Positive thinking - update

Positive thinking - Feb 5th

The Olympics have given me a chance to sit in the evenings and when I have been taking a break from work to watch a specific event.

Positive thinking - Feb 17th

With just under a week to go for the Olympics I figured it was time to show you some progress on my stitching.  This piece is being stitched on 25th evenweave and over one thread so it does take a bit of time to do some of the sections of it.  The longest time was spent doing the two sections with the flowers as it took me quite a while to motivate myself to actually do those two sections.  Now that they are completed I am hoping that the rest of the piece goes very quickly.  I am aiming to have all the stitching done by the end of the month so will need to put some effort in to getting that done.

The piece consists of five different parts and I have now completed the first three sections so just have two more sections to go and thank figure out how I am going to finish the piece.

Positive thinking - Feb 17/14

If things go well I am hoping to have this done so that I can get back to my Cirque des Cercles by March 1st.  Yes that piece has been put aside while I have been doing this one.

This year I would really like to get some of my cross-stitch pieces finished that I have started instead of just starting more.  Of course, this week I found another pattern that I really liked so want to start it soon but it's currently hidden by DH so that I don't start it until at least April.

Now it's time to get some work done and maybe see what events are on today that I can watch.

A finish finally

Blackwork Knight - Dragon Dreams Inc

 This weekend I decided that it was time to try and finish up a cross-stitch that I had on the go for a while.  A while is since October 2013.  The top picture is of the Blackwork Knight by Dragon Dreams on November 18th, 2013.  The bottom picture is Blackwork Knight on February 16, 2014.

I decided that considering I didn't have a lot to do on this piece that I would sit down, watch the Olympics and finish it or at least try to finish it.  I had done a bit of the background between November and February but kept putting it off.  I sat down turned on the Olympics and started working on the background.  It was something that I knew I would be happy once it was completed.  I also knew that I would need a couple of hours of no real distractions so yesterday was a good day for that.

As of Febuary 15th. 2014

I enjoyed working on this piece because I have the Blackwork Princess that I completed a number of years ago.

Blackwork Knight- Feb 16/14

Of course I have been working on my Positive Thinking piece as well over the last few days so want to post an update on that piece as well.    This weekend is a three day weekend here in Ontario so it has meant that I could focus on some crafting for a bit longer than I normally can.

It is now time for me to go and work on Positive Thinking for a bit longer to see how much more I can get done on it.  I have some goals that I want to reach before the end of tonight on the piece so will have to try and get them done.

Pre-Olympic status

Positive thinking

So the Olympics start officially tomorrow so figured I wanted to show where I was before I work on this during the Olympics.

Of course I have other projects that I am also going to be working on so will see what I actually get accomplished while sitting and watching sports.  Yes, I do enjoy sports normally but when the Olympics are on I take a lot more interest in sports that I don't normally watch.

This cross-stitch is going pretty quickly as I did the last three words last night.  I haven't spent a lot of time on this project since the weekend so will see how much I can get done between now and the closing of the Olympics on February 23rd.  Work is also still needing to be done so I can't spend all day sitting and watching but I will be planning my work schedule around some of the events.  I may work more in the evenings over the next couple of weeks.

Well since today there are a few events I am going to have to work and also watch some of those over the next few hours.

Weekend of stitching

Positive thinking - Jardin Prive

This weekend considering it was snowing out I decided that I was going to spend some of my weekend stitching and that is exactly what I did.

The piece that I started was based on a Norman Vincent Peale quote on positive thinking.

“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.”

― Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking

The pattern was from Jardin Prive and it was a Stitch-along on her website.  It was done a while ago but I had just heard about it in January.  When I thought about doing this pattern I immediately decided that I wanted to do it and a few friends have also decided to do it.  The deal was we were going to start it on February 1st.

When I sat down yesterday to start the piece I decided that if I got to the end of the word happiness by the end of the weekend I was going to be happy.  Well I got to the end of your on Saturday and then today did the lady, hearts and the rest of the words that I have done. 

This piece is working up at a good speed which is nice because I think part of my challenge is if I don't see results quickly I get tired of the piece and I start something else.

This week I have quite a few things to do for work and for school so not sure how much I will get done but am already looking forward to spending some time next weekend on this piece.  I have put the needle down for tonight so will see when it gets picked up again and hopefully not to long from now.

