Sorry I'm late, but have BIG news!

Let's get the stitching out of the way first. My ADHD is in high gear right now. I'm having issues focusing on any piece for very long, so I was all over the shop this week. I stopped working on Amour et Vengeance and moved back to Belle of Bonaventure, which is what I wanted to do anyway. I left off on her here last time:

I'm not digging her off white face (she's a bit Wednesday Addams) but, I'm hoping it will all work out in the end. I managed another 10.58 hrs and 2675 stitches for a total of 68.22 hrs, 17,705/1118,000 stitches and 15%.

Next up, I went ahead and started Garden Path from Monet by Yiotas.

I'm fighting with the large paper pattern, but I'm just not feeling it either, so it got one whole night. It's not big, that marked square in the middle is the size of the whole thing, but I think the confetti might make it take a long time. I also can't give complete totals since it didn't cross into Markup RXP right, but by the pattern, I know there are a total of 26,730 stitches. I can also tell you that I did 804 stitches in 3.8 hrs. I'll keep up with the stitches as I go manually.

I kind of realized I needed something a bit easier and maybe that would sort out my ADHD, so I picked Merida by DoNa Stitches. I last left on this on 2-9 here:

I only worked on it one day this week so far (other things to discuss in a mo-mo), but I got another 886 stitches in 3.72 hrs, for a total of 22.47 hrs, 4745/41,836 stitches and I'm now at 11.34%. If I focus on this, it should be a quick finish, maybe a month or two, but again, ADHD is a pain, dude.

On Tuesday, I had a HORRIBLE crick in my neck (which I still have, FYI), so I decided not to stitch that night. But that's not the good news, or scary news, depending on each second my obessive brain flip flops.

I had already decided that this year, considering the debt from the past several trips, even though this is my 55th birthday and a big one, I probably wasnt' going to go anywhere for my birthday. I did consider a few places, Nantucket, Cape Hatteras, even Universal for Harry Potter (which was OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, BTW), but eventually decided I wasn't really interested in anywhere and decided maybe to pay down some debt first and maybe get my new skirting or new deck.

I was having a rather innocous conversation with a co-worker about swimming, something I haven't done since I was a teen, since I grew up with a pool, but I refuse to be seen in public in a bathing suit now, so it's a moot point. I was reminded that the last time I stuck even my feet in a pool was many years ago at Wilderness Lodge, my favorite Disney resort. Then I started trying to figure out when the last time I had stayed at Wilderness Lodge and it was 2013! That was ridiculous! Then my brain went into overdrive. I randomly ended up on the Disney website to check prices around my birthday and they weren't bad! I saved a cart, but decided I needed to talk to my therapist on Wednesday before I did anything drastic.

As some of you may remember, my last trip to Disney in 2021 was a life changer. Not only did I plan that bad (booking a month out), but I didn't physically prepare so I spent the entire trip in severe pain (and it even led to both my knee surgeries in the couple of years that followed). It was also, not only the first trip I had taken since "Hotel California" in 2017 (my last Disney trip before that was 2016), but the first trip since COVID. It was stupid of me to do it and it severely burned me on Disney totally. I did start taking trips again, but it's been to the Northeast (several times) and Boulder and a few other places, not Disney. I had decided that I can go a ton of other places for a 1/3 of the price of a Disney trip (not including spending money, which would probably lower it to an 1/8 of the price). Plus, I disagreed with a TON of the changes Disney has been making. Disney hasn't been a thought for me in the years since (well, maybe a fleeting one, but more of reminiscing the old days).

This morning (Wednesday), I realized I don't have therapy today, it's Friday. I couldn't wait until Friday. They might book up at the cheaper rate, the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets should go on sale at any time this month, timing was key. So, this morning, after talking to a couple of co-workers, I booked it! A birthday trip to Wilderness Lodge! It's 6 days/7 nights (hence my 7 park ticket purchase). I decided to book a value resort for the night before (making it 7 nights), simply because I want to get my ticket's worth and didn't want to waste a night at a Deluxe Resort when I would be arriving late. I have done this before, one night at a Value then move to the Deluxe, and it worked out well. My therapist and I will just fight it out on Friday, it's done.

