Monday, July 02, 2007
July Goals
It's been a while since I made any goals, but I really wanted to start this up again, as I like to have some way to measure my progress.
  • Finish Toccata II
  • Finish a PIF gift
  • Start another PIF
  • Plan the other two PIFs
  • Start the next round of HAED RR when I get it
  • Finish part 2 of Mystery X
  • Finish up to page 8 of Tranquility
  • DO NOT START ANYTHING NEW

I also want to make some non stitching goals

  • Clean my room
  • Organise my bookshelves
  • Toss my horrible desk
  • Look for a chair
  • No sickies from work!

hmmm, I know there are lots more, but I think that'll do for now :)

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posted by Tash at 01:41 | 1 comments
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The week from Hell!
I've had the week from hell.

I can't be bothered going over it in detail, it'll probably just make me grumpy, but let's just say that it included uni every afternoon, orientation for the new job every morning, four night shifts, missing classes because I had to stay late at work because the person who was relieving me was an hour and a half(!) late, one blown up car, and walking out the front door without my keys or phone!

Needless to say that by the time I got home on Friday evening I was stressed, exhausted and generally miserable. So I decided I deserved Friday night off work, and enjoyed some well-earned stitching time.

I treated myself to a new start: Boreas. And she's lovely. I'm doing her 2x1 on 18 count ivory aida. I've only done 500 stitches, but it took me all of Friday evening and most of Saturday to do. It's very slow moving, because there are SO MANY colours and most of them are blended. Ack! I will never whinge about a HAED again! But it does look stunning. The picture doesn't really show the subtlety of the colours, but it's lovely in real life trust me.



I've had to really stop myself from starting Silken Spells the last couple of weeks. She's been calling to me. She's on my desktop at the moment, because I usually get sick of things when they're on my desktop, but that's not working at the moment, I just love her. Almost as much as Boreas! But how silly would it be to start her now, I've already got Boreas on the go, not to mention the HAED RR. I would never have any time to spend on her, and any time I did would be much better spent on one of my other many WIPs! I must resist!!!!!

I managed to do a little more on Mystery X yesterday and today. I'm still on Part 2 even though Part 3 came out the other day. But remember, I was over a month late starting, so I don't mind. Part 3 is smaller (but still lovely) so I'm sure I'll catch up. (I'm an optimist...)



I'm going to do some March goals because I haven't done goals for a while now.
1. Finish Part 2 of Mystery X
2. Get at least halfway through Michelle's RR
3. Decide on and collect materials for one PIF gift
4. DO NOT START Silken Spells.

Hmm, it doesn't look like much, but I know that I'm going to struggle to meet those goals. Stupid uni :( Full time is horrible. Plus having the third job is taking up all my spare time. Not to mention all the assignments I have due at the end of the month. Oh how I miss the holidays!

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posted by Tash at 17:15 | 3 comments
Sunday, January 28, 2007
a WIP
Just wanted to share another WIP. This is Travel Memories and Dimensions Gold Petite kit. I started it about 10 months ago, but haven't touched it for aaages. All those stupid half stitches were really annoying me. Honestly, the whole thing is half stitches! But now that I've finished with them it does look pretty good. Now I only have the backstitching to go. As a rule I like backstitch, but I'm not looking forward to this one. There's something about the backstitching in Dimensions kits that I hate. I don't really know what it is.. maybe that there's so much of it, maybe that there's six different colours to backstitch with. But I just really want to get through it.
Actually, I just realised I didn't set goals for this month, as I was too busy setting goals for the year. Bummer, shame I didn't, as it's been my most productive stitching month ever! Well, I'm making myself a goal to finish this by the end of the month. I've got three days... that should be plenty (I hope)

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posted by Tash at 07:40 | 2 comments
Monday, January 01, 2007
Happy New 2007!
So 2006 is over, and I've finished 17 things this year. That's 17 happydances! This has been my most productive stitching year by far. In the past two years I only managed to finish one thing! Pathetic!










