30 July 2016

The Keeping Christmas Project


“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year."

~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol


I have been feeling increasingly weighed down lately by the things going on in my country and in the rest of the world. I find myself not wanting to look too far forward, in apprehension of what may be coming. A few days ago, while going through a stack of my Christmas designs, I had an idea for a project to lift my spirits and keep me looking and moving forward, focused on the JOY and BLESSINGS in life. 

If you've been visiting my blog for a while, you know I love Christmas and stitching Christmas ornaments. I've shown all my stitched ornaments, and the Christmas tree they decorate (if you need to catch up, click on any of the Christmas labels in the right sidebar). So I have quite a stack of ornament-sized designs... not to mention every issue of the Just Cross Stitch Christmas Ornament issue. 

While looking at my collection--and chastising myself for not having more of them stitched--my mind wandered (as it often does) to wondering how many I could get done before Christmas. This led me to check a calendar to see how many weeks it is until Christmas (21, if you were wondering, too). Then I started daydreaming about how cool it would be to stitch an ornament every week until Christmas. And I connected that to how I've been feeling lately, and thought what a great way that would be to push back against the negative thoughts and emotions I've been having.

Naturally, I would have to blog my progress. Then I started worrying about not being able to get an ornament done every week. And about what to call it. A Christmas ornament "challenge"? I pondered all this for a day or two and realized that stressing over how many ornaments I could actually get done and calling it a "challenge" were both the wrong approach. The goal is to focus on JOY and BLESSINGS... not to freak out over finishes and certainly not to consider it a "challenge" (too much pressure!). 

And so, "The Keeping Christmas Project" was born: a leisurely, five-month stroll toward Christmas, stitching as many ornaments as I can along the way. Will I stitch 21 ornaments by Christmas? Nope. Do I care? Nope. My Keeping Christmas Project is already fulfilling its purpose. I'm looking forward to stitching some beautiful ornaments and sharing them here, hopefully bringing a little joy (and enabling) to others as well. I am already pushing back, and it feels good.

This isn't a challenge or a SAL, but if you'd like to join me--in a leisurely, no-stress-allowed way--please do! Leave a link to your blog in the comments so I can see your ornaments.

Here's a start, a freebie available here.


Merry Christmas, y'all!

24 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your first ornament finish (and thank you so much for providing the link)! This is such a fabulous idea, Honeybee. I wish you much Joy during the coming days and weeks. You are a blessing to those around you near and far.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Robin. YOU are a blessing to all of us bloggers. Your ever-present encouraging comments much appreciated. :O)

      Delete
  2. What a neat idea. A very cute start my friend. :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with Robin about you being a blessing and not just on your blog. I see you frequently on other sites too. :) Thanks for the idea and I will enjoy watching your lovely Christmas stitching progress. I too am a Christmas lover, but I am currently stitching some LHN projects. :) Thanks for this lovely and uplifting post today as I am sure many of us are feeling the same. Love, hugs & prayers -Cathryn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cathryn, thank you. I really appreciate your kind words.

      Delete
  4. Oooh, I like this idea. I can work on Christmas gifts without too much pressure and join others. I too love Christmas. I will follow your progress and hopefully join in. Thanks for the freebie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looking forward to seeing your finishes, Cathie!

      Delete
  5. I'm going to join you, Honey Bee. I agree with your sentiments, we could all use some grace and peacefulness in our lives and what better way than to stitch Christmas! I'm off to go through my stash:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great idea! I'm working for the next weeks in all the Prarie Schooler Santas I have and hope to finish them quickly. If not... not!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck with your Santas--they'll be beautiful!

      Delete
  7. Your finish is really pretty. I think this is a wonderful idea and I would love to join. I can't say how many I would finish but I love the motivation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary, we won't worry about the number of finishes. We're just enjoying the process! :O)

      Delete
  8. What a lovely idea! I have commitments in August but will join you after that if that's OK. We could all use some joy in our lives.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I absolutely agree with you about the State of the World, blogging is a welcome escape.
    I'm currently stitching a series of Christmas Cubes, one a month for our Christmas Ornie blog.
    If you'd like to join us there for the rest of this year and next you'd be very welcome.
    http://christmasorniesal2015.blogspot.co.uk/

    Thanks for the freebie link too, it's so delicate. I shall be following your progress with interest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link, Jo! I'll check out your ornie blog.

      Delete
  10. What a beautiful idea! I will join when I can, and will also enjoy seeing what you share. (And thank you for reminding me that I have a few ornaments to stitch as gifts - it will be like "keeping Christmas" twice for those ones!)

    Erin

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great idea! That is a lovely ornament! Love the threads.

    ReplyDelete
  12. All so cute, love the little Penguin.
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely work! I heard about your blog on a floss tube and had to check it out. I am so glad I did! I look forward to more Tiger Lily photos and stories!

    ReplyDelete