#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

#24HoursOfCrossStitch Challenges - May 2020

Hi all,

Time already for yet another monthly posting 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 accomplishments for the month.

1) Stitch for 24 hours during the month, including a minimum of 24 minutes each day
Not too bad this month. I managed a total of 29 hours and 15 minutes, mostly at the weekends on my new starts. There were, however, 10 days where I stitched for 10 minutes or less, but at least I still stitched every day.


2) Fill in the acrostic HOURGLASS, explain the connections and pick a 24 minute, 4 hour, 8 hour, (or other) goal for each letter.
Here are the 9 projects I picked for May's acrostic, along with their goal and my accomplishments:

H - Basket Case by Heritage Crafts (new start)

Connection - the cat is hiding

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 2h 45m

O - Kings And Queens by Bothy Threads (WIP)

Connection -it's out with the Lancastrians and in with the Plantagenets
Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - 4h 30m

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

Connection - I should be going back up to the top

Goal - 10 hours of progress

Actual - NONE AGAIN :(

R - Hogwarts In A Bottle by CutePatternsByMaria (2019 WIP)

Connection - still waiting for that red train to appear!
Goal - 10 hours of progress
Actual - NONE AGAIN :(

G - Winnie The Pooh 2 by Designer Stitches (new start)

Connection - greedy Pooh has eaten all the hunny!

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 5h 50m

L - Mouse Reading Book by CutePatternsbyMaria (new start)

Connection - books can be found in a library

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 5h 5m

A - Duckling by Heritage Crafts (new start)

Connections - aahhhh, what a cutie!

Goal - start and finish (about 5 hours?)

Actual - 6h 20m

S - Winnie The Pooh 1 by Designer Stitches (new start)

Connection - he's scooping out the hunny

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 2 hours

S - Wonderful Fright by Sue Hillis Designs (new start)

Connection - the fabric has stars on it

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 3h 5m

So I met seven of the nine goals. In theory, and in normal stitching circumstances, I should have had time for everything but I've again had to choose between projects. Was it wrong to neglect my two larger WIPs in favour of starting 5 more new projects? Yes and no! The new starts have done me good but neglecting Hogwarts (which I'm desperate to finish) and The Loneliness Of Autumn (which is a SAL) not so good. I'll catch up one day.

3) Connect 12 or more of the given holidays to your projects and stitch for at least 24 minutes on each. Only nine projects meant doubling up on three of them, chosen at random, depending on what fitted!

Day 1 - Loyalty Day - Hogwarts In A Bottle - Hufflepuffs especially, are said to be loyal but throughout the whole Harry Potter series loyalty was important, whichever side the characters were on.

Day 2 - Baby Day - Duckling - a duckling is a baby duck.

Day 5 - National Teachers' Day - Mouse Reading Book - at primary school level teachers are brilliant at helping children learn to read (only for them to be put off at secondary school when introduced to Shakespeare and 18th/19th century 'classic' literature!)

Day 6 - No Diet Day - Pooh 1 - with Pooh's fondness of hunny there is no way he will voluntarily go on a diet!

Day 7 - National Tourism Day - Hogwarts In A Bottle - the Hogwarts experience at Warner Brothers Studio is a major tourist attraction. Can you imagine how many people would visit Hogwarts if it was a real place?!

Day 9 - National Windmill Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - autumn is usually accompanied by strong breezes and strong breezes are needed to turn the sails of traditional windmills.

Day 10 - Clean Up Your Room Day - Basket Case - when tidying a room, a laundry basket, like the one the cat is hiding in, is often needed for all the dirty washing.

Day 11 - Eat What You Want Day - Pooh 2 - Pooh definitely eats what he wants, and that's always hunny!

Day 13 - Frog Jumping Day - Kings And Queens - jumping frogs implies leap frog and Edward IV certainly leap frogged Henry VI and his son and heir to take the throne - twice!

Day 16 - Love A Tree Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - there are plenty of trees in this picture which could be loved.

Day 18 - No Dirty Dishes Day - Kings And Queens - with his huge appetite for food, I'm wondering if Edward IV literally 'cleaned' his plate!

Day 31 - Save Your Hearing Day - Wonderful Fright - with all the screaching and screaming going on with various ghosties and ghoulies at Halloween you need to cover your ears in order to avoid at least temporary hearing loss.


4) Additional 'Just For Fun' Challenge: list 24 things to watch or listen to whilst stitching
As usual, I won't list, just talk about. When I stitch I often find myself blocking out external noise without realising, so whatever I listen to or watch needs to be familiar so I don't miss out on anything important!
Listening tends to be either Planet Rock or the Harry Potter audio books. It doesn't matter if I miss a song or two on the radio, and audio books can easily be rewound if necessary.
With TV I'm not so fussed. Sometimes I'll just scroll through what's on and end up with a film or historical documentary which looks interesting. If I'm not impressed with the choices on offer then I'll usually end up with a favourite such as Star Trek TNG, Top Gear, or panel shows such as QI, Mock The Week or Whose Line Is It Anyway. A very selective and eclectic mix!