Yeah, I'm going to Disney World! Granted, I have to walk a lot between now and then to get in better physical shape as well as lose at least 30lbs (I've done it before, I can do it again). I'm not entirely sure where the money is going to come from, but that's why god made credit cards and I do have a Disney rewards card, so more Disney points for me (and adds to my spending money fund). Because I haven't been in such a long time and there have been SO many changes, I will have a few months to study up (and gives me a project for the next few months and focuses my brain).

I booked the Quick Service meal plan instead of the full Dining Plan. For those that don't know, Quick Service plan includes 2 quick service (or counter service, non-reservation sit down restaurants), one snack and a refillable mug (which is only good at the resort, but I collect the mugs more than actually use them on the trip). The full plan includes one quick service, one sit-down meal, one snack and the mug. I can't remember what I did last time (I will look it up when I get home), but considering I can count on one hand how many times I've been in a restaurant since 2017, I'm not sure it is wise to book restaurants. I will probably eat at Raglan Road for my birthday (it had become kind of a Disney tradition for me...bangers and mash!) and I can pay for that out of pocket. But I can change the dining plan if need be between now and then, or even upgrade when I get there. I need to research the restaurants because they have all changed since the last time I was there (as well as MANY other things).

One of the big issues in 2021 was the buses and how close I had to sit next to people after COVID (something that always bothered me, but having strangers touch me after that was almost unbearable). But with the Lodge, most of transportation is not buses. Yes, Animal Kingdom is exclusively bus, but the Magic Kingdom is a boat. I can get a boat to the Contemporary and take the monorail to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Epcot and the Studios both connect via boats and skyliners (and the skyliner goes to Pop Century, so I can get to Disney Springs via boat from either Epcot or the Studios)...and about a dozen other transportation options other than buses. Last time at Saratoga Springs, even though I wasn't exclusively tied to bus (there were boat options), the skyliner was barely working and new and I didn't want to risk it. That makes it even more exciting, human distance (to a point)!

Normally, I also upgrade my park tickets when I get there and get an annual Passholder (basically for the extras you get with that, special pins, discounts, etc), with the idea that I will go again in a couple of months, which would make it worth it financially, but I have only ever gone back a second time in the year of the pass twice. I'm not sure it's a good idea to upgrade (but even just for the discounts and pins, I might splurge and do it anyway).

I also have not edited a picture from any trip since Disney 2016, and I'm not sure those are edited properly. I need to get Lightroom for a couple of months and fix that. Depending on when I start that, I might actually be able to photo update you on all my past trips since 2021!

This will also probably cut into my stitching. I take Disney planning VERY seriously, and the fact that I didn't plan in 2021 is one of the reasons why that trip failed so spectacularly. I won't risk that happening again. So stay tuned, more Disney info to follow! And maybe I'll be able to update my Disney reviews page! I haven't done that since 2015 (didn't even apparently do them for 2016). If I don't shut up now at the possibilities, I won't shut up at all! I'm already pissing off co-workers today!

Not the best week, but...

Stitch-wise, it wasn't a bad week, it was just the rest of the world that fell apart, but more on that later. I did actually progress with The Bride Doll Making (I really need to make sure I do that title right, half the time I say "Dollmaker" which is the artist's name, but you guys know what I mean). I left off last time here:

I worked on her for three days, although each day I did less and less. I got another 1566 stitches in an additional 9.02 hrs, for a total of 47,583/107,269 stitches, which is 44.36% and a total of 248.63 hrs.

