It’s been very quiet around here. Back in November, I decided to take a month or two off to regroup…then the schools closed again and I found myself back where I was last year, trying to juggle this project with 24/7 parenting. I decided to extend my time off until I was in a position to be able to give Hearty Tales (and the PhD behind it) the time and attention it needed. I THINK that time is now?

Today is literally day one of being back at it, so I will probably spend a few weeks finding my feet again and trying to pick up where I left off. I’ve had a few enthusiastic syllable counters get in touch to ask when the next haiku challenge will be happening and the answer is a slightly non-committal “soon”! Keep an eye here on the blog and/or on the Hearty Tales Twitter to make sure you’re among the first to know. [Don’t tell anyone I said so, but I’m secretly aiming for next month…]

Of course, I’ve still been thinking about hearts, even if I haven’t been blogging about them, and I finally got around to stitching up the anatomical heart cross-stitch pattern that you can find and download (for free!) from the Creative Resources section. I did mine on super-tiny 18-count aida, which is why the finished product is so dinky…and why I nearly went cross-eyed! I like how it turned out, though, and would love to see anything that you make using the pattern.

I hope to be back up to speed again very soon, blogging in a semi-regular fashion. I have missed hearing from the Hearty Tales readers/contributors and look forward to being back in touch with you all! 🙂