August and September WIPs

I'm not sure what brought my attention back to cross stitch, but I'm thrilled it was. I used to stitch every day when I was younger, and my projects slowly became more crochet-oriented. Even then, my adult responsibilities would erode my time and interest in crafting. I'm sure many people can relate to this story! 😀

All summer, I've been feeling restless and "stuck." The endless cycle of work, sleep, work, sleep. I picked up a WIP from many years ago, Epic Pokemon Generation 1 and declared that I would devote a little time to it every day. 

While that declaration hasn't necessarily "improved" my life, I feel accomplished in meeting this goal, and most days, I'm excited to sit down and do a little stitching after supper. Watching the pattern grow and experiencing the understanding that small actions make significant progress has been a joy for me these past few weeks.

Every once in a while, we need little reminders of our incredible powers. ★

With that introductory story done, let's proceed to the pictures!

Where I had left off, sometime in 2017/2018

I resumed stitching this epic project in the third week of August. There was a lot of prep work, such as finding and sorting the threads, tracking my prior progress, and making a list of what materials I still needed. It was a fun trip to Michaels to buy the remaining floss-- about 32 colours!

With that in hand, I could start chugging along on the pattern. I skipped a lot of confetti when I first worked on this, so the first two weeks were devoted to filling in all those holes. Very tedious but oh so satisfying to look at once complete.

I was disappointed to discover that the near-completed Taurus was off by a single stitch. Much frogging was to be done. 🐸

Progress as of September 3

One week later, with 4 Pokemon completed.

As every crafter knows, the temptation to purchase new projects is ever looming. I gave in quite quickly-- and got to knock off a bucket list item! 

I have always wanted to do a pretty fairy or mermaid, such as the ones from Mirabillia and Nora Corbett, but my supplies were limited. (Woes of living in a small town! 😆) Joyously, I found a seller on Etsy that provides complete kits and didn't hesitate.

While it's not either of the creators listed above, the Bella Filipina designs are even prettier! I got Hummingbird Pixie. I love the bright, robust colours. I am a rainbow girl, through and through. <3

I know this project will be challenging, as I've never beaded or worked with Kreinik, but I look forward to the journey ahead!

The first week of stitching!

Week two

I will stick with the challenge I declared for myself over a month ago: to craft every night. I've successfully dedicated an hour daily, about 50-100 stitches a night. I'm enjoying myself quite a bit and see no reason to stop.

Thanks for stopping in and taking a look. Share your stories about dedicating time to your hobbies, and enjoy this picture of my lizard peeking through the mouth of a skull hideaway. 😍

Rico, my Leopard Gecko