The Castle: May 2006 Archives
After I got that cross-stitch project out, I decided that I needed to finish it. There's something to be said about an unfinished work, but in this case it would never make me happy given how much work I had already done on it. It's strange, I hardly even remember doing all that work. But there's definitely a lot more time in the piece than I've ever put into any sweater. How do I know this?
Well, I decided that I would work for an hour every day (including weekends) on this project. I didn't start right away after I posted it, but I didn't wait too long either -- I think the Saturday before Mother's Day. Since deciding to do that I've finished the hind leg and claw, and most of the long part of the tail. That probably represents 7-8 hours of work. And there wasn't a lot of color changing in the part I just worked. The castle and rocks have a lot of color changing involving two strands of two different colored floss. So it will be a bit slower going from here on out.
I'm finding this cross stitch project very engaging for me in small doses. I actually look forward to coming home from work and listening to The World and spending some time with my dragon. It's definitely a reminder that I enjoy needle work that doesn't involve yarn. I wish these Q-snap frames had been around a long time ago when I started this project. They make the experience a lot nicer than tensioned rings or wooden hoops and they are much more portable than a stand. (If you do cross stitch and don't have one of these frames, you should really do yourself a favor and treat yourself to one -- they're not that expensive and they come in a variety of sizes).
I think I'm going to have a weekly "Dragon Day" until this project is finished to help keep me motivated. I really want to see this project through to the end now and give it a special place in my home to remind me that it is never too late to finish something.
And now I'm off to browse through my Barbara Walker books in search of a pattern that might work well with my washed and set silk singles.
