Some more progress and a new start

Reflections of Canada - Jan 30th

 This past week I was able to once again find some stitching time and I am very happy that I did.  Of course it wasn't as much as I thought that I was going to be able to do but at least I have been able to make some progress on a couple of pieces again.

The week started off with a finish which was wonderful.  Reflections of Canada by Ink Circles got finished on January 30th so that made me very happy.  It was nice to see that I was able to get that piece done in just under a month.  Maybe the motivation that I had helped me get it done. At a stitch night early in the month a couple of the ladies where complaining that I was further ahead than they were and they started January 1st, 2016 and I started January 1st, 2017.  I figured that given they were bugging me about being so far ahead I was going to try and get it almost done before our next get together which is this week. Well then I decided that why was I going to just finish it in early February when I might be able to get it done in January so that is why I basically put a lot of my stitching time into this piece in January.  It is now done and I will probably get bugged this week about getting it finished as quickly as I did.

Joyful World - March - Feb 3rd

I admit that I am very happy that the two ladies bugged me because it gave me the motivation that I needed to get the piece finished as fast as I did.

After Reflections of Canada I decided to pick up Joyful World and see if I could get some more of the months done on it.  I started March but am not sure why but this month seems to be taking a little longer to stitch than January and February did.  I am going to get back to working on it as I would like to get it finished soon and then it will be off to work on April.

As the weekend approached I decided that considering I had finished a project I could add another project to the list of projects that I am working on so it was off to check which pattern was next to be added to the pile.  As it is Canada's 150th birthday this year I figured it was only appropriate to add another Canada themed project into the mix so I started "Let's Visit Canada" by Imaginating. This design is a very simple design and something that I think I should be able to finish up quickly or at least that is what I am hoping that I can do.  The nice thing about this design is once again it is a single colour so it does work up a little quicker than when you have to continually change floss colours. 

Let's Visit Canada - Feb 5th

I am liking this pattern in some ways but I also a little frustrated with the actual pattern but not the design.  When I picked up the pattern I didn't look closely at the actual pattern otherwise I think it might not have been purchased.  There are a couple of frustrations that I have found with the pattern but I know that I will be able to handle them but it does make it a bit frustrating to work with.

Here are what I have found already that were a bit disappointing with the pattern.
1. The pattern is printed in booklet form but the pattern is through the middle of the booklet and stapled.  This makes it difficult to move from one side of the pattern to the other and making sure you aren't missing a column. A lot of designers will break the pattern over the pages but will indicate some repeat columns or rows to assist the stitcher.
2. The pattern has design elements that are actually stitched right on the page break which makes is hard to see.  I am glad that the pattern is clear on the front of the pattern otherwise I think my Inukshuk would look odd as well as a couple of trees that are going to be stitched.
3. The pattern has design elements that cross between the top and bottom page but again with no repeat columns to assist in the layout.  The trees that will be stitched are actually crossing the pages and the angles of the trees are over the two pages.

Sure I understand part of why some of the pattern layout is done the way it is but it also makes me a bit more of a challenge to actually sit and enjoy stitching this piece.  I hope to be able to get this design stitched quickly as I already have the next two projects figured out that I want to be adding to the list of projects that I am working on.

I hope to be able to get some more stitching done this week and will see if both Joyful World and Let's Visit Canada get attention or if something else will get a bit of stitching done on it. I have things that now need to be done so will see if I can find some stitching time this evening and will see which project gets the attention.