Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

If you are traveling please be safe.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Cross-stitch and specialty threads

I have been doing a lot of cross-stitch recently and it got me doing some thinking about why I use what I use. I am one of those people that really like using the basic threads and on occasion I will use a specialty thread.

Now the reason I only occasionally use a specialty thread is I have a rather large collection of specialty threads that I purchased for different projects. I have found that quite often you purchase the specialty thread for a project and one of two things happens; 1) you decide that you don't want to do the project any longer or 2) you do the project and only use the smallest amount of the specialty thread.

I was looking at some of my stash recently and noticed that I do have a lot of the second category where I did the project and now have a large collection of partly used skeins. Now what do I do with all these partly used skeins of floss. I know that I could try and find another project that uses the same floss but that is very time consuming and some I don't like. It would be nice to have a method where people should exchange flosses for projects. I understand that it is a challenge to always find someone that you know that needs the floss that you have.

Of course with exchanging floss it means that the manufacturer might not like it because people might not seem to be busying as much. I think people might do more projects with the specialty flosses because they would be able to purchase some floss but know that they would be able to share it with others as well.

Please help me and let me know if you use specialty threads and what you do with the left over part skeins of floss that you have.


Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Car seat blanket



Car seat blanket - Nov 20th
As promised here is a picture of the car seat blanket that I finished on the weekend.  It was a very quick knit which was great.   The pattern called for worsted weight yarn so that I what I used and it also asked quick which really got my attention.

Car seat blanket - Nov 23rd.
I started this blanket on Thursday evening while watching TV and I finished knitting it on Saturday afternoon while watching curling.  It sure didn't take very long at all to make it and the pattern turned out really nice.  I still need to block it a bit but at least it is finished.

The yarn I am using for this blanket is the yarn that was left over from the shawl that I made for myself.  I had almost 300 grams left so figured that I wanted to use it up quickly.  The first blanket is now done and I still have enough to make another blanket so it is now on the needles. 

It is great when I can have a couple of items ready for when I hear someone is expecting or has had a baby.  These car seat blankets will go into that area where all those items are kept and ready for when that call or email comes in.

The blanket is now sitting in the living room waiting to be worked on but right now there is other work that needs to be completed first.

Another day and hopefully I can make a bit of progress on my to-do-list.



Friday, November 21, 2014

Belted wrap and car seat blanket

Belted wrap - finished Nov 20th
I can actually say that I finished the belted wrap that I started in April 2014.  April 4th post

The best part of finishing the wrap now is that I can use it immediately as it has been pretty cold here in Toronto this week.  I think most of the time I am going to wear it without the belt but at least I have the belt to keep it on if I want to use it.

The wrap is nice and wide so it covers most of my arm when it is on and it also covers a lot of my back.  I have already started another version of this shawl but this time instead of using worsted weight yarn I am using lace weight yarn.
car seat blanket - started Nov 20th

Once I finished the belted wrap I discovered that I still had almost 3 - 100 gram balls of yarn so figured I wanted to use it up so looked around and discovered a pattern for a car seat blanket which didn't look too difficult.  The car seat needs to be around 19 inches before you do the final 6 rows and I think I knit 12 inches on this blanket last night.  I guess it won't be long before I have this finished and then will see what else I work on.


Work is still keeping me busy so now it's time to focus on it for a while and then I can hopefully spend part of my weekend crafting.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Stitching Progress

This week I decided that it was time to really try and focus on a project and see how much stitching I could get done.

Well I picked up the needle once during the week but the weekend meant that I had time to sit and stitch and now I am seeing some really good results.  The bottom portion of the dragon is almost done other than a few stitches that I need to do but that is it.  I now can focus on the wings and hopefully will be able to continue on them this week.

Omi's Rose - Nov 2nd
I am really happy with how much I was able to get done this week because it looks like I really don't have a lot more to do if I can focus on it for a few more days.  Now the words focus on it were working really well until this morning when I decided to pick up another pattern and put a few stitches in on it.  This new pattern is once again something of my own and is based on a picture of a rose that I took a couple of years ago.

I called the pattern Omi's rose because it is from a picture of a rose from a basket of flowers from her memorial.  I loved the rose and wanted to capture the beauty of it so I took the picture.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

A different project

Canvas Trillium - Diane Scott
Yes, this is a different project that I started this week.  This is a class that I took at the Creative Festival and it was called Canvas Trillium.  The pattern was what caught my attention and that meant that it was a class that I had to take this year.  I know that I have worked on canvas before so that wasn't something new for me but it was the pattern that I liked.

As you can see I really didn't get too much done but the class was only three hours and by the time you get the canvas on your stretcher bars and the instructor does a lot of explaining it means you don't have a lot of time to actually work on the project.  I know that I want to finish this project so may be working on it on and off over the next couple of weeks until it is finished.  I know that once I sit done and work on it I should be able to get quite a bit of it worked on.

