Tuesday, September 29, 2015

An Avid If Somewhat Undisciplined Stitcher

I have been dipping into the basket of "charts I really want to stitch" rather indiscriminately.  Two days ago, it was the Mill Hill Easter Egg kit.  I love working with beads although I still have a hard time threading beading needles,  I actually broke one of the needle threaders specifically made for the purpose and have reverted to just threading the darn things by hand.  This is a frustrating process that usually takes several dozen attempts before I succeed.

Yesterday, it was back to the Prairie Schooler Primitive Americana to start the last chart in that leaflet, Lady Liberty.  

Today, I pulled out another Prairie Schooler project, a complimentary chart with a Queen Bee motif.  Since this is stitched on black linen, I wanted to stitch it while the weather was still pleasant enough for outdoor stitching.  I find natural light is best when stitching on black.

Needless to say, all this switching about doesn't leave me with much progress to photograph.  And the upshot of all this: the WIP basket is getting quite crowded.  In addition to the above mentioned projects there are the following fifteen projects in semi=active rotation:
  • M Designs Sean Name tree - with the Es and Ns still to be stitched.
  • CECs The Swimming Instructor - with the face still to be stitched and the beaded necklace still to be attached.
  • The Jacobean Elegance afghan - with 15 more squares to be stitched.
  • Making Waves needlepoint project - with more than 3/4s of the bargello rows and more than 2/3s of the eyelet area to be stitched.
  • Workbasket's Quaker Squirrel - about half way done
  • My own design, Fertile Circles needle book, the back panel needs finishing.
  • My own design, Beach Find Pansies, to be completed and incorporated into an embellished crazy quilt square
  • To Thine Own Self Be True freebie - need to frog an error in the border and restitch it.
  • The Victoria Sampler Mystic Smalls class project - I need to stitch the needle book and the biscornu.
  • The Prairie Schooler Year Round - need to stitch the October entry
  • Another needlepoint project, Rice Pudding, using many variations of the rice stitch.
  • Yet another needlepoint project, an Owl, again a project using lots of specialty stitches.
  • Piper's Christmas stocking  adapted from a Dimensions kit.
  • HAED's The Tangle Fairy, barely started
  • The Goblin Market 0 started last week.


There are other class projects on the unfinished list [see my Class Project sidebar] but I don't count them as WIPs since I haven't touched them since the classes ended,  I will get to them eventually but they are not immediately before me.  The scary thing is that there are at least another twenty charts on the "charts I really want to stitch" and so, there is the potential for a much longer WIP list.  A part of me [the list-making, orderly and organized A type personality] would like to see a more disciplined approach, ticking one finished project after another off the list before making any more new starts.  But there is another part of me [the aging hippie free spirit] prompting me to just enjoy whatever catches my fancy at the moment.


And I don't even want to start listing what is in the sewing and assembly finish laundry basket.

3 comments:

Justine said...

What a dilemma! You seem to have lots of variety in your WIP basket so less chance of you getting bored. I can see the problem though, there are just too many gorgeous things to stitch.
I'm an A type personality with no will power so there's really no hope.

Jo who can't think of a clever nickname said...

Your dilemma is so familiar! Every year I say to myself "I'll focus on the larger pieces and not get sidetracked" and every year I fall for a SAL or a series of designs or an Ornie SAL.

Oh well, at least it's fun! You have some great designs on your list too. It's always a pleasure to see what you stitch.

Julie said...

Lots of lovely things for you to add a stitch or two into.
I've been good this year and tried hard not to start too many things, its been more a year or little ornaments and such rather than a biggie.