Startitis

Yes, it's a terrible disease affecting many stitchers, and it's horribly contagious. I've been reading all about it on other stitchy blogs, so I know now how it's transmitted. All you have to do is see someone else's stitchy starts, and you're immediately obsessed with starting something new of your very own. I've been fighting the urge daily. No, many times a day. Ever since I finished And They Sinned, I want to start every single project I have (and there are hundreds ... no kidding), but I've only started two.

First is Women of the Mayflower. It's from the Spring 2004 volume of Fine Lines, so it's been waiting to be stitched for quite a while. It's a design from Olde Willow and is charted for Olde Willow floss. I have the colors, but my purple for the words and other parts was way too pale, so I had to use a darker color from Weeks (which required unstitching many letters, of course). My fabric is 35-count Dye Pot Blend from R&R, and it seems so big after 40-count! I actually started this in the car on the way to Minnesota (before ATS was actually finished), but stopped when I discovered the purple floss issue.
You see, I didn't take ATS to Minnesota. There was only a tiny bit of stitching left to do as I was leaving town, but I didn't want to expose it to all of the travel elements. You know ... dog hair, dog feet, road food, Diet Coke.

Next to join the WIP pile is Shores of Hawk Run Hollow (gasp!). I know! I'm so excited to start this project, which certainly must have drool marks on the fabric and charts from my many longing looks and thumb-throughs while stitching other things. I'm using the NPI silks called for and 40-count Vintage Autumn Gold from Lakeside. A sweet lady at Needle in a Haystack (how rude of me to forget which lady) helped me choose a piece of fabric with less gold and more brown in it ... over the phone! She was incredibly patient. I love stitching Shores, and here's a pic of my progress from a few days ago. With my unfortunate photographic skills (or lack thereof), the color of the fabric isn't like real life.

Finally, here is the WIP I took to Minnesota. It's The Heart's Content Colonial Charm Sampler, which I started about 15 years ago. Isn't that awful? I have so many things in my WIP pile that were started oh, so long ago. I'm gonna try to force myself to work on it at least once a week (uh huh, sure). I love it, but I'm obsessed with Shores and some other projects. What to do?

I just got a call from my niece to let me know that she and my mom will be stopping by after a run through Whole Foods! Eek! I have to get out of my nightgown and wash my face and pick up a few things, so this post has to end. I'll leave you with a sunset from Sugar Lake in Minnesota. I took loads of sunset pictures, and some of them actually turned out.

Thank you to all of you sweet bloggy friends who commented about the completion of ATS. It's so much fun to have encouragement. You'll be happy to know that it's at the framer now.

Oh, before I go, there are two giveaways to tell you about. Marie and Jolene are both having giveaways, so get on over to their blogs and check them out. And make some fun.