2024 End Of Year Summary

Morning all!

Although I've hardly been around during 2024 I'd like to continue my usual year-end round up and look back at my WIPs, new starts and FFOs for the year.

My plans for 2024 were laughably ambitious and I knew I wouldn't achieve them all, but I didn't anticipate failing by such a large margin!

As usual, all of the following waffle and lists are just for my benefit so ignore as you wish!

Total stitching time was 148 hours 15 minutes, which doesn't sound too bad until I disclose that January, February and March accounted for 130 hours of that, and that I had *gasp*156 days (including three full months) with no stitching at all. I didn't see that coming!

Here are my successes and failures:

SALs - each month join in with:

FFG SAL - ✅ my only real success! I actually managed to FFO something each month!

Smalls SAL - ✅ and ❌ - I only had a Small for 6/12 months and was late posting 3 times. My bad. VERY bad.

Potential stitching included:

A Monarch A Month - stitch the remaining 8 monarchs and potentially finish - ❌ stitched two

The Loneliness Of Autumn - continue and catch-up - ❌ only added 22 hours

A-Z of WIPs - work though an alphabet of WIPs - ✅ ❌ I only managed A-F

Mischievous March - start four projects and finish the four projects - ✅ ❌ started four, finished two

Summer Olympics and Paralympics - Harry Potter advent calendar - ❌ nothing

Christmas In July - continue Merry Christmas By The Letter - ❌ nothing

Dark October - continue (finish?) Haunted Library - ❌ nothing

Naughty November - start four projects and finish the four projects - ❌ nothing

Christmas Day onwards - continue (finish?) Merry Christmas By The Letter - ❌ nothing

Potentially start and work on:

Female Rainbow Dragon - ✅ and ❌ put in 20 hours of stitching (only posted the first 10)

Monochromatic Library - ❌ nothing

Scarlet Macaw Preening - ❌ nothing

So lots of red there - good job red is one of my favourite colours!

My overall statistics look like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2023 = 60
Plus number of new starts = 10
Less number of finishes = 7

Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2025 = 63

Here are the lists of projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have been finished, those in black will be carried forward to 2025.

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
2) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
3) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
4) Kings and Queens

5) The Loneliness Of Autumn
'NORMAL' WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
6) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)

7) Ballerina

8) Giraffe

9) Greedy Robin

10) Friends For Life
11) Feline Groovy
12) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
13) Book Worm

14) Carefree Summer

15) Dandelion Time

16) Flower Power

17) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

18) Christmas Wishes

19) Cuddly Feline Friends

20) Choc-A-Holic

21) I Love Butter

22) Good Morning Nelson

23) Winter Hugs

24) Lickle Snooze

25) A Windy Day
26) Little Green
27) Start Trek TOS
28) Clue
29) Evil Minions
30) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)

31) Magnolia (not yet blogged)

32) Haunted Library
33) Pretty Little Toronto

34) Basket Case - progress

35) Mouse Reading Book
36) Wonderful Fright

37) Happiness Delivery Couple - progress
38) Mouse With Books
39) Gatekeepers

40) Let's Bloom

41) Let's Have Fun In The Sun
42) Let's Breeze Into Autumn - progress

43) Burrow Snow Globe

44) Dragon Shelf - progress

45) Godric's Hollow Snow Globe

46) Mexico

47) Korea

48) Netherlands

49) France - progress

50) Privet Drive Snow Globe

51) Rome

52) Russia

53) Shell Cottage Snow Globe

54) United Kingdom

55) USA

56) Witch's Hat Shelf

57) Elixir Of Luck - progress

58) Spring Keyhole Stamp

59) Night Lantern Stamp

60) He's A Fun-Gi

NEW STARTS IN 2024

1) Nordic Christmas Sampler 16 - Snowflake

2) Santa Ornie (for Clare's Christmas Tree)

3) Nordic Christmas Sampler 1 - Star

4) February Biscornu

5) Female Rainbow Dragon

6) Nordic Christmas Sampler 15 - Love

7) Japan (Mount Fuji) Bauble

8) Halloween Pumpkin

9) March Biscornu

10) April Biscornu

An increase was not exactly what I had planned, but it's OK as it's not by much.

As for my Box of Shame:

Brought forward from 2023 = 60
Added = 6

Finished = 12
Carried forward into 2025 = 54

Here's another list of the the projects which were in and have been added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD

1) Piglet's Snowflake (gone AWOL!)

