DUCJC 2016 Has Now Been Completely Completed!

Hello again!

Do you fancy a trip down memory lane? Or, if you are new to me, a look back at what I was stitching in 2016?

I didn't mention it when I posted my FFO of Sorciere in the FFG SAL, but her being fully-finished off marked a rather exciting moment for me - it meant that DUCJC 2016 has now been completely completed (just like the title says!)

For those of you who may not know about this Challenge, it was conceived by SoCal Debbie as 15 new starts during the first 15 days of January. When Debbie passed away, her idea was carried on as Debbie's January Challenge (DJC) then lengthened to include all of January as Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge (DUCJC) and then stretched even further to include February as Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy January and February Challenge (DSDUCJFC). Needless to say, some stitchers carried on into March and April and the maddest ones even further, some up to the end of the year!! I participated in DSDUCJFC in 2015 and DUCJC in 2016.

Since then so many other multi-start (and other) challenges have appeared on Facebook etc. that Debbie's Challenge has seemingly fizzled out and almost been forgotten about. I may not have taken part since 2016 but (with the exception of this year) I have been gradually and steadily working my way through the unfinished pieces. Out of a total of 90 starts for the combined years I have *only* 24 WIPs remaining.

Anyway, back to the January 2016 Challenge and the point of this post...

Out of the 31 new projects I started in January 2016 I actually finished 26 during that year, a further two in 2017 and the remaining three in 2018. However, I have only just deemed this challenge as being completely completed now that the last piece has disappeared from my Box Of Shame.

So let's rewind the clock, take a trip down memory lane and see all 31 projects I stitched for the 2016 Challenge and how they have been fully-finished off:

Toby Fox, Ollie Owl, Bert Badger, Frankie Hedgehog, Molly Mouse and Sally Squirrel
from Woodland Folk by DMC

Contentious and Cantankerous
from Cattitudes by Margaret Sherry

Let's Eat Dessert by Ursula Michael

Playful Puss numbers 3 and 4 (the bottom two) by Lucie Heaton

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Seasonal Alphabets by Lizzie Kate

Save Water, Ride A Bike, Keep Our Air Clean, Plant A Tree, Be Kind To Animals and Eat Locally

Green Flip-Its by Lizzie Kate

Penguin, Red-Hatted Snowman, Black-Hatted Snowman, Santa, Polar Bear and Bear

Christmas Pals Ornaments by Dimensions

Sleepy Book and Balloon

from the Odd Dog collection by Lili Of The Valley

Blueberry from Popcorn and Friends by Dimensions

French Country Witch (aka Sorciere) by JBW Designs

And there you have it. All 31 pieces stitched and all 31 pieces FFOd!! The door is now fully closed on this challenge!!

And, because I talk too much, here are a few highlight/lowlights:

- the Woodland Folk pieces all required a lot of intricate backstitching which often split the stitches. I found it virtually impossible to accurately follow so I improvised. Quite a lot. To be honest, you wouldn't know.

- Let's Eat Dessert definitely saw the most frogging. It was my first 'word' chart and took a bit of getting used to. But once I was in the swing of stitching the frogs were banished.

- the Christmas Pals Ornaments were the most satisfying to fully-finish; they were some of the first ornies I made and definitely set the precedence for my preferred finishing technique.

- Sleepy Book has to be my favourite piece. It's tiny and just so darn cute! Blueberry comes a very close second though.

- the JBW Witch was probably the most fun to stitch as there were tiny motifs within the design which aren't immediately noticeable. It was the second of the 31 projects to be fully stitched but the very last piece to be fully-finished off.

As for the remaining 24 WIPS from DSDUCJFC 2015, I aim to have them all stitched and fully-finished off by the end of 2023 (yes, I have made plans that far ahead!) Therefore one day sometime around 2023/2024 there will be another happy post like this.

Take care,

Rachel x