On a completely unrelated note to this post, one of the weird/annoying/frustrating (and now funny when you look back) things at the beginning of lockdown was the disappearance of toilet paper off the shelves in a matter of seconds. Well, follow this link and you'll find out where it all went. The chart's titled "The King Of Toilet Paper". I hope it brings a smile to your face!

Take care,
Rachel x

#24HoursOfCrossStitch - April Challenges

Hi all,

Time already for yet another monthly posting 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 accomplishments for the month. Here goes then...

1) Stitch for 24 hours during the month, including a minimum of 24 minutes each day
April stated off well, very well in fact, but then became more than a bit of a washout towards the end of the month. I managed a total stitching time of 30 hours and 5 minutes, but 10 of the days saw only 5-10 minutes of stitching, and that's not good. Mais, c'est la vie.


2) Fill in the acrostic SUN & SHADOW, explain the connections and pick a 24 minute, 4 hour, 8 hour, (or other) goal for each letter.
Here are the projects I wanted to work on during April, and how much I actually achieved:

S - Kings And Queens by Bothy Threads (WIP)

Connection - this monarch will complete the second row
Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - 3h 30m

U - In The Gloaming by Whispered By The Wind (new start)

Connection - the scene is under a full moon

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 2h 40m

N - Snuffles by FuzzyFoxDesigns (new start)

Connection - Snuffles is obviously a very nice dragon

Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - 4h 35m

& - Advent Days 6, 7 and 16 by JBW Designs (WIPs)

Connection - because I wanted to finish this one & this & this one

Goal - finish all three (about 3 hours?)

Actual - all three finished in exactly 3 hours!

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

Connection - I should be starting my second colour

Goal - 10 hours of progress

Actual - only 5 hours - PARTIAL FAILURE

H - Humming Along by Heritage Crafts (new start)

Connection - the hummingbird

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 5h 5m

A - Pretty Little Toronto by Satsuma Street (new start)

Connection - started on our wedding anniversary

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual- only 20 minutes - PARTIAL FAILURE

(you have to squint to see it!)

D - Chick Berry by Heritage Crafts (new start)

Connection - those berries look delicious

Goal - make a start of at least 2 hours

Actual - 5h 55m

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

Connection - I'm going to stitch some orange carrots

Goal - at least 4 hours of progress

Actual - NONE - COMPLETE FAILURE!

W - Hogwarts In A Bottle by CutePatternsByMaria (2019 WIP)

Connection - whoo whoo - it's a train!
Goal - 10 hours of progress
Actual - NONE - COMPLETE FAILURE!

So that's the goals met for six of the letters, partially met for two and not met at all on the remaining two. A fair month I think, all things considered.

3) Connect 12 or more of the given holidays to your projects and stitch for at least 24 minutes on each. Because of trebling up on the &, there were 12 projects in there altogether. So here are the 12 connective holidays, one for each:

Day 1 - National Walking Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - sometimes during a walk in the park a rest may be needed on a conveniently situated bench.

Day 2 - Reconciliation Day - Kings And Queens - the monarch this month, Henry VI, may have wanted peace between England and France and to reconcile the two countries under one crown but he ultimately failed, and spectacularly. At least the thought was there.

Day 6 - Plan Your Epitaph Day - In The Gloaming - a mausoleum is bound to have a epitaph of some sort on it.

Day 8 - Draw A Picture Of A Bird Day - Chick Berry - Valerie Pfeiffer loves her little birds and it was a pleasure to start cross stitching one of her drawings.

Day 9 - Name Yourself Day - Snuffles - Snuffles is such a cute name I might find myself changing my own name by deed poll!

Day 16 - National Stress Awareness Day - Grow Your Own - gardening is a good way of relaxing and relieving stress, especially if there are products to eat at the end of it!

Day 22 - National Jelly Bean Day - Hogwarts In A Bottle - who can forget Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans? There may have been regular flavours, but would you take your chance if there were also earwax, vomit and bogey flavours in the bag?

Day 23 - Take A Chance Day - Advent Day 7 Ice Skates - if I had the opportunity, would I ever go ice-skating again and take the chance I would not incur an injury? Probably not!

Day 25 - East Meets West Day - Pretty Little Toronto - we travelled from the east to the west when we went to Toronto.

Day 27 - Tell A Story Day - Advent Day 6 Snowman - Raymond Briggs' The Snowman is one of those stories which crosses all generations and is just as popular every Christmas as it was when it first aired in 1984. Plus, it shows you don't need words to tell a story.

Day 29 - Greenery Day - Humming Along - the gorgeous hummingbird is surrounded by greenery.

Day 30 - National Honesty Day - Advent Day 17 Angel - being honest is one of many reasons for being called a 'little angel'.


4) Additional 'Just For Fun' Challenge: list 24 stitching snacks.
I find cross stitching a good excuse not to nibble, as keeping hands clean is more important than putting snacks into the mouth and either having to wipe hands each time or risk a sticky needle. So most snacks, such as crisps and nuts, are completely out of bounds.