I moved on to a new start, the 40 year-old kit, The English Garden. I remember why I never started it (I was scared of the 18ct fabric, which is hilarious now), but I don't remember why I purchased it in the first place because it's not my style. Maybe it was a gift? I really don't remember, but here is what it will look like:

I had replaced the fabric with another 18ct but, my goodness, is the new fabric stiff! Since the threads aren't labeled with their DMC numbers, I'm a bit SOL on those if I run out (other than just trying to color match them). I also can't give you a total percentage or how many stitches I have left. Since it was from a kit, and the pattern was one long sheet of pattern (and not the only of my new starts that is that way), I can't trust that Markup-RXP has the correct number of stitches total. I'll know if Markup-RXP got it right or not by the end of the project. So, I'm going to do this one like so: I did 3466 stitches in two days and in a total of 16.18 hrs.

It was weird working on a kit again, but I'm glad there were no half or quarter stitches. There will be some backstitching, but not a lot, so I'm not worried about it.

On Sunday, I started another new start, Strangely Lonely, artist Jasmine Becket Griffith and charted by HAED.

This is my absolute favorite piece of artwork by JBG, probably because I feel a kinship to this picture. But stitching it started out rough. Firstly, I got about 350 stitches in and realized I hadn't gridded it properly. I took the total measurements, split them in half in both directions, found the middle of the fabric, and counted away. I wasn't considering the fact that the first page would start at the beginning of a 10 block and not in the middle.

It took way longer to frog the stitches than it did to; a) stitch it originally and b) restitch it. Numerous times I almost just stopped altogether. The culmination of everything else from the week was really dragging me down, but I continued on. I got 1159/273,150 stitches done, which is 0.42% and I put in 6.35 hrs (I did keep the first stitching time included in that, but not the frogging). Here is where I stopped last night:

I'm not sure what will happen this week stitch-wise. Strangely Lonely is in a weird place, so I'm not feeling it, but I know I will eventually if I get through this rough patch.

On the home front, the boys went to the vet for their 6 month check-up and shots on Thursday. The news wasn't great (to say the least). Bug needs his teeth cleaned (which isn't cheap), but he's only 11 so it can still be done. Bam's can't be cleaned because he's 15, and they desperately need to be cleaned. Bam, my beautiful baby boy...his heart murmur is starting to affect his kidneys and liver and his counts were elevated. They put him on the medicine that Zander was on for years, so we'll see how it goes. Back in the day, they also told me that Zander didn't have long to live when he was 5 and he lived to 11, but with Bam being 15, they told me to "prepare myself" (although I'm trying to stay positive). Plus, Zander was sick his whole life and Bam never really has been other than being blind now. Bam also has a knee that sounds like one of mine, all gravel, which explains why he's been walking like a car drifting on sand. To make it all worse, their bill (not including the future teeth cleaning) was almost $1000 for 15 minutes worth of interaction on a 9lb and 17lb pup? Really? Bam was a bit put out by the time we got home, and me hovering over him didn't help. He got so aggrevated, he wouldn't sit in my lap, he sat in his bed, but he did stare at the chair, even when I wasn't in it and I could tell he wanted up. Stubborness is a trait that runs in our family though, so he camped in the bed all weekend!

And, if that wasn't enough, I've been having issues with the skirting around my trailer since we have high winds almost constantly now, so, once we got home from the vet, I was checking it and found something really disturbing.

I'm pretty sure it's been almost a year since I looked at that spot, but I don't remember any burn marks (and I think I would had the same reaction I had this time had I saw it before). Also, considering this is also about one foot from the incoming natural gas pipe, I wasn't feeling too good about it. So, Thursday night, I barely slept at all and I called my electrician first thing. He wasn't going to come out because he said it wasn't anything he recognized as electrical and I needed to talk to the trailer park people and find out what that was. I let work know I would be late and they just told me to take a vacation day (which I'm glad I agreed, I needed it). Once the trailer park maintenance came out, he said it was an old cable box that wasn't connected anymore and the burn marks looked old and were probably burned into the pipe piece before they placed it there to make a dent for the box. I wasn't happy with that answer, but what could I do? I had two separate "specialists" telling me it was nothing and the burn mark does look old.

But I also had a long discussion with the park people about getting my skirting replaced and potentially my deck (depending on how much the skirting costs). My deck is about like a surfboard now, you never know if it's just going to slide and collapse on itself with every step on it.

