More thoughts on short-term goals

Yesterday I fully intended to talk about cross stitch, but got totally side-tracked onto weaving and other components of short term goals.  See, night before last I set a short-term goal that I didn't make and I was disappointed in myself.  The reason I didn't make it is because I didn't read the pattern and ended up using the wrong color in the very center of the part that I was working on...and it had to come out.  There's a reason it was the "wrong" color.  I was frustrated and disappointed that I didn't meet my short term goal night before last.  But I do have to act like a responsible adult every now and then...

Of all the crafts I do, I have been cross stitching the longest.  For a while I put it aside in favor of quilting and because it costs so much money to frame all the beautiful things I made.  But I take great pleasure in cross-stitching.  It's definitely one of those crafts where I don't need short-term goals because I often get so involved that I can't stop and will stay up way too late working until my eyes are blearly and I'm cranky the next morning.

There's one thing that I do not like to do in cross stitching, however, and that's back-stitching.  I find it boring and tedious and you have to do it absolutely correct or you will have to start over.  And I hate starting over. And to be honest I don't like to be bored.  And being bored can lead to mistakes, so back stitching can actually become stressful if you don't watch out!  Sometimes it's difficult to see that you've made a mistake until the entire thing is finished, or near abouts, and that's frustrating.  So, when I'm at the backstitching phase, I definitely set myself some short-term goals.  Like I did last night.

See I'm working on this other secret project (and now you know it's cross stitching) and I had this very intricate backstitching to do, and I told myself that if I could get through that then the rest will be easy-peasy. I honestly think I'll finish this project this weekend. How very exciting.

And it's quite satisfying to achieve a short term goal, especially when it means that I don't have to do "that" any more (or at least until I start the next cross stitch project!).

Today's picture is a peek-a-boo picture of me weaving (viewed from the back of the loom).  I like how you can see me and I'm concentrating, but you can also see the loom and how I'm part of it when I'm weaving. I also love that you can't see the Secret Project that I was working on at the time.