The class was offered on Friday afternoon so I decided to take two classes this year and this was one of them.  The other class I took was Toss and Tumble Colourways with Charles Voth.  The second class was dealing with how to work with scraps of yarn and be able to put colours together that you normally wouldn't think when together to make a lapghan.  I now have a pattern and some ideas so will see what happens.
.

So today I am going to try and do a bit of crafting but will have to see if I can fit that in with everything else that I should be doing.


Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Thanksgiving weekend progress

This weekend was a three day weekend which meant a little bit of time for stitching. 

This week I hope to be able to spend a bit of time stitching but this will all depend on how much work needs to get completed.  I know that it is going to be a busy week for me as it is only a four day work week instead of the normal 5 days to get things done. 
 Part of the weekend was Thanksgiving Dinner with the family and also some more organizing around the apartment.
Hope everyone had a great weekend and you were able to get things that you wanted to get done completed.

Now to get some work done that needs my attention today and then will see if there is any time for stitching this evening.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Where did last week go?

This is a question I am asking myself as I have to admit that crafting was very limited since last Monday. I really can't say where last week went other than I know that there was work done but other than that I really didn't have a lot of time for crafting or anything else.


I understand that with being a co-owner of a business there are going to be weeks where crafting is something that I can try to make time for but that is about it. I had thought that this weekend I was going to find time to craft but once again things came up and no crafting time. Juggling all the different things that we do juggle means that days just slip away.

Right now I am looking at some crafting time this evening and I am going to grab it as soon as I can because otherwise it might just slip away with work. There are days like that where I can see the time and then the email comes in or a phone call and then the evening is taken up with another project.

I better run away from the computer now and see what I can do craft-wise otherwise tonight will be gone and I won't have accomplished any crafting. Hope you are able to get a bit of crafting done as well.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Siux

Siux - August 17th
As I said last week I wasn't going to post another picture of Siux until she was entirely finished.  The good news is last night just after 11pm I put the last couple of stitches into the piece so she is now finished.

I am very happy with the outcome of this piece as it was taken from a sketch and I converted it into a cross-stitch pattern for myself.  I am so looking forward to hanging this on a wall so that I can look at it and enjoy it. There is one more picture that I want to take of her and that is when the sun is shining to really see the glitter in her wings.  Her entire wings have blending filament as part so I really want to see what she looks like in the sun.

Siux - August 29th
I really enjoyed working on this piece as it does have a lot of meaning to me.  The picture was drawn by Gerry Vail for me and he also helped me with the picture that I used for this pattern.  I needed something without a background so he did one for me with no background which I really appreciated.

It was such a great feeling seeing her come alive over the last few months and I am happy to say that I finished her in just under 5 months.  Of course it would have been faster without school, other projects and work getting in the way but at least it is now finished.

It is the long weekend so hopefully I will find a bit of time to sit and stitch.  Have a safe and happy long weekend.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Siux and Something new

Now I have been asked by a few people what is the status of Siux.  Well, there isn't going to be a picture of her until I have completed her.  I have done most of the stitching but have an accent that I am currently working on so want to wait until it is done.  I am really hoping that I will be able to get all of the stitching done this week as I want to have Siux totally completed by the end of the month.

So what I decided to do as a break from the glitter is to start another new project and this is the progress on it when I started it.  T

Of course the first day of stitching doesn't show a lot of results on the piece and that is also because I spent a lot of time just looking at the pattern and deciding where I wanted to start stitching and what colour I wanted to do next. The pattern is going to probably be changed a bit as I stitch it as I decided if a colour really looks right or not.

I am hoping that over the long weekend I will be able to find some time to stitch onSiux so that I can see one finished and the other one with some progress.

It is now time for me to get some work done so that I can hopefully find a bit of time later today to sit and stitch.



Sunday, August 17, 2014

Siux after the weekend

Siux - Aug 11th
 As I said on Tuesday Siux was going to go into hiding until the end of the weekend and will here she is after a few days of getting a few stitches done on her. 

Yes, she is the project that I have been focusing on over the last few days but I also finished the final assignment for a course and that did take some time.  Most of this work was done Wednesday evening and then this weekend.  I am very happy with the progress that I have made and now am seeing that the end is coming.  No it isn't going to be in the next couple of days but at least I am now seeing the end of this piece.

Siux - Aug 17th
I didn't work on Siux as much as I would have liked this weekend but at least I was able to make some progress on her.  The face took a lot of time because there were a lot of single colour stitches that had to be done and had to be ended off.

Now I am working on an area at a time and am seeing some good results quickly now.  Hopefully over this next week I will be able to find some more time to work on her and again see some good progress.

I have also picked up my crochet hook in the last couple of days and have finished a couple of preemie hats which is great.  Now I just need to continue to craft like I did in the past and I will feel better about a lot of things.

School is also finished as I submitted my final assignment on Friday and that was for a certificate so that means no more classes for a while.  The certificate was 20 months of hard work but I am happy to say that I will have my Fundraising Certificate once I get the mark for the final assignment.

Now to try and relax for a bit and I think I might pick up my crochet hook for a while this evening.
 

