Progress and a knitting finish

Here it is the start of another week and an attempt to try and move things forward as well as juggling other things that are going on. I have been able to continue to move projects forward, which is making me happy. Now to see what the next little while is going to be like.

Mini the Forgotten - I have once again been able to work on moving this project forward a bit this week. I am trying to see if I can continue to get the various colours done up to a certain level. It would be nice to see how things go in the next little while.

What I am currently trying to do is work on completing sections of a colour so that it makes it a little easier to add the other colours to it. I am continuing to see that I have been able to get the stitching done that I want to do each week. There has been a goal that I have set for my stitching on this piece and while I might not say it publicly I have been working on achieving different things in regard to this project.  I have seen progress and that is the biggest achievement that I have wanted to achieve.

Ruskin's Penguins - now here is the project that I have been trying to work on during the week. It has been a bit of a challenge, as I have discovered that I don't like working with the Anchor white floss that I have been using. Given that I am this far along on this project, I will continue to use the floss, but I don't think I will be using it for another project where there is a lot of white.

In the pictures, what you aren't seeing is how much of the white that I have been able to get completed in the borders. I have been working on getting the snowflakes completed in the centre of the piece, but I have also been working on getting the white filled in on the bits of the border, and that is taking some time.

I am going to continue to work on this project and see how much more of it I can get done. I am looking forward to having this piece finished before too long, but will have to see how it goes. Being able to see more of this project done would be nice, so that is going to be my focus again during the week this coming week when I have some time to pick up and work on my cross stitch.

 

Wavy Lace Scarf - this has been my knitting project and I have been trying to knit at least 30 minutes a day on it. It is amazing how much knitting you can get done when you decide to focus on just one project instead of bouncing between a bunch of different things.

This scarf was started in 2021, and it didn't get much attention until I pulled it out this month to see if I could get it finished. For most of the time, I only worked on it for 30 minutes a day, but it didn't take me long to realize that I could get it done quickly. Today was the day that I worked a little bit more of the scarf, as I knew that within probably 45 minutes, I would have it done. I sat down and picked up this project and yes, I was able to get it finished, so this is another project that is now finished.

It is now time for me to figure out the next project that I am going to be digging out, and I think I have already figured it out. I am trying to complete a bunch of projects that I started a while ago, so that means another scarf will probably get the attention for the 30 minutes of knitting a day.

Other projects - I am continuing to work on my English Paper piecing projects and that makes me happy. I will be writing a separate blog on that because a weekly update wouldn't show much progress.

I hope you continue to find that bit of time each day to do something that you love.  It doesn't matter what it is, but making sure that you send that bit of time doing something for yourself is very important. It helps you to regain that focus that you will need to help others and to accomplish the other things that you want to do.

Have a good week and I hope to have some progress on things again next week.

 

2 Finishes and progress

Here it is the start of another week and yes a start of moving things forward again. It would be nice to have more weeks like I just did, but I don't think that is going to happen for a while. It was a good week getting things achieved, so now to see if I can continue to do this.

I hope that through the next little while, I can continue to see progress like I did in the last week. Now to work on making sure that I can continue to get work done as well as find some crafting time.

New Doors - here is the project that was my focus as I was trying to move it forward and see if I could get it done. I must admit that the flowers were a bit of a challenge, but I was able to figure them out and move forward.

I am happy with the progress that I was able to make on this piece because by Tuesday evening I was able to pop this off the q-snap and say it was a finish. Yes, there were some challenges with this piece, but at least I can now say that it is finished, and I am very happy with the progress that I was able to do this past week. I went from working on it to having it finished, and that felt good. I now need to figure out how I am going to finish this piece and get a frame for it, and then it will be totally done. At least, right now, I can say it's a finish or at least a finished stitching and that makes me feel so good.

Mini the Forgotten - here is the piece that I have set as my weekly project, as I would like to continue to move this piece forward and see how much of it I can get done before the end of the year.

