Time to Set Goals?

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Heather

Goal setting has been on my mind a lot lately.  The last year or two have been pretty free form thanks to the endless demands that Baby Man puts on my time.  I do what I can, when I can, and I am very happy when anything gets done.  But quanta made a comment to me the other day that has made me think a quite a bit about what I want to accomplish.  He said that I have all of these wonderful ideas of what I would like to accomplish, but no plan to get there.

Setting goals and making plans with regards to Baby Man is difficult.  He doesn’t really understand the idea of a time table.  I’m content to let him play and grow, making sure he is safe and progressing well.  When he gets a little older we will look into things like swimming lessons, music lessons and Chinese school.

Work is work right now, and I don’t really have an ambitions or goals with regards to what I currently do.  Sounds awful, doesn’t it?  Maybe when I’m not so concerned about Baby Man this will change.

Hobbies are difficult to set goals for, at least for me.  I like picking up what I want when I want, but that isn’t getting me the results I want.  I think I need to look over those lists of projects and make a timeline of what I want done by when.  I need to stop having my head turned by every new design that comes along.  (I’m talking to you Lily of the Valley.)

In order to help this new resolve, this attempt at setting goals, I did a Tarot reading this morning.  (Did I mention that I want to work my Tarot studies back into my life?  And writing to? Where, oh where will I find the time?)  I did a Past, Present, Future spread using the Maat Tarot and drew Death, Judgment and 5 of Swords.  I took this to mean that in the past I have ignored my old projects, and now I am paying them lip service but still starting new projects, and if I keep this up then I end up cheating myself.  So, I think it is time to do some serious goal setting.

With that in mind, I’ve been working on knitting Baby Man’s jacket this morning.  That, along with his Christmas stocking (which I haven’t started) are the two most important projects I have.  I’d like to knit him a bunny for Easter, so that may jump to the front of the queue since it has the quickest deadline.

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Swiming in WIPs

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Heather

I have a lot of WIPs (that is, works-in-progress).  The other weekend, I counted 35 cross stitch WIPs along with another 36 projects I could start with buying few or no supplies, one crochet WIPs (the Never Ending Blue Shawl of Doom), and three knitting WIPs.  (You can see all my cross stitch WIPs here.)

I was actually feeling pretty bad about having so many projects on the go, until I read the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits.  There is a cute article in it about the joy of WIPs.  The author talks about how each different project fulfills a creative need.  Take my WIPs.  I’m knitting the socks because I want a nice pair of socks, because I wanted to try the yarn, and because the pattern includes an interesting way to make the gusset.  Some of my cross stitch WIPs were started because they were going to be gifts, or Christmas decorations, or because I took a class.  I started others because I loved the pattern so much I knew I had to have it hanging on my walls.  As for the shawl, it is just something I have to have, even if it takes me ages to finish it.

I would really like to decrease the number of WIPs I have (she says after kitting up three more cross stitch projects last night).  I think it comes down to deciding what I really want to have finished.  For example, I’d love to get the Baby Man’s jacket done, another pair of socks, and the Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep–those things are moving to the top of the queue.  I want to finish the shawl, but more to say I have than to actually use it–so it is moving down the queue a little.  My class projects from the CreativFestival must be finished, so they are going to be in the middle somewhere.  The old WIPs will just have to languish a while longer.

I wonder how long I will stick to this.  There are always so many new designs that I must do.  The only way to avoid them would be to stay off the Internet, and I can’t do that. 😉

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Finished Fairy

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Heather

On Thursday evening, I put the last bead into Halloween Fairy.

You know, that name is a bit confusing. There is the Mirabilia Halloween Fairy that was a limited edition kit, and then there was this Nora Corbett Halloween Fairy that was in the magazine. Maybe I should call her Trick or Treat Fairy. And there is also the fact she doesn’t have wings. Not much of a fairy, really. (And yeah, I didn’t notice the lack of wings until she was almost done…)

Anyway, here she is:


Halloween Fairy by Nora Corbett
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone

I made a couple of changes: different colour backstitching for her gloves, left off one of the spiderwebs on the bottom left, and left off the top row of beads. I also added one extra black bead to her skirt in a place that looked like there should have been one.

That is finish #16 for my challenge. I may fall off the wagon a little this week, since I want to check out a yarn shop that carries a lot of non-animal fibre yarn. I’d love to pick up something to do some stockings, and I may look into buying some yarn to do the Diminishing Ribs Cardigan from the Spring 2009 Interweave Knits.

I’ve been working on Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep, knitting a dishcloth and crocheting what is becoming known as the Never Ending Blue Shawl of Doom. Hopefully I will have another finish this week.

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Guess They Liked the Movie Better

Posted on March 11, 2009 by Heather

It’s no secret that the world is going through a recession right now.  (Or at least the media tells us that an uncountable number of times a day.)  However, it appears that the movie-going public isn’t aware of this.  The Los Angles Times reports that:

Audiences seeking an escape have bolstered the industry’s U.S. box-office revenue to $1.8 billion this year, up more than 17% from the same period last year.

The same day I heard this news, I read in the April 2009 issue of The Writer that the book publishing industry has been hit so hard that some publishers are even suspending new acquisitions (Leddy, Chuck. “Economy dampens publishing.” The Writer Apr. 2009: 8-9.).  More here from Publisher’s Weekly.

