Why do hours in the day run out before the list is complete?

Full of good intentions I made a list on Friday of the weekend's chores and errands.   An excellent list it was, not too long and not too short.  But the hours of the weekend are almost gone and the list is not all ticked complete.   Oh dear.
However I have made some good progress on construction of the current stitching projects so here is the "show and tell"

First up the almost completed needlebook.   The empty space on the top right will have a mattress pincushion - yet to be constructed.   And I need to decide how I am going to stitch down the spine - shall I make the stitching show on the outside or the inside?   Ah...decisions decisions!   This needlebook is on Antique White Cashel linen and an assortment of floss to tone with the lining fabric (kindly sent to me by Ann of Beadlework).

The pincushion and the scissors fob to go inside the Cottage Etui are all complete.   Here's a montage of these two pieces.   The ends of the pincushion are indentical to the scissor fob.   I have given myself this week to finish the needlebook and the roof of the Cottage and hopefully next weekend to build the actual cottage.   Perhaps I am over optimistic- we shall see.
Anyway it is time to cook dinner now so I had better close this.
 

Entwined initials???

When the artistic genes were being handed out I must have been absent for the day!   It seemed simple, in a logical kind of way, to graph out two letters of the alphabet, overlaid so that they would appear entwined.   That's just a simple mathematical exercise n'est-ce pas?  Well.... the end result is precisely the sum of the parts but is definitely on the 'dis' end of the satisfaction scale. 

However I am not undoing this.   I am declaring the stitching for the Cottage complete and I have moved on to the Needlebook.

Here I have hundreds of nun stitches ahead of me as I outline the needle pages.   Hundreds and hundreds of them.   I will not count, just doggedly stitch.   Being of the mind that a trimmed four sided stitch is not structurally stable, I opted for nun stitch as the page edges.   Each page has the name of the needle and a small floss bobbin.

And...when the stitching on the needlebook is finished I am going to have a marathon construction time.   The Cottage, the Needlebook and the Naxos Necessaire all need construction and I vowed, hand on heart, to the HD3QBEM that I wouldn't return to either The Mermaid's Chest or Ring O Roses until all three WIPS have been finally completed.   Five projects on the go (and that's not counting my EPP Hexagons) is just too much to cope with.
This Saturday I am going to the National Agricultural Field Days with Little Brother.  Unfortunately the weatherman is not cooperating and I think I will need my waterproof anorak and knee high gumboots.   Last weekend I had a dress rehearsal.   Do you like the look?

Given heavy rain for the past three days, I can guarantee that the boots at least will have changed to mud colour by Saturday evening!   But I will be gloriously tired, happy and able to cross two items off my 60 Things To Do list (new gumboots and Field Days).
Right.   I'm off to more nun stitches now.

And the Cottage has a front door and a window.

Tonight I managed to stitch the eyelets for the lace window curtains and it only took three attempts.   I have to say that the chart for this C A Wells Cottage Etui almost needs a doctorate to decipher it.   Eventually I used the HD3QBEM's hand magnifer (recommended by the Foundation of the Blind no less) and consulted the coloured photograph.   Better luck that way and the front porch is now finished.  

Hopefully tomorrow I will graph out and entwined M and S for the base and the cottage will be considered finished but not completed.

Why not you ask?   Well I want to use the remainder of the linen and have made a start on the Needlebook which, with its accessories, will be stitched in the spaces.   I am using odd floss from stash and attempting to blend with the fabric I have chosen for the lining.   Not a 100% success but neither is it an epic fail :-)   I like this -  the cover is a sampler of stitches.   So far, Palestrina knots, Rice Stitch, Montenegrin stitch, Smyrna Crosses, Satin Stitch and the promise of more to come.   Great fun to have the variety.   I didn't like the long and short stitch for the floss bobbins so changed that to satin stitch on top of cross stitch which gave a far better coverage.

Now I am off to bed.