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Siux progress

August 10th - Siux
Well I found a little bit of time over the last couple of days to put a few stitching in Siux so am feeling better about her.  Yes it has been a challenge to find the time but I decided that each evening I would sit and stitch for an hour or so and that is what I have been doing.

Of course the areas that I have been working on are the areas with a lot of colour changes which is something I really don't like doing.  At least now I am seeing that the effort of all the colour changes have been worth it so far.

August 12th - Siux
I am also really working hard on getting this pattern finished as I already have a few other cross-stitch patterns waiting to be worked on.  I am one of those that normally has a couple of patterns ready to go but right now I have about 5 or 6 patterns ready to be worked on once this one is finished.  The next pattern is going to be another one that I was able to create using my software program.

Finding the passion to work on this project again has been great.  For a while I hadn't wanted to work on it and not sure why but glad that I am finally getting back at it.  Maybe just seeing that if I worked on an area at a time instead of a colour at a time makes a bit difference.  I had been working on a colour all over for a while and that showed no real results.  Now that I switched and have started working on areas at a time I am seeing the results again.  Yes it still means that some other areas get a bit of work but not like before.

So now I will not be doing another post about Siux until after the weekend so until then she is going into hiding.  I am going to continue to work on her but I think it is time that she disappears for a few days from the screen.  I am also busy with an assignment for school right now so not sure how much she will actually be worked on until the assignment is completed.

Now off to work on the assignment so that I can stitch tonight.

Monday, August 11, 2014

Siux finally seeing changes again

Siux - August 8th
So as the heading says I finally got back to working on Siux because it had been left alone for far too long.  I decided that this past weekend I would sit and see if I could make a bit of progress on her because I am looking forward to seeing her completed.

I was able to make a bit of progress on her but again not as much as I would have liked.  I am going to try and make more progress this week because now I seeing that even a couple of hours can make a difference to her appearance.

Siux - August 10th
Besides working on Siux, I have been doing a little bit of knitting and crocheting but nothing worth showing lately.  The biggest thing I have been working on is making some granny squares for an afghan that I would like to complete soon.  The project was started on July 31st and currently I have 14 of the 20 squares completed for the afghan.  The squares are almost 10 inches square that is why I don't need to many to complete the afghan. 

Having a bit of time to craft has been a challenge lately as work has also taken up more of my time as well as trying to finish a course that I am taking.  The good news is the course is over on the 19th of August so maybe after that I will have a bit more time to craft.

Now it is time to work on the final assignment for school and then maybe this evening I will be able to find a bit of time to craft but that all depends on other demands on my time.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

This and that

Baby hats in progress
The best way of explaining what I have been working on the last little while is a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Triangle shawl with glitter
As you can see I have been having some fun knitting which is great.  Now to get a few of the knit projects finished.  I have been working on some baby hats so a friend can take them to a hospital in Sudbury for me.  A lot of my knitting of these hats has been while sitting on our balcony so I haven't felt like sewing hats together so I have been putting the finished hats onto a stitch holder so they are now waiting to be sewn together.  Of course sewing hats together don't take long to do but it just me in the right mood to actually sit and sew them together.

Now the second project that I have been working on is a triangle shawl in basic garter stitch.  I know that the picture isn't the best but it is rather difficult to take a picture of a shawl that is still on the needles. This is another project that I have been working on while sitting outside in the evenings and on the weekend.  I still have two balls of this yarn left so will see how big the shawl ends up.  Currently there is around 330 stitches on my needle so am thinking if I get to 400 stitches I will be happy and then it will be time to cast it off even if there is yarn left.

I am still working on granny squares for an afghan and that is coming along pretty good.  I think I have five more squares to make before I can put the afghan together.  The other issue with putting the afghan together is you have to have a day when it isn't hot and humid out.  I really don't want to be holding an afghan on my legs when it is 28C+ out so that will mean the afghan may have to wait for a while to be assembled.

So, yes I am still working on things it is just that I am working on a bunch of projects so am not really getting much completed right now.  I do want to get some of the items completed very soon because just seeing the hats on the stitch holder is starting to bother me so need to get them sewn up.

Well time now to go and work on something for a while.  Maybe I will work on a baby hat.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Siux finally seeing some time

Siux July 1st

As you can see I have finally started working on Siux again.  I haven't put a lot of time into her but at least I am finally seeing some progress on her again.

Last night I was at Stitch Night at Gitta's and decided that I was going to work on this project so that I could see how much I could get accomplished.  Sure I didn't get a lot done but at least it is something considering I haven't worked on her for a while.

Now besides Siux I have been working on the pieces for the animals as well as some baby hats and granny squares.  I have been trying to focus on a project but have to admit that the bouncing around on the various projects has helped.  Of course it means that I don't have a lot to show for progress but at least I am getting bits of projects done.
Siux July 10th

I am really hoping that through this month I will be able to make some more progress on Siux as I would like to see her completed.  I think if I can sit and work on her for a couple of hours at a time I will be happy because I will then start to see progress on her.  The other thing I have decided is I am going to work on an area at a time instead of a colour at a time.  See when I work on a colour at a time I don't feel like I am making a lot of progress because the colour is all over the piece.

