Annual Stitching Plans 2025

Good morning again and Happy New Year 2025!!

So this first-of-January post is usually full of all sorts of ridiculous and overambitious plans... but not this year.

This year I want to focus on three things using teeny tiny steps:

1) Post the two SALs I host on time each month and with actual content.

FFG SAL - 10th of the month

Smalls SAL - last Friday of the month

2) Catch up with blog reading, emails, comments and replies.

3) Stitch regularly, and preferably on WIPs for the Smalls SAL.

And that's it. Nothing ambitious, just the basics.

If things start to improve and I can get more done than this, then I will consider that a massive win.

I so desperately want to get back into stitching but nothing seems to work for long. I am really hoping the New Year will provide the psychological effect for wiping the past clean and only looking forward.

Oh, there is one other thing... I will, over no specific time, frame be contacting all of you who have stuck with me. I know I have been unreliable at posting and rude for not reading emails or replying to comments, but I want that to change.

So all that remains for me to say at the moment is, Happy New Year, and I hope it is filled with happiness, good health, and lots of stitching!

Take care,

Rachel x

Annual Stitching Plans 2024

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

** ANOTHER LONG POST ALERT! **

It's that time of year when I make a load of ridiculous stitching plans for the year ahead, knowing that I'm going to fail most of them! But, you know what... failure doesn't bother me in the slightest, so since I really enjoy planning my 'ideal' year, what's the harm?

So, are you ready to laugh with me at what my perfect year of stitching would consist of?!

FOCUS PIECES / YEAR-LONG SALs:

1) KINGS AND QUEENS - CONTINUE (FINISH?)

Per the chart, there are only eight monarchs left to stitch (but 11 to blog) and the title to add. After that, I would like to to add the heirs, restitch a few of the names, and maybe add a border around the whole design. This could become a finish in 2024.

2) THE LONELINESS OF AUTUMN - CONTINUE

I am a woeful 21 months behind on SALing this with Leonore. Given that I'm very unlikely to catch up, my focus will just be on stitching for 10 hours each month (more if possible). If successful, it could move from being 50% to 75% complete with the addition of another 16 colours.

3) SMALLS SAL - STITCH ONE SMALL PER MONTH

These will probably be 12 from this Nordic Advent Calendar by Zindagi Designs on etsy. I might add some Etoile, and won't be stitching the numbers, but they will more or less look like these:

4) A-Z of WIPs - A NEW YEAR-LONG SAL WITH SERENDIPITOUS JO

Jo and I have enough WIPs each to enable us to work through 26 of them alphabetically at two/three per month, starting with A and B in January and ending with Y and Z in December. Jo will use IHSW for this; I will stitch for two days on each earlier in the month but post at roughly the same time.

THEMED MONTHS:

1) MISCHIEVOUS MARCH

A mini new start binge, starting one small-ish project each weekend of the month, and aiming to finish them during the month, or soon after. Projects as yet undecided.

2) CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Focus on Christmas stitching. Project(s) as yet undecided.

3) SUMMER OLYMPICS AND PARALYMPICS 

26th July-11th August and 28th August-8th September (29 days).

Start one section of this Harry Potter themed Advent Calendar, by 1000sPatterns on etsy, each day (2 sections on the days of the opening ceremonies). I may stitch them individually rather than as one design but that decision doesn't have to be made just yet.

4) DARK OCTOBER

Focus on Halloween stitching. This will probably be Haunted Library by Mill Hill. I've finished all the stitching so just need to add the beads:

5) NAUGHTY NOVEMBER

Another potential mini new start binge. Projects as yet undecided.

6) DECEMBER

Focus on Christmas stitching. Project(s) as yet undecided.

NON-STITCHING SALS:

1) PEOPLE'S CHOICE SAL - first Saturday of the month

Hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching where we post around a theme for the month.

EDIT - this will, sadly, be taking a break after January. I shall definitely miss it, but totally understand.

