WIPocalypse now - July update

Happy Independence Day!

Halfway through the year, and time for another WIPocalypse update.
Not really much stitching this month, actually. I've added two hours on Chatelaine's Convent Herbal Garden, for a total of 30:

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The big news about CHG is that I've finally reached a decision. I wasn't particularly happy with the coloring of Waterlilies "Celadon", which gets a lot of use on a scrolling border - I found it too bright green/yellow for my tastes. After looking at a lot of colors, I've settled on Dinky Dyes "Daydream" - it has the brightness of Celadon at parts, but also reds, purples, and a touch of blue, and seems to go well with the center. They're visible in the progress pic at the bottom.

I did finish the stitching on Teresa Wentzler's Needle Guardian. I realized the design has the same dimensions as my passport, so I'll be finishing it as a passport-sized needlebook once the clear passport covers I've ordered arrive. I think that balances it being a functional piece with my desire to see my finished stitching kept clean.

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This is done on Silkweaver 32ct "Castle View" lugana. I subbed Wildflowers 'Blue Lavender' for the specialty stitches, and Delica DB110 for the beads, and I'm pretty happy with him.

I started a new piece today - Papillon Creations "Around the World in 80 Stitches". Since this is an ongoing mystery, I have no way of making an estimate for completion...and therefore I won't be timing my progress. I've chosen a pallette that uses colors that Teresa Wentzler commonly uses in her designs, especially her older ones. I'm using the leftover Dinky Dyes "Airlie" from Needle Guardian in this where I feel it would be nice. And it seems to fit well with the other colors.

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It's not a lot of progress, but this month has also seen increased effort toward another Work in Progress - myself! I've decided that this is the year I try to get in shape. I started back to Curves in October, and have been using a free calorie-tracker app called MyFitnessPal since January. I've already lost 10 pounds since Christmas, which is a good start...

In mid-May, I picked up a workout buddy as a Mother's Day present. Meet Kryten:

Kryten is a Pro-Form Performance 1450 treadmill, complete with wireless connection and subscription to iFit. I've been using him every day since I got him - 48 consecutive days as of this post. My average is not very fast (only 2.3mph, and 30 minutes a day), but I hope that will improve over time. I would like to be down a jean size (if not two!) by the end of the year, and if I can keep up with the programmed workouts I should be able to make it. I think the daily loss of potential stitching time from exercising is well worth it to be healthier (and hopefully live longer to stitch and enjoy life.)

That's all I have for updates at this time. Time for fireworks and maybe beer.