So work is now calling so need to get some of that done and then I will see if there is some time to pick up Siux or another project tonight.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Mid year goal results

Yes it is July so I have decided to see where I am with my goals that I set on January 1st of this year.

2014 goals:
1. Blog at least 4 times a month – 5 out of 6 months blogged at least 4 times.
2. Complete 3 items for myself – finished a shawl for myself so far.
3. Get stash to below 360 pounds – will see what this like at the end of the year as so far not great.
4. Start Cirque des Cercles on Jan 1/14 and finish it by Dec 31/14 – working on it but will see if it is done by the end of the year.
5. Get some of my craft items up onto Etsy and see if they sell – decided I don't have the time or energy for this.
6. Complete 3 cross-stitch that I already have started – working on this
7. Spend more time writing both personally and professionallywriting more 

Considering I have been busy with work and dealing with some challenges I can say that I am pretty happy with my 2014 goals so far.  

The biggest one that is making me happy is spending more time writing both personally and professionally.  This has been a goal that I have wanted to achieve and it looks like this year is going to be a good year for that.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Picking up the pieces

Toy pieces
Yes, I have disappeared again and part of that is because of issues that I have been dealing with and crafting hasn't been part of what I have been doing.

I have slowly started to pick up the pieces and the best way to do that is by working on small pieces of craft items.  The project I am currently working on are a few more animals from the pattern that I picked up last month.  What you see in the pictures are the parts for a pig and some of the parts for a cat.  I know it looks like a mess but considering everything that is the best way to show things right now.

I decided that instead of sitting and knitting each piece and then assembling the animal as I go I would make the pieces all at once and then I will sit down later and sew them together.  Also it means that I can work on the pieces quickly as a lot of them aren't very big at all.  When I have wanted to knit I have enjoyed working on the pieces because I feel like I am getting somewhere.

What is amazing is over the last while I lost most of my interest in crafting and I have been slowly working on getting back to the things that I enjoy doing.  Cross-stitch, knitting and crocheting are things I normally love doing but lately they all have been a challenge.

One of the biggest challenges I have been dealing with lately is being criticized for my choices.  If it had been one person I could have dealt with it easily but it seems that so many people have said something about a project that I have been working on.  All of these criticisms have impacted me and I know that I shouldn't have let me but when that is basically all you hear and nothing positive from these people it gets a little much.  I have now decided that if these people don't like what I am doing that is too bad and I will do my projects the way I want to do them.

The pieces are slowly being picked up and I hope to get back to doing the things that I have loved doing.  My piece of advice to a lot of people is if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything.  Now I am going to go and craft for a while.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Bears

Bear - no face

Bear - finished
Now to explain what I have been up to lately is simple.  I have been having a little bit of fun with my knitting.

The bear that you see is something that I started last night and finished this afternoon while sitting on our balcony.  The pattern was very simple and I really enjoyed working on it.  I did most of the knitting last night except for the legs and today I sewed him all together.

Now, I have to admit that I kept laughing as I was working on him because even before his face was done I thought he had a personality.  He wasn't being very cooperative at some points so that is why his tummy is off center.

I bought this pattern book yesterday because I figured that I would eventually make a couple of the patterns out of it.  There are patterns for a pig, cat, duck, squirrel, dog, bear and something else.  All of the patterns are very quick to make up so I will probably be making some more of these later on.

This project was worked on when I was suppose to be working on an assignment for school.  Now I am going to go and work on the assignment and get it out of the way.

The bear is going to watch over me to ensure that I do the assignment instead of working on another craft project.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Dishcloths

One completed dishcloth
I have to admit that I really haven't been doing a lot of crafting lately and I hope that it changes now.

One project that I did over the weekend and finished yesterday was to sew the ends in on a bunch of dishcloths that I had made and left the ends to be tucked in.

After getting that pile done I found a part ball of handicrafter cotton so I sat down and worked on finishing up the ball of yarn.  This resulted in two more dishcloths being made yesterday.  The good news is the ball of yarn is finished and the ends are sewn in on the last two dishcloths.

The pile of dishcloths
Now the challenge is to find a home for all of these dishcloths because I do have more cotton around that can be used for the dishcloths.  This is a project that I like working on sometimes because the dishcloth doesn't really take long to complete and I have something to show for the time I have spent sitting.  At least right now I won't be working on any more dishcloths because the yarn is out of reach so maybe that is a good thing right now.

My cross-stitch projects have been sitting lately without a lot of work on them so hope to start working on them again really soon.  I have been trying to get a little more organized so that is why projects like the dishcloths are being done.  It is amazing what you can find almost done when you start organizing.

Time to get some work done so that this evening I can work on another craft project and see what I can accomplish.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Time to show


mystery stitching
 So I can finally show you what I have been working on for the last little while.  It has been a lot of fun working on both of these projects and last night there were given to someone.