2) Green Halloween Banner

3) A Little Witch Of The Night

4) Let's Play

5) Chick Berry

6) Humming Along

7) Lady In Red

8) Going For Walkies

9) Simply Wren

10) Winnie the Pooh 1

11) Winnie the Pooh 2

12) In The Dog House

13) In The Bath

14) Resting My Eyes

15) Noel

16) Moonrise - Gravestone

17) Moonrise - Fence

18) Moonrise - Mansion

19) Season's Greetings

20) Moonrise - Memorial

21) Let's Be Frozen

22) Dragon 9

23) Dragon 2

24) Dragon 11

25) Dragon 5

26) Dragon 4

27) Dragon 10

28) Dragon 12

29) Dragon 1

30) Dragon 6

31) Dragon 3

32) Grow Your Own

33) Elixir Of Life

34) Gift (not been shown on blog)

35) Gift (not been shown on blog)

36) A Tatty Friend

37) Mouse Reading Scroll

38) Winnie The Pooh 4

39) Winnie The Pooh 3

40) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

41) Pandas

42) Winnie The Pooh 5

43) Autumnal Baby Dragon

44) Grand Teton National Park

45) Grand Canyon National Park

46) Rocky Mountain National Park

47) Hot Springs National Park

48) Snuffles In Lime

49) Moonset - Gate

50) Moonset - Cenotaph

51) Moonset - Cross

52) Moonset - Lamppost

53) Best Wishes For The New Year QR Code

54) Front-Facing Dolphin (right)

55) Dolphin Swimming (right)

56) Jumping Dolphin (left)

57) Merry Christmas By The Letter

58) Preening Scarlet Macaw (left)

59) Front-Facing Scarlet Macaw (left)

60) Flying Scarlet Macaw (left)

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2024

1) Nordic Christmas Sampler 16 - snowflake

2) Nordic Christmas Sampler 1 - star

3) February Biscornu

4) Nordic Christmas Sampler 15 - love

5) March Biscornu

6) April Biscornu

EXCLUDED FROM BOX OF SHAME

1) Santa Ornie for Clare's Christmas Tree

That's a tad better but it still leaves me with loads of FFOing to do in 2025!

And that's it.

As for my stitching 'plans' for 2025... all will be revealed tomorrow!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2023 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

Another year gone, and another year of lists coming up!

2023 was up and down again - up until mid April and then down again until October. Here are my stitching minutes per day to prove it!

But, thanks to some successful days, stitching still time totalled 406 hours for the year, so at an average of more than an hour per day I'm more than happy with that.

Here are my successes and failures of the year:

SALs - each month join in with:

People's Choice SAL - ❌ missed four months

FFG SAL - ❌ close, but missed one month

Smalls SAL - ❌ missed six months

FFO as much as possible - ✅ and ❌ not really 'as much as possible' but at least one per month

Finish (lots of) WIPs - ✅ finished 10 WIPs started prior to 2023 and 40/41 started in 2023

Potential stitching included:

A Monarch A Month - stitch the remaining 8 monarchs? ❌ not been touched all year

The Loneliness Of Autumn - continue and catch-up? ❌ only managed 7/120 hours

Mischievous March - start four projects and finish the four projects ✅

Christmas In July - continue Merry Christmas By The Letter ❌ didn't touch

Dark October - continue (finish?) Haunted Library ✅ finished the stitching

Naughty November - start four projects and finish the four projects ✅

Christmas Day onwards - continue (finish?) Merry Christmas By The Letter ✅ finished!

Overall, more failures than successes, but c'est la vie.

My overall statistics now look like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2022 = 75
Plus number of new starts = 41
Less number of finishes = 50

Less number of purges = 6

Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2024 = 60


Here are the lists of projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have been finished, those in blue have been purged, and those in black will be carried forward to 2024.

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1) QS Emerald Dragon (HAED) - PURGED
2) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
3) QS Come Softly (HAED) - PURGED
4) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
5) Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED) - PURGED

6) Mini One (HAED) - PURGED

7) Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay) - PURGED
8) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
9) Kings and Queens

10) The Loneliness Of Autumn
'NORMAL' WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
11) Mythical Dragon

12) Ballerina

13) Giraffe

14) Greedy Robin

15) Friends For Life

16) Feline Groovy
17) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
18) Book Worm

19) Carefree Summer

20) A Tatty Friend

21) Dandelion Time

22) Flower Power

23) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

24) Christmas Wishes

25) Cuddly Feline Friends

26) Choc-A-Holic

27) I Love Butter

28) Good Morning Nelson

29) Winter Hugs

30) Lickle Snooze

31) A Windy Day
32) Little Green
33) Start Trek TOS
34) Clue
35) Evil Minions

36) Pandas

37) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)

38) Magnolia (not yet blogged)

39) Tribal Dragon - PURGED

40) Haunted Library
41) Pretty Little Toronto

42) Basket Case

43) Mouse Reading Book
44) Wonderful Fright

45) Happiness Delivery Couple
46) Pooh 3 - With Head On Ground
47) Pooh 4 - Standing With Pot On Head
48) Pooh 5 - Looking At Smashed Pot
49) Mouse With Books
50) Gatekeepers

