The Best Laid Plans

I think I should start out by saying that I am not a planner. I like to pretend that I am. I will quite happily make my self lists and goals and the like, but when it comes down to the doing, it never works out. 

Maybe that makes me a bad do-er rather than a bad planner? I don't know.

So needless to say, my plans for my week off went much the same way as every other plan that I've ever made. Please don't get me wrong, I am not unhappy with how I spent the time, it's just not what was previously aimed for.

In my previous post, when I came back from Christchurch, I had said that I wanted to churn out some of my smaller WIPs, get a few finished behind me to bump up my moral as it were. A fine goal for a Wednesday morning. Until, that is, you discover that you are out of some of the threads for not only the first project that you pick up (miniature sampler) but also the second project that you pick up (dragon abc's). That kind of happenings tends to take the wind out of your sails a little bit.

Now I can hear you saying it "but Dana, you were on holiday, why didn't you just wander the 10 minute walk to the store to get more?"

Floods. That's why. We got three months worth of rain in one day. There was no way that I was going out in that if it wasn't completely essential. And thread, no matter how much I love my hobby, is not essential. It did facilitate a rather large 123 stitch order, but lets worry about that later.

But not to fear, as I have already said, the week wasn't a complete wash (bad flood pun, sorry).  In my cross stitching, I got two finishes.... or maybe three, depending on how exactly you count - do biscornue panels count as one or two?

white 14ct aida, DMC cotton is recommended colours

I finished Clouds Factory's "Nevermore". Then carried on with the Clouds Factory fun by starting and finishing the 10th Doctor and Rose Tyler.

white 14ct aida, DMC cotton is recommended colours

Yes, they are unwashed and unpressed - but floods. That's the excuse for everything this week. There's half a plan in my head (again with the plans) that I can mount a few or more of these cute little nerdy designs on foam core, get a little easel and swap them out when the mood strikes me. Two designs (this and Ghost busters) towards the goal is a good start me thinks.

Finally, on the cross stitch front, I started the kit I bought from China, which I have decided to call Love Birds.

Not much, to be sure, but, while I thought that 11 count aida would be fairly easy, it turns out that stitching with three strands is a little taxing on the finger tips. Can't fault the coverage though - 

And then I changed tacts. I know I said that my knitting was going to go on the back burner for a while but I couldn't resist.

So incredibly proud about this. For teaching myself a new skill at the side of the round, its turning out (at least I think) really really well. I guess I don't really know where pom pom hats sit in the scale of complexity, but I didn't really find it that difficult once I got started. Probably just as well since I bought two of the kits.

It started life as this cute little bundle - 

And know looks like this - 

All it needs now is to be sewn together and the pom pom attached. And just in time for the chilly chilly farmers market shift that is my reward for the time off taken.

Lastly, I gave the other kit that I purchased from China a try. It was called a Diamond Embroidery kit, though I have no idea where the embroidery aspect comes in. I don't have a picture of what it will look like when its done - I don't what to show the pattern, but this is what it looks like now.

Looking at it now, it doesn't actually look to bad. Up close, at a pixel to pixel level, I was starting to question what it was going to be like. From my cross stitching experience, I understand colour blending and placing colours next to one another to give various effects. But I was starting to question this one. Maybe not so much now. Despite my misgivings though, it is a strangely hypnotic process. Mosaic is probably the best way to describe it - all these little resin pebbles being stuck onto a pre-glued, pre-printed canvas.

Once again though, it is something that is going back into the pile for a little while. Yesterday was back to work day, and its going to be a six day week on that front. Add on my current enjoyment of my knitting, my blind determination to finish Garden Verses and my need to get a couple of assignments done, there's not going to be time for much else now I think. Such is the reality of being a grown up I suppose. There is the crafting retreat weekend at the end of the month to look forward to though. Start counting down the days.

I'll leave you on a completely random side note (thinking about the snacks I'll take away with me that weekend) I have a new favourite thing

my favourite drink and my favourite food all rolled into one thing - heaven