The first one is a shawl that actually won't be given to the person it was made for until Friday but I can now show it as the person currently isn't on the internet too much.  Also I don't think this person reads my blog so that is also another reason why I can show it.

Shawl - completed
This shawl was a lot of fun to work on as I used fine yarn with sequins on it.  The final shawl is bigger than the pattern originally called for because I wanted it bigger.  The pattern was one that I got this spring at Knitter's Frolic so have now used one of the patterns from there.  The shawl has a button hole or loop made right into the shawl so that you can slide the other side of the shawl into it to keep it in place.

I hope that the person will enjoy it as I really enjoyed making it over the last month.

diagonal scarf - completed
Now the second item was received by the person last night and she was very excited when she got it.  I loved working on this scarf as it was simple garter stitch but increasing at one end of a row and decreasing at the other end made the scarf end up on a diagonal.  This project was quick to make up as the pattern said it would take 10 hours to do and I think I did it in just around 9 hours.  I have already started another scarf like this as I love how quick they work up and they are something that I can work on a bit at a time.  I also was able to get more of this yarn so have a couple of different scarves on the go right now.

I have also got back to working on my cross-stitch so that is making me feel good.  I hadn't really worked on any of those projects for almost a month so glad I was able to get back to working on them over the last couple of days.  Now to see how much of those I can get done over the next little while.  The update on the cross-stitch will be another post once I have something to really show.

Now it is time to get some work done so tonight I can spend relaxing and working on a project.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Progress

Mystery project
I decided that I would show you a little bit of the project that I have been working on over the last little while.  Yes it is knitting and the yarn is really nice to work with.  The yarn actually has sequins on it so it makes it interesting to work with.

I am still working on getting this project finished early this month and then I will be able to show you the picture of it once I deliver it.  The colour isn't as blue as the picture shows as the colour says is aquamarine.  The project is taking me longer to complete than I anticipated but at least I am seeing that I am getting closer to the end now.

Addi Interchangeable set
Now the one thing that I can show you and that is the new addition to my crafting tools.  On Saturday my DH decided that after listening to me for a while saying how much I wanted Addi Interchangeable needles got them for me.  Yes they are very nice and shiny and if you look closely you will notice a space where some of the needles go.  I have already started using them because I just needed to try them out.

It is taking me some time to knit without tucking a straight needle under my right arm but am enjoying using the Addi needles.  I have had some addi's before so I knew how nice they are to work with so now I can't say I don't have the right size circular needle for a project at least from 3.5mm to 10mm.  Well I may say I don't have the needles available as they are on another project or the cables are all used up. 

Now it's time for me to finish up a bit of work this morning and then I will see what I work on.  The mystery project is calling me which is great.  Let's see when it's completed.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Siux a little bit more

Siux - May 11th
I haven't been doing much crafting this month and you can really tell by how much Siux has changed since the 11th of the month.

Work has taken quite a bit of my time so haven't been able to craft as much as I would have liked.  I am also working on a gift so cannot post about it until it is finished and the person has received it.  I hope to have the gift finished by early June and then I should be able to get back to cross-stitching a little bit more.

 On the second picture you can't see that her wings are actually now getting some sparkle added to them.  I wanted to give the wings a bit of a difference so have been adding blending filament to the wings.  It is going to take a bit of time to get the wings done but I think it will look really nice once they are completed.

Siux - May 27th
Besides work, I have also started another course and it looks like it is going to take quite a bit of my time through the middle of August.  I have been trying to figure out a schedule for getting all the assignments done as I have 7 assignments and 4 or 5 blog entries that must be posted for school.  No the blog entries I write here don't count for school.  The good news about the course is once I have finished it I will have my Fundraising Certificate.  The certificate has been a lot of work but I have really been enjoying doing it as it has given me a chance to look at a charity differently than normal.

Well it is now time for me to get to work so that I can get things done today and then maybe see if I can at least find a little bit of crafting time tonight.



Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Fireworks

Yesterday was Victoria here in Canada and a day for families to set off fireworks in the neighbourhoods. OK, there are places where you are not allowed due to by-laws to set off fireworks but a lot of parks and attractions do set off fireworks on the Monday evening.

After last night I know why some communities don't allow fireworks to be set off by anyone without a permit. I live in an area with lots of apartments with limited green space so firing off fireworks are difficult at the best of times. There is one park which is ideal because it doesn't have lots of trees in it because it is also a baseball field.

The setting off of fireworks started in my neighbourhood on Thursday afternoon. Yes, in the afternoon when you can't really see the actual fireworks you just get to hear the noise. This continued through the rest of the week and into the weekend. Yesterday, fireworks started just around noon and continued until after midnight.

Now, as I said I live in an area with lots of apartment buildings and limited green space. The fireworks at one point where being set off the 17th floor of an apartment building from a balcony. The fireworks were actually being hand held to set them off and point them in various directions. An injury waiting to happen. Another group were firing off the fireworks off the sidewalk by laying the fireworks down and letting them go in whatever direction the fireworks went. This means into the grass, onto the road and into the sides of cars.

