#24HoursOfCrossStitch - February Challenges

Hi all,

Here is my monthly posting for the #24HoursOfCrossStitch Challenge, the brainchild of Jen from QuirksandStitches, where we can have fun matching our stitching for the month to various challenges. I don't post to the FB group but make you all suffer as I post my results here instead.

As you may or may not be aware, I had some issues at the end of January, and into February which had, and are continuing to have, an impact on my life and (more importantly!) my stitching time. Having made my February plans before any of this happened I decided to keep them, although knew full well that many would not be achievable. So let's see how I did.


1) Stitch for 24 hours during the month, including a minimum of 24 minutes each day
February's stitching amounted to a mere 15 hours 25 minutes, about 1/3rd of my usual time. There were 4 days where I was able to put in 1-2 hours, but there were also 10 days where I only achieved 5 minutes. Not brilliant, but at least I'm continuing to stitch every day and am very grateful for that.


2) Fill in the acrostic LEAP YEAR 20, explain the connections and pick a 24 minute, 4 hour, 8 hour, (or other) goal for each letter.
Here are the 10 projects I picked out for the month, along with their goals and how much I actually achieved:

L - Advent Calendar Day 5 (new start)

Connection - the design is a lighted candle

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - 1h 30m

E - Grow Your Own by Bothy Threads (2019 WIP)

Connection - the bunny is eating

Goal - at least 4 hours of progress

Actual - NONE

A - The Loneliness Of Autumn (2020 WIP)

Connection - A is for autumn

Goal - at least 8 hours of progress

Actual - 10 hours

I really didn't want to fall behind with this SAL.

P - Loves Me... Loves Me Not (2015 WIP)

Connection - the mouse is pulling off the daisy petals

Goal - at least 4 hours of progress

Actual - NONE

Y - Hogwarts In A Bottle by CutePatternsbyMaria (WIP)

Connection - I've yet to stitch the train
Goal - at least 8 hours of progress
Actual - NONE

E - Advent Calendar Day 11 (new start)

Connection - the gingerbread man is edible

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - 1h 15m

This was stitched during the last few days of the month so has not yet appeared

on my blog as a finish. I'll add it on the March ones when I post them.

A - Daisy Umbrella (2015 WIP)

Connection - the umbrella is protecting the mouse from April showers
Goal - at least 4 hours of progress
Actual - NONE

R - Advent Calendar Day 4 (new start)

Connection - the design is a reindeer

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - finished in 1h 20m

2 - Kings And Queens by Bothy Threads (WIP)

Connection - Henry V was the second Lancastrian monarch

Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - NONE

0 - Chirpy Bird (2020 WIP)

Connection - I have no idea how to make a connection; perhaps he is singing notes!

Goal - finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - finished in 1h 20m

So that's the goals achieved for only 5 out of the 10 projects, one large and four small. I prioritised Chirpy Bird (for the smalls SAL) and The Loneliness Of Autumn (for the SAL with Leonore) and used the advent projects when I needed something easy to stitch on for only a few minutes.

Hogwarts and some older WIPs were totally neglected, as was my monarch of the month (I'm not sure if I'll double up at some point to catch up or just remain one month behind). I'm still very happy with the amount I actually did achieve though, all things considered.


3) Connect 12 or more of the given holidays to your projects and stitch for at least 24 minutes on each. With only 5 projects to choose from, the smaller ones went on two holidays whilst The Loneliness of Autumn (as my biggest and greediest project) went on four to make up the number. See above for time spent on each one.

3rd - Feed The Birds Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - because to do so you often sit on a bench (not that I've stitched the bench yet!)

7th - Send A Card To A Friend Day - Chirpy Bird - sending a card is similar to sending a note, and that's what the bird's singing - notes!!

10th - Umbrella Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - because the reflections in the ground indicate it's been raining.

11th - Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk Day - Advent Calendar Gingerbread Man - in Shrek, the baddies tried to 'kill' the giant gingerbread man, Mongo, with hot foamy milk. It almost made me cry!

13th - Get A Different Name Day - Advent Calendar Reindeer - so what should the reindeer be called? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen or Rudolph? Take your pick!

15th - National Gum Drop Day - Advent Calendar Gingerbread Man - who can forget Gingy in Shrek worrying about his gum drop buttons?

18th - National Drink Wine Day - Advent Calendar Candle - because candles and wine often go together for a relaxing evening (or so it's said).

20th - Love Your Pet Day - Chirpy Bird - I have two cockatiels and they love me as much as I love them!

22nd - International World Thinking Day - Advent Calendar Candle - because candles are often used to help channel meditative thoughts.

27th - No Brainer Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - the symbols might be all over the place, but stitching with one colour is a no brainer!

28th - Public Sleeping Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - the yet-to-be-stitched bench is probably one of only a few places in public where you would consider closing your eyes for a quick 40 winks!

29th - Leap Day - Advent Calendar Reindeer - because the reindeer's in a leaping pose.


4) Additional 'Just For Fun' Challenge: list 24 things you like to stitch.
I think we are all selective about what we like to stitch, and just because we like stitching one or two dragons, for example, it doesn't follow that we like all dragon patterns. I gave up trying to list 24 things and just summed them all up in one word: 'cuties'. There are exceptions, and I do like other subjects, such as Christmas and Halloween, but even they generally tend to veer towards the 'cute' side. For those who have known my stitching for many years, I think you'll agree I'm definitely a 'cutie' stitcher.


And that's it for February. I'll be back at the end of March with another (and hopefully bit more successful) #24 round-up.

Take care,
Rachel x