2024 New Starts

Not quite ready for a end of year review, so let's go with the new starts.I have been off this week and tried to finish Happy Haunts, but it is killing me. I don't think I'm going to make it through the week with it and it won't even be a row finish, let alone a total finish. I need a break from it. But that's for another post.

So, I guess you guys knew that I wouldn't be able to hold off from new starts, but I came VERY close! I had the chosen six picked out, but when I added some fabric to a chart (I do have fabric in my stash) and added the thread (more about thread in a mo-mo), it was almost $700! I am NOT kidding...it was exactly $678.76, but that's pretty darn close to seven (and yes, that is with discounted fabric and a coupon)!!! For friggin THREAD! I can't say how many skeins I ordered, it was for at least one max color project and four others (yes, 4+1=5, my math skills will bite me later). I decided I could NOT afford that and was ready to let it go with the WIPs I have. I agreed with myself that I would pay off three credit cards first (granted, the smallest three, but three nonetheless). But then we got our xmas bonuses and they cashed in some of my vacation time (because we're only allowed to roll over three weeks and I had way more than that saved up) and all of a sudden, three credit cards were paid off. I took that as a sign (granted, I didn't need much of a sign, but the checks came the exact same day I decided not to make the purchase, so here's your sign Keebs).

Of course, it's never just that simple and here's where my math caught up with me...I forgot an entire project hence #6, so fabric and thread again, another $108. I also had to place an Amazon order for some other things (another $120), I still have to get scroll rods (and you'll see why in a minute), and there are other things, so it won't be a January 1st start for any of these. I need to pay this stuff down, save up more money, and frankly, kit up six new projects. I like bobbins, so bobbinating a max color project is going to be a chore. But oh my, cross stitching is an expensive hobby!

I've always prided myself on my stash of stuff, but apparently, I'm not as stashed up as I thought. I went through all my thread to see what I had (so I hopefully wouldn't have to buy any) and I discovered that all that Chinese thread I bought years ago had faded and started to fuzz up. Most of it was probably over 10 years old, but the DMC was about the same and it was fine. I just decided to pull all the bad thread, unless it was the only one for the color I had and I gave it all to a co-worker. I ended up with about a forth of the stash I had to begin with, and none of it was enough for a full project. After all these projects are finished though, my thread stash will be stocked again.

Speaking of which, so which projects did I choose? Well, I guess it's no surprise that I went with HAED's Belle of Bonaventure by Jasmine Becket-Griffith, she'll be on 28ct Lugana:

And the HAED Supersize Max Color version of Once Upon A Fairy Tale by Aimee Stewart (and I'm not doing the redo chart...I had already printed the chart when they reissued it...I actually had to email HAED last week to figure out the difference because it's been so long, which was just two colors, so I figured I wasn't going to reprint the whole thing just for that and I don't mind the colors anyway, so I'm just going to keep as is...I do still work with paper charts and I print them on this soft card stock stuff, and it ain't cheap either). This will also be on 28ct Lugana, magic guide. I will say, this week I've been on vacation and I've been working on Happy Haunts (it's on 18ct 2x1) and I really HATE working with two threads, so I'm pretty sure I won't be doing 2x1 tent stitch on this. I still can't wrap my head around tent not being a "cheat" version of cross stitch, but any time I would save with tent I would just be wasting with the two threads. I can't deal. I think I stitch fast enough that 1x1 full crosses will be fine. Guess we'll find out!

A chart by Thread Geeks that goes with my Snow and Charming, Evil Queen is also one of my new starts...it should be fairly easy if it's like Snow and Charming. Of course, another 28ct Lugana, unless I pull out some old Monaco that I still have.

Then there is my first Unconventional X Stitch, The Blue Marble is So Fragile by Borda Danut Adrian. I've been wanting to start this since the second I saw it! She will probably be on the 28ct magic guide Lugana as well, but she is not small.

Another easy one, DoNa Stitches Merida, she'll be on 18ct opalescent Aida, like Rapunzel was. She shouldn't take very long, although she is a lot more coverage than some of the other DoNa's.

Another new designer, Fox and Teacup Designs, Harry Potter Bookcovers. I went with the American version, not because "American pride" and all, but when the books were coming out, I was one of the weirdos standing in line for them, and I live in the US, so the American versions were the ones I ended up with. I still own those original versions. Maybe, when I finish this one, I'll do the British covers (which I also now own). It will also be on 28ct, but I'm not sure whether it will be Lugana or Monaco. It's also the supersize max color version, but it's still not very big, so I'm not sure if I have the wrong pattern, so I'm reading it wrong, or what. If it's right, it shouldn't take very long.

I've also decided, since I have a new stand now, on the kit front, to go back to A Summer Ball. I UFO'ed that several years ago and haven't touched it since 2015. I hated it. Maybe a new stand will make it better? It seems like I also had issue with all the partial stitches, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. If I still hate it after another shot, then I'll look at another kit.