51) Let's Bloom

52) Let's Have Fun In The Sun
53) Let's Breeze Into Autumn

54) Deathly Hallows In A Bottle

55) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

56) Merry Christmas By The Letter

57) Autumnal Baby Dragon

58) Burrow Snow Globe

59) Dragon Shelf

60) Godrich's Hollow Snow Globe

61) Mexico

62) Korea

63) Mouse Reading Scroll

64) Netherlands

65) Paris

66) Privet Drive Snow Globe

67) Rome

68) Russia

69) Shell Cottage Snow Globe

70) United Kingdom

71) USA

72) Witch's Hat Shelf

73) Elixir Of Luck

74) Spring Keyhole Stamp

75) Night Lantern Stamp

NEW STARTS IN 2023

1) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 9 - Bird

2) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 6 - Tree

3) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 1 - Heart

4) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 20 - Candle

5) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 4 - Snowflake

6) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 14 - Mitten

7) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 13 - Santa

8) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 15 - Holly

9) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 12 - Bell

10) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 23 - Wreath

11) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 5 - Presents

12) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 11 - Elf Hat

13) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 10 - Candy Cane

14) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 8 - Bauble

15) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 24 - Penguin

16) Grand Teton National Park

17) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 3 - House

18) Grand Canyon National Park

19) Rocky Mountain National Park

20) Hot Springs National Park

21) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 18 - Cracker

22) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 19 - Star

23) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 2 - Snowman

24) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 21 - Sleigh

25) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 22 - Pudding

26) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 17 - Gingerbread Man

27) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 7 - Reindeer

28) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 16 - Stocking

29) He's A Fun-Gi - NOT YET BLOGGED

30) Snuffles In Lime

31) Moonset - Gate

32) Moonset - Cenotaph

33) Moonset - Cross

34) Moonset - Lamppost

35) Best Wishes For The New Year QR Code

36) Front-Facing Dolphin (right)

37) Swimming Dolphin (right)

38) Jumping Dolphin (left)

39) Side-Facing Scarlet Macaw (left)

40) Front-Facing Scarlet Macaw (left)

41) Flying Scarlet Macaw (left)

At least I can feel quite proud of having actually finished all but one I started this year.

As for my Box of Shame:

Brought forward from 2022 = 36
Added = 50
Finished = 26
Carried forward into 2024 = 60

Hmmm, not so proud there. Must try MUCH harder to reduce that number in 2024.

Here's another list of the the projects which were in and have been added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD

1) Piglet's Snowflake (gone AWOL!)

2) Green Halloween Banner

3) A Little Witch Of The Night

4) Let's Play

5) Chick Berry

6) Humming Along

7) Lady In Red

8) Going For Walkies

9) Simply Wren

10) Winnie the Pooh 1

11) Winnie the Pooh 2

12) In The Dog House

13) In The Bath

14) Resting My Eyes

15) Noel

16) Moonrise - Gravestone

17) Moonrise - Fence

18) Moonrise - Mansion

19) Season's Greetings

20) Moonrise - Memorial

21) Mouse Lighting Candle

22) Let's Be Frozen

23) Dragon 9

24) Dragon 2

25) Dragon 11

26) Dragon 5

27) Dragon 4

28) Dragon 10

29) Dragon 12

30) Dragon 1

31) Dragon 6

32) Dragon 3

33) Grow Your Own

34) Elixir Of Life

35) Gift (not been shown on blog)

36) Gift (not been shown on blog)

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2023

1) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 9 - Bird

2) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 6 - Tree

3) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 1 - Heart

4) A Tatty Friend

5) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 20 - Candle

6) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 4 - Snowflake

7) Mouse Reading Scroll

8) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 14 - Mitten

9) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 13 - Santa

10) Winnie The Pooh 4

11) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 15 - Holly 

12) Winnie The Pooh 3

13) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 12 - Bell

14) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

15) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 23 - Wreath

16) Pandas

17) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 5 - Presents

18) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 11 - Elf Hat

19) Winnie The Pooh 5

20) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 10 - Candy Cane

21) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 8 - Bauble

22) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 24 - Penguin

23) Autumnal Baby Dragon

24) Grand Teton National Park

25) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 3 - House

26) Grand Canyon National Park

27) Rocky Mountain National Park

28) Hot Springs National Park

29) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 18 - Cracker

30) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 19 - Star

31) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 2 - Snowman

32) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 21 - Sleigh

33) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 22 - Pudding

34) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 17 - Gingerbread Man

35) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 7 - Reindeer

36) Red And White Advent Calendar Day 16 - Stocking

37) Deathly Hallows In A Bottle

38) Snuffles In Lime

39) Moonset - Gate

40) Moonset - Cenotaph

41) Moonset - Cross

42) Moonset - Lamppost

43) Best Wishes For The New Year QR Code

44) Front-Facing Dolphin (right)

45) Dolphin Swimming (right)

46) Jumping Dolphin (left)

47) Merry Christmas By The Letter

48) Side-Facing Scarlet Macaw (left)

49) Front-Facing Scarlet Macaw (right)

50) Flying Scarlet Macaw (left)

At one point, a few years, back I had only three pieces in Box Of Shame; it's surprising how quickly they add up, despite FFOing at least one thing per month.

So that's 60 WIPs and 60 Box Of Shame pieces I'm carrying through into 2024; I wonder how much they'll decrease (or increase!) during the coming year?