2) FULLY FINISHED GALLERY SAL - 10th of the month

Hosted by me, with the theme of finish-finishing stitched pieces rather than leaving them languishing in boxes, cupboards or drawers. With an embarrassingly high 60 pieces in my Box Of Shame I have plenty to be getting on with!

AND THEN, IF TIME PERMITS...

1) RAINBOW DRAGON

2024 is the Chinese Year Of The Dragon and I just have to stitch a dragon to accompany it. I have a couple of Dragon WIPs, but have instead chosen to start this (female) Rainbow Dragon bought from PatternNadGavr on etsy but now also available in other stores. With a prevailing wind, this could be completed in 2024.

2) MONOCHROMATIC LIBRARY

This is a big project (470x250) but since it's only(!) 46,092 stitches of one colour I can cope. My hope is to complete about 60 of the estimated 300+ hours. It's also a venture into two new areas which, even after 30 years of stitching, I have never attempted - 1 over 1 and 25 count! It's not going to be black on white like the picture, but mahogany-brown on Vintage Coffee for more of a Ye Olde Worlde feel. The designer is StitchingJulesDesign on etsy.

3) SCARLET MACAW PREENING

Well, after finding the perfect fabric, how could I not start this one!??? I know this will be a very long project but am not bothered by that. My aim is to finish it before retirement age, which is only (mumble mumble) years away! Again, 60 hours is the mark I would like to reach.

And that's all!!!

So from SALs and WIPs, to small designs and big new starts, and with some challenges thrown in for good measure, I have lots of variety to look forward to. And if all goes well (hahaha!) I should be able to fit everything in. If life goes pear-shaped again, well... I'll just do what I can.

On the other hand, if other challenges or SALs (or temptations!) come along, or I decide to focus on WIPs instead, then all of the above could go out of the window! Nothing is set in stone.

I wonder what your plans are for the year? I'm looking forward to reading them all!

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and stitchy 2024,

Rachel x

Annual Stitching Plans 2023

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

As you know, I usually plan my year of stitching quite meticulously. But not this year. The previous three years have shown me that when life throws me a curve ball, my stitching is the first to suffer. 

Therefore, my plans for 2023 are to have no plans! Actually, that's not quite true. I do have plans, but they are either based around SALs or very vague:

1) PEOPLE'S CHOICE SAL - first Saturday of the month hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching where we post around a theme for the month. I can do this as it requires no stitching!

2) FULLY FINISHED GALLERY SAL - 10th of the month hosted by me(!) with the idea of FFOing projects instead of leaving them unloved in a box or drawer. Again, as this involves no stitching, I should be able to FFO at least one thing per month.

3) SMALLS SAL - stitch one small project each month for Mary's link-up. I like the fact this SAL gives me a new start and quick finish every month. However, if I'm only stitching for 5-10 minutes each day, finishing even the smallest projects in my stash might be a push! We'll see.

4) WHIP THOSE WIPs! - with 75 WIPs and little interest in starting anything new, 2023 might be a good opportunity to decrease this number by working on whichever project I want, and for how long I want. Who knows, I might even become one of those *gasp* one-at-a-time stitchers!!!

5) FFO AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE - or at least one thing per month.

And that's it; simple and uncommitted!

There are two big projects which may or may not return, depending on whether I can concentrate on bigger projects. The first is Kings and Queens of England (i.e. A Monarch A Month) which it would seem silly to let fall by the wayside given that I've only got a few monarchs left to do. The second is The Loneliness Of Autumn which I am (supposed to be) SALing with Leonore and which is now ten months behind. There is little hope of catching up, I'd just continue from where I left off.

Regarding WIPs, if I can, I will try to choose stitching which revolves around topics throughout the year, such as CHRISTMAS IN JULY and DARK OCTOBER and CHRISTMAS.

Unless things really improve, there will be no MISCHIEVOUS MARCH or NAUGHTY NOVEMBER in 2023 as I simply can't commit to stitching, let alone to starting eight more new projects!

But regarding the three points above, I'll use my go-to phrase of 2023... we'll see... maybe that curve ball will go away this year...