December's goals:

  • Start and finish Nicki's HAED RR - Started, but not finished
  • Start and finish Beryl's Birds (Aussie RR) - Done!
  • Start and finish next round of Aussie RR (If it comes. I think I'm going to have two at once, but I could be wrong. I have no idea what's going on with this RR, the mailings are all over the place) - Nope. It did come though.
  • Finish 'S' by M Designs - Done!
  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies - Nope
  • Prepare myself as far as possible to start Mystery X on January 1 (ie. choose a fabric! This depends on when the kit arrives here from ECC so I can do a floss toss) - Still haven't chosen my fabbie, and still waiting for the kit :(
  • Choose what count to do Boreas on, but DO NOT START HER (at least, not unless I finish Scent of Enchantment QS, which isn't likely) -Haven't even thought about it! I must get hold of some 20 count lugana to have a go on.

    So, now there's a new year and I have to make some big goals. The idea is to reduce my WIPs, because I hate having too many, I never feel like I'm getting any finishes.

    Current WIPs:
    1. Snow Drop Fairy - If I finish this and Travel Memories I can start the Snowman or Dartha. But I doubt it will happen.
    2. Scent of Enchantment QS - When I finish this I will be starting Boreas.
    3. Japanese Octagon Box - I don't actually expect to finish this, because I'll be doing Mystery X. If I do it's a bonus!
    4. Firefly Fairies - I REALLY want to finish this one. And if I do then I can start either Rose of Sharon (for me) or Tradewinds (for Dad)
    5. Travel Memories - I really should finish this, because the only thing stopping me is laziness! This will be replaced by Snowdrop Fairy (see above).
    6. Fire and Ice - Will most likely be retired to UFO status.
    7. Aussie RR89 - This should be finishing in July. I'm not going to replace it with anything, just enjoy the extra stitching time. In future I'm only going to participate in one robin at a time, because I miss out on too much 'me' stitching time.
    8. HAED RR - This won't finish until around December (I think) so I'll wait until 2008 to start a new Robin. Maybe a UFO RR for Fire and Ice?


    New Year Starts:


    1. I'm allowed one free new start to celebrate the beginning of the year, and that is Mystery X (pending materials and fabric choice)
    2. I'm also allowed a new start just for fun, and that is Toccata II SAL.
    3. (I was going to have a third start, Boreas, but I decided to make myself finish Scent of Enchantement QS, because it's sooo close)


    Financial Goals:


    1. To meet my mortgage repayments.
    2. To save $1000 by April for my trip to see DMB at Bluesfest.
    3. To have $5000 in my savings account by December (Paris? America? UK? who knows?)
    4. No new patterns or kits!!!!!! I have all the ones I need for next year, and I really do need to save money somehow! The exception to this will be 2 full size HAED patterns, which I haven't yet decided on, but one of them will probably be Silken Spells. But I'm waiting for a sale, and I'm waiting for a few more new releases ;)
    5. On the subject of flossies and fabbies, I haven't really decided yet. I'm going to continue collecting Stitches and Spice (very slowly), and I may sign up for a FOTM club (if I can decide on one), but other than that, I'm going to try and keep purchases to only what is needed for a current or immediately next project. (The exceptions to stash restrictions are sales of 50% or more, limited editions etc, and purchases for other people)


    Other Goals:


    1. To keep up with Mystery X (as soon as I've chosen a fabric).
    2. To meet all my mailing dates for robins.
    3. To keep up with Toccata II SAL.
    4. To get as much practice as possible with Finishing Techniques. I would love to join the SBEBB, but I really can't before I perfect a few methods. I can't finish everything as a biscornu. I might have to start saving up for a sewing machine!
    5. To limit my net time (I haven't decided to what though) and spend more time stitching.
    6. To devise and at least attempt a rotation. I don't know if it'll work for me, but I'm going to have a go at it. Some more structure might be just what I need to actually get something done!
    7. To keep this blog going! That means posting at least twice a week, updating the sidebars regularly, and finally spending the time to find a perfect layout.
    8. To weigh no more than 95kg by Christmas *fingers crossed*

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    posted by Tash at 21:39 | 0 comments
    Monday, December 04, 2006
    November-December Goals
    Last month's goals:

  • Finish Jaxon's birth sampler - Done. Well, I didn't actually finish until 2nd December, but whatever, I'm still counting it. (Picture coming next post)

  • Start and hopefully finish round 2 of HAED RR - Nope, still haven't started.