Here is where I left off, barely a third of the way through (and to be honest, I'm not even sure where I put it, so I might have to do some digging):

As a side note, I am going to UFO retire a project, HAED's Christmas Contest Suteki by Aimee Stewart.

This was a project I started for my sister, who never really acted like she cared for it anyway. I don't know why I was bothering. It was a nightmare to work on with all the confetti, and frankly, now that my sister is not in my life anymore, I just don't see the purpose in working on it because it definitely isn't my style at all. I actually have several charts I bought to do for her. Guess they will go in my RAK folder. I haven't worked on her since 2020, so it's really no skin off my back to retire her. Maybe someday I'll pull her back out again if I meet someone who's style she is, but I just can't see it. I only made it here:

So that at least takes one WIP off the books along with Maleficent. Next time, a year end review, which should be short since I've only been stitching since October and only (at least so far) on two and there is only a few more days left in the year.

A FINISH!

Yep, you read that right...a week ahead of schedule, I finished Maleficent! I am SO proud of myself. I literally did almost 6000 stitches in two days. As you remember, I left off last week here:

I started her Jan 2, 2015. It's been a rough almost 9 years for sure and I had probably about a four year stitch break, although, when I did try to pick stitching back up, Maleficent was always the one I picked up first. It took a total of 879.13 hrs, there are 213,200 total stitches. About 10:30 last night I finished the final row:

And, despite all the melted glue from the tape strips on her backside, I did manage to get it off the scroll rods and here she is in whole:

She still needs to be washed and ironed, and of course, mounted to mat board. I think, now that we have a Michaels here, I'm going to take her there to get framed instead of Hobby Lobby. At least that will clear my conscious a bit. I do have major issues with Hobby Lobby's politics and business practices. I try not to give them my business, but sometimes it can't be helped. Now I have choices. I haven't actually stepped foot in there in years anyway (although, in honesty, I haven't stepped foot in any store in this town in years, so that's not off-brand). It at least gives me an excuse to go into Michaels, although it probably won't be anytime soon. I need to get up the courage first. I'm not even sure I have any mat board, so I may have to go to Michaels first to get some. But it probably won't be until after the first of the year.

I do still have two more weeks before the end of the year. Last night I started winding some bobbins of loose thread that had bit sitting around for a few years. I need to move my thread around in my big bobbin boxes before I can add back the leftover thread from Maleficent (because some rows are pretty tight in the three I have now, which is why I have a spare box...pictures to come soon), so I figured it was a good time to add the spare thread. I didn't think this project would take more than a day, but I think I might be wrong.

I was also thinking I might be able to either finish, or get close to finishing Happy Haunts, which I haven't touched since 2020. It's at least the closest candidate for a finish. I would say Tartan B, but that project is notorious for being hard to work on, so I'm not even going to attempt that giant B! Plus, Happy Haunts is another framed piece, so an easy FFO, Tartan B was originally meant to be a pillow (I can't sew and I don't know how to make a pillow, so I have no clue why I thought that was a good idea), but now I think I'm going to hoop finish it, but I'm not crafty in the slightest, so I have no clue how to hoop finish anything without watching numerous YouTube videos and buying supplies at Michaels. The B is just too much trouble (in more ways than one for such a so-called "simple" project).

Ironically though, Alice and the B's is actually the project that is calling to me. There is NO WAY I could finish it by the end of the year, but it's the one I'm wanting to work on next. If I try to work on Happy Haunts and my hearts not it in, there may be issues, but we'll see. If I could just get one more finish, I think I could feel a bit better about new starts, although, the more I think about new starts, the less I actually want to start them, and the more I just want to "think" about it, if that makes sense. If I can just keep that momentum going, maybe I can get some more bills paid down before spending money on cross stitch supplies.

Quick update (yeah, right)

Hey, there is a first for everything, right? Frankly, I've been doing nothing but stitching, so there is literally nothing else to report and I'm trying really hard to finish Maleficent by Christmas. I left off on her here last week:

And, now that I've made it through the major colors (I'm color completing if you remember), I'm whipping through the colors like wildfire now and she's here (and, believe it or not, there are quite a few different colors in there):

Sorry the pictures are blown out, I really miss the quality of a camera...a phone really doesn't cut it, I don't care what people think. I will always be a camera girl. Phones are "cute" for pictures, but they aren't meant for serious photography except by professionals in certain circumstances and a low light, macro situation isn't one of those circumstances. And to be honest, I'm not sure why I stopped using my camera to take these pics. Probably laziness.

I'm also happy to report that I've got less than 8000 stitches to go before she's finished (7906 to be exact)! She's 96.3% completed. On average, I do about 1000 stitches a day (give or take) except, apparently, Mondays. I think, because I stitch over 8 hrs a day on Saturday and Sunday, come Monday when I get home from work, I just don't want to stitch. I try, but I usually stitch less than an hour before I quit. I've done it ever since I started back, so it's enough of a pattern to call it a habit. I always try on Mondays though.

