Cross stitch is definitely my current craft obsession, I’m really enjoying working on them and organising my projects and supplies. My brain really enjoys all the steps from buying the threads to winding them up and crossing off each part of the pattern as I go. I will show what I’ve currently got on the go soon but here are the 2 that I have finished.
This is the one I have shown progress on. I really like it and have a frame ready but need to get around to washing and ironing it first.
This second one I had done 2 letters and 1 flower on before putting it aside for some unknown reason. Once I picked it up again it only took about a week to complete.
I haven’t got a frame for this one yet.
Both of these have mistakes and messy stitches here and there but hopefully it’s not too noticeable to anyone else! The patterns are from Etsy and I have a load more from buying patterns on big sale discounts. The juxtaposition of pretty florals with swearing just makes me laugh so I’m looking forward to having these on the wall.
I’m pretty sure today is Wednesday, I’m having a hard time keeping track of the days recently. The other night I was trying to figure out what I could get to help me see the months and what I needed to do each day and realised I’d reinvented the calendar…
Anyway, in knitting I have just been working on my Boxy, no pictures because it looks exactly the same but longer. I think I have about an inch to go before splitting for the front and back. Still haven’t managed to pick up and knit the neckband of the red jumper, hopefully soon.
I meant to post last week so this is where I was at with the cross stitch then.
I spent the weekend catching up on hockey matches (my main team I knit while I watch, my second team I cross stitch and look at the tv when the commentator gets excited). So this is where I am now.
I think there are about 3 more flowers and a few leaves and then I’m done. I already have the next one ready to go, mainly because I started it then abandoned it as the printer had made it all blurry and the symbols were impossible to read. Really enjoying cross stitching right now so hopefully I will use some of the mountain of patterns I’ve accumulated!
For the last two years I have been in burnout and really struggling to deal with day to day life or get anything done. After 10 years my PhD thesis, the thing that had given me motivation {particularly motivation to procrastinate} and fed my anxiety so that I pushed on, was over. I also began taking anti-anxiety meds, so the fear I’d lived with most of my life and that kept me achieving was gone and ADHD was free to play and lead me to look at my life and understand how much it’s impacted me.
What I found that I could do was read, so read I did. I read what are, to me, ‘easy’ and ‘light’ books, I’ve read a shit ton of contemporary romance and I’ve enjoyed it a lot. But, I have been reading too much, last year I read 260 books, I need to slow down and my brain finally feels ready for some more depth, I have loads of non-fiction and books about Buddhism that are just waiting.
I normally read on my Kindle which adds to my speed, it always takes longer to read physical books. The picture above is of my physical to be read shelf. If I can’t get a book on Kindle I look for a cheap used deal and pick it up. Now I need to read them. There are 117 books in that photo. I’ve read 2 so far and am well into a 3rd. Part of my brain is lamenting that I’ve read so little this month, but it also feels good to be starting to clear the shelf.
I don’t keep books, I probably have 10-15 that I really loved and have held onto, everything else gets read and then donated so someone else can read it for cheap. I’m looking forward to the shelf gradually emptying, and hoping to avoid buying more. When I first decided to try and clear the shelf my brain went into scarcity mode and I bought 20 more books….
I’ll try and remember to keep updating how I’m doing, My to be read books on my Kindle are a whole other issue, but one thing at a time!
This is an ADHD/burnout rundown of the knitting projects currently sitting in my knitting basket.
The red sweater from my previous post has had the body completed and is waiting for me to pick up for the neckband so I can use all the remaining yarn for the sleeves. I haven’t made any progress really on the cross-stitch, keep thinking about it but not picking it up.
