Three project scans to share tonight!

I know, it doesn't really look like much progress since my last scan.... but this is actually almost three hours more of backstitching on Legends of the Dragons - it was just one of those days when I decided to take a nap after dinner, then a bath... then groom Angus (our black persian cat with fur from hell), and then, finally, stitch!
And, here is my latest progress scan of Peacock Cypher - I remembered to bring it home from my office today (I stitch this one exclusively at work, when I can....). This is Sections 1 and 2, plus some of Section 3 now. No beading has been done yet - I don't plan to do that part at work.... could get crazy doing beading at the office - LOL!
And, tonight, while digging out my Celtic Band Sampler chart (going to start this one soon - it is another project on my list to do for 2005), I came across my WIP of Random Thoughts, stitched back in 2000. I still have the hemstitching to do, so I plan to get to that soon now. I remember stitching this near the end of 2000, and we sold our house in Derry, NH at that time. So, the project got packed away and was put in the garage of the apartment we rented for nine months while this house was being built. I never got back to finishing it.... Sorry for the lousy scan, but am just too tired tonight to re-scan it....

Q. Given the option, would you rather buy a chart and get the material
and floss together yourself, or buy a pre-packed kit?

A. Well, for the most part I much prefer to kit my own projects up. I usually do not like the fabrics that are supplied in kits. I do not stitch on aida, so that is always tossed immediately when I do get a kit. I have a strong preference for hand dyed fabrics, so will sometimes toss a plain fabric for a hand dyed... or just use a fabric that is a different color to suit my tastes.... so it is just easier then to kit the project up myself :-) I also tend to stitch projects that do not even come in kit form.... But there are a few wonderful exceptions - I recently bought Teresa Wentzler's The Guardian kit and will use it as it is packaged. The same is true for Marjolein Bastin's Birdhouse Artistry (though, I actually just might swap that fabric to a different color too!) But when I started Bag Ladies, I did swap out to cashel... I plan to do the same for Frederick the Literate when I get around to stitching it too....Kits that I will absolutely always buy and use all items in without changing anything are: Shepherd's Bush, Chatelaine, The Drawn Thread, Liz Turner Diehl gardens and Just Nan Class Projects :-)

Red Sox 6, Athletics 5 - get out the brooms, that is a sweep! Karen K, you won't believe it but Keith Foulke blew the save again today (it was a day game... yikes, radio in the office, missed most of the game....). I am a bit worried about him. We had the game in hand until Foulke gave up 4 runs in the ninth. But thanks to Jason Varitek's two run walk off home run at the bottom of the ninth, we win again! Now no baseball until 10 PM Friday night as the Sox are off to Seattle now...hate those late west coast games that run til at least 1 AM, but at least they are over the weekend this time...but there are more coming Monday and Tuesday, so I better get my rest! Those games will give me extra stitching time though!

Stitched on today: Peacock Cypher and Legends of the Dragons