A Wee HD and a New Start

Sorry about the lack of posts this week but I have been busy stitching. I have managed to complete Wee Santa '97 by Heart in Hand Needlearts and also make a start on Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs. Not much of one I know but at least it is started.

I have also been working on Bucky the Snowman by The Trilogy since it is an easy piece to carry around and this week I had to spend 5 hour on a train plus a few hours in a hospital waiting room.

Tomorrow I am off on a girlie shopping day with my sister who has sent her kids and husband off to visit his mother for the weekend. As much as I love my niece, nephew and BIL it is wonderful to be able to spend time with just my sister. Tonight and tomorrow night I plan on trying to finish Bucky the Snowman before getting back to stitching on the baby sampler.

Saturday Stitching

Having decided to amend my rotation I sat down yesterday and made a start on Baby Sampler by Lizzie*Kate. This is turning out to be a realy quick and enjoyable stitch. Today I am planning on spending all afternoon and evening stitching and catching up on my TV watching.

I am hopefull that I will be able to complete Wee Santa today and maybe make a start on Awake the Dawning Day. Santa only needs the bottom of his jacket, his mittens, eyes and pompom added plus the border and stars completed.

With all the thinking about stitching that I have been doing I have also cemented my plans for the near future with regard to stash purchases / stash reduction. For the time being I will allow myself on small(ish) purchase per 6 completed projects (I will count the Bent Creek Little Santa as my first finish) plus I am allowed to buy limited editions / class projects which scream at me but for each of these I must complete a stashed project which does not count towards my next purchase. This is of course subject to change.

Rotation Changes

Before I have even begun I have decided to make changes to my rotation. The changes have come about for a number of reasons the main one being that I have realised that the reason I keep putting off starting my rotation is the fact I do not (at the moment) want to stitch on Noah's Ark. I love this piece but at the moment can not face the idea of over one stitching. I have also been asked by a dear friend to stitch a sampler for her baby and so I have decided to add that to the rotation. The new plan is:

Round One: Baby Sampler by Lizzie*Kate

Round Two: Finishing or Small project

Round Three: Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs

Round Four: Finishing or Small project

Repeat until bored.

List of Finishing / Small Projects:

1. CA Wells - Cottage Etui Pincushion (just needs finishing)
2. Country Cottage Needleworks - Ladybugs and Bumblebees
3. Forget-me-knot-in-stitches - Album (just needs finishing)
4. Heart in Hand Needleart - Wee Santa '97
5. JBW Designs - The Reindeer Sampler
6. Just Nan - Celeste
7. Just Nan - Grace
8. Little House Needleworks - Paper Whites
9. Lizzie*Kate - A Banner Year Spring
10. Sue Hawkins - Pansy Pincushion
11. Sue Hawkins - Zebra Bookmark
12. Sue Hawkins - Zig Zag Scissor Keeper
13. The Sweetheart Tree - Lavender Luminescence
14. The Trilogy - Bucky the Snowman
15. Travellers Tales - Sinai Bedouin Sampler

I have also decided that I will work on each slot for a minimum of 2 hours and a maximum of 20 hours that way if I am really enjoying working on a project I do not need to put it down. After Christmas I might remove the Christmas themed projects from the list and replace with some spring / summer themed pieces.

A Little Happy Dance

The Littles Santa by Bent Creek.

Started and finished in Novemeber 2007.

Class Report

Last weekend I went down to London to attend CA Well class arranged by Susan Albury of Hanging by a Thread. While the hotel I choose to stay in was a huge disappointment the class more than made up for the bad nights sleep. The class, venue and lunch was once again wonderfully organised by Susan and Sara. The teacher was delightful, patient, informative and encouraging. I am fast becoming addicted to CA’s designs and am sure that I will be doing many more. It was also amazing to see all the peacock needlecases, which the other attendees had stitched, and to meet up with friends old & new. Needless to say I did not finish my needlecase but hope to do so before too long.

I must confess to two new purchases – Acorn Harvest First Stitch Finders by Historic Stitches and Needle Cottage by CA Wells and that I have just ordered two Lauren Sauer kits (Melon Bag and Drawing Lady’s Portfolio) from Susan. These take my stash total to 132 fully kitted stitching projects, and I am currently refusing to consider how many beading and knitting projects I have. I have a very nasty feeling that the grand total will be over 200.

Since getting back from London I have not got much stitching done but want to try and complete Little Santa tonight since I have a trip to my LNS planned tomorrow and I would like to take it with me to get it framed. It can then be the first piece to be hung on my seasonal stitching wall. Talking of my seasonal wall I have realised that I have got very few seasonal projects in my stash. This has got me thinking (at the moment I seem to be doing more thinking, and talking, about my crafts than doing anything productive) that I need to buy a few more projects. However, since I also want to reduce my stash pile I have decided that I will purchase 4 small summer themed projects then for each one I complete I will purchase an autumn themed project and so on through the seasons. I have decided to start with summer rather than Spring as I then have a better chance of getting a couple of projects finished and on the wall.