Fireworks are to be sold to anyone over the age of 18 but the kids that I saw setting off a lot of there fireworks sure didn't look 18 to me. I understand that older family can be buying them but if that is the care the older family member should also be supervising the setting off of the fireworks in the correct manner.

Fireworks are nice to see when they are set off in a safe way and for a limited length of time. The fireworks going off for five days and at various times of the day and night are not fun.

I understand why some communities doesn't allow fireworks. Maybe my area needs to consider this but the biggest challenge would be the enforcing of it.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Siux is appearing

Siux - April 21st
So what have I been up to lately? 

I have been busy with work which has meant I haven't been able to spend a lot of time working on my blog but I have been able to find bits of time to work on my cross-stitch design which is making me happy.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been able to find bits of time to sit and stitch on this project and make little bits of progress.  The progress on the wings was really slow as they needed quite a bit of editing while I was stitching.  The pattern when I designed it just had too many colours so have been working on removing and editing colour selection.  The other issue was I just couldn't get into working on more purple for a while.

 
Siux - May 11th
So this weekend I decided that it was time to sit down again and focus on making a bit of progress.  The first thing I needed to do was to put the final stitches on her wings and then I could get into other areas.  After completing the wings on Friday I just wanted to stitch to see how much I could get done this weekend.  So Friday and Saturday I worked on her and finally I am seeing some good results.

I didn't work on her at all yesterday as it was Mother's Day.  Hopefully this week I will be able to make some more progress on her as I want to get this piece finished soon.  The other big part of this project is going to be adding some glitter to her wings because I think they need a bit of something.  That might be what I work on part of this week so that I can see how it looks.

So besides working on this piece I have also been crocheting a little bit as well as working on a couple more cross-stitch designs.  Yes my designing is ahead of my stitching right now so need to focus on stitching for a little bit.

Today is another day and I am hoping that I can continue to see Siux come to life.  Time now to work a bit and then sit and stitch this evening.



Monday, April 21, 2014

Weekend Progress

Siux - Thursday event
This weekend I did spend some of it sitting and working on my cross-stitch Siux.  It felt very good just being able to focus on one project for a while without too many distractions and wanting to work on something else.  

With this being a three day weekend it meant that I could easily spend at least one day working on a project and that is what I did.  Friday was my day to sit and stitch and not worry about the emails or anything else that needed to be done.

Siux - Sunday evening
I am happy with the amount of stitching I was able to do because normally I would be doing other things and the stitching would be left for another day.  As you can see on the Sunday photo I am getting to the areas of the wing that I will need to make colour decisions on.  These decisions are going to be done on a nice sunny day when I can sit and look at the floss colours and make the decisions.

I am going to continue working on this project because I would like to get completed quickly so that I can show the artist the completed cross-stitch when I see him next.  Yes I know I am a little crazy but I have to admit having a deadline also helps me get something completed instead of putting it down and starting another project.

Besides working on this project on the weekend I went out and picked up the missing floss for some of the other projects that I have designed.  I am going to get all the floss for these projects ready so that once I finish this piece I can start the next one.  I have already chosen which project is next as it is another piece of artwork but by a different artist.

Time to now head off and get some work completed so that I can once again spend my evening stitching.

Saturday, April 19, 2014

Stitching continues

Siux as Tinkerbell by Gerry Vail
Here is what I have been working on this week.  It is a pattern that I did from a sketch that Gerry Vail did for me.  The picture is one of his characters dressed up as Tinkerbell because he knows how much I love Tinkerbell.

This is the pattern that I did at the beginning of April but it won't be able to be published because of course this picture looks too much like Tinkerbell and she is a licensed character.  At least what I am doing is getting my own copy which means a lot.  It is showing me that I can take a picture with permission from an artist and do patterns from them.  The biggest thing is that the sketch or picture have to be originals because of license and copyright issues.

This picture was taken Thursday evening before I was able spend most of yesterday working on it.  I hope to post a picture of this piece at the end of the weekend to show much much more I have been able to get done on her.  It does take a bit longer when you are using your own pattern because you are the one that is making all the decisions on if a stitch should be a certain colour or something else.  As I make all of these decisions I have been modifying the pattern so that I will have a record of what the actual piece is.

Yes this is one of the patterns that I am currently working on besides Scarlett and Cirque des Cercles so do have a lot on the go.  I also have a couple more patterns ready to be stitched and one of them is from another artist and it is an original drawing so will see how that goes.

Now it is time for me to turn off the computer and do a few other things before I pick up my needle and do some more stitching tonight.  Siux is coming to life so I need to continue making her more than just a wing and part of a face.


Saturday, April 12, 2014

Another cross-stitch start

Scarlett - John Clayton Elegance Cross-stitch
Scarlett - John Clayton Elegance Cross-stitch
So this week besides doing everything else that I know I should be doing I had another cross-stitch start.  This was is special because my DH bought the pattern for me as a birthday present.

This one is called Scarlett by John Clayton.  I saw this pattern earlier this year and immediately fell in lover with it.  I don't normally do people so it is going to be something a little different for me to do.

