January Smalls SAL post

My first small for the 2017 Smalls SAL run by Heather of Stitching Lotus. It's a Lizzie Kate Tiny Tidings called Snow Bird. There are meant to be blue beads in the centers of the snowflakes, but I subbed blue stitches. Stitched on 32 count  linen in "Wren" by PTP (I think).

I had intended to have one or two other smalls done by now, but for some reason, I thought it would be a great idea to start a project on January 2 for a friend whose birthday is February 3. I've had to put everything else aside to work on it. I still have 1/4 of it left to do, and only a week to do it. :( I really like it, and it's going to be cute when it's done, but ack.

It is reminding me of why I stopped enjoying stitching years ago - I was stitching large-ish things, and often they were for people and therefore needed to be done by some date (which ultimately slid and slid and slid, and then I felt guilty about it), and I got so sick of whatever I was stitching on that it stopped being fun.

So, I'm going to finish this thing, and then I am going to so, so, so enjoy working on something new that doesn't have a deadline, and on WIPs that I have been plodding along on in a deadline-free, stress-free manner.

I do have one other gift stitch planned this year, but I have 3 possible deadlines (Mother's Day, mom's birthday in October, or Christmas), and it's not huge. So I'm fairly confident that I can at least get it done by the end of the year, without having to zero in on it until I'm sick of it....