Hello stitching. Where have you been all year? There is something really comforting about pulling out a needle and thread and working on some small needlework project. I especially like Prairie Schooler samplers. You can keep your hands occupied and at least part of your brain depending on how complicated the design is. Prairie Schooler is in the easier not too taxing range, which is pretty much what I can handle at the moment.
I'm sorry I have been largely absent from this space and online in general for the last several weeks. I had a death in my family, which was preceded by illness and it took up most of my time and nearly all my attention. The illness had been going on since mid-summer, so I have been having quite a hard time concentrating. Now I want more than anything to get back into a routine or normalcy. On any good day my reading can be pretty wonky but lately it has been almost non-existent. I was thinking over the weekend I just need a nice fresh start with things even as the year is winding down.
So most of the books that had been on my night table have been cleared away save for a few that had lots of time and energy invested in them, but it has been nice thinking of new stories I want to get involved in, but more about those in a day or so. Many thanks for all the comments and reading suggestions that you have offered. I have caught up on reading them and will reply as soon as I can.
But stitching is cheery and colorful so I thought I would share some photos of what I was considering working on this weekend. I had to dig around in my stash to find a partially stitched project. I was working from the two charts above finishing a design per month to have a stitched year. I will share the months I have already stitched and finished. I had started October's witch some years (has it really been years now?) ago, but I also like the pumpkin you can see in the top photo on the chart on the right. So I started stitching it last night. Then I'll decide where to go from there. I have lots of months still to choose and these are small and easy designs. Quick finishes I hope.
And isn't this Blackbird House cute? Another festive fall design and on loose linen that is easy to see and work with. I can see it as a nice little cushion perhaps.
And maybe I can work up to a slightly larger design. Do you remember the seasons I had been stitching? I actually had been working on them as I sat in the hospital--good, mindless work where you can still focus on other things, too. But I am a little tired of those designs at the moment and love bee/honeycomb motifs, so I would like to stitch the H is for Honey. Wouldn't it complement this one nicely? Digging around in my needlework stash was a huge reminder that all those charts and partially finished projects are in serious need of weeding. As with my book collection, I have far more to choose from then time in which to stitch them, and I should really get it into a more manageable size. What to do with all those charts? Many are even kitted up. That is definitely a project for several long afternoons, but for now, I just like the idea of getting back into the stitching habit. I think cool weather makes sitting inside with a needle and thread in hand very attractive, right.
Back to bookishness in a day or two.