September WIPocalypse

Hello again! Can't believe it's already September!

Unfortunately, my stitching has slowed way down as I'm getting the house ready for a new roommate (my Aunt) and preparing for an eventual move. When I can, I've been slogging along on Scale, though progress is very slow, especially considering there's only one color I've been stitching. But I'll get there eventually (or at least I keep telling myself that):

So, about 30 rows done, another 30 to go. Lots and lots of pale skin. But I'll be so glad once it's finished. :)

In the mornings, I've been stitching on one of my Olympic Challenge starts. This one will be a gift for a friend, as her birthday is next month. This is He Holds Tomorrow by My Big Toe Designs:

I've changed the color of the lettering and flowers to the same dark blue (791, I think) as it's my friend's favorite color. The flowers are supposed to be monochrome, but I plan to go back and give them all yellow centers, just as soon as I sit down and pick out a good yellow. Hope to have this one done at the end of the month, as I want to try to frame it myself (gulp!). But I have lots of time to get this done.

I also managed a finish this month, my first of the year. I've already shown these off in a previous post, but here are my Tigers, all done!

This was finished Sept. 6th, and it's still awaiting my signature. Just haven't had time to really look at it and decide where I want it. But I'm in no rush.

This month, our topic is: Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces.
I guess I will talk a bit about my Tigers. This kit was given to me by my mother for my 18th birthday, back in 1998. At the time, this was the biggest chart I owned, and I knew it would take a long time, but I never thought it would be half a lifetime. :)

In '98, I was a senior in high school, and about to make the transition to college. I started this in May, and had a very short time with it before packing everything away and leaving for school. I remember starting with Mama tiger's stomach, in the center, then worked my way left. I had only just started her legs when I put her away.

I had every good intention of continuing once I got settled, but you know how college is. Lots to adapt to. So it was almost a year before I picked it up again. It was actually during a very stressful time, and I thought, "Isn't there something I could do to help me relax?" And I thought of my Tigers. There was a certain afternoon that is very vivid in my memory, when my roommate was gone, and even though I could have been studying, I chose to spend a couple hours stitching. It was the best thing I could have done. Afterward, I was so relaxed and refreshed, I promised myself not to neglect my stitching in the future. (Though of course, I did.)

Over the next two years, I gradually made my way to the left, finally finishing the lone leaf at the edge. That was a triumph! But making my way to the right was not so easy. Lots more confetti at this end. I was still working on the third baby tiger in the early 2000s, but I wasn't feeling the love. When I finally made it to the leaves, I was so tired of it, I felt I just had to put it down. So I did. For years. And years.

Last year, my mother asked me, whatever happened to my Tigers? It was a coincidence that I was thinking I needed to pick them up again, so I took it as a sign and made it my goal to finish this in 2016. And I've succeeded! Couldn't be happier with the results. Now, I just need to get it framed. :)

That's all for now. Happy stitching everyone!