog on the 1st of the month and I will then be back next Monday with what else I have worked on this week.

 

Some good progress

Here it is the start of another week so it's time to show what I have been able to get completed in the last seven days. It was extremely hot and humid here which meant that I didn't get as much stitching done. We were also dealing with a lot of smoke from the fires in Northern Ontario.

Hopefully this coming week I will be able to get some more stuff moved forward as it would be nice to progress on a couple of things. I haven't decided what I am going to work on yet so we will see what comes out.

Wishful Thinking - this project didn't get a lot of attention this week, but I was able to move it forward a bit.

I have been trying to work on getting some of the border completed so that I can just fill in the sections. It is nice when I can pick up and work on this piece and see progress. I am not certain if this piece is going to stay out for this week or not. It is something easy to stitch on but there are other projects that are calling me as well so we will see what happens.

Stained Glass Orca - here is the cross stitch piece that got the most attention this week. I had wanted to try and focus on it for a while, and I am happy with the progress that I was able to achieve. 

I was able to finish the bottom three rows of black and then I started outlining some of the sections as I wanted some fill in stitching for this weekend. The areas that I filled in are navy so they don't show up very well in picture but that was lots of navy stitching the last couple of days. It was nice to get some of these sections filled in and I will see when I pick this piece back up.

Granny Wrap - here is the crocheting piece that I worked on this week. It would have had more progress on it but I found an error a row back so I had to pull it out and restitch the row. Well, I did that and thought I had corrected the mistake, but I hadn't so I had to pull out the row for a second time, and I am finally moving this piece forward.

I hope to be able to make more progress on this wrap this coming week as it would be nice to see it continue to grow and then I can figure out how large I want to make it. I know that I am aiming for at least 200 grams of yarn into this wrap, but we will see if it is even more.

Other projects - with the heat and poor air quality that we had this last week there wasn't a lot of energy to do much other than what I got done. Hopefully this coming week I can make some good progress on things.

I hope everyone is continuing to find that little bit of time each day to do something that you enjoy. Knowing that you can relax and recharge your personal battery is very important so that you are available for those around you. This week, I hope to be able to make some progress on one of my cross stitch projects and the granny wrap so should have something to show next week.

 

Another week and a bit of progress

Here it is the start of another week, and we are about to go back into another week of extreme heat and humidity. Hopefully the humidity won't be too bad, but we will just have to wait and see. 

Wishful Thinking - here is the cross stitch project that got the attention again this week. I have been trying to make a bit of progress on the entire piece so that I could start to see the actual size. I have at least been able to get to the top and the other side of the piece.

I had originally had this piece on a q-snap but moved it to a scroll frame and am finding it a little easier to work on. It also means that I can work across the entire piece and that makes me feel so much better. Just being able to see what the piece is going to look like is great.

This week I hope to be able to continue to move this piece forward, but it will depend on the weather and if sitting and working on this piece is possible. I would like to see how much more of it I can get done this week and then I think I will put it down for a little bit and work on another one of my projects.

Granny Wrap - grey - this piece also got a bit of progress as I have been trying to move it forward a bit at a time. It was nice having something that I could pick up and even get a few stitches in at a time. 

I am working on the second ball of yarn on this wrap, and I still have no idea how big I am going to make this. I am thinking at least four balls of this yarn so that would be 200 grams, but when I get that far I will figure out how much larger I want to make this piece.

Other projects - I haven't done much of anything else lately because it has been so hot and humid out. Hopefully the weather will cool down a bit, and I will start to work on things a bit more.

Hope everyone is finding that bit of time to do something that you enjoy each day even if it's only for a few minutes. If things go well, I hope to have some progress on something to show you next week.

 

A small finish, a new start and some progress

This past week was extremely hot and humid so that made it a bit of a challenge to get things done but I tried. Hopefully, this week will be better, and I will see some progress on things.

Nun's Stitch Castle - this is another project that was started many years ago and I knew it was time to get it finished. The worst part about this project is, it took me this long to get it finished. I started this at a Creative Festival in Toronto many years ago and finally I can say it is finished.

Once I picked it up this week, I knew that it would be a fast finish and it was. Not sure why it took so long to get it finished but at least, I know that it is now done and I will finish it up as a small magnet and then I can display it.

Wishful Thinking - here is a new start that I started on Saturday. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew that it was something that I wanted to stitch so it was figure out the colour of floss and fabric and then get it started. I am happy with the progress that I have made on the piece already and we will see how quickly it gets completed. It isn't that large so it shouldn't take long if I can stay focused on it.

The pattern is by Long Dog Sampler, and you can find it here and you can pick your colour of floss and have some fun stitching it.

Granny Wrap - scrap - this is one of the crocheting projects I worked on this past week as it was something that I could work on while sitting on the balcony. This pattern is so much fun to work on. Working on this project is enjoyable as I don't know what colour is going to appear next in this ball of yarn so that makes it an interesting project. I am looking forward to seeing how this one turns out, and I haven't even thought about the size of it yet as I am just enjoying adding on all the different scrap balls of yarn that I have.

Granny Wrap - grey - this is the other crocheting project that I worked on this past week. What I realized when I was working on both wraps this past week is I should try and focus on one of the wraps each week instead of trying to work on both. 

I am going to try and focus on one of the wraps this coming week and will see how much of it I can get completed. If things go well and I stay focused on one of the shawls I might see some good progress on it.

Other projects - I didn't work on any other projects this past week and a lot of that is because of how hot it was. I do have a few more projects that I would like to work on but for now I am going to try and stay as focused as I can and maybe see some projects moved forward.

I hope everyone has been staying safe and cool given all the storms and heat we have been dealing with. This week it looks like the weather might be a little nicer so we will just have to wait and see. If things go well, I should have some progress on things to show you next week.

Remember to take some time for yourself each day and recharge those personal batteries as it does help you deal with everything that is going on around you. Have a good week and we will see what I can get accomplished.

 

English Paper Piece - June progress

Here it is the start of another month and the wrap up for the previous month. This month (June) I was able to make some good progress on moving one of my projects forward.

Popsy's Throw - Me - this is the project that I have been focusing on and have tried to make as many motifs as I could over the last month. It has been nice to see that i have been able to get as many motifs made as I did. It was nice to see that I have been able to continue to get the motifs made and once the weather cools down a little bit I think I am going to be trying to add some of these motifs to the throw or at least that is my goal moving forward.

Kitting up progress on motifs - this last month I decided it was time to try and figure out how to manage all the projects that I have on the go. I decided it was time to just kit up each project and maybe see if I can move things forward. What I decided to do was to make a small kit for reach of the projects that I am working on so that I have everything for that that project.

These project boxes are basically a 4 x 6 inch photo box, and it holds all of the items that I need to work on making more motifs. I also have some of these project boxes that are holding motifs that have been made and are waiting to be attached to one of the projects. It is so nice having everything available to work on that step that is related to the bin. For the pictures you are seeing these are the bins that need motifs completed on one of two projects. It is nice to know that I can continue to move these projects forward even if it is a little bit at a time. 

I am not certain how I am going to be able to move these projects forward, but I think once I have got the motifs completed these bins will start to be used for the motifs that I want to add to the various throws. I do know that just being able to continue to get these projects moved forward would be great.

Making motifs is wonderful when we are dealing with extreme heat and that is what we are currently dealing with. As I am writing this on Tuesday evening, our temperature is currently 82F (28C) feeling like 102F (39F) which isn't good when it's almost 11 pm. 

It has been a challenge to at least move something forward in the last couple of days so we will see how things go. I hope to be able to continue to make motifs over the next couple of days and I guess we will see what it looks like at the end of July.