Skipping Around

Friday-Sunday's rotation piece was supposed to be The Mystic Smalls.  But stitching is a joy and a pleasure and it pleased me to skip on over to The Berry Patch Rabbit.  The rabbit had three things going for it: 1] it was handy, right on top of the stitching pile, 2] it was uncomplicated and 3] it was about two thirds of the way to a finish.  All these factors combine to make it the perfect fit for this past weekend.    And the proof is in the pudding: I have a finish.  It's only the second finish so far this year making it all that more precious to me.    According to my list, the next piece in the rotation is Midnight Moogies which is also very close to a finish.  I may be able to add a third entry to my Cross Stitch sidebar before three more days are done.  Extending the rotation interval seems to be working for me.

So the revised rotation schedule will be:
4/15-17.  Midnight Moogies.
4/18-20.  TW's Woodland Angel Christmas Stocking.
4/21-23.  Sewing Finishes.
4/24-26.  The Fiber Shop.
4/27-30. Mystic Smalls.

If I do manage to finish Midnight Moogies in this rotation, in May, I'll replace it with The English Band Sampler which hasn't seen any action since September of 2012.  Even with the expanded rotation intervals, it should take two or three months to finish the remaining bands.  I can't believe I have just typed the word May ... time seems to be flying.  But then this is one of my busy seasons and time always seems to run out faster when you are working against multiple deadlines.

Hermit Weekend > First Finish of 2012

I have noted on a few other blogs that something called "Hermit Weekend" is going on. Well the timing is perfect for me: with 6" of snow on the ground and the stuff still falling, I am more than content to stay home and stitch. A pot of tea, season one of Bones on the DVD and my current stitching rotation - what could be better? Does it count that my husband is hermit-ing along with me. He doesn't stitch but he enjoys a good DVD marathon. The first piece in my rotation, Workbasket's Quaker Sampler, was started December 5, 2010 and finished today, January 21, 2012. It is stitched on Silkweaver's Shadowlands 36ct linen with one strand of GAST overdyed cotton floss in Forest Glade, Midnight, Cranberry and Gold Leaf. The linen and the Forest Glade are substitutions for the designer's recommendations. Even as far back as 2010, I was making a concerted effort to stitch from stash as much as possible. The next project I picked up is from my 2010-2011 WIPs List: Teresa Wentzler's Tracery Dragons. I'll post photos tomorrow in my weekend progress report. And, of course, I will find time to work on The Sweetheart Tree's Holly and Hearts Sampler from my Crazy Class Project Challenge later this weekend. The sampler and the dragon should keep me busy for the remainder of the month. If I manage to earn a new start this month [by finishing one class project and one 2010-2011 WIP], I do believe it will be one of the Town Square SAL ornaments. I had wanted it to be one of the hearts I plan to excerpt from the Shepherd's Bush Winter Hearts Sampler to make an ornament but I don't think I shall have the time to complete it before the Valentine's Tree comes down. I was awarded the Shepherd's Bush piece, all kitted up, at a Stitcher's Hideaway several years ago. It's a pretty design, the sort of thing I would admire in someone else's home but probably not hang on my own walls. But broken up into four ornaments for my Valentine's Day tree ... now, that's another story.

In other news, somewhat stitch related, I have chosen the winner of the pair of Patti A's scrambled egg buttons that I offered to the Crabby All Year SAL group over at 123stitch. It's a piece that I stitched when it was first published and I wanted to share my pleasure in it with people currently working on it. I find it mildly annoying that, though I limited my giveaway to members of the SAL, since the buttons were made specifically for Crabby All Year, some non-SAL members have tried to sneak in. Why do some people have to be so aquisitive and greedy, insisting on trying for anything that is free whether they have a use for it or not? In any case, the winner will be announced on Sunday. And I am considering selling an OOP, exclusive to Silver Needle, limited edition kit from Just Nan. I have always given things away in the past, but if memory serves me correctly, I spent a hefty sum on this kit [Lindy from Silver Needle must be a hypnotist - she's way too good at marketing]. It would be nice to get some of that investment back since this piece is really not my style. It will be my first sale of stash and I'd never have thought to do such a thing if it hadn't been for an "In Search Of" post on a message board I frequent. I'll ask for my payment in the form of a gift certificate since the buyer is from Australia and I have never done Pay-Pal. Even so, it feels awkward breaking the pattern of giving away what I no longer want, as if I'm the one being greedy now!

Stitching in an alternate universe

Easter recess is one of those blessed foretastes of retirement: time to cook healthy meals instead of ordering take-out at 8:30pm, time to run errands without cramming everything into the lunch hour, time for housekeeping up to the standards of my more energetic youth, time to sit in the sun on the back patio and stitch ... but best of all, time to tackle some sewing finishes.

Now we all know the universe is governed, supposedly, by the laws of Newtonian physics, quantum physics, etc. Well, as I have had time to sit about and mull, I have developed a theory of finishing physics: even during those periods when cross-stitch finishes are few and far between the resulting sewing finishes required will continue to grow in geometric progression in relation to the cross-stitch finishes. How else can I explain the following? A] thus far this year I have completed only eight cross stitch finishes, all but two of which already have been sewn into useful or decorative objects. And, b] the contents of my sewing finish basket are not noticeably diminished, indeed they are overflowing. As 2010 began, I counted 19 "to sew" finishes in the basket, now there are 32. Only 8 new cross-stitch projects were completed, 6 of which received sewing finishes within mere weeks of the cross stitch completion. Logic would indicate that the finishing basket should now contain 27 projects minus the 6 projects that were finished almost immediately leaving a total of 21 projects. My conclusion: stitching and sewing must exist in an alternate universe where the laws of straightforward mathematics simply do not apply. That's my theory and I am sticking to it. After all, I am much too old to return to kindergarten and re-learn counting skills!