Donating results of my skills

Square donation

Over the last while we have been cleaning up around the apartment and one thing that I keep finding where more and more squares that I had either made or others had given to me for various projects.

As I looked at the pile of squares as it grew I came to the conclusion that I wasn't going to be able to do all the projects that these squares needed.  I then decided that there are a lot of places that can use the end results of afghans or lapghans so needed a location where these squares could be used.

This past week I had been sending out emails to various organizations to see if they could use the squares as is and not just the finished projects.  I got one reply that said thanks but no they only accepted finished afghans.  I continued to email and the results were a lot of unanswered emails.  Friday I then decided that between Facebook and maybe one other contact I might be able to find a home for the squares.  Through Facebook I got a couple of items, one I had already emailed and another one that only wanted 8 inch granny squares.

It then came down to my one other contact that I tried to see if I could quickly find a home for these squares. If he couldn't help all the squares were going to go into storage for a while until I could find a home for them.  As you can see my one other contact Facebook link for The Yarn Guy (Peter) sent me an email yesterday saying that his stitch group would greatly appreciate the squares and they would make the afghans for charity.

The squares were quickly put into the bags and into the car and were delivered to him.  The look on his face was well worth the emails and the drive over.  He didn't know it was me he was hearing from but was happy to see my contribution.  He quickly put on his jacket to help unload the trunk and all the staff quickly started going through the bags and box to see how they could do with the pile.  This picture was taken by him has he wanted to ensure that his Facebook followers knew about what I had done.

I am happy that all of these squares have now found a new home and I know that they are going to be used for some projects to help others.  I am working on cleaning up so there may be more squares being delivered to him in the future.

It felt really good knowing that the squares have found a new home and a group of individuals now have lots of squares to use for projects.

Currently no progress on crafts

Well after organizing my office area and getting the chair in so that I can have a spot to hide and stitch we decided to reorganize a lot of the apartment.

I have been spending a lot of my free time when not working on cleaning out old craft supplies and yarn that I don't want to use any longer.  The good news is I am making room but it won't be for more yarn at this point.  I have decided that I am only going to be keeping the yarn that I will see myself using instead of keeping yarn that I may never use.

Now as for cross-stitching I am finding bits of time to do that but again there isn't anything to show.  I hope that after getting the apartment organized I will be able to just relax and do quite a bit of the crafts that I love doing.  I am looking forward to after all of this cleaning up to be able to get back to designing and stitching on projects that I love. 

So as for now I am going to have to get back to getting some work done and then this evening maybe I will find a little bit of time to craft.

My escape spot

Using my new space

As I posted earlier this week I now have a spot where I can sit and craft when I want to and it is my spot.

Well, last night I actually got to try it out and all I can say is I love it.  It is nice and quiet and it is my own spot.  Of course, there are some things that are different about it but it feels so nice having this spot where if I want to craft I can and I also have a good stitching light to use while I am in this area.

Now a couple of the big differences that are here are: 1) I don't have the television as a distraction which is nice when I want to focus on crafting or writing and 2) I can't see what time it is.  I think not seeing the time is going to be one of the nicest things because instead of worrying about the time I can just worry about how much crafting or writing I am able to get accomplished. The one good thing about this area is I have a good stereo system in my office area so it means that I can listen to MP3's while I am crafting.

Just being able to leave my stitching in the spot feels so good because I don't have to clean up all the threads that I have been using and tuck them away each time I finish my work.  I know that part of having to clean it up all the time was because I was stitching sitting on the chesterfield instead of in a chair where I could leave the work beside it.  Now I have a spot where if I am going to be back working on a project even the next day I can just leave it sitting and it will be waiting for me to pick up and start working on it.

The area is really close to my desk so it means that when I need the break from my desk I can go over there.  Now to just make sure that I focus on getting the work done first and then go over to my relax spot after the work is done.  Maybe this will help me get the work done quicker because I see what I really want to be working on.

Office area at home

Office area - 2 chairs

This last little while we have been working on trying to figure out a way that I could have a visitors chair in my office area but also one that I could use for crafting, writing or reading.

Yesterday we spent a bit of time re-organizing things in my office area and now I have an extra chair in my office area and it is where I hope to spend some time doing my crafting when I am not sitting/curled-up on the chesterfield.

