Another week and not much crafting

Erasmus - June 21st

Now this past week was another one of those weeks where me finding enough time to sit and stitch really didn't exist.

Yes I was able to get some stitching done but sure not as much as I would have liked. I am happy that I was able to find a bit of time to work on Erasmus but again not the time that I would have liked.

Erasmus - June 24th

Erasmus is coming along pretty good but of course when I can't spend time on it, I get frustrated because I am not making the progress on it that I had hoped.  Now to see if this week I will be able to find some time to just relax and do it.


So when things go a little crazy what do I do, but start yet another project  This one is the Celtic Knot - Butterfly which I am hoping will stitch up quickly as it is using only one colour.  The butterfly is coming along OK but again it was started Friday evening and I didn't have a lot of time over the weekend to work on it.

Celtic Knot - Butterfly - June 28th

Of course having a lot of projects on the go isn't helping me either because I don't know what to work on.  I hope that I will be able to focus on one project this week and see how much progress I can make on it.

This week there is a holiday on Wednesday so I am hoping that I will be able to lose myself in my crafting for at least a part of it.

Now to figure out what work needs to get accomplished before the end of June because that is tomorrow.  Hopefully things will go well and I will find some time each evening this week to sit and stitch on one of the many projects that I currently have on the go.

Where did the week go?

Erasmus - June 14th

To sum up my last week I can actually ask "Where did the week go?"  I was pretty busy with work so I didn't get the time to sit and stitch that I had been hoping for.

The good news is I was able to find some time to make a bit of progress on Erasmus so that is the good thing.  I actually got the left side completed so now I am going to see if I can finish the right side and the lower section this week.

I haven't even looked at the other two pieces because I just didn't have the time or energy to work on them.  Now that things are a little more under control I hope that I can find some evenings this week where I can sit and stitch.

Erasmus - June 21st

I am glad that I had areas where I just had to fill in because that meant when I had a few minutes some nights I could put a few stitches in without worrying about looking for the pattern or counting stitches.

One of the things that did take some of my time and energy was a move that we did on the 12th of June.  The move involved moving down a hall from where our Executive Office was.  We decided that it was time to actually move to an office that was a bit bigger and easier for the two of us to work in at the same time.

Office  and view

The move itself went very smoothly because it wasn't very far and we carried everything down the hall to the new office.  What took the time and my energy was actually getting the area organized and into a method that would work for the two of us.

I am loving the new office as it now means that I can look outside when I am working.  I am one of those that likes seeing outside and our old office was an inside office so no windows at all.

The office is starting to help me focus on the work during the day and then now maybe I will start to have the evenings for stitching. 

I better get some work done so that I can do the stitching that I want to do this evening.

Week was busy

Erasmus - June 7th

This last week has been one of those weeks where stitching wasn't something I had a lot of time to do.  Between work being busy finding the time to stitch was very limited and now I am not sure what this week has in store either.

Erasmus is coming along slowly and I am glad I have a few areas where I am just filling in a colour and don't have to look at the pattern to count or even change colours.  I hope to be able to find a bit more time this week to stitch but will see how things go.

Erasmus - June 14th

Now besides work being busy there was one evening where I didn't get any stitching done but I didn't mind.  The reason for no stitching was it was my graduation from Centennial College from the Fundraising program that I took.  I wasn't sure if I should go or not but then decided that considering all the hard work I did I should go and hear my name read out.

Graduation

We arrived in plenty of time to take pictures around the college before the actual ceremony.  It had rained earlier in the day but we were lucky that it cleared so we could enjoy the time outside taking the pictures.

This week I will see how much time I can find for stitching and will see if Erasmus or one of the other projects.  I am looking forward to seeing which project gets the attention and how much I actually get accomplished.

It is now time for me to try and get a bit more work done and then maybe I will find that little bit of stitching time.

New starts

Erasmus - June 7th

Over the last week I have been having some  new starts for projects.  The one that is currently getting the most attention is Erasmus which I am enjoying.

Erasmus is a cross-stitch based on a drawing by an artist that I met earlier this year.  I took one of her drawing and am going to see how it turns out.  I started this piece on the 4th of June and of course have been trying to stitch on it quite a bit.

Schlock with Gun - June 7th

Coral rose - June 7th

Schlock with Gun - well this is another piece that I am working on and it is the second time the piece will have been stitched.  It was originally stitched in April but I didn't like one of the colours so this time I changed it and started to restitch it on June 1st.

