Monday, January 31, 2022

Where did the week go?

Here it is the start of another week, and I am happy to say that things are starting to open up again. We will see how things go moving forward, but there is still a lot of caution in regard to the new restrictions and everything else.

Working for me stays the same as I work from home, so I will continue to do that and will see how things go. I am looking forward to not hearing about Covid as much, but that is still going to be awhile.

I am not sure where the last week went, but I do know that I was busy with a lot of things that took time, so my relax time was very short each day.

Ruskin's Penguins - here is a project that got some attention this past week. I am still working on getting more of the border done, and it is taking quite a bit of time to see progress on it right now. The little areas are a lot of stitches, so even after working on it for a while you don't feel like you have made much progress on it. 

I have just about finished the black on one part of the border, and then I will move onto trying to get more of the black done on the second section of the border. I have decided that I am going to try and work on all the black on the piece and then go back and add the white. I am not sure if that is what I will end up doing, but for now that is my aim.

Let's see what gets done on this piece next, as getting more of the border done would be a good idea.

Turquoise - here is a project that I pulled out because I haven't worked on it for a while. It isn't a very large project, but for some reason I just didn't want to work on it, so I pulled it out this week and decided it was time to try and get it moved forward.

I have now got to the point where I have reached all the corners on the design, so it is just a matter of filling in each of the sections. I would like to continue to work on this piece, as I know that it wouldn't take too long to get it finished if I focused on it.

 I am not sure if I will work on this piece again this week, but I do know that I won't be putting it too far away, as I would like to see it finished before too long.


One of the things that I started to do when I pulled this piece back out was decided to try and finish a colour at a time over the entire design. Each quarter is a repeat, so that means that it is pretty easy to know how much of a colour you have to do. The other thing about trying to complete a colour at a time is that you don't have to keep changing colours of thread, and you can focus on the entire design and not just one little section. The pile of colours is slowly starting to decrease now, and so I will try and continue to work on a colour at a time and maybe that will help me focus on this piece and get it done.

Asymmetrical Lace Knit Shawl - this past week, I decided it was time to start working on another shawl for myself. This pattern is very easy at the beginning because it is just garter stitch with some increases. I am enjoying doing this when I just need something to keep my hands busy, but I don't want to either count rows or stitches. The pattern does have a nice lace design at the other end of the shawl, but before I get to do that I have to finish this section, which so far I have been enjoying.

I hope to continue to work on this piece as just getting all the garter rows and increase done would be nice, but I am not in a hurry either, so I will enjoy the process.

Other projects - I haven't been working on many other craft projects  as I have been busy with a lot of other things.

I hope everyone has a good week, and you continue to find a bit of time each day to do something that you enjoy doing. It helps you recharge your own batteries so that you are ready to face the next day with some energy.




Monday, January 24, 2022

Moving things forward

Here it is the start of another week, and it is cold out, and now they are calling for more snow. I think we have enough snow right now given what we got last Monday. I think we are still trying to dig out from the last snow, so hopefully this is only a bit.

We continue to work remotely and that won't change for us even when things get to the new normal that we will eventually get to. I like being able to work from home and given our jobs it is what works for both of us.

The Forgotten - this week, I decided it was time to pull out some projects that haven't got a lot of attention lately. This was the first one that I worked on, and I am very happy with the progress that I have been able to make on it.

I was only working on black on this piece over the week but am happy with the progress that I was able to get on it. I am now sure if I will continue to work on this piece or not but will see what this week is like.

Unleash the Butterflies - again I picked up another piece that hasn't got much attention since last August. I wanted to see if I could get some stitches in on this as well and on Saturday I was able to make some good progress on it and now to see if I can continue to move this project forward as well.

I started off just working on black and then decided that I would try and add a few of the other colours, so I did. The main section that I did work on has a few shapes of grey in it, so it doesn't look like there are different colours until you see more of it done. 

I am looking forward to seeing what happens with this piece this year, as I would like to see more of it done.

Ruskin's Penguins - this is one project that I want to get moved forward quickly, so it means working on it. I had put it down for a couple of weeks, but then I decided to get the outer border finished so that I could then start to work on all the little motifs that need to be completed.

I do want to get the two penguins stitched, but I figured that if I get the centre of the piece done, I might not want to get the border done, so I am making sure that I can get more of the border done before the penguins get stitched.  The border is easy to work on now that I have got the outline done, so that is something that I am going to be working on over the next little while.

