Summer Ball

TSince it has been a few days since I last posted anything I thought I should update you all on my cross stitching.

Over the weekend I worked on Summer Ball. 

When I first started the project in 2013 I had it on my floor stand and because it is nearly three feet wide I had to work on it sideways. Friday I took it off the floor stand because I didn't have the fabric clips for it. 

This is where I left on in 2013:

When I started working on it on Friday all my stitches were wrong and I couldn't figure out why. Instead of stitching top right to bottom left and top left to bottom right it was completely opposite. I had to reverse stitch often in those ten hours! I had been doing my stitches right when I was working on it sideways but now it takes that extra bit of concentration! 

Here is where I left off on Sunday:

I have moved on to my next project but I am anxious to pick this one up again. Perhaps the next round I'll work on it for more than the minimum 10 hours. I can't wait to start stitching some of the people!

This project reminds me of Pride and Prejudice. It's only my most favourite book and movie (the BBC version). I've read P&P so much and I've watched the movies until no one but my best friend will watch it with me. I have to say that I have a 'slight' obsession with Jane Austen and almost all her books...no where near as bad as the girl from Austenland. It's a healthy obsession and besides...there are worse things to be obsessed about!

Happy stitching and musings!

Second Project Done!

I have accomplished more in the past two weeks than I have all of last year!

Percy the penguin was completed at 1130 last night!

I am now down to seven projects on my rotation chart and I will be adding Plum Pudding to the rotation after I'm done the first round. (I'll post pictures of the project once I get started on it).

Percy was the first project on my rotation that I continued to work on after the first ten hours were up. It took about 19 hours to complete it.  I was very excited when I completed it! I texted everyone a picture and posted it on a couple of the facebook cross stitch groups I belong to. 

Sprocket even wanted in on the action! He jumped up on my lap and was trying to help me with the last few stitches. I think he wanted to go to bed. 

Happy musings and stitching! 

Project Rotation Part II

I have come to an interesting part in my rotation, (other than taking a dreaded project off my list), what do I do if I'm really on a roll with a project? Do I put it aside after ten hours and try and race through the ten hours on the next projects so I can work on that project again? Do I continue to work on it until I've gotten bored with it? What should I do?

There was a project that I had nearly completed and if I hadn't put it down to go to the next project I am convinced that I would of completed it within the next couple of days. Alas, I put it aside for the project that shall not be named. It was definitely a mistake, I should of just kept going with that project. 

I created the rotation chart so I would make progress on my WIPs (Work In Progress). I refuse to have any UFOs (Unfinished Objects) this year. I want to complete projects. If I only complete three projects then great if I complete more than three even better. 

With taking the project that shall not be named off the rotation I am down to eight projects. During this round I've completed one and will complete one other so it will take me down to seven. So I could technically start two new projects but do I really want to keep adding? I've set a personal limit of nine projects any more than that and I think I would be overwhelmed. 

Perhaps I am taking this rotation chart too seriously. I know that I get bored with projects, (that usually hits at the 20 hour mark), and that will just lead to more starts and no finishes!

So here are the rules then...(with the understanding that as I am new to the rotation environment and I am allowing myself to change the rules as I see fit)

1. Always have a minimum of four projects on the go with a maximum of nine 

2. A minimum of ten hours is required on a project before I am able to move on to the next. Each ten hours will be marked with an x. If I am on a roll I can continue to work on the current project until I get bored. 

3. Always have a small project in the rotation so there is a completion every couple of rotations. 

4. No starting a new project until one is completed

5. Have fun...stitching is there to be enjoyed! Not to feel like work! 

More musings to follow...for now I'll sit, stitch and muse. 

Percy Penguin

Since I put away the project that not be named I've picked up this one I started over the summer. When I realised I didn't have dmc 3747 I put away until I had that colour. I looked at three different stores (with the help of Heather)  and none of them had them! I had friends from the States offering to send me the colour. Another friend in town had it so she sent it to me. She wasn't sure if I had the old  dye lot or the new one so she sent one of each!!!

I have done about 45 minutes on this project so far. I love penguins, especially since seeing them at the zoo!

My girl guide friends and I are taking our sparks to a zoo and we are having a penguin sleepover! I am so ridiculously excited! I get to meet the penguins! We don't go until April so the excitement will just build from here! I'll have Percy done well before then and he will be a reminder for me about the great time we will have at the zoo!

More musings to follow! 

Project Rotation

I have a confession to make...I'm not sure if I mentioned this in a previous post or not but I'm a serial starter. I start projects all the time but I don't seem to be able to finish them. I posted on one of the forums that I am a serial starter and one lady showed me a rotation schedule. I had also said that I had to finish my four favourite projects before I started anything else. When I found out about this rotation process I jumped at the chance to finish projects that I was no longer excited about.

