It begins...A new project. And other projects.

Look upon Scarlet Wizard. My next major project. The things I do for Josh. But he has been told that if we ever split it comes with me.

Now I know what you are thinking. "Surely a Blue Ribbon Cross Stitcher like yourself can handle this. It'll be done in no time."

But this is the thing. Scarlet Wizard here is stitched on 18 count black aida. That means that there are 18 little squares per inch. So the holes between the squares are very tiny and since the fabric is black it's hard to tell where the holes actually are.

To aid my poor eyes I have a clip on light and pulled out my 1.25 magnifying glasses. I was sure these had saved my life until last night when they gave me an eye strain headache like you wouldn't believe. I had to put the thing away and work on some needlepoint to give my eyes a break.

I'm also keeping track of the time I spend on this project. At the end I plan to calculate what the cost would be if someone had paid me to stitch this. I garuntee only the ten richest kings of persia will be able to afford it.

Along those lines of thinking I told josh last night that once I was done I would deserve a nice piece of jewelry. He agreed. Excellent...

I do wish that I could work longer on this piece. I'm really enjoying it so far. The colors are great and much of the detail is half-cross stitch so it's going quickly right now. Oh well, it will be done soon enough. And i'll be able to work on other projects without guilt. I really need to pick it up on the needlepoint. Hell, i'm not even half done with Josh's needlepoint stocking and mine is still in the package. Of course I told him that it could take a few years for me to get it done.

On that front I finished Butterflies in Blue on Sunday and last night I started Butterfly Drama which features a Monarch. (You have to say it like The Monarch! on Venture Brothers.) These are going into the kitchen which has a bit of a butterfly theme. I've had them forever and just finished Butterfly Surprise last December. You can see how quickly I get distracted/little free time I have/really prefer cross stitch/just plain forget about things, take your pick. I do have two frames coming from Ebay so that will motivate me to finish up the third butterfly for the kitchen.

On that note, I finally found some fabric I think i'm going to try and make a valance out of for the Kitchen. It's the same fabric as Abigail's bedding that I bought on Ebay. The fabric was from Wal-mart on only $2.88 a yard. I think i'll also get some to make a purse from a pattern included with a dress pattern. And i've found a free pattern online for a wrap skirt for an American Girl doll. Maybe i'll learn to sew yet.

But anyway, that's the craft update I suppose. As always I have big plans. We'll see what happens with them.