So, in no particular order:
This is Boxy by Joji Locatelli. It’s been on the needles at least 3 years. The yarn is from The Mermaid’s Purse (I don’t think she’s trading anymore) and is so pretty. My issue with it is that I’m currently alternating rows with 2 balls of yarn in the round and when it comes to the end of the body the front and back are separated. Not only is my gauge very different between flat and in the round, but I have no idea how to alternate yarn working back and forth. I need to do some research, but instead I’ve just been putting off working on it because that makes total sense…
This is really stupid. It’s the completed body, along with neckband, of Square and Stripe by Veera Valimaki. The yarn is Drops Cotton Light and I copied the colours of the pattern photo. It needs the sleeves picking up and knitting. I abhor picking up stitches so I’ve been avoiding it. I picked up for one of the sleeves, ripped it out because I hated the way it looked and have never tried again. According to my notes I cast on for this in February 2021…
This is juniper by ash alberg using Scheepjes Cahlista, it’s a darker green than it’s showing up as. I started this in April 2020, the piece pictured is the back. I’ve already finished the front, which is plain, and then lost the brainpower to follow a lace pattern and it’s languished in its bag ever since. Looking at the size I’m making this won’t currently fit me so I’m not in a rush to force myself to work on it.
This shawl is from a pattern by Sylvia McFadden. Years back I decided to knit all her shawl patterns and did pretty well before faltering at the start of this one. This is a light yellow recycled cotton yarn that I intend to dye once I finish the shawl. I’ve dyed it before with another garment and it comes out a marled colour which is quite nice. Again, anxiety, stress, burnout and ADHD made it super hard to follow a lace pattern so I put it aside.
This makes me laugh so much! Jodi showed a finished version of this Outline Raglan by Jessie Maed and I loved it and thought it would be a really useful sweater. This was probably about 6 months ago and all I’ve done is cast on and set up with the stitch markers. I really need a knitting buddy to do the bits of knitting I don’t enjoy so I can move faster on projects. While I really like the way short rows make a garment fit, my changed in gauge and short attention span mean I don’t enjoy working on them very much, so starting projects that are worked top down can be a real challenge. The yarn is Drops Recycled Cotton and maybe one day it will be a sweater…
Another funny one. I found 1o balls of this bamboo yarn in my stash and thought it would make a good blanket. I found the pattern for the Ten Stitch Blanket, which is kind of like a log cabin quilt. I am doing 15 stitches because 10 seemed too narrow. I got as far as halfway through turning the first corner and wandered away never to return. Maybe one day! I have two other blankets on the needles too, one that I use up my sock and shawl yarn leftovers on so that won’t be done for years, and the other is patchwork squares that I started in February 2016! Apparently I had plans for yet another blanket too as there’s a basket full of leftover yarn with a set of needles on top, but I can’t for the life of me remember what the pattern was for that.
And finally, plain socks using yarn I’ve had in my stash for over 10 years. These are being knit 2 at a time with a fish lips kiss heel. I’m not enjoying the Addi needles I’ve been using anymore so I have ordered a set of Hiya Hiyas and hopefully they will make it easier to finish these up. I know I have a second pair of socks on the go but I can’t remember where they are, I’ll have a hunt when I finish these and try to get them done.
I have a ton of sock yarn and lace-weight yarn that I don’t know what to do with. I’ve got so many pairs of hand knit socks that I don’t really wear, I gave my sister about 20 pairs earlier in the year just to clear some out. I’m also not wearing shawls very much anymore. This house is much warmer than our previous two (plus I am in perimenopause and although I don’t have hot flushes I’m generally just really warm all the time). I’ve given 2 big bags of shawls to the charity shop and I’m not feeling casting on for any new ones right now. I need to find some ideas of what to do with it all…
Anyway, I bought some new yarn last week for the first time in a few years because I want a simple back jumper and can’t find one in the shops. Found a lovely pattern but the start is knit back and forth before being joined in the round so once again the gauge comes into play along with short rows. I’ll get there eventually!
I have been wanting to sew and just not managing it for months. This project was cut out about 2 months ago and I ironed on the interfacing a couple of weeks back.
I used scraps of linen and a FQ from my stash. The pattern is from Etsy I just realised when I looked up the pattern that I missed some of the top stitching, oh well.
I made another one of these in September, again with stash fabric, and followed the pattern instructions to use fusible fleece as well as quite heavy interfacing.
