Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Back in control after bout of startitis -- maybe

 Well, the New Year has brought about a serious case of startitis.  I admit, I'm one of the victims.  And I know I'm not the only one.  There's Karoline, Gio, and -- well I know there were a whole slew of New Year's starts if nothing else!  I think all those New Year's starts just got the ball rolling!  So here's my case of startitis laid out to see.

You all know about the Prairie Schooler ABC SAL.  I'm currently here on it.  Admittedly, this was not part of the startitis.  But I had to show where I was before the startitis started.  :D



I think if there weren't 27 parts to it, it wouldn't be so discouraging.

Then, I wanted to try something else over one (the PS ABC is over one on 30ct), so I started this -- Beneath the Waters by CHS, which I'm also stitching over one on 30ct.



As you can see, I've gotten a bit farther since the last picture.  I do love this one -- need to get back to it!

Then New Year's Day came along and I said -- oh boy!  An excuse for a new start!  Sooooo, I started And All Was For an Appil by the Scarlet Letter with Laurie and some others.  This is what the piece will look like.



And here is where I am.  Rather paltry.



In case you're wondering, it's the cloud in the upper left hand corner.  Oh, and a bit of the sun underneath.  I'm using 40ct R&R Apple Brown Bindy with DMC threads. 

The funny thing about this one is that going back to over two on 40ct was rather jarring.  After all the over one on 30ct, over 2 on 40ct looked absolutely ginormous!!  And I just couldn't settle into it!  Of course part of the problem was that everyone was still home on vacation and break -- hubby and kids both.  And I couldn't just settle into a normal stitch.

So anyway, my mind was wandering around, thinking how much I was missing that over one on 30ct.  And I happened to think of another A&E that I'd started a couple of years ago and put down because the over one on 30ct was driving me crazy.  Hmmm, I thought.  I bet I could handle that one now!   So I went into my WIP (or UFO) drawers and found my Elizabeth Inman by the  Scarlet Letter.   And I seemed to find my cure for startitis.  This is what the piece will look like.




And here is where I am.



Now keep in mind that I already had the first four lines of the top verse done when I put it down back in 2007 or whenever that was.  I only had one more line of verse to do to get to the good part, but at that point in time, I didn't have the patience.  But now I did!



The good parts.  :D



I'm using AVAS and an unidentified piece of 30ct linen.  Ok, if you have to know, I bought the kit.  And that's what I'm using. 



A word of warning.  See the motif in the center there above?  With the blue flowers?  That was supposed to be stitched over two.  I followed the instructions, which didn't mention that that motif was supposed to be over two.  Then I looked closely at the pictures on the website and realized my error.  No way am I frogging that!  Luckily, from that point on, I just looked at the picture for what was to be stitched over two.  Just note that for future reference if you're planning to stitch this one.

So I think that's the end of my startitis for now.  It had better be -- I need to finish something now instead of accumulating WIPs!   There is one exception though.  I'm joining an impromptu SAL for a day of Quaker stitching a week.  But that's it!!  Really!  :D

Of course, we're not counting all the quilting and knitting that's been going on recently.  In my head that is.  I hope to do some actual quilting and knitting at some point too.  lol!

In other news, starting January 4, everyone was back to school and work.  The girl child even had to go back to school for language classes and to study for her finals.  She'll be back for her between semesters break at the end of January.  Anyway, it was really nice to get back to routine -- I don't know if anyone else thought so, but I did!   After all, the father type had been home on vacation since December 14!!  That's a loooooong time!  I dearly love my father type, but having him underfoot for that long -- well let's just say it's nice to be back to the norm!  I enjoy my alone time, even if it's not always stitching time!  Sorry, father type!  Hope you don't mind!

Thanks for stopping by and saying hi.  Sorry it took me so long to post in the New Year!

37 comments:

Cari said...

Oh Miss Margaret...how I love looking at your starts, finishes and WIPs!! All of your work is so much fun to see. And yes...I'm trying to get back into my groove. I'm having some landscaping/house painting done for the next couple of weeks. Then new furniture at the end of February and then I'm done, done, done with the 'house work'. I'll be stitching / knitting like crazy in March! Have a great week! Hugs

Laurie in Iowa said...