It would be nice to have this piece finished while it is still cold out, so that means that I need to focus on it and get it moved forward. There are only two colours in this piece, so that also makes it easier to work on. Maybe this week I will try and work on some more of the border so that I can get closer to being able to stitch at least one of the penguins. I would like to get half of the entire border done before working on any of the centre, so will have to see what happens.

Icicle dishcloth - I was able to knit another icicle dishcloth over the last while and I love how it turned out. It is a simple pattern and I have enjoyed working on it. I now have two dishcloths finished this year and am going to see how many more I can get done. 

I do have lots of handicrafter cotton, so being able to make some dishcloths makes me happy.

Other projects - I haven't been working on a lot of the other projects lately, so now to see if I can pick up something else to work on. 

I hope everyone is taking care of themselves and finding that bit of time each day to do something that you love doing. It doesn't matter what it is, but taking the time to relax and recharge is very important.

I hope to have some more progress to show next week but will have to see what this week has in store for me.




 

Monday, January 17, 2022

Some finishes

Here it is the start of another week and if you are in southern Ontario you woke up to lots of snow.  It is amazing how much snow we have received, and they are saying we can get another 10 - 15 cm before it ends. We have already got 35 cm  and that was at 9 am this morning. Schools are closed, and the roads are covered. 

I am very thankful that we are able to work from home, and we don't have to go out in this. I know the police have said if you don't need to go out, stay home.

Ruth Gibb - I am very happy to be able to say that Ruth Gibb is finished. I worked on her this week, and I was able to get it finished yesterday morning. I am so happy to see that I was able to get it done as quickly as I did.  I started this piece on January 1st and finished it January 16th.

I am really liking stitching red samplers and have a couple more on my list of ones that I want to do this year. It is always fun to think that before I never thought I would be stitching red samplers, and now they are what I look at and enjoy doing.

Icicle dishcloth - this past week, I decided it was time to start working on using up some of the cotton yarn that I have. I quickly found a pattern that I wanted to make and over the last week I was able to finish this dishcloth. I am now working on another one of these and hope to have it finished before too long. 

Being able to work on some dishcloths is nice because they are quick to make and end up being an excellent gift to give when you are going to visit someone. 

I am going to try and make some more dishcloths through this year and will see how many I end up with at the end of the year.

Pandemic - here is a project that hasn't had a lot of attention lately. I decided it was time to see if I could at least make a bit of progress on it, so that is something else that I worked on over the last week.

It is taking a very long time to see much progress on this piece, so I will continue to work on it a bit at a time and will see how things go.

Other projects - I have been working on some other projects, but of course really don't have a lot to show. I will continue to work on a bunch of things and will see what happens. 

I hope everyone is having a good day and remember to stay safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones.


 

Monday, January 10, 2022

Making some progess and a finish

Here it is another week, and we continue to progress on some projects and will see how things go. I hope that I can continue to see progress on things, so will see how things go. Covid continues to be a crazy thing here in Ontario, so will see how things go moving forward.

There are so many things that I would like to get done, so maybe it would make me feel a little better about things. I decided this week to focus only on a couple of projects so that I could see some good progress on them.

Ruth Gibb - I was able to make some progress on Ruth Gibb, and it makes me feel good to see that I was able to get more stitching done. I know that continuing to see progress on this piece is making me very happy. I would like to see how much more of this I can get done over the next couple of weeks. I am currently at over 60% done and given I only started this on January 1st it is moving forward very quickly.  If things go well I should be able to get a few more stitches in on it this coming week but will have to see how things go. The alphabets do seem to stitch up quickly but not sure.

Ruskin's Penguins - here is the other cross stitch piece that got some attention this week. I decided to continue to work on getting some border done so that I can then start to add in the rest of the details. I have at least got the inside border outlined and now to finish all the detail on the inside border as well as along the outside border. I think these are going to be taking me some time but will see how things go.

I have also put a bit of one of the penguins in on the piece, so that I now have a top and a bottom. I am so happy seeing that I have been able to get more of the border done and will see how things go moving forward. I am going to continue to work on the border sections because I know that they are going to take the longest to-do, so I just need to make sure that I can get them done before focusing too much on the inside section.

One thing that I really like about this pattern is the border is easy to do once it gets started. It is very repetitive, so that means it is something that I can do without having to look at the pattern every few stitches. The other advantage of this pattern is that it is only two colours, so I have been focusing on the black, and then I will be able to get to a point where I can start adding the white and things will start to appear quickly. I am not sure when I will add the white, but I am waiting until I have quite a few sections done that need the white before I even think about it. 

