Tuesday, April 25, 2023

My finishes vs Your Finishes

Something that really bothers me is when I see it on FlossTube videos or other posts on social media is when someone says, “This is my x finish for the year, and it’s only April.” Quite often the number they are saying is something like my 30th or my 42nd finish. As if each of these finishes were of substantial size, not the size that they did.

I like seeing people getting finishes, but what they don’t really say is that their finishes are all small projects. Yes, small projects like 40 stitches by 40 stitches and a big one might be something like 80 x 60. I do enjoy doing these projects, but one of the things about these are the patterns better be either free or just a couple of dollars and available as a PDF. Patterns that are small and can be finished within a day or two are not comparable to a larger project.

In some cases, people that are saying how many finishes that they have for the year, and you hear that or see it on social media, and you don’t realize the sizes of projects they do it can be extremely disheartening to someone else. I know for me, I enjoy working on larger projects and if I can get even 12 or 14 finishes in a year, I am happy with that. I also work on full coverage pieces, so they take even longer to get finished.

Yes, I enjoy watching people get finishes, but I also realize that the sizes of their projects versus the sizes of my projects are very different. It’s currently almost the end of April and I can say that I have 2 finishes, and both are around the 130 x 130 stitch count size. So yes, I have some finishes, and I am happy with them, and I know that my stitching is what makes me happy. I am also working on a couple of other projects, one of which is full coverage, so it isn’t going to be finished for a while. So, when I say I have a finish, I am normally talking about something that is larger and takes more time to finish.

My word of advice is when you are showing a finish on social media remember that you know how many projects you have finished for the year, but not everyone else needs to know the number after each finish. Save that for the end of the year when you are showing all the finishes you have done and then people will see the standard size you do. It would be great if at the end of the year, you highlight the larger projects that you finished. With this, I am now going to go and work on one of my cross-stitch pieces and see how it goes.

 

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Taking some "me time"

There are times when you just need to step back and take some time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but it does help you recharge your personal batteries. It can be a simple couple of hours of doing something that you enjoy, or it can be a couple of days when you take a mini vacation and do things that you enjoy doing.

The taking the time to recharge your personal batteries and different things can make such a difference on how you view things. Yes, it might mean that things don’t get done, and you have a list when you get back, but it can also help me move that list forward a little quicker because you have more energy to do just that. The time you take and what you do depends on you and what you need the break from. There are people that will go on hikes for two or three hours and that is their time to ignore their devices and just spend time clearing their head. Other people will go to a spa and take those few hours of relaxation to recharge. For me, it is going and getting in some good walks and doing things that I enjoy doing and seeing some scenery.

In the summer I find that I can go and sit on our balcony and watch the neighbourhood, and it is a great way to take that me time away from what needs to be done at my desk or even around home. The break for me is a time when I can start to think about all the different things that I would like to achieve, and then I normally can move them forward a little quicker after this break. In the summer, I normally have a simple craft project sitting by the balcony door that I can grab and do while I just take that bit of time to recharge.

Me time is something we all need, and it can be time with others or time alone, it doesn’t matter how you get it, but you need to ensure you get some of that time. The personal battery charge is important, and I know that after I have had that time, it is easier to be there for others as well. I have a little sign that when I need some “me time” even at my desk I can put it up to show that please don’t disturb me,
I am doing something for me.

Taking some me time is important for all of us, and even those little bits of time each day can make things so much easier to deal with.