Rotation Rules for my Needlework

1. For me 'The Perfect Rotation' is four to six Needlework projects in a focus-based plan.  
2. If the travel project is surface embroidery or cross stitch, it does not count as a part of the rotation.  Nor do I log time on travel projects because working on one is so random.  They eventually get done.
3. Each project is assigned to a 'slot' based on the type of project it is.   One (and ideally ONLY one) active project per type.
   
• Not counted thread 
• Crewel 
• Surface embroidery / Redwork / Twilling
• Buttonhole cutwork (kits purchased by my mom c 1940)
  
• Traditional painted or printed needlepoint
• Historic reproduction / Historic inspired / Vintage / Vintage inspired counted thread
• Reproductions of Historic Samplers (Hands Across the Sea, Scarlet Letter, etc)
  
• Primitive Style Samplers - focus on BBD LF kits in stash (have over 25 still!)
  
• Quaker Style Samplers
• Marking Samplers
• Whitework Samplers (Linda Driskell, etc)
  
• Modern design in counted thread / Modern counted canvas 
• Sampler in the modern style (ie Drawn Thread, Victoria Sampler, etc)
  
• Perforated Paper Ornaments (Satsuma Street, Jim Shore, Mill Hill, Willmaur etc)
  
• Modern Counted Canvas
• Pictorial in counted thread 
• "Fancy Folk" - Mirabillia, Teresa Wentzler, Lavender & Lace/Told in a Garden, etc)
• Landscapes (Dimensions etc)
• Full Coverage (HAED, Paine Free Crafts, Artecy, etc)
4. Ten logged hours per slot.  If a project is completed before hitting 10 hours, I can choose a new project of the same 'type' and work on it until I reach 10 hours.  Or the slot can be considered completed.  It's OK to go a little over ten hours to get to a good stopping spot. If the pictorial is Full Coverage, the goal is a minimum of 2.5K stitches.
5. Log hours on an excel spreadsheet in 15-minute blocks.  The goal is at least two hours a day on average. Try to get through the rotation every month
6. Order of the slots is flexible, but I have to work on all projects to the time or stitch count goal (or to a finish) before the rotation can restart. It's OK to leave a slot half done, work on something else for a while and come back to the partially done slot.  Eventually I have to finish the 10 hours (but JUST 10 hours) on the project that I have been avoiding.
   
7. Set up time counts.  Prepping linen, mounting the frame, organizing thread is all part of the project.  Likewise, frogging or fixing errors counts; that's also part of the needlework journey.  Random interruptions do not count, nor does getting distracted by Instagram, Pintrest or Facebook.
8. Keep up with finishing and framing.  Reduce the count of the 'finished but not FFO' projects that are stored in the box under the bed.
   
9. Needlework should be fun.  But being over-run with UFOs is not fun.   Try hard to follow the rules.
   

And if you want to know more about how I came up with the 'rules', read on:

I have never been a 'monogamous' crafter.  I had at least a knitting project and an embroidery project going from a very young age.   And two or three 4H projects in different categories when I got a little older.   But if I get more than a dozen things competing for attention, nothing gets worked on often enough or long enough to see any real progress.   

Back in 2015, I did some serious triage of Unfinished Objects (UFOs) in all the crafts that I do; I trashed anything which was missing the pattern, had materials missing/damaged that I couldn't easily replace, and/or where I had messed up to the point of not being able to repair and finish.   I donated partially done and kitted projects that were still in good shape, but I had totally lost all interest in.  I am continuing to weed out kitted projects; if my interest wanes, I remove them from the stash list and either donate or repurpose the materials.

When I did the Great Sort, I noticed that my cross stitch projects tended to fall into three broad categories - historic, modern and pictorial.  So, I started my rotation with three needlework slots. In March 2019, I realized that I had several 'not counted thread' projects started and more of that type kitted up, so I added a fourth category for those. 

There is some overlap between 'historic' and 'modern'.  Primitive or "Prim" designers, Quaker inspired and so forth can go in either category, but I put them into "historic" for the most part.

After the Great Sort there were still too many in-progress projects left (over 40), and I have added more projects as I have found additional UFOs when cleaning out the basement and attic.  And there's still unopened boxes where even more may lurk; I know there's one big cutwork piece from ASNQ that I kitted up that I haven't found yet.  

I have been prioritizing the old unfinished needlework projects in my rotation for the last several years.  As of March 2023, I am at UFO zero for both knitting and needlework; there are only active projects being currently worked on.  Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for quilts - there are a dozen of those in various stages of completion.  I will get to them.