  • Have a biscornu ready for mailing by 20 November - Finished and mailed. It still hasn't been received yet :( and I still haven't received mine yet either!

  • Do some more of Firefly Fairies - Nope!

  • Finish my Green Hardanger Cushion into a cushion - Nope!

  • Spend no more than $200 on stash - Nope! Golden Kite charted Boreas, Flaming June, and Starry Night (aka my three favourite paintings ever) all in the same month so I way exploded the budget, but it was sooo worth it :)

    • Hmmm, it doesn't actually look so good when I look at it like that. I felt so productive this month. *sigh* But I did have an extra finish in there (sleep tight)

    December Goals:

  • Start and finish Nicki's HAED RR

  • Start and finish Beryl's Birds (Aussie RR)

  • Start and finish next round of Aussie RR (If it comes. I think I'm going to have two at once, but I could be wrong. I have no idea what's going on with this RR, the mailings are all over the place)

  • Finish 'S' by M Designs

  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies

  • Prepare myself as far as possible to start Mystery X on January 1 (ie. choose a fabric! This depends on when the kit arrives here from ECC so I can do a floss toss)

  • Choose what count to do Boreas on, but DO NOT START HER (at least, not unless I finish Scent of Enchantment QS, which isn't likely)


    • Wow. That's a lot. Especially considering I'm jetting off to Perth to visit the rellies next week, and I'm really not counting on much stitching time whilst I'm there. Ah well, it'll still be fun :) After all, these are only goals. They're not set in stone, and if I don't reach them there's always next month :)

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    posted by Tash at 13:51 | 0 comments
    Thursday, November 02, 2006
    October-November Goals
    So... here are last month's goals, I didn't do very well. Oops!
  • Finish 'S' (M Designs) - Nope! Didn't do it. I'm still only about halfway done. I have other things to do now, because this doesn't have to be done for a couple of months.

  • Finish the HAED RR border - Nope! I did as much as I could, but I just ran out of steam :( Anyway, I'll be posting it off tomorrow. Yay!

  • Start and finish Aussie RR square (if it arrives in time) - Nope! I never received the robin for this round! I don't know what I'm meant to do, I emailed the co-ordinator and the girl who it belongs to and the girl who was meant to send it to me, and no one seems to care!?!

  • Do some more of Firefly Fairies - Nope! I forgot. Oops!

  • Start SOMETHING for Jaxon. No more putting it off!!!! - Yes!! I did do it! I started cookie monster. True, I have not yet provided proof, but I will.

  • Spend no more than $150 on stash - Nope! Damn 70% off at Stitched From the Heart. I blew my limit by $100. But I'm going to get a lovely stash parcel in the mail :)


    • So, I only completed one of my goals! Pathetic!

    November:
  • Finish Jaxon's birth sampler

  • Start and hopefully finish round 2 of HAED RR

  • Have a biscornu ready for mailing by 20 November

  • Do some more of Firefly Fairies

  • Finish my Green Hardanger Cushion into a cushion

  • Spend no more than $200 on stash

    • hopefully I'll have better luck this month!

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    posted by Tash at 19:47 | 1 comments
    Wednesday, October 04, 2006
    September-October Goals
  • Plan, start and finish my HAED RR. - yep... still working on the border though...

  • Plan and start Jaxon's birth sampler. - well, I have planned it, but still haven't found the right font... I'm thinking of just stitching Noah's Baby.

  • Get out an old UFO to see if I can rescue it for Jack's birth sampler. - Well, I did have a look, but the aida is covered with rust, and I just don't like the pattern any more. Or, I could restart it and make it for Jaxon... hmmm, there's a thought!