I still haven't decided about new starts yet, or decided where the money is supposed to come from, especially if I start a max color, supersize bookshelf, because I will have to buy new scroll rods for it, which could be super expensive, not including the fabric and threads for such an endeavor. I've been very good about not spending money on anything lately since my HVAC expense, although my desire to shop is constant. It's definitely an addiction.

And that's the update for this week! Definitely a short one for me. I've been trying to read and catch up on blogs, but I was surprised at the number of blogs that haven't been active in years. I commented where I could. A lot of the missing bloggers have probably moved on to FlossTube, but I'm just not ready to do that myself yet. I like blogging and it's "nice" over here. It's a very nasty world in YouTube and I'm had enough of that in real life, I don't need it in the cyber world as well. I still feel so overwhelmed with Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and all her SALs! Maybe one day I'll be back up to snuff enough to be able to join in with her again, but I'm not there yet. Jo is a goddess, for sure!

Trying to beat my Stitch Gene into submission

Despite all the external forces, I'm still struggling with my ADHD, so I got the "brilliant" (aka, slightly crazy) idea to color complete the final row, because hey, who doesn't want to solely focus on one color for weeks when you can barely focus on anything, right? And what better way to start than with the color with the most left, 310 black! But, despite the ADHD hanging in there, the OCD must be kicking in because I actually finished the black last night and got to move on to 939! I was quite proud of that...it barely took me over a week. Last time, I had just started the final row:

I did stop a bit early last night because my head was hurting a bit (and my arms and wrists a lot, but more on that in a moment), but here is the finished black and a bit of the dark navy.

I did get through most of that glue I talked about last time, although there is still more spread about. Here's a look at some of that mess (although not a good look):

On to the "pain" aspect...my new stand. I'm really left dominant. I often say that my right hand really only serves to give a matching set. But I do stitch two-handed, my left on the bottom (because it can navigate) and my right on top as a worker bee. I don't even remember how to stitch one-handed, nor would I want to go back to the old days, I do stitch twice as fast now. So for me, the best placement of my new floor stand should be on my right side (not sure if my logic is sound, but it works for me). The way I hold my arms, I need my left elbow clear and it can't be if there is a bar in my way or, if my arm is constricted because there is a scroll rod sitting on top of it. I'm using my left to get the scissors, take a drink, operate the remote, etc, so if I'm reaching back and forth under the scroll rods, another headache. I tried it as it should be (as below), and it just doesn't work (and forgive the dirty house). Even if I can move it anyway I want up and down and left and right (which I can't do on the left, too many restrictions), the stand was obviously in the way of everything. But the major issue with how far over the project sits and I couldn't stitch all the way across the scroll no matter how I moved it (and it also doesn't help that I sit leaning toward the left edge of the chair, I tried to adjust myself, but I would just subconsciously move to the left before I realized what I was doing). You'd think, with all that movement area, I'd have no issues with being able to reach it, but it just didn't work that way. It's a bit far out in the pic below because I moved it to get out of the chair. I can't do that on the left (you'll see in a mo-mo). There is also problem with horizontal bar being wobbly or it not holding the project straight (but frankly it's that way on both sides of the chair, and that may be operator error, at least I hope it is and not the stand itself).

So I moved it to the left side, where I had serious restrictions on movement, but I could still reach the entire scroll somehow:

Now my arm is constricted under the project and I have to sit weird, hence the arm and wrist pain on my left side. I'm trying to use a pillow under my left elbow, but now that's causing left shoulder pain, if easing the arm and wrist pain. I also have to jack my right side up weird to tilt myself down to the left and my arm is raised unnaturally in the air, hence my arm and wrist pain on the right side. You'll also see the remote on my right side, I still can't operate the remote that way...I keep trying, but I eventually just pass it to my left hand and pass it back. It's why I've been spending more time on Hulu than YouTube.

I will say, when it was on the right side, the boys wouldn't come near it (and it was already bad enough I was sitting in the chair again), but since I've had it on the left, they are coming around, although they take their turns and never together for more than a couple of seconds...Bam, the never-invasive, ever-sleeping old man perches up under the frame:

And Bug, the ever-invasive, always attention-seeking monster, whose glaring eyes are constantly burning holes in the project:

What I hate about it on the left is, just to get out of the chair I have to rotate the entire stand when turning the project or it will tip over, it's just too top heavy. I didn't have this issue on the right. Ironically, I can't turn the stand sitting in the chair and I can't get out of the chair without turning the stand. Right now, it's a circus act and it's sometimes easier just to take the entire scroll frame out of the stand (which I'd rather not do). There is this strange concrete block in my yard that serves no purpose, I'm going to see if it's enough weight to hold it down so I can turn the project without having to turn the entire stand.

