Sunday Stitching

Well, last week was no better than the week before stitch-wise thanks to yet another bad work spell. I'm really hoping for a better time next week, but it seems like all I ever do lately is hope for a better work week and they just seem to be getting worse. Stitching is my one major stress reliever and without a significant amount of time doing so, well...it just ain't good. Guess that's why that Friday and Saturday I ended up with my first migraine since Disneyland. But alas, at least I managed quite a bit of stitching today, even if it wasn't on Maleficent. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prepare me for going back to the madness tomorrow.

I did work on Mal what little I could during the week. I finished here last Sunday:
maleficent067
And I finished here yesterday, basically just completing a bit of fill in work:
maleficent071

But this morning I picked up Rainy Wedding for the first time since July where I left off here:
rw010
I decided that I haven't touched it in so long since it was scrolled up on the rods vertically and it's very hard to stitch that way without a floor stand, which is incredibly uncomfortable for my chair situation. I re-scrolled it horizontally, and it's so much easier to work on now. I didn't feel too much like I had actually progressed much considering all the confetti, but I managed to finish page 1, so I at least felt in a good place when I stopped at a total of 38.05 hrs.
rw011
If I focus solely on it for the rest of the year, I could potentially finish it before January. Considering that the person I'm stitching it for has been married for almost three years now and she is currently pregnant with their first child, it would good for me to finish this. Besides, it's not big...the entire project is in the frame now.

If you guys remember (and for those that don't), for a while I had a needle club at work with a couple of other ladies. This project was supposed to be a collaborative effort, me doing the main body of stitching, one lady doing a separate panel with their names and marriage date, and the other lady was supposed to do something to get it framed. Once my pup Zach died, I couldn't bear to leave Bam alone while I stayed late at work one night a week just to stitch, so needle club went buh-bye and I never regretted the decision. I had major doubts that either lady could complete their tasks up to my standards anyway, but the truth of the matter was, it was more a burden than a joy. I much prefer staying home alone and stitching by myself. Needle club became more of a weekly dinner/movie/chat night. It was expensive (because of the food), distracting (because of the movie and/or chatting), and I wasn't accomplishing much anyway.

No matter the history though, I plan on working on Rainy Wedding as much as I can next week and then see how I feel about it. I really want to finish at least one WIP before the end of the year and by next Sunday, I should have a handle on whether or not this is the one. If not, I can always switch back to Cinderella Castle, which I could easily finish in a couple of weeks given all my focus. Same with Tartan B...couple of weeks at most with the same dedication, heck...maybe I could finish both of them.

I think that I was getting bored with Maleficent and I'm just not ready to go back to Alice and the B's yet, so it's slowing me down, despite of the heavy work load. And it's not like 24 hour stitching between now and Dec 31 on either HAED will get me any farther than a row or two anyway, so why bother. I also have a very strong desire to start something new, but I promised myself I wouldn't start another WIP until I finish at least one, no matter how much Snow White is calling to me. Whichever direction I go, work is going to play a major role one way or the other. Oh well, all I can do is what I can do.

Comments

Justine said…
I think Maleficent is looking fabulous! I like Rainy Wedding too and think it would be good to finish it as it's for someone else. You could then stitch on whatever calls to you in 2016 without feeling any obligation to finish this gift.
Tiffstitch said…
Great progress on Maleficent and nice to have a page finish on Rainy Wedding. It's a very different colour pattern than Mal. It would feel nice to have a finish in 2015, then feel like you could start whatever you like.
Linda said…
I think you made fantastic progress Keiley. I wish I could stitch that fast.

Linda
Bea said…
I think you made excellent progress on both. I would aim to finish the gift, then it's an obligation gone.
Heather said…
They're both looking great congrats on the page finish! If it makes you feel better I haven't touched paradise in over a week because of school so you're making a lot more progress than me! I think you should definitely stick with rainy wedding the colors are gorgeous.