Stitching ups and downs

I've had my good days and bad days stitching since my last post. I was moving along on Alice and the B's, but I have since switched four times (but more on that in a bit). I left off last post here:

And, after another 2876 stitches and 12.75 hours, I stopped Sat the 22nd. I'm at 186,830 stitches out of 329,175 total, which is 56.76% complete. The lack of dithering makes stitching this one a breeze, I'm just in a weird area of the picture and don't care for it (which is odd because faces are kind of my thing, it has to be the colors). I left off here last post:

I know I had planned to finish the row, but I was getting so bored with it and I decided if I didn't switch, I would quit stitching again.

So about mid-day on the 22nd, I switched to The Bride Dollmaker by Medusa Dollmaker (a GeckoRouge kit). It was one I started in Jul of 2017, before my stay at the "Hotel California", so she's had ups and downs of her own. I left off on her back in Nov of 2023 here:

As a side note, the level of dirt that accumulates on these things is just horrible, so please ignore. It will get stitched over eventually.

After a sparce week of stitching, days on and days off, I got 2563 stitches done in 16.17 hours, which is a total of 46,024 stitches out of 107,269 and 42.91%. I stopped last Friday here:

I wasn't feeling the dithering on this one (you guys know how I feel about dithering and the fit I threw when HAED switched to that method of charting, but that's an old fight best given up now because it can't be changed). I love the picture, I just don't care for the charting method. It will be great once it's finished.

I decided to switch again to Snow White (a non-dithered HAED retired pattern) by Jessica Clark when I got up last Saturday (I didn't even get up until 3, so weird weekend all around). It was one of my 2016 New Year's starts, so it's been hanging around for a while. I also left off on her in Nov of 2023 at the second row finish here:

And very quickly remembered why I don't like this one...crappy fabric. By Sunday the 23rd (the next day), I was just done. I did a measly 10.23 hrs and finished 1318 stitches (which is shameful). That leaves me at 42,769 stitches total out of 69,374 and 61.65%. I could probably finish this one easily by the end of the year if I could stand the fabric, but I just can't take it for long periods of time. I still don't know why I didn't restart it from the get-go. Maybe I didn't have spare fabric? Oh well, again, a dead fight. I did manage to cover a chili stain from like 5 years ago, so not all bad. I am more worried about the dirt on this one since there is so much blank area that's part of the picture, but anyhoo, another dead subject. I left off here (which looks like more than it is):

By this point, I was struggling and debating quitting again. I think my mind was just in a weird place last week.

I took Sunday night off and started again yesterday with Harry Potter US Bookcovers by Fox and Teacup Designs. This one was one of my Leap Year starts in Feb 2024 and I stopped here that same month:

Since I decided to switch later last night (I wasn't going to stitch at all), I only got 5.1 hrs in and 1508 stitches. It was slow at first, but I picked up once I had literally done almost 2/3 of a page! That's not as great as it sounds because they are weirdly formatted pages and probably only equal about 1/3 of a large-charted HAED. So, even though it was just one night, that makes a total of 8231 stitches out of 121,975, or 6.75%. I'd like to finish the row this week (which is another 2 1/3 pages), but I'm taking it one day at a time. This isn't dithered and the fabric is the pre-gridded 28ct evenweave, so I can't use those excuses on this one. It will probably just be boredom that stops me. Last night, I stopped here:

I'm not sure where the rest of the week is going to take me, but I guess time will tell. My "change every Sunday" policy is obviously going out the window (for now), but whatever I have to do to keep interested, that's what I'll do. I have also decided to change my 55's on my stitching from 55 total stitches on every project to 5500. I think that's an easily obtainable goal at this pace, at least on most projects, probably not the UFO's though. I said I would pull UFO's back out too, but those may stay at 55 stitches total. They are, afterall, UFO'ed for a reason. For right now, one day at a stitchy time for me!

Working on my 55's

Since this year is my "Year of 55's", aka New Years' Resolutions consisting of 55 items per category, I've been moving along slowly but surely. I finished the final Gabriel books by Sylvain Reynard (to go with the Gabriel series on Passionflix), so that has me at 3 books (I read the first one at the end of last year). I've gone through 7 movies and shows that I have never seen before and I'm still working through a few more. I have gone through a few things to throw out, a few household repairs and chores, a few new food dishes (some wins, some losses), and at least 10 uncomfortable things (but since most of my life is uncomfortable, I'm having issues with those). I haven't touched any new music, lost any pounds, paid down any debt (of note), or saved up for a car payment.

But, and the thing that you guys will care most about, is that I have started stitching again! I'm swapping out projects every Sunday.

I started last Wednesday with DoNa Stitches Merida. It's probably my easiest project because it's on 18ct and it's solid blocks of colors. I had barely started on it back in March of 2024 and left off here:

Although it was really slow stitching at first, I'm getting better (it's been almost a year since I stitched on anything). I worked on it for 14.97 hrs (most of that was on Saturday) and got 3185 stitches done (so I hit my 55 stitches on every project mark with Merida). If I keep up (even with switching every week, I should be able to finish this one by the end of the year). I ended Merida on Saturday night (well, technically early Sunday morning, but that's just semantics) and left off here:

Once I broke myself in with Merida, I switched to Alice and the Bouguereau Princesses by HAED. Bit of back story: I cleaned off my Jasmine Becket Griffith wall in my house, put the prints in a storage box, and only left up the stitches (and one print). The other half of the wall now holds a few of my Disney cross stitches, but now the whole wall looks pretty blank with only about 5-6 on each wall. I need a JBG to make that wall look a bit fuller since that is the most lacking side. So I think, if I can keep stitching, Alice and the B's will be my focus piece and I'm going to try to finish it by the end of the year. I may not switch it out this Sunday and keep going on it for a while. But, if you remember, I left off here in January of 2024:

Today is only Thursday, but I've already put in 21.32 hrs and 4556 stitches. Hopefully, with a full day on Saturday (and possibly Sunday), I will be able to double that. Here is where I am now:

I'm still incredibly dissatisfied with the colors in this project, but it was designed that way, so I'm kind of screwed there. I'm over 55% done on this one, so it will be a hard sell to get it done by December. Even if I do, I don't know when I'll get it framed. Maleficent (which was my focus piece in 2023) is still sitting on the kitchen table in a ziploc. That will be a chore for me to complete this year, get Maleficent framed and, if I finish Alice, get it framed as well. Merida is part of a set (I've already finished Rapunzel), so that one will not be on the framing list. As a matter of fact, I even bought the Tiana and Mulan projects, so now I have all of them (until more come out). I want all of them in matching frames, so I'm going to finish them all first.

I'm also starting to get the hankering to start at least three new projects. I want to start A Discovery of Witches (which I haven't even printed out yet), the JBG of Strangely Lonely (which is the one print that is still on my wall), and one of the mouse kits. But, maybe I should finish another project first. I'm out of scroll frames, I'm trying to save money (so spending a fortune on fabric and threads is kind of stupid right now), and I do have so many WIPs, it's a itch I'm trying very hard to not scratch.

But that's the update for now. Sorry for the mid week update, but I was in the mood for it!