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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Attempting a rotation

On Sunday, I stitched on Examplar IV. Monday evening, Jean Hilton's Scottlee found it's way onto my stand for the first time in six months. Yesterday, after prompting from Cynthia and Joanie (thanks for keeping me honest, ladies!), Cinders was unearthed.

You know, it felt a little strange to be working on something different each day, after so many months of concentrating on one project at a time for a few weeks, but I enjoyed it! I used to have a "screaming rotation", wherein I worked on whatever project screamed at me loudest. That's how I ended up with so many WIPs and UFOs!

I've decided that I'm going to take this as a lesson. I like working on a focus piece because I feel like I make a lot of progress, but I also like the way working on something different each day alleviates boredom with a single piece. I find I actually stitch better if I'm not tired of a given section or a given piece.

The result? A three-day rotation! I'm going to work on three focus pieces, rotating to the next each day. I often am able to stitch at least an hour a day, with much more time on the weekends, so I should be able to make progress on all three. I'll be keeping three types of projects in the rotation:

  • a sampler or other counted linen project. For now, that's Examplar IV.
  • a counted canvas project. That would be Scottlee.
  • a non-counted project. Since most of the rest of Cinders isn't counted, it will fill the role for now.
I won't keep it so constrained that I have to keep these projects in the rotation until they're done. I know I won't stick to the rotation if I make a rule like that. For example, when the next part of Mystery in a Corner or the next Jim Wurth ornament shows up, Scottlee will be set aside for a bit.

I am going to try to stick to the rule that I need to finish two items in a given rotation slot before I start a new one. The exception is for this first round, where I'm giving myself an option to only finish 1 in each slot before pulling something from my stash.* I think I've been pretty good at limiting my starts this year, and a few things are calling loudly!

Here's where the rotation pieces stand now:
Examplar IV (Catherine Theron) - sampler

Scottlee (Jean Hilton) - counted canvas

Cinders (Marion Scoular)

*(Oh yes, of course the Jim Wurth ornaments and new class pieces are exceptions too, but I'm only expecting two more ornaments and 1 class piece for the rest of the year.)

4 comments:

Katrina said...

They are all gorgeous and very different. I think that will help make your rotation lots of fun :-).

Elizabeth Braun said...

Hope it works well for you!=) Looking forward to update photos.

I'm so glad I had a fully pledged finish to post on Monday - yippee!!

tintocktap said...

I've never quite been able to work on a rotation, I always end up distracted by something else! Since my daughter was born I've cut down to 2 focus pieces, but out of the two, I still just stitch on whatever I feel like. Good luck with your rotation.

Cyn said...

Hi Jeanne,

Good luck with the rotation!

I've found that stitching a rotation is really helping me make progress on my projects. It also helps tone down the wish to start new projects since I kind of feel that I'm starting a new project when I move to the next piece in the rotation.

I'll be looking forward to your progress on these projects and the new Wurth ornaments!

Cynthia
Windy Meadow