Chair for visitors/crafting

Yes, the chair also have a purpose of a visitor chair in my office area but hopefully the main purpose is going to be where I can relax when I need to walk away from the computer for a few minutes.  To achieve this arrangement it meant getting a new desk chair which wasn't too hard.  The chair I got for my desk has a higher back so that it should be a bit more comfortable for the hours that I spend at my desk.

Besides the chair there is a little table to the left of the chair that I can use for holding my pattern, tea and even some paper for writing.  The box that is under the table is going to hold craft projects so that I always have some close by when I want to craft.

I haven't had a chance to try out the new arrangement but hope that at some point today I will be able to sit in my former desk chair and maybe do just a little bit of crafting.  Before I can do the crafting I have to finish up a couple of things that I need to get completed.

Progress and a finish

 This last week I was one again stitching on a piece for the Art Show in April.  The good news is I have reached the half way mark on it so it should be finished in time for the show.  I also have two other pieces to frame one for the art show and one for display.

Walsh Dragon Keychain

Last night I didn't have a lot of time to stitch so I finally picked up a key-chain that I have had around for years. It was a kit for a Walsh Dragon and considering part of my background is welsh it meant something to me.  The piece was really small so it meant that I was able to start it and see results very quickly.  I was actually able to start and finish the piece in under two hours so it did feel really nice getting something finished.

I know that I have a few more small projects around so I think I am going to try and locate some of them and maybe start working on getting them finished.

Today is Family Day here in Ontario so I hope that I will be able to spend some of my day stitching.  Now which piece will see some attention I am not sure but I think the Art Show piece should be the focus so that I can get it finished.  It is now time for me to get off the computer and spend some time relaxing.

Finally a bit of progress

Finally I can say that I was able to sit down and put a few stitches into Blackbird over this last week.  I didn't get a lot of time to stitch but I did spend one evening working on Blackbird so that I could see a little bit of a change.

It was nice to see the bird start to appear a little more once I was able to sit down and work on it again.  This week I am hoping to be able to spend at least one evening working on it but will see if I can maybe find a bit more time.


There are a couple of reasons why I haven't been doing a lot on Blackbird and one of them is work.  I have been busy with work and by the end of the day I don't have a lot of energy left and trying to focus on a cross-stitch isn't something that is very easy to do.  The other reason is I am working on a piece for an Art Show in April so that is getting most of the time and energy that I can find right now.  I need the piece finished and framed by early April so it is getting the most time right now.

I haven't even picked up my crochet hook over the last week so that really says a lot about my energy level.

I have missed being able to stitch and show the progress that I have been making on the projects that I have been doing.  At least once the Art Show is over I will have a bit more time to stitch and be able to show what I am working on.

It's now time for me to try and get some work done and then see if I can find some time and energy to stitch this evening.

Week update

New shawl

I don't have a lot to show this morning and there are a couple of reasons for that.

One, I haven't had a lot of time this past week to actually sit and craft so that means that I don't have a progress update.  I didn't get to work on Omi's rose or Blackbird at all this week so nothing major to show.

Second reason, the crafting time that I did have was working on the project that is for the Art Show in April.  I will show it once it is ready to go to the Art Show.

The picture is of a shawl that I have been working on a little bit at a time.  It is using fine yarn so even when I spend a couple of hours on it there really isn't a lot to show.  The shawl is about 18 inches wides and right now I would say it's about 24 inches long if that.  I have been working on this on and off especially when I have just a few minutes to do something.  Also this project has gone with us into the car when we are going some running around.  I love being a passenger as it means that I can get some crafting done while in the car.

This week I am not sure what I am going to be able to get accomplished but I do hope that next week there will a little more to show.  Of course I want to get the project completed for the Art Show that is what I am spending most of my crafting time doing but hopefully will be able to find a bit of crafting time to make a bit of progress on one of the other projects.

Today is a very white day outside as we got around 11 cm of snow over night.  The police are advising people that if you don't have to drive it's a good idea to not drive as the roads are very slippery.  This is one of the days that I am really glad that I can just turn on my computer and work from home and not have to deal with the weather outside.

Now it is time for me to get the work done that needs to be completed today and then I think I will curl up later and try and craft a bit.