A New Year, A New Start

So much going on right now! I may be slow posting over the next couple weeks because I have a LOT going on.

First and foremost, I'll be moving from Maryland to the Valley Forge area of Pennsylvania, and moving in with my fiance. Ack! I'm sorting through all of my stuff and having a good "purge". I haven't properly unpacked all of my worldly goods for 7 or 8 years, because I've been in houseshare situations rather than in my own apartment. In theory, I want to put my hands on everything I own at this point, and make a "keep, sell, donate, or trash" decision about it. In reality, I probably won't get through all of the packed boxes from previous moves (alot of kitchen stuff and the like that I just didn't need to unpack). They're fairly well labeled, so it's easier to just move them, and if there's stuff I need to get rid of once I unpack, it'll go then.

I'm also starting the Post Graduate Job Hunt...ack! I'm in a good industry, but good jobs in general aren't easy to come by. I may have to take something less-than-ideal for the time being but we'll see.

And then there's the wedding plans...we have the "basics" taken care of - church, reception venue, photographer, and DJ all have deposits, but sooner rather than later I need to work through all of the details.

So yeah...no worries, right? Yes, my anxiety level is rather high right now.

Stitching-wise, I started on Wood Warblers I, which is a bellpull from Crossed Wing Collection. (Yes, there's a Wood Warblers II and I'm doing that as well) Because there are some areas that are over-1, I've opted to use a 28 count Cashel (in cream) instead of my usual 32 count. Because there are so many overlap colors between the two pieces, I just bought one set of floss for both and carded it up.

They're large bellpulls - 7 inchs by 49 inches when it's all said and done. Because of the length, I bought a yard piece of fabric and split it lengthwise. It's a little wider than it needs to be but it lets me use a slightely wider frame, which works for me.

Whenever I finish them both (2011? LOL), my plan is to get a yard of really fabulous tapestry material to back them on, and finish them as bellpulls. I can picture them hanging on either side of a room opening or the front door of the house (but I suspect no matter how hard I pull on them, servants are NOT going to appear!)

Wood Warblers is currently put away, and I'm back working on one of my older "in progress" projects. I had a little splurge on some new cross stitch supplies and am getting a few projects kitted up (will post pictures later - orders are still trickling in - you can see in the "coming soon" section some of the projects I've been putting together). I need to finish up a couple projects before I get started on any more new ones though.