Weekly Stitching

I started DoNa's Rapunzel last Saturday at 5:00 pm and stopped last Sunday night here:
Rapunzel-003
And I finished the row this Sunday night here:
Rapunzel-008
I finished an ENTIRE ROW of a stitch project in a WEEK...four pages, 14" of fabric width! And there were two days I didn't stitch at all! Granted, it was 49.43 hrs of stitch work (which was just a few less hours than I worked at my job last week), but that's about average for me because I tend to stitch all weekend long. It helped that it's nothing but large blocks of color...no confetti, no dithering, barely any color switching at all, so it's probably not that great of an accomplishment, but I'm pretty proud, especially considering the mess at work this week and the stress of re-applying to school.

I don't know about you guys, but for some reason, when I stitch on my normal 28ct 1x1, I tend to go top to bottom with my rows when I have blocks of color. But when I do 18ct, 2x1, I tend to go bottom to top. For some reason, my stitches are cleaner going up on 18 and down on 28. Is that weird? I also forgot how much thread you waste with 2x1. My ORTs jar is already getting pretty full from the scraps. I've had to push them down twice already. But I'm trying to not knot on this project. I'm not sure why. I've always knotted and it's always been fine but, considering how block-y these colors are, I want the back to be clean. It will be my first clean back ever if I manage it, but so far, so good.

I had one day this past week when I just couldn't stitch because I was all bend out of shape over the school thing. I got my FAFSA app back and I got approved for my school loan, which I was TERRIFIED about! I figured I made too much money (although I'm not sure how because I barely make enough to live). I still haven't heard back from the school yet though. The odds of getting refused are like next to nil on that front...I left with a 3.6 gpa, even with an F on my record (long story) and I've been four times before, but I'm still a bit scared. I also am still scared I may have bit off more than I can chew with the BS instead of a BA in Computer Science, but I can't worry about that now either. I do know I made the right choice with Computer Science instead of Information Tech though. I do want a bit of a challenge and not more of what I do every single week day.

I signed back up for the Great Courses channel on Amazon Prime thinking that I could binge-watch all the physics, calculus, and chemistry stuff from now till the fall and maybe that will help. I watched the first episode of a physics class and really enjoyed it, by episode 2 I was tuning it out, and by episode 3, I was basically like, "oh hell no!", and that was that. I tried to watch several other courses, but, and I'm almost ashamed to admit this, I just restarted Supernatural (again). I'm definitely going to have to work on my school focus between now and then, especially since it probably means years without cross stitching (or very little of).

I tried to start binge-watching Once (for a reason I'll get to in a minute), but I can't because I can't stitch and watch Once at the same time. Once is NOT background noise and I need background noise while stitching. This is technically my 21st time of watching Supernatural (at least Season 1, each other season drops off a time since I watch them all in a row every time a new season comes out), so it's definitely background noise. It's still a fabulous show though.

The day I decided to re-apply for school, Once Upon A Time got officially cancelled. Granted, the new season has been hard to deal with, but it's still MY show, you know? It is very rare for me to find a show that speaks to me like Once did. I love a lot of shows, but they ain't Once. I'm the same about Miranda. And when a show that special ends, it's usually years before I find another one that makes me feel the same. I was lucky that Miranda and Once shared almost the same space in time, but the last time I had a show that meant this much to me, it was ER. The loss of Once will definitely leave a bigger hole than ER did though and at least when Miranda ended, I still had Once. Miranda ended on the best of notes though, so here's hoping Once does too, especially since they have time to finish it right.

So since I can't binge-watch Once, I'm going to start Hook next (I may be a broken record over this, but I'm still bummed over the lack of Charming). I was going to do Faces 167 first, but I need some Once in my life right now.
Hook-000
I'm hoping Etsy will go nuts and Once charts will start coming out like crazy. I have done FanGirl Stitches chart, I have CloudsFactory chart and a couple of other ones of the same type thing, but I want a realistic Once chart that has Charming and Snow in it. Something I don't have to do myself. Just because I have my own cross stitch software doesn't mean I want to use it. If I can buy a chart versus doing it myself, I will so buy one. It's probably why I'm broke.

Comments

Justine said…
Great job on Rapunzel! I think the cranberry colour really tones down the pink/purple theme.
Good luck with finding a new TV show. We binge watch American TV series on Netflix. Just watched Van Helsing which was rubbish but enjoyable.
Tiffstitch said…
You should be proud of finishing a row, that's excellent! And nice idea to start Hook. Fingers crossed more will come out soon. Also congrats on the financing! One less worry.
Super progress on Rapunzel!! I love it! Also congrats on being approved for a student loan! I am sad it will be cutting into your stitching time but I can't wait to hear all about how much you love school. (A little bit of positive thinking just in case you need it ;)

Also I was watching Call The Midwife and there was one character, Chummy, that I just fell in love with so I decided to look her up and saw that she is your Miranda! I will be watching Miranda very soon :)

Looking forward to seeing how far you get on Hook!
Wow, that was a fast row finish! I bet you can easily finish one or two of these designs in a year, if you want to.
I'm sorry to hear Once got canceled. Hopefully they will bring it to a good end at least, I hate when they just leave you hanging!
As for a Charming and Snow chart...if you can't find one that you like, do you know CrossStitchTreasury on Etsy? She does really nice monochrome photo realistic patterns that, in my opinion, look amazing. I don't think the has any Once charts, but I think she takes custom orders.
Linda said…
Amazing progress Keiley.

Linda
Holy Smokin' Needles Batman! That is stonking progress. I remember the far off days of 50 hours stitching a week - pre-children!