And now to catch up with myself.

Here is Mistress Winter and Jack Frost. I don't know what's wrong with me lately, but I just haven't managed to get much stitching done. I would have expected to get more done on this one since it was just a couple of colors, but again I had trouble seeing what I was doing since the thread and fabric are almost the same color. I bet it's these new glasses, when I first got them I noticed a lot of blurring when I looked down to do my work. Yes, bifocals here I come!

Next is Peacock Garden. I whipped through part 3 in a flash, but part 4 is a killer! I worked on this a few extra days so I could at least finish one quarter. It was somewhat tedious to stitch -- I guess knowing I've got to do it three more times contributes to that! -- but my oh my does it look good when finished! I think the next time I work on this I may skip to the first set of peacocks.

And finally, there is Pheonix I. Again, I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. I didn't stitch at all Christmas Day or the day after-- I got the kids a Wii and I let them have the TV.

Also, I treated myself to a Kindle which is certainly another reason why I'm not getting as much done. I'm reading quite a bit more and the Scrabble game for the thing is horribly addictive! I'm really glad I finally got one, though.

Yes, yet another new start. Here is Florabundance.

And a familiar face -- Martyr's -- now complete with both eyes. I'm afraid I wimped out and didn't bother with any of the black.

My Dragon Skies dragon is slowly emerging!

Lots of fun to stitch!

Rest and relaxation! It also means I get a chance to get my blog up-to-date.

So, on November 1 I started another round of my ever-changing rotation. First in line was And They Sinned. I got a whole bunch done on this one and am now over the half-way mark. It helped that most of it was letters. Not exactly the most fun to stitch, but at least it goes quickly!

Next, I worked on and finished (!) Cirque des Cercles. Which gives me five finishes for the year. Not too bad given my proclivity to start new stuff! Although I did have at least ten new starts so I'm still on the losing side of this battle...




And finally (for this post at least), The Ram block on the Days of Advent Sampler. I really enjoy working on this one!

Also on the stitching front...

I've given up on Gatekeeper. It makes me sad since this was my first HAED ever and I've started it twice and purchased 3 different fabrics for it. So there's a lot invested in it. But I just can't manage stitching on the dark fabric. Particularly now that my up-close vision no longer matches the prescription for my eye glasses. Next year I plan to make the leap to bifocals and maybe I will give it another try then.

I also tried my hand at some ornaments. The stitching part was pretty good. The finishing however... Well, let's just say they came out looking very, very wonky and I think next time I'll go with round ones since the corners were the worst. And my lovely friends who received them as gifts choose to ignore the wonkiness of the finishing and instead focused on the stitching itself.

In other news...

I've been dealing with a bit of a health issue. Apparently when I joked about how I felt like I was bleeding to death when I had my period I wasn't joking. Said bleeding led to extreme anemia. I finally went to the doctor and the problem was discovered. I'm taking iron and "hormone therapy". My period has pretty much stopped and my iron levels are increasing nicely. I'm very thankful it wasn't anything more serious.

And my son has returned. I can't say that I'm happy about that. My daughter and I were living a nice, calm life and that has certainly been disrupted. I love my son, but we drive each other nuts so it's much easier loving him at a distance! His intention is to work as much as possible in order to get a car and save some money and then return to NM in the fall. In the meantime, he'll be taking classes at the college where I work.

For yet another new start. Soul Mates yet another large HAED. I see them and just want to stitch them so badly. So I do. But then I have all this other stuff I also want to stitch badly so everything just goes to hell. I realize I'm a bit insane, but it's my hobby so I guess I should be able to do whatever makes me happy.

I have another batch of progress pictures to share.

Here is The Red Thread. I had planned on finishing it, but was stymied when I ran out of the two threads for the border. So I had to put it away with only two blocks left to do! I knew I was getting low on the one and tried to stretch it by substituting the greens and browns in the blocks themselves, but it simply wasn't enough.

Next is one of my favorite projects, Song of the Dead. It is so wonderfully creepy. Next time around I'll get to finish his face. It will be interesting to see that emerge.

