Creating a Monster

Happy happy October - my very favorite beach month! An early walk on Pass-a-Grille Beach this  morning turned up a perfect shark's tooth and a tiny octopus rolling in the surf. No pictures to share - some things just have to be experienced.

I mentioned last post that September would be riddled with trips around the state for work. That definitely held true with another visit to Orlando last week. But by that point, I'd discovered a silver lining to  the overnights.  Before all the traveling began at the beginning of the month, rather than laboring with Hannah Pepper, I decided that I'd give myself permission to stitch on something new, fun and small for each road trip .  That decision led to the finish of The Angel of Tulips, but there was still more travel on the books.  Hhmmm...what to do about that?  Suddenly, traveling for work was beginning to feel like stitching summer camp!  So a dive through my Christmas stuff came up with a project I'd been hoarding for waaaayyy too long....apparently since 2003 to be exact....



I knew as soon as I set my grabby hands on it that this little sweetie would finally have her day.  And suddenly, I was looking forward to the trip.  Not so much because of the work it required, but because it meant an overnighter with a little cutie that was definitely not Hannah Pepper.  It felt a little bit like cheating on her, but I couldn't stop myself. A few nights away and this little love child was born.

I used to walk the straight and narrow when it came to little pieces.  It was just too much to bear to stitch them lovingly and then mangle them thoroughly in a sorry attempt at finishing. For the longest time, I steered clear by stitching only large samplers that just involved framing when they were done.  But now with the magical finishing powers of Miss Faye  and the giddy abandon for little projects unleashed by the overnights, all I can think about now are more tiny projects.  Prairie Schooler Santas, old JCS Ornament Editions,  the tiny scraps of 28 count linen I've hung onto over the years...you name it, I've manically pored over it this weekend.  No more to be started of course unless other road trips crop up or Miss Hannah comes to a final finish.  But I've definitely created a monster, one that's obsessed with itty-bitty little projects!

And now, let's move on to the real monster in the room, shall we?  Namely, Hannah Pepper herself.  I have been slogging away on her endless grassy knoll and am thrilled to report that it's finally in its completed resting place.  No wonder I wanted to cheat on her!

You can see here that she really doesn't have much left to her, so I'm hoping if I stay focused and faithful, she'll be done for good next time I post.  Not sure what I'll actually do with myself when that happens, but it will probably be a lot of little things....

 As always, thanks for stopping in and especially for taking the time to comment.  Fall stitching - does it get any better than this?