Some years ago, I bought a needlepoint kit to make a cover for the seat of my dressing table (the set belonged to George's grandmother and is very handsome).  I started working on it, of course, and then got distracted as tends to happen.  It hibernated.  Every winter since, I have pulled it out, looked at it wistfully, maybe stitched on it for a couple evenings — and then got distracted….

Well, this is the year!  The fabric on the dressing table seat is so worn and shredded that it cannot be considered fabric anymore. And the needlepoint design is gorgeous (a William Morris design) and will look fabulous in our room.  And I paid a pretty penny for the kit.  And, gosh darn it, this is the year!

I figure if I work on it a little bit everyday, it will get done.  It cannot help but get done.  There is no way, logically, that I can avoid finishing this needlepoint project if I work on it everyday.  So, I have been doing just that.  And I enjoy it — it is kind of like doing a coloring book and once I get going, I am compelled to do "just a little bit more."  

There are a million million stitches to do — and it is not exactly mindless (you have to follow the design, and often there are judgement calls about where this color ends and the next begins).  I decided to finish all the patterning before I do the background — which actually will be mindless and may become excruciating.  But I can always use some mindless needlework too.

I consider any needlework that is not knitting as "cross training."  I like to keep my hand in — crochet and embroidery and even tatting — and a little variety during these long dark evenings is a good thing.