Around the world in 80 stitches and other updates

I've been thinking about starting Around the world in 80 stitches for a while, but it's kind of a hassle to go to my local needlework store to pick up fabric.  I had been thinking about an over dyed 28ct linen in mocha, but they didn't have enough, so I ended up picking a 32ct linen in cream. I guess this is my favorite default color because I came home to find I already had a piece of it hemmed and ready to go.  It's a little bigger than necessary since it was initially for Castles in the Air, which I loved, but never felt particularly inclined to start.

Now that I'm working on 32ct I'm pretty sure I need to pick a different metallic thread. I had some light blue treasure braid on hand, but it's a little thick and seems unsuitable for a 32ct fabric. I might try it and see how it looks first.  Since I'm using mostly DMC threads, I think this could be a travel project.

I also was going to do another Tree of Stitches to send to a friend, but I neglected it for a long time and this is as far as I've gotten.  Shameful.  It was a quick stitch the first time around, so I'm aiming for a end of July finish.

I also picked up the Janlynn Winter Sampler again.  I think I pinpointed what's so infuriating about this project - the symbols in some areas are so small I either don't notice it or I can't tell what it is.  The chart is very cluttered, and I end up with a lot of confettii stitching.  "Winter" is starting to shape up.  I don't know when this is going to be done, which is frustrating.  I thought the gridding would make things go faster since I could focus on doing one grid at a time.  It kind of helped on the clock and the countdown ribbon, but whole center motif is so cluttered, I can only work on it for a day here and there. The picture isn't the best, but the quality of the picture kind of reflects how I feel about the project right now.

Finally, here's my progress on the Chinese garden mandala.  Part 5 - I just need to finish the ray stitches in the top of the arch and then back stitch it.  A few more hours should do it, but I probably won't have time to sit down with this one for another two weeks since I'm traveling. 

I have a lot of work to do.  Oh I haven't even touched the Deep Sea Mandala since March.  I had thought I put it away because I couldn't figure out what to do with the over one stitches, but it turns out, I don't have all the DMC colors I needed (I'm doing the DMC conversion to save money).  I'll post pictures of that eventually.