I took what I learned in that rotation process and created my own. 

I bought a notebook of grid paper and took all my projects that I had going. I couldn't believe that I had ten projects! Only three of those projects are small so that means seven big projects or BAP (big ass project)!

So once I created the chart I started stitching. I work on one project for ten hours and then move onto the next. I haven't made it through the whole rotation and I've already completed a project! (I'll post more about that project later...I'm awfully proud it!) After I've completed ten hours I mark the project with an x, if I complete a project then I mark it with a c and with the amount of hours it took. 

Once I've completed a project I allow myself to start another project. I always have to have a minimum of four projects with a maximum of nine projects, it's a personal rule so I don't get waaay overwhelmed with too many projects. I've gotten more done in the past three weeks than I did all last year! I completed nothing at all last year. 

I have another notebook with lists of projects that I want to do. Some of these projects are already kitted up. My notebook also has lists of different floss colours I need or projects I want to buy. 

Off to do some more stitching! Will post more later!

Happy musings!

Rose Fairy

Well she's finally done!  I finished her on Monday morning this week.

I completed the stitching and all the beading in her dress, the flowers and hair in September 2013. I had thought the extra beading around her would over power the design so I put away for a year an a half to make a final decision. I have other fairies in the collection so I wanted to make sure that if I didn't put the beads on her but decided to do others in the series I couldn't put the beads on those. 

Putting her on my rotation chart made me really think on whether or not I was going to do the rest of the beading. I thought I would do some of the beading and if I didn't like it I could always take them out again and there would be no harm done. 

It turns out that I love how the beads look so I completed it. It took 6.5 hours to complete it!! all the beading took 16.5 hours. This was my first large project with a lot of metallic thread and beading. 

I am very proud of my project to say the least!

Happy Musings!

Life is too short to work on a project you hate!!

I have given up completely on the Jacobean project that I was working on. I started working on it Thursday night and I had to tear out all the work that I did.  I was procrastinating yesterday and ended up writing three blog entries (obviously only posting one...but I promise they will be posted). 

After stopping at Starbucks and the grocery store I sat down and tried working on the project again in a different area and there was another HUGE mistake after working on it for another hour and a half. 

Life is too short to work on a project that you hate or have a project that makes you cry! I decided that I will no longer be working on it. I was ready to trash the project but I have fellow stitchers that are willing to take the project off my hands and work on it and fix it. They are willing to adopt it. 

I don't even want to look at the project right now. So even though there are stitchers that would gracefully take it off my hands I am going to hide it in a drawer for now...I think mostly because I don't want to part with the magazine it is in. 

So I have crossed the Jacobean design off my rotation chart and I have moved on. 

Onwards and upwards!!

Happy musings and stitching!

I will never stitch on linen ever again!

I have to say that I hate working with linen. The weaves are uneven so it makes all my crosses different shapes and I'm struggling with one project in particular. The linen I'm using seems to be lesser quality than some of the linen I've used.

Right now I have three projects on linen and I can't wait to get through all three! I've been so spoiled since I discovered evenweave fabric. I can't even work with Aida cloth anymore.

The above is the project I'm working on right now. I don't like it anymore. My best friend loves it so I think it will go to her when I'm done. It's a Jacobean design and I really liked it when I started it...5 years ago!

I'll do my ten hours on this project and then put away until next rotation. Sometimes I'm sad to put down a project but this one I'm dreading stitching. 

It's cloudy and looks miserable outside today but there's a chinook blowing through. My head hurts so I'll grab some starbucks and get something for supper before I start stitching again. 

Happy stitching and happy musing!

New Adventures Await!

A lot has happened over the last three years.

 I've gotten engaged to a wonderful man!

We are now planning our wedding for August 2016. I never thought I was going to find real love and happiness, let alone get married again! Finding a wedding dress seems like a daunting task but I have a year and a bit to find one. We have decided to get married in the mountains where I love to be.

I'm going to be a farmer's wife. I always knew that I would marry a farmer or a rancher. 

I'll be moving to Minnesota and will miss the mountains but I won't miss the elevation/pressure headaches I get every time the weather decides to change. 

Something else that is new in my life is my puppy Sprocket. I got him in July and he has been my constant shadow ever since. He is either getting into trouble or cuddling at my feet. 

He likes to steal my yarn or my dmc floss bobbins. I think he must have been a cat in a past life!

Those are the major changes that have happened since I last wrote. I will be better at writing and putting my thoughts and adventures here. 

I'm off to put together my stitching corner. I'll post pictures later!

More musings to follow!