I decided to not work on finishing up a colour now, and instead I am working on areas and also working on a colour when I can. This past week I worked on one section of the background and then decided to work on some of the other areas just to see some progress on the different sections.

It has been interesting working on this piece because there are times when I don't feel like I am making such progress and then when I step back and look at the entire piece I am happy with the progress that I have made. I am going to continue to work on this piece when I can each week because it would be nice to see more of this piece finished up before the end of the year.

Ruskin's Penguins - here is a project that I haven't worked on for a while. I think I have finally figured out why, so now to try and make progress on it.

I haven't picked up this piece for quite a while, and I have been trying to figure out just why it wasn't something that I wanted to work on. It's amazing how sitting back and looking at the project and checking every part of it can help you figure out what the project is. With this project, the biggest issue or what I can think is the issue is the floss that I am using. For this project I decided that I wasn't going to use DMC which is the floss that I use most of the time, but I was going to use Anchor floss because I had heard so many comments about it, so I figured that it was worth giving it a try.

I have used the Red from Anchor, and it was a nice floss to work, but once of these two flosses seems to causing me an issue. I am not sure why I am having such a challenge with this piece other than I am not liking working with the White Anchor floss. Hopefully, I am going to continue to work on getting this project finished using this floss, but I think it will be the last time that I work with the White Anchor floss. I am not sure about the other colours because the red that I used I didn't have a challenge, so it might just be the white floss that I don't like working with.

My goal is to continue to move this project forward, as I would like to see it finished before too long. I hope that I can see more of it completed before the end of this coming week.

Forage Shawl - Being able to sit and pick up my knitting each day and work on it for at least 30 minutes is making me feel so much better. I am seeing some progress and that is what is important.

The Forage Shawl got the attention it needed this past week and by the end of the week I was able to say that I have completed another shawl. I worked on this shawl early in the week, and Tuesday I was able to cast off the stitches and sew in the ends and call this another finished project. I hope that I can continue to work the 30 minutes a day on my knitting because I have been able to see some good progress on the various projects.

This shawl was very nice to work on, and it did work up fairly quickly when I decided to work on it a minimum of 30 minutes a day. I am now thinking of knitting this same shawl but with 7 colours, which is what the original pattern calls for. I wanted something quick to work on so that is why I just did the single colour so now to see what it looks like with the 7 different colours.

Wavy Lace Scarf - after finishing the Forage Shawl I looked in my bin to see what I had on the go and I found a scarf that I had started a while ago, but it needed quite a bit of attention. This is the wavy lace scarf, and it does work up quickly, which is also nice. I started working on this scarf on Wednesday and am very happy with the progress that I have made. The red marker lower on the scarf is where it was when I started on Wednesday, so now to see what I can get done on this scarf through the next week.

This scarf is using a grey glitter yarn, and it feels good, seeing how much of the scarf I could get done in the last few days. The 30 minutes a day does help me see that I am getting things done each week, so now to work on making sure that the 30 minutes a day continues through another week, so I can see how much more of this scarf I can get done.

Other projects - my English Paper Piecing projects continue to see bits of progress, which is good, but I will look at them at the end of the month to see what I have really been able to achieve.

I hope everyone is continuing to find that bit of time each day to do something that you love doing. Yes, it does help recharge those personal batteries that so often get drained. This week I am not sure what I am going to be working on other than my Wavy Lace Scarf as it will continue to get the 30 minutes a day on it.

Today is Family Day here in Canada, so I am going to be enjoying some time when I can relax and do some crafting while also spending some time with my husband. I hope that if you have a holiday where you are, that you have a good day and do some of the things that you enjoy.

Next week I hope to have some more progress on things but I don't think it will be as much as this week.

 

Making some progress again

Here it is the start of another week and just another week of trying to make some progress on some of my projects.

It is hard to believe that another week has passed, but of course I have been trying to see what I could get done. It does feel good being able to look at the pictures and seeing that I have at least made some progress on a couple of my projects.

Mini the Forgotten - here is one of the projects that I have been focusing on and trying to move it forward a bit each week. This week I didn't get a lot of progress on it, but at least I have been able to see a bit of it done.

