Gardening, A WIP Parade, and a Mango Tree

Happy Monday! Well, it's that time of year again- gardening season. The weather is still too crazy to plant anything, so it's mostly weeding and tidying. Last year, the Castle Wolf Pack kept running around my garden beds whenever they saw a squirrel, so building a fence is on the Spring to-do list as well. I've already given the roses a much needed trim, and they looked very appreciative. I'll definitely be growing Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, and Okra this year, so stay tuned for their pictures once they start to grow.

On the cross stitch side of things, I've made good progress on Nikolai:

Russian Hunting by Riolis

That tree branch is looking good, and it was very nice to be stitching in cream, blue, and pink floss. It's a nice color trio!

Now, about my next WIP. I've looked into my rotation, and these are the ones that jumped out at me:

Of all of them, I'm really staring at Medieval Menagerie. It's one color, it’s Medieval (I love Medieval things!) and it's an amazing chart. I'll make good progress on it, since it always stitches up really quick.

Then again, that Dimensions Gold WIP is definitely appropriate for Spring. So is Great Wave Off Kanagawa. But do I want to jump into another full coverage WIP after Nikolai?

While I ponder this, here's a nifty time-lapse video of a Mango tree growing:

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Jane Eyre, a Horse, and an Irish Harp

Paolo Chiabrando on Unsplash Happy Tuesday! It's a rainy, windy day here at the Castle. When the wind whistles past the windows, it makes me feel like I'm in Jane Eyre, looking out across a moor. Have you ever read Jane Eyre? It was required reading for me in High School. So, have you ever read a book that's so engrossing that you can't bring yourself to put it down? That's what Jane Eyre was like for me. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it! While we're still on this topic, here's a free Jane Eyre cross stitch chart that I found on one of my adventures in the magical land of Pinterest. Slow and steady wins the race, as the old saying goes. Here's my progress on Nikolai: Russian Hunting by Riolis I've reached the other side of the horse's neck and chest! That bit of yellow peeking out on the far left hand side is the background starting to appear again. I believe that black line is one of the horse's reins. Square by squar...

Meet Nikolai, and Eat Mississippi Pot Roast

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My Current Rotation

Cross Stitch Update Today I'd like to introduce you to my rotation. But first, let me explain how I choose what to stitch on everyday. I use a lottery system, mostly because I have a lot of wip's right now, and partly because I'm terrible at making decisions. I used to spend so much time agonizing over which one to stitch on. It also means that I spend a good amount of time on all of my wip's, not just the ones that are calling to me. I have gotten two finishes since I started using this system at the beginning of the year. I have seen some Flosstubers using an app, but my Mother and I thought that this would be much more fun after seeing Sitchin' Mommy use a similar system on her Flosstube channel for her Arbitrary August videos. The only day that I don't use the lottery is on Sunday. I stitch on whatever is calling to me on Sundays. I used eight glass beads- the kind you buy at the dollar store- and labeled them A through H with a Sharpie. Then I...

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