Then there are the issues with the joint that balances the scroll. I also had this issue on the right, but not to this degree. It's either too high, at too great an angle, not at great-enough of angle, it droops over when I try to rotate around to tie off a thread (and I'm trying to keep all the joints tight, but not too tight...they just work their way loose). Some of these issues may just be Maleficent, she's already wonky because she's on scroll rods that are too long.

I have since watched a few more YouTube videos and it seems as though the first generation K's Creation stand would have been better (it didn't have the joint in the middle of the horizontal bar, but they aren't for sale anymore anyway except for second hand at a higher cost) or, as much as I hate to admit it, I should have doubled the cost and just bought a Lowery's stand. I still can't afford that right now (I really couldn't afford the K's stand, but here we are). All in all, it's STILL better than what I was dealing with and I've made a lot more progress than I could have on the lap stand. I fully expect to be able to finish Maleficent (at least at my current rate) by Christmas. So any progress made is good progress and maybe I can work out a happy medium. I'm still counting it overall as a win, if some minor hiccups. The little side table attached to it alone has been a game changer.

But speaking of a finish, as I've mentioned. I'm on a start freeze until I finish something and I decided a long time ago what a couple of my new starts would be, although I think those plans might change now. Belle of Bonaventure was always the next in line. She reminds me of Christine Daae from Phantom of the Opera.

But now that they've charted Strangely Lonely, which is my favorite JBG artwork of all time, I'm starting to rethink that decision, although I'm still on the fence about it. I do own the print for Strangely Lonely, so it's not like it's not on my wall already, but it's just not the same. Maybe you guys can help? I don't really want two JBG's going at the same time and with Alice and the B's making one, it has to be one or the other. Belle is still leaning more heavily because it's not dithered since it's an older HAED chart and I still prefer (at least JBG's) to be non-dithered, but I do so love Strangely Lonely as a piece of art and, especially now, the premise is just, well...me.

I also have plans to do another DoNa Stitch, either Meridad or Aurora (I've already finished Rapunzel, I just want to finish all of these before I get them framed), but these are super quick and super easy (although Sleeping Beauty will be harder because I plan to change out the colors on the fairies to the "appropriate ones", hence my leaning more towards Merida right now).:

Part of me is also itching to start a Super-Sized Max Color, and most all of those that I have are Aimee Stewart Bookshelves, although I do have other ones of hers...again, still on the fence about all of them, but I am leaning towards Once Upon A Fairy Tale. I'm also going to have to learn parking and convince myself to do tent stitch (and either make my own scroll rods or spend an enormous amount to get some made considering the size of this puppy), but that's a decision for another day, even if I can learn parking and tent now on YouTube:

There is also the issue of doing something either Harry Potter, Once Upon a Time (my TV show) or Marvel related. I've been dying to do something in those worlds forever (although, in fairness I have done a couple of OUAT projects already). Part of me wants to start one of each. I'd also like to do a kit, something easy and NOT full coverage, but I have no idea which in my stash would get that joy, maybe one of my mice kits. But here again, we are getting in the territory of having too many WIPS on the go with no chance of finishing anything. Maybe it would be better to finish two current WIPS before a new start. As someone who grew up doing only one project at a time, this whole WIP experience is still a foreign concept, even after 10+ years of living in WIP-land and I'm starting to wonder if it's not the reason for my burnout...too many insurmountable obstacles (and a gigantic mental health struggle, but we aren't going there anymore, right?). I still need to show you the new Harry Potter's I got over Black Friday, but maybe I'll save that as a reveal as a new start? Especially since several of them are a series, although I am leaning more towards a full coverage one, we'll see. Maybe I'll show you them all after I decide.

Stitching progress, but everything is against me!

I've made quite a bit of stitching progress since my last post (well, considering I've been on hiatus for years), but practically everything is going wrong! My ADHD is still fighting me. How did I ever have so much focus before? I did manage two row finishes though, despite fate's attempts at thwart-tation (I just made up a new word). I left off on Snow White last time here:

And I finished row three, so I'm now at 215.4 hours and I also have some new data because I started using Markup R-XP, I'm at 59.8% with 41,451 stitches done, and 27,918 stitches to go. I'd like to say I'm using Markup to stitch with, but I still prefer marking on paper...old habits die hard and, as someone who works with technology for a living, honestly, I just don't trust it. And I'm not about to buy a different tablet just for Pattern Keeper or a tablet stand or other stuff just to make already printed paper obsolete, at least not now. But anyway, here she is in her row finish and all rows together:

You can also see how dirty she is...who knew projects sitting around for years untouched would get dirty? The next row is the biggest, so at least the dirt will be covered, but the final two are a lot smaller. She's going to be hard to frame if I don't go rectangle (I'd like to go oval). That dark swatch of color on her left cheek is bothering me though and my eye is constantly drawn back to it. It's not dirt, it's the called-for colors, but I don't like it. I may frog it and just restitch with the surrounding lighter color. I just think the color is overall a bit off in her skintone to be honest...she should be way paler (and is on the original artwork), she is Snow White after all. This girl has been spending too much time in Florida! But anyhoo, I decided instead of moving down to the next row, it was time to move on to another project.

