It's time. I'm ready for you 2015.
If there's nothing else this blog is good for, it's been absolutely awesome at getting me to set myself some actual goals and then attempt to see them through. Ok, they're not massive huge things, they're usually just stuff that I really needed to do anything but will never get done because I have a tendency to sit in front of the TV watching something with absolutely zero cultural merit.
I can't actually believe that this is the fifth year of doing these - anyone bored yet?!
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1. Read ten Classics/Non-Fiction
So for the past four years I have set myself the challenge of reading twelve Classics throughout the year. The idea behind this originally was just to try and expand my reading repertoire and it's been great at doing that but lately it's started to feel like a chore. It's become something that I've started to get a bit stressed out about and that's no good to anyone.
I've also realised that I don't read a lot of non-fiction and I wanted to rectify that. I didn't want to add in reading non-fiction on top of Classics as I'm not the speediest of readers so I thought I'd take my foot off the pedal a little bit and set myself the challenge of reading 10 books that are either Classics or non-fiction.
2. Go to two Park Runs a month (on average)
When I was looking at getting my car one of the reasons I was really looking forward to it was the freedom it would give me to do more. There is a Park Run tantalisingly close to me but inaccessible unless you have your own transport so now I've got it there can be no more excuses.
(I put in the "on average" when I realised that I'll be away for the first 3 weekends of January...)
This will also tie in nicely with number 3...
3. Beat my 10k time
Last year was the worst year ever when it came to running for me. It feels like I was injured in one form of the other for the whole year - I spent a ridiculous amount of money on physiotherapists and osteopaths and I was completely incapable of winning the battle between myself and my head when I was out stomping around the streets.
But this year is the year that I sort all this out. No more injuries. Just no. No no no no. Well I mean there probably will be, but hopefully nothing too debilitating.
I am roping in the help of my blogger friends with this one - I'm hoping that the encouragement of excellent runners like Miss Pond and Lucy will help me achieve this goal.
4. Design and make my own amigurumi
Last year was the Year of the Amigurumi and it felt like all I did in 2014 was crochet zebras, elephants and horses. But I'm still very much a slave to the pattern and don't have the confidence to take it off the page and out of my head.
But I know I have all the tools to make my own animal/character - amigurumi is basically just a series of shapes and once you can do one you can do any of the others - but I just need to take the time out to sit and design something myself.
5. Crochet an item of clothing
Amigurumi is sorted. Blankets are sorted. But I don't feel that skill-wise I'm really going anywhere at the moment. I see people who have never crocheted before picking up a hook and a couple of months later are dashing about in jumpers and cardigans that they've made. I need to take the plunge and do something out of my comfort zone.
(And no I promise I won't crochet a scarf and call this one complete :) )
6. Blog 3x a week (on average)
I'm an advocate of saying that blogging should be fun and shouldn't feel like a chore and I really do feel that way, but sometimes even with the fun stuff there needs to be a little planning and preparation that goes in to it. I always feel as if I have lots to blog about but I don't get myself organised and then it's easy to be lazy and then there's no point really doing it....etc etc. It's time to get organised. Three posts a week shouldn't be that hard.
She says...
7. Finish one cross stitch piece that's just for me
I have a couple of things on the go at the moment that I've put to one side in favour of crocheting. The trouble is that in comparison to crocheting, cross stitch just takes such a long time. The results are nowhere near as immediate and that can start to become off-putting.
8. Tetris blanket
No seriously. THIS is the year. I've neglected this for way too long. This year will make it the third year that it has appeared on a Not Really Resolution list. I'm not even going to say "Finish Tetris blanket" I'm just making it a statement and whenever I'm looking for something else to put on my hook I will hear a voice in my head that just says "Tetris Blanket" with a slightly disapproving tone.
9. Go somewhere I've never been before each month
This is a follow on from 2014's Do One Interesting Thing each month. I don't want to fall into a rut of doing the same interesting thing each month though - I need to keep challenging myself and now I have a little car of my own it should make adventuring even more fun.
10. Makeover three pieces of furniture
I've been slowly plugging away at getting the flat looking how I would like it to look. I figured it was time to do it so I can stop living life like a student, plus it's a nice distraction. I figure that as I'll be spending a lot of time in it given that I'm the only person responsible for all the bills now, it might as well look nice whilst I'm at it.
Furniture-wise I probably have everything that I need but it is still all a bit of a mish mash which is adding to the weird studenty vibe. Just giving something a little slap of paint will make all the difference I'm hoping.
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So there we have it.
Come at me 2015.
Showing posts with label cross stitch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross stitch. Show all posts
Monday, 5 January 2015
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
The weekend of nothing
This weekend has been about being at home.
This weekend has been about the pottering, about the wandering about and not really doing anything at all.
This weekend hasn't even really been about chores, it has been about the bliss of being a grown up without responsibilities.
No children, no parents, no other dependants, just a whole two days stretched out ahead with no demands on your time. Nowhere particularly to be, no-one to particularly see, nothing particularly to do.
What do you do on weekends like this?
You try your hand at baking something for the first time in what feels like a million years...
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This weekend has been about the pottering, about the wandering about and not really doing anything at all.
This weekend hasn't even really been about chores, it has been about the bliss of being a grown up without responsibilities.
No children, no parents, no other dependants, just a whole two days stretched out ahead with no demands on your time. Nowhere particularly to be, no-one to particularly see, nothing particularly to do.
What do you do on weekends like this?
You try your hand at baking something for the first time in what feels like a million years...
(Apricot & Cranberry bars from the Hairy Dieter's, super easy to make although don't think that you substitute tin foil for baking parchment. This stuff is sticky.)
You spend some time hanging out with your gerbils, building them a super fun playpen with every obstacle and hidey hole that you can think of. Mostly in an attempt to encourage Ser Jorah to run off a bit of his bulk, as covered in this blog post.
(You get a bonus point for spotting the gerbil in this picture.)
You take a massively long bubble bath on a Saturday night because there is nothing to watch on a Saturday night anyway, and you run the bath so hot that you have to come out of it and drink about 3 litres of water to rehydrate yourself.
You read your head off in bed in the mornings because despite the fact that you've woken up annoyingly early you don't really need to get out of bed and can lie, lolling about, drinking multiple cups of tea for as long as you want.
(The Casual Vacancy was pretty good actually, I really enjoyed it, although it did go a little off the rails at the end. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been a revelation, I didn't know what to expect at all and it has taken me quite by surprise)
You binge watch Scandal because you find the box set on Sky On Demand and remember how much you loved the first series.
(Episodes watched over the weekend = 10)
You cross stitch and cross stitch and cross stitch because you'd forgotten how much you enjoyed doing it and because watching the picture slowly build is hypnotic and makes it impossible to put down until you've just...finished...this....last.....line.
You go out for a run because you want to feel like you've really done something with the weekend.
(Yeah, yeah I'm no Mo Farrah. But I did it without stopping so I'll take my wins where I can thanks)
But mostly you just savour it for what it is. A perfect weekend of nothing.
Monday, 30 June 2014
The return of the cross stitch
After closing my doors to crocheting amigurumi animals because I was so sick of making them for other people and getting stressed about it all the time the inevitable happened.
I became absolutely bored out of my mind.
There are a billion things I could do. I could get on with my totally abandoned Tetris blanket (yeah, remember that guy?!), I could crochet some animals just for me, I could crochet some random flowers, or start to crochet stuff to build up a supply for *whispers* the C-word.
And then I remembered my cross stitch. I haven't done any cross stitch for a very long time. In fact, when saving the below photos on to my laptop I realised that I only cross stitched one thing in the whole of 2013, a Valentine's Day card for The Person. A whole year without cross stitching? How did that happen?!
I knew immediately the project I wanted to undertake.
When we were at Monument Valley in March (note to self: you've been back for three months and still haven't finished blogging about America. Get on with it.) I hit up the gift shop like it's never been hit before. I am a sucker for tat. I love it I love it I love it and that place had it coming out of the wazoo. There were magnets, there were random rocks, there were tshirts, there were posters, there were dreamcatchers, there were keyrings. You name it, they had it and I revelled in it all.
Off in a little corner on the wall they had a selection of cross stitch kits by NP Designs called Rugs of the Southwest. I pondered for a while because it was almost too touristy even for me but eventually I succumbed and made my selection, choosing the Wide Ruins design.
I was mesmerised by the pattern. As someone who prizes neatness and order above all else, the symmetry of all the designs were right up my street. I knew that the symmetry would mean that it would be a relatively "easy" piece to stitch up. No pesky half stitches and no colour changes every four minutes, just nice and simple stitch after stitch after stitch.
I started it on June 22 and immediately got swept away. Up and down I stitched, methodically working my way through. The pace took some getting used to, after a year of crocheting amigurumi I have got used to quick results. Crochet happens pretty quickly, whether you're making an elephant or a granny square and cross stitch is very much the opposite. You can stitch and stitch for hours and it still won't really look like you've done anything or made any progress.