Pashmina shawl - the other project that got some attention this week was the Pashmina shawl, as I wanted to see if I could at least get all the rows done and finish the shawl. I am very happy to be able to say that I finished knitting the shawl, and it is now cast off, and I just need to sew in the ends. I never did measure how long the shawl is, but I think it might be around 72 inches long. I have loved working on it, and I am loving how it looks. I just have the ends to sew in now and, then it will be finished.

The shawl ended up being 12 stripes long and that was long enough given it is longer than I am tall. I love how it looks, and it feels like it will be very comfortable to wear on those cold days. The yarn was DK Joy that I picked up at Michael's, and it was wonderful to work with and something that I would like to use again. Now to sit and sew in all the ends, and then I can enjoy wearing it before the cold wears comes to an end. I know that there is still quite a bit of winter left, but I still need to sit and sew in the ends.

Other projects - this week I didn't work on any other projects as I wanted to spend the time that I had focusing on getting these moved forward. I am not sure what this coming week has in store, but I know that I will continue to try and make some progress on a few projects. I have a bunch of ideas as to what I would like to work on, but I also need the time available to work on the different projects.


I hope everyone continues to take time for themselves each day, as it does make a big difference. It doesn't have to be a lot of time but making sure that you can recharge some of your own personal batteries is very important. Once you can spend that time, it makes it a lot easier to be there for the other people that are essential to you.

Please continue to stay safe and know that we are going to get through this, but it is going to take some time and patience. I know that it has been hard on everyone but know that we can do this, and we just need to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and those that we love.  Have a good week and hopefully next week I will once again have something to show you that I have got done.




 

Monday, January 3, 2022

New starts, 2 finishes and Happy New Year

Here it is the start of a new year, and it looks like more Covid-19 restrictions are going to be put into place today, so now to see what happens. For us, we will continue to work remotely like we have been doing, so that is one thing that isn't going to be changing for us.

This past week was a week when I decided to spend some time trying to figure out what projects would get attention and what projects might be put away for a little while.

Queen Elizabeth I - now here is a project that I started on December 31st because I figured it wouldn't take me long to finish it, and I was right. I finished this piece on January 2nd, so it is my first finish for 2022 which makes me feel good.

This project is a full coverage piece, and it is 1.5 inches x 2.25 inches, so not very big at all. It was a fun stitch, and I know that I have other patterns this size that I will be working on throughout this coming year. It was nice to have a project to have something that worked up quickly and also being able to see a finish before too long.

I haven't decided how I will finish this piece, but it will probably be something very simple where I can hang it on my magnetic board and display it.

Ruskin's Penguins - here is a project that when I saw it shown on a video, I knew that I had to stitch it. It is by Modern Folk Embroidery, and it looks like it shouldn't take too long to stitch. 

I decided that before I started with a lot of the detail, I was going to get the border done so that I knew that it matched up, so that was my first priority. The inner board had the detail, so that is what I worked on, and I am just about finished with it, and then I can start adding in the details of the overall piece. 

I am looking forward to seeing this piece moved forward, so it might be one of them that gets attention in the next little while.

Ruth Gibb - I have fallen in love with reproduction samplers, so of course I had to have another one on the go.  This is by Hands Across The Sea, and it is my New Year start for 2022. I always said that I wouldn't do red samplers, but now they are something that I really enjoy doing. I have more of the Hands Across The Sea samplers on my wish list, so that will be more of these getting stitching in the next while. Yes, another red sampler, and I am happy with my one day of work on it.

This is Home - I enjoyed worked on this piece, and it was another project that didn't take long to complete. I started it December 22nd and finished December 28th. It is going to be finished, and we are going to be hanging this in our front hall. 

It is nice to see a project that you can get finished quickly and hopefully this year I will be doing more of this style of project.  I will still be doing the larger projects as well, but these are a lot of fun to work on.

Other projects - I did work on the Pashmina shawl a bit in the last week but not enough to take a picture of. It is a project that I hope to get finished soon so that I have another finish before too long.

I have lots of different projects that I want to work on this year and I have some goals that I want to achieve, but I will be keeping them to myself for now until I figure out if they are realistic or not.

I hope everyone continues to find that bit of time each day to do something that you enjoy. I know that making sure that I have that bit of time at the end of the day makes a big difference. I have the time to stitch my mind back together, and I start the next day feeling so much better about things.

Please stay safe and take care of yourself. Happy New Year and all the best in 2022.