A new start. And another one.

Wow. I'm still reeling from the last couple of weeks. It has been mad. Not the rushing-hither-and-thither kind of mad, but dealing-with-a-lot-of-difficult-stuff kind of mad. Honey buns. My son going to school full-time for the first time in his life and not liking it one bit, throwing bitter accusations my way in the most heartbreaking (and unintelligible) manner on a daily basis. I've been to our old house for the first time in over four months and I've repeatedly talked to the one I left behind, even meeting once to celebrate Pelle's fourth birthday. All of this while my therapist and meditation guru is away on vacation, so you can imagine there was very little I could do to preserve a semblance of sanity except to wallow in self-pity and to succumb to a serious case of startitis. I mean. Serious. Startitis. I think you may say my startitis has morphed into startospasm. I know I have my Fremme birds, I know I have my Pistols, I have my garden and my pumpkins and when he comes home after a day of hard graft at school I have my son, but still it isn't enough. I want more, more, more, and I want it NOW. And so, without further ado, here's what I've been wanting and doing.

As promised in my previous post, a fob featuring a motif from the Blue Lady chart:

Stitched on low count white linen with Danish Flower Thread. I love the look of this fob so much, I started a needlecase with another motif to go with it. As you see, I'm trying to get my money's worth from this design :o)

I've started a sampler I told you about a couple of posts ago. The one using GAST Cinders:

(Notice the prop for my thread ring) This design is from the June 2008 issue of Cross Country Stitching magazine. Can anyone tell me why the lovely Michelle Ozark Stitcher and I are the only living souls in Blogland who seem to like this magazine and Jeremiah Junction designs in general? I don't get it. I LOVE this mag. Absolutely love it. In every issue there is at least one (but oftentimes more) must-stitch design and I'm very thankful that the local bookshop here has been able to order it for me, so I don't have to travel halfway across the country every two months to get my copy. Can't wait for the next issue!

Next start... came as a shocking surprise to me as well. It's Blackbird Designs' Rites of Spring, the second Loose Feathers design of this year. First time I clapped eyes on it I thought 'neh'. Nothing compared with Where My Heart Blooms. And before I knew it, two nights ago, I was plugging merrily away. It is an amazingly quick and addictive stitch and I'm afraid I might finish this one before I'm halfway through Where My Heart Blooms.

You may think that my starts as shown here are not as impressive as you might have hoped at the beginning of this post, but if I tell you I started and finished two other projects that I took to the (cheap!) framer's before I even got the chance to take a picture of the finished product, I think your awe of my determination to start and finish will increase. Add to that the fact that I agreed to do a Halloween floss ring tag exchange with Harmien (who has shamelessly asked for a scissors' fob to go with it) which I've already started and nearly finished, and your admiration of my diligence must be complete.

And what think you, my dear readers, of these babies?

Aren't they sweet?

Until next time!