But looking on that uniformity. Oh my word it's brilliant.
It wasn't long before I was stitching in the morning before I went to work and coming home at lunchtime to stitch a few more sneaky rows.
This weekend I have binged on cross-stitching and put in some serious hours, meaning that I now officially one quarter of the way through. This made me feel happy and simultaneously made me draw in a huge intake of breath, because man cross stitch really is about the slow build...
But it feels nice to be doing something for me and nice to be back at the first creative, crafty thing I turned my hand to.
I'm sorry it's been so long cross stitch.
I became absolutely bored out of my mind.
There are a billion things I could do. I could get on with my totally abandoned Tetris blanket (yeah, remember that guy?!), I could crochet some animals just for me, I could crochet some random flowers, or start to crochet stuff to build up a supply for *whispers* the C-word.
And then I remembered my cross stitch. I haven't done any cross stitch for a very long time. In fact, when saving the below photos on to my laptop I realised that I only cross stitched one thing in the whole of 2013, a Valentine's Day card for The Person. A whole year without cross stitching? How did that happen?!
I knew immediately the project I wanted to undertake.
When we were at Monument Valley in March (note to self: you've been back for three months and still haven't finished blogging about America. Get on with it.) I hit up the gift shop like it's never been hit before. I am a sucker for tat. I love it I love it I love it and that place had it coming out of the wazoo. There were magnets, there were random rocks, there were tshirts, there were posters, there were dreamcatchers, there were keyrings. You name it, they had it and I revelled in it all.
Off in a little corner on the wall they had a selection of cross stitch kits by NP Designs called Rugs of the Southwest. I pondered for a while because it was almost too touristy even for me but eventually I succumbed and made my selection, choosing the Wide Ruins design.
I was mesmerised by the pattern. As someone who prizes neatness and order above all else, the symmetry of all the designs were right up my street. I knew that the symmetry would mean that it would be a relatively "easy" piece to stitch up. No pesky half stitches and no colour changes every four minutes, just nice and simple stitch after stitch after stitch.
I started it on June 22 and immediately got swept away. Up and down I stitched, methodically working my way through. The pace took some getting used to, after a year of crocheting amigurumi I have got used to quick results. Crochet happens pretty quickly, whether you're making an elephant or a granny square and cross stitch is very much the opposite. You can stitch and stitch for hours and it still won't really look like you've done anything or made any progress.
But looking on that uniformity. Oh my word it's brilliant.
It wasn't long before I was stitching in the morning before I went to work and coming home at lunchtime to stitch a few more sneaky rows.
This weekend I have binged on cross-stitching and put in some serious hours, meaning that I now officially one quarter of the way through. This made me feel happy and simultaneously made me draw in a huge intake of breath, because man cross stitch really is about the slow build...
But it feels nice to be doing something for me and nice to be back at the first creative, crafty thing I turned my hand to.
I'm sorry it's been so long cross stitch.
Monday, 6 January 2014
2013 Not Really Resolutions - The Conclusion
I very nearly didn't do this post.
My absolute shame at my performance in 2013 is overwhelming.
It is not going to be one of those "Oh look at me and how great I am".
This is going to be one of those "Well I don't call them Resolutions anyway so it doesn't matter that I basically didn't do any of them."
Prepare yourself for some class A excuses...
1.Get behind the wheel of a car again - Completed! This resolution was invaluable as it has meant that when I have had access to a car I've been able to get out and about, something which is impossible to do when living in the middle of nowhere. I've been able to hire cars to make long journeys rather than depend on the UK's expensive and unreliable rail service (and it does pain me to say that, having been a rail traveller for so long). There is definitely a post I want to write about being a first time driver on the roads - it was a bit of a baptism of fire for me. My first drive on a motorway was a 3.5 hour stint down the M5 to Tavistock which was all kinds of intense. But I'm pleased I've got this one under my belt - you can read about my refresher lessons and my experiences driving my sister's Tank.
2. Project 365 - Failed. I don't really know what happened here because it was actually going pretty well but then I just....stopped. I think I got busy with the impending move in the flat when The Person was moving here and just forgot to take photos. Plus I really didn't do anything and taking photos every day was a bit of a literal reminder of that. I'm amazing I made it through half of the year to be honest. Still, I did do Project 365 in 2011 so I'm not a complete failure (I tell myself).
3. Read 12 Classics - 9/12 - FAILED! I know! First year that I have ever ever failed this Not Really Resolution in all the years that I've been doing it. My downfall was finally picking up a Classic and a half in the shape of Vanity Fair. That is quite the tome you know. I have had a tendency sometimes to play it safe with my Classics and pick up slimmer volumes or easy volumes (for instance, one of my Classics this year was 101 Dalmatians...) so whilst I do feel sad that I didn't complete this one, I feel proud that I took on the challenge of Vanity Fair and conquered it.
4. Crochet an Elmer Blanket - Abandoned! You may remember that I abandoned this Not Really Resolution back in April as I decided I want to make a Tetris blanket. The Tetris Blanket is currently ongoing...
5. Learn to Knit - Failed! It just....never happened. Nothing more or less to it!
6. Bake once a month - Failed! It was just too hard, living in someone else's house for half the year isn't really conducive to taking over the kitchen randomly and I spent most of those weekends travelling to Preston to see The Person which meant I didn't have much time left for baking.
Jokes. I just bought cakes and ate them rather than making them.
7. Go abroad - Done! I went to Corfu with The Americans and The Person in July and it was amezzing and beautiful and I loved it and I didn't want to leave. It was made even better by the fact that the day before flying to Corfu, The Americans became Engaged Americans which made me giddy beyond belief.
That's what it looked like. Damn. Now I want to go back immediately.
8. Makeover a chest of drawers - Failed. HA. We moved into an unfurnished flat in August and let me tell you, furniture is expensive, even when shopping for cheap stuff. We still don't have a bed in the spare bedroom so we can have guests over, I am far from having the time, willingness and energy to makeover a piece of furniture I already own.
9. Cross stitch a big picture/item just for me - Failed. In the same way that 2012 was the Year of the Cross Stitch, 2013 was the Year of the Amigurumi and I have crocheted my fingers off. I have barely done any cross stitch at all.
10. Only buy 12 books throughout the year - HA! As if. In 2012 I managed to go a whole year without buying books so this should have been easy but it seems that with me, it's either all or nothing, and looking at the state of my to-be-read bookshelves I may need to implement a ban in 2014.
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So there we go. TWO out of TEN Not Really Resolutions completed.
You are totally allowed to sit back and feel pretty damn good about yourself right now.
Hey, at least 2014 is going to be better....right?!
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Take a look back at my past attempts...
Not Really Resolutions 2011
Not Really Resolutions 2012
My absolute shame at my performance in 2013 is overwhelming.
It is not going to be one of those "Oh look at me and how great I am".
This is going to be one of those "Well I don't call them Resolutions anyway so it doesn't matter that I basically didn't do any of them."
Prepare yourself for some class A excuses...
1.
2. Project 365 - Failed. I don't really know what happened here because it was actually going pretty well but then I just....stopped. I think I got busy with the impending move in the flat when The Person was moving here and just forgot to take photos. Plus I really didn't do anything and taking photos every day was a bit of a literal reminder of that. I'm amazing I made it through half of the year to be honest. Still, I did do Project 365 in 2011 so I'm not a complete failure (I tell myself).
3. Read 12 Classics - 9/12 - FAILED! I know! First year that I have ever ever failed this Not Really Resolution in all the years that I've been doing it. My downfall was finally picking up a Classic and a half in the shape of Vanity Fair. That is quite the tome you know. I have had a tendency sometimes to play it safe with my Classics and pick up slimmer volumes or easy volumes (for instance, one of my Classics this year was 101 Dalmatians...) so whilst I do feel sad that I didn't complete this one, I feel proud that I took on the challenge of Vanity Fair and conquered it.
1. North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
3. Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
4. The Pursuit of Love, Nancy Mitford
5. The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins
6. The Chrysalids, John Wyndham
7. The Edible Woman, Margaret Atwood (a review of which can be found HERE)
8. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians, Dodie Smith
9. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
4. Crochet an Elmer Blanket - Abandoned! You may remember that I abandoned this Not Really Resolution back in April as I decided I want to make a Tetris blanket. The Tetris Blanket is currently ongoing...
5. Learn to Knit - Failed! It just....never happened. Nothing more or less to it!
6. Bake once a month - Failed! It was just too hard, living in someone else's house for half the year isn't really conducive to taking over the kitchen randomly and I spent most of those weekends travelling to Preston to see The Person which meant I didn't have much time left for baking.
Jokes. I just bought cakes and ate them rather than making them.
That's what it looked like. Damn. Now I want to go back immediately.
