IHSW Jan 2014 - Finding the borders of Paradigm Lost

First off, please share with me the joy of finishing my first stitching project -- and a major one -- for 2014.  And also my maiden post for IHSW!!!!  Oh, the IHSW boss - ie Joysze - was so proud :)   (also, since she's pretty much non-blood family, she was almost obligated to be teeheehee)

Oh yes, and IHSW does not stand for I Hate Stupid Wankers (although I DO).... it stands for International Hermit and Stitch Weekend, which happens for the third weekend every month. You need to sign up for each month to participate, which is great because it doesnt necessitate your attendance for 12 months, but when you want to and can commit to it.

For more information, kindly hie thee attention to the right hand frame of this blog and look for Random Ramblings, and click forth and explore.

 Here is Big Blue... no no, not the IBM computer, but  one of Julia Line's most iconic samplers, Paradigm Lost.  Shit, the pic is kind of too small.  grrr.

I started this mother of a sampler on Jan 1, 2013, hoping to finish it last year.  If I wasn't distracted with finishing a certain huge-ass peacock piece ( the piece was huge, not the ass of the peacock, I mean), I could've met my goal.  But then, some of you readers know me, and know me well.

I get bored. Quite easily. Staying the course for this one, at times, was not easy because so many other projects call for my attention and it helps my motivation levels that I get constantly tempted by some of my cohorts to plan or start some new projects.  Towards the end, as with a lot of other projects, stitching the last part is difficult and it stretches and stretches - you know, kind of like how some marathon runners hit the wall" (not that me or my plump backside would know anything about it first-hand).

This section (pic below) dragged for-fucking-ever!!!  Finally, when all the cross stitches were nicely laid in, I took THREE yukky hours putting in the single-stranded backstitch (while watching Law and Order on DVR)  when it should ideally take just one. Well, having a big pint of Hoegaarden in my gullet could've also slowed down the speed, but ahemmm, who's telling? :)

So, scrolling back up to the first picture (yup yup, scroll up, cos it's there) you might have noticed my overly-ambitious "2013", right?   I was cocky enough to think I could wrap this sucker up by 31 Dec, and I'll tell you, I had to eat a bit of crow when i realised that the due date had past, so, what's a girl to do but to tell people that it was the START date, and not the finish one.

That said, it's a jolly good thing I haven't tagged Mette Putfarcken 1811 (or was it 1824?) as 2010.... hehehehe.

Here's the nitty-gritty -
Fabric; 28ct annabelle (Zweigart no longer makes this... Zweigart, sometimes, you guys are idiots! this is a lovely evenweave)
Threads: DMC 820 and DMC 3842  (I am effing sick to death of DMC820 now).
Stitching companion: My ginger and white moggy, Horatio, who occasionally thought the WIP, when spread out for pictures, was a freaking RUG.  (Horatio was not present at the time of the photo-taking, as he was conveniently inconvenienced at the WC when I whipped out the camera).
Mishaps - minor frogging, but other than that, all ok.  Frogs don't often visit Chinese stitchers, cos... you know, we eat every damn thing anyway, and kung pao frog legs taste awesome.
Stitched in: my apartment in PJ, my friend Marcella's condominium in Bangsar over some weekends, some parts of it while visiting my grandparents' house in Penang and my brother's pad in Singapore.

Dang, this WIP's been in some places.
But it is a WIP no more.

Next one to conquer:  Either Joan Elliott's Wisdom geisha or My Big Toe's The Name of God.  Any votes?
I welcome all feedback in my comments, unless you're trying to sell something.  (in the event of the "selling something, I cordially welcome commenters to eff off) The last comment I got (which was, of course, never published), some buttbrain called Anon (yea yea) tried to sell me some pills that promised to enlarge my nonexistent manhood.

Oh well, live and let live.