There are a lot of repairs that need to be done on that trailer, but I really don't want to invest the money in it, especially when the park owner (who lives in Texas) could sell it to a developer at any time and then we'll all be homeless (the entire neighborhood now is nothing but cookie cutter subdivisions). I was told when we moved my trailer here (almost 30 years ago now), that it wouldn't survive another move. And land here is so expensive (and exclusive as to where trailers can even go), I would be out of luck even if I could move it. But there is no way I could afford a house now, even if I had to move, so I just sit and wait for doomsday. But I figure if I keep the outside looking good, maybe they will leave me alone for now. They don't need to know what the inside looks like, right? If I'm about to get swamped with vet bills, the house can wait.

I kept waiting for that third terrible thing to happen (bad things come in threes), but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm on hyper-alert waiting for #3, because it's coming. Here's hoping that it's only two bad things, for the first time ever in my life!

Weird Week!

Tornado after tornado this week and it's getting OLD! The sirens go off for hours, the TV weathermen scream "we're all gonna die" constantly, it's mass hysteria down here! The phrase that really gets me (and something they actually say, and not me joking) is "get in your tornado safe spot now, we can't stress this enough". Every time they say it, it sets my teeth on edge. Let's keep reminding me that I'm poor and live in a trailer! I don't HAVE a tornado safe space unless I drive all the way across town. There is no family, no friends, not even a ditch within a close distance to me, so where the heck am I supposed to go? UGH! Granted, there have been several towns within a 10-20 mile radius of me that have gotten hit pretty bad, but I've taken to the mantra of, "if I can't see it, I'm not leaving" and "if I can see it, I'm already dead anyway, so might as well die with my stuff". But, it does cut into stitching time, so I spent the majority of the week winding bobbins for the upcoming projects.

I had planned to spend the week on Alice and the B's, but that didn't happen. I left off here last time:

I did manage two more days, but the progress was minimal (another 516 stitches). Just a bit more in her eye and hair. I'm now at 188847/329175 total stitches, 57.37% and 819.42 hrs.

I decided it was time to switch, so I did actually go to Hook (like I planned weeks ago). I had initially left off on 2-1-24 at 14,418/148,750 stitches and 9.69% and 61.1 hrs.

I decided to stay out of the white and work on the colors, but I'm not sure if it's the fabric being oatmeal or what, but I had a horrible time seeing what I was doing. Hook lasted a night and an additional 308 stitches and 2.2 hrs. I just wasn't feeling it. I'm not even sure you can tell the difference here:

Once I could start stitching again, I went back to Everest, one I haven't touched since 1-20-24. This was an Etsy project from Addict to Cross Stitch.

I started in the white clouds and immediately realized white was why I wasn't feeling Hook, so I moved into the mountain and top of the rickshaw. This was just last night, so it's just one nights worth of stitching (845 stitches to be exact), which brings the total up to 8884/136,528, 6.51%, and 51.82 hrs:

But I do have EXCELLENT news on the stand front! Since I had my scroll frames ordered from Amazon, I decided to reach back out to Gaylon at BeeCreekLtd about the attachment for my newish stand (not including inflation, and considering how inflation has been in the past couple of years, I think I got off lucky). He was SO accommodating! I ended up getting the attachment (for 48" scroll frames), the travel stand, and even a tablet holder (which is what jacked up the price). The total amount was $303, which I think might have been more than the stand when I bought it, but considering it's now doubling the capacity of the stand, making it better when it's in "standard" mode, and still cheaper than the stand I was looking at, I'm totally excited about it! I literally can't recommend them enough...such nice people. I will never be able to afford an Omanik or Millennium stands (let alone their frames), so I'm making due the best I can. I've been posting daily pics to Instragram for my stitching progress, so I'll make sure to post as soon as it comes in and I've adapted my current stand.