8. Makeover a chest of drawers - Failed. HA. We moved into an unfurnished flat in August and let me tell you, furniture is expensive, even when shopping for cheap stuff. We still don't have a bed in the spare bedroom so we can have guests over, I am far from having the time, willingness and energy to makeover a piece of furniture I already own.
9. Cross stitch a big picture/item just for me - Failed. In the same way that 2012 was the Year of the Cross Stitch, 2013 was the Year of the Amigurumi and I have crocheted my fingers off. I have barely done any cross stitch at all.
10. Only buy 12 books throughout the year - HA! As if. In 2012 I managed to go a whole year without buying books so this should have been easy but it seems that with me, it's either all or nothing, and looking at the state of my to-be-read bookshelves I may need to implement a ban in 2014.
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So there we go. TWO out of TEN Not Really Resolutions completed.
You are totally allowed to sit back and feel pretty damn good about yourself right now.
Hey, at least 2014 is going to be better....right?!
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Take a look back at my past attempts...
Not Really Resolutions 2011
Not Really Resolutions 2012
Friday, 26 April 2013
Not Really Resolutions 2013: Q1 update
After last year's terrible performance when it came to updating everyone on my Not Really Resolutions (number of update posts in 2012 - none) I figured I should probably make more of an effort this year, if only to make sure I stay on track and actually try to get things done.
Seeing as we're nearly at the end of April with well over a quarter of the year gone *starts hyperventilating* I thought it seemed an appropriate time to update.
1. Get behind the wheel of a car again
I have an official license again! After pretty much over a year of procrastination I sent off for my license to be re-newed. After expecting a letter to come back saying "No you need to re-new it and replace it" or some such other nonsense, I was very surprised when after 3 weeks a brand new license flopped through the door with no questions asked.
So no more excuses - time to book some refresher lessons...
2. Project 365
This is ticking over quite nicely and has been much aided by the fact that I have a new phone which has a really good camera. I haven't even used my actual camera in goodness knows when, and because my phone is a Windows phone, everything is very handily backed up to my Skydrive, meaning that when I switch my computer on I just need to log in and download the photos and put them on Flickr. Easy peasy lemon squeezey.
I've been surprised that I've lasted this long because I'm living in the back end of nowhere with basically no friends, but I've managed. Ok, these photos are not going to set your world on fire, but guess what? My life wouldn't set your world on fire, rendering my Project 365 an accurate representation of my life.
The monthly round-ups are fun to do (see January, February and March) and the only thing I am bad at doing is actually uploading the photos to my photostream, which tends to easily be a week or two behind in time. Just like my blogging activities!
3. Read 12 Classics
It's been a good start to the year with my Classics and there hasn't been one I've read so far that I haven't really, genuinely enjoyed.
So far I've read;
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskill (probably the least easiest read out of the lot)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (can't believe I haven't read this before, I usually think children are made to read inappropriate Classics at school, therefore putting them off for life, but anyone who gets to read this at school I think is genuinely lucky. It was brilliant - not difficult and yet not condescending - it should be a must for all children to read this.)
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (probably the only one that's made me raise an eyebrow and wonder if I've really understand what I've read and the one that's made me go "Really? This is a Classic?" but a good read nonetheless and one that I think would make a good Book Group read as there could be plenty of interpretations to be made.)
The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford (hilarious. I have no other words. The only one so far that I insist you go out and read immediately.)
4. Crochet an Elmer Blanket
As you may have guessed, this has been put on hold now that I have the Tetris blanket firmly within my sights and underway. I do still want to crochet an Elmer Blanket but mostly I wanted to make a blanket just for me and the Tetris Blanket is definitely fulfilling that need at the moment.
5. Learn to knit
No progress on this one as of yet.
6. Bake once a month
This has been ticking along quietly (why do I always forget to blog about things?!) although I think it's safe to say that Mary Berry has nothing to fear at the moment. In fact I haven't been impressed with anything I've made so far this year. Here's hoping that April gives me my first triumph...
7. Go abroad
Very exciting news on this one. American Girl and American Boy are coming over from the USA in July and seeing as they're here and seeing as we all turned 30 this year (with the exception of The Person who will be almost 31 by the time they get here. Ha. OLD.) we decided to take a little trip to another part of Europe and will be spending the first week of July in Corfu. In sunshine. Sun and The Americans? I don't think my brain can take the excitement.
8. Makeover a chest of drawers
No progress on this one yet.
9. Cross stitch a big picture just for me
No progress on this one yet either. I think my brain can only take one craft per year. 2012 was the Year of the Stitching and it's looking like 2013 might be the Year of the Crochet...
10. Only buy 12 books throughout the year.
HA. If I stick to this I will be shocked and amazed at my willpower. I will be able to do anything.
Unfortunately I think it's unlikely I'm going to stick to it. I am trying, I swear it, but after a year of not buying books, I have a lot of pent-up book buying going on in my system and I am finding it tricky to succumb, especially when in charity shops and faced with such cheapness. I am being very good and tracking what I buy though so I can't cheat and "forget" about a book that has made its way on to my shelves. The current total stands at 6 and we're not even at the end of the April.
And I'm not even counting the three books that I bought with a voucher for my birthday because that wasn't my money and those books don't count.
I love loopholes.
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So there we have it. Have just realised there isn't an awful lot on there that can be ticked off the list easily and that's a shame because there's nothing like crossing things off a list to make you feel like you're getting somewhere, but I shall keep on plugging away.
See you at the end of June for the Q2 update...
Seeing as we're nearly at the end of April with well over a quarter of the year gone *starts hyperventilating* I thought it seemed an appropriate time to update.
1. Get behind the wheel of a car again
I have an official license again! After pretty much over a year of procrastination I sent off for my license to be re-newed. After expecting a letter to come back saying "No you need to re-new it and replace it" or some such other nonsense, I was very surprised when after 3 weeks a brand new license flopped through the door with no questions asked.
So no more excuses - time to book some refresher lessons...
2. Project 365
This is ticking over quite nicely and has been much aided by the fact that I have a new phone which has a really good camera. I haven't even used my actual camera in goodness knows when, and because my phone is a Windows phone, everything is very handily backed up to my Skydrive, meaning that when I switch my computer on I just need to log in and download the photos and put them on Flickr. Easy peasy lemon squeezey.
I've been surprised that I've lasted this long because I'm living in the back end of nowhere with basically no friends, but I've managed. Ok, these photos are not going to set your world on fire, but guess what? My life wouldn't set your world on fire, rendering my Project 365 an accurate representation of my life.
The monthly round-ups are fun to do (see January, February and March) and the only thing I am bad at doing is actually uploading the photos to my photostream, which tends to easily be a week or two behind in time. Just like my blogging activities!
3. Read 12 Classics
It's been a good start to the year with my Classics and there hasn't been one I've read so far that I haven't really, genuinely enjoyed.
So far I've read;
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskill (probably the least easiest read out of the lot)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (can't believe I haven't read this before, I usually think children are made to read inappropriate Classics at school, therefore putting them off for life, but anyone who gets to read this at school I think is genuinely lucky. It was brilliant - not difficult and yet not condescending - it should be a must for all children to read this.)
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (probably the only one that's made me raise an eyebrow and wonder if I've really understand what I've read and the one that's made me go "Really? This is a Classic?" but a good read nonetheless and one that I think would make a good Book Group read as there could be plenty of interpretations to be made.)
The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford (hilarious. I have no other words. The only one so far that I insist you go out and read immediately.)
4. Crochet an Elmer Blanket
As you may have guessed, this has been put on hold now that I have the Tetris blanket firmly within my sights and underway. I do still want to crochet an Elmer Blanket but mostly I wanted to make a blanket just for me and the Tetris Blanket is definitely fulfilling that need at the moment.
5. Learn to knit
No progress on this one as of yet.
6. Bake once a month
This has been ticking along quietly (why do I always forget to blog about things?!) although I think it's safe to say that Mary Berry has nothing to fear at the moment. In fact I haven't been impressed with anything I've made so far this year. Here's hoping that April gives me my first triumph...
Gingerbread biscuits; The infamous Cookie Monster cupcakes; Chocolate & Peanut butter cookies
7. Go abroad
Very exciting news on this one. American Girl and American Boy are coming over from the USA in July and seeing as they're here and seeing as we all turned 30 this year (with the exception of The Person who will be almost 31 by the time they get here. Ha. OLD.) we decided to take a little trip to another part of Europe and will be spending the first week of July in Corfu. In sunshine. Sun and The Americans? I don't think my brain can take the excitement.
8. Makeover a chest of drawers
No progress on this one yet.
9. Cross stitch a big picture just for me
No progress on this one yet either. I think my brain can only take one craft per year. 2012 was the Year of the Stitching and it's looking like 2013 might be the Year of the Crochet...
10. Only buy 12 books throughout the year.
HA. If I stick to this I will be shocked and amazed at my willpower. I will be able to do anything.
