A New Year... what to work on?

 Happy New Year!

The local fauna have come round to offer their greetings in this new year of 2025... 

That picture was taken one beautiful night last week when the moon was it's fullest.

I have spent time these past few weeks pondering what I would like to focus on now that the holidays are behind us. But first... I had a bit of citrus fruit left from the festive season and they were starting to get old, the skins were toughening up. So I decided to slice what I had and dehydrate them. I'm left with a lovely bunch of rounds to put away until next season when I'll string them together with cranberries and small pine cones to make a garland. There is a grapefruit, a couple oranges, and a lemon.

So, what to work on? Options include quilting: there are two applique tops needing to be quilted. Focusing on the pieced quilt that is started but not done. Something completely new and different. A lot of options.

I've decided that I want to finish the large, 39" x 53" needlepoint that I started a few years ago and ended up setting aside. I really, really want to finish it this year. To that end I've spent the past week and a half picking up where I left off, and will hopefully be able to sustain continued focus on it until every last stitch is taken (there are a bit more than 98,000 stitches in it).

It's currently almost a third done. Once I've stitched the top border (this week and probably beyond) it will definitely be one third finished. I've inserted a red arrow to indicate where I'm up to in stitching:

I've changed my setup for working on this. Because of it's size, it really needs to be on a frame. But frame holders are big, bulky affairs which seem to always be in the way. So, I've suspended the work from the ceiling! I love it. Right in front of the sofa at a height that is comfortable (and adjustable). Two small hooks in the ceiling (which I want to eventually replace anyway) hold everything up. I'm now toying with the idea of employing a few pulleys so I can draw the whole affair up and away! That would be very cool, and I think very doable. This is a perfect setup for this time of year when I'm in the house a whole lot more than I'm out of it. The sofa is front of the fire, so it's all cozy. And I can watch DVDs while working.

And, there is another project soon to be under way. I have wanted to do some Crewel embroidery. I have a wonderful older book on the subject which demonstrates many stitches, and covers topics like designs, colors, etc. My plan is to stitch a series of blocks using the various stitches and then sew the blocks into a quilt. This will let me try out all the different types of stitching and play around with different designs and colors. I've already ordered a bunch of crewel wool from Appleton's in the UK. 

For clarification, "crewel" work refers to wool thread being worked on linen cloth. It does not refer to any specific type of design. There is, though, a popular aesthetic of crewel work called Jacobean which is readily recognized: Oversized leaves, undersized animals, odd color choices. It's very attractive.