Talking of 2024, my ridiculous and OTT stitching plans for the year ahead will all be revealed tomorrow. Like this one, it's a long post... you have been warned!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2022 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

Another year gone, and another year of lists coming up!

2022 was definitely a year of two halves - the first being successful, the second rapidly slipping away. Here's a graph showing my declining stitching time as the year progressed. I think it's obvious stitching wasn't good in May or from the summer onwards!

Stitching time totalled 309 hours, or an average of 50 minutes per day. This may sound impressive, but over half of those hours were in the first three months and only 12 hours in the last three!

My Monarchs were the first to suffer, being unceremoniously pushed aside, then The Loneliness Of Autumn, my SAL with Leonore was guiltily put away.

A stint in hospital in September, and my stitching-days-in-a-row going from 2278 to zero certainly didn't help, and I've not really bounced back from those.

And then of course, there are all of your comments which are still in my inbox, and all of your blogs which I haven't read for months. I don't want to give up stitching or blogging, so please send positive energy my way for a stitchier and bloggier 2023!

Needless to say, I didn't achieve everything I set out to achieve in 2022. Here are my successes and failures:

A Monarch A Month - stitch 12 monarchs ❌ stitched 4, posted 1

The Loneliness Of Autumn - stitch for 120 hours ❌ stitched for 20 hours

Smalls SAL - stitch 12 small pieces, one per month ❌ completed and posted 9

Winter Olympics - finish Let's Be Frozen ✅

Winter Paralympics - finish 10 variegated dragons ✅

Mischievous March - start four projects ✅ and finish the four projects ❌ finished 1

Christmas In July - continue Merry Christmas By The Letter ✅

Dark October - continue (finish?) Haunted Library ❌ didn't touch

Naughty November - start four projects and finish the four projects ❌ didn't start any of them

Christmas Day onwards - continue (finish?) Merry Christmas By The Letter❌ didn't touch

SALs - each month join in with:

People's Choice SAL - ✅

FFG SAL - ✅

Smalls SAL - ❌ January to October only

FFO as much as possible - ✅ well, not as much as possible, but 17 is OK

Finish lots of WIPs - ✅ finished 16 WIPs from previous years

My main consolation is that, for the first time since 2018, I had more finishes than starts so that in itself  is something I am proud of, and means my overall statistics now look like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2021 = 88 (including BAPs I may never work on again)
Plus number of new starts = 22
Less number of finishes = 35
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2023 = 75


Now comes the really boring bit, the lists of projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have been finished, those in black will be carried forward to 2023.

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)

2) QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
3) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
4) QS Come Softly (HAED)
5) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
6) Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)

7) Mini One (HAED)

8) Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
9) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
10) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
11) Magnolia (not yet blogged)
12) Tribal Dragon (Thread Geeks)
13) Kings and Queens

14) The Loneliness Of Autumn
'NORMAL' WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
15) Ballerina

16) Giraffe

17) Greedy Robin

18) Friends For Life
19) Feline Groovy
20) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
21) Book Worm

22) Carefree Summer

23) A Tatty Friend

24) Dandelion Time

25) Flower Power

26) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

27) Christmas Wishes

28) Cuddly Feline Friends

29) Choc-A-Holic

30) I Love Butter

31) Good Morning Nelson

32) Winter Hugs

33) Lickle Snooze

34) A Windy Day
35) Little Green
36) Start Trek TOS
37) Clue
38) Evil Minions
39) Pandas
40) Haunted Library
41) Grow Your Own

42) Pretty Little Toronto

43) Basket Case

44) Mouse Reading Book
45) Wonderful Fright

46) Happiness Delivery Couple
47) Pooh 3 - With Head On Ground
48) Pooh 4 - Standing With Pot On Head
49) Pooh 5 - Looking At Smashed Pot
50) Mouse With Books
51) Gatekeepers

52) Let's Bloom

53) Let's Have Fun In The Sun
54) Let's Breeze Into Autumn

55) Let's Be Frozen

56) Deathly Hallows In A Bottle

57) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

58) Merry Christmas By The Letter

59) Autumnal Baby Dragon

60) Burrow Snow Globe

61) Dragon Shelf

62) Godrich's Hollow Snow Globe

63) Mexico

64) Korea

65) Mouse Lighting Candle
66) Mouse Reading Scroll

67) Netherlands

68) Paris

69) Privet Drive Snow Globe

70) Rome

71) Russia

72) Shell Cottage Snow Globe

73) United Kingdom

74) USA

75) Witch's Hat Shelf

76) Dragon 9

77) Dragon 2

78) Dragon 11

79) Dragon 5

80) Dragon 4

81) Dragon 10

82) Dragon 12

83) Dragon 1

84) Dragon 6

85) Dragon 3

86) French Country Squirrel

87) French Country Pumpkin

88) Watercolour Dolphin

NEW STARTS IN 2022:

01) Snowflake The Cactus

02) Letter C for Clare's Tree (gift)

