What do those three things have in common? Simple – they are all reasons why both new chart packs and new blog posts are rather thin on the ground at the moment. I have no particular schedule for blog posts, they just appear when I have something to say, but initially I did set out to add two new chart packs every month. Surely it should be possible to stitch one small or medium design and one large design a month? And how much time can writing a chart pack take?

The answer to the latter question is "more than you think". It’s true that I now have stitch diagrams for most stitches on file, but I do still add new stitches for which diagrams need to be drawn, either on paper or on the computer, and then an intelligible description needs to be written as well. And of course every design needs its own set of specific instructions. As for the stitching, sometimes that, too, takes a bit longer than expected; for example when I decide half way through that a different filling stitch would be better, or when I realise that things which take a few minutes to chart can take several hours with needle and thread!

Preparations take another chunk of what could be stitching time. Getting materials together for the upcoming Guildhouse course, for example, and deciding on the projects: is this the right level of difficulty? Would it be possible to include optional parts for those who like a challenge? How do I include silk gauze and shisha glass without making the materials pack too expensive?

And then there is designing, especially when the completed designs can’t be shown yet, like the SAL or the Counted Wishes special. While I’m working on those, I obviously can’t work on putting new chart packs on the site or write new Flights of Fancy. On the other hand, I enjoy designing at least as much as stitching – and of course if I don’t design, soon there won’t be anything to make chart packs of, so giving up designing is obviously not an option.

And anyway, by far the biggest distraction is Life, as all stitchers will know. A visit to the family back in the Old Country, a sister-in-law getting married (lovely wedding, beautiful dress – her grandmother’s), vintage car events which we attend both for fun and as a business, Church activities, preparing for the annual Holiday Club … and before you know it July is gone and August is going!

But in the background, and between activities, I am getting things stitched and written up, and a few designs should be going up soon in the Cards & Coasters section. And in September you can see me at the Counted Wishes Festival (virtually), at the Percival Guildhouse (in the flesh), and in the next edition of Stitch Magazine (printed).