The third piece that I started this week is a coral coloured rose.  This is based on a photo that I took of a rose that my husband bought me last week.  I loved what the rose looked like so decided that I was going to work on designing a pattern for it.  This isn't the rose that I wrote about in my blog before but another rose. I still have the other rose picture and may do a pattern or it but for now it is just going to have to wait.

I am having a lot of fun with the various projects that I have on the go and want to see which one actually gets finished first.  I am actually looking forward to seeing all of them finished so that is one of my challenges right now.  I think this week Erasmus is going to get the attention when I have the time to actually sit down and stitch.

As you can see I really didn't know what I wanted to work on after finishing Princess Sofia so I decided the best thing I could do was to start three different projects and then see what caught my attention. With me having these three new starts it also means that my started pieces climbed again but I hope that all of these pieces will be finished by the end of the summer.  I know that I don't stitch quite as much during the summer months when it is hot out so I better make as good a dent as I can before it gets too hot and humid out.

The schedule this week looks a little busier than normal so I don't think I will get any stitched done until at least Wednesday but then maybe things will slow down again.  If I can find a little bit of extra stitching time at the beginning of the week I would be very happy but I don't think there is going to be any done.

Time to get some work done and then will see when a needle is picked up and a few stitches put in on one of these projects.

Princess Sofia - time to say goodbye

Princess Sofia - framed

For those that do crafts you will probably know some of the feelings that I am going through today.

Written prior to delivering it - June 3rd
I am sitting here looking at a finished piece that will be given to it's new owner later today.  I am happy that the piece if finished in some ways but I am going to miss working on it as well.  The piece was a joy to work on, even with the little problems that I dealt with.

Over the last couple of days I have continued to look at the piece and have been happy to know that a little girl is going to be receiving this. As I worked on the stretching and framing of this piece I have been able to think about the smiles that this little princess will give to someone else.  I have put a lot of love into this piece and am in some ways a little sad to see it go.  I know it will be loved by the new owner and that is what helps.

Princess Sofia - completed June 1st

My designing has taken a new step and that makes me smile.  I pushed myself further this time than I have before, growing my skills and that is a great feelings.  This piece is now in a 13"x9.5" frame and it is ready to go.

I am thankful that I was given the chance to do this piece as it pushed me in directions that I need to be pushed.  I can't wait to see the reaction of the father when he receives this piece and in time for his daughter's birthday. 

Princess Sofia - closer up

It is now time to put this piece into a bag and get it ready for it's new owner.  Princess Sofia, I loved working on you but know that your new home is great.  I am now going to go and see what project I pick up next and fall in love with.

Written after delivering the piece away - June 4th

I was able to deliver the final framed piece to the new owner on Thursday afternoon.  He was very surprised when I pulled it out of the bag and he saw that it was finished.  It was really nice and fun seeing his reaction as we could see, he was having a hard time expressing his feelings.

One of the nicest things is his wife also doesn't know anything about this so will be a nice surprise for her as well as the daughter. 

Other notes

I have started another project so now to see how much I can get done on it, (them).

Princess Sofia more progress

Princess Sofia - May 24th

This past week I have had one major focus and that was to work on Princess Sofia and see how much of it I could actually get accomplished.

Princess Sofia - May 31st

Princess Sofia with the embellishments

I have been very lucky and have a week where I could stitch most evenings and that has meant I was able to get quite a bit of stitching in.  Of course it also meant that everything else that I want to work on has been sitting and waiting.

Over the weekend I was able to make a bit more of a dent in her and now I am able to show the work I had done through yesterday.  Yes the basic stitching is now down on Princess Sofia other than her tiara and there is a reason it wasn't done.  The tiara is the start of me adding the little extras onto the design. 

Now as you can see there are beads and some metallic thread to add to her and of course the tiara is going to be the silver metallic thread.  The beads are going to be added in various spots on the design and you will see where they go once the design have been finished.

I am so happy with how she is turning out now.  Of course through the design and especially while stitching her face I had a few issues so that took a bit longer than I had hoped.  Her face or at least part of it was stitch and un-stitched three times so glad that it is now done.

What is left to do on Princess Sofia is add the metallic, beads and then frame the piece.  I hope to have all of this done within the week so that the little girl can receive this by her first birthday.  I am happy that I was able to get this piece done as quickly as I did because the original estimate I made for getting it completed was the end of June.

Princess Sofia has been a joy to work on and now to see which project that I will start next. I do have a pretty good idea which one will get done next but that will have to wait until this one is done.

Today, I need to get work done so that is my focus for now but once all that is done I am going to work on getting Princess Sofia done.  I hope to be able to post a blog later this week with the completed piece but until then you will just have to wait.