WIPocalypse Check-In:April

Hi all,

Happy Easter!
Can you believe it's April already?! March has been a bit crazy with school and work: I picked up several additional hours at my second job, and was working like a madwoman on my final thesis draft (which I defended on Friday, and passed, whew!) Because I had such limited stitchy time, I abandoned my usual rotation and just stitched on what was calling to me at the moment, which ended up being 2 of my WIPs.  I finished one, so I also got a new start. : )  Hopefully this month things will slow down a little and I will be able to resume my rotation! 

The first WIP I worked on, "Winter Friend," I ended up finishing: my first finish of 2015!
I posted a picture of it earlier in the month, but here it is again:

I will post another picture when I get it framed. Because I finished this, I also put a few stitches in on a new start, "Autumn Sampler" by Janlynn:

This is what it will look like when finished:

I also worked on "Aurora Cabin," which went from here:

To here:

So close to completing the cross stitch on this!  Once that is done, there is a bit of backstitching in the cabin, rocks, and trees, and several french knots for the stars.  I'm hoping it will be a finish before I move in June! : )

The question for this post is: Which specialty stitches do you love doing on projects?  Which do you dread?
My knowledge of specialty stitches is fairly limited, and I plan to learn more: besides all the variations of the standard cross stitch, I know backstitching, french knots, couching, and satin stitch.  My favorite is probably backstitching simply because I like the way it can make a pattern like "Winter Friend" come to life, and it progresses so much more quickly than cross stitch!  I don't really have any that I dread (probably because I don't know that many yet): I know many people dislike French Knots, but I have never really had a problem with them, although I do want to improve my technique because my knots are not always the same size..."Aurora Cabin" should give me some needed practice. : )

Here's to hoping I get some solid time in on all of my WIPs this month!
Happy Stitching! : )