I found this one a bit thick and it makes the covers stand out a bit so for the mushroom one I left out the fleece. I’ll use it for a bit and see which I prefer. It’s a really easy clear pattern, although I did break 2 needles this time.
After finishing the cover I threaded my machine for my next project, mended 2 pairs of trousers that needed that colour, overlocked the edges of a cross stitch that’s been sitting there forever and then overlocked the pieces for my next project so I’m ready to actually sew when I find the motivation.
The basket of doom is overflowing less which is nice.
The jumper is slowly growing, I’m onto the second ball and the last increase repeat. There’s not enough of a difference to show you. Another thing I’m working on slowly is cross stitch. I did quite a bit of cross stitching years back but stopped after I managed to give myself eye strain. I am now fitted out with reading glasses, an enlarged pattern on my iPad and a very bright light so things are going better.
My adhd purchasing obsession of late has been cross stitch patterns, primarily with swear words. I’m all for dopamine decor and things that make me laugh so I intend to frame lots of these, if I manage to stay interested in making them (patterns don’t have an expiration date and I only buy stuff that’s on sale).
This is the pattern, bought from Etsy.
And this is how far I’ve gotten.
Still a long way to go and I’ve managed to skip a row already but the aida is so small that it’s not worth picking it out. I’m really enjoying working on this and want to keep the momentum going. We’ll see if my varying attention span agrees.
I bought some garment patterns and fabric in the sales (both from small businesses) and I’m thinking about sewing again, maybe that will translate to actually making something soon.
This is the South Bay Sweater by Sam Lamb, I’m making the crew neck version because I have a short neck and hate garments right up under my chin. I’ve got no idea when I began it as I don’t appear to have written it down, but it’s in a picture on my Instagram page from September last year so it’s been a while. I also don’t know where I got the yarn from (a UK online shop) but it amuses me that it will only take 2 balls and that I’ve knit all of it so far with 1 ball (I abhor sewing in ends). I’m not even sure if this will fit me anymore, I just want to finish stuff so I’m pushing on. I have 19 rows before the bottom hem, it’s not fast going because the cotton is a little hard on my hands.
I realised about 6 months ago that I had pretty much stopped knitting and figured out that it was because I have basically quit watching tv. I can read and knit but I’d fallen out of the habit. After some thought I decided that I wanted to start watching sports again because I missed it. I decided on ice hockey and knit a sleeveless sweater during the Stanley Cup and have treated myself to a NHL.tv subscription. Hopefully I will be finishing up more things from my overflowing knitting basket, including a sweater that only needs sleeves (also not a big fan of picking up stitches)during the season.
I’m also hoping that posting about my progress will help. I’ve gotten rid of a ton of hand knits in the last few years so I could do with some new jumpers.
So, WordPress has changed a bit in the last 5 years, I’m feeling incredibly out of practice trying to figure out how this all works.
Having had a sewing/craft room for 20 years or so, my current house does not have a space for me which has meant that I can’t just wander in and work on something and I’m having to dig about to try and find things because they’re spread into a few different locations. Add burnout to that and I didn’t actually sew for over 2 years, something my younger self would have found impossible to believe.
Anyway, I have made an effort to get a bit more organised and have gone from this:
To this
The basket of stuff sitting on the chair is still there, it’s my stuff to finish basket and includes 2 quilts which I really must get done but can’t find the energy to work on. All of the plastic folders are for my pdf patterns which I got the brilliant idea to organise, bought all the stuff for, did for about an hour of and then haven’t touched since. But they will eventually fill this space rather than being random bits of floating paper.
I’ve been having a lot of patterns printed on A0 paper to replace my sellotaped versions, hoping that seeing nice fresh patterns would motivate me, nope. Fabric shopping didn’t work either, but there is a collection of nice fabrics washed, ironed and ready to go hanging on my living room door, they’ve been there for quite some time now…
Thanks to a nudge from Jodi (who after 20 years I still want to be as cool as when I grow up) here I am yet again. My life is in an odd phase at the moment, welcome along for the ride.
finally waking up 