Unfortunately I think it's unlikely I'm going to stick to it. I am trying, I swear it, but after a year of not buying books, I have a lot of pent-up book buying going on in my system and I am finding it tricky to succumb, especially when in charity shops and faced with such cheapness. I am being very good and tracking what I buy though so I can't cheat and "forget" about a book that has made its way on to my shelves. The current total stands at 6 and we're not even at the end of the April.
And I'm not even counting the three books that I bought with a voucher for my birthday because that wasn't my money and those books don't count.
I love loopholes.
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So there we have it. Have just realised there isn't an awful lot on there that can be ticked off the list easily and that's a shame because there's nothing like crossing things off a list to make you feel like you're getting somewhere, but I shall keep on plugging away.
See you at the end of June for the Q2 update...
Saturday, 5 January 2013
2012 - The Year of the Needle & Thread
I feel kind of bad for crochet you know. Poor crochet didn't get a look-in in 2012 in my life. I made a few squares at some point in the hopes of making a blanket but they were merely an exercise in distracting myself from the bad news of the redundancy and nothing ever came of it.
Even after I'd moved to Preston I think there was a hook in my hand only a couple of times and I just couldn't bring myself to get enthusiastic about it.
Cross stitch however. My first love, has accompanied me all the way through the year. I didn't even know I'd been stitching until I had a look back at what I'd completed this year. Unfortunately I can be pretty lame when it comes to actually photographing what I've produced - I need to work on that.
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(Pattern from CrossStitcher)
For instance, without even realising, I managed to cross stitch about 12 Christmas cards, despite saying that I wasn't going to bother this year. I vaguely remember having a complete cross-stitching frenzy at the beginning of my unemployment period and I think that's when they were all produced. But unfortunately there is no photographic proof, you'll have to take my word for it.
As has become standard, my go-to for cross-stitch patterns is CrossStitcher magazine - since it had its make-over in 2011 it has become the coolest cross-stitch magazine about at the moment. It must be hard for them, there tend to be all kinds of ridiculous comments on their Facebook page from disgruntled people wishing there was more "traditional" patterns in the magazine, but there are loads of magazines offering that kind of jazz, and I hope people find CrossStitcher before they think that there's nothing out there for them.
Pattern from CrossStitcher
What I did do in 2012 was branch out a bit. Most of my cross stitch in the past has been in the form of cards because I've not known what else to do with it or have found any bigger patterns that I like the look of.
This year however I've done some bigger pieces - most of which have been given as presents - an excellent idea given that 2012 was not very blessed money-wise.
One of the favourite things I stitched was the above and below birds for a Christmas present for my friend. I love these Scandanavian style patterns although it was not as simple as anticipated - there's a whole bunch of backstitch here which made me want to pull my hair out at times.
Although I did finally conquer the ever elusive french knot, meaning that I completed one of my Not Really Resolutions.
I do need to get better at framing things in hoops though - this wasn't my finest work but hopefully I'll get better with practice.
I also had a frenzy making some bunting cards and then decided to take them one step further by stitching on the flags to spell out a name or message. The below card was made for my niece for her birthday in October.
It's a good idea but only if you have someone with a 3 or 5-letter name, otherwise you can't make the flags fit, and having an even number just doesn't work, it doesn't look right.
I need to make more of these because they don't take that long to knock up and they look pretty good, but more blank cards I needed, I went on such a roll this year that I've finally used up all the blank cards that have been hanging around for a couple of years!
As I mentioned in my round of up of Not Really Resolutions I finally finished my France 2010 album and this has definitely been something I enjoyed. I'd like to do more stitching on cards/photographs if I can this year.
The first big piece I did in 2012 was the below fairy castle which I completed in March 2012, even though it wasn't given as a present until October for my niece's birthday.
It was the ideal first big project because it was basically blocks of colours. Not loads of annoying faffy colour changes, you just stitched a block and then moved on to the next. It also meant it was pretty easy to do in terms of counting, much less chance of you cocking up and going wrong.
The backstitch did take a long time though, I decided to do it all in one go at the end and although I sighed sometimes, it was actually pretty good as the backstitch added the detail, meaning the picture really came alive as I stitching.
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Pattern from CrossStitcher
I took it over to my brother's to give to my niece but said she probably wouldn't be fussed about opening it, she is only 2 after all, but she surprised me by ripping the paper off and going "OH WOW!" and then tried to carry it about everywhere.
I'm not sure if it was the picture or just opening a present that made her excited but it's hung up in her room and my brother has assured me she loves it.
The biggest project I did this year though kept me going through my unemployment, and for that I am grateful.
I did the owl and the pussycat for Little Tin Bird's Tiny Tin Bird, and as she got more and more pregnant, my picture slowly got bigger and bigger. There was definitely one time when this was thrown across the room, I counted about 3 times and kept doing part of the boat wrong. When I'd got so stressed out that I had to open a window because I was sweating so much, The Person pointed out that no-one was probably going to notice if the very edge of the boat was one square out.
Pattern from CrossStitcher
I absolutely loved this picture and at one point I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to give it up. But it turned out that Heather had a damn cute baby and I relented and decided to hand it over. But I'm not going to lie, don't be surprised if this picture appears in my house at some point - baby or no baby.
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Patterns from CrossStitcher (sensing a theme?)
I did manage to stitch and keep something for myself in 2012 though. This set of vegetables are now individually framed and hanging in my kitchen back in Preston.
(Tell you what though, it's hard to take photos of things once they're in frames, damn reflective glass.)
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They surprisingly didn't take long to stitch up at all, even though there's a hell of lot of colour changes involved in them. In fact it took waaaaaay longer to frame them than to stitch them - I always seem to fall at that hurdle when it comes to properly finishing off my stitchy stuff.
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I really loved the frames on these photos and I hover between which is my favourite - the carrots or the tomato - because that's just what I do when I'm hanging out in my kitchen.
But I didn't isolate my needle and thread activities to aida/evenweave/fabric - oh hell's no. This year on my very long walks as part of my stupid commute I started to notice all the leaves on the floor. Some of them were so beautiful and I wanted to take them home with me...
Crappy phone photo - sorry
...So I did. And made me a leaf garland to hang in the lounge. It couldn't be easier, I just threaded through the leaves and hung it up, easy peasy lemon squeezey.
I did feel like kind of a weirdo collecting them on my walk home but they did make me happy and The Person said it was the happiest he'd seen me in a long time when I walked through the door announcing "I have LEAVES".
I didn't know how long the garland would last but it was actually up there from the 23rd October until the Christmas decorations went up in mid-December. Some of the leaves curled up a bit but they didn't change their colours and it still looked really nice. You can bet your ass there will be another Autumn garland in 2013.
I'm looking forward to what 2013 will bring craft-wise and I'm hoping for a bit more crochet in my life because I have missed it.
But me and cross-stitch have got a thang going on baby.
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
How I fell in love with a gold rhino
The internet is a funny ol' place isn't it? One day you're sat around with The Stitchettes, planning the Embroidering the Truth exhibition and the next, you're helping out Mr X Stitch at the Stitch & Craft show in the Olympia in London.
For those of you not in the know Mr X Stitch is the place you need to go to if you're looking for anything vaguely contemporary when it comes to stitching/embroidering. Every day there's a new post up featuring the latest person to be at the forefront of cool stitchiness and it's the place to go if you're looking for something a little bit different, a little bit inspirational and, if you happen to be looking on a Saturday, something that might make your head spin a little bit.
Mr X is also the man behind Push: Stitchery which is an almost painfully cool book showcasing those right at the edge of art - you know, pushing things on and moving things forward. I know there are many that would love it as a Christmas present.
And if you still don't know him, you may well have seen him without realising when he appeared on Kirstie's Handmade Britain, pitting his beautiful cross-stitched silhouette of Whitby Abbey up against her appliqued cushion in the Great Yorkshire Show. (He was robbed let me tell you.)
We had such a great time last year, that when Mr X Stitch said he needed some volunteers for the Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate, myself and another Stitchette pootled across from Preston and Hull to hang out with the coolest stitchy person I know.
This time the exhibition was biggerer and betterer than ever before. This stall featured Art with a capital Ar and as Mr X becomes more well known on the scene, he has access to cooler pieces of work than ever before and some of the pieces in the exhibition are by artists featured in the Push: Stitchery book.
For instance. What better way to grab people's attention as they walk in than with this piece:
Yes. That would be cross stitch. On a car door.
It is the phenomenal work of Severija Incirauskaite-Kriauneviciene who not only has an unpronouncable name but has a ridiculous wealth of talent.
There were so many pictures taken of this door just in the 1 day that I was at the show - it must be popping up on blogs and social media sites all over the place and I hope I see more and more of her in the future.
But he didn't just stop at car doors. Why have just a car door when you could have an actual wooden door as well?
