My Head Spins Sometimes

I'm still in the throes of not really being able to find a project that I just want to settle on to stitch to completion. Nothing seems to be really calling me - you know - something that screams, "Do me, do me, do me" (sounds a little obscene, doesn't it?). I told myself that I would clear up WIPs this year, and that's what I'm trying to do - but it's just not exciting. Plus, I really like the idea of working on one project at a time. You wouldn't know it by the amount of WIPs I have. But I tend to pick out BAPs and not things that are more manageable.

I've have made a little progress on Provence:


This was getting really interesting and I was loving that border, but I find that if I stop in a place that I enjoy what I'm doing, I'm more liable to pick it back up again. It wasn't screaming at me loud enough to keep going though.


And I've made a little bit of progress on Ann Medd:



So far only the flower and pot to the right of Adam and those two verses that you can see. I remember now what else had made me put this down in the first place. It wasn't so much that I was one thread off, but the fact that on either side of the flower pots are dogs - one on each side of the pot facing each other. The chart only has the dog facing to the right, but not to the left. I can barely walk and chew gum, let alone stitch in reverse! So, I have to make a trip to Kinkos to have a reverse image made. I never got there before, so I put poor ole Ann down.


I'm still waiting for the fabric for Frances Eden (which I thought would be here by now). And then to add insult to injury, my Sampler Guild picked their choice for this year's SAL - The Shores of Hawk Run Hollow:



Now, this I have in my stash (what don't I have in my stash), and I really want to do this (as I wanted to decorate my bathroom in the basement in a nautical theme), but there is an issue.....or rather......a couple of issues. I have started The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow......


.......and I've started the Village of Hawk Run Hollow:




As you can see, I have an extreme case of Startitis and no Finishitis. So do I really need to start Shores? I'm not sure. It's another BAP. But the other side of the issue is that it is in my stash and something that I could knock out if I take the time. When I took the picture of Houses and Village, I got perked up a little bit. Ann is somewhat drab so I actually felt a little spark of enthusiasm starting on something a little more colorful. One caveat to this whole thing though is that I'm not a SAL type of gal! Seriously! I've tried it and it didn't work out. Of course the project was rather large (the CHS alphabets). I had all intentions of keeping up, but I didn't. But maybe if I treat each block as a small project (and do one a month), I'll get through this puppy and be finished by next March!

Then there is the issue of doing some smaller projects because now I've got a bunch of BAPS - Provence, HoHRH, VoHRH, SoHRH, Convent's, Ann Medd, Marquoir de Justine (almost forgot that one) and then the infamous, fabric-waiting Frances Eden - all started (except Frances and Shores) and going nowhere fast.

Anyway, the other day my friend Terri told me that she had finished her Merri Cox hornbook.





This was a project that we received from our Sampler Guild as Merri was not able to schedule classes with us, so she sent these hornbooks. I had started this, but was doing it with tent stitch. I think that I wasn't quite sure I liked the stitching on it, and put it down (stupid really, because it could be done in a night). Terri mentioned she did hers with a whole cross, so thanks to Terri - I think I'll follow her lead. I've pulled this out of the bin and it will be my carry project since it's already started. I was about to start one of the pinballs, but I'll finish this hornbook first and then move on to one of them. Seems that I'm always sitting waiting for my children somewhere and instead of reading, I'll just work on this.

Speaking of hornbooks - I love them! Again, it's just a case of finding the time to work do them.

The one of the left is The Sampler Hornbook by the Prairie Sampler that I finished last year. The center hornbook is actually a cookie mold (http://www.cookiemold.com/) that I bought a couple years ago when my daughter had to spend two days at the Stoney Creek Schoolhouse here in Rochester. The school is located in the Stoney Creek and Van Hoosen Farm Historical District and they spend two days dressed as prairie children, learn their lessons from hornbooks, are reprimanded by spending time with a dunce cap on their head, etc. A lot of fun! For the occasion, I found this hornbook cookie mold and made all the children cookies. They were a big hit! The hornbook on the right I ordered from Bloom Woodworks and if you look closely have my initials carved into it. It's actually to be used as a scissor fob. I probably have got another five hornbooks that do need stitching to finish them off. Perhaps those become the smaller projects for the future.

Well, I think that's enough whining for me today.