Mouse Reading Scroll - finished!

Hi all!

Thanks to FFOing a Merry Mice project this month, I decided I wanted to finish one from my WIPs. I had three to choose from and Mouse Reading Scroll won, mainly because he required the least amount of stitching to finish!

I started Mouse Reading Scroll during the Tokyo Olympics:

And then worked on him a bit in May last year, finishing his body and starting the scroll (but didn't take a photo) before finishing him last week:

Mouse Reading Scroll from Merry Mice by CutePatternsbyMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida

Started - 1st August 2021

Finished - 17th January 2023

Total Stitching Time - 9 hours 30 minutes

There was a lot of backstitching again, but so worth it; he's just so sweet! I wonder what the scroll might say? Perhaps it's a long-lost recipe for the best cheese ever!

The next WIP is already out of The Box and being worked on. It shouldn't take too long to finish as there are big blocks of colour and not too much backstitching. Just right when I feel I have very little brain (that's a hint, by the way!)

Take care,

Rachel x

Mouse Lighting Candle - finished!

Greetings one and all!

I have a finish! The first of hopefully many this year.

Mouse Lighting Candle was start number seven during the Tokyo Olympics and one of the projects on my list of 'vaguely planned finishes for 2022'.

At the beginning of January I thought I'd put in a couple of hours to get the ball rolling, but a couple of hours turned into a few more and before I knew it I'd completed the candle, then the mouse, and had only the backstitching left... and I couldn't leave it there, could I? So within a few days he'd gone from this...

...to this

Mouse Lighting Candle (my title) from Merry Mice by CutePatternsByMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida

Stitch count 39 wide by 70 high

Started - 31st July 2021

Finished - 9th January 2022

Total stitching time - 15 hours 25 minutes

I absolutely adore him!

Maria designed Hogwarts In A Bottle (if you can remember that) so I knew what to expect from her backstitching, i.e. the more complicated the better! Some is stitched in one strand, some in two, and nearly all of it breaks the aida, meaning longstitching with couching is often a better option. I knew there was a reason I'd written (but ignored) 'evenweave' in big letters on the chart! It was a bit of a nightmare, but the result is well worth it.

I've started three more of these Merry Mice, all on the same fabric, so know I've got lots more backstitching 'fun' to look forward to!

Take care,

Rachel x

Tokyo Olympics New Start #10 - Mouse Reading Scroll

Hello again!

Day 10 already and all seems to be going well with the Olympics... unless, of course, the press have been banned from reporting anything negative! I know it was reported most Japanese did not want the Olympics to go ahead, but hopefully some of them have now changed their minds and have been enjoying the sporting events in their home nation.

For day 10 I started another Merry Mouse, not on a train this time, but from the comfort of my settee!

Mouse Reading Scroll from Merry Mice by CutePatternsByMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida

Stitch count 55 wide by 31 high

Started - 1st August 2021

Stitching time to date - 1 hour 35 minutes

I only managed to stitch some of his head, but that's OK.

Fun Olympic Fact

There is no doubt that the USA has the largest medal haul in the history of the modern Olympics. However, that's a bit unfair when some countries have not competed as many times, and when border changes have meant some countries no longer exist and others have been born.

Therefore, a fairer way is to average out the medal haul by dividing the total by the number of times the country has participated. In which case, the USSR are/were the most successful medal-winning country in the history of the summer Olympics.

[Oh, I LOVE statistics, and could become lost studying the fascinating medal tables I have found!]

Take care,

Rachel x

Tokyo Olympics New Start #9 - Mouse Lighting Candle

Hi all!

Not much watching of the Olympics yesterday as I wasn't at home and couldn't really have the TV on where I was. I'm sad to have missed a day, but admit I've been extremely lucky to have caught as much as I have so far.

My new start was a mouse you might recognize. He's one of a set of 30 mice designs, two of which I started last year during the Spring Into Summer New Start Binge. This is the first of two I will be starting during the Tokyo Olympics:

Mouse Lighting Candle from Merry Mice by CutePatternsByMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida

Stitch count 39 wide by 70 high

Started - 31st July 2021

Stitching time to date - 1 hour 30 minutes

I started with the easy bit and didn't make a bad start considering it was stitched on early morning trains!