I switched out to Night Wish by Annie Rodrigue (another HAED), which I apparently haven't touched since 2020. But this time, the ADHD wasn't the biggest hurtle, it was my stand! It's a lap stand and it obviously wasn't really made for general scroll rods (not many are, or maybe aren't meant to be used for 20+ years), but I just couldn't keep it clamped shut down on this project. It's also why I moved on from the Bride Dollmaker to Snow, trying to find a project that would clamp down better. It has scroll rod end clamps made for it that have a dowel rod that fits into the stand (but they don't fit all scroll dowels), but I only have one set of these, and those are locked on Alice and the B's. I'm not ready to go back to a project that big yet. The clamps that came with it, on the other hand, have a kind of curved groove that look like they were made more for Q-snaps (which I don't like) and, despite changing out the nuts and bolts (a couple of times), the wood is just worn out and won't clamp down good anymore. They used to hold scroll rods of all kinds just perfectly. But I have noticed the decline in the past few years. If I could do woodworking, I would make a new set of clamps and I have ideas how to improve it, but I can't and I don't know anyone who can, so I have to retire it. I bought that stand off of eBay many moons ago before Etsy and that seller is long gone (he was gone not long after I bought it, if I remember right, I think he passed away).

Needless to say, despite my lack of funds thanks to my lovely HVAC purchase, I had to break down and buy a new stand. I refused during Bride Dollmaker last month due to finances, but I really can't put it off anymore, it has become a necessary expense if I'm going to continue stitching. After a rather exhaustive search for a new lap stand, I gave that up and I ordered a new floor stand from K's Creations (which came in over the holiday, but it was delivered to work, so I haven't gotten it home yet). I have never cared for floor stands personally, but we'll see if I can adapt. I figured that, once I start on a super-sized HAED, I would need one anyway, so might as well start getting used to it now. Supposedly, it will work with all scroll rods, but I have the feeling I'll need some sort of adapter or something like a Lowery stand has that I'm unaware of (despite reading every comment and looking at every picture, but not seeing an issue...I even looked through the other listings for an adapter, but I didn't see one, at least not at the time of my purchase). I went with this stand versus a Lowery because, after I modified the Lowery for my surroundings or added the appropriate accoutrements, it was going to be well over $350 and that is just too much for me. And I'm not worthy (or wealthy) enough for a Millennium stand. I went with the cheaper of the three, so let's hope it doesn't bite me in the behind, because it still wasn't cheap and I can't turn around and buy a Lowery stand now. But I'm getting off track here...Night Wish. Like I said, not much progress. Here she was back in February of 2020:

And this is my little bit of progress in one day, she is now at 91.07 hrs, 22.2% done with 44,778 stitches completed and a whopping 160,222 to go, and this is only row 2 after all. She just would NOT stay in the stand without coming loose every five minutes and it was wearing me out! I'm not built for one-handed stitching, so I had to move on to something I could work with.

I decided to go back to Maleficent which is actually on scroll rods for another lap stand I have, an American Dream (although I still put it in my main lap stand). Whereas my other lap stand is just worn out, that American Dream one just sucks and I HATE using it! Time sometimes clouds the bad memories though, and I thought I was overreacting and I could handle it for a few days at least. I did, but ugh, what a pain (and no, I was NOT overreacting)! As expensive as that thing was back in the day, you can tell a non-stitcher designed that thing. At least it held the frame, but that's about all I can say for it. It's too short and very heavy for what it is. I also have to position it at weird angles propped up on top of one knee with the other knee holding it up and my arms reach at very unnatural angles. I actually think it's designed for someone to sit at a kitchen table with the stand on the table and stitch. Does anyone actually still do that? Maybe in the olden days when you had nowhere else to sit, but not in the last 100 years or so, right? How uncomfortable would THAT be? Although, I can remember sitting at the dining room table trying to embroidery with my mother back in the day, but we are talking mid to late 70's, so again, olden days! Needless to say, I was able to make enough progress to get some work done, especially with a heating pad on my back the entire time. Maleficent by Annya Kai...left off on her in 2022 (she's always the one I go back to when I start stitching because she is so close to done):

And despite the physical restrictions, I managed to finish the row:

That's just lighting at the top and not dirt, although we'll get to her other issues in a mo-mo. I did get a bit further into the last row for a total of 771.37 hrs, 88.3%, I only have 24,844 stitches to go and I've gotten 188,356 completed:

