Friday, September 11, 2015

stitchy ramblings

Probably no pics in this post, unless I decide to show images of some things I intend to stitch, so this might be boring. :p

I've been thinking about SALs and goals and those sorts of things, and how they affect my stitching. Namely, I love the idea of SALs and goals, but I find that I like to rebel against anything that's telling me what to do. (Yes, I'm still mentally fifteen, haha.)

But without goals, I find that I don't ever finish anything, and while many stitchers are all about the process, I go batty if I don't finish things. I do enjoy the process, but it's discouraging if I feel like I'm not completing projects and getting them off my WIP list.

So I guess I'll reevaluate my goals for this year and see how it's going.

~~~

I said...

Current WIPs I want to finish next (aka this) year:
- A Day at the Beach (Sweetheart Tree)
- Angel Procession (Wentzler)
- Beaded Dragonfly Tile (Chatelaine)
- Floral Fifteen (Just Nan)
- Gypsy Mermaid (Mirabilia)

Surprisingly, these are all done except for Beaded Dragonfly Tile. I finally got over the problem with the beads, so all that's left is to stitch it up. It's not an easy project with many color changes on black fabric, so I took a break after fixing the beads and stitching a bit more. I feel pretty confident that I'll have it wrapped up by the end of the year, though!

~~~

As for the other WIPs I carried into 2015...

Air ACEO - Butcher (HAED)
I've poked at this a little, but haven't made any serious progress. This is a very low priority for me and I don't think I'll be working on it more this year.

Fatum (Passione Ricamo)
I've done quite a bit on this one and it's my current focus. I'm pretty sure this will be done within the next month or so, depending on what distracts me. :p

Night (Wentzler)
This was barely started and I'm not even listing it as a WIP anymore! This is one of my favorite Wentzlers, but I'm kinda burned out after marathoning Angel Procession this summer.

Transcendence - Sessler (HAED)
Literally have not even taken this out of the bag it's in this year. This is likely the only large HAED I will ever stitch, I love this illustration. I'm just not up to it right now. :/

~~~

Then I had some ideas about new starts for the year. I did get a tiny start on Chinese Garden Mandala by Chatelaine, but as usual, I kind of wandered off and did my own thing instead. The good news is that I've finished all those unplanned starts, so I won't be dragging around any neglected WIPs.

I'm pretty sure I'll be starting South Seas Mermaid (Mirabilia) very soon... ordered the beads I'm missing and I'm eagerly awaiting their arrival. Also excited about Willow Queen and the Raven Queen (got those beads too) but they'll probably go hang out on the bucket list for a while.

Speaking of the bucket list, I've edited that a bit, removing a few things and adding others. It changes around often, and I'm trying to keep it to something manageable and realistic.

~~~

Really need to stick to my decision to not join SALs or round robins in the future. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of SALs and I get super excited about them! And then I fizzle out.

And I love round robins too, everyone I've stitched with over the years has been amazing and did a beautiful job on everything! I just find myself losing focus after the first two or three rounds. I'd prefer to be in a faster-paced RR (like mailing every 3-4 weeks instead of every 6) but I know that's not feasible for most people. I have a lot of time to stitch (not that I always use that time wisely!) AND I'm a fast stitcher, but not everyone is the same.

~~~

Well, that was long and boring. :p
Please enjoy this random picture of my cat.

10 comments:

  1. Great post congrats on keeping up with your goals!

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  2. Not boring at all :)
    I love to read your blog !
    I take part in a few sals but because of that i completely mashed up my goals for this year.
    So i will probably not join any salls next year and try not to make any new starts soon
    Maybe then i get a bit more wips finished in 2016.
    The only thing which was very positive for me was SFS i dont know if i can call that a sall but i turned my spending around from a lot pro month to zero for a couple of months wright now
    I now finally see that i really need to stitch my stash instaed off buying buying new one because i will never never end my never ending bucket list :)
    Well i look forward to read again a new post from you so i can ask my self the same questions and rethink about things.
    Sorry for any word or spellingmistakes but my first language is dutch :)
    Have a lovely stitching evening

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    Replies
    1. Hi Esmeralda, thanks for the comment! Yes, I think I will also avoid joining SALs next year and focus on my own plans. SFS was really good for me and it's helped me calm down with collecting stash a lot. I'm not part of the group anymore but the lessons I learned have stayed with me. :)

      My bucket list keeps getting longer and longer too... :p

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  3. Great post. I like the SALs which allow you to work on your own pieces and post about them on a certain day rather than SALs where everyone stitches the same thing. The rebel in me doesn't want my thing to be the same but then I get cross if I change things and people want to copy! Be your own unique!

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    Replies
    1. I'm still a little brat about posting on the right day! ;)

      Maybe I need to accept that SALs are not my thing and be content with admiring them from afar. But I still want to participate too! Gah!

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  4. It wasn't a boring post. Sharing ideas about goals can often be inspirational - or a comfort for those who can't keep to their own plans either.
    Circumstances, attitudes and moods change throughout the year and what may have begun as an exciting/must-do project soon turns out to be the most boring/difficult thing you've ever done.
    So don't feel bad about yourself or your targets. You've achieved an awful lot this year and you should be very proud. I hope you find a new set of goals/plans/targets whatever that you can settle down with and which make you happy. Afterall, it's making lots of those little x's that really counts!
    Rachel :)

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    1. Thanks Rachel, I need to keep that in mind - all progress is good progress, even if it wasn't planned from the start! And even if I don't stitch, I'm usually doing other creative things like writing so it's still a good thing. :)

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  5. I enjoyed reading your post and I some what have similar thoughts about SAL. Though it helps in making progress on multiple projects but at times I feel I am forced to work on those pieces because I don't like when I promise a SAL owner and then later don't participate. Also sometimes I feel like sticking to one project, especially, when I have lot of work at home to do. It is much easier to keep one project handy rather than searching through piles of WIPs. I am thinking of sticking to one or two flexible SALs , that way I can enjoy the process with others without much pressure.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Preeti, that's just how I feel! I'm excited about SALs in the beginning, but then I feel obligated to participate so I don't disappoint the person who put in the effort to get the SAL running. My stitching changes with my moods and everything else that's going on in my life, so it's hard to predict what I'll want to work on.

      The flexible SALs work better for me... even though I LOVE the idea of themed ones like Christmas ornaments and stuff like that. Waaaah. :p

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