Like I need to be adding anything else to an already overwhelming number of WIPs. But, honestly, I did not intend to restart Frog Prince. Well, I did intend to restart it at one point, but later found that stitching on 28 count worked okay and was actually better for designs with a lot of black. So I decided to stick with the 28 count bone Lugana I was using. Alas, it seems that when I first decided to restart I tossed my working copies of the chart. I put it on the scrolls and everything and then realized I had no way to accurately determine where I had left off! It was all just big chunks of black. I have since started noting the row and column last stitched in order to avoid exactly this. So, rather than trying to figure it out, I just restarted on a 28 count white Lugana. So not much to show here.

Next I worked on Jane Longstreth, another sampler that has been languishing since I caught the HAED bug. I'm afraid that I did not give this one it's due. First because I really hate stem stitch and second I had received my fabric for Mistress Winter and Jack Frost and was chomping at the bit to get started on her. So I put Jane away a day early and did exactly that! I am removing most of the background from this as I go and the fabric I chose (Fresco from Picture This Plus) matches up really well. So well that it was difficult to stitch the "interior" background that I have choosen to include.

Today I am taking a mental health day. Actually, my son is in dire need of cash and so I have to deposit some money in his account. Unfortunately, the bank is in Rehoboth and the last time I went over there it took me almost an hour to get there. And with the heat we've been having I can only imagine that the traffic is even worse. So I can't make it after work. And I really, really hate the traffic. Why is it that when someone crosses out of their home state they totally forget how to drive? And when 80% of the cars on the main roads are from out of state the problem is only acerbated. I have to admit that I laughed and laughed when I received an email from my son with directions on how to get there using the back roads. I can count on one hand the number of times he's voluntarily e-mailed me! Poor guy must be desperate.

I had also promised my daughter we would go and see the new Shrek movie, and had planned to do so after my dentist visit last week. But that took longer than expected so we missed the show. I hate to go during the evening and don't really want to have to deal with beach traffic on the weekend so had told her we would be unable to go. But guess what? The movie theater is right next door to the bank. Kind of serendipitous don't you think? So since my work has been bumming me out, I decided to take the day. A day won't be enough to fully unwind but thank goodness I've got vacation in two weeks!

Which is a little unusual, but bound to happen once in awhile I guess.

First I have Chatelaine's Egypt Garden. I was so excited to start this, but seemed to have lost interest in it very quickly. The last time I worked on it was in 2005! I hate to admit, but I haven't seemed to regain my interest in that five year break and had a hard time decided which portion to stitch. The band with the sailboat and the palm tree are about all I managed. Sad, really since it is such a lovely design.

Then I have Scarlet Letter's Emily Lucille. Another sadly neglected piece. Although not quite as bad -- I last worked on this in 2006. As you can probably guess, I caught the HAED bug in the summer of 2005 and everything else has suffered since then. I really enjoy working on this one though, and I think it will quickly become a "Favorite" so I can work on it a bit more often. When I first started it I had done queen stitches one other time and quite disliked them. They did grow on me though. Which is very fortunate since this one has tons of them.

And I made a big mistake the other day and looked through my stash. There's stuff in there that I totally forgot I had and now I want to start about 10 other things! In addition to the 20 things I already knew about. It's quite sad, really. My poor rotation -- when I reworked it I ended up adding more slots instead of taking some away! Oh, well, I simply can't fight my nature and there is really no use in even trying.

Well, a dragon horn at least. I was very happy to have finally reached him and now I can't wait to get the rest of that space filled in. I love how this is stitching up so fast -- I think in the future I'll have the background removed from everything possible.

Link to web page

Cathy left a comment and asked how a project became a "Priority" and I thought since I can't stitch right now I would answer that (I was out whacking weeds and now my arm is weak and shaking -- yes, I know I'm a wimp). I've tried a few different rotations which inevitably fail because I can't refrain from starting new projects and I have trouble picking just a few to include. So I came up with one which will allow me to keep all my projects "in rotation" while also allowing the projects I favor to appear in that rotation more often. Right now I have seven categories.

First, each rotation I work on a project I designate as Finishing. This is usually the project that has the fewest stitches remaining.

Priority projects are included in each rotation. Right now the priority projects are: Bubble Flower, Dragon Skies, Peace, Song of the Dead, and The Tower of Stony Wood.

Five Favorite projects are included each rotation. Right now there are 15: A Confabulation of Dragons, A Rose Among Thorns, Alpine Seasons, American Sampler, Babysitting, Calling the Crows, Days of Advent Sampler, Gatekeeper, Martyrs, Pink Dragonfly QS, Rae QS, Rose, Rose Fae, Sea of Roses, and While Summer Sleeps. So the Favorite projects get worked on every third rotation.

The other categories are Samplers (1 per rotation), BAPs (2 per), HAED (2 per), and Fantasy (1 per).

The initial intent was to complete one rotation every two months and thus be able to get through every project in two years. Unfortunately, I'm facing the same issues with bloat that I have had with other rotations and I'm now up to one rotation every three months.

So I'm rethinking the whole thing. I am leaning toward combining Samplers, BAPs, HAED, and Fantasy into one big group and limit the number of slots to 15 maximum. It would take a lot longer to get through everything, but I'd be able to spend more time on the things I like most and it might be more flexible.

We had another visitor in our yard the other day. Isn't she beautiful? I don't know why I get such a kick out of the wild life that shows up in my yard. I've lived in the country all my life, but there's just something about looking out your back window and seeing these wild animals looking back at you. And see that large plant in front of him? That's what I was out whacking!

Because I have to be back to work by 3:15!

I just need to share Day Dreaming Mermaid.

I had hoped to get all the way across again, but was defeated by all the scales. She is very close to being done, though.

And that is all the time I have!