Update on Sapphire and Life and the SAL

Wow!  Where do I begin to even update you.  So many things, so I'll try not to write a novel but once I get typing all bets are off.  Massive changes have happened.  First, I have been dealing and eliminating some toxic relationships in my life and it has proved a challenge to get away from them.  I have done it tho.  I even moved to a new city and I cannot begin to tell you the positive changes in me since eliminating those relationships.  I now have a job working at a hotel doing housekeeping and I LOVE it!  I love what I do and I like the people I work with.  Everyone has been great in my new town with a few exceptions but you are always going to have that.  I got an apartment up here about 3 weeks ago.  It's a smaller studio type place with a murphy bed even (one that folds out of the closet).  I am enjoying life and working on rebuilding from losing everything to get away from those toxic relationships.  However, those things are all materialistic and I can get all of those back.  I am soooo much healthier now, the progress is amazing.  I have a lot of things to still work thru but I'll get there.  Right now it is summer and I am LOVING it.

As far as stitching goes, I have picked up the needle again.  I'm not stitching as much as I'd like quite yet but between work, household responsibilities and my social life it's been hard to find the time.  I'm doing well tho.  I wanted to update you on Sapphire since it's been so long.  She was kind of hidden away to make sure she was safe and with me through all of this.  I haven't really had a good place to get her out and work on her due to being on friend's couches and worse since October.  Now that I have my own place I can spread her out and get busy.  This is where I'm starting today.  I almost have Page 3 done so stay tuned for that update.  It looks like my grid lines got wet so I will have to find my marker and remark those but I will have to search for that or purchase a new one.  I even took her out of my q-snaps to get a few pictures.  Feels great to have her out again.

My friend Clare also RAKed me a chart for a stitch along through Love Thy Thread.  There were 5 charts to choose from and I picked the Stained Glass one so I will be posting updates to that one as well.  With this SAL we get one page per month and work on that until the next page comes out.  It just started on the 1st of June and I'm not doing too bad.  Thank you Clare for the lovely gift.  I have also been getting quite a few girls I chat with on a daily basis to stitch.  Between me, Sherry and Clare always talking about stitching it was just natural for them to get interested.  However they are great enablers and I could be in trouble for doing this but we will see.  Here is the sample pic of the SAL - Stained Glass:

I really like this one because I can choose my own colors.  I am pretty good with color and have a natural ability with it so I'm just gonna pull a color out of my stash and add it into this project as I go along.  I stayed up way too late last nite working on it but here is where I am as of today.  Once I get a bit more done on Sapphire I will go back to this.  Here's the pics of where I'm at:

I got my very first smartphone when I started working and since I can't find my camera charger and the battery is dead it was hard to take pictures to update this.  Now that I have settled things and started rebuilding to the point where I have a roof over my head and space to spread out and call my own I should be stitching a lot more.

Anyway I hope you like my progress, and I do have a few more smaller projects that I do when I'm waiting at work that I can take with me.  Sometimes we have to wait for linens at work and I always have some project with me and will pull it out whether I'm waiting there or anywhere.  I will be updating soon!

Natalee

Page 2 DONE and Page 3 Row 3 almost done

Sorry it's been awhile.  Life has been absolutely insane but i've been stitching.  I got page 2 done then I couldn't find my camera so I kept going and I've had a rough time in my personal life so I've been stitching like crazy.  I've been staying out at my cabin which has no internet.  I did find a local stitching group that meets at the local library every Tuesday at 7 and so that's what I'm doing right now...lol  Here's the update pics...

Page 2 Row 7 Done!

Well I've been doing well with stitching right now.  The last few 10x10 squares were easier because they were mostly one color, especially the last 3 squares.  I need to extend my grid lines on my fabric then I will continue on to Row 8.  I have 2 10x10 rows left and 1 10x8 row then this page will be done.  I'm excited.  Anyway, here are my update pics!

Page 2, Row 6 Finally Done!!

I finally finished my next row of stitches, only took me 9 months! LOL!  Sorry it took soooo long to update, life has been completely insane since January.  I didn't even stitch at all, not even non-HAED projects from January till July.  I finally got my stitching bug back around July and worked on a simple blackwork project.  I found lots of different blackwork squares in a free download, used my own fabric, and put a little spin on it and it looked good.  I even finished it!  I started reading the HAED board and finally got myself re-motivated to work on my Sapphire project.  I don't know how I didn't stitch on anything for sooo long.  My stitching is such a therapeutic thing for me.  If my mind is racing with everything going on it slows my thinking down because I have to concentrate so I don't make (as many) mistakes.  If I need to think and come up with an opinion or whatever is going on at that given time it allows me to concentrate on that one issue and stitch.  It's so soothing and helpful.  The change in me not stitching, to stitching again is that I have surrounded myself with people who support my hobby, not make me feel guilty for doing it and make me pack it away.  I'm grateful to those people and you all know who you are.  I really enjoy sitting and watching TV and stitching or watching my guy play video games while I stitch.  It's been good so I hope this streak of having my stitchy bug continues, especially for my Sapphire project.  Okay now that I've written a novel I will share the pictures of my new row.  I believe I have started the background behind the girl.  I seem to be getting out of the grays/purples and more into the blues that are behind her.  We shall see if that continues in the next row.  I should have this page completed soon, unless my life turns even more crazy and I pray it doesn't.  Anyway, here are the update pictures.

Re-motivated to work on Sapphire!

Life has been absolutely insane lately.  I moved in with my mother and boy was that a mistake as far as my stitching goes.  I didn't even stitch at all from January till I moved out, and even then it took about a month for me to pick my stitching back up again without feeling guilty about working on it.  Then I picked up something easy to stitch so that I could work myself back up to my Sapphire project.  I started reading over the HAED bulletin board and my stitchy-bug for Sapphire came back so I've been working on it a little bit.  I have almost half of the next row down so stay tuned for an update shortly.  I am determined to work on this again.  I picked up one and only one! project since I moved out of my moms and I finished it a week ago or so.  Yes, me!  I had a finish but it felt really good to work on my stitching again AND have a finish.  I will continue working on this next row of Sapphire.  It will be coming soon!

Page 2 Row 5 done...

It's about time for me to be done with a row and update with pictures! LOL  With Christmas and everything this row took me longer than I liked but it's done.  I'm not just doing the background anymore so the color changes are slowing me down a bit but I'm still progressing.  Add into the fact that my mental health disabilities are acting up, including ADHD and Bipolar.  It took me all day to do about 250 stitches yesterday!  I'm doing better today but still struggling but at least I can focus better today!  Let's hope I can keep focused today on stitching.  Here's the pics...

Page 2 Row 4 DONE!

I just finished stitching another row!  Took me a few days this time as I spent the weekend with my boys so couldn't stitch.  I had a blast and hope to make up for the loss of stitching time.  I am starting to get into confetti so that's slowing me down a tad!  Here's the pics...