Another mouse to come tomorrow.  :)

Fun Olympic Fact

At the moment, Athens 2004 holds the record for being the hottest Summer Olympics with temperatures reaching an average of 27.6C and a high of 34.2C. During the Tokyo Olympics, daily temperatures are forecast to be between 30C and 35C so will easily take the record; no wonder the athletes all look so exhausted!

Take care,

Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - FINISHED!!!

Hi there!

Yes, you read the title correctly... Hogwarts In A Bottle is FINISHED!!! Oh Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Dance!

I'll waste no time and go straight to the pictures...

At 190 hours:

And now FINISHED... ta-da...

Hogwarts In A Bottle by CutePatternByMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Lazurite hand-dyed aida by Chromatic Alchemy

Stitch count 119 wide by 233 high

Started - 7th January 2019

Finished - 9th October 2020

Total Stitching Time - 199 hours 5 minutes

I'm sooooo excited to have this finished, and will definitely miss it - even the backstitching! Despite its size (and if I didn't have anything else to do!) I would not hesitate to stitch it again, that's how much I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of the 25,000 or so stitches.

The only change I made was using 3799 for the backstitching instead of the suggested 310. Black can be quite harsh sometimes and I thought this needed something a bit more subtle. But that's just personal taste.

Talking of backstitching, I didn't keep a record of how long it all took but am guessing maybe around 30 hours. There's a lot of fine detail around the castle windows, bridge arches and train, some using one strand, some using two but, as with all backstitching, what a difference!

I've already ordered a frame so, assuming I frame it within the next couple of weeks (which I'm sure I will) the completely fully-finished Hogwarts In A Bottle will be ready for the big reveal in November's FFG SAL.

So what to do now that I've finished one of my bigger WIPs? Well, I am sorely tempted to start another Harry Potter themed design to replace this one but have (sensibly) decided against it for the time being; I have plenty of WIPs to be getting on with, and four more new starts planned for Naughty November, so really can't justify starting another one this year. Next year, however... well, that's a different story! ;)

Finally, here are all the progress pictures together so you can see how the picture grew with each 10 hours of work. I've tried to be all technical and make a simple slideshow. I don't know if it will work, so if it doesn't, or you don't want to watch it, I've added the pictures as well. The music is Ravel's String Quartet In F Major (automatically adjusted to fit the length of he slideshow) and was the closest Harry Potter type background music available with the program. Enjoy!

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 190 hours

Hi there!

So I've put in another 10 hours in on Hogwarts this month. I caught up with the backstitching first - over 7 hours of it - which meant there wasn't a lot of time left to put in many x's. At least I filled that gap near the bottom right which has been bugging me for a couple of months!

After 180 hours:

And now at 190 hours:

Now that the bridge arches, clouds of steam and train itself have been defined, there's not a lot of backstitching left, so it's onwards with the stitching. It won't get completed in the next 10 hours, but it won't be far off. I'm getting excited now!

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 180 hours

Hi there!

Here's the next part of Hogwarts:

Last time:

And now:

I've just about finished the train so only have the clouds of steam and lots of backstitcing left to do. These, as most of you have suggested, will take about 3 more 10-hour sessions, so the end is definitely in sight now.

Next time I'll be starting with some backstitching; I may be desperate to get the whole piece stitched up but there is also no way I want to leave the amount of backstitching left to last!

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 170 hours

Hi there!

It's been far too long since I spent time on Hogwarts (middle of March in fact) but, thankfully, I've finally managed another 10 hours and, as you can see from the pictures, THERE'S A TRAIN!!! Or at least a good portion of it.

As I left it back in March:

And now:

I did think about working up and stitching the clouds of steam first, but I couldn't resist starting the train any longer! Isn't it lovely to finally see the red?

During August I'd like to finish the train and get some more backstitching in. Now I've returned to it, there's no way Hogwarts will be neglected again; by hook or by crook, this will be a finish this year!

