Now What?

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Heather

I’m not sure if I’m alone in this, but whenever I finish a major project I always have a difficult time deciding what to work on next.  Oh, it’s not like I don’t have a whole pile of things to work on. There’s Baby Man’s birth sampler (he’s very nearly 2 and a half, so I’m not that far behind), Christmas Treasures by Victoria Sampler which is also for Baby Man and for which I got the box just yesterday, TW’s new Miniature Spring Sampler, etc., etc. I mean, seriously, I have upwards of 40 projects actually started and over 50 more that are all ready to go.

I think I need to prioritize what I want to do.  First, there is Christmas Treasures for the box for Baby Man, but that has a lot of speciality stitches, so it needs to be for a night when I can sit quietly and think while I am stitching.  There is also the design I am doing for an exchange.  That is fairly straightforward stitching, and a good project for most of the time.  I’d also like to get going again on Kitchen Blessing for my husband (although my sister-in-law hated it because it wasn’t the proper Chinese red and gold). That design is now a lot of one colour stitching all around the border.

I think three projects is a good amount to focus on. I should be able to keep going and not get too bored with any of them. Of course, there is that Mill Hill Halloween ornament I really want to work on too…  See, that’s how it starts, and the next  thing you know, I have 40 more projects started. Argh!

My other issue is that Elann, an online yarn shop, has a sale on one of the yarns I really love.  They are selling Rowan Purelife Organic Cotton for 60% off! That is amazing, trust me. Rowan yarn is expensive mainly because of the name, but any way you look at it, $4/ball for organic DK weight cotton is an excellent price.  The problem? My overflowing stash? No, are you kidding?  It is the fact that I don’t know what to make with it! I’ve been poking around on Ravelry for ages, and nothing is jumping out at me. Right now I’m leaning towards this one (warning: link to pdf). Maybe I should just buy 12 or 13 balls and set it aside for later.

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Happily Ever Done!

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Heather

Finally, a month and a bit late, Happily Ever After is finished!  Last night I sucked it up and did all the lazy daisies around the border. (Thank you to Lisa for the suggestions for other stitches.)

Happily Ever After by Marie Barber

I didn’t do it exactly as per the pattern.  My border is a little less fussy, and I like it that way. Overall, I’m very pleased with this design, and I think the recipients will like it too.  Hopefully I’ll be able to take it to the framers this week.   Then it is just a matter of figuring out how to get it to the States… *sigh*

To switch gears, I want to write a little bit about something that is going to go unfinished.  First, a bit of background.  I’m reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (which I whole heartedly recommend). In it she writes that one of the commandments she sets for herself is “Be Gretchen”. She also gives “What’s fun for other people might not be fun for you–and vice versa” as one of her Secrets of Adulthood.  These two bits of advice really resonated with me, and jumped to the forefront when the announcement about the release of the next part of Castles in the Air came out.  You know what, I like the design so far, but it isn’t me at all.

Castles in the Air - WIP - Papillon Creations

I don’t like to stitch traditional samplers, I don’t like to stitch Quaker, and I don’t like to hang these things on my wall.  I like fantasy designs and figural pictures.  I do like speciality stitches, but only to a certain way.  I love Teresa Wentzler, Jennifer Aikman-Smith, Laura Dickson and Marie Barber.  I’m fond of Victoria Sampler and Lizzy Kate, to a degree. These are the things I want to stitch, and I shouldn’t be stitching something just because it seems like the thing to do. (I was totally tempted to do that Quaker Sampler everyone was working on a while back even though I don’t like Quaker.  Why? To fit in? To make friends? I don’t know.)

Be Me, not everyone else.

This now leaves me with a dilemma. I have a very large piece of hand-dyed fabric (Wind from Enchanting Lair) with the first few parts of Castles in the Air stitched on it.  So, do I cut out what I’ve done (I’m thinking mainly the centre area minus the peacock and half a fountain) and cut the rest of the fabric up into pieces for other designs, or do I pick everything out so I have a large piece of fabric to use from something else in the future.  (I’m thinking maybe Fairy of Dreams or Circe from Passionne Ricamo, neither of which I own right now).

What would you do? Would you give up, or would you keep stitching a design you aren’t really interested in because you’ve already made an investment of time and money in it?

Damn it. When I pulled it out take a picture of it I kinda did like it. I guess it gets tucked away again until I can really make up my mind.

