The Finished Product

I still can't believe it, but this is it.  All done.  And for about 12 cents an hour and five months of my life.

This is Miss Stitch, signing off.  

Thanks for following the journey!

Serious Technology Malfunction

Well folks, the day after my last entry an event occurred that put a giant damper on the Christmas Cross-Stitch chronicle.

I spent a couple of days in New York and while it was a great trip, my computer's hard drive died.  Without a computer it was impossible to write updates, but without the temptation to piddle on the internet for hours on end, it did afford me the opportunity to buckle down and finish this baby.

Yes, you read it correctly.  I finished this baby.

Dove-tailing perfectly with the arrival of my new hard drive which my husband deftly installed into my lifeless laptop, I stitched my final stitch and put this Christmas Cross Stitch to rest.  I can still hardly believe it, to be honest.  All day I have had to remind myself that I don't have to work on it, so clearly I'm going to have to retrain myself to do other things.

My first order of business post-cross-stitch?  Volunteering at our public television studios.  They're doing a pledge drive and I'm going to sit at the phones and take pledges!  It's exciting in a sense because I have been trying to get a job with our public radio station and since they're not hiring due to the crappy economy, I'm going to offer my time for free.  Of course I hope I can build a report with the folks there and be one of the first ones they think of when they start hiring again, but it will also be an excellent way to do a good service to my community!

Thanks to all who kept up with this project and read this blog.  I'm so thankful I finished it!!!  

(My husband is even more thankful.)

All Day Stitch-a-thon

After Last Week's Marathon Stitch Day:
After Yesterday's Marathon Stitch Day:

The Stitch family has become a bit busier now that Mr. Stitch has a full-time job. I've had to take up even more of a role as house wife and to be honest I don't think I realized how time consuming keeping a house can be! But I love doing it, even though other projects tend to get pushed aside. Namely: the Christmas Cross-Stitch.

But somehow I've managed to get at least eight hours of stitching in one day a week and I manage to make decent progress during that day. I need to pick up the pace, though. Mr. Stitch told me bluntly over a dinner date that he hates the project. This is coming from a man who is always honest, but reserves the word hate for only the most poignant of moments. He pointed out that there are so many other creative things I could be doing with my time if it weren't for this project.

I know he's right, but I can't seem to stop. I've already come this far and I have to finish it.

The Cross-Stitch Lady Speaketh

As I mentioned, I emailed Cross-Stitch Lady with a photo of my progress. Here was her response:

I Love It! Thank you for the continued effort! It looks as if you are almost done. Do you have an estimated completion date?
I have been slowly working on the 3rd cross-stitch myself... if you are still interested after you complete this one, I could pass the project off to you. Let me know.
Thanks so much! - Cross-Stitch Lady

I'm glad she loves it! I have no idea how to guesstimate a completion date. I've been guessing all along, and every one of them has been wrong. It might take me three, maybe four more weeks? Two or three more months? Halloween? Who knows.

Oh, and I will be politely declining the offer to finish the third one she wants done. That's for sure.

Check!

Yesterday, through hours of Seinfeld Season 4, I plowed through color after color until his little head was completely covered. Sometimes I would only have two or three stitches per color, but I didn't care. I hunted and pecked until all the holes were filled.

Whew.

On to corner three!

Oh, and I'm sending an update to Cross Stitch Lady!

All in a Day

Compare with the previous entry's picture and you'll get an idea for what I accomplished today.

It's a nit-picky hunt to fill the tiny holes in his head!

A Crown for His Head

Above is a week's worth of work! I've managed to almost finish the crown of his head, which will be yet another item checked off the cross-stitch list. After that, two corners and his feet will be all that's left. That's all.

When I get his head finished I will email Cross-Stitch Lady with a photo and see what she says.

***

I was catching up with my best girlfriend last night and when she asked me what I had been doing prior to her call, I admitted that I was stitching. All of sudden she shrieked, "You're still working on that?!?" I sighed and admitted that I was. "I thought that needed to be done by the end of January," she said. Apparently I'd avoided talking about the project during our catch-up calls during the last several weeks.

It was hard to admit that I wasn't finished. Soon, though. Hopefully soon?