And that's about it for this week. Will I continue on with Everest? Not sure, but I am running out of projects in the rotation. I want to start the new ones once they are all set up, I'm just not there yet. Still need more supplies to arrive. Now I just to focus on finishing a project (or two or three) before the end of the year. As of now, there aren't any in my stash that I would "die" if I don't start them now, but there is a new Jasmine Becket Griffith print called Tudor Rose Fairy that I WILL have to get if HAED chart it (or anyone else who charts JBG prints). That is my historical time jam (well, technically, one generation before, the Plantagenets, but they are technically the origins of the Tudor rose, white for York, red for Lancaster). I haven't been on the HAED forums for years, but even back then, they would never listen to my requests for projects, so I'm not going to bother asking them (it took them YEARS after I had begged for years to chart Strangely Lonely, so maybe it's just me). I'm not sure if they still do the "request a chart" where you pay to get them to chart something for you, but I'm also not going to pay an outrageous fortune for them to chart something just for me, when they just turn around and put them in the main shop for everyone else to buy as well. I don't have money to throw around like that (says the girl who has spent lord knows how much on stitching supplies for the past couple of weeks).

Focus=Low, Drive=High

For someone with the attention span of a gnat, I'm still making progress on stitching. I think both my ADHD and OCD are kicking into gear, so it's causing me to stitch almost everyday even though I can't pay enough attention to make much progress. I tried really hard to work on Faces 167, but I literally couldn't see it! I already had an eye doctor's appointment this week, so maybe I can get it straightened out next time this one rolls around. I should have never tried 32ct, it was a test run for the SS/MC bookshelves (which I didn't want to be gigantic, but I started the first one on 28ct anyway, so why did I torture myself with a test run that would be a total project?). Oh well, lesson learned! As I mentioned in my last post, I left off on this one on Jan 29th, 2024 with 14,533 stitches done out of 50,175, which makes a total 28.96% done (as well as 68.43 hrs in):

I literally worked on it for one night, moving up to only 14,817/50,175 (or 284 stitches) and another 1.84 hrs of stitching (I think I spent more time squinting than stitching, which is what you'll have to do to see the progress):

I gave up and decided on Sleepy Hollow Mural by Lewis T. Johnson, another HAED (I've been on HAED kick I guess). I left off on this one Feb 11, 2024, 10,407 stitches in out of 246,000, or 4.23% and 150.93 hrs.

The issue with this one is it is so dad-gum wide! I thought it would be easier if it was on scroll rods instead of a q-snap (I still can't get the hang of q-snaps), but apparently not. The q-snaps really warped the fabric as well, probably because I'm not good at using them. I had issue mounting Sleepy Hollow on my newish stand because it kept tipping over due to the width and the weight of it, so I put it in the stand that these particular scroll rods go on, but it's a center-mount lap stand that doesn't work well when you have a pup sitting between your legs. I literally have to sit the stand on his back, which he doesn't mind, but it makes me uncomfortable and constantly aware of the pressure I use. He is, afterall, only 9lbs and really old. I think he thinks of it as shiatsu-Shih-Tzu massage...I personally wouldn't like it if there was this constantly-moving, twice-my-size, wooden cross stitch stand moving all over my back. And it's not like I can put him down, he just sits in the floor in front of me and barks until I pick him up again. Spoiled brat! After two days of fighting with it and him (technically three, but you'll see in a mo-mo), I gave up on this one too at 11,958/246,000 (or 1551 stitches in), or 4.86%. It was an additional 6.49 hrs, making it a total of 157.42, but the third day was only composed of 0.08 hrs, so that's why I'm only counting two days on this one (and here it is in all its wide glory):

Friday night was a tornado night (it's that season again), so I was paying more attention to the weather instead of stitching. Saturday, I spent the day cleaning carpets, washing various blankets and whatnots, and putting down the new throw rugs I bought weeks ago. I also went through all the pending printed cross stitch patterns that have been sitting in a box in my entryway for over a year or maybe two. I sorted them into their various binders as well as ordering new binders for the ones that were left (not that there is room on those shelves for more binders, so I guess they will all live in the closet). Overall, it was just a crappy day for stitching. I did, however, pick up Evil Queen, which is a pattern from Thread Geeks, late on Saturday. I last left off on her on Feb 26, 2024 (one of my leap year starts) and she previously only got one day of love, which got her 3.7 hrs, 934 stitches out of 86,688 and 1.08%.