4 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,

Alpacas, Changes and the Heat

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Heather

Summer here has felt particularly brutal to me this year.  We did have a heat wave at the beginning of the month, but we are now essentially back to normal July temperatures and I still feel miserable.  I think it is in large part because I’m large again.  Although I haven’t weighted myself in ages, I know that I’ve regained nearly all, if not all, of the weight I lost from 2008-2009. When I was ill at the beginning of the year, I ate to keep going. Perhaps not the best idea, but it helped me get through the days.

I know that I could lose the weight on my own if I tried hard, but I am going to sign up for Weight Watchers again. I know it seems silly to spend money just to be able to track the food you eat, but I need the sense of responsibility to someone other than myself. And knowing about success stories like my aunt and Dani (and my mom once upon a time), is very encouraging.

The other change is my blog theme. It isn’t perfect, but I’m tired of waiting for my husband to create the theme he has been promising me.  I think waiting for nearly 2 years is long enough.  I suppose because that is part of the work that he does for  pay makes it less fun to do for free.  This new theme will do for a little while, but maybe I’ll have to go out and hire a designer.  What I’d really love is a theme that sort of looks like my computer case, but also brings in elements of cross stitching and knitting.  That’s not asking for much, is it?

Most of this week was spent crocheting and assembling two alpacas (pattern by PlanetJune).  I made these for a lady I know through Ravelry.  In exchange, she is sewing a couple of box bags for me to use to store my knitting and crochet projects. The alpaca were made using Bernat Satin in Mocha (for the darker one) and Beige Mist Heather (the lighter one).

Alpaca by Planet June

And I am still working away on Happily Ever After.  All that remains to be done is the lazy daisies in the border. This stitch, along with the Queen stitch, is perhaps my least favourite of all.  I don’t like doing it and I don’t like the way it looks.  And yet, so many designers seem to love it! Why?!  Yes, I suppose it does make great leaves, but by itself in a border? Argh.

Happily Ever After (WIP) by Marie Barber

Here is a close-up of the corner of the border. I do like the lazy daisies in the very corner, but I don’t like them in the diamond below.  Does anyone have any suggestions for another stitch I could use?

Happily Ever After (WIP) - Border Close-Up

And that’s it for today! Assuming I remember to take pictures, I’ll have more to share tomorrow!

1 Comment | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , , ,

First Berries

Posted on July 3, 2010 by Heather

Today’s post is not about crafting, but it is about creating.  I like to grow flowers and plants, but I’m not very good at it.  But each summer for the past couple of years I created a small container garden on our balcony and coaxed and prodded various plants through the summer.  This year, feeling brave, I decided to add strawberries to the mix. And, much to my delight, they are growing!

My first strawberries

Those are the biggest of the bunch.  And while I may only end up with a handful of berries, I bet they will be the best tasting berries I’ve ever eaten because I grew them myself.  I think next year, if these work out, I will plant more than just one pot of strawberries. And maybe some tomatoes too.

2 Comments | Posted in My Life |

Happy Canada Day! And Goal Review

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Heather

Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians!

Today is the day we celebrate the British North America Act (aka the Constitution Act of 1867), and the unification of British Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into the fledgling country of Canada. We’ve grown a bit in the past hundred and forty some odd years. We now encompass ten provinces and three territories, and cover enough landmass to make us the second largest country in the world.  We are home to the world’s largest beaver dam, the CN tower, and some of the best (and worst) hockey teams around.

Anyway, enough about Canada. It is time to review my goals. In June I said I wanted to:

  • Finish and frame Happily Ever After before June 24th
  • Finish Montavilla Market Tote
  • Start Liesl for my mom
  • Find a pattern, and possibly start, the socks I’m doing on commission
  • Iron and frame Sunflower Fairy (yes, I still haven’t gotten around to ironing her)
  • Start Rajasthan Lotus Temple

Well, Happily Ever After did not get finished. I haven’t even touched it in almost two weeks, I think. I also didn’t get around to starting Rajasthan Lotus Temple. However, I did finish that market bag and I did start Liesl, and I even finished one of socks from the pair I am knitting for someone else. Oh, and Sunflower Fairy never did get framed. So, I guess that means I accomplished 50% of my goals. Not too bad, but not great either.

We are also halfway through the year now, so I’d like to review my yearlong goals today to.  But, um, looking at that list I can see I haven’t accomplished much… So, on to July’s goals!