ROFLOL... you got a real bad case of the startitis. Everything looks marvelous Margaret... and the Quaker Friday sampler will fit right in with this grouping. :-)
So... don't keep us in suspense... what are you planning to knit and quilt???

Nancy said...

All of your pieces are gorgeous! The over one sampler is so very pretty!

I think my startitis left with 2009, thank goodness. I feel so much more calm about my stitching projects now, and I'm loving it. I started a sampler on December 28 and almost through. I'm starting to think maybe I'm a one project at a time stitcher.

valerie said...

Wow, you are very busy...look at all those starts! I love your progress on the ABCs and Elizabeth. They look great! You'd never notice those flowers should have been over 2...looks just like the photo!

Nic said...

Your PS is looking *amazing*! Just think, at 6/27, you are nearly one quarter done already!

And as for your other samplers - they will look fantastic!

Catherine said...

As always - beautiful stitching! Thanks for sharing!

KsMaryLou said...

Everything is coming along beautifully. The thing about your startitis is that your pieces will be finished rather than hiding out in a drawer somewhere never to again see the light of day as happens to some of my pieces. I stitched Beneath The Waters some time back and love it.

I have to laugh at your comments about the father type.........just wait til he retires! The OG retired 15 years ago at way to young an age.......and he hasn't left home since. oh joy!

KarenV said...

Wow! That PS Alphabet piece is amazing, you're making great progress!

All your other WIPs look wonderful too - you certainly have had the startitis bug ;)

I want to know what you're planning on knitting too, so don't keep us in suspense too long!

Melissa said...

Oh, my, you're so very busy and so productive. Yes, well, the startitis bit you can't help it - go with the flow.

The PS Alphabet is looking amazing. I agree you need the occasional break from it to stitch something else! The A&E will be lovely!

YGG, now that everybody is out of the house, you can play!

Marjorie said...

All I have to say is uh, wow...over 2 on 40 count is ginormous?! Really? Your eyes must be waaay better than mine. Congrats on getting the father type back to work!

woolwoman said...

oh margaret - I'm excited to hear you are contemplating or at least dreaming about knitting and the nasty Q word! Only nasty because I want to do one SO bad but just know I can NOT start another pursuit. Your PS Alphabet is awesome - that new SL piece is really something and I had not seen that one either. Glad your time is once again your own - don't we love our "me" time. Have fun with your new starts and hopefully I'll be joining you soon on AAWFAA - Mel

Kielrain said...

Such great starts. I will really enjoy seeing your progess on these. They are each so nice I can see why you needed to start them all!

Michelle said...

Oh, gorgeous! So many lovely things!! I love that UFO that you've rescued. You are zooming along on it now that you've gotten to the fun part. Can't wait to see more of AAWFAA. I want to stitch that one pretty bad!

Deb said...

You know Margaret - sometimes it takes seeing someone else's WIPs to pull you down that dark path to ordering things. I love Elizabeth Inman and now I'm going to have to do that one (or shall we say, add it to the stash pile!! UGH). I love that sampler a lot and wonder why I never remember seeing it.

You're making good progress on the Alphabets and on AAWFAA too. I think that startitis is just part of the new year thing, don't you? And I saw that discussion about the Quakers start - notice I didn't comment. I've got too many startitis projects of my own to add another one. But everything looks great Margaret!!!

Karoline said...

Great new starts and progress on your other wips

Bertie said...

A whole sampler over one!!!! (apart from the blue flowers, oh go on Margaret over 2 is so easy LOL).
The sampler will be stunning though, so worth while all your efforts.