I wonder what your plans are for the year?

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and stitchy 2023,

Rachel x

2022 Stitching Plans

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

After a couple a relatively up and down (although still very productive) years, I'm hoping that 2022 will be rather more smooth-sailing. But whether it is or isn't, here are my stitching plans for 2022.

** LONG POST ALERT! **

Going chronologically through the year, then...

1) CONTINUE STITCHING Kings and Queens at one monarch each month. I missed 6 months last year but am now back into the swing of it. There are 11 monarchs left to stitch and then in the 12th month I shall add the names of the heirs in the space on the bottom right. One more monarch has been completed since this photo:

2) CONTINUE SALing WITH LEONORE The Loneliness Of Autumn at 10 hours per month, colour by colour. This should take me from about 45% to about 67% complete with the addition of about 10-12 colours. Here is how it stands at the end of 2021. Colours to come in 2022 include yellows, oranges, light browns and (finally) a nice brightish blues:

3) SMALLS SAL - stitch one small project each month for Mary's link-up. I like the fact this SAL gives me a new start and quick finish every month and have already chosen charts for eight of the twelve months; the jury is still out on the other four.

4) WINTER OLYMPICS (4th to 20th February) - NO NEW STARTS but hope to complete the winter-themed Let's Be Frozen. There are about 24 hours of stitching left to fit in over the course of the 17 days:

5) WINTER PARALYMPICS (4th to 13th March) - NO NEW STARTS but aim to finish the 10 dragons which I started during the Tokyo Paralympics. I have been quietly working on them so that there is only about an hour left to stitch on each one. No progress pictures, but this is how they looked after their initial one day of stitching:

NB the Winter Paralympics overlaps with:

6) MISCHIEVOUS MARCH - start four projects over the four weekends of March and finish them all soon after. I keep changing my mind about which four I want to start but I have at least narrowed it down to two new-to-me designers! There will be a link-up if you would like to join me.

7) CHRISTMAS IN JULY - NO NEW STARTS but continue with Lizzie Kate's Merry Christmas By The Letter which I started for Christmas In July last year and continued with the week after Christmas. Except for the buttons, I've now completed 8/16 blocks (slightly altering the heap of snow between the two words). My aim for July is another four sections:

8) DARK OCTOBER - NO NEW STARTS but hope to finish Haunted Library by Mill Hill. There's about 30 hours to go on this, so completing it during Dark October itself might be a bit of a squeeze:

9) NAUGHTY NOVEMBER - start four projects over the four weekends of November and finish them all before the end of the year. This is Moonset from Whispered By The Wind, the same company who designed Moonrise which I completed for Naughty November last year.  There will be a link-up if you would like to join me.

10) CHRISTMAS DAY - NO NEW STARTS but keep working on Lizzie Kate's Merry Christmas By The Letter. Whether it becomes a finish or not will partially depend on how much progress I make in July.

And then there are the:

11) PEOPLE'S CHOICE SAL - first Saturday of the month hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching where we post around a theme for the month.

12) FULLY FINISHED GALLERY SAL - 10th of the month hosted by me(!) with the theme of finish-finishing stitched pieces rather than leaving them languishing in boxes, cupboards or drawers.

And then, if I've got time(!!!):

FINISH AS MANY OTHER WIPs AS POSSIBLE! This is a non-committal number so could be anything from 1 to 30 depending on how long I've got and which ones I choose. In an ideal world, my ultimate goal is to end 2022 with 22 fewer WIPs than I started with, so as 11 finishes are planned for the Olympics, that would ideally mean 11 more.

And finally...

REWARD

As a reward, for every 10 WIPs I finish (as in those started in 2021 and prior) I will allow myself one new start. Yes, I want to significantly reduce my WIP pile, but all WIPs and no new starts (Smalls SAL, Mischievous March and Naughty November aside) could become demotivating. The new start could be anything, depending on my mood at the time.

Of course, all these plans assume life is steady and I don't get distracted or bitten by any additional tempting SALs. It's certainly not my intention, but one never knows what's just around the corner!

