New cross stitch start

As a teenager my next door neighbor got me interested in stitching  tapestries. In my 20s I discovered cross stitch and switched allegiances.  So since my teens I've  always had a project  on the go, doing some almost every  day. I even started this  blog in 2011 as a way of keeping track  of my progress.

However the last 3 years one thing after another has happened and I lost motivation.  While  I really liked the picture  I was working on, after some reflection I realised why I had lost my mojo. One, the picture was huge,even doing some every day would take around 7 years to finish. Two, at nearly  200 hundred colors I was spending too much time trying to find the thread that matched  the chart symbol.  Three, at 22 count it was just too fine for my deteriorating eyesight,  I now need glasses for reading which  I didn't  when I started the project.

So I decided to start over, taking those above 3 issues into account.

I've  chosen a Heaven and Earth  design, mini Minervas melody by artist  Josephine Wall.It has 88 colors,will probably  take around 18 months to complete and I'm  stitching on  16 count Aida.

And guess what! My sewing  mojo  is back.

This is progress after the first week,  starting in the top left corner.
And I bought myself a few cute things to celebrate. See the cute needle  keeper in photo above.

 A little tin, keeping cut threads in.

A new sewing basket. My other sewing basket  I've  had since a teenager  and one handle has broken off and the front  clasp is broken.

I also  treated myself to a TV for my sewing  room. I have been watching  TV on my laptop but the volume  doesn't go very loud and when machines are running I can't hear it.

I'm  looking forward to  sharing more  progress  photos.