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Band 6 to date

I picked this sampler up again yesterday after a long hiatus.  And, much as I have enjoyed it in the past, it's becoming something of a duty stitch: something I am determined to finish simply because my A-type personality cannot tolerate loose ends and unfulfilled commitments.  Matters are made somewhat worse by the fact that I am not enjoying the specialty stitches, a simple eyelet and a satin stitch, I am currently working on in an effort to finish Band 6.  These stitches are  complicated by the fact that half the legs of each stitch need to be started by slipping the needle beneath the sides of completed cross stitches.  The instructions indicated the cross stitches needed to be stitched first but if I had it to do over [God forbid], I would  stitch the eyelets first.  There are 20 eyelets surrounding each blue square and 24 satin stitches within each square.  It takes me the better part of two hours to stitch them.  So far I have stitched the specialty stitches for three squares, leaving five more to do.

Close up of completed squares

Since I stitch between one and two hours a day, finishing up the squares should take anywhere from three to five days.  That will leave a little over half the month to start and finish Band 7 and go back to Band 3 and decide whether I am going to stitch my own name and date or something else entirely. The goal this month is to finish the entire sampler, but que sera, sera.  When I consider that I started this pieces in August of 2012, I am ashamed to admit that I have not finished it yet.




 And, of course, I wish to meet the other May goals of resuming work on Piper's Christmas stocking and getting some ornament and pillow finishing done.  Oh, the joys of an A-type personality!