Prairie Schooler is wonderful so far and admire your patience.
Startitis where do you get it LOL
Happy New Year

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

My Dear Margaret...here we go again. Now I'm in love with your UFO and I'd never seen nor heard of it again. Insanity...soon they will commit me :)
Your stitching is gorgeous and you are the quickest stitcher around!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Margaret, you have the most wonderful taste in all that you do! I love all of the pieces you've shown here. And, the truth is, you'll have them all done before any of the rest of us can get our mind wrapped around picking up just one of them. Your needles are smokin' and you give us all so much joy in seeing your accomplishments.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Your stitching is just gorgeous! Keep starting! I'll not guilt you over your starts but enable you! :)

Cathy B said...

Hi Margaret - beautiful stitching from you as always! I think its okay to have a couple of different projects going. You'll have a nice selection to choose from depending on what mood you are in!

Susan said...

I'm glad to see that your startitis is finished. Your stitching is beautiful. I love to stitch over 1 on 30ct also. The alphabet looks GREAT!

Giovanna said...

I recognize the thought processes, lol - what a wonderful bout of startitis, they all rock!

Sylvia said...

Wow Margaret, you have been busy. Your PS Alphabet is looking wonderful & your A&E (over one) is stunning. No reason to feel guilty for starting a number of things - you are supposed to enjoy this. I love seeing all your projects.

samplerlover said...

Oh Margaret, everything looks wonderful. Miss Elizabeth looks so lovely. Looks like you are hooked on over one's as well lol. I know the feeling though of going from one count to another. I have gone from 25ct with over ones and two's to over ones on 32ct to 40ct and back to 35ct. No wonder the old eyes are spinning at the moment. - Sandra.

Georgie said...

Your stitching is gorgeous! I know what you mean about swapping counts and threads....can be hard to do

Sherry said...

So glad to see you posting again! I missed you. I love all your starts and re-starts. The PS ABC is coming along beautifully too. I would love to get my kitchen table back from the messy clan (my guys) so I could do some quilting again!

Glenna said...

Wow--the projects, including that wonderful new-to-me Scarlet Letter project. I have to scamper over there to ogle it in detail. I hear you about enjoying a routine and not having someone underfoot, even if we cherish them. BF has to take a class Saturday mornings and will be leaving the house at 8 a.m and not returning until afternoon. I can get a whole lot of stitching done then.

Happy New Year Margaret!

Siobhán said...

Oh man oh man oh man. I shouldn't have looked. Beautiful progress on everything, but Elizabeth Inman really caught my eye. I am so envious of your over one stitching. I need to learn to like it because I'd LOVE to stitch that someday. Your close up pics--fabulous!! YGG!

Linen Stitcher said...

What lovely projects!! I'm so jealous of your progress on the PS Alphabet series. I want to do this one but just don't have the fabric yet. [sigh] Hopefully I can join in one of these days.

I totally agree with your statement about switching between over 1 on 30 count and over 2 on 40 count. I felt the same way. I just **love** those tiny stitches!

Ranae said...

Holy smokes! you have some fabulous things going on.
I have a love/hate relationship with over one.
Check out my blog, you won

Katrina said...

LOL, that's a bunch of new starts, all gorgeous. Can't wait to watch your progress on them.

Laural said...

Oh Wow! Great work on everything!!

Kim said...

You'll be done with all of them in no time I'm sure! You always amaze me how quickly you get things stitched! I'm envious!!

Susan said...

Counting up all my WIPs keeps me from succumbing to startitis--usually! I must be the world's slowest stitcher. You, on the other hand, will have these done in no time!

sukie0111 said...

I absolutely love your website! I am also a sampler lover and have done 23 Adam and Eve's and actually designed one with over 1,000 french knots! I also have 50 pieces of needlework in my living room, not bragging, but.....am now into quilting. Yor website makes me want to go grab my samplers the ones that are unfinished in my closet. Please email me at scrappypats@aol.com

Cathy Lloyd said...

Margaret, Margaret, Margaret! Oh how you are such an inspiration to me! Hope you are getting some quiet stitching time now! ♥Cathy

Solstitches said...

Oh my goodness I love your Prairie Schooler piece.
I'm glad you picked up the over one sampler again as it is quite beautiful and deserves to be finished.
My hat is off to you working over one on 30 ct!

Margaret