This bottom row is also not a full page row (almost, but not quite), so I've decided (at least for now), that I'm going to focus on her until she's finished. She also has an additional complication...the glue from the velcro that I use to attach the fabric to the scroll rods has melted to the good part of fabric at the bottom three to five rows (I guess having your air conditioner go out 10+ times while a project sits for years tends to do that). It's annoying stitching through thick melted glue, but I don't know how to get it off, so stitch through I must. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. I didn't want to use something like alcohol because of the color-fastness of the thread and I didn't want to use Goo-Gone because that stuff is like lighter fluid. It's all black down there anyway, so it shouldn't affect the thread. I guess that's what I get for having a 2 inch border. Normally, I'd have a much longer border, especially top and bottom, and cut the velcro layer off when I'm finished, so I wouldn't care about the glue layer. But I've also never had it melt before. And, in all fairness, I never expected to still be stitching on the same project almost 9 years later (I started her in 2015). It's been a rough decade. Frankly, I use this stuff on all my projects, which, ironically is an American Dreams product as well (should have guessed, right), so I am a bit worried about what the others look like. Maybe I should go back to using tape like the old days? I sure as heck ain't goin bind stitching to the scroll rods thing...UGH! But I'm not thinking about that now. Lesson learned, 4 inch borders from now on (at least top to bottom, 3 is fine for the sides).

Speaking of new borders, I'm also still on my self-imposed new-start restriction until I finish at least one WIP, so hence the focus on Maleficent since she is the closest to finished. If I get her done soon, I can start something new and maybe that will help invigorate me a bit. I did purchase a couple of Harry Potter patterns over the weekend, but it was the only shopping I did anywhere (and I'm quite proud of myself for that, although today is not overwith yet, it being CyberMonday and all). They were all on drastic sale, so I even saved a pretty penny, but this post is long enough without more pics, right? Maybe in another one.

Oh, and just because I didn't have enough struggles to deal with, I also moved back to my recliner to stitch instead of the couch, which made it a bit easier on my back and rear (especially with the booser cushion I bought, and before the American Dream stand fiasco, but should be better for the floor stand hopefully, the left and right placement will be switched and I'm left-handed, so it works out). It was kind of an ordeal moving everything back over to the chair, with the lights and all...I took out my side table to the chair and replaced it with a bookshelf for my Harry Potter stuff a few months ago, so I don't have a place for storage anymore and the outlet is hard to get to now. Plus, now that I'm reaclimating to the chair, I have to remember to move back to the couch before I fall asleep (they say it's REALLY bad for you to sleep in a recliner, especially if you have circulation issues, so I'm trying to avoid that). Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't. The joys of medication. One thing is for sure, neither pup cares for me sitting in the chair now. They want me back on the couch!

And that's about it! I'll have the new stand at home tonight, and I'm pretty excited! Hopefully, it will be a game-changer because that was a lot of money wasted if it isn't. Be my luck, I'll have to buy specialty scroll rods for it too and that will be more expense! Ugh! Even if I do though, it won't help me now, so I'll have to look for another stand again. But I'll make sure to give you an update, either way and a review. And I know I haven't explained my stand very well, so I'll post some pictures of that too if you want, might help.

More Stitching...well, I'm trying anyway

I've been trying very hard to not spend any extraneous money. It hasn't been easy, but I've been focusing all my energy on paying off my vacation so I can then focus all my money on this stupid hvac. My water heater is now making strange noises, but I'm trying my hardest to ignore that.

I think my stitchy bug has come back though, finally! I've been watching a LOT of FlossTube and I've got some more stitching done, although I am having some serious issues with my ADHD. All I think about all day at work is stitch, stitch, stitch and, as long as that's the first thing I sit down and do when I walk in the door, I'm good for a while. But the first time I get up to do something else, or if I get distracted for a few minutes and set it down then BAM! I can't make myself pick it back up again. Sometimes that means I've stitched for 10 minutes, sometimes an hour, but usually no more than. Or, even worse, I spend all day daydreaming about stitching, only to get distracted right when I get home long enough that I end up just vegging on the couch and not stitching at all! It's kind of ridiculous sometimes, especially when a lot of the time I'm actually watching FlossTube for the motivation, but I can't bring myself to pick up my stitching! I'm trying hard to get my ADHD under control right now, but it's just been allowed to run wild for so long, it's like trying to tame an unruly teenager.

Needless to say, I did work more on The Bride Dollmaking, although I didn't get much done. If the amount of time I spend thinking about her translated to stitching time, I would have gotten the row done. But for now, I left off here:

And I got just a bit further here:

I was enjoying the project, but by Friday night after skipping another night of stitching (after an entire day of stitchy daydreams, and a lengthy conversation with a new coworker about my "love" of stitching and showing off my WIPs...I mean seriously, how is that NOT motivation?), I decided maybe I needed to switch it up and try another one, so Saturday morning I whipped out Snow White by Jessica Clark (back to a HAED, more comfortable territory for me) and had much better luck. I apparently havent't stitched on her since Jan 2021, and left off here:

And I faired far better this weekend, I averaged about five hours a day on Sat and Sun, so she ended up here by Sun night:

Snow White was always a pattern that I loved, but it was the fabric that sucked on this one, so it's been horrible to stitch since day 1. The co-worker I mentioned earlier was really excited about this one, which in turn got me excited about it, which is why I chose to go back to it. I was expecting problems but, to be honest, other than being able to tell the fabric was different than Bride's, it seemed OK his time around. Either it's because I'm not used to stitching and I just can't tell the fabric is a pain, or I've softened in my old age. But as of now, as long as I'm stitching, I don't care!

