New Start Goodness and an Update

Well, to tell the truth and shame the devil it is a re-start of the first big Heaven and Earth chart I ever bought. The bright and beautiful Anal Nathrach. I had a lot of problems with this one and finally just put it down. Wrong fabric and the wrong stitch was definitely part of the ugliness.
Here is a pic of the chart:

I love fantasy art and this one is so super bright and cheerful it outdoes itself.
So, re-start on 18ct. aida 2 over 1. I was so going to order the kit with 25 ct. but due to recent problems with eye sight I decided 18ct was more practical. And it was a hefty amount cheaper to kit it up myself at 123Stitch. Enough so that I'm going to give the Secret Santa thing a try again this year after all. I'd thought I wouldn't be able to afford it. What a treat, but more on that later.

Mail delivery goodness:

And new start porn:

The first 101 stitches:

The setup, for now:

As you can see I am experimenting with leaving the needles on my parking. I stopped at Wally World and bought a pack of button magnets to keep them on. We will see how that works out. I'm a little nervous about them since Dean ate a pack of cigarettes one week and a watch battery the next. Expensive snacking on his part and these aren't that big and look sort of treat sized.
My stitching speed has been reduced to probably a quarter of what it was and I'm hoping this method will help pick it back up a little. I'll let you know when I know.

Meanwhile, my late night between calls project, Mini The Black, of which I am only working the black right now, is coming along nicely.

I hope everyone is enjoying their stitching as much as I am.
Happy stitching my friends.
Karen