I have been trying to work on getting more of the background as well as the dress worked on, so it means that I have been bouncing around on this project, but that still makes me happy. I would like to continue to see this project moved forward over the next few weeks, so will see how it goes. Just being able to see the different sections moved forward makes me feel good.

I am not sure that section I will be working on over the next week, but at least I know that I have been able to continue to see progress on this piece in the last week.

New Doors - here is the focus project that I have had since finishing Elizabeth Wood. I had set the goal of having this project finished by early April, so I decided that this was the project that I needed to pick up and see how much I could get done.

The border is taking longer that I thought to move forward because there is a lot of starting and stopping of threads. I have at least been able to figure out that having three needles threaded with the three colours that I am using for the border does help a bit. Now to see how much of this project I can get done this week as I am getting closer to a finish which is good.

With this project, I have now completed the middle of the design, so that means that I just need to get the border finished. I hope that over the next week I can focus on getting the rest of the border completed so that it will be a finish before the next blog.

Forage Shawl - here is the knitting project that I have been working on over the last week. It is nice to see that I have been able to make some good progress on this project.

If I can continue to work on this shawl over the next few days, I think I should have a finish. It would be nice to have this shawl finished, as I have been able to make good progress on it over the last week. What I decided to do is knit for a minimum of 30 minutes a day on a project, and that has meant that I have been able to see some good progress on this shawl. There have been days that I have knit more than the 30 minutes, but at least putting in 30 minutes a day through this week has meant that I have been able to get this project to a point that I am very happy.

The 30 minutes a day actually started out as 25 x 7 which was to try and work on a project for at least 25 minutes a day to see how much you could get done. I have been picking this project up each morning while I have been enjoying my coffee after breakfast, and it feels good seeing that I have been able to make some good progress on this shawl over the last week.

Other projects - once again I have been working on my English Paper piecing, but I will show that at the end of the month so that progress can actually be seen. I look at my throw some days, and it looks like I am making progress, and another day it doesn't.

Other than working on these projects, I haven't been working on any other crafting because I have been enjoying being able to see some progress on things. Being able to focus on just two or three projects has been nice, and once I finish the shawl and New Doors, I will figure out what the next projects are that I will focus on.

I hope everyone is having a great week, and you are doing things that bring you joy and also help recharge your personal battery. It doesn't matter what it is, but taking that bit of time to sit and take time each day for yourself is very important.

If things go well this week, I should have things to show you that I got moved forward next week. Until then, make sure that you take that time for yourself, and I hope that you have a good week.

 

Some progress and 2 finishes

Here it is the start of another week and yes, I was able to find those bits of time each day to spend working on things that I enjoy working on. It is hard to believe that the week is over, but at least I have been able to make some progress on things.

Mini the Forgotten - here is the project that once again got some attention on the weekend. I am happy with the number of stitches I was able to add to this piece. I did finish another colour on the piece, so there are now two colours finished, with another 16 colours to go.

I hope to continue to move this project forward, as I am looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it is finished. This week I will see what area I work on and how much more of it I can get done. 

Elizabeth Wood 1850 - this project was one that I was going to be working on as I wanted to get it completed. It was a lot of fun to work on and something that I could pick up and even get a couple of letters done at a time.

When I picked it up last week, I had one goal for this project, and it was to get it finished before the end of the week. I had originally thought I would have it finished in January but after working on Mini the Forgotten so much I knew it wasn't going to happen, but that was fine with me.

This week I was able to pick up this piece a little bit most days and by Friday evening I was able to say that I had finished the piece.

Of course, now that this project is finished, I will be picking up another one of my projects to see if I can get it moved forward and possibly finished off quickly. The next project is New Doors as it is getting closer to a finish, so that is what will be coming out this week and I will see how much of it I can get done.

Simple Triangle Shawl - this project has been something that I have been working as I could pick up and work on it when I had those few minutes. Well, this past week I figured out the size shawl that I wanted to make and by the end of the week it was cast off, and it is now finished as well. 