03) Letter H for Clare's Tree (gift)

04) Letter R for Clare's Tree (gift)

05) Letter T for Clare's Tree (gift)

06) Snuffles In Blue

07) Elixir Of Life

08) Elixir Of Luck

09) Spring Keyhole Stamp

10) Green Flying Dragon

11) Night Lantern Stamp

12) Snuffles In Purple (gift)

13) Crazy For Strawberry

14) Seahorses

15) Rainbow Lorikeet

16) Deck The Halls

17) Merry Christmas QR Code

18) Snuffles In Yellow

19) Biscornu (flowering cactus)

20) Gift (not been shown on blog)

21) Gift (not been shown on blog)

22) Snuffles In Rust

As for my Box of Shame, I started the year with 22 pieces in it, added 31 more (4 initials for Clare's tree don't count), fully finished off 17, so have therefore ended the year with 36 pieces. I'm not so happy with that, but at least it gives me lots of choice to FFO next year!

Here's another list of the the projects which were in and have been added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD

1) Piglet's Snowflake

2) Parrot On Parade

3) Green Halloween Banner

4) A Little Witch Of The Night

5) Let's Play

6) Chick Berry

7) Humming Along

8) Lady In Red

9) Going For Walkies

10) Simply Wren

11) Winnie the Pooh 1 (need the set of 5 before I can FFO)

12) Winnie the Pooh 2 (need the set of 5 before I can FFO)

13) In The Dog House

14) In The Bath

15) Resting My Eyes

16) Green Patchwork Hootie

17) Noel

18) Moonrise - Gravestone

19) Moonrise - Fence

20) Moonrise - Mansion

21) Season's Greetings

22) Moonrise - Memorial

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2022

01) Snowflake The Cactus

02) Mouse Lighting Candle

05) Let's Be Frozen

06) Snuffles In Blue

07) Dragon 9

08) Dragon 2

09) Dragon 11

10) Dragon 5

11) Dragon 4

12) Dragon 10

13) Dragon 12

14) Dragon 1

15) Dragon 6

16) Dragon 3

17) Green Flying Dragon

18) French Country Squirrel

19) Snuffles In Purple

20) French Country Pumpkin

21) Crazy For Strawberry

22) Watercolour Dolphin

23) Seahorses

24) Rainbow Lorikeet

25) Grow Your Own

26) Elixir Of Life

27) Deck The Halls

28) Merry Christmas QR Code

31) Snuffles In Yellow

32) Biscornu (flowering cactus)

33) Gift (not been shown on blog)

34) Gift (not been shown on blog)

35) Snuffles In Rust

EXCLUDED FROM BOX OF SHAME

03) Letter C for Clare's Christmas Tree

04) Letter H for Clare's Christmas Tree

29) Letter R for Clare's Christmas Tree

30) Letter T for Clare's Christmas Tree

And that's it!

As for my stitching plans for 2023... all will be revealed tomorrow!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2021 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

Another year gone, and another year of lists coming up!

A few hiccups during 2021 meant the year didn't go quite according to plan and I didn't achieve all I set out to do. However, given that my plans were also very ambitious, I am extremely happy with how much I did achieve and am not complaining one little bit.

But before I get into the summary, I never showed you my Stitchmas Tree, so here it is. This is the first Stitchmas Tree I've decorated but won't be my last, although I might need a bigger tree next year!

On to the summary then. My 2021 plans were:

A Monarch A Month - stitch 12 monarchs ❌ only stitched six

The Loneliness Of Autumn - stitch for 120 hours ✅

Smalls SAL - stitch 12 small pieces, one per month ✅

Mischievous March - start four projects ✅ and finish all four projects ❌ only finished two

Christmas In July - start one project ✅ finish one WIP ❌ didn't even work on the WIP

Tokyo Olympics - start 17 new projects ✅

Dark October - start Magical Bookshelf ❌ sensibly postponed because of too many WIPs!!! 😇

Naughty November - start four projects ✅ and finish all four projects ✅

Christmas Day - new start ❌ carried on with the Christmas In July piece instead 😇

In addition:

Tokyo Paralympics - started 13 new unplanned projects 😉

Finish lots of WIPs - finished 7 out of a potentially-planned 16

FFO as much as possible - could have done better but still reduced the amount in my BOS

SALs - joined in with People's Choice SAL, FFG SAL and Smalls SAL every month 😊

So lots of new starts and not that many finishes (in comparison) means my overall statistics are now as follows:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2020 = 62 (including BAPs I may never work on again)
Plus number of new starts = 52
Less number of finishes = 26
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2022 = 88 (well, at least it's not triple figures!!)


And here is the list of projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have been finished, those in black will be carried forward to 2022.

[I have been asked why I don't include pictures in this summary, and the simple answer is that there would just be too many! If you're interested in all my current WIPs and finishes this year there are page tabs at the top.]