Take care,
Rachel x

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge - #16 - Mouse With Books

Hi all!

It's hard to believe that almost four months of a new start every weekend have passed and that this weekend was the penultimate start of 17 new projects. Tiff and Annie have been joining in the fun of this Spring Into Summer New Start Binge too, so pop over to their blogs to see how they have been getting on.

As I mentioned last week, I knew which of the two remaining projects I would be leaving to last so had no choice as to which one to start this week. It's another of these Merry Mice:

But which one to stitch? I chose number 22 which I have called Mouse With Books.

With the other mouse I started, number 21, I just stitched some of the book and not the mouse itself, so this time I concentrated on the mouse and left the books. Here's my start over the weekend. I just love his expression; he's so happy!

Mouse With Books by CutePatternsbyMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida by sewitall.com

Stitching time to date - 4 hours 40 minutes

Next week I'll be starting a Whispered By The Wind design. I hope it doesn't cause me as many problems as the other Whispered By The Wind chart I started way back on weekend number one!

Take care
Rachel x

Spring Into Summer New Start Binge - #8 Mouse Reading Book

Hello all!

Welcome to another post about the mad new start binge Tiff and Annie and I are undertaking between April and July in our attempt to start 17 new projects over 17 weekends. Pop over to their blogs to see what they've been up to too.

This week I went for another cutie, one of a collection of 30 Merry Mice.

There are probably a dozen or so I would like to stitch so it was just a case of whittling it down to which one first. I decided on number 21 which I have aptly named Mouse Reading Book! Here's a closer picture:

I didn't have too bad a weekend for stitching so managed to achieve a good amount, including some backstitching:

Mouse Reading Book by CutePatternsbyMaria (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Glacier over-dyed aida by sewitall.com

Stitching time to date - 5 hours 5 minutes

I've just realised that all four projects I've started this month have been on blue fabric so next week, and to mark the half-way point of this binge, I'm definitely going for a different colour. How does purple with white stars sound?

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 160 hours

Hi there!

I didn't get to work on this project at all during February and must say I really really really missed it. I was determined to make up for it in March and thanks in part to having a couple of 'self-care' (i.e. stitching!) days I managed the full 10 hours I'd hoped for.

I usually work from right to left but finishing the outside of the bottle was far too tempting. So I did that first then continued to fill in more of the mountains and steam.

Here are the pictures from January:

And now:

Next time around I plan to finish off the steam on the bottom right, the outside of the bottle on the bottom left, and add all the backstitching I can. Then, if there's any time left, I will finally allow myself to thread some red and start the train - I've definitely left the best for last!

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 150 hours

Hi there!

Another 10 hours and another update.

This time I added lots of steam. I started with the steam clouds on the left, then my needle wandered to the steam clouds on the right it 'happened' to discover the bottom of the chart!!! It's now fairly clear exactly how much I have left to stitch.

Because I've now reached the bottom, there's no point in showing both the progress picture and the picture of the whole piece as they're the same, so here are just the pictures of the full piece before and after this latest ten hour stretch of stitching:

For those in the UK of a 'certain age', you might understand why I was mimicking 'phsss-chi-coof' (sp) to myself whilst stitching the steam!

Whereas previously I 'only' thoroughly enjoyed stitching this, I'm also now letting a tiny bit of excitement creep in as I'm getting closer to the end (although I reckon I've still got about 50 hours to go!) I deliberately left stitching the train to last and 'can't wait' for that first red stitch to go in... maybe not next time... but soon!

Take care,
Rachel x

Hogwarts In A Bottle - 140 hours

Hi there!

I've recently finished another ten hours on this wonderful piece.

I didn't do any backstitching this time, so have that to look forward to when Hogwarts comes out again in January, not that there's a lot but it'll be nice to keep up with it. Here are the progress pictures then.

Last time:

And this time:

And the full piece:

I'm happy to have vastly increased the amount of mountains (thank you, blocks of colour) and even added some of the smoke coming from the train funnel (the white on the bottom left).

More smoke next time and maybe I'll even reach the train itself.

Take care,
Rachel x