And that's it! Congratulations if you got this far without skipping anything!

I now look forward to reading your 2022 plans too.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and stitchy 2022,

Rachel x

2021 Stitching Plans

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

Here's hoping 2021 is an improvement on 2020 :)

It's time for me to reveal my stitching plans for 2021. If last year's plans were ambitious, that's nothing compared to this year! I know I won't get everything done, but I never have been one for setting sensible and achievable goals!

So, assuming life doesn't get in the way, here are my plans for 2021:

1) CONTINUE STITCHING Kings and Queens at one monarch each month. This will take me from James I (second on fourth row) to Victoria (end of the fifth row).

2) CONTINUE STITCHING The Loneliness Of Autumn at 10 hours per month. This should see a further 5-6 colours added and take me from about 22% to about 44% complete.

3) STITCH one small project each month for the Smalls SAL. These have all been chosen and are ready to go.

4) NEW! - MISCHIEVOUS MARCH - start four projects over the four weekends of March. I have chosen the four; just need to decide on the fabric.

5) NEW! - CHRISTMAS IN JULY - a completely open SAL and a fun chance to enjoy a bit of festive stitching in the middle of the year. If you want to join in the choice is yours... start 1 project, start 31 projects, work on WIPs or even make an early start on your Christmas ornies. I shall be starting one project and hoping to finish one WIP.

NB numbers 5 and 6 overlap

6) TOKYO OLYMPIC STITCHING CHALLENGE - at the time of writing, the Olympics is still going ahead (23rd July to 8th August) so this will be my second attempt to start 17 projects over the 17 days of the Olympics. I'll be joined by my 'startner-in-crime' Tiff; are you mad enough to accompany us?!

7) START Magical Bookshelf during Dark October. Postponed from 2020, this will be my next biggish Harry Potter project.

8) NAUGHTY NOVEMBER - start four projects over the four weekends of November. I have the four small charts all kitted up and ready to go!

9) CHRISTMAS DAY - start Lizzie Kate's Christmas By The Letter.

10) FINISH LOTS OF WIPs - it's not like I don't have many to choose from!!!

11) FFO as much as possible. And if I can empty my Box Of Shame that would be a bonus.

12) JOIN IN WITH VARIOUS SALs
* People's Choice SAL - first Saturday of the month hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching
* Fully Finished Gallery SAL - 10th of the month hosted by me!

* Smalls SAL - last Friday of the month hosted by Mary of Mary's Thread

And that's it!

I'm not intending to stray from these plans, but if something interesting comes up I may be tempted ;)

So basically, the first half of the month will be taken up with stitching the monarch, the Smalls SAL piece, and The Loneliness Of Autumn, and then the second half of the month will be for working on and trying to finish as many WIPs as possible.

Yes, I know there will be loads more new starts in 2021, but the number of WIPs I have doesn't bother me. Having said that, I think 2022 and 2023 might have to be two years where I focus on finishing WIPs and severely limit new starts (yeah, right, as if that's ever going to happen!)

But one thing's for sure... all of your plans for the year, if you have them, will be much more sensible than mine! I look forward to reading them. :)

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and stitchy 2021,
Rachel x

2020 plans

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

It's time for me to reveal my stitching plans for 2020... and they're numerous and complicated. I'll do a summary first, then go into a lot more detail, so if you're planning on reading this post rather than just skimming over it, go grab a cuppa as it's very long, picture heavy and (of course) waffle heavy. You have been warned!

Here we go then.

In 2020 I would like to:

Finish:
6 WIPs from 2015
7 WIPs from 2019

Start and finish:
one monarch each month
one Smalls SAL piece each month
a 24 piece advent calendar

Start:
Magical Bookshelf
17 projects for the Tokyo Olympic Stitching Challenge (more about that later)
The Loneliness of Autumn
something on Christmas Day
another 3 projects which are currently on standby if I'm feeling very very very naughty

Join in with:
#24HOCS SALs (monthly)
#24HOCS (ad-hoc)
People's Choice SAL (monthly)
Fully-Finished Gallery SAL (monthly)
Smalls SAL (monthly)
Tokyo Olympic Stitching Challenge (July/August)
Dark October (October!)