I was transfixed by this piece of total beauty from Manchester based artist Sarah Greaves - I spent a huge amount of time encouraging people to look behind the door as people were assuming that this was in some way stuck on the door and couldn't comprehend that this is 100% embroidery on wood - there are wee tiny little holes in there that she has made.
My head cannot get around it.
I should also mention at this point that I fell in love with a piece. And I really mean fell in love with. I couldn't leave him alone and stood jealously beside him any opportunity I got, sneering at those who pretended to like him when they couldn't conjure up a fraction of my feelings towards him.
Meet Humphrey.
Please note this is not his real name, merely the name I gave him. His show name is Gold Rhino and he is the work of Zoe Williams, a person, who I'm pretty sure if I ever met I would swoon away, overcome by the waves of talent that must emanate from her body.
Believe it or not, this is needle felting. No. I can't believe it either. I've seen people do a bit of needle felting and it looks fun - stabbing things very hard with a needle is the kind of craft I could get on board with - but never in all my days would I have thought that something as stunningly beautiful as this could be produced.
I swear I actually miss him now that I'm back home. Who needs a deer head?
These are just three of the artists with pieces on display at the show and I fear I have lost many of you already so I will stop gushing here. But if you were interested in some of the other pieces that were on display you can go here for a full list.
It was a day for enjoying people. For sitting or standing and chatting to people about a shared love - that of stitchiness. It was great to watch people being amazed by the car door or standing back to admire the various pieces and stopping to have a chat about how blown away they were by what they were seeing and all the idea they now had in their head floating about.
Places like the Knitting & Stitching show can tend towards the traditional shall we say and it felt good to be a very minor part of something new and a bit different.
So here's to Mr X Stitch and all those people who continue to be at the Stitchy edge of things, bringing a little bit of magic to common folk like me.
For those of you not in the know Mr X Stitch is the place you need to go to if you're looking for anything vaguely contemporary when it comes to stitching/embroidering. Every day there's a new post up featuring the latest person to be at the forefront of cool stitchiness and it's the place to go if you're looking for something a little bit different, a little bit inspirational and, if you happen to be looking on a Saturday, something that might make your head spin a little bit.
Mr X is also the man behind Push: Stitchery which is an almost painfully cool book showcasing those right at the edge of art - you know, pushing things on and moving things forward. I know there are many that would love it as a Christmas present.
And if you still don't know him, you may well have seen him without realising when he appeared on Kirstie's Handmade Britain, pitting his beautiful cross-stitched silhouette of Whitby Abbey up against her appliqued cushion in the Great Yorkshire Show. (He was robbed let me tell you.)
We had such a great time last year, that when Mr X Stitch said he needed some volunteers for the Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate, myself and another Stitchette pootled across from Preston and Hull to hang out with the coolest stitchy person I know.
This time the exhibition was biggerer and betterer than ever before. This stall featured Art with a capital Ar and as Mr X becomes more well known on the scene, he has access to cooler pieces of work than ever before and some of the pieces in the exhibition are by artists featured in the Push: Stitchery book.
For instance. What better way to grab people's attention as they walk in than with this piece:
Yes. That would be cross stitch. On a car door.
It is the phenomenal work of Severija Incirauskaite-Kriauneviciene who not only has an unpronouncable name but has a ridiculous wealth of talent.
There were so many pictures taken of this door just in the 1 day that I was at the show - it must be popping up on blogs and social media sites all over the place and I hope I see more and more of her in the future.
But he didn't just stop at car doors. Why have just a car door when you could have an actual wooden door as well?
I was transfixed by this piece of total beauty from Manchester based artist Sarah Greaves - I spent a huge amount of time encouraging people to look behind the door as people were assuming that this was in some way stuck on the door and couldn't comprehend that this is 100% embroidery on wood - there are wee tiny little holes in there that she has made.
My head cannot get around it.
I should also mention at this point that I fell in love with a piece. And I really mean fell in love with. I couldn't leave him alone and stood jealously beside him any opportunity I got, sneering at those who pretended to like him when they couldn't conjure up a fraction of my feelings towards him.
Meet Humphrey.
Please note this is not his real name, merely the name I gave him. His show name is Gold Rhino and he is the work of Zoe Williams, a person, who I'm pretty sure if I ever met I would swoon away, overcome by the waves of talent that must emanate from her body.
Believe it or not, this is needle felting. No. I can't believe it either. I've seen people do a bit of needle felting and it looks fun - stabbing things very hard with a needle is the kind of craft I could get on board with - but never in all my days would I have thought that something as stunningly beautiful as this could be produced.
I swear I actually miss him now that I'm back home. Who needs a deer head?
These are just three of the artists with pieces on display at the show and I fear I have lost many of you already so I will stop gushing here. But if you were interested in some of the other pieces that were on display you can go here for a full list.
It was a day for enjoying people. For sitting or standing and chatting to people about a shared love - that of stitchiness. It was great to watch people being amazed by the car door or standing back to admire the various pieces and stopping to have a chat about how blown away they were by what they were seeing and all the idea they now had in their head floating about.
Places like the Knitting & Stitching show can tend towards the traditional shall we say and it felt good to be a very minor part of something new and a bit different.
So here's to Mr X Stitch and all those people who continue to be at the Stitchy edge of things, bringing a little bit of magic to common folk like me.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
Things that have been happening round here.
A whole lot of nothing and everything really.
- I have awesome friends and they came to see me in Preston for a night out on the town. I'm not normally one for doing the girly stuff and spending ages getting ready just to go out and get pissed and sweaty but having 3 other people around made it kind of fun. There was much waving about of curling tongs, straighteners and crimpers* and the smell of nail polish in the air whilst we got ready. Spare a thought for The Person who had 4 girls squished into his tiny flat, relegating him to the sofa for the night.
- *Yeah. You read right. Crimpers. I've had them for a looooooong time (obviously) and have never used them but just lately I've been getting the urge and this Saturday was the night to crack them out. I started with a plan to just do a few sections here and there, you know, staying classy. But in the end I did my whole freaking hair. Best. Decision. I. Ever. Made. Big hair is the way forward people I'm telling you.
- I also tried out some nail stickers. These have most likely been out for a long time but I tend to be very slow on the uptake with these things. Models Own had a 50% online sale a while ago and I chucked some in the basket as an afterthought. They're actually pretty good - once I'd figured out what the hell I was supposed to be doing. Get your own here if you fancy it. Unfortunately I haven't got a good photo of them on so a bad one will have to suffice instead.
- I am feeling awesome about having handed my notice in to work. That was a good day let me tell you. I would like to say that I've now stuck two fingers up at them and am slacking off but unfortunately I have a pretty decent work ethic and given that our productivity is measured this means that I've still been working like a dog.
- And no. I'm not getting on better with my colleagues. Although at least some of them are now talking to me which is a bonus.
- Having your productivity measured can be a blessing and a curse. But when it's good it means that you feel great - the other day I got 131% - I am beating time people!
- I just did some overtime at work - working an 8am-8pm shift. Someone asked me if I get time and a half for overtime. After I'd picked myself up laughing from the floor I explained that no I do not. This company doesn't pay you sick pay, of course it doesn't pay you extra for working more hours.
- I have mostly been spending my time watching the Spice Kittens. A friend passed me the link and it's been on my laptop ever since. For those not in the know - this is a livestream of 4 kittens in a pen who live in Seattle. I kind of feel like I don't need to say anymore...
- ...but I will. I especially love them because there are some Fred and Lily lookalikes in the pen. It leaves me confused - on the one hand I am excited because I get to watch kittens all the time and pretend they're mine. On the other hand I then remember that I don't have cats. Sad face.
- I'm getting excited about the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate. I am going to be there on Saturday helping out Mr X Stitch who has a stall there. For those not in the know, Mr X Stitch is the man bringing you the latest stuff from the world of contemporary cross stitch and needlecraft - pretty pictures of flowers this ain't - awesomeness it is. Come and say hello if you're there on Saturday!
- The Person has been signed off sick at the moment because of a bout of RSI in his shoulder as a result of using his computer too much. He now understands what it was like for me all the time that I was unemployed and why I would be so excited when he came home from work and paw at him like a spider monkey. Being off work is dullsville.
- I'm trying to ignore the fact that Christmas is soon and I haven't bought any presents. Nor do I have any money. Or any time to actually make anything. If I think hard enough about it I can just pretend it's not happening.
- I have awesome friends and they came to see me in Preston for a night out on the town. I'm not normally one for doing the girly stuff and spending ages getting ready just to go out and get pissed and sweaty but having 3 other people around made it kind of fun. There was much waving about of curling tongs, straighteners and crimpers* and the smell of nail polish in the air whilst we got ready. Spare a thought for The Person who had 4 girls squished into his tiny flat, relegating him to the sofa for the night.
