A week of different projects

Here it is the start of another week, and this last week was a little different for me. I didn't focus on getting one cross stitch project completed instead I worked on two different projects. 

Pandemic - of course this piece was the one that was part of the focus for this last week, and I was able to get a page finish which made me very happy. I now have 7 more pages to do on this piece so we will see how it goes.

It has felt really good being able to continue to work on this piece and see more of it done. I am going to focus on this piece for another week and hopefully I will see more progress on it again. It feels so good being able to move this piece closer to a finish, but I do know that it is still going to be a while before this piece is finished.

Summer Keep - here is a project that got pulled out this week and got a bit more attention. This is the project that I work on when I have a few minutes, so it doesn't get a lot of progress but at least it gets moved forward a bit at a time.

At least this year I have been able to see quite a bit of progress on this piece and hopefully it will be finished before long as when I look at the piece now it doesn't look like there is a lot more to go on it. Hopefully over the next couple of months I will be able to get this small piece finished and be able to start working on Winter Keep which is the companion to this project.

It has been fun working on this piece again as I hadn't worked on it since June so seeing a bit more progress on it makes me feel good. It also brings back memories of when this was started which was in 2005 at the Creative Needlework and Sewing Festival. 

Forage Shawl - here is the knitting project that has been my focus piece since I started it on September 1st. It was a lot of fun to work on as it used 7 mini balls of yarn to make the shawl. 

At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like how it would turn out because I don't normally do things like this but after working on it for a little while I started to enjoy how it was turning out and before long it seemed to move forward very quickly. I think for me having the mini balls of yarn made this project fun to work on as I thought of each section of the shawl a mini finish so that helped move the piece forward quickly.

I have now finished knitting the shawl and all that is left to do is sew in all the ends and then block the shawl and it will be ready to wear. I am looking forward to having this shawl finished as it is going to be a fun shawl to wear.

Ex-boyfriend Shawl - here is a shawl that I have been working on but there haven't been any pictures taken of it until now when it is finished. This shawl has been a project that has been living in the car as something that I work on a little bit at a time when we are out for a drive or away on a trip.

I am not certain how long it has taken me to knit this shawl because sometimes it gets a couple of rows completed and other times when we are out, I can add quite a few rows to it, so it has been fun to make. This past week I was able to spend a bit of time on it and by the end of the week I was able to finally cast it off so now the ends need to be sewn in, and this shawl also needs to be blocked.

Other projects - I did start a new shawl yesterday but there isn't much to show yet. Other than the start of the shawl, I haven't worked on any other projects so that is good because having four projects worked on in a week is quite a bit. 

I hope everyone is finding that bit of time each day to do something that you enjoy doing. It does help to recharge your personal battery so that you are available to help others. If things go well, I hope to have some progress to show you next week, but we will have to wait and see how things go.

 

A busy week but some progress

It is hard to believe that another week has come and gone. I am not certain where this week has gone other than I was able to make progress on some things for work as well as some progress on my crafting. 

The weather has cooled down some so that meant that it has been a little easier to focus on getting things done. I hope to be able to continue to get more things achieved over the next little while, but we will see how things go.

Pandemic - here is the project that was called for WIPGO this month. It was called for both of the numbers, so that means it is going to be getting quite a bit of attention which does make me happy as I am trying to focus on this project to get it closer to a finish before the end of this year.

This past week I decided to try and focus on a smaller section of the piece just so that I could see some progress and I was able to do just what. I have been working on the left side of the piece and am now working on moving it closer to another page finish. We will see if I can get that page finished so will I end up bouncing around in the other areas of this piece.

It does feel great being able to at least make sure that I have been able to continue to move this project forward and if there aren't anymore page finishes this year, I am ok with that because just moving the entire piece forward makes me feel a lot better.

Forage Shawl - here is the knitting piece that I started on Monday after finishing the past project. It has been a lot of fun to work on as each section is using a different colour of yarn. This pattern calls for 7 different skeins of yarn and the entire piece is 11 sections so some of the yarn is used once, twice or even three times and it has been a lot of fun to work on.

I currently have two and a half sections to go before this shawl is completed and I have loved working on it. I will have to sew in a bunch of ends before I can block this piece but at least seeing more of the knitting done would be great. I do hope to have this shawl finished before the end of next weekend and I think it is possible if I can just sit and focus on the knitting.

Other projects - I haven't worked on any other projects this week as I have been trying to focus on getting progress on these two projects. I will see what happens next week as I am thinking that some of the other projects that have been sitting around waiting for some attention might appear this coming week. I may even have a new start if I can get the Forage Shawl completed but we will have to see how things go.

I hope everyone has a good week and you are able to find that bit of time each day to do something for yourself. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you take that bit of time where you can focus on taking that time to recharge your personal battery.