And finally for this post is The Tower of Stony Wood. If I had to pick and absolute favorite, this would probably be it. Things should really start to get interesting this time around -- her face will emerge in this row. Of course it will be a few rotations before that happens, but definitely something to look forward to.

And that wraps up another round. I'm four projects into the new round, but I still can't seem to settle on a new method so I think I might take a break from the rotation and do some Christmas Ornaments. I'm worried about finishing them, though. I'm good at the cross stitch, but other than that I'm not very crafty and everything I do looks like something a 1st grader brings home. But we'll see, maybe it won't be as bad as I think.

For starting yet another project when I already have so many WIPs it's going to take me 32 years to finish them all. (Yes, I've actually figured that out and I'm trying not to let it depress me)

And yes, it's another HAED. And a big one at that: Phoenix I. I just love the colors!

I have been remiss once again, but life just insists upon happening and I've been either sick or busy and my usual Sunday routine of updating my blog just went out the window. I've got lots to share, but will start with only a few since I need to get started on my Saturday cleaning.

First is Jewel of the Sea. I'm now on my second "row". Not really much to see, but there probably never really will be since this one is mostly background. But the background sure is pretty and not nearly so tedious to stitch as some.

Next is Peace, although there is probably no point in even posting it since I've pretty much convinced myself to restart this one. I'm starting to think that stitching it on 40 count was a mistake. It's going to be sooooo huge that I don't know what I'll do with it when it's finished (ever optimistic, I am). So I'm going to restart on the recommended 28 count. Unfortunately, I'll have to delay that restart since the shop I buy fabric from - Needlework Plus - is temporarily closed. She custom cuts and doesn't charge a ridiculous amount for doing so. The design on 28 count won't quite fit on a fat half and I hate to spend extra on a full yard for a mere three inches. I also think I'm going to splurge and switch to the recommended AVAS threads.

I also was able to finally start Peacock Garden. This is the first two parts without the beads and crystals. It is so beautiful! I'm really looking forward to getting back to it.

That's all for now. Except for this picture of my cat. I was finally able to get a half-way decent picture with no flash and therefore no demon eyes.

I'm so proud of him and have decided that despite his faults he can stay. He loves catching mice! In fact, he growled at my daughter when she tried to take one away from him. I had my doubts about him because he ignored the mouse my son pointed out to him last year. I guess he was just too young then because he's definitely not ignoring them now.

On to the cross stitch...

This week I worked on Dragon Skies and Fairy Dreams by Lavender and Lace. I think the last time I worked on that was in 2004!
Once again, I spent some extra time on Dragon Skies and was sad to put her away. I'm already looking forward to the next time I get to work on her -- I hope to get that top part of the dragon done.

On the flip side, I'm afraid I only worked on Fairy Dreams for two days. That was primarily because I got my supplies for Chatelaine's Peacock Garden from European Cross Stitch and can't wait to get started on it. And unfortunately my OCD won't allow me to skip forward in my rotation! But I can truncate it a little bit.

Despite that, I did find that I enjoyed working on Fairy Dreams. I just love the colors! I did forget to backstitch her face, though, and am considering leaving it that way. I think all the HAEDs I do have shown me that the backstitch isn't always necessary and I think her face is quite clear without it. Who knows, though? It will probably be years before I pick this one up again and my opinions may have changed completely by then!

Instead I have a finish! Day Dreaming Mermaid was completed on September 12, 2010.
She was a birthday present to myself and I started her on November 28, 2007. She was included in all my different rotation variations and I worked on her on 8 times for a total of 49 days.

Also included this week is Days of Advent Sampler.
I had more trouble with colors and decided to switch back to the NPI for the browns as well as all the greens. These colors had more than one "group" (3 for the greens and 2 for the browns) and it was too hard getting the separate groups to flow together nicely using Hand Dyed Fibers. I did torture myself over it, but in the end it was just not worth the trouble.

Here is a separate picture of the Abram and Sarai block that I completed this time. It's too bad about the HDF since I particularly like the subtle variegation you can see in Sarai's dress. I would have liked to have that in the large blocks of green as well, but them's the breaks.

