Apparently, I can’t make a Reading Project without also immediately picking up one (or more) crafting projects.

Having made a plan for reading my way through my library (and also getting a couple new books from the public library (SS Van Dine’s The Bishop Murder Case and Aamna Qureshi’s A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison); oops), I then decided that what I really need to do is finish a cross-stitch project I laid aside too many years ago. The pattern, by Lucie Heaton, says it’s from CrossStitcher April 2015, so at most that long ago. Oops again.

I’d got to the outlining stage, too. So I’ve already got a reasonable way through the remaining stitches. I can’t remember why I put it down when I did.

And no, it’s not my world map cross stitch, which also needs finishing.

This one was a tablet cover. Well, it called itself an iPad cover, but it looks like the dimensions will fit my Surface Pro, so that’s what it’ll be for. If I can get around to making it up once I’ve finished the backstitching.

But at least the backstitching shouldn’t take too long. She says. Anyway, I’ve done about half of the keys, and most of the rest is simple straight lines, so shouldn’t require too much concentration. I hope.

And I’ve remembered why I gave up. I was unable to get the blue required from my regular Anchor thread supplier so had substituted one I already had. A darker shade, against which the dark grey outlining doesn’t show up very well. I was considering using an alternative, but clearly never did.

I’m not trying to be clever this time around: I just want it done!

And, currently, Henry Crawford [boo, hiss] is plotting to toy with Fanny’s emotions, to the mild disapproval of his sister (not that she’d do anything much about it), since Fanny’s the only young lady in his vicinity to whom he’s not related.