The first picture was taken Wednesday afternoon as that is what I was able to get done at the beginning of the week.  The second picture was just taken this morning and that is how much I have been able to get done during a rather busy week for me.

I know it doesn't look like much right now but I think if I am able to spend some time on it over the next week I should be able to see some changes.  The biggest thing was just getting a section done as a base so that now I can work on getting some other colours added and that will help as well. 

On Wednesday I received another cross-stitch pattern as a birthday gift that it was Red by Mirabilia.  This was given to me by another cross-stitcher and a good friend - Leftover Chocolate Stitches and I think I am going to be stitching on that pattern for a very long time because there is lots of detail in it but I have liked this pattern as well since before Christmas and just hadn't picked it up.

I guess I better walk away from the computer for a while and see if I can put a few more stitches in Scarlett.  I do have a lot of patterns that are currently calling out to me to stitch so I better get one completed before another one wants the attention.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Shawl progress

Belted wrap
This week I have been working on my belted wrap and am happy with the progress that I have made so far.  I didn't take another picture because it looks basically the same.

I was able to finish the belt very quickly so now it's just work on knitting the 66 inches of the wrap.  I am not sure how far I am right now but I do know I haven't reached the half way point so will see how things go this weekend.

I am also working on another project but I don't have a picture of it yet.  This project is a collaboration piece with an artist.  I am hoping that he will be happy when he sees what I have done.  I don't want to say too much about it until the two of us make some discussions. 

I hope this weekend to make a bit of progress on my wrap because I would like to be able to wear it before the weather gets too warm.  I figure if I can continue making the progress I have been doings I should have it done in a couple of weeks.  What I did figure out was I need 192 holes up the wrap before it's complete and right now I am at 46 holes.  Yes still a ways to go but I think I can make a bit of progress on it this weekend.

The joy of seeing something progress is making me very happy.  I haven't knit a lot lately other than the other shawl for myself so it is nice to see how quickly something can start to look like what you want it to look like.  The other good thing about this wrap is it uses up yarn at a good wrap.  I have already used two 100 gram balls of yarn on it and the tie so will see how much yarn I end up using on this wrap. 

Time to now go and do a bit of work and then see what crafting I do over the weekend.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Another shawl started

Belted Wrap - Caron
 As you can guess by the name of this blog I have started another shawl for myself.  This shawl is basically one long piece with no shaping which is fine with me.

The thing I liked about the pattern was it was a wrap that I would wear and it had a belt to hold it in place.  Another bonus for someone who doesn't sit still and wanted something that would keep me a little warm when I am doing things. 

Belted Wrap - Belt
In my last blog I mentioned that I had to finish the black shawl before I could start this new one so yesterday I finished casting off the shawl and sewed the ends in quickly so that I could start this pattern.  Yesterday we actually went and I picked out this yarn which is really nice to work with.  The yarn is Waverly by Bernat and the colour is called "Beautiful Blue". 

The picture of the main wrap is what I did yesterday after getting home from running around and dinner.  The belted wrap - belt I did this morning before really getting moving and starting my day.  I wanted to see what the belt looked like and I also figured this way I would get the pattern into my head quickly.  The pattern is only four rows so when it's over 12 stitches it is fast to learn.

Today I have a couple of other things that I need to work on but I think I am also going to work on the belt so that I can see how long the wrap is going to be.  The belt and wrap are the same length so figure working on completing the belt will also give me a quick feeling of satisfaction that I got that much done.

I can't wait to see this wrap completed so I better go and get the other things completed so that I can spend some of my day knitting.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Knitting again

Triangle shawl
So over the last week I have been working on a project for myself.  Of course it has meant that I have been a little more determined to get it finished.

The project is a triangle shawl and a simple garter stitch so something that I can pick up and put down easily when I need to work on something else.  I have had this lace yarn sitting around for a little while so I decided it was time to make something with it.  The yarn is considered a fine weight (2) and it has sequins on it so I figured it would be nice in a shawl. 

Triangle shawl on needle
Of course the increases are on every other row and when you put it down and pick it up you sometimes forget which row you just finished so in the second picture you can see my indicator to show me which row is the increase row.  This has really helped me because it meant that I didn't have to remember what row I was on I just had to look for the indicator.

Right now it is sitting right beside me because I just have two more rows to knit before I can cast off which is making me happy.  I also have figured out the next project that I am going to make for myself so that is another reason why this shawl was made so quickly.  The pattern started with 8 stitches and right now I am at 280 stitches on the needle.  It is now time to finish this project up and maybe I will even be able to wear it within the next few days.

I continue to cross stitch as well when I have a few minutes so hope that I will be able to get lots of different things done over the next couple of weeks.

Time to go and work on another row.

Friday, March 14, 2014

A different project

Dream 
This week I decided that it was time for another project and this was a lot different than what I have been working on.

Over the last couple of years my husband has heard that I have wanted to try to do a bit of my own designing instead of dealing with just the patterns that are on the market.  I wanted something that was my own.