I enjoy working on this one so much and was dismayed to see that the last time it had come up was in December. Almost a year!! So I have decided to change it's status to "Priority" and bump Rose down to "Favorite".

My baby went back to school today. And she's not really my baby any more */sigh/*.

And today is the last day of my vacation */even bigger sigh/*. This was my stay-at-home-and-relax vacation. We didn't do much -- spent a day at the beach and another school shopping and a movie. We also went down to the ocean on Friday. I've always wanted to watch a hurricane blow in, or in this case by, so I decided to brave the holiday traffic. It was pretty cool and I wish now that I'd taken the camera. I also wish I'd forced Randi to wear shorts. We got caught in a bad spot when a big wave rolled all the way up into the dunes and she ended up with extremely wet jeans. The bottom of my shorts got a soaking as well, but that was much easier to shrug off. So I succumbed to her pleading and we got off the beach.

And now for the cross stitch updates. First is Calling the Crows. I absolutely love this image and wish the design wasn't so huge! All I have to show at this point is three wing tips. I really like how the background is looking so far though, the colors are blended together so nicely.

Next is Celestial Dragon. I completed the bottom left corner. The knotwork looks lovely, but it surely is a pain to stitch!

Then I worked on Cirque des Cercles. And completed the bottom right corner. Just the bottom row of circles to go!













And finally, I started Curl Up With a Good Book. I tried out a new technique with this one and stitched by columns. I don't know if I'll keep with it, though. I think I may have gotten more done than usual -- 5 columns of 98 stitches each (4900) in 4 days plus about 3 hours. And I like having a larger chunk of the image done, rather than narrow bands. On the down side, I lean toward carrying threads and this way may not be as conducive to that. I carried some pretty far! Also I was working from four separate pages since I need to have it blown up. Since I work with my chart to the right of my stitching, I'm going to run out of room for all those pages pretty quickly.

So I've started the "revamped" rotation with Ballet Pigs. So much fun to stitch and now I'll have this little guy smiling at me!

I was so happy when I pulled this image off the camera. I thought maybe I had figured out a solution to my top-right blurriness problem. I took the picture upside down. Well, the camera was upside down, not me. Although maybe that would be easier since I kept hitting the off button when I was trying to take the picture.

Alas, my joy was short-lived. My upside down picture of Bubble Flower was blurry on the left side, thus defeating the whole purpose. I really must get myself a new camera, but I'm afraid that I'll just pick another lemon. Particularly since I don't want to spend too much.

I'm also very bummed that my lawn mower isn't charging. I hope it's the charger -- I plugged it in and the socket sparked and the little lights haven't come on since. But I guess it could also be the batteries. Either way, getting it fixed is going to be a pita and will probably end up costing only marginally less than just getting a new one! I was talking to my dad the other week about the disadvantages of living in a "popular vacation destination" and this is certainly one of them. Lack of services for day-to-day living. And then when you find someone who can help you, they tend to charge an arm and a leg. My co-worker was charged almost $300 to have a kitchen faucet replaced and she provided the faucet!

Here is Women of the Mayflower. I'm glad I started it since it has been a fun stitch so far.

I've worked out a tentative rotation with 19 slots. Theoretically this should enable me to get through a single round in 2 1/2 months. I settled on 2 "Strip" slots which will basically be the project that is the closest to being finished. I'm giving it 2 slots and will work on it for 8 days. Hopefully this will increase the number of finishes! I have 7 Priority projects which will be worked on each rotation. Those 7 are: Day Dreaming Mermaid, Dragon Skies, Peace, Peacock Garden, Rose (Anderson), Song of the Dead, and The Tower of Stony Wood. I have 6 slots for my 12 Favorites: A Rose Among Thorns, Babysitting, Ballet Pigs, Bubble Flower, Calling the Crows, Celestial Dragon, Cirque des Cercles, Days of Advent Sampler, Gatekeeper, Martyrs, Mistress Winter & Jack Frost, and Sea of Roses. I then have 2 slots for HAEDs and 1 for non-HAEDs. It'll take forever to actually get through them all, but I decided it might be better to spend more time on the Priorities and Favorites. I also have a slot for BAPs and have designated any non-HAED over 100,000 stitches and any HAED over 200,000 stitches as a BAP. I've also decided to add in all my kitted projects, which brings the grand total of WIPs to 95. Then I might just have to add 5 more to bring it to an even 100.