I don't have a non-Apple tablet, so I can't use Pattern Keeper, and frankly, I'm not going to buy a non-Apple tablet just for an app. I did try the free version of Markup R-XP on The Bride and spent a bit too much time at work getting caught up to where I was up to now. And yes, while it was nice to see all the percentages of where I was, what I done, and what I had left, the extra work just wasn't worth it in the end. When I do typically use apps, I use HoursTracker to keep up with my time and EZPDF reader to find hidden stitches (on the HAEDs at least), but I'm still very much a paper chart girl. I print them off on a lighter cardstock that is sturdy enough for everyday use for a couple of years, but not too heavy and thick to take up a lot of space. I use color pencils to mark my progress and that works for me. As someone who works in I.T., I know that you can't trust I.T. exclusively. I can just picture marking dozens of pages and then the app crashed or the pad does and whoosh! All gone! My system works for me and I just don't see the need to throw out percentages and stitch counts, while cool, in the end it doesn't really matter unless you have a FlossTube channel I guess.

And, of course, despite the spending moratorium, there were a couple of things that slipped under that radar. First and foremost, my stitch lap stand that I love so much is on its last legs and now that I live on the couch instead of my recliner, it's all just very awkward anyway position-wise. I broke down and ordered a K's Creation floor stand. I hate I had to spend that much money, but I'm wasting a LOT of time trying to keep my frame in the stand (it keeps falling out), adjusting myself because the whole setup is just weird, etc. I may have to go back to the chair anyway, but at least the new stand (whenever it comes in), will hold my project secure no matter where I'm at. I debated a Lowery or something else, but by the time I added all the extra things I would need for it to work on the couch, the K's ended up cheaper (although not by much) and it's coming from the States, so I don't have to worry about waiting months for something that is going to inevitibly get stuck in customs (story of my life).

I also took advantage of the HAED 50% off sale, but I only had one item in my wishlist (well, the same item twice in two different versions), so that wasn't a big deal. There are technically two versions of this pattern, one without the quotes from famous writers and one without and, initially, I had both in my wishlist, but in the end, I decided the one with quotes is more "me", so that's the one I went with and deleted the other one. It's Bountiful Bookshelf by Aimee Stewart. I have quite a few of those bookshelves, and I always get the supersized, max color versions, so I'll probably NEVER stitch them (because there isn't enough lifetime for one, let alone all the ones I own), but here we are...

I also purchases about four patterns from Vivsters (a seller on Etsy that I found through a FlossTuber). I initially just looked at some patterns and wishlisted them, but they almost immediately sent me a coupon, so I thought, "why not?". The all look fairly easy and my mind immediately went to some nice hand-dyed fabric and silk thread (I'm already thinking big again). This one is Quaker Tiles-Gemstone Forest

Quaker Tiles-Black on White (and just now I realized it's the same exact pattern as Gemstone, but I'm so horrible at color conversion, I don't even mind because I would screw it up if I tried to change this out to just black by myself...and yes, even I could screw that up!

Moroccan Lanterns, because I just LOVE Moroccan lanterns...I have dozens of them all over the house. I actually like a lot of Moroccan decor, but another story for another day.

And last, a really quick and small stitch, All Hallows Eve-Pumpkins

As I was sorting these new stash photos, I realized that there were also four other new projects that I bought quite some time ago that I apparently never mentioned! So let me show you those as well since I'm on a roll. I have no clue when I bought these, but it had to be some time in 2022, because I'm fairly sure I haven't bought anything since then. There are only four, and three are Aimee Stewarts (shock...I seem to really only buy Jasmine Becket-Griffith and Aimee Stewart), but there was one by Joanne Rowland called Toffee. Part of me really hates the thought of stitching all that brown (reminds me the giant Jesus head), but I just LOVE the thought of a Highland Coo above my couch!

There was one Max Color Super-Size bookshelf from Aimee, The Grand Library

And the other two where the Life Is An Open Book series, one for London and one for Paris (both are both MC/SS, of course, because I'm a glutton for punishment):

And that's it for now! We'll see how I get along stitching on Snow. I'm not ready to enter any stitch-alongs or anything yet, but I'm working on it. I need to see if I can keep up the momentum first.

