So 2018 has been here for two weeks and it seems as though I have accomplished nothing so far. Ugh! I am hoping to finish up some household stuff I have neglected and make a fresh start next week. I am almost done with Ladybug Lake and need to get really, really busy on that, since I want to get it out of the hoop and then move onto Eastern Expressions. I have so many ideas for upcoming projects it is overwhelming sometimes, but I am so grateful for the inspiration.
One of the things I want to tackle this year is to expand my knowledge of counted thread techniques. There truly are a wide variety of stitches that can be used to give my work depth and texture and I'm excited to start a sampler of stitches to learn them. Having embroidered in the past, especially with crewel, I am already familiar with many of the stitches such as satin, lazy daisy, French knot, etc., etc., etc.. However, I never used them on evenweave or Aida fabric before and am very excited about the prospect of incorporating these new ways of expression into my art. It's going to be a very exciting year, even if it is off to a slow start.
I have to admit I spent part of the New Year searching for a 2018 planner for my purse. You see I get one from Barnes and Noble every year, same kind, same price, for quite sometime now. They work perfectly for me and I look forward to getting them in November when the new calendars start coming out. Well this year they decided not to carry them. I tried substituting another but it just wasn't the same and I could tell early on it wasn't going to work out well. It was too big and not made sturdy enough for the abuse I put it through during the year. Trouble with finding one is that Barnes and Noble actually were the ones that produced the brand as well as sold it. I looked for something in the same small, but not too small, size. I spent hours upon hours on the internet looking with no luck. Finally, I ran across something extremely similar as far as the cover went. Next I had to figure out what would work inside it, since it came with nothing and those I bought in the past came fully furnished. So I only had to buy tabs and a calendar refill, since my other contents could be moved from my old planner to the new one. Then once I got everything I needed, I then had to enter all my information into it, again another time consuming task. I also have a Tools4Wisdom desk planner that I basically do the same thing with, but fortunately I could still purchase it where I normally do. So more time on getting ready for the New Year with it. Then there was the taking down of Christmas decorations and putting those away which is now a two day task at my age.
So all in all, the unexpected took a lot of "unexpected" time at the beginning of the year but it seems now all is on track (I am still updating the desk planner though which entails a lot of planning, like goal setting and how to get there). I'll have to get caught up on my magazine reading as well as going through the books I ordered, which I have already begun to do, so I won't get behind even more in February. It has been so cold here I should have gotten a lot done indoors since going outdoors is near impossible but for some reason winter is probably my least productive time of year art wise. It's always been that way as far back as I can remember and I've never been able to figure out why. So with my new 2018 catch phrase "Focus on the Work", I'm hoping to break that routine and get a lot done while the temps are freezing or close to it.
Always keep hope alive!
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