This was the fastest page completion in a while.  6 weeks!!!

I have a little over 8 pages left to complete.  Hard to believe how far it's come along since starting way back in March, 2012.

Hermit Update.

Well, it's been four months so it must be time for another page finish!  And it is!!  I completed the lower right panel late last night.  This is one mammoth of a project!

Project Rotation

I decided to put The Hermit away for a little while and get back to work on The Witching Hour.  I forgot how much greys and blacks there are in WH.  It's been moving pretty quickly as it's fairly easy to stitch blocks of one color at a time as opposed to having to switch thread every few stitches.  The former can become monotonous and boring but the latter is just plain annoying.

See all that black?!  That was about 800 stitches which took me about 3 days.  I had the most massive headache for days and had to put all stitching away for almost a week.  I think I am going to need glasses one of these days. 

Here is my progress over the last week.

Happy New Year 2015!

It's January 1, 2015.  I have been working on the Hermit since March 6, 2012.  Almost 3 years. Certainly the longest I have ever worked on a single project.  It truly is a labor of love.

On New Years Eve I completed another page.  I've done ten so far. 

 

It never ceases to amaze me how it looks when I take the  Q-snap or the O-ring off and lay her all out flat on a table.  It's hard to see the picture when I'm stitching a particular section/page but when seen like this, wow! Blows my mind.

So today, on this first day of a brand new year, I started a new page.  I reckon I have completed 50% of the Hermit.  I wonder if it will take me another 3 years to finish?  Anyone wanna place bets?

Progress on the Hermit

I've been working away on the Hermit.  She's a bitch I tell ya! It is still quite daunting to me this task I have embarked upon.  About a month ago I showed it to a friend of mine and she just looked at me like I was crazy.  I laughed at her.  It is crazy but I love it.

The page I am working on is the very bottom right corner of the design.  I fiddled with the Q-snap for ages trying to get the fabric tight enough and it just wasn't working.  So for a few nights I just stitched holding the fabric in my hand - that was not easy, there's a lot of fabric and it was really hard to keep it tight.  So off to the craft store I went in search of those wooden round holdy-thingys.

Brilliant!  Brilliant, I tell you.  This this is amazing! It was so worth the $3 I spent on it!  It is perfect for the area I am stitching right now.  I am so in love with it.
 

Two Hours of Stitching Doesn't Look Like Much.

Ha ha!

I am always amazed at how long it takes to cross stitch.  Just the other night, I started work on a new page of the Hermit and took a before stitching photo and two hours later, took another picture. Didn't look like I'd done much!

Stitching Groove Is Back!

I found my stitching mojo, people!

For the past week I have been stitching almost every night for several hours after dinner.  Husband and I are all caught up on the latest season of Game of Thrones!  ;)

Last week ended sadly for me, as I visited a patient dying at home.  I used my stitching as a way of processing my thoughts around his death.  I've mentioned before that stitching is kind of like my way of meditating.  My mind sort of stops - I can focus solely on the task at hand and outside thoughts drift away.

I am pretty close to finishing the "principle photography" on Little Pond.  I am hoping to get started on the detailing this weekend.

An Update on the Birth Record

It's been a long time since I last posted.  I am still on maternity leave but that is quickly coming to an end.  I go back to work in a few short weeks, April 1st.

I haven't done a lot of stitching; it's hard to focus and concentrate as I'm still getting up at least once a night to feed the baby.  He's completely weaned and now taking formula and although husband does get up for a feed, it's still fragmented sleep.  I find I make a lot more mistakes when I'm tired.

Having said that, this past week I was able to get some quality stitching time while the older two kids were visiting my mom.  I have been working on the baby birth record.  I'd like to finish it before his first birthday (in September). 

The Countdown Begins!!

I have 4 days to finish the current chart page I have been working on for the past 3-4 months.

FOUR DAYS!!!!