I got over 4000 stitches in on The Tower of Stony Wood this time around. Needless to say, I'm quite proud of myself.

And so concludes this round of my rotation. I still haven't worked out the "new" way, so I went ahead and started another of my kitted projects -- Women of the Mayflower. I bought the thread and fabric for this years ago and I'm trying to convince myself that a fully kitted project isn't really any different than an additional WIP. Unfortunately, I think I'm going to run out of one color and need to decide whether to sub in something I already have. Who knows how much the dye-lot has changed over the years? Fortunately, it won't be noticeable since I'll use the subbed color just to stitch the names at the bottom. Nobody needs to know that color is supposed to be the same as the verse on the top, right?

I'll be working on this one through Monday since we're leaving on Tuesday for our annual Knoebels trip and I didn't see a point in breaking my brain trying to figure out the new rotation.

I'm back on my "regular" schedule and am now working on the final project in this round of the rotation. Here's a pic of Song of the Dead, the next to last.

I say I'm only somewhat back to normal because I have been feeling a lot of pressure lately to get started on everything I have kitted. Particularly those with both fabric and threads. I'm trying to figure out a way to do this without over-loading on new starts. I'm also trying to come up with a new method of rotating.

One thing I have decided on is a STRIP list and adding two of those projects each rotation. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to work on each of those 4 days and keep them in the rotation until they are finished or if I'm going to out and out finish them as they come up.

Sometimes I really hate being so OCD, it makes stuff like this sooooo much harder.

I surprised myself. Yes, I started Sea to Shining Sea by Little House Needleworks and then just kept stitching until it was finished! It was so small that it seemed rather silly to stop with only two houses done and let it languish for an unknown number of years before picking it up again. So I just kept plugging away. It took 15 days, well 13 really since 2 of those days family was visiting and I didn't get a chance to pick up my needle. I probably could have finished it sooner, but I picked up a really good book and so that interfered with my stitching time as well. It was a lot of fun to stitch -- I simply love those variegated silks! But I have to confess that the last two-three days I've really been jonesing for my HAEDs. And on that note, I'm off to put Song of the Dead on the scrolls and see if I can't get in a stitch or two before bed.

I've got two more new starts. One I'm still working on (Sea to Shining Sea by Little House Needleworks), so no picture. Here's a picture of the other, Rae QS by HAED, no web page for her yet, though.

Before this craziness started, I got a little done on Peace. Only a little since I had a very strong desire to start something new over the 4th of July weekend. I had planned on only one new start (Sea to Shining Sea), but was unable to find a suitable fabric amid my stash. Hard to believe that with a drawer full of fabric, none would work! So I decided to purchase the recommended fabric. Since the urge for something new had not departed, I then started Rae. And worked on her until the fabric arrived!

And now I'm off before the thunderstorm that seems to have appeared out of no where arrives.

Like I need to be adding anything else to an already overwhelming number of WIPs. But, honestly, I did not intend to restart Frog Prince. Well, I did intend to restart it at one point, but later found that stitching on 28 count worked okay and was actually better for designs with a lot of black. So I decided to stick with the 28 count bone Lugana I was using. Alas, it seems that when I first decided to restart I tossed my working copies of the chart. I put it on the scrolls and everything and then realized I had no way to accurately determine where I had left off! It was all just big chunks of black. I have since started noting the row and column last stitched in order to avoid exactly this. So, rather than trying to figure it out, I just restarted on a 28 count white Lugana. So not much to show here.