- *Yeah. You read right. Crimpers. I've had them for a looooooong time (obviously) and have never used them but just lately I've been getting the urge and this Saturday was the night to crack them out. I started with a plan to just do a few sections here and there, you know, staying classy. But in the end I did my whole freaking hair. Best. Decision. I. Ever. Made. Big hair is the way forward people I'm telling you.
- I also tried out some nail stickers. These have most likely been out for a long time but I tend to be very slow on the uptake with these things. Models Own had a 50% online sale a while ago and I chucked some in the basket as an afterthought. They're actually pretty good - once I'd figured out what the hell I was supposed to be doing. Get your own here if you fancy it. Unfortunately I haven't got a good photo of them on so a bad one will have to suffice instead.
- I am feeling awesome about having handed my notice in to work. That was a good day let me tell you. I would like to say that I've now stuck two fingers up at them and am slacking off but unfortunately I have a pretty decent work ethic and given that our productivity is measured this means that I've still been working like a dog.
- And no. I'm not getting on better with my colleagues. Although at least some of them are now talking to me which is a bonus.
- Having your productivity measured can be a blessing and a curse. But when it's good it means that you feel great - the other day I got 131% - I am beating time people!
- I just did some overtime at work - working an 8am-8pm shift. Someone asked me if I get time and a half for overtime. After I'd picked myself up laughing from the floor I explained that no I do not. This company doesn't pay you sick pay, of course it doesn't pay you extra for working more hours.
- I have mostly been spending my time watching the Spice Kittens. A friend passed me the link and it's been on my laptop ever since. For those not in the know - this is a livestream of 4 kittens in a pen who live in Seattle. I kind of feel like I don't need to say anymore...
- ...but I will. I especially love them because there are some Fred and Lily lookalikes in the pen. It leaves me confused - on the one hand I am excited because I get to watch kittens all the time and pretend they're mine. On the other hand I then remember that I don't have cats. Sad face.
- I'm getting excited about the Knitting and Stitching show in Harrogate. I am going to be there on Saturday helping out Mr X Stitch who has a stall there. For those not in the know, Mr X Stitch is the man bringing you the latest stuff from the world of contemporary cross stitch and needlecraft - pretty pictures of flowers this ain't - awesomeness it is. Come and say hello if you're there on Saturday!
- The Person has been signed off sick at the moment because of a bout of RSI in his shoulder as a result of using his computer too much. He now understands what it was like for me all the time that I was unemployed and why I would be so excited when he came home from work and paw at him like a spider monkey. Being off work is dullsville.
- I'm trying to ignore the fact that Christmas is soon and I haven't bought any presents. Nor do I have any money. Or any time to actually make anything. If I think hard enough about it I can just pretend it's not happening.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
The Craft List
What do you say we stop talking about jobs and redundancies and leaving Hull and all that kind of depressing stuff and focus on something totally frivolous? I can sense your wildly nodding heads from here.
There was an awful lot of crafting that's been going on these here parts. Well at least there was until the R-word came up and during all the uncertainty I seemed to develop a complete crafting paralysis. I would have thought that crafting would have been great as a way of channelling my efforts away from thinking up various job scenarios but instead my coping mechanism seemed to consist of a regimen of sitting and staring at the TV and a lot of sleeping.
But before that there was a lot going on and I feel it would be remiss not to document it in some way.
Crocheting
Now. Who else saw Heather's baby blanket and went into paroxysms of delight? Me too! I developed an overwhelming urge to just crochet these filled in granny squares, using any spare wool I could get my hands on. I was a woman possessed for some time and I swear at one point I became convinced that I was in the crochet version of The Red Shoes and I was literally going to not be able to put my crochet hook down until I died from exhaustion.
They are now sat in a stack where they shall remain because I really have no idea what I'm doing. I feel this might be something I have a flurry of activity on before it lies dormant. Perhaps I should call it the Mount Etna blanket.
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Embroidery
I feel I've been bitten by some kind of embroidery bug lately and there is so much I want to do that's embroidery based. My head is bursting full of ideas about various things I could do. So much so that I might have to buy shares in the stock of embroidery hoop manufacturers if I ever actually carry out all of the things in my head.
Mostly in my head however is that I really want to learn how to do some new stitches. Especially inspired by the fact that one of my Not Really Resolutions this year is to learn how to do French Knots.
Whilst all these vague notions were spinning round my head, the Feeling Stitchy blog launched their January Stitch-along which was all about couching. I had bookmarked it to come back to later and when it was suddenly a few days away from Valentine's Day and I realised I hadn't made a card for The Person I whipped out some aida, yarn and thread and made something up on the spot. It was far from perfect and most definitely resembled something a child would do but it wasn't bad for a first attempt I thought. Especially a first attempt which probably took a grand total of 30 minutes, if that.
But then this sparked off something in my head and out of nowhere it came to me. I could quite easily do one piece of work and demonstrate lots of different stitches....
Now granted the picture below doesn't look like anything. That's because it was started in a flurry and I haven't picked it up since, but the idea is to fill the fabric inside this hoop with many many hearts of different sizes and shapes and in different embroidery stitches. There will be a stem stitch heart and a chain stitch heart and a running stitch heart and a backstitch heart...get where I'm going?
I got so incredibly excited about my idea that I had to start on it immediately and I thought that it would be cool to have, as a centre point, a fabric heart, which would be stitched in place. Now I realise why people are always bleating on about bondaweb. I decided to just cut out the heart and stitch it straight on. Not a good idea, you can see it's kind of wrinkled and baggy. I should have not been cheap and got hold of some bondweb, adhered it properly to the fabric and then stitched round it. I'm kind of undecided whether to start again with this one. But the idea is still bloody awesome and I'm getting it down now in case someone else thinks of it (which I'm sure they have by the way, it's highly unlikely I would have an original idea).
Cross Stitch
The biggest piece of cross stitch I've ever worked on is coming along very nicely. As you can see from the picture below I am officially finished cross stitching the main design and I am over the moon crazy in love with it.
I was actually dreading the back stitch part of it because it's really detailed in places and let's face it, backstitch is a pain in the proverbial at the best of times, let alone when you're doing it all over a piece like this. Plus I decided I would be a good girl and would backstitch over each individual square, instead of taking it over a few like I might be tempted to do for a card.
However, once I began the backstitch I could see the design really come to life. The windows immediately looked darker and stood out more. The brick work, which kind of made me want to die when I was doing it, makes the tower on the right look amazing.
This picture was taken at the end of February and I've done a lot more since then, but I think I'll wait until I'm done for a big reveal.
I also immediately began cross stitching the needle felt case which came with the January issue of CrossStitcher magazine. It's got soluble aida in it - brilliant! I went all kinds of wrong though in the beginning. Like I can't even explain to you how wrong I went. But thanks to my experience as a cross stitcher I didn't lose all faith and have a fit about it, I just made efforts to work around it and now I'm just pretending it never happened.
One bad thing though, that kit had absolutely nowhere near enough thread to complete the project. I'm a pretty frugal stitcher when it comes to thread and the red that was part of the kit barely did half the design. Luckily I had the matching colour already in my thread box but it seems to defeat the object of having a free gift if you don't provide people with the materials to actually stitch it.
I'm looking forward to finishing this because then I can finally stop finding needles stuck in random pieces of aida all over the place.
Oh and in between all of this I've also been working on another couple of mobiles that someone at work has asked me to do. Busy busy busy.
Now all I need to do is actually pick some of this stuff back up, instead of just sitting and staring at it and feeling overwhelmed. I'm almost feeling the need for another Gantt Chart here.
So. What have you been doing lately you crafty little lot?
There was an awful lot of crafting that's been going on these here parts. Well at least there was until the R-word came up and during all the uncertainty I seemed to develop a complete crafting paralysis. I would have thought that crafting would have been great as a way of channelling my efforts away from thinking up various job scenarios but instead my coping mechanism seemed to consist of a regimen of sitting and staring at the TV and a lot of sleeping.
But before that there was a lot going on and I feel it would be remiss not to document it in some way.
Crocheting
Now. Who else saw Heather's baby blanket and went into paroxysms of delight? Me too! I developed an overwhelming urge to just crochet these filled in granny squares, using any spare wool I could get my hands on. I was a woman possessed for some time and I swear at one point I became convinced that I was in the crochet version of The Red Shoes and I was literally going to not be able to put my crochet hook down until I died from exhaustion.
They are now sat in a stack where they shall remain because I really have no idea what I'm doing. I feel this might be something I have a flurry of activity on before it lies dormant. Perhaps I should call it the Mount Etna blanket.
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Embroidery
I feel I've been bitten by some kind of embroidery bug lately and there is so much I want to do that's embroidery based. My head is bursting full of ideas about various things I could do. So much so that I might have to buy shares in the stock of embroidery hoop manufacturers if I ever actually carry out all of the things in my head.
Mostly in my head however is that I really want to learn how to do some new stitches. Especially inspired by the fact that one of my Not Really Resolutions this year is to learn how to do French Knots.