Why 4 days??  Well, March 8, 2013 marks the 1 year stitching anniversary for the Hermit.  If I am able to finish this chart page in 4 days, then I will have completed 6 pages in 1 year.  Given that the Hermit has about 24 pages in total, this means that at this rate, (6 pages per year), it will take me 4 more years to complete the Hermit.

Wow.  I knew it would take years, but now that I have a solid idea of exactly how much work I can do in a year, I think it might be doable!!

On that note ... I had better get to it.  I certainly hope I will be updating very, very soon!!

Wish me luck!!

Goodybe, 2012!

It's been several weeks since I have posted.  I do apologize to my followers.  December is such a busy month - holiday parties, family get-togethers, not to mention work!  It's been a month plagued with illness. At any given time one or all of us has been sick.  Finally the cold weather has come, so I am hoping this is the end of the sickness.

Cross-stitching has thus taken a backseat to the busyness of the month.  I have missed it tremendously.  I promise to post an update on the Hermit in the coming weeks. 

Thank you all for following along my stitching journey.  I look forward to many more posts and stitches in 2013.

Stitching like Mad!

I have been working furiously on Farm Friends since I last posted.  I must have it done by the end of the month so I can get it framed in time for the little guy's first birthday in mid-November.

FF is an easy project - 14 ct Aida fabric.  It's an easy design and while it is a bit boring to stitch, it's kinda nice to have blocks of colors to stitch rather than changing threads after only a few stitches.  I do miss the Hermit, though.  I miss it's complexity.  Still, FF is a labour of love for some good friends of mine, so I am happy to do it.

Daughter is enjoying the progress of this one.  "Look," I tell her, "I finished the piggy!"  Well, sort-of.  The detailing comes last, but its nice to see the look of delight on her face when I show her my work. I also started working on the border (lower left side).  From the bottom up - cow, pig, doggy and duck.

Busy, busy, busy!

It's been a while since I've posted an update of the Hermit.  I have to admit I haven't been doing a lot of stitching these days. I think it's been a week since I actually did a cross stitch.

My summer vacation ended and I have gone back to work. Between the office and my running, by the time I'm on the couch in the evening, I'm already half asleep.  Having said that, I did make a bit of progress with the Hermit since I last posted a photo.

I struggle sometimes with how to stitch each page.  Do I stitch across and finish each 10x10 square?  Do I pick one thread colour and work all those stitches?  (The latter often leads to counting errors.) This time I decided to frame the page, partly because I wanted to see where the edge of the pattern would be on the fabric. So this is why the left side of the page I'm stitching has been stitched.  Next, I think I'll work across the bottom of the page towards the lantern.  Decisions.  Decisions.

Tune in!

A Mishmash Post.

So, my stitching has taken a slight backseat this past week ... to exercise of all things!!  Oh, and watching the Olympic Games, of course.

I have started running and usually go in the evening.  By the time I get home, have dinner and relax with the husband, I am exhausted and can't get much stitching done.  I am sleeping better than I have in years and my body is aching, but it feels great!

I am a huge Olympics fan as well.  I am enjoying watching the London games and thrilled with how the Canadian team are doing.  I rarely watch sports, but every two years I am glued to the television screen for two solid weeks watching the Games.  I love all the pomp and circumstance around the Olympics.

While I miss stitching, I think it's good to take a break.  Getting back into shape has been a huge thing for me and I've been talking about it for a long time and it was just time to do it.  I am going to have to get back to stitching soon though - I will be adding a new project to the rotation.

Good friends of ours are adopting and it's time to get another baby record done.  I am so excited to start this one.  I hope to have it done by the time the little guy turns one in November.  I just ordered it, so it'll be a few weeks before I can get started.  Here it is:

For those following along, I will try to get an update posted on the Hermit soon!

Heat Wave GameofThrones.

Hi everyone.

I don't know where some of my readers live, but where I live there's been a wicked 3-day heat wave.  Thankfully we have air-conditioning so it's been pretty comfortable.

