Busy stitching week

Closer and closer she comes to being finished! I was very nearly done with the row at the beginning of the week:


and by early-mid week I had it done:

She looks so small while I'm stitching her, but all rolled out, she's huge! It's gonna cost me a fortune to get her framed!


But I did manage to get quite a bit into the final row:

This row will be much easier because the confetti is at a bare minimum. As a matter of fact, I'm almost done with most all of it now and it's pretty much smooth sailing from here!

I added an extra hour to Needle Club last week, but it didn't help much...Angel only went from here:


to here:

We won't have Needle Club this week due to the holiday...maybe I'll take her home and work on her Thanksgiving day. At least get further along if not done with this section so I can move on.

But to make myself feel better with my lack of Needle Club progress, I threw in a bit of work on Tartan B which went from here:


to here:

I'm still on the fence about the fabric, but it's such an easy pattern, I could always do it again if I don't like the result.

At least this week grants me an entire extra day of stitching! We don't do Thanksgiving in my family anymore (and I'm thankful for that), so I get to enjoy the day. I never liked Thanksgiving food and the stress of dealing with family has gotten too much for me to deal with in my old age. If it were just me and my sister, that would be one thing, but it's not. It's just better for me to stay away. That's the good thing about being an adult with Asperger's...there are no parents or counselors or teachers forcing you to do things you don't want to do because it's "good for you". I never understood that whole "good for you" mentality anyway. If something makes you miserably uncomfortable and causes lasting stress, then why be forced to do it? Why is the appearance of normality such a treasured goal? People always say that if you force yourself to step outside your comfort zone, it will get easier, but pretty much any Aspie will tell you that's utter and complete bull! The more I'm forced outside my comfort zone, the more I crawl inside myself and the worse I get. And the older I get, the more I realize it's SO not worth it! People at work keep asking about my Thanksgiving plans (you'd think they would know me by now) and give me that "poor Keiley" look when I try to explain. I'd be much worse off being forced into Thanksgiving versus doing it my way. Not everyone has the "perfect family" or likes to pretend they do. It is what it is and I am what I am (gee, I sound a bit like Popeye...must be all the spinach I eat!).

But I am hoping by Thanksgiving I'll be able to kick my Veronica Mars habit...I tried this past weekend after the fourth viewing of all three seasons (and probably the tenth viewing of the movie), but by last night, I was back in the trenches. I've got a couple of British DVD's on the way, so maybe they will redirect my attention for a while (at least long enough for me to get control), that is if they manage to come in this week. Ahh, the joys of OCD...if it's not one thing, it's another. At least it's diverting my Post-Disney Depression into a different outlet than the usual financially deprecating state I usually end up in. Some people eat when they are depressed...I spend, and spend lots, usually on Disney merchandise, but well past my means. If watching a TV show over and over and over again means I can save my wallet from being brutalized, then so be it! Besides, it provides a good background for stitching.