Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Confetti Frustration

First of all, I want to welcome all my new followers! It's nice to know people enjoy seeing my stitching progress. Before I used to stitch and have to be embarrassed about being so young (24) and having such an "old lady" hobby. But it's nice to know there are so many people out there who appreciate it.

Second of all, I wanted to thank all of you for your lovely comments. They really help keep me going. Even when Boyfriend is doing his best distraction work, I try to get in at least a few stitches a week.

Now, the title of this post says it all,  I think. I got frustrated with 939 confetti and decided to switch to Spangler for a little while to take a bit of a confetti break, shall we say. He's easier to stitch and although he's not confetti-free, it's nice to alternate between blocks of color and bits of confetti.

So, here's a before and after.

Before:


After:


I was focusing on the green sash-y curtain, then switched to the background curtain, then changed my mind again and switched back to the green. All in all I'm pretty satisfied with the progress, especially since I only got to stitch an hour here and there.

I have a question for those of you who stitch HAED designs. Do you purchase the pattern in regular format or large chart format? I get mine in regular format and I feel like it takes me 10x longer to do a page than anyone else. So I was just curious to know if it's because I'm an insanely slow stitcher or if it's because most people get the large chart format... or both? I'm interested to find out!

It has been UNGODLY HOT here. 108 just today. It's 9:38pm and still 86 degrees outside. Blergh. I don't react well to heat, Eastern European and all that. This is also why I'm vacationing in Iceland. With a high of 55, you can't really go wrong! Boyfriend and I have our plane tickets, we reserved a rental car, and now we're going through the arduous task of booking hotels one by one. We'll be taking the Ring Road starting in Reykjavik and traveling southeast around the perimeter of the island, diverting from the route to go through the Western Fjords. All in all it's going to be absolutely amazing, and we just booked our tour of the Laki Craters! We had to do it via tour as we didn't rent a 4x4 vehicle, but that's alright. It is, basically, going to be amazing :)

So until next time, dear friends, happy stitching! 

16 comments:

sharine said...

I sometimes feeling like that(even though I'm only 29 so not quite an old lady!) Your progress looks great and the dragon charts are so cute. Have a great holiday
Cheers,Sharine

Unknown said...

Hi Ewa!

I feel exactly the same as you in regards to how long it takes to finish just one HAED page. I stitch normal format as well, but I kinda regret I didn't order my design in a large format now...

Your progress looks amazing!

anojaa said...

I feel the same too, that's maybe the reason why I always start at the bottom right (where all the partial pages are) ;)
Your trip sounds so promising!

Anonymous said...

I am the same age and I started crafting when I was really young, and was really enthusiastic about it, but soon got nicknames like "nanna" - even from my own relatives! So all the craft things were stuffed in cupboards for years, until I accidentally found some craft blogs...now craft (cross stitch at the moment) is an addiction - I have to do something every day, and I am no longer embarrased, or care what other people think about my hobby!
Elizabeth

Sara said...

I will love to see your progress on Spangler.
i understand you so well, in relation to other people, I'm 25 now and people can't understand why I enjoy stithing. For many years I stitched "in the closet" beause I was afraid of what my friends would think, but now I don't mind at all what others think I enjoy stitching and I love to see the projects grow and see them complete (that's why I love to read your blog and other stitchers blog) and if people don't understand then they are the ones loosing. Don't worry you're not a slow stitcher I to have the regular charts from HAED and I take ages to complete a page... the important is that you enjoy your stitching at your own pace and when you get tired of one, jumping to another. :) Happy Stithes and I hope you enjoy your holidays in Ieland. and if you want feel free to send some heat and good weather to Ireland, I wouldn't mind that at all ;)

demeter83 said...

You're definitely not the only one who feels like that, I keep thinking that as well. I buy them in regular format.

Joysze said...

Beautiful greens. :D All the HAED charts I have are regular format.

Unknown said...

I too buy my HAED charts in the regular format, and I've noticed it takes me about 3 months to finish a page of Fairy Wishing Well. Super slow compared to some who manage to stitch a page per month!

Anonymous said...

Huh, you talk about being so young, now I am feeling very young (more than usual). I am only 20 :)
Look at it like this: we have plenty of time to finish our projects ;)

I can understand that you needed a change from 939-confetti, Your Spangler-start looks amazing :)

It's hot here, too. Well, the actual point is that one day it's cold and the next day it's hot and then cold again. I hope you don't melt :)

Anonymous said...

Ah, I forgot, I stitch large format, it's easier for my eyes :) You can finish a page faster that way but on the other hand you have many many pages. My Haed therefore contains 64 pages ;)

The Crafty Princess said...

I use to buy all my charts on regular format. But when HAED had the massive 50% sale I bought my last 5 BAP's in large format. Only to avoid excessive eyestrain. Progress is progress and it's all individual. What's slow for you may be fast for someone else and vice versa - just do it in anyway and for any length of time that makes YOU Happy! As for what others think - forget it - be proud of who you are and what you do!

P.S. Your Icelandic adventure sounds awesome. Have a great time xo Alicia

Heather M. said...

I can't wait to follow your progress on the these! They are wonderful pieces, I wouldn't know which to work on. I too prefer larger printed diagrams! I also work with a magnifying glass (more so in the evenings) so I can stitch longer without stressing my eyes.

Babs said...

Lol, I just felt the same. I'm 24 years old aswell, and at my work and so people find stitching for old ladies too :p

Ewa said...

Aw thanks so much everyone! I always find it interesting to know other people's stitching habits. I guess there is no "norm" in that sense.

I think most people don't know how truly wonderful stitching is, which is why they tease us. They are truly missing out!

Ineke said...

I have charts in regular format, but enlarge the parts I am stitching by using the Adobe Reader option 'take a snapshot' of the part I want. At the moment I didn't add a single stitch to my HAED projects for a long time.

Jennifer M. said...

Well its nice to know there are other twenty somethings into this old lady hobby. I love it. It is so rewarding. I do all crafts but this is my favorite. My boyfriend can't help but smile at my dorky attributes as he says. LOL.

That;s really cool you are going to Iceland. Sounds super exciting. I live in Miami so that would be a big change for someone like me.

I'll be following your stitching progress.

Jen :)