Pic failures and, well overall failures (but some stitching)

I had another few days off around Halloween with the specific purpose of taking a trip to the beach and downloading Lightroom so I could get my trip pictures taken care of (it is taking FAR too long trying to do it with Apple Photos). But fate, as per usual, had other plans. First off, we had two days of heavy storms, and then, my bosses decided to have an exec meeting and I'm the only person that can start the Zoom meeting for them, which meant that I could risk being on the road and potentially not being in a location to be able to start their meeting, or not going to the beach at all and making sure their meeting was able to be started...so I stayed home for their meeting because I'm a good little girl (a stupid zombie).

As I sat fuming over my missed beach day, logged in 10 minutes early knowing full well that they would be at least 10 minutes late, I gave them another 10 minutes past their usual lateness before I texted someone to find out why I had been sitting there for 30 minutes with no one but me logged in..."oh, they cancelled the meeting!", is what I got back! Seriously? I gave up a beach day to sit there all day on stand-by, just to be told it was for nothing? Apparently they cancelled it that morning and didn't bother to tell anyone but each other. Wow. Good to know how important I am. Am I shocked? No. Should it change my attitude about how I approach work? Absolutely. Will it? Probably not.

"Well", you are probably saying to yourself, "at least you got to work on your pics, right?". Wrong. Also, during all this "fun", my heater once again went out like it has so many times before, only we were in a freeze warning. My glorious new roof? Well, they didn't seal up around the vent to the exhaust, and it leaked down into that circuit board that already had issues (I believe I've mentioned in the past that it has been replaced three times before). Since the last time it has been replaced, it has now been discontinued and they couldn't get it anymore, which means I needed to get my entire heating and cooling system replaced...the furnace on the inside, the air conditioner, the whole shoot-and-shebang (even the thermostat).

Wanna guess what it cost? Ten thousand dollars...yes, that's $10,000.00. I've cried a lot in the past few days. I had to take out a loan because I didn't want to put that on a 21% interest credit card. My stupid trailer isn't even worth 10g's! But that's how much I paid after three days of freezing to death with just our cook-stove and an electric blanket to keep us warm (and it was going to be $12g's, but they took pity on me because I'm a long-time customer and I cried quite a bit).

It means I'm not moving anywhere for the next 3-5 years (at least), because I now have a loan to pay off. For the first time in well over a year, I haven't spent all my free time on Zillow looking at real estate (because why?). Even now, if I say $10,000 too many times, I start to tear up. So there is no Lightroom in my future, no anything extra. I will probably be eating ramen for the next 3-5 years.

Granted, the new heater/air thingee is plastic, very loud, but hopefully it is more energy efficient. You'd think for that kind of money it would at least be built well and quiet. But at least, I only set on 72 when it used to be set on 78 for us to be comfortable, so maybe that's a good thing. I'm really trying hard to see the positives, it' just not so easy right now. We're back to sleeping on the couch because it's so loud and blows so hard throught he vents it sets the whole dynamic of the house off and it freaks me out. Although, in fairness, it doesn't take much to send me back to the couch. Everything considered, what's a couple hundred more dollars to get a new couch? At least I could sleep in a bit of comfort instead of chronic pain, right? Why make that easier too? Just suck up the pain Keebs. Between my vacation expenses and now this loan, I'm in worse shape than before I had all my credit cards charged up to the max! UGH! WHY! Granted, they aren't charged to the max, but add in the new loan and I'm getting there. Focus on the cards, THEN new couch. Change of subject now...

I did stitch some (believe it or not). I think it was more out of trying to keep my hands busy so they didn't freeze off. And, even though it's actually several hours worth of work, it's pitiful. You can tell it's been forever since I stitched! I worked on the Bride Dollmaker, one I apparently haven't touched since 2020! I mean, really? 2020? Has it been that long since I stitched? Geez! I ended the first couple of rows back in Sept of 2020...

And, as you can see...pitiful...I mean, look how dirty the canvas is (and the pic isn't really even clear, geez)!

And my ORT jar was completely empty...I'm not sure if I just haven't stitch this year at all, or I've spilled it at some point and they got lost (although I'm leaning on just not having stitched at all). We'll see if I keep up the momentum. There were several days of my time off when I just stared at the TV. I couldn't deal. And my stand will not hold the frames anymore. I'm not sure if it's the frame though or the stand. But right now, I will NOT be buying a new stand, so I either deal with it, or stop stitching. We'll see.

As for the vacation pics, they are going to take some time. I took a couple of thousand (I really hate that word now) and I've only edited a couple of hundred. It's hard when you have to open them one at a time, decide if they are worth saving, edit it however, save it, rename it, and move to the next one. I've gotten where I really hate computers now, so I do NOT touch mine when I get home. My iPad, yes, laptop, no. So, anything I do is in my freetime at work (which is rare). I'll get there, it's just going to take a LOT longer than I wanted it to. But hey, at least I can do it in a warm house if I do it at all? Positive, right? Geez.