For July I would like to:

  • Finish and frame Happily Ever After
  • Start Teresa Wentzler’s Miniature Spring Sampler (I mean, seriously, you know I’m going to want to work on this regardless of whatever else I have to do)
  • Crochet two of Planet June’s Alpacas for someone I know from Ravelry
  • Finished the second sock of the pair that I am knitting for someone else
  • Get down to at least the sleeves on my mom’s Liesl
  • Make at least a token attempt on Baby Man’s birth sampler
  • Organize my yarn stash (which means buying a new bin)

I will freely admit that my yarn stash has grown quite a bit in the last few months.  I’ve bought a few big lots of yarn to do larger projects, like my mom’s Liesl, and I’ve also done a lot of trading through Ravelry. I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on some great yarn that aren’t avaliable easily in Canada, and well, honestly, I am in love with my stash. 😉 I also love my cross stitch stash, but it is so much easier to appreciate several big balls of cotton yarn than it is to enjoy one tiny skein of silk, if you know what I mean.

Since I haven’t been sharing very many cross stitch projects lately, I thought it would be nice to share a picture of two belated birthday gifts I recently received.  The tin is from Erica of Erica’s Places, and is something I had been meaning to make for myself for ages.  It is so nice when someone knows exactly what you like! The biscornu was from a lady I attend our LNS’ stitching night with. (I also received a portable Ott light, a lovely box, some threads, and a brass bellpull. I feel very spoiled.)

And to prove that I am still stitching, and not just knitting and crocheting, here is my needlecase from the getaway I went to back in April.  I finished the stitching yesterday and also picked up some fabric.  I’m waiting to get some felt before I make the final fabric decision and put it together.

Hopefully in a day or two I will have some more progress on Happily Ever After to share. I want to get it done before I start on the new TW.

1 Comment | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged ,

Water Lilies and Dollies

Posted on June 26, 2010 by Heather

I’ve realized that when one has a toddler days rarely go as planned.  Take today: Baby Man and I were going to go out to have fish and chips for lunch since Daddy had gone out for a business meeting.  We weren’t going to let a little rain stop us.  Unfortunately, halfway to the restaurant (which is a block away) he had his first real meltdown.  I carried him all the way home, and he cried for about a half an hour.  I feel sorry for the little guy because I know he doesn’t really understand why he is so upset, but, my goodness, that is not something I want to go through again.  I’m very proud of myself for keeping my temper, even when he totally lost his.

On to the good stuff! This morning I finally finished up Polly Dolly from Knitted Toy Tales. She is knit from Bernat Satin in Camel (skin), White (dress), and Mocha (hair and eyes).  Her shoes are Mary Maxim Starlette in Black, and her mouth is some Week’s Dye Works in Old Red Paint.  I gave her a bit of a crooked smile on purpose because I knew if I tried to give her sweet little lips it would end up looking funny anyway. (My Ravelry project page for Polly Dolly is here.)

Polly Dolly by Laura Long (Knitted Toy Tales)

This week I also crocheted Planet June’s next to newest pattern, Water Lily.  I’m sure you can guess that this was a must do for me!  It was done in Bernat Satin and some unknown sport weight yarn. (There are more details on my project page here.)

Water Lily by Planet June

I have been cross stitching a little, but I have to admit that I haven’t felt very inspired. However, I talked to Cathy at Victoria Sampler and she is doing her best to get my the box for Christmas Treasures, and that has prompted me to pull it out again and try to get it finished for Christmas. (Yes, the wedding sampler is languishing. I will get back to it, but I’m aiming for the beginning of August now.)

Christmas Treasures by Victoria Sampler (WIP)

A few other notes: Victoria Sampler is having a sale on some of their accessory packs this weekend.  You need to poke around in the catalogue to find them. I remember seeing some of the birthday rolls and a few of the later letter samplers.  Also, Châtelaines’ 10% sale ends very soon! You have until midnight CEST to make your purchases.

2 Comments | Posted in Crochet, Cross Stitch, Knitting | Tagged , , , , ,

Hardanger Needlecase

Posted on June 22, 2010 by Heather

After much procrastination, and a house-wide search for a missing piece of felt, I’ve finally finished the first part of The Gift of Stitching hardanger course. I never did find that piece of felt, so I used some of the peacock felt that I bought for Just Nan’s Keep a Little Secret.  I really like how the colour peaks out through the cutout squares.

Hardanger Needlecase, Gift of Stitching

And speaking of The Gift of Stitching, they are having a sale in their shop.  All items are 20% off.  I may or may not have picked out something I’ve been eyeing for some time.  I would love to also get the Santa kit, but it is so much and contains some real wool, so it is a no-go for me. 🙁

Châtelaine is also have a sale.  Until June 26th, all classes are 10% off.  You can read about it here on the Châtelaine board.

2 Comments | Posted in Cross Stitch | Tagged , ,