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)

2) QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
3) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
4) QS Come Softly (HAED)
5) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
6) Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)

7) Mini One (HAED)

8) Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
9) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
10) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
11) Magnolia (not yet blogged)
12) Tribal Dragon (Thread Geeks)
13) Kings and Queens

14) The Loneliness Of Autumn
'NORMAL' WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
15) Ballerina

16) Giraffe

17) Greedy Robin

18) Friends For Life
19) Feline Groovy
20) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
21) Book Worm

22) Carefree Summer

23) A Tatty Friend

24) Dandelion Time

25) Flower Power

26) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

27) Christmas Wishes

28) Cuddly Feline Friends

29) Choc-A-Holic

30) I Love Butter

31) Good Morning Nelson

32) Winter Hugs

33) Lickle Snooze

34) A Windy Day
35) Little Green
36) Start Trek TOS
37) Clue
38) Evil Minions
39) Pandas
40) Haunted Library
41) Grow Your Own
42) In The Gloaming
43) Chick Berry
44) Humming Along
45) Pretty Little Toronto

46) Pooh 1 - Eating Hunny

47) Basket Case
48) Pooh 2 - Looking Into Empty Pot
49) Mouse Reading Book
50) Wonderful Fright

51) Happiness Delivery Couple
52) Pooh 3 - With Head On Ground
53) Lady In Red
54) Pooh 4 - Standing With Pot On Head
55) Simply Wren
56) Pooh 5 - Looking At Smashed Pot
57) Mouse With Books
58) Gatekeepers

59) Let's Bloom

60) Let's Have Fun In The Sun
61) Let's Breeze Into Autumn

62) Let's Be Frozen

NEW STARTS IN 2021:
1) Let's Play

2) Going For Walkies

3) In The Dog House

4) Deathly Hallows In A Bottle

5) Golden Snitch In A Bottle

6) Hedwig In A Bottle

7) Platform 9 3/4 In A Bottle

8) In The Bath

9) Resting My Eyes

10) Galah

11) French Country Butterfly

12) Merry (TT XI)

13) Merry Christmas By The Letter

14) Autumnal Baby Dragon

15) Burrow Snow Globe

16) Dragon Shelf

17) Godrich's Hollow Snow Globe

18) Mexico

19) Korea

20) Mouse Lighting Candle
21) Mouse Reading Scroll

22) Netherlands

23) Paris

24) Privet Drive Snow Globe

25) Rome

26) Russia

27) Shell Cottage Snow Globe

28) United Kingdom

29) USA

30) Witch's Hat Shelf

31) Dragon With Chick

32) Dragon 9

33) Dragon 2

34) Dragon 11

35) Dragon 4

36) Dragon 5

37) Dragon 10

38) Dragon 12

39) Dragon 1

40) Dragon 6

41) Dragon 3

42) French Country Squirrel

43) French Country Pumpkin

44) Watercolour Dolphin

45) Green Patchwork Hootie

46) Halloween Hootie 9

47) Noel

48) Moonrise Gravestone

49) Moonrise Fence

50) Moonrise Mansion

51) Moonrise Memorial

52) Season's Greetings

So I ended the year with 26 more WIPs than I started with... ooops!


As for my Box Of Shame, I started the year with 30 pieces in it (having found five previously mislaid at the end of 2020) added 26 more, fully finished off 34, so have therefore ended the year with 22 pieces.

So, here's another list of the the projects which were in and have been added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD
1) Eeyore's Snowflake

2) Four-eyed Monster

3) One-eyed Monster

4) Toby

5) Piglet's Snowflake

6) Smiley Cat

7) Boofle Christmas Card

8) January Calendar
9) February Calendar
10) March Calendar
11) April Calendar
12) May Calendar
13) June Calendar
14) July Calendar
15) August Calendar
16) September Calendar
17) October Calendar
18) November Calendar
19) December Calendar

20) Spotted Owls
21) Midnight Manor
22) Parrot On Parade

23) Green Halloween Banner
24) Christmas Cat With Present

25) Spookie Hootie

26) A Little Witch Of The Night

27) Jingle All The Way

28) Let It Snow

29) Daisy Hugs

30) Gold Stars Christmas Tree

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2021

1) Let's Play

2) Chick Berry

3) Humming Along

4) Lady In Red

5) Going For Walkies

6) Simply Wren

7) Winnie the Pooh 1 (need the set of 5 before I can FFO)

8) Winnie the Pooh 2 (need the set of 5 before I can FFO)

9) In The Dog House

10) In The Bath

11) Platform  9 3/4 Sign In A Bottle

12) Hedwig In A Bottle

13) Resting My Eyes

14) Galah

15) Merry (TT IX)

16) Dragon With Chick

17) French Country Butterfly

18) Green Patchwork Hootie

19) Spookie Hootie 9

20) In The Gloaming

21) Noel

22) Moonrise Gravestone

23) Moonrise Fence

24) Moonrise Mansion

25) Seasons Greetings

26) Moonrise Memorial

I may still have 22 UFOs but I'm really happy that I ended the year with fewer than I started with.

OK... boring lists over!