So far the 2008 plan is to work on my rotation with a few seasonal pieces added to the small / finishing project list. Once I have finished either Awake The Dawning Day or Noah’s Ark I will allocate at least one slot to seasonal projects. For each season project I finish I will purchase a new one, and for every 6 other projects finished (of any type) I will purchase one new project. This way I can make progress on my seasonal wall and also reduce my stash piles. There is no point only restricting my stitching purchases as this will only lead to a massive growth in my knitting & beading stash I have to restrict all purchases.

Busy Busy Busy

Since getting back from a totally relaxed weeks holiday in the sun with my dear friends N&S I feel like I have hardly had a chance to sit down. Work is in the middle of a pre-Christmas shutdown rush and I had to take a day off to go to the hospital for a series of tests on the nerves in my left arm which are currently not functioning correctly. Now I just have to wait for the results and see where the Consultant suggest we go from there. I am finding that my knitting / stitching time is restricted by how long I can hold fabric or needles for at the moment.

Later today I am off to London to attend a CA Wells class, unfortunately I have not completed the required pre-stitching so will just have to take plenty of notes and hopefully find the time over Christmas to finish the project (Peacock Needlecase). I have also decided to wait till after Christmas to start my rotation since I seem only able to stitch for a couple of hours a week at the moment and stitching time is likely to be reduced the closer to Christmas we get. At the moment as well as working on the Peacock Needlecase I am stitching on a couple of my smaller projects:

Paper Whites by Little House Needleworks

The Littles Santa by Bent Creek

I have also started Wee Santa '97 by Heart in Hand and want to try & get Bucky the Snowman by The Trilogy started before Christmas. I have come up with a slightly mad scheme. I have no stitched pieces hanging on my walls at home (everything that I have stitched other than a couple of scissor fobs have disappeared to the homes of friends and family) so have decided that in 2008 I need to get some projects finished, framed and on my wall. I have several larger projects in my stash which I have always intended to stitch for myself one day but rather than start (or continue with) any of these I have decided to stitch small (ish) projects for myself next year partly due to the fact that I have several obligation pieces which I really must work on. So here is the mad part - I have decided that I would like the walls in the hall, stairway and landing to be covered by small projects and framed photos of family and friends. Not so mad but I was having a hard time deciding which projects to put on the walls so have decided to stitch at least some seasonal pieces and change the walls to suit the time of year. I will also have a few pieces which will stay up year round but I rather like the idea of decorating seasonally and there are so many delightful projects to choose from I would soon run out of wall space if I only hung pieces that would remain up year round. I will start by working my way through a number of projects from my stash pile before going on shopping spree as I would also like to reduce my stash pile (which is currently at 127 fully kitted projects) I am contemplating allowing myself one new purchase per 5 finishes next year.

My New Stitching Rotation

After much thought and consideration may I introduce my new and latest rotation:

Round One: Noah's Ark by Teresa Wentzler - complete 1 pair of over one animals
Round Two: Awake the Dawning Day by Blackbird Designs
Round Three: Finishing or Small project
Round Four: Noah's Ark
Round Five: Finishing or Small project

Repeat until bored.

With the exception of round one I will work on the allocated piece for 10 hours before moving on to the next round. I think this gives me a nice balance of projects both in size and in type / theme / colour so that I won't get bored. By giving Noah's Ark two rounds I hope to achieve my (current) goal of completing this before my niece's fifth birthday in Sept '08. For rounds three & I have created a list of projects to choose from all of which either just need putting together or I think that the stitching could be completed within 20 to 40 hours. I will try and only start a few off the list but have included several on the list to allow myself a lot of room for change without breaking my rotation.

List of Finishing / Small Projects:
1. Bent Creek - The Littles Santa
2. CA Wells - Cottage Etui Pincushion
3. Country Cottage Needleworks - Ladybugs and Bumblebees
4. Forget-me-knot-in-stitches - Album
5. Heart in Hand Needleart - Wee Santa '97
6. JBW Designs - The Reindeer Sampler
7. Just Nan - Celeste
8. Just Nan - Grace
9. Little House Needleworks - Paper Whites
10. Sue Hawkins - Pansy Pincushion
11. Sue Hawkins - Zebra Bookmark
12. Sue Hawkins - Zig Zag Scissor Keeper
13. The Sweetheart Tree - Lavender Luminescence
14. The Trilogy - Bucky the Snowman
15. Travellers Tales - Sinai Bedouin Sampler

I am going to start my rotation tomorrow but for the time being will also be working on CA Wells Peacock Needlecase since I need to get the stitching completed by 17th November. My plan is to finish one panel a week on the needlecase and then to go back to working on my rotation pieces.

Photo Update

Sorry about the lack of photos in the last post but my camera had gone AWOL. It has now magically reappeared (it was stuck down the back of the sofa along with several knitting needles, a pair of scissors and about £1.50p in loose change) so I have taken a few snaps (very bad ones since they have all been taken with the flash on my ancient digital camera - fingers crossed Santa will be bringing me a new one) of my recent knitting finishes:

and my progress to date on CA Wells Peacock Needle case started on 21st October 2007.

