Swappy

Remember how I said I wasn't going to do any more swaps?

Well, then this happened.

And this.

So far I've stayed strong, but man it's tough. Chances are I'll enter these swaps in an unofficial capacity- meaning I'll be crafting right along with everyone, without actually being responsible for finishing/sending anything by a certain day. But it's always nice to have a theme.

I guess they weren't kidding when they warned me they were addictive!

A couple things

1. Thor was excellent, I highly recommend it. Makes me excited for The Avengers, and I'm already thinking of some great fun things to stitch up from the movie. And Asgard was very pretty.
2. This design from Mr. X Stitch makes me want to try blackwork: (click the photo for a link)

3. Being sick and stuck in bed does not mean you get extra crafting time. (Though my next project is to craft Day of the Dead themed items, and I feel like death. So at least that's appropriate.)

4. I need to learn how to crochet so I can make this: (click the photo for a link)

That's all for now. I'll have a longer post in the week when I'm feeling better, but for now my bed and a cup of tea are calling me.

Taking out my frustrations

I have been really fed up with embroidery the last couple of days. A while ago I started working on a couple of mini hoops just sitting in front of the tv, working with the supplies I had right in front of me. I free handed them, expecting to just kill a little time and keep my hands busy. For whatever reason, I ended up being really inspired and worked on them diligently, loving the outcome. For a while anyway.

Now everything I stitch I pull right back out. Nothing looks right and the most frustrating part is it's not the stitches themselves, it's the design. I guess that's my punishment for not planning ahead.

So I've temporarily abandoned them for some knitting, in addition to the projects I made for my swap partner on Craftster (to be revealed at a later date). It's been therapeutic to feel the work progress in my hands as it grows, and working with a totally different color palette will hopefully help the creative juices flow once more. If not, I can always waste several hours a day on Pinterest.