It's Hook's turn

I decided to give up on Sleepy Hollow because it was just too much trouble and I was getting bored. Maybe by next go-round, I will be in a better head space with it. Since I only have three more of my "bottom of the barrel" projects, Hook was next in line. He's my first monochrome pattern ever (I have four in the set BTWs, Hook, Graham, August and Jefferson, all from Tilton Crafts, which I thank immensely for creating)...I just didn't think ahead about the difficulties of a black and white pattern, I was only thinking "ONCE PATTERNS!". For you pattern makers out there, there are still fans of Once Upon A Time out there (I can't be the only one, there are too many YouTube videos for Once, so I know it's not just me), but we Once stitchers go NUTS for patterns and there just aren't enough quality ones out there! I have seen some on Etsy that just aren't that great, but when I do run across a good one, I suck it right up in a heartbeat! My access is limited to pretty much just Etsy and the stores like Tilton or others who rely on artists that created Once fan art, so it's kind of sad pickins' folks.

And I think I've mentioned my interaction with the artist that created these black and white monstrosities (as well as several other pieces of Once artwork that Tilton has turned to patterns, which, I do happen to own almost all of...I'm a glutton for punishment, but at least the others are colored!), so I'm not particularly a fan of him personally, but I am a huge fan of his work, even if, while claiming to be a Oncer too, was EXTREMELY rude to me about why he didn't draw Charming (although it STILL drives me insane that there is no Charming to complete this set). I can't wrap my head around the fact that he didn't complete the male lead character set without THE main character (which, at the time the other three were "active", Charming was still the lead character...Hook technically doesn't belong in a series with Jefferson, Graham and August for reasons that fans will know, he should be in a second series with maybe Neal, Robin and possibly Dr. Whale, or a case could be made for Peter Pan). I think that's probably why I don't usually tag his name like I do all the other artists who make the charts I stitch. It's a constant reminder of how rude he was to me in that email. I have a sneaky suspicion that he did actually tried to draw David/Prince Charming and it turned out bad, so he didn't include it. Happens to the best of us. If that was the case (and I'm not saying it was, I just kind of feel that way), I wish he would have said that instead of what he did say, I would respect him more for it. Some people just have features that are just hard to draw. I used to be an artist too, so I know that's a fact (and I also know it's hard to admit it sometimes). But I also know that a character study is a character study, and whether you like characters or not, if they are part of the canon, you draw them, personal feelings aside. I don't particularly care for Emma or Belle, but if I were doing a female version of these, I would draw both of them, whether I enjoyed it or not, because they BELONG in the group. I have a few other non-Once drawings that Tilton turned into stitches of his, so every time I see his name, all I'm going to think of is that rude email that I interpreted as "Josh Dallas sucks, now f'off". Never meet (or email) your idols people. Lesson learned. His work is so good, it even got me to buy the Once version of Sleeping Beauty, who is my FAVORITE princess, but I HATED that interpretation of her on the show (in their defense, it was a very high bar to reach in the first place, so it was doubtful they could have done better...don't get me started on Phillip, my favorite Prince)! But it's a nice piece of artwork, it's purple, and it reminds me of the show...I couldn't help myself! I guess I can play Snow and hold out "hope" of a Charming someday (considering his response, I SERIOUSLY doubt it). Oh well, that's old news and I'm getting off track here (shock).

Granted, I could just buy stitching software and make my own Once patterns, but I've had some of that software the past and it never worked out well for me, and then there is the whole copyright issue that I don't even want to think about tackling. Nowadays, spending that kind of money on cross stitch software seems frivolous (but apparently buying the equivalent in patterns doesn't?). I'm not on Facebook, so all those patterns in the cool groups I don't have access to, aren't enough to lure me back into the hell that was Facebook for me, although I still have to thank my amazing friend who gifted me Snow and Charming from there...that is my absolute favorite of all my Once patterns (and why I whipped it out in four months!). I can never remember if she wanted to be named, so I don't name her, but that project hangs in my office, so I will be eternally grateful (and she knows who she is)! Despite my hatred for Jennifer Morrison, I still want an Emma and Hook pattern that matches Snow and Charming, which, I have "technically found" where the Snow and Charming picture originated and therefore "can get" an Emma and Hook that matches, but I would have to make it into a pattern myself and again, we are talking copyright issues. Ugh!

Okay, dismounting soapbox and back to the topic at hand, Killian Jones...I did debate doing them on white fabric and just not stitching the white, but I felt like that would be "cheating" since white is in the pattern. I'm just the type that follows the pattern. I can't help it! I wish I was the type that could modify or change patterns to suit my will or to make it look better, but I'm a) not that creative, b) a total chicken and c) too OCD to mess with a set pattern anyway. I'm still debating on restarting it on white fabric, even now (I'm only 25 hrs in, so it's not a big loss, but I need to make a decision soon before I get too much further), but I seriously doubt I will (again, not to beat a dead horse, but it's probably why I think a character study should contain ALL the main characters, I like rules...it's probably why Captain America is my favorite superhero, I like his code of honor).

Anyhoo...here's what he'll look like done:

But once I got him remounted with the American Dream tape versus the "supposed" super-strong velcro I bought from Amazon (and then had to resupport with the tape I used to use on projects back in the day that STILL wouldn't hold him to the scroll rods...I guess he hated being strung up, typical Hook!), he's been a lot easier to work with than I remembered. I'm still not enjoying the continuous (and monotonous) massive count of white, but I've decided to just do a row at a time and then move on to the top of his head and surrounding areas to break up the time. Here's where I left off back in March of 2018 (bad me!) and you can tell how bad he's sagging there...it was a constant struggle to keep him attached to the rods:

And, I didn't stitch a lot this week, but there is some movement:

You can't tell because a lot of the colors are close to the fabric color, but I got a LOT filled in on his head and the surrounding area, so here's a close up (although, since I didn't do a close up before, I guess it's moot, but oh well, here you go anyway):

Since I'm still not in hatesville with him, I think I might keep on going this week, starting with another row of white (since it's getting shorter with every row...although I do have to do the right side too...ugh). Once I get the third row done, I'll move back to the head. Then I'll reassess next weekend. I don't want to finish the head and surrounding "swish" though, because that leaves only white, and that puts me in Night Wish moon territory. I may have to do two or three rows of white as they get shorter. It's really only long at the very top.

Another ironic thing about Hook is his needle minder. When I started him, I had the Once storybook which I moved to Snow and Charming while I was doing them, so I had to get a new one for Hook. I went with a white swan (obviously...those who have seen the show will get it), but on the fabric, that swan does not look white at all! If I take it off...snow white, but on the fabric, it's dull and almost yellow (not just in photos, but to the naked eye as well)! Go figure! I guess, now that I'm done with Snow and Charming, I could put the storybook back, but I like the idea of the swan. Oh well, I'll just keep in the back of my mind that I know it's white and hopefully that will be enough (but I keep getting distracted by it). Or, I could get a black swan (again, if you've seen the show you'll get that too), but that's not my favorite season, which is why I went with white in the first place. Besides, if I finish another one, my actual storybook patterns are next up, so I will need the storybook bookmark for them.

Oh well, enough rambling and ranting (and I was a bit ranty on this one, sorry!). Hope everyone is staying safe and happy stitching!