The past while I have been sketching out ideas of what I would like to design if I had the time and the tools to do just that.  Well after hearing this lately DH decided that it was time for me to get the major tool that would help me start this new adventure.  What he did was told me that it was time for me to go PC Stitch 10 and start trying to do a bit of designing for myself. 

The cross-stitch that is on this blog is something that I thought about for a while and now it is finally stitched.  Of course the first version of it isn't quite what I wanted because I pulled out a piece of fabric quickly and without checking decided to stitch up this pattern quickly.  So it ends up that the piece of fabric was 14ct Aida instead of the 18ct Aida that I had planned on using.  This project was very quick as it took me an evening to basically stitch it up.  Now that it is done I decided that I wanted to see what it looks like on 22ct so have started that version so in the next day or two when I have some time I will see what it looks like smaller.  The butterfly was a pattern included with PC Stitch so now that I have done that I am going to work on a butterfly myself.

Of course I am still stitching on Cirque de Cercles but just needed a chance to try something a little different.  Also doing something with a bit of colour was also fun.  A quick project was nice for a change.

Now to get the things done off my to-do-list so that I can spend some of my weekend trying out my new software to see what I end up coming up with.

Monday, March 10, 2014

Cirque des cercles progress

Cirque des cercles - March 1
On March 1st I said I was going to put Cirque des cercles by Ink Circles back on the scroll bars and that is exactly what I did.  As you can see I had some of the circles outlined by then and my goal was to get all of the circles outlined before the end of March.

Cirque des cercles - March 8th
The good news is it didn't take me the entire month of March to get the circles outlined it actually only took me a week.  Once I sat down and started working on the piece again it seems to go pretty quickly which was great.  You can also see little bits that I did when I had just enough thread left in my need to do a small amount of stitching.

Cirque des cercles - March 10th
Once all the circles were outlined I wanted to start getting things filled in because I wanted to see what it looked like.  Now, I have been meaning to take a couple of days to myself where I just did what I wanted and didn't think too much about work or anything else.  Saturday both DH and I decided that yesterday and today were going to be those days.  See scheduling them to far ahead usually means that something comes up and I lose the days that I have selected.

Yesterday I got up and picked up cirque des cercles and worked on it for part of yesterday. I saw some progress and was happy with it.  Today I got up and once again picked up cirque des cercles and worked on it some more.  Now you can see what I actually completed in a couple of days.  The fabric is 25 count even weave and I am doing this piece over one thread.  Tomorrow it's a day to get back to work so there won't be too much stitching done. 

I am really glad that I took these two days to sit and relax and do something that I wanted to do.  Emails where basically ignored today so now to see what I need to work on tomorrow but that will be done in the morning.  Cirque des cercles will not be far away from my spot where I stitch so will see when it calls to me again to put some more stitches in it.

Saturday, March 1, 2014

A finish to report

Positive thinking - Mar 1/14
 So I haven't been writing a blog lately and that is because I was working on getting a project finished.  Over the last couple of weeks I decided that I really wanted to get Positive thinking completed by the end of February.

Well I didn't get it completed by February 28th but the good news is I finished it on March 1st so not bad.  I started this project on February 1st and finished the stitching on March 1st so am happy with that.  Now what I need to do is actually finish it into a bell pull.


The piece was actually a lot of fun to work on and am happy to say that I finished something that I started within a very short time.  Normally what happens is I start something and then I start something else and I don't get the pieces finished.

Part 5 - finished - March 1/14
So now that this piece is finished I think I will work on Cirque des Cercles for a while and see how much of that I can get done during the month of March.  I will take a piece of it once it's back on the scroll bars and then will see how I do.

It's been cold out so having some cross-stitch pieces to work on has been nice.  It has meant that I haven't wanted to go outside as much. 

Time to put Cirque des Cercles back on the scroll bar and get working on it.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Positive thinking - update

Positive thinking - Feb 5th
The Olympics have given me a chance to sit in the evenings and when I have been taking a break from work to watch a specific event.

Positive thinking - Feb 17th
With just under a week to go for the Olympics I figured it was time to show you some progress on my stitching.  This piece is being stitched on 25th evenweave and over one thread so it does take a bit of time to do some of the sections of it.  The longest time was spent doing the two sections with the flowers as it took me quite a while to motivate myself to actually do those two sections.  Now that they are completed I am hoping that the rest of the piece goes very quickly.  I am aiming to have all the stitching done by the end of the month so will need to put some effort in to getting that done.

The piece consists of five different parts and I have now completed the first three sections so just have two more sections to go and thank figure out how I am going to finish the piece.

Positive thinking - Feb 17/14
If things go well I am hoping to have this done so that I can get back to my Cirque des Cercles by March 1st.  Yes that piece has been put aside while I have been doing this one.

This year I would really like to get some of my cross-stitch pieces finished that I have started instead of just starting more.  Of course, this week I found another pattern that I really liked so want to start it soon but it's currently hidden by DH so that I don't start it until at least April.

Now it's time to get some work done and maybe see what events are on today that I can watch.