Progress on this piece has been slow but I hope to be able to pick up the pace now that I have completed the outline of each panel. The class is on the 17th November and I would love to get all four panels completed by then so that I can concentrate on the finishing while at class.

Last night I decided instead of working on Peacock Needle case to start something new - Zigzag Scissor Keeper by Sue Hawkins which was one of my recent purchases at the Knitting & Stitching Show at the NEC which I went to back in September.

Starting this piece reminded me that I have made several recent purchases which as yet I have not added to my stash list. I keep saying that I will reduce my stash pile but every year I seem to add to it (I think the current total of stitching projects is in the order of 115). Once I get the CA Wells class and a weeks holiday out of the way I plan to set up a rotation for my stitching (once again) and to put a ban on any new purchases. I have some very old WIPs that I would love to finish one day plus several obligation pieces (mainly birth samplers) which I have yet to start even though the event which the pieces were meant to commemorate are now long past. I am thinking that a rotation would be a good way of making progress while maintaining interest on some of the larger pieces that I have. I am also thinking of setting mini targets with rewards - say one new purchase for every five finishes since completely banning new purchases never works for me but it would be nice to try and get my stash pile down to a more reasonable (i.e stitchable in one lifetime) level. I love buying stitching stuff almost as much as I love stitching but I am going to have to try and restrain my urges to buy until I have finished a few items. I am going to think on my stitching plan for a few weeks until I have attended the CA Wells class and also a weeks holiday during which I plan to get several hours of stitching done. I am currently having great fun trying to come up with a list of projects to take with me, I am thinking of take half a dozen or so small projects in the hope of getting a couple of HDs.

Yet another catch up post

The Lauren Saurer classes were wonderful and I managed to get a significant amount of stitching done althought I did not get anything completed and have come away with loads of new projects started, purchased and added to my wish list. I am itching to get Album completed but have had to put it away for a little while since I must start the pre-stitching done on the CA Wells Peacock Needlecase since the class is fast approaching. Tomorrow I intend to spend all day stitching and catching up on all the TV that I have recorded & failed to watch.

Today will be housework, visiting my parents who have just returned from three weeks in Italy and watching the rugby world cup final. I also plan to get some knitting done. Recently I have managed to complete a number of scarfs and squares which are great ways of using up stash. I still have not completed listing all my knitting stash but there is a lot of it. I only have two plastic crates of yarn left to add to the list so should finish in the next week or so.

Catching Up

Apologies for the long periods between posts and the lack of comments on other peoples blogs. I seem to have very little time on the internet these days and any time I have gets eaten up by Raverly. One thing that joining Raverly is doing is making me confess to exactly how much yarn I have stashed. I am about a third of my way through an inventory of my knitting yarn and already have 25 different yarns (which probably equates to a hundred balls of yarn) on the list. I knew I had a lot of yarn but never really admitted (even to myself) just how much. I really must (a) stop buying yarn and (b) learn to knit faster or find a way of adding hours to each day. This did not however stop me going on a mini shopping spree at lunchtime and buying the yarn for a new project that I will start one day (maybe, definitely maybe). The temperature in the office I work in is very variable so I have decided that a wrap would be an ideal thing to have on hand. Looking for inspiration on Raverly I came across Cozy (fromKnitty Fall 04) and have decided to knit myself one in a camel coloured 4-ply yarn rather than the yarn called for since I want a light (ish) wrap for all seasons. I went with a neutral colour as I thought it would go with anything and would be easier to knit with than black. Now I just need to find the time to knit it.

I have managed to complete a couple of hats and a scarf, all knit from a single ball of Sirdar Yo-yo yarn, which I had lying around. I still have plenty of the mammoth 400gram ball remaining so have cast on a second scarf that I hope to have finished off by the end of this week. These will then all be parcelled off and donated to the Warm Up Winchester appeal. I have also completed another two 12” squares to be included in the Fiber Freaks afghan to be donated to Blankets for the Gulf and have a fifth (and final) square started which I also hope to get completed by the end of this week (nothing like setting ambitious deadlines).

I have also been making satisfying progress on the pre-stitching on Album and am now confident that I will go to class with all the pre-stitching complete. I now just need to make a start on the stitching for the other classes that I am taking with Lauren Saurer in October and the CA Wells class that I am taking in November. Oh and find time on all the other projects that I have started & abandoned or worst still failed to even start. Everytime I speak to one particular friend she manages to mention that her 4 and 2 year olds do not have birth samplers unlike their four cousins (who in my defence are now 12, 11, 9 and 7 and where all at school by the time I had completed their birth samplers). I think I need to spend the next 2 to 3 years avoiding all contact with family and friends since they always generate additional projects for me. Just last weekend my sister asked me to knit her a bed throw (nice quick project I don’t think) and another friend dropped several non-too subtle hints about wanting hand knitted items for her soon to be born child. Anyway enough talking about doing something I must get off the net and pick up my knitting needles. I promise to return soon and report on progress.