During the year I stitched for a total of 592 hours, averaging out at just over 1.6 hours per day, which is slightly over my daily target. December was my best month, with 82 hours of stitching, June my worst with just 8.5 hours!! I was really happy that the hours lost between April and July were able to be made up in the last three months of the year.

And... I will be ending the year having caught up with all my blog reading, and with an empty inbox! I doubt it will be long before I fall behind again, but at least I will be starting the year afresh.

As for my stitching plans for 2022... well, they're as wacky as usual and will be revealed tomorrow!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2020 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

Crumbs, is that another year gone already?! Time once again for me to look back on my stitching and FFOing over the last twelve months.

Warning: contrary to the title, this is not a 'summary' Plus it comes with a 'boring post alert', so beware!

I knew I wouldn't achieve everything I had planned to stitch in 2020 - not only did I have a blip at the beginning of the year but there was just too much to fit into one year anyway! But I had an amazing time trying!

To go back over my goals for 2020:

* Finish 6 WIPs from 2015 - NO, only finished 2

* Finish 7 WIPs from 2019 - NO, finished 5 and made progress on a 6th

* Stitch 12 monarchs - YES!

* Stitch 12 Smalls SAL pieces - YES!

* Stitch 24 Advent Calendar pieces - YES (and an additional piece for the 25th)

* Start and half finish Magical Bookshelf - NO, postponed until 2021

* Start 17 projects for the Tokyo Olympics - YES! (as the Spring Into Summer New Start Binge)

* Stitch 10 hours per month on The Loneliness Of Autumn - YES! (so glad to have kept up)

* Christmas Day new start - YES! (although not the one I had planned!)

* Start 3 other projects? - YES! started 4 for Naughty November (but not the three I had in mind!)

* #24 hours of cross stitch SAL - YES and NO - gave up after July

* #24HOCS ABC Challenge - YES! but decided not to blog about it

* People's Choice SAL - YES! every month

* FFG SAL - YES! every month

* Smalls SAL - YES! every month

* Dark October - YES, although for only part of the month

At the end of 2020, I'm definitely a happy bunny. The only thing I really failed on was finishing some of the older WIPs, but considering the amount of new starts I had I actually achieved an awful lot more than I thought I would.

With all the new starts and finishes, my statistics now appear like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2019 - 47
Plus number of new starts - 61
Less number of finishes - 45 (and 1 purged)

Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2021 - 62

Here are the projects which make up those statistics. Those in red have now been finished, those in black will be carried forward to 2021.

NB, the statistics look inflated because I counted the 25 Advent Calendar pieces individually. Well, they were all FFOd individually, so why shouldn't they all be counted as individual new starts!

LARGE WIPs
1) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)

2) QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
3) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
4) QS Come Softly (HAED)
5) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
6) Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)

7) Mini One (HAED)

8) Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
9) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
10) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
11) Magnolia (not yet blogged)
12) Tribal Dragon (Thread Geeks)
13) Hogwarts In A Bottle
14) Kings and Queens

'NORMAL' WIPs
15) Lilac Ballerina

16) Giraffe

17) Greedy Robin

18) Friends For Life
19) Feline Groovy
20) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
21) Daisy Hugs
22) Book Worm

23) Carefree Summer

24) A Tatty Friend

25) Dandelion Time

26) Flower Power

27) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

28) Christmas Wishes

29) Daisy Umbrella

30) Cuddly Feline Friends

31) Choc-A-Holic

32) I Love Butter

33) Good Morning Nelson

34) Winter Hugs

35) Lickle Snooze

36) A Windy Day
37) Little Green
38) Start Trek TOS
39) Clue
40) Evil Minions
41) Pandas
42) Snow Globe Tree
43) A Little Witch Of The Night
44) A Little Wizard Of The Night
45) Christmas Cat With Present
46) Haunted Library
47) Grow Your Own

NEW IN 2020
1) The Loneliness Of Autumn (Artecy)
2) Robin On Postbox
3) Advent Calendar Day 1 Wreath
4) Advent Calendar Day 9 Stocking
5) Advent Calendar Day 21 Baubles
6) Chirpy Bird
7) Advent Calendar Day 4 Reindeer
8) Advent Calendar Day 5 Candle
9) Advent Calendar Day 11 Gingerbread Man
10) Polar Bear Cub
11) Advent Calendar Day 6 Snowman
12) Advent Calendar Day 7 Ice Skate
13) Advent Calendar Day 16 Angel
14) In The Gloaming - PURGED
15) In The Gloaming
16) Snuffles
17) Chick Berry
18) Humming Along
19) Pretty Little Toronto

20) Duckling
21) Pooh 1 - Eating Hunny

22) Basket Case
23) Pooh 2 - Looking Into Empty Pot
24) Mouse Reading Book
25) Wonderful Fright

