Well it was a bit of an up and down week this week, especially on a personal and work front. Next week is a new chapter at work so wish me well from tomorrow :) I expect the knives will be playing noughts and crosses in my back before the day is out ....On a stitching front it was slow going this week. BoInk is my focus project but the bit I am working on has a lot of dark blue in it - and dark blue on black is really hard on my eyes in artificial light, so I've mainly been working on it while sitting out in my balcony during the day on the weekend. Its my own fault, I chose to stitch this one on black and I chose a shade of blue that is very dark and very difficult to see on the black. Looks kewl when completed though :)
The rest of this week I've been working on Jasper. Yes my surprise start last week was Jasper in Bloom by Debbie Draper Designs.
Winner of the comp from the list was Cynthia who guessed correctly within seconds of me posting the competition!
Progress pic here.
One of the conversations we had on list this week was prompted when I was asked to explain why I do not art to xstitch conversion pieces. I was thinking today, why I *do* do the simplistic style as exampled by Jasper. Surprisingly, the reasons I do this are not just the reverse of why I *don't* do art to xstitch.
Whenever I'm thinking hard about a problem or a project, or I'm trying to puzzle out human behaviour (or even mine) or even when I'm stewing or upset or worried - I find it calming to my mind, if I use my hands for repetitive tasks.
Stitching these simplistic charts take very little brainpower but the rhythm of loading up the needle and just stitching cross after cross, line after line and then finishing the thread, starting another and then continuing. Its like a form of meditation, it clears all the panic and fog out of my mind and let me think clearly.
It also gives me an end product - something cute and whimsical I can hang on the wall or turn into a pillow or whatever when I'm finished.
You can see from my progress pics, I needed a fair bit of meditation time this week.
And probably next week too, so expect another update next Sunday.
11 comments:
I wish i could sew, I could do with some panic and fog removed from my head as well...
Good luck on the work front this week.
Carrot....if you make it to the September weekend, there will be a cross stitch teacher there with a suitable sheep project to start you off:)
Make that a large carrot...
Weird old week, eh! You gotta laugh, either that or go nuts.
I worked like crazy on the Lettres a Mes Chats and the simplicity of the cats and alphabet really has kept my mind quieter than I thought possible given what's been going on. It's kept the gibbering to a very dull roar and helped me sit in one place quietly.
I'm handy with knives...very good at dropping the sharp ones where they can do damage...if you need help returning them to their owners, I'm your girl.
I feel sick thinking about the work week ahead - so I'm stitching and *not* thinking about it.
Thanks for the offer of helping me "return" the knives .....
Gee, am I the only one that finds massive amounts of confetti stitching can be meditative - in that there is no room for anything else in the frontal lobe? Yeah, probably am... That might be where the draining part comes in, huh???? Jasper is great! I hope work goes a LOT more smoothly than you are anticipating - it could happen!
Gothy, I agree on the little designs. Last time I was really stressed, I did a Lizzie Kate, a Sue Hillis, and a Brittercup design all in one week. The little stuff is nice because finishing something is such a good way to lift your spirits. A feeling of accomplishment, along with the relaxation of stitching.
Good luck at work. I wish I lived closer. I could give your co-workers a really hard time just for the heck of it. I know this may be hard to believe, but I sometimes use my ability to put words together to be a mean *&%#!. Whooda thunk it?
Its incredibly easy to be hurt with words - or even lack of words.
I'm off to work.
Good luck at work this week Mel! I hope everything goes OK for you!
On the stitching front, you've made a lot of progress. I had no clue what you were stitching and was dying to know!
Sometimes the simple designs are what we need to work through our troubles. You can just get lost in them....
Thanks Lori - its nice to know someone understands me :)
Thanks, Gothy - you just made something make complete sense to me. There's been a whole lotta stress happening here in the past couple of weeks, and my stitching has been woefully neglected. I couldn't figure out why, as stitching is normally my "relief". But I was attempting to work on two TW's and a very fiddly band on a Victoria Sampler. I couldn't settle my brain enough to get into the rhythm that would allow me to relax and get myself re-centered.
Jasper is lovely - and I hope the work week improves!
I really hope that Monday went better than you anticipated. I agree about small simplet projects being a great antidote to stress. I do the same. As for the art-to-xs debate, I'm also on your side. They drive me nuts which is why I won't even buy them. The entire confetti thing is the pits for me. You can't get into any sort of rhythm so don't get the release of happy chemicals . Oops, said too much again. Back to fiddly backstitch/satin stitch on Holland Springtime Mandala
Post a Comment