So, to get this straight, people will pay $10US or  more (over $15CAN) to watch an hour and a half long movie that is probably only so-so, instead of spending $9.99 or less on a paperback book that will last them a week or more and (horror of horrors!) allows them to use their imagination.  Amazing.

Go out and buy a book.  Keep writers in business.  Read to your kids.  Buy them books.  Literacy is important.

This is a message from your friendly, neighbourhood bookworm.  Now maybe I should go put in an order to Chapters…  Any recommendations?

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A Nearly There Fairy

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Heather

I’ve been moving along very well on Halloween Fairy. Below is the latest picture.


Halloween Fairy by Mirabilia
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone

And, since a girl can never have too many WIPs, I started Once Upon a Tree by Jeanette Douglas (a series from this year’s Just Cross Stitch magazine). I’m doing all DMC for this, except for the Gloriana colours that have no DMC equivalent.


Once Upon a Tree by Jeanette Douglas
Threads: DMC
Beads:
Fabric: Unknown linen, 32ct.

I’ve also been crocheting. My Pentacle Shawl looks like nothing but a long chain:


Pentacle Shawl by Maria Merlino
Yarn: Filatura Di Crosa Millefili Fine in Turquoise Blue Grey

As for knitting, I’ve got one side of the front of the Baby Man’s Manly Kimono done.

Garter Stitch Kimono aka Baby Man’s Manly Kimono by Bernat
Yarn: Bernat Baby Jacquards in Boo Berries

I’ve also got a new pair of socks on the go, using Crystal Palace’s Panda Cotton. The yarn is awful to work with, but the resulting fabric is wonderful!


Show Off Stranded Socks by Anne Campbell
Yarn: Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in Blueberries-Grapes

And, lastly, are a couple of dish cloths from the Monthly Dishcloth Knit-Along: Pot o’ Gold from March and Cheyenna from Mid-January. Pot o’ Gold was done in Sugar n’ Creme Yellow and Cheyenna in Bernat Handicrafter Summer Prints. The husband and I are trying to cut back on paper towel usage, and these soft dishcloths are great for wiping up things around the kitchen… and on the baby.

What will the rest of the week bring? Well, I hope to finish up Halloween Fairy and maybe even get her completely beaded. I’d also like to get a few more rows of the shawl done. Late last week I picked up some yarn to knit a small bag and a rabbit for the Baby Man, so maybe I’ll get started on one of those. I think the kimono will rest for a while, because it isn’t going to fit Baby Man until the fall.

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Quantity or Quality?

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Heather

I have a very small circle of friends, a good size group of acquaintances, and one really good friend.  Oh, and Baby Man.  According anthropologist Robin Dunbar (see BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | What’s the ideal number of friends?), most people have an average of 150 friends.

I think, depending on your definition of friends, this is believable.  With sites like Facebook and MySpace, we are growing our circle of friends so quickly and easily now.  But I think we need to a bit more clear about the label of friend.  Merriam-Webster defines friend as ” a favored companion”.  A lot of people use it when “acquaintance” might be more appropriate.  For example, I quite liked some of the people I worked with.  And while I think there may have been a possibility for friendship to grow, I still consider them acquaintances since we never really got a chance to know each other outside of work.

Admittedly, the point of the article isn’t that we should try to have as many friends as possible (although the lead in about it boasting your income is pretty tempting).  The point is that while we may be able to have up to 150 “friends”, there is a core group of about 5 that are true 3-am-phone-call friends.  Those are the most important, the most precious, and the ones that we need to spend our time with.

I have 44 friends on Facebook. Truthfully, many of them I haven’t seen in years, and there are a couple that I have never met in person. Are all these people really true friends? No, but I like them anyway.

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Swans, Socks, a Fairy, and a Special Kitty

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Heather

The other day I promised to share a special finish. Here it is: Bushfire Kitty from The Cat’s Whiskers. It is a special design being offered by Janie as a way to raise funds for the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. You can learn more about the design here. At a cost of $3.50, I think it is a wonderful little design to pick up.


Bushfire Kitty by The Cat’s Whiskers
Treads: DMC and Dinky Dyes
Fabric: 36ct. white linen

Next, since it is Mirabilia March, I thought I would share my progress on Halloween Fairy.


Halloween Fairy by Mirabilia
Threads: DMC and Kreinik #4 braid
Beads: Mill Hill
Fabric: 32ct. Cashel in Cobblestone


My crocheting is also coming along quite well. I starting working on the Cygnus square just to prove I could do it. I was a bit confused at the frilling that seemed to be happening, but was happy with how it looked otherwise. It turns out I’ve been doing extended double crochets instead of regular double crochets. I guess I got confused because of the shawl pattern I’m following. (It uses extended double crochets almost entirely.) The shawl is coming along great, but it doesn’t look like anything, so no pictures. But here is my slightly wonky square, which I will frog.

Cygnus Square
Yarn: Butterfly Super 10

And to keep with the swan theme, I have finished the front of the Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep from February’s The Gift of Stitching.



Ackworth Swan Treasure Keep from The Gift of Stitching
Threads: Old Willow Stitcher
Fabric: Sugar Cane Crunch from Stitches and Spice


I’m also working away on a sock using Panda Cotton from Crystal Palace Yarns, and a jacket for Baby Man using Bernat’s Baby Jacquards. Both are coming along well, but I have been focusing more on my crochet because of the class I’m taking. Everything will get done in its own time.
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