Since I only stitched a bit Saturday night, I was super-determined on Sunday and did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself! I'm sure it's because this one is a non-dithered pattern, but I literally put in 13.92 hrs Sat night and all day Sunday (and 10.5 hrs of that was Sunday alone). I'm now up to 4595/86,688 (or 3661 more stitches) which is 5.3%:

Regina is my project for this week, but I'm just gonna take it day by day (I could literally change projects tonight if the mood hits, and I'm just going with that mentality). The thing about this one that bugs me is it's all greens and tans and blacks, even though the mockup looks all blues and purples and pinks and blacks (and the purple-blue family are technically more in Regina's wheelhouse anyway):

I would chalk it up to not being at the purple-blue area yet, but there is not a single thread in the box for those shades. I'm really curious to see how it's going to turn out and I'm a bit worried as well. I would hate to get pretty far into this and realize all the colors are off (another Alice and the B's quandry). Oh well, we'll see how this week goes. I still have numerous stitch projects I haven't touched yet before I rotate back around again. Plus, as of now, all that area to the far left on Regina is nothing but black, and I'm not sure I want to get into another Hook issue where I'm stitching nothing but a solid background (and Hook will be coming up soon because the background triggered me).

Speaking of Hook, the issue with it is, I'm constantly thinking I should restart it on white and just ignore the background instead of stitching it. But I also don't want to get far enough in (like Snow White) where I can't go back because I'm too far gone. Plus, I'm thinking about the other three that make up this set (there is a Jefferson, August and Graham to match and do I really want to do all this background stitching three more times?). I left off on Hook by Tilton Crafts on Feb 1st, 2024 at 61.1 hrs in, 14,418/148,750 stitches in or 9.69%:

But, as you can see, there is still a ton more white to do yet. Ugh. I'm just not ready to let it go and start over though. I just keep thinking (and probably stupidly), what an accomplishment all that background stitching will be and how amazing it will look when finished (again, probably a stupid thought). I wish "work smarter not harder" was my motto, but apparently I missed the day they handed out "logical goals".

And, just for reminder, here is Hook, followed by Jefferson, Graham and August (and that's a LOT of white):

Here's something I need your guys help with...how do you exclusively use electronic patterns? I'm still stuck in paper world (hence the bindering up of patterns on Saturday). Since I stitch two-handed on scroll rods, they cover my legs completely and block my view of the tablet. I keep the paper copy clipped to the top with a hair clip and can use my right hand well enough to mark off with a colored crayon (but there is no way my right is dexterous enough to use an iPencil on an iPad). The paper pattern is constantly in my face and makes it easy for my eyes to shift back and forth, whereas I only use the tablet to keep track of progress by marking off the stitching at the end of the night and clocking in and out of a time keeper app for time. The project isn't strong enough to hold the iPad and I can't see a smaller Android tablet (and I don't like them, I just live in Apple world). I can't stitch one-handed anymore because, well, it's way slower, and my right hand just cramps closed around it and I have to pry it open (and it hurts). That's the reason why I had to stop playing video games, the neuropathy keeps me from knowing how hard I'm gripping something. Do you guys use a tablet stand? Not that I have any room on the left for it, but if I thought it would work, I could try it. Do you just keep pulling the tablet up and down? I can't be the only person that works two-handed, am I? Any thoughts or ideas you have would be greatly appreciated!

Still movin' along

I have been a stitching manic the past week or so! I did start a new project on Sunday, but it isn't going to last through this week (I barely made it through Sunday). For the week (plus some), I put in 57.81 hours total and 14,958 stitches total. First up though, I worked on Harry Potter Bookcovers just a bit more before I stopped on the 28th. I left off here last time at 8231 stitches out of 121,975, which is 6.75%.

I managed another 11.78 hours (not much, but another 2470 stitches), which brings me up to 10,701 stitches and 8.77% finished overall.