FFO
as much as possible


Now, all of that might seem like a lot... and that's because it is! But it's not actually that complicated as most of the stitching and SALs overlap. Anyway, the devil's on my shoulder this year and is convincing me that variety is the spice of life, and who am I to argue with the devil?!


Now, if you're interested, here's everything in more detail:


STITCHING

1) Finish 6 WIPs from DUSDCJFC 2015
I have 24 pieces left to finish from this Challenge and would like to finish 6 each year for the next 4 years. This year's 6 pieces are all by Margaret Sherry and all feature mice. Some haven't been touched since the day they were started *hangs head in shame*:

All Aboard the Walnut Shells

Daisy Hugs

Daisy Umbrella

Dandelion Time

I Love Butter

Love Me ... Loves Me Not

2) Finish 7 WIPs from 2019

Excluding the long-term Kings and Queens, these are the projects I started but didn't finish in 2019. I would really like to finish them all this year if possible:

 Hogwarts in a Bottle

A Little Witch of the Night

A Little Wizard of the Night

Christmas Cat With Presents

 Snow Globe Tree

 Haunted Library

Grow Your Own

3) Start and finish 12 monarchs of the month

I shall continue to stitch one monarch each month on Kings and Queens by Bothy Threads, and post alongside a summary of their history. 2020 will take me from Henry IV through the Wars Of The Roses and the Tudors to Elizabeth I and the completion of the third row. Here's my progress to date:

4) Start and finish 12 Smalls SAL pieces
I have selected 12 small projects especially for the Smalls SAL. As usual, most are cuties. Here they are, ready and waiting:

5) Start and finish 24 (very small) advent calendar pieces by JBW Designs

I would like all 24 pieces to be stitched and ready in time for Christmas. I may stitch them evenly throughout the year or, as they're so small, just pick them up when I feel like a quick stitch:

6) Start and about half finish Magical Bookshelf by PatternNadGavr on etsy

This is another Harry Potter themed project which I fell in love with at first sight and just had to stitch. However, I promised myself I'd only start it once Hogwarts was finished, so it'll probably be around July when the first stitch goes in. Reaching the half way mark is my quite ambitious end of year goal:

7) The biggie... start 17 new projects for the Tokyo Olympic Stitching Challenge
The Tokyo Summer Olympics is on between 24th July and 9th August - that's 17 days inclusive. My plan is to start one new project every day for each of those 17 days. I've already chosen the projects. Some are small-ish and continue sets I've already started, some are a bit bigger and by new-to-me companies. Here's a sneaky peek at their folders:

8) Last minute completely wacky I must be insane addition - The Loneliness Of Autumn
I love this chart. I want to stitch this chart. But I know the confetti will drive me mad. However, when I posted a picture of it in the Autumnal Colours People's Choice SAL, Leonore said she had it and also wanted to stitch it. With huge tongue-in-cheek I mentioned that we could SAL it together and, although we both knew I was only joking, one thing led to another and we ended up agreeing! For some reason, once the idea had been planted, neither of us could talk ourselves out of it; it was obviously meant to be!
We're both going to stitch extreme cross country one colour at a time (at least for the first few colours) working in descending order of quantity of stitches, and we're both aiming for an average of one thread length, or about 20 minutes per day, adding up to 10 hours per month.
Progress will not be comparable, not only because Leonore has the HAED version which is about twice the size of my crosstitch.com version but because we'll also be starting with different colours and working on hugely different count fabrics - I'll be starting with black on 18ct, Leonore with dark blue on 28ct!
There are 83 colours in mine - 25% of the total project is made up of just the first five colours (so that'll be easy) the second 25% by seven colours (not too bad) and the third 25% by 17 colours (also not that bad) which means it will only get really complicated and frustrating during the final 25% which uses 54 of the 83 colours!
Here's the project; I really must be very mad indeed!