  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies. - check! :)

  • DO NOT buy any more stash!!!!!(This is the most important goal) - yes! I did it! aren't you proud of me!


    • Goals for October:
  • Finish 'S' (M Designs)

  • Finish the HAED RR border

  • Start and finish Aussie RR square (if it arrives in time)

  • Do some more of Firefly Fairies

  • Start SOMETHING for Jaxon. No more putting it off!!!!

  • Spend no more than $150 on stash

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    posted by Tash at 18:21 | 0 comments
    Saturday, September 02, 2006
    September Goals:
    So now time for the dreaded goal rundown.
    August Goals
    DEFINITELY:
  • Finish Aussie RR square - Done, but one day late

  • Finish Scent of Enchantment - nope!

  • Plan the birth sampler for Jaxon - nope!

  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies - nope!

    • HOPEFULLY:
  • Plan layout for HAED RR - yes, but then it was trashed, so I have to come up with a new one, hopefully just a modification of the old one.

  • Start housewarming gift for Kim - nope. I've decided to leave that for a Christmas present.

  • Finish 'S' - nope, still waiting for the chart to actually get here!


    • Not a very successful month, you see. Hopefully this month will be better:
  • Plan, start and finish my HAED RR.

  • Plan and start Jaxon's birth sampler.

  • Get out an old UFO to see if I can rescue it for Jack's birth sampler.

  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies.

  • DO NOT buy any more stash!!!!!(This is the most important goal)


    • I hope this month's goals are a bit more realistic. I think it's going to take me a while for me to be able to estimate my goals correctly. They were so high last month that I was disheartened and didn't feel like stitching at all, so hopefully by lowering my expectations this month I'll do better. Well, here's hoping!

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    posted by Tash at 08:05 | 0 comments
    Tuesday, August 29, 2006
    stitcher's block averted
    Long time, no update! Well, it's kind of hard to update when you have no internet. Luckily, now I do. And broadband at that! Now I can look at the pictures on the HAED page! Yay!

    Last week, I desperately wanted to write a whingey (sp?) entry about stitcher's block. I was feeling horrible about the slow progress on my Cattitudes. not being a big fan of cats, or the colour orange, or stitching big blocks of one colour, I was feeling kind of bogged down. I've been working on this for nearly a month now, and I was hoping to have it finished by the end of the month, but I don't know if I'll make it.

    ...and because I was trying so hard to stitch on that, I've been ignoring Scent of Enchantment, so that's not moving along fast either, and I was getting more upset, beacause I knew I wouldn't finish it by the end of the month.

    So to make myself feel better, I thought I'd start something new: my HAED RR. But it just didn't work. The colours were all wrong, so I had to ditch that one, find a new theme, new fabric, and a new layout, and I was so in love with the old one... le sigh.

    But now it's all okay. I've thought of a lovely (secret) new theme for my RR, and found a lovely (secret) new chart, and I've come up with a way to adapt the layout to fit the theme... so it's all good. Aaaand, I've finally finished all of that damn orange on the carnivorous cat. I've just got the belly and the background and the backstitch to go. Thank God!

    With 2 days left to go, I'm going to try for a finish before the end of the month :) *crosses fingers* I'd better get offline and get some stitching done.

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    posted by Tash at 19:03 | 0 comments
    Friday, August 04, 2006
    August Goals
    So, I'm a little bit late, but I wanted to post some August goals.. in the vain hope that I may actually get something real done this month. And to stop myself from any more starts.

    DEFINITELY:
  • Finish Aussie RR square(I'll show you later)

  • Finish Scent of Enchantment

  • Plan the birth sampler for Jaxon (I'll explain later)

  • Put at least one thread in Firefly Fairies


    • HOPEFULLY:
  • Plan layout for HAED RR

  • Start housewarming gift for Kim

  • Finish 'S'

    • Phew! It's possible that I'm being a little ambitious, especially as I've just started back at work and uni, also, my clinical starts next week. Oh dear. At least I have a plan now. It should stop me from starting another 10 things that I really want to... *must resist temptation*

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    posted by Tash at 14:07 | 0 comments