Staying on task -- not exactly!! A new HAED start

Staying on task is really hard for me -- so many fabulous projects call my name.  I made my list for 2012 and almost immediately added a new start (ok, two)....

I was wandering through the HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) works in progress and saw someone working on storykeep - a cute name for a bookmark.  I really like the artist and bought the chart.  As luck would have it, there was a SAL (stitch a long)  for the smaller HAED charts .  I jumped on board on Sunday and assembled supplies -- happily, I had almost everything.

Here is the finished artwork:

Storykeep Seasons Winter by Strelkina
photo from HAED (heavenandearthdesigns.com)

I am, and always have been a slow stitcher.  This is my start:

The stitch count is  75 by 312 - on 18 count the finished size will be about 3 1/8 inches by 17 1/3.  I am using ivory 18 count aida with 2 strands of dmc.  I have never been a huge fan of aida but the variation of the thread width of linen was not something I wanted for a HAED project.

Before I started Seasons Winter I did most of the grid work on my two other HAEDs.  While I was stitching away I had a epiphany about the St. Basil's needlepoint project.  I have not put in a single stitch in St Basi'ls since the class and I decided it was because I wasn't happy with the shape of the domes.  I have been doing a bit of dome adjustment and hope to get a decent outline on the canvas this week.