9) Christmas Day new start
For the last couple of years I have started a new project on Christmas Day. I don't know yet which one it will be but at the moment I'm guided towards this one:

10) Other projects?
I have three other projects I may make a start on this year. Wanda's Wands and Wanda's Witchery would be suitable for Dark October, if I need any more Halloween stitching, whilst I have yet to decide if I am going to stitch the Pretty Little Produce guys (if I get round to them) as a full piece or individually. I'm guided towards individually, but that means 36 little guys to FFO!

And that's it for the stitching! Still with me? Now for the SALs.

SALs

1) #24HoursOfCrossStitch
Hosted by Jen of QuirksandStitches, I joined this last July and haven't looked back! The monthly challenges usually consist of stitching for a minimum of 24 minutes per day and 24 hours during the month, connecting projects worked on to an acrostic, and filling in an optional calendar of holidays. I say 'usually', because Jen has surpassed all expectations and, to help with planning, has already released the whole year's worth of usual challenges for 2020, along with additional 'just for fun' monthly challenges, a year-long A-Z (see below) and a bunch of other stuff! I know this isn't to everyone's taste but I'm definitely going to enjoy stitching along with these!

2) #24HOCS 2020 ABC Challenge - ad hoc
The idea of this challenge is to connect 12 or 24 projects to letters of the alphabet and push to finish them by the end of the year. Not to be outdone, and using all of the projects I'm hoping to finish anyway, I've actually filled in all 26 letters! I think I should be able to finish 24.

3) People's Choice SAL - first Saturday of each month
Hosted by Jo of Serendipitous Stitching, this SAL has a different theme each month as chosen by a vote. I will not be stitching anything specific but hope to make an interesting post around each chosen theme.

4) Fully-Finished Gallery SAL 2020 - 10th of each month
Hosted by me, this definitely-needed SAL produced really successful results last year. I shall continue to run this SAL to encourage you all (and me!) to turn UFOs into FFOs.

5) Smalls SAL - last Friday of each month

Host by Mary's Thread, I will continue to stitch one project each month specifically for this SAL (and show other small pieces I stitch during the month which will also qualify as smalls).

6) Tokyo Olympics Stitching Challenge - July/August
There are bound to be loads and loads of Olympic stitching challenges and SALs appearing all over the internet come June/July but this is one I came up with for me to satiate that occasional need for a new start binge! I mentioned it above, but here it is in a bit more detail. It started with part one, but then I added parts two and three, 'just for fun'!
* start one new project each day for the 17 days of the Olympics
* aim to finish all 17 pieces before the start of the Paris Summer Olympics on 26th July 2024
* aim to FFO all 17 pieces by the same date

Given the size of the projects (and everything else I want to stitch) I don't honestly think parts 2 and 3 will be achievable, but it'll definitely be a challenge trying!!

I'll mention this SAL again closer to the time, but if anyone fancies joining me you're more than welcome! Don't panic though - the challenge isn't limited to 17 new starts - you could modify it for yourself so choose 17 WIPs or a combination of WIPs and new starts. If you are more of a OAAT stitcher, I'm sure this challenge could be modified for you too, maybe something like a different colour each day, or just stitch on it for 17 days in a row?

7) Dark October
I will ensure that the whole month will be dedicated to just Halloween projects. Most will be WIPs but there are a couple of projects waiting in the sidelines if I fancy a new start.


And if all of that's not enough, I still need to tackle some of the older projects in my Box Of Shame, whilst keeping on top of all the new finishes!

Of course, although I would like to follow the above plans as closely as possible, none of them are actually set in stone, so if any ad-hoc challenges and SALs appear during the year which I fancy joining in with I may well do those too although, to be honest, I think my year is overflowing, as it is! It definitely seems my stitching goal in life is to make things as complicated as possible!

Time to make a start then... I've an awful lot to get through in the next 366 days (I'm sure the extra day will make so much difference!)

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and stitchy 2020,
Rachel x