However, I can often be found with a fruit salad beside me, this having been cut up into small pieces, sprinkled with chopped nuts and desiccated coconut and accompanied by a spoon. Not only does this solve the sticky hands issue but it's actually a stealthy way of healthy nibbling!

And that's my #24 for April; back again at the end of May with the next one!

Take care,
Rachel x

PS To repeat the broken record, I am months behind on replying to emails and about three weeks behind on reading most blogs (some are longer). I'm trying my best to catch up!

#24HoursOfCrossStitch - March 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. Let's see what happened in March...

1) Stitch for 24 hours during the month, including a minimum of 24 minutes each day
The beginning of March saw me beginning to slowly return to my usual stitching routine. Then, like a lot of people, I found myself in virtual lock down so was able to take advantage of some of the additional 'free' time when I would usually have been working. My total stitching time for March was therefore a very pleasing 56 hours.


2) Fill in the acrostic MEASURE TIME, explain the connections and pick a 24 minute, 4 hour, 8 hour, (or other) goal for each letter.
At the beginning of the month I set the goals as I usually would, suspecting I wouldn't be able to achieve all them all. And then this madness happened, so this is how much I actually achieved for the 11 projects I'd planned:

M - Kings And Queens by Bothy Threads (WIP)

Connection - my monarch is a month late!
Goal - start and finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - 4h 45m

E - Polar Bear Cub (new start)

Connection - he's being stitched on evenweave

Goal - start and finish (about 8 hours?)

Actual - 7h 40m

A - Advent Calendar Day 16 (new start)

Connection - the design is an angel

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - stitched for 40 minutes, did not finish

S - Advent Calendar Day 6 (new start)

Connection - the design is a snowman

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - stitched for 45 minutes, did not finish

U - Daisy Umbrella (2015 WIP)

Connection - the daisy is being used as an umbrella

Goal - at least 4 hours of progress

Actual - 5 hours

R - Hogwarts In A Bottle (2019 WIP)

Connection - still no sign of the red train!
Goal - at least 8 hours of progress
Actual - 10 hours

 E - Snow Globe Tree (2019 WIP)

Connection - I'm using etoile thread for the snow
Goal - at least 4 hours of progress
Actual - finished in 8h 40m

T - The Loneliness Of Autumn (2020 WIP)

Connection - more tree trunks should appear

Goal - at least 8 hours of progress

Actual - 10 hours

I - Advent Calendar Day 7 (new start)

Connection - the design includes ice skates

Goal - start and finish (about 2 hours?)

Actual - stitched for 40 minutes, did not finish

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

Connection - the bunny is munching lettuce

Goal - at least 4 hours of progress

Actual - 4h 15m

E - Christmas Cat With Presents (2019 WIP)

Connection - because opening presents is exciting!

Goal - finish (about 4 hours?)

Actual - finished in 3h 35m

3) Connect 12 or more of the given holidays to your projects and stitch for at least 24 minutes on each. 10 of the 11 projects went on one holiday, the biggest (The Loneliness Of Autumn) went on two. Here are their connections:

Day 2 - Old Stuff Day - Daisy Umbrella - this is an old WIP from way back in 2015.

Day 3 - I Want You To Be Happy Day - Christmas Cat With Present - because giving presents is usually a good way of making someone happy.

Day 5 - World Book Day - Hogwarts In A Bottle - this represents some of the most famous books in the world.

Day 9 - Panic Day - Polar Bear - because if you came face to face with a polar bear, you'd panic!

Day 11 - Napping Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - the bench looks like a good place to sit and take a nap.

Day 13 - Blame Someone Else Day - Kings and Queens - because monarchs would never admit they were wrong and always find someone else to blame for their errors.

Day 14 - National Pi Day - Snow Globe Tree - Pi is used when calculating things to do with circles, and this snow globe is a circle. Sort of!

Day 16 - Everything You Do Is Right Day - Advent Calendar Day 16 Angel - if you do everything right then you're usually referred to as a little angel.

Day 19 - Let's Laugh Day - Advent Calendar Day 6 Snowman - because building a snowman is usually a lot of fun and causes a lot of laughs.

Day 20 - World Sparrow Day - The Loneliness Of Autumn - there could be quite a few sparrows hiding in the trees.

Day 23 - Near Miss Day - Advent Calendar Day 7 Ice Skates - I had a near miss once when I fell over ice skating and saw the blade of a fast skater pass very close to my fingers!

Day 30 - National I Am In Control Day - Grow Your Own - if you grow your own vegetables then you are in control of eating a healthy diet.


4) Additional 'Just For Fun' Challenge: list 24 reasons to stitch instead of...
For this task I tend to waffle a bit instead of making an actual list, and this month is no exception!

I don't think stitching is my hobby; it's part of my life I can't do without, almost an obsession if I'm honest. Therefore I would try to find any excuse I could to stitch. Given a choice, I would easily choose stitching over things I don't enjoy much such as housework and cooking. However, my work is important to me, as is spending time with my children (although being late teenagers that doesn't happen very often) so those would always take priority. But other than that stitching is preferable to just about anything else.

And that's it for March. Back in April!

Take care,
Rachel x