Husband has finally finished work on his friend's movie soundtrack and as a thank you, said friend gave us access to his HBO on-demand account so we could enjoy some Game of Thrones.  We were hooked after one episode.  As such, I haven't stitched a cross in almost a week.  I have missed it, but GoT is making up for it.  Wow, what great television!  Riveting.  We are flying through season 1.

I do have a progress photo though.  It was taken over a week ago, but it's still progress and I am happy to show it off.

I think I am about 1/2 done the chart page.  I am so pleased with how it is turning out and am doubly pleased that there are next to NO counting errors!!!  Yay me!

Summertime!

Hi everyone!!!  My first non-cross stitch post.  Not to worry, won't happen very often.  I am just excited that the weather has been great where I live and we have been working hard in the backyard getting it ready for the kids. 

Hubby built a pond our first summer in the house, and has been wanting to re-do it for a few years now.  We finally got a chance this past long weekend and I helped with the flagstones and with beverage support (lots of water, and a few beers!).  We were able to pawn off our children to each set of grandparents for 2 days so we got lots of work done.

Here's a photo of the new pond. 

We have added some plants and some butterfly koi, but no picture available yet.  I'm super happy with the awesome job my husband did!!  He single-handedly has transformed our backyard into an urban oasis.  With such lovely scenery, I suspect I will be starting to do some cross-stitching outdoors!

Oh, and speaking of cross-stitching.  Remember that deadline of May 25th I set?  I will probably be done a day early!!  Stay tuned!

An update and goal setting.

It feels like its been a month since I've posted a photo of my progress on The Hermit.  It was a rough week but I am over the worst of it and ready to get back to stitching.  I was able to get some work done this weekend, so I have a photo to show off.

So, we can see more of the Hermit's left paw and his cloak next to it.  I must say, I do love stitching the purple cloak. It's such a rich colour!

There was lots of frogging this past weekend.  Serves me right for stitching when there are other things on my mind.  Usually I am able to let my mind go blank but it was difficult this week.  I'm just happy I was able to detect the errors as I made them and not a few weeks from now.  Still, there are a few errors on this second page that I know of but couldn't fix, and it's really annoying, though I know no one else will ever notice.

I've decided to set a goal for myself.  I want to have the second page finished by May 25.  I have no idea why I just picked that date, but there it is.

Wish me luck!

Migraine + stitching = no way, Jose!

Ugh.  Migraines.

It's been a few days since I've been able to work on the Hermit.  I have been plagued by a cycle of migraine headaches.  The thought of stitching just doesn't appeal to me these days.  As much as I miss it, trying to focus on the chart and those tiny squares just makes me more nauseous.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite depictions of a migraine sufferer.  Perhaps I'll have it made into a chart some day and stitch it.  Ha ha!

Ugh...

Grr.... confetti!

So, I'm back to the Hermit.  I am so close to finishing the first page of chart, I am giddy with excitement!  I have discovered a few things that I think will change the way I move forward.

As you may remember, I started stitching from the center of the chart.  It's how I've always started my kits and so I went with what I know.  As I near completion of the first page, I am left with a lot of confetti. Those who are not in the know, may ask, "what the heck is confetti?"

Confetti:  Definition: Stitchers often refer to scattered single stitches as confetti stitches. The stitches are spread across the fabric as if they had been sprinkled like confetti.

Exhibit A:

Can you see the scattered little white dots of fabric?  That's confetti.

I like my definition better - a huge pain in the ass.

Having to do single cross stitches means having to re-thread my needle a lot.  It's time consuming and irritation. Not to mention BORING!!!

So, once this page is complete and I move on to the next, I am going to try stitching in blocks of 10x10 squares.  Seasoned stitchers will say that this may lead to more re-threading more often, but another trick I learned is parking the thread, like this.

Oy, that looks like a god-awful mess, doesn't it?  Well, I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes. 
Wish me luck!