Next I worked on Jane Longstreth, another sampler that has been languishing since I caught the HAED bug. I'm afraid that I did not give this one it's due. First because I really hate stem stitch and second I had received my fabric for Mistress Winter and Jack Frost and was chomping at the bit to get started on her. So I put Jane away a day early and did exactly that! I am removing most of the background from this as I go and the fabric I chose (Fresco from Picture This Plus) matches up really well. So well that it was difficult to stitch the "interior" background that I have choosen to include.

Today I am taking a mental health day. Actually, my son is in dire need of cash and so I have to deposit some money in his account. Unfortunately, the bank is in Rehoboth and the last time I went over there it took me almost an hour to get there. And with the heat we've been having I can only imagine that the traffic is even worse. So I can't make it after work. And I really, really hate the traffic. Why is it that when someone crosses out of their home state they totally forget how to drive? And when 80% of the cars on the main roads are from out of state the problem is only acerbated. I have to admit that I laughed and laughed when I received an email from my son with directions on how to get there using the back roads. I can count on one hand the number of times he's voluntarily e-mailed me! Poor guy must be desperate.

I had also promised my daughter we would go and see the new Shrek movie, and had planned to do so after my dentist visit last week. But that took longer than expected so we missed the show. I hate to go during the evening and don't really want to have to deal with beach traffic on the weekend so had told her we would be unable to go. But guess what? The movie theater is right next door to the bank. Kind of serendipitous don't you think? So since my work has been bumming me out, I decided to take the day. A day won't be enough to fully unwind but thank goodness I've got vacation in two weeks!

Which is a little unusual, but bound to happen once in awhile I guess.

First I have Chatelaine's Egypt Garden. I was so excited to start this, but seemed to have lost interest in it very quickly. The last time I worked on it was in 2005! I hate to admit, but I haven't seemed to regain my interest in that five year break and had a hard time decided which portion to stitch. The band with the sailboat and the palm tree are about all I managed. Sad, really since it is such a lovely design.

Then I have Scarlet Letter's Emily Lucille. Another sadly neglected piece. Although not quite as bad -- I last worked on this in 2006. As you can probably guess, I caught the HAED bug in the summer of 2005 and everything else has suffered since then. I really enjoy working on this one though, and I think it will quickly become a "Favorite" so I can work on it a bit more often. When I first started it I had done queen stitches one other time and quite disliked them. They did grow on me though. Which is very fortunate since this one has tons of them.

And I made a big mistake the other day and looked through my stash. There's stuff in there that I totally forgot I had and now I want to start about 10 other things! In addition to the 20 things I already knew about. It's quite sad, really. My poor rotation -- when I reworked it I ended up adding more slots instead of taking some away! Oh, well, I simply can't fight my nature and there is really no use in even trying.

Well, a dragon horn at least. I was very happy to have finally reached him and now I can't wait to get the rest of that space filled in. I love how this is stitching up so fast -- I think in the future I'll have the background removed from everything possible.

Link to web page

Cathy left a comment and asked how a project became a "Priority" and I thought since I can't stitch right now I would answer that (I was out whacking weeds and now my arm is weak and shaking -- yes, I know I'm a wimp). I've tried a few different rotations which inevitably fail because I can't refrain from starting new projects and I have trouble picking just a few to include. So I came up with one which will allow me to keep all my projects "in rotation" while also allowing the projects I favor to appear in that rotation more often. Right now I have seven categories.

First, each rotation I work on a project I designate as Finishing. This is usually the project that has the fewest stitches remaining.

Priority projects are included in each rotation. Right now the priority projects are: Bubble Flower, Dragon Skies, Peace, Song of the Dead, and The Tower of Stony Wood.

Five Favorite projects are included each rotation. Right now there are 15: A Confabulation of Dragons, A Rose Among Thorns, Alpine Seasons, American Sampler, Babysitting, Calling the Crows, Days of Advent Sampler, Gatekeeper, Martyrs, Pink Dragonfly QS, Rae QS, Rose, Rose Fae, Sea of Roses, and While Summer Sleeps. So the Favorite projects get worked on every third rotation.

The other categories are Samplers (1 per rotation), BAPs (2 per), HAED (2 per), and Fantasy (1 per).

