January Update

Why does January always seem so long? Yet somehow, I also feel like I can't get anything done. One of those great mysteries, I guess. :)

I've been trying to get into the groove of my rotation, but I'm being difficult. I sort of rebelled against my rotation for most of the year last year, and now I'm trying to do it again. The benefits of sticking to my rotation are obvious: I get to touch all my wips in an organized fashion and make decent progress on my focus pieces. The downside is I'm not always ready to switch projects, so it takes me a while to get accustomed to the new piece. I've thought about longer rotations, but I don't think that's the answer either. Hopefully I can stick with it this year, but next year there might be some changes.

Okay, on to the good stuff! First up is Kabuki, by Mystic Stitch. I think this is my oldest wip, and my first full coverage piece. Shame I haven't finished her yet, but I'll keep trying. I did manage to finish a good bit of her face finally, and she's looking good:

I really do admire the way Mystic Stitch charts things. There's a ton of confetti and "weird" colors everywhere, but stepping back, the effect is amazing. She will be out again next month. Hopefully I can finish a page or two this year.

Next is Elizabeth Oliver, which you'll be seeing a lot of this year. I've started a new row, and will eventually get to that house in the middle, hopefully around May. For now, I've got the border and a good start on the first arbor:

Those flowering plants take a long time to stitch, but I'm really enjoying this. Hopefully I won't feel burned out when it's time to stitch them again on the other side.

I am participating in another stitch along from Etsy this year, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. This is the Wonders of Space SAL from Climbing Goat Designs, and will feature 9 blocks of images from space. I have no idea what to expect, but the first block was the Ring Nebula, and it is really awesome:

I had a lot of fun stitching this, and can't wait for the next. They come out on the 15th every month, so if you wanna join, you won't be far behind. Each block is 30x30, so it's not too big, but it does call for 45 colors. There's also a description of each wonder in the pdf, which is pretty cool. I was really in to astronomy for a while, so of course I couldn't resist this project. :)

Last but not least, I managed to finally finish page 17 on Moon Indigo:

Isn't she awesome? I am super excited to be stitching her dress at long last. Hopefully this next page will not take as long since there's not as much confetti, and I'm using Pattern Keeper! Truth be told, I'm not looking forward to her hair and the moon as that always stitches slowly, but maybe it'll be better with the app.

Quick note about Pattern Keeper: if you stitch full coverage charts, get it. End of story. No debate. There simply is no comparison to any other app. Hope that helps if you're still thinking about it. :)

Seriously though? This is the first time I've really been able to stitch without paper and been comfortable with that. It really has made a difference and made things so much easier. Especially with my diagonal stitching. (Should I note I wasn't paid to say that?)

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'm still working on my No Wip Left Behind project, but I think I'll keep those updates on Instagram, at least for now. One hour of progress isn't really much to look at, and if I post them here, I'll ramble on and on about each project. Unless I made separate posts about them... Hmm... Anyway, back to stitching. Happy Lunar New Year! :)