It didn't take me long to figure out what I was going to work on next, and it wasn't another Simple Triangle Shawl. What I am trying to do now is focus on getting projects that I have started finished up so that I don't have too many things sitting partly done on needles. I hope that I can continue to do this, as it would be nice to see things finished up instead of sitting in my basket waiting for some attention.

Forage Shawl - this project I started in January and got a little bit of progress on it, and then it was put down so that I could finish the Simple Triangle Shawl. I have decided that this is going to be a project that I try and focus on, as I would like to see what it looks like when it is finished. 

The pattern isn't difficult and right now with the rows being short they go quickly, so I can see some progress on it each time I pick it up. I don't think I will finish this within a week or two, but at least I know that I am going to try and make some progress on it each week and see how quickly it can get done. The pattern calls for 7 different colours for the shawl, but I decided to do it just in navy this time. I may try and make it with more colours later, but for now I just wanted to enjoy working on something with just one colour.

Other projects - I haven't been working on a lot of other projects other than my English Paper piecing. I am trying to focus on just working on a couple of projects at a time so that I can see progress on them. It does feel good seeing that I have been able to make progress on things, and I am getting finishes as well.

Making sure that I take those few minutes each day to do something that I enjoy makes a different. It helps me recharge my personal batteries so that I have the energy to help those around me.

I hope that you have a good week, and you also take that time for yourself and do what you enjoy. Next week, I hope to have some more progress on things to show, but we will see how it goes. 

 

English Paper piecing - January progress

This year, I decided that instead of posting my English Paper piecing projects as part of my weekly blog, I would do a separate one just for this.

One of my goals for this year is to try and spend a bit more time working on getting some throws finished. I currently have two throws on the go and as you can probably guess it if you know me I have other ideas already to go for the next throws and other items.

Scrap Throw - here is a project that started because I had a lot of scraps of fabric left over from making grime guards with I do for my ETSY shop.

A lot of the pieces of fabric that I had left over were bits and pieces and no enough to make something large with, but I figured I could make them into motifs and maybe make something out of them. 

This project is going to be a longer term one because I have figured out I will need almost 1,000 motifs for this throw, but I am enjoying seeing how it is turning out. I sorted the fabric into 7 different pages so that each bag has no more than 2 pieces of the same colour in it. I am them making the motifs from each of those bags. As I get the bags of motifs finished, I mix them all together, and then I just grab a motif and join it onto the throw. Yes, it is very random, and I am loving how it is turning out. In January, I just added 14 motifs, but I have been continuing to make the small motifs as well.

Large motif throw - here is the project that I am trying to focus on, as I would like to see how quickly I can get this throw completed. This is the second throw top that I am making with these motifs, and after this one I will have one more to do.

The fabric that I am using for these throws has a very special meaning to me because the fabric that I am using is pieces of shirts that belonged to my dad. After my dad passed away, I asked my mom if I could take his shirts and maybe make some quilts of out of them. She immediately said yes and that is when this project started.  I have completed the top of the first throw and am currently quilting it.

These motifs are quite a bit larger than the other motifs I am using, so this project goes a lot faster, and I only need 144 motifs for this throw.  In January, this was more of my focus and I didn't have to make any of the motifs, so I got 23 motifs added to this project. I have 87 more motifs to go, and then it will be time to figure out how I am going to quilt this one.

Note: A few years ago if someone had said to me that I would be doing a lot of hand sewing, I would have said no because it wasn't something that I enjoyed doing. Well, I can honestly say that I really enjoy the English Paper piecing that I am doing. I have found this extremely relaxing and when I have that bit of time to sit and work on either joining some motifs or making motifs I am happy.

I haven't got any of the throws to the point where I will be doing the binding, but at least right now I know that I am enjoying doing these and have already been planning some of the other things that I would like to do once these projects are done.

English Paper piecing is a great way to use up those bits of cotton fabrics that you have left over from other projects. Now let's see how February goes and if I can continue to move these projects forward.