Whilst all these vague notions were spinning round my head, the Feeling Stitchy blog launched their January Stitch-along which was all about couching. I had bookmarked it to come back to later and when it was suddenly a few days away from Valentine's Day and I realised I hadn't made a card for The Person I whipped out some aida, yarn and thread and made something up on the spot. It was far from perfect and most definitely resembled something a child would do but it wasn't bad for a first attempt I thought. Especially a first attempt which probably took a grand total of 30 minutes, if that.
But then this sparked off something in my head and out of nowhere it came to me. I could quite easily do one piece of work and demonstrate lots of different stitches....
Now granted the picture below doesn't look like anything. That's because it was started in a flurry and I haven't picked it up since, but the idea is to fill the fabric inside this hoop with many many hearts of different sizes and shapes and in different embroidery stitches. There will be a stem stitch heart and a chain stitch heart and a running stitch heart and a backstitch heart...get where I'm going?
I got so incredibly excited about my idea that I had to start on it immediately and I thought that it would be cool to have, as a centre point, a fabric heart, which would be stitched in place. Now I realise why people are always bleating on about bondaweb. I decided to just cut out the heart and stitch it straight on. Not a good idea, you can see it's kind of wrinkled and baggy. I should have not been cheap and got hold of some bondweb, adhered it properly to the fabric and then stitched round it. I'm kind of undecided whether to start again with this one. But the idea is still bloody awesome and I'm getting it down now in case someone else thinks of it (which I'm sure they have by the way, it's highly unlikely I would have an original idea).
Cross Stitch
The biggest piece of cross stitch I've ever worked on is coming along very nicely. As you can see from the picture below I am officially finished cross stitching the main design and I am over the moon crazy in love with it.
I was actually dreading the back stitch part of it because it's really detailed in places and let's face it, backstitch is a pain in the proverbial at the best of times, let alone when you're doing it all over a piece like this. Plus I decided I would be a good girl and would backstitch over each individual square, instead of taking it over a few like I might be tempted to do for a card.
However, once I began the backstitch I could see the design really come to life. The windows immediately looked darker and stood out more. The brick work, which kind of made me want to die when I was doing it, makes the tower on the right look amazing.
This picture was taken at the end of February and I've done a lot more since then, but I think I'll wait until I'm done for a big reveal.
I also immediately began cross stitching the needle felt case which came with the January issue of CrossStitcher magazine. It's got soluble aida in it - brilliant! I went all kinds of wrong though in the beginning. Like I can't even explain to you how wrong I went. But thanks to my experience as a cross stitcher I didn't lose all faith and have a fit about it, I just made efforts to work around it and now I'm just pretending it never happened.
One bad thing though, that kit had absolutely nowhere near enough thread to complete the project. I'm a pretty frugal stitcher when it comes to thread and the red that was part of the kit barely did half the design. Luckily I had the matching colour already in my thread box but it seems to defeat the object of having a free gift if you don't provide people with the materials to actually stitch it.
I'm looking forward to finishing this because then I can finally stop finding needles stuck in random pieces of aida all over the place.
Oh and in between all of this I've also been working on another couple of mobiles that someone at work has asked me to do. Busy busy busy.
Now all I need to do is actually pick some of this stuff back up, instead of just sitting and staring at it and feeling overwhelmed. I'm almost feeling the need for another Gantt Chart here.
So. What have you been doing lately you crafty little lot?
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Things that have been happening around here.
You know I love a good list post so I thought I’d fill you
in quickly on a quick update of my life at the moment.
- I totally made something new as per my Not Really Resolutions. I made a vegetarian lasagne. Now I’m a girl who does like my meat but very occasionally, the look of something veggie will catch my eye. I roped in a couple of friends to be guinea pigs and we were all pretty impressed with it. It was very filling and I hand on heart didn’t really miss the absence of meat. I also found a recipe for a different veggie lasagne which sounded even nicer so that might be next on my list!
PS It’s really difficult to take appetising pictures of
roasted vegetables and crème fraiche and cheese.
- I’m working on a new cross-stitch thing for my niece’s bedroom. Thinking about it, it will be the biggest cross-stitched piece I’ll have ever completed so that’s exciting. It’s a pattern from the Christmas 2011 CrossStitcher magazine and there’s a tiny little part of me (the girly side apparently) that would secretly like to keep it for myself.
- I now live in a full house! A new housemate moved in whilst I was away at the wedding at the beginning of the year. She is Irish and I will christen her as Newbie. She seems pretty nice actually, although I haven’t seen that much of her because I feel like I’m out and about a lot of the time at the moment.
- I've been trying to get back into running but it has been fraught with masses of frustration. I can’t believe how much of my former fitness I've lost and I get incredibly mad with myself. I used to be able to run 5km without too much of a problem, now I'm lucky if I can get to 4km. I know it will eventually come back and I know I have absolutely no-one else to blame but myself, but I am finding it really difficult to remain positive. Especially as my shin splints in my left leg have already re-appeared and I only ran 3.5km one day and then 2km the next. Have been sat, icing my shin and feeling very very sorry for myself. My 10km goal is looking impossible at this point in time because of my incessant injuries. I’ve read everything there is to read about shin splints I know everything there is know about what causes them and how I’m supposed to cure them but it’s just to no avail I’m afraid.
- I saw a really pretty sunrise this morning.
That is all.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
The Not Really Resolutions 2011 - The Conclusion!
Well it’s been a whole year.
Last year I set myself some Not Really Resolutions. This is also known as the Wimp’s Guide to Resolutions. It means that they’re not really resolutions – because then if you didn’t achieve them you’d feel like a failure – but they’re more just things you’d quite like to achieve in a year. Much less pressure.
I’ve been providing you with scintillating updates throughout the year but now is time for the final round up and a little bit of my thoughts on each one.
1.Run a 5km race – Ran the Race for Life in July 2011. This one was a big deal because running was most certainly not my thing but through training for the race I discovered that I actually really love running.
What I do not love however is the injuries that I get from running. After the race I was in so much pain that I could barely walk and then once the goal had passed I found that the drive to go out and run was no longer there. This has meant that I’ve barely run since the race apart from some attempts here and there. I would really like to carry on running but I also really need to determine whether my injuries can either be avoided altogether, are the kind of injuries that can be managed successfully or are the kind of injuries which mean that running just isn’t for me.
2.Crochet a Ripple Blanket – Made a total of 3 Ripple blankets. Well and truly achieved. I put this on the list because when I come up against things I can’t master, I have a tendency to conveniently forget about them and give up trying. By having this on the list I knew that it would force me to crack on with it. It did take me a stupidly long time to get a hang of (and I’ve no idea why) but once I’d cracked it I was off and away with a blanket for myself made, a blanket for a friend's baby made and a blanket for my Dad and his wife made.
The Yarn Fairy blanket is my favourite. Mainly because it’s mine. But also because it was made with yarn that was given to me by super kind people. At the beginning of the year I was in pretty dire financial straits and without these people giving me these awesome birthday presents I didn’t think I’d be able to see this one through.
(Also my Dad and his wife did indeed love the Ripply Beast which was their Christmas present.)
3.Back up all my photos on to CD – I’m glad I had this on there because not long after I’d completed it, my laptop had a complete nervous breakdown and gave up on life for a while. Luckily everything was recovered but during my anxious wait I was very pleased, and only about 46% smug, that I had set up a little system to keep all my photos backed up. Yes an external hard drive would be easier but I’m not spending the money on one I’m afraid – far more exciting things to buy. I have a little system and once a month I make sure everything is backed up. I’d go into it but you would probably declare me the saddest of all human creatures so I will try and retain a little dignity.
4.Paint my plastic toad – Done. I know it seems like a stupid thing to put on a list but if you knew me you’d know that unless things get written down, they simply will not get done and I will sit and procrastinate and find other things to do and then bemoan the fact that I never got this one small thing done. I love froglet and he lives by my fireplace in my new room. Which reminds me, I should probably put on my list for 2012 that I need to dust him – he’s bloody filthy at the moment.
5.Go to the cinema on my own – Done. This was an odd one to put on there really. Mainly because I really don’t go to the cinema at all, never mind on my own. But it was more about an exercise in confidence and being comfortable and ok to do things like that on my own. Normally I think I’m a pretty independent person but I could do with a little kick up the bum sometimes and this provided me with it.
6.Complete Project 365 – Done! Hurray. You can view the set of photos here. This was a really interesting not really resolution and I’m so pleased that I took the plunge and did it. It is most definitely harder than it looks. Although that depends on how much pressure you put on yourself and what kind of theme (if any) you want to go for. I would imagine if you take “serious” arty photos you would struggle early on but because I was simply documenting my life I was much easier on myself. Sometimes not a lot happens in your life and you need to take photos of the cats – that’s fine!