I was aching to go back to a JBG, so I went to Belle of Bonaventure (a HAED). It was one of my Leap Year starts in 2024, and I left off on her on March 4, 2024, barely 15.92 hrs in and 3719 stitches:

And, apparently I went a bit nuts on this one. Starting on the 28th until the 9th. I was literally flying through this and I really didn't want to stop, but I was afraid of burnout. Not to mention I was having issues with the scroll rods not staying tight (they are one of the first ones I made, so I can cut a break for myself on that, next time I know to get bigger dowels and longer hanger bolts). I put in another 41.71 hrs and 11,219 stitches (seriously?...even I'm impressed by that for just a bit over a week), which got me to 14,938 stitches out of 118,000 and at 12.66%. Here is where she is now as of the 9th:

I was trying to stick to my Sunday switch, so I went with Night Wish by Annie Rodrigue (another HAED), but I immediately knew that was a mistake. I SO was not feeling it (probably because of that darn moon). I left off on her Feb 12th of 2024 at 197.8 hours in:

I decided very quickly to shift out of the moon and start on the far edge of the row, but that didn't help either. My new(ish) stand just doesn't hold it right and I can't go back to my old stand because the holder clamp doesn't work anymore...only those projects mounted on the straight dowel will work with it (aka Alice and the B's). I tried to move it down some, but again, just didn't work. I only got 4.32hrs in and 1269 stitches (which is HORRIBLE for a weekend day) and left her off at 47,806 stitches out of 206,000 and 23.21% complete.

I can pretty much guarantee I'm switching again tonight. I don't want to stay tied to Night Wish for a solid week. Right now I'm leaning towards JBG Faces of Faery 167 (another HAED), which I left off on Jan 29th, 2024 at 14,533 stitches done out of 50,175 and 28.96% done (as well as 68.43 hrs in):

But, considering all the issues I've had with fabric this past month and this one is my first (and probably last) piece on 32ct evenweave, I'm just not sure. There are quite a few I could try before I start the loop over again, but I guess I'll know once I get home. I guess you'll know for sure once I post again.

I also really need to start posting daily stitching status posts to Instagram again, but I have never been good at social media (I'm not counting blogging in that, but honestly, I've pretty much sucked at that too for the past year or so). I deleted my Twitter (or X) account for obvious reasons. I did sign up for BlueSky, but I haven't posted a thing on there yet. I have TikTok, but I can't stand the way those videos auto play, so I just don't go there (and I wouldn't even attempt to post anything). TikTok is NOT made for those on the spectrum...too much noise and no control! I have been watching FlossTube again and I think I might have found a software that can line up all my status photos into a nice timelapse video (other than the expensive Photoshop), but I haven't tried it yet. If I can get that to work, I'll made a timelapse of all my finished projects and post those on the Tube (and I'll let you know when and if I do).

One other thing I got done this week is I finally got Maleficent mounted and taken to Hobby Lobby for framing! I wanted to take it to Michael's (since we have one now), but apparently our Michael's doesn't have a frame shop. And I guess Hobby Lobby is wary of the competition because it only cost $47 to frame her (mat and frame included)! If they are that cheap now, I may have to take my Highland girl (and the other one that is broken) up there to get reframed. Right now, those two just have tape holding the frames together. That's what I get for trying to frame them myself in a "normal" frame! I'll post Maleficent once I get her back (which should be on the 13th).

And, as a final note, all this stitching may come to a screeching halt soon (for at least a while). I'm going to have to have surgery on my right hand. I have several ganglions that popped up at random, but one of them is squeezing nerves in my wrist and causing electric shocks constantly. I don't think I will be out of commission long, but my doc also says I have severe carpal tunnel in both wrists and both shoulders, and he's insistent on doing surgery on them as well. For now, I'm holding off on those surgeries, partly because I don't have enough sick leave to cover them (thanks to my knee surgeries) and partly because neither particularly hurts, so why bother? He says I'm going to have long term nerve damage if I don't get them cut on, but again, I'll deal with that when the time comes.

And that's about it for this week!

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 15th. 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!