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.