What has been so much fun for me though is looking back at it and seeing the little tiny insignificant things that happened in my life. Things that I would probably have forgotten about if I hadn’t taken a photo of that day and left a note to remind myself. I can see what I’ve done in a year, when I’ve gone to see The Person (not as much as I’d like. Sad face.) things that have happened along the way. I’m really really pleased I did it.
I’ve decided not to do it again this year, I kind of feel like I’ve done it now and don’t need to do it again (although I wouldn’t rule it out in the future). But it has inspired one of my new resolutions that I’ll be talking about later in the week.
7. Make an album/scrapbook of my 2010 trip to France. – As predicted I didn’t get this finished. Boo. I think I really should have started it much earlier than I did because it got abandoned amongst crafting for Christmas and was left by the wayside. But I did make a start on it and I’m pleased because, again, if it hadn’t have been on the list I can guarantee that I wouldn’t even have got that far. It’ll be finished by the end of 2011 no worries!
8.Go over to Belfast to see my family – Done. Again I’m pleased I had this one on there. I know it shouldn’t be a resolution to go and see your family but I’m ok with being honest and saying that we’re really not a close family so it did kind of need putting on there to make sure I made the effort. It did the job and I reconnected with my cousins which was lovely. Sometimes it’s easy to pass the buck and say “Well so and so hasn’t rung/text/visited” when you really have to ask yourself if you’ve done all you can. Now I know that I have.
9.Read 12 Classics throughout the year – Done. So so so pleased I put this on the list because it’s been really brilliant and I’ve read and learned more than I ever would have done normally. It’s taught me not to judge a book by its cover and that sometimes it’s ok to say “Actually that book is a load of codswallop” and feel good about the fact that you can say that because you’ve read it and are entitled to your opinion instead of those who just repeat what they’ve heard other people say.
10.Cross stitch one Christmas card each month – Done! I can’t remember how many I ended up with in the end - I think it was about 18 cards so it was well smashed. It meant that I was able to give all those people I felt deserved one a special card which was the point. It was good to spread it out over the year instead of having a mad panic right at the end of the year, which meant that I was freed up to crochet blankets, embroider bags and make Christmas wreaths for presents, instead of cross-stitching cards. It also meant that I could choose some designs that needed a little bit more effort, rather than picking those that would only take a day or so to get finished.
So there we have it. 9 out of 10 completed. I count that as a success. And I don’t have to feel bad that I didn’t do all 10 because they weren’t really resolutions were they?!
Tune in at some point in the future (I won’t say this week because I’m not certain that my blogging mojo has returned yet) for my Not Really Resolutions of 2012!
Last year I set myself some Not Really Resolutions. This is also known as the Wimp’s Guide to Resolutions. It means that they’re not really resolutions – because then if you didn’t achieve them you’d feel like a failure – but they’re more just things you’d quite like to achieve in a year. Much less pressure.
I’ve been providing you with scintillating updates throughout the year but now is time for the final round up and a little bit of my thoughts on each one.
1.
What I do not love however is the injuries that I get from running. After the race I was in so much pain that I could barely walk and then once the goal had passed I found that the drive to go out and run was no longer there. This has meant that I’ve barely run since the race apart from some attempts here and there. I would really like to carry on running but I also really need to determine whether my injuries can either be avoided altogether, are the kind of injuries that can be managed successfully or are the kind of injuries which mean that running just isn’t for me.
2.
The Yarn Fairy blanket is my favourite. Mainly because it’s mine. But also because it was made with yarn that was given to me by super kind people. At the beginning of the year I was in pretty dire financial straits and without these people giving me these awesome birthday presents I didn’t think I’d be able to see this one through.
(Also my Dad and his wife did indeed love the Ripply Beast which was their Christmas present.)
3.
4.
5.
6.
What has been so much fun for me though is looking back at it and seeing the little tiny insignificant things that happened in my life. Things that I would probably have forgotten about if I hadn’t taken a photo of that day and left a note to remind myself. I can see what I’ve done in a year, when I’ve gone to see The Person (not as much as I’d like. Sad face.) things that have happened along the way. I’m really really pleased I did it.
I’ve decided not to do it again this year, I kind of feel like I’ve done it now and don’t need to do it again (although I wouldn’t rule it out in the future). But it has inspired one of my new resolutions that I’ll be talking about later in the week.
7. Make an album/scrapbook of my 2010 trip to France. – As predicted I didn’t get this finished. Boo. I think I really should have started it much earlier than I did because it got abandoned amongst crafting for Christmas and was left by the wayside. But I did make a start on it and I’m pleased because, again, if it hadn’t have been on the list I can guarantee that I wouldn’t even have got that far. It’ll be finished by the end of 2011 no worries!
8.
9.
10.
So there we have it. 9 out of 10 completed. I count that as a success. And I don’t have to feel bad that I didn’t do all 10 because they weren’t really resolutions were they?!
Tune in at some point in the future (I won’t say this week because I’m not certain that my blogging mojo has returned yet) for my Not Really Resolutions of 2012!
Friday, 25 November 2011
The Gantt Chart: Revisited
Haha Gantt Chart. How hilarious you are.
I have already mentioned a couple of times I think that my Gantt Chart has gone down the swanney but please allow me to elaborate.
I made the classic mistake of totally underestimating how much time it was going to take me to do everything I wanted to do. I must have been taken over by some kind of haze which made me think that I am Superwoman.
“Christmas card every two weeks? BOOM! Easy.”
It just appeared to fall out of my mind the fact that I work for a living and that I’m just not that speedy a crafter; two small but oh so very significant details.
To be fair though, looking back over it there is still the chance that some of it might be rectified. The first 5 things on the chart were all completed within the time allocated to them, including:
Actually when I look at it, not everything is necessarily lost. The main thing that’s not going to happen is the whole Christmas cards and gift tags thing because I just over-estimated my abilities there. But I am still trying to do what I can here and there, and I have got another 2 cards to add to the pile already.
However there is still time for me to make all the Christmas decorations, I just need to wrap my head around what materials I need and get a wriggle on. They’re just extra little presents that I’ll be giving to people probably.
But I haven’t been completely slacking of course. The Ripply Beast has taken up the most time and I had two additions to my Gantt Chart – I whipped up another mobile for a new baby and I’ve made another Christmas wreath which will become part of a friend’s Christmas present.
Actually scrap this pity party, if you take out the Christmas cards and the gift tags then I am totally on track to see this Gantt Chart through to the end.
I feel enthused! I feel pumped up! It would appear that the Gantt Chart has infiltrated my brain without me realising it and I’m just getting on with things of my own accord.
YEAH! HIGH FIVE PEOPLE!
(This post has been most confusing. I apologise.)
I have already mentioned a couple of times I think that my Gantt Chart has gone down the swanney but please allow me to elaborate.
I made the classic mistake of totally underestimating how much time it was going to take me to do everything I wanted to do. I must have been taken over by some kind of haze which made me think that I am Superwoman.
“Christmas card every two weeks? BOOM! Easy.”
It just appeared to fall out of my mind the fact that I work for a living and that I’m just not that speedy a crafter; two small but oh so very significant details.
To be fair though, looking back over it there is still the chance that some of it might be rectified. The first 5 things on the chart were all completed within the time allocated to them, including:
- One mobile for a friend’s baby,
- One cross stitched a new home card for my brother and sister-in-law,
- One cross-stitched a birthday card for one of the Stitchettes, and,
- I got my soluble aida out and cross-stitched some designs on 3 tops for my niece’s first birthday (sorry didn’t get any pictures before I sent them off).
- One Christmas decoration (in the shape of a Christmas Wreath like the one I made last year) for my Mum’s friend’s birthday present.
And I don’t actually know if I would have got all of that done if it wasn’t for the Gantt Chart so for that I salute it. It kept me on track and gave me a kick up the bum when it was needed.
Actually when I look at it, not everything is necessarily lost. The main thing that’s not going to happen is the whole Christmas cards and gift tags thing because I just over-estimated my abilities there. But I am still trying to do what I can here and there, and I have got another 2 cards to add to the pile already.
However there is still time for me to make all the Christmas decorations, I just need to wrap my head around what materials I need and get a wriggle on. They’re just extra little presents that I’ll be giving to people probably.
But I haven’t been completely slacking of course. The Ripply Beast has taken up the most time and I had two additions to my Gantt Chart – I whipped up another mobile for a new baby and I’ve made another Christmas wreath which will become part of a friend’s Christmas present.
The mobile in pre-production. I really must remember to take photographs of things when I actually finish them.
Actually scrap this pity party, if you take out the Christmas cards and the gift tags then I am totally on track to see this Gantt Chart through to the end.
I feel enthused! I feel pumped up! It would appear that the Gantt Chart has infiltrated my brain without me realising it and I’m just getting on with things of my own accord.
YEAH! HIGH FIVE PEOPLE!
(This post has been most confusing. I apologise.)
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