This coming week we will see what I can focus on and hopefully next week I can have some progress on at least a couple of projects to show you. It would be great to see that things have been moved forward or finished and maybe a new project has been started.

 

Some progress and another finish

Here it is the start of another week, and the weather has cooled down some here, so that makes it that being able to focus on things is a lot easier.

Work has been busy, but I have been able to find some time to make some progress on things and that also makes me happy.

Arabesque - here is the cross stitch project that got the attention and I am very happy with what I was able to get done in the last week. This project has been enjoyable to work on and having the different sections to work on does help. This motif that I am working on has taken quite a bit of time and now I just need to finish off the middle of it and then it will be finished.

This coming week I am going to continue to work on this piece and will see how much more of it I can get done. I am looking forward to getting into some of the other motifs and the alphabet and I should be able to start the alphabet before long.

Forage Shawl - this is the knitting project that I have been working on and it has been something that I have enjoyed working on. The yarn that I have used was from Arcane Fibre Works and it was nice and soft to work with. This shawl called for 100 grams of fingering weight yarn or approximately 400 metres. I was working on the shawl and at one point I did weigh the yarn that I had because I wasn't sure if I was going to have enough to finish the shawl.

The good news is on Saturday I was able to cast off the shawl and then I blocked it yesterday so now the shawl is done. I did have enough yarn to finish the shawl and even had 3 grams of yarn left so that was good. Of course, once I finished knitting this shawl it was time to figure out what I was going to work on next.

Yesterday I did start another shawl but there is no picture of it as there isn't much done on it so I should make some progress on it this coming week and will have a picture of it next week.

Other projects - this past week I was able to pick up and work on my English Paper Piecing for a little while so that is a bit of project on that this month. 

It has felt good being able to see progress on things and I am looking forward to seeing what else I can work on through the next couple of weeks. A lot of what I work on depends on how I am feeling but I do enjoy having different things that I can pick up and do.

I hope everyone is finding the time to do things that you enjoy doing. It doesn't matter what it is as long as there is a little bit of time each day spent taking care of yourself. I have found that when I am busy and don't take that time for myself it makes it harder to deal with the other things that happen that I can't control. Have a good week and I hope to have some more progress on things to show you next week.

 

Slow progress

Here it is the start of another week and I hope that I can continue to move things forward this week. It would be nice to know that I have been able to get things done. 

Last week wasn't a good week to focus on any crafting as there are a lot of distractions as we were dealing with renovations in our apartment unit. Now that the renovations are hopefully over, we can get back to getting work done and also having some time to ourselves. Most days I did try and spend even a few minutes doing something so that was good.

Forage Shawl - this is the project that got most of the attention in the last week and part of that is because I have been loving working on it. The pattern isn't very difficult so that makes it something that I can pick up and work on easily.

This is the project that will continue to get the attention as I would like to see how quickly I can get it finished. I am just over 60% completed so hopefully before long I can have this project finished. It is a project that I am enjoying working on as the yarn is nice and soft and the pattern is fun to do as well.

Ramsay - here is a cross stitch that I finally started and was able to make a bit of progress on it this past week. This is the second of three of this owl that I am going to be stitching. They do work up relatively quickly which is now so will see when this one is finished.

I am trying to finish a colour at a time on this owl so it does mean that he is going to be looking a little different until I can add some of the other colours. This week I hope that I can spend some time working on him and maybe I will even be able to see him finished.

Other projects - I was able to work on my EPP a bit this last week as it was a great project to work on a little bit at a time. There will be some progress on that to show when I write that blog on the 1st of August.

I hope everyone has been able to find that little bit of time each day to do something for yourself and recharge your personal battery. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you make sure that there is even a little bit of time where you can relax and take some time for yourself.

If things go well this week, I should have some progress on something next week. I have plans for a new start on Thursday, so will see how that goes. Hope everyone has a good week, and we will see you next week.

 

Making progress on things

Here it is the start of another week, and I was able to spend some time working on things that I wanted to work on.

The weather has been nice, and we have been able to enjoy some evening sitting on the balcony after work so that has made it that I am being able to recharge that personal battery in a nice way.

Pandemic - here is a project that came out for a bit of attention this last week. I have wanted to work on it for a while so figured that I would see how much of it I could get done over the last week. After lots of stitching I made a bit of progress in one small area of the design.

I will see when I pick up this piece again because I do have to get back to working on the Christmas ornaments so that I can get them done. Knowing that I have got the ornaments done would make me happy so will see how things go. We will see what I can get done this week as I would like to know that something got some attention.

Laver Shawl - I was able to work on this project for a while this week and I working on the second lace section. It does move forward quickly when you can sit and focus on it. Hopefully, I will be able to continue to work on this shawl because I don't think it will take me long to get it finished.

