#24HoursOfCrossStitch - June Challenges

Hi all,

Here comes another month end post for the #24HoursOfCrossStitch Challenge, the brainchild of Jen from QuirksandStitches, where we have fun matching our stitching for the month to various challenges. I also find it a convenient way of rounding up my stitching for the month.

Here come the challenges then...

1) Stitch for 24 hours during the month, including a minimum of 24 minutes each day
I was definitely back to normal this month, managing a total of 55 hours and 45 minutes with no day seeing less than 60 minutes. What a difference!


2) Fill in the acrostic DAY AND NIGHT, explain the connections and pick a 24 minute, 4 hour, 8 hour, (or other) goal for each letter.
These are the 11 projects I chose for June's acrostic, along with their goals and my successes:

D - Kings And Queens by Bothy Threads (WIP)

Connection - Edward V disappeared without a trace
Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - 3h 15m

 A - The Loneliness Of Autumn by Artecy (2020 WIP)

Connection - it should have lots of attention this month

Goal - minimum of 15 hours of progress

Actual - 25 hours!

Y - Advent Calendar Day 23 (Two Birds) by JBW Designs (new start)

Connection - the birds are yearning for each other
Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)
Actual - 45 minutes of progress BUT NOT FINISHED

A - Cute Kakapo by FuzzyFoxDesigns (new start)

Connection - it's an Australasian bird

Goal - start and finish (about 5 hours?)

Actual - 6h 5m

N - Winnie The Pooh 4 by Designer Stitches (new start)

Connection - there's definitely no hunny left!

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 4h 35m

D - Happiness Delivery by Soda Stitch (new start)

Connection - the big tree will need a lot of decorations

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 4 hours

N - Advent Calendar Day 2 (Presents) by JBW Designs (new start)

Connection - the presents are nicely wrapped

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - 45 minutes of progress BUT NOT FINISHED

I - Advent Calendar Day 22 (Little Tree) by JBW Designs (new start)

Connection - it's an ickle tiny tree!

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - 1h 25m

G - Lady In Red by Heritage Crafts (new start)

Connection - the colours are gorgeous

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 5 hours

H - Winnie The Pooh 3 by Designer Stitches (new start)

Connection - he's still looking for more hunny

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 4h 10m

T - Advent Calendar Day 10 (Christmas Tree) by JBW Designs (new start)

Connection - it's a Christmas tree

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - 45 minutes of progress BUT NOT FINISHED

I thought I'd been quite ambitious with my June goals, but actually things didn't work out too badly. There were only three goals I didn't meet, but they were tiny in comparison to my achievements on the others, especially The Loneliness Of Autumn. I'm not quite on track for the year as a whole but not that far behind either.

3) Connect 12 or more of the given holidays to your projects and stitch for at least 24 minutes on each. Eleven projects meant doubling up on one. I found them really difficult this month, but I did them.

Day 1 - Flip A Coin Day - Advent Calendar Day 2 - with more than one (currently invisible!) present to choose from perhaps flipping a coin is the best way of deciding which to open first?

Day 2 - National Rocky Road Day - Cute Kakapo - the kakapo's road to recovery from near extinction has definitely been rocky, but made possible because of positive human intervention.

Day 8 - Name Your Poison Day - Kings and Queens - nobody knows what happened to the Princes in the Tower. Perhaps they were poisoned?

Day 9 - Call Your Doctor Day - Winnie The Pooh 4 - the hunny pot is well and truly stuck on his head; perhaps a doctor is needed to help get it off?!

Day 11 - National Corn On The Cob Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - although corn on the cob can be eaten all year round I usually associate it with autumn when the nights begin to draw in. No idea why!

Day 17 - Eat Your Vegetables Day - Winnie The Pooh 3 - with Pooh's penchant for hunny, this is probably good advice!

Day 18 - National Splurge Day - Advent Calendar 10 - this is definitely a dense tree (when I've stitched it!) and could be well decorated if the owner splurged on purchasing ornaments.

Day 19 - Take A Roadtrip Day - Happiness Delivery - perhaps these two went on quite an excursion to buy the tree?

Day 20 - National Bald Eagle Day - Advent Calendar 23 - bald eagles are birds, as are the two doves on this design (not that I got round to stitching them!)

Day 22 - World Rainforest Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - rainforests have trees, as does this design; not as many, but enough.

Day 23 - National Pink Day - Lady In Red - the fabric is a lovely pink called Dried Petal.

Day 24 - International Fairy Day - Advent Calendar Day 22 - this tree has a star at the top, but it's also traditional for fairies to sit at the top of Christmas Trees.


4) Additional 'Just For Fun' Challenge: list 24 local needlework shops you hope to visit someday
Well, that's easy, there aren't any! There is one small art and craft shop which sells a few kits and the full range of DMCs but that's it. It's about 5 years since I went to decent LNS and that was hundreds of miles away and only visited because it was en route to my destination. As much as I love the relaxation of internet browsing, how I would love to visit a proper shop for once!


My goals for July are very ambitious, mainly due to having 13 projects to stitch on because the acrostic is 13 letters long. I'm not expecting to be successful but it'll definitely be fun trying.

Take care,
Rachel x