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.