WIPocalypse 2021 Check-In - January 31, 2021

And I'm late, as usual. Still... I don't have that much to report so this will be short and sweet(-ish)! The topic for discussion this month was: "Tell us about a WIP on which you’ve really struggled to make progress. Explain its history. What appears to be the reason you’re struggling?" Here it is... "Save the Stitches" by Elizabeth Almond. I'm on blocks 70 - 74 0f a 125+ block piece. I started this back in February of 2014 and made pretty good progress until I had basically four years of physical therapy (which resulted from a broken left wrist followed two years later by a left thumb tendon rupture caused by the tendon rubbing across the plate in that same broken wrist). During that time, I had limited  and limited use of my left hand. In 2020, I started stitching again and inserted this piece into a rotation of four long-term WIPS/potential UFOs and a set of 5 SALs. I finally picked it up after all the other WIPS were completed and began stitching again in November/December 2020. So my struggle was physical. This is a BAP and the full yard of fabric is heavy so holding the QSnap frame is tiring, to say nothing of the fact that after an hour or so, my hand start cramping and I have issues with holding onto the needle! Needless to say, my left hand isn't ever going to be as dextrous (is it an oxymoron to apply dexterity to the left hand of a right-handed person?) as it once was and so picking up this piece to stitch doesn't compete with smaller pieces in my rotation.  Nonetheless, I will persevere! Now, as for what I am stitching  in February... ~~~~~WIPS~~~~~ While "stay at home" orders here in Ohio are have mostly lifted, Covid is on the rise again in Ohio and (we're still on a "mandatory mask" order right now and cautioned to "go out" only if necessary), I have had the time to do quite a bit of stitching. I re-started "Save the Stitches"  (see above photo) in November 2020 and made a little progress on blocks 70 - 74. However, I didn't stitch on it at all in January 2021. ~~~~~SALs~~~~~ I have two SALs in progress at present: 1. Faithwurks/Just Cross Stitch Magazine's "Christmas Quaker", on 28ct Sage Jobelin, Anchor floss as called for in the chart. The first installment of six was completed in January. I await installment 2 with the April issue of Just Cross Stitch (although the digital version pattern will likely arrive in March). 2. 2. The fifth and final SAL in Stitchonomy's Year os SALs: "Winter 2020", stitched on 16 ct Riviera Aqua Aida, using DMC threads as called for in the chart. The first 13 installments are now public: Because I belong to the SALs pattern club, I have completed the final two installments and am ready to finish it as a bell pull, as soon as the hardware arrives. It will be counted as a completion in next months WIPocalypse report. I admit that, after the frenzy of stitching I participated in last year, my urge to take up new stitching has waned a bit. I am considering three additional SALs - one by Peppermint Purple which is a blackwork sampler intended as a companion for the one I completed in 2020 (the first four installments and the "frame" are out now but I haven't decided whether or not to stitch it and, if so, what colors I will use. ​The second is the 2021 mystery sampler by Linen & Threads, called "Talavera".  I am collecting threads at the moment and trying to decide what fabric to use. I'm also contemplating starting the Long Dog "Pandemic" which was released last year - I have thread and fabric, just not courage (that is one HUGE piece).  ​Finally, there is a blackwork piece by Elizabeth Almond in the February issue of Just Cross Stitch that I have kitted up. I may, or may not, start that this month while waiting fo the April Issue of the magazine. And of course, my stash isn't just overflowing with WIPS and UFOs (and finished pieces waiting to be "finished") but also with charts (some kitted up, some not) and kits accumulated over the years.  My stash is truly a SABLE and I am spoiled for choice... Oh, as I reported in December 2020,  stitching isn't my only "craft". I dabble in Mixed Media and am heavily into paper crafting. I maintain a blog for my paper crafting and also maintain a website (and two back-ups) for a quilt guild I belong to. Add to that a life-long addiction to reading (primarily crime fiction, but also history, biography and a little science fiction). Finally, it's tax time and I have to get my records in order for the accountant so I have to budget my time!  In all, I'm just going to go with the flow!