Weekend crafting

Cirque des cercles - Jan 24th

This weekend I decided that with it being so cold out that I would spend my weekend crafting.

Cirque des cercles - Jan 26th

Yes I spent most of the last two days at home and crafting and doing things that I wanted to do and not thinking too much about work.  The projects I planned on working on were the cross-stitch Cirque des cercles and a children's afghan that I also had on the go.

It was for me a bit of a challenge to not think about all the things that I needed to work on for work while taking this weekend to myself.  Yes I needed the time to relax and do things that I enjoy doing.

Afghan - Jan 24th

I decided that I would focus on two projects so that I have some change but I didn't want to focus on too many otherwise I wouldn't see any results by the end of the weekend.

Cirque des cercles is the cross-stitch project that I would like to have finished by December 31, 2014 so that was a simple project to pick and work on this weekend.

The other project that I picked was an afghan made of granny squares that I have been working on.  I had all the squares crocheted I just had to sit down and actually work on putting the 48 squares together.  Before the weekend I had 19 squares together .

Afghan - Jan 26th

I am happy with what I got down this weekend because I can see some change in Cirque des cercles and I actually finished the afghan.  The afghan measures 50 inches x 64 inches so it is a little bigger than I had planned but that is fine.

What I really did this weekend was show myself that I could spend an entire weekend at home and enjoy it.  During this weekend yes I did think about the things that I needed to work on but I also taught myself that things are still going to be there Monday morning and I don't need to always be working.  I need the time to relax and recharge my own battery by doing things that I enjoy.

It is now time for me to go to bed so that I can get to work tomorrow morning on the things that are waiting for me.

Progress Report

Cirque des cercles as of Jan 20th

Well figured it was time to post an update on Cirque des cercles.  I haven't been working on it as much as I should have as of course I am crocheting as well.

The results of my stitching so far is I have got the bottom row of circles outlines so now need to fill all of them in.  I haven't decided if I am going to finish outlining all the circles for the piece before filling them in or not.

I am happy with how it is now turning out and actually there are days when all I have wanted to do is sit and stitch.  Of course work gets in the way and I just can't sit and cross-stitch but I am finding that most evening now I am finding time to at least craft a bit. 

I do want to get more of this project completed this month as I have decided to do a Stitch-along with a few ladies and we are starting another project on February 1st. We are all going to be stitching La Pensée Positive from Les Marottes de Nathalie.  I am going to be doing the English version and I know at least one person is doing the French version.  The quote is from Norman Vincent Peale.

Keep your heart from hate,
Your mind from worry.
Live simply,
expect little,
give much.
Scatter sunshine,
forget yourself,
think of others.

 I have pulled all the floss for this project and also have the fabric ready to go.  I hesitated about doing this Stitch-along but figured I have never done one so it was time to at least try one.  So yes there is going to be another project on the go come February 1st so that means I need to work on Cirque des Cercles a bit more this month.

Time to forget about work for today and maybe curl up with some cross-stitch or crocheting.  Will depend on the project once I turn off the computer.

January 1st restart

January 1st start

As I previously wrote I started Cirque des Cercles on January 1st and thought that the thread that I picked would work.

Around the 6th of the month I discovered that the thread was a little too thick when working over one.  So, on January 8th I decided to take out all the stitching that I had previously completed and restart the project.

I have got a bit further now but forgot to take a picture of it.  I am happy with the new look of the project as I am using regular floss and 2 ply.  I should have really thought about the issue with the first floss when I couldn't thread my needle without a needle threader helping me.

This is  my 2014 project that I would like to complete by December 31st, 2014 so it means that I am going to have to work hard to meet this goal.  I have figured out how much I need to complete each month and all I can say is I must have been crazy picking this project for this year's goal.

So what did I learn from this cross-stitch. 

• If you have to use a needle threader to thread your needle because the thread is thick, rethink the thread for the project. 
• If you aren't happy with what a project is looking like, stop and rethink it.
• If you can't put the needle into a spot more than once, your thread isn't going to work.

Of course a few friends have talked about doing a Stitch-a-long starting February 1st so I am thinking if I am going to do that as well.  At least that project isn't too big and also there is no deadline.  Do I do it or not, that is going to be a decision I need to make very soon.

Time to get back to work and see if I can have some crafting time tonight.