This project is a good one to work on either in the car or while sitting on the balcony because I don't have to look at the pattern very often which makes it a good relaxing project. I am thinking that I should put this shawl near the balcony door so that when I go outside, I can take it out with me.
 

I am enjoying having a simple shawl on the go because it is relaxing and something that I can make some good progress on without a lot of effort. If things go as I would like it I will try and have a simple shawl on the go most of the time so that I can just pick it up and work on when I need something easy to work on.

Of course, I have found a yarn dyer, Arcane Fibre Works, that I really like and what happens when you get a squishy package in the mail. I didn't have much restraint when the yarn arrived. I had said that I was going to work on the Laver Shawl until it was finished but something happened and now to explain that.

Forage Shawl - this shawl got started this past week when the yarn arrived. The yarn is so nice and soft and after it was sitting, for not even a day it was time to cast on and start another shawl project.

This project does need more focus, so it is something that I do enjoy working on when I have the time to sit and follow the project. It is a lot of fun to work on and I am enjoying how it is turning out. The actual design that is on the shawl will appear when it is blocked after the shawl is all finished.

Other projects - over the last week I have picked up my English Paper Piecing as well so have made some progress on that as well. It is nice having things that are simple to work on when other things in life are being a bit of a challenge.

Making sure that you can recharge your own personal battery is very important as it does ensure that you can handle things that get thrown at you. If things go well this week, I should have something to show you next week, but we will have to see how it goes.

Hope everyone has a good week, and you get the time for yourself each day.

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. 

 

Moving projects forward

Here it is the start of another week and I can say that I have been able to move some of my projects forward at least a little bit this past week. Of course, there are other things that take my time, but at least seeing some progress on things is making me feel a little better.

I have been busy doing a lot of things lately and right now I am going to try and still spend that bit of time each day making progress on my projects as that does help me feel better about everything.

Mini the Forgotten - this was the focus over the weekend as I am working on getting more of this piece moved forward. I am loving how it is slowly started to appear. I originally was only going to work on adding one of the colours to this project at a time, but now I am just working on what I want to work on, and that makes me happy.

It has been fun working on this project as after I have spent part of a weekend working on it, I can start to see more of the detail start to appear. Of course, when I am doing the actual stitching I am just too close to it, so the detail doesn't show up until I can step back and look at the piece. 

I am going to continue to try and work on this piece on a weekend because it gives me the time that I need to work on it. It's a large project and to see any progress you need to spend the time working on it. I currently don't have a goal of when I will finish this project, but I am enjoying working on it, and that's what is important.

Elizabeth Wood, 1850 - this project got some attention during the last week, and I was able to get all the cross lines completed. Most of the lines were easy to work on because one you got started on the pattern it was a simple repeat, but of course there was one row that I needed to make sure I paid attention to so that I didn't miss the little differences in the pattern.

Now that the cross-dividing rows are completed, it's time to start working on filling in all the letters and words, and hopefully they will come along quickly. I am looking forward to seeing this piece finished, but it does mean that I will need to pick it up and focus on it for a little bit.

I would like to see this project completed soon, but I am just saying that it will be finished when it's done. This week I am going to be trying to make bits of progress on it, but I will just have to see how much time I have available to work on it.

It does feel good focusing on just a couple of my pieces instead of bouncing all over, which I have done in the past. Once Elizabeth Wood is finished I am going to be pulling out New Doors as that one needs some attention, and then I will see how it goes after that.

Simple Triangle Shawl - here is a project that got picked up this week as I wanted something that I could work on while listening to webinars and when I have those few minutes to work on something. It is nice when I can spend those few minutes just knitting and not having to think about a pattern.

Forage Shawl - I did get a bit pf progress on this piece in the last week, but not as much as I originally thought I would.

This project is nice to work, but when I pick it up, I want some time when I can focus on it for a bit. The pattern is easy to work on, but you do need to pay attention to it, so not something that I want to be working on while I am trying to pay attention to a webinar.

Other projects - I did work on the simple scarf in the last week and right now it is just waiting for me to sew the ends in on it, and then I will take a picture of it. I was able to finish off the last colour on that scarf last week, so that is why the Simple Triangle Shawl came back out.

My English Paper piecing projects are also getting some attention and that is making me feel good. Those projects take quite a while before you see progress, so that is why I haven't been taking pictures of them.

I hope everyone is finding that bit of time each day to take time for yourself. It is so important to ensure that you take the time to recharge your personal batter because you need the energy in yourself to be there for others. This week my goal is to work on my projects when I have the time and I will see what I can get done. 

If things go well, I should have some progress on things to show you next week, but time will tell. Have a good week and enjoy your time doing what you enjoy doing.