In a perfect world, I prefer to start stitching in the middle of a pattern. It’s easy to find the center of both the fabric and the pattern, and starting here assures the design is centered on the fabric. Although, have you ever stitched a vertical design with the fabric aligned horizontally? Oops! I have. I discovered the mistake way late in the game, but found the design fit with almost an inch to spare on the narrow sides. That makes the piece tough to frame, because there’s not enough fabric to stretch it well, but I pieced strips of fabric on the short edges to compensate. It was my secret until now.

Anyway, while I prefer to start stitching in the center of a design, on the new puzzle pattern, I am stitching the outline first. I think mistakes happen more often this way, and today’s effort supported that theory. Twice I frogged (rip it, rip it!) substantial areas. No big deal; I rip a lot.

So, I stitched a lot today, but you’d have to measure that with a clock, not by the amount of fabric covered!