Last month, I officially said goodbye to the overly complicated garden that had made me miserable for most of 2026 and started over with a much simpler temperature project: a happy little sun surrounded by bright, colorful stars.

One month later, I can confidently say that was one of the best crafting decisions I’ve made in a long time.

I haven’t missed the garden once.

Not even a little bit.

I’m genuinely enjoying stitching again, which feels like a pretty good confirmation that abandoning 4,693 stitches and starting over was exactly the right decision.

This project is everything I wanted the garden to be. It’s bright. It’s cheerful. It’s easy to pick up and put down. Most importantly, it doesn’t feel like an obligation.

I’ve even fallen behind a few times, but that’s to be expected. The difference now is huge: catching up doesn’t feel insurmountable. I can sit down, stitch several days in an evening, and suddenly I’m right back where I need to be. No marathon stitching sessions. No endless thread changes. No staring at a chart and wondering why I did this to myself. Just bright, happy stars.

I’m still in catch-up mode since I got a late start on this pattern, but I also went back and finished April last month. I’ve now completed April through August, slowly but surely working my way backward through the beginning of the year.

For once, “catching up” actually feels achievable.

By the Numbers

⬆️ High: 97.5°F (August 10)
⬇️ Low: 59.2°F (August 25)
🌡️ Biggest swing: 27.9°F (August 10, 69.6°F → 97.5°F)

One of the best parts about this pattern: I can actually see the weather. (Even if I don’t necessarily love the weather.) August was pretty hot, with plenty of warm oranges, reds, pinks, and yellows. Then, toward the end of the month, a few cooler overnight temperatures snuck in. Just looking at the stars, I can see the shift happening. That’s exactly what I wanted from a temperature project.

The garden may have technically recorded the same information, but there was so much happening in every little motif that the temperature patterns got lost. This project lets the colors tell the story. And it makes me smile when I look at it. That still feels like the most important part.

A month ago, I wrote about giving myself permission to walk away from a project that wasn’t making me happy. Now that I’ve had another month with its replacement, I couldn’t be happier that I did.

There are no regrets. No longing for the garden. No temptation to pull it back out and give it another chance. That chapter is closed. Now I’m moving forward with sunshine, stars, bright colors, and a project I actually want to stitch.

Turns out choosing joy was a pretty good idea. ☀️✨