The initial intent was to complete one rotation every two months and thus be able to get through every project in two years. Unfortunately, I'm facing the same issues with bloat that I have had with other rotations and I'm now up to one rotation every three months.

So I'm rethinking the whole thing. I am leaning toward combining Samplers, BAPs, HAED, and Fantasy into one big group and limit the number of slots to 15 maximum. It would take a lot longer to get through everything, but I'd be able to spend more time on the things I like most and it might be more flexible.

We had another visitor in our yard the other day. Isn't she beautiful? I don't know why I get such a kick out of the wild life that shows up in my yard. I've lived in the country all my life, but there's just something about looking out your back window and seeing these wild animals looking back at you. And see that large plant in front of him? That's what I was out whacking!

Because I have to be back to work by 3:15!

I just need to share Day Dreaming Mermaid.

I had hoped to get all the way across again, but was defeated by all the scales. She is very close to being done, though.

And that is all the time I have!

Very, very busy week, but I did get a surprising amount of stitching done. Probably because my chaise has been restored and I can once again lounge in decadent comfort while I ply my needle.

I got a bit more than usual done on Bubble Flower. Probably because I had a bit of background to work on which was comprised of only three colors. For once I was happy to be working on a monotonous section. And then came the bubble. Ah, well, back to the confetti on this one. I almost want to downgrade it from one of my "priority" projects that I work on each rotation. But then I look at it. It may be tedious to stitch, but the end results are awsome!

On Tuesday I chaperoned my daughter's school field trip to the Franklin Institute. Unfortunately, the district called a fog delay so our departure was also delayed. Fortunately, the school officials allowed us to leave at 8:00, rather than following the "rules" and waiting until school was officially open. Unfortunately, we missed the I-Max film. A great disappointment. But they still got to dissect a cow eyeball. There's my daughter with the organ in question. As you can see, she was very excited! I, on the other hand, could have done without the exercise! Although she did not get to do everything that she wanted, we did have a lot of fun and she has declared it the "2nd best field trip EVER" (after the one to Medieval Times, of course).

On Wednesday, I went to the dentist and they started work on my second crown (the first having been done last month). I was very glad I had the day off because I had an opportunity to observe a little visitor. I thought it was a cat, but upon investigation discovered a gray fox trotting across my backyard. He stopped to have a drink from a puddle on the edge of my driveway, where I managed to get a photo. It's not real good, having been taken out my bathroom window, but I didn't want to open the door for fear of scaring him off. We knew they were around, having seen tracks, but this is the first official sighting.

Wednesday night was my daughter's band concert. Here she is with her flute. Again, not a very good picture, but isn't she cute? I'm so very proud of her. She started band mid-year, but she worked very hard and was able to catch up very quickly. Her goal for next year is to be first chair! She is such a wonderful child, I don't know what I would do without her.

And now I have managed to rope her into my HAED addiction. She has started working on a Storykeep - Wolf Countess. She is stitching it with two threads on 16 county ivory aida banding and has been working on it almost non-stop since we got the fabric on Friday. She's got nearly 1000 stitches done now (twice as much as in the picture)! And vows to reach the eye today. I'm not exactly sure how the child is managing to stitch faster than me, but she is.

My other bit of work for the week is Teresa Wentzler's Celestial Dragon. This is one of my first projects -- very ambitious at the time -- and my first over-one experience (I didn't much care for it, either). I can't even remember the last time I worked on it, but I suspect it was sometime in 2005 shortly after the ex and I split. Needless to say, what was daunting back then has become a joy today and I enjoyed working on it so much I am seriously considering adding it in as a "Priority" project to my already bloated rotation!

And last, I shall leave you with an image of my crazy cat. I do not know how he manages to sleep like that!

Now I am off to put together the garden shed I purchased this weekend to stow my lawn mower in. Right now most of it is in the back seat of my car and I really need to get it out of there since the plastic smells so bad when it gets hot (and it gets really hot in my car) I'm afraid it's putting off some kind of toxic fumes! Not looking forward to it, but that and cleaning the litter box are my only two tasks for today and then it is back to stitching!