26) Cute Kakapo
27) Happiness Delivery Couple
28) Pooh 3 - With Head On Ground
29) Lady In Red
30) Pooh 4 - Standing With Pot On Head
31) Advent Calendar Day 2 Presents
32) Advent Calendar Day 10 Christmas Tree
33) Advent Calendar Day 22 Little Tree
34) Advent Calendar Day 23 Two Birds
35) Simply Wren
36) Tiny Toadstool Mouse
37) Pooh 5 - Looking At Smashed Pot
38) Mouse With Books
39) Advent Calendar Day 3 Heart
40) Gatekeepers
41) Advent Calendar Day 13 Dove
42) Advent Calendar Day 19 Garland
43) Advent Calendar Day 20 House
44) Snuffles In Aqua
45) Advent Calendar Day 8 Sleigh
46) Advent Calendar Day 15 Bunny
47) Advent Calendar Day 17 Houses
48) Advent Calendar Day 12 Church
49) Advent Calendar Day 14 Rocking Horse
50) Advent Calendar Day 18 Sheep
51) Advent Calendar Day 24 Santa
52) Advent Calendar Day 25 Happy Christmas!
53) Pink Patchwork Hootie
54) Spooky Hootie

55) Jingle All The Way

56) Let's Bloom

57) Let's Have Fun In The Sun

58) Let's Breeze Into Autumn
59) Let's Be Frozen

60) Let It Snow

61) Gold Stars Christmas Tree

So I ended the year with 16 more WIPs than I started with. Ooops!


As for my Box of Shame, I started the year with 25 pieces in it, added 45 more, fully finished off 47, so have therefore ended the year with 23 pieces.

Here's the list of the the projects which were in and added to my Box Of Shame. As above, those in red have now been FFOd, those in black will be carried forward.

BOX OF SHAME PIECES
1) January Calendar
2) February Calendar
3) March Calendar
4) April Calendar
5) May Calendar
6) June Calendar
7) July Calendar
8) August Calendar
9) September Calendar
10) October Calendar
11) November Calendar
12) December Calendar

13) Spotted Owls
14) Midnight Manor
15) Parrot On Parade

16) Christmas Cat Yawning
17) Green Halloween Banner (half FFOd)
18) Chandelier
19) Trick Or Treat
20) Bird Candelabra

21) Happy Christmas
22) Boo!

23) Candelabra
24) Ho Ho Ho
25) Hocus Pocus

NEW BOX OF SHAME PIECES IN 2020
1) Robin On Postbox
2) Advent Calendar Day 1 Wreath
3) Advent Calendar Day 9 Stocking
4) Advent Calendar Day 21 Baubles
5) A Little Wizard Of The Night
6) Chirpy Bird
7) Advent Calendar Day 4 Reindeer
8) Advent Calendar Day 5 Candle
9) Advent Calendar Day 11 Gingerbread Man
10) Polar Bear Cub
11) Christmas Cat With Present
12) Snow Globe Tree
13) Advent Calendar Day 6 Snowman
14) Advent Calendar Day 7 Ice Skate
15) Advent Calendar Day 16 Angel
16) Snuffles
17) Duckling
18) Cute Kakapo
19) Advent Calendar Day 22 Little Tree
20) Tiny Toadstool Mouse
21) Advent Calendar 2 Gifts
22) Advent Calendar 23 Birds
23) Advent Calendar 10 Christmas Tree
24) Snuffles In Aqua
25) Advent Calendar 3 Heart
26) Advent Calendar 13 Dove
27) Advent Calendar 19 Garland
28) Advent Calendar 20 House
29) Advent Calendar 8 Sleigh
30) Pink Patchwork Hootie
31) Advent Calendar 15 Bunny
32) Advent Calendar 17 Houses
33) Advent Calendar 12 Church
34) Advent Calendar 14 Rocking Horse
35) Advent Calendar 18 Sheep

36) Hogwarts In A Bottle

37) Witchy Hootie

38) A Little Witch Of The Night

39) Advent Calendar 24 Santa

40) Advent Calendar 25 Happy Christmas
41) Jingle All The Way

42) Daisy Umbrella

43) Let It Snow

44) Daisy Hugs

45) Gold Stars Christmas Tree


What is evident in both lists is that I'm much better at finishing and fully-finishing the more recent projects than the older ones. I guess the lure of the new projects is greater, especially since the older ones are tucked away in a different box. They'll make their way to the top and become red one day!

During the year I stitched for a total of 564 hours, averaging out at just over 1.5 hours per day. The hours that I lost during my blip at the beginning of the year were clawed back in November and December with some late night / early morning stitching. Thank you insomnia, perfect timing!!

As for my stitching plans for 2021... well, they're big, they're ambitious, and they will all be revealed tomorrow morning.

Well done if you reached this far!

Have a great New Year's Eve!

Rachel x

2019 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

So, here we are at the end of another year and time again for me to look back on my stitching and FFOing over the last twelve months. No pictures, but you can see all of my finishes and current WIPs on the page tabs at the top if you're interested.

My plans for 2019 involved abandoning all previous WIPs and working on just new starts and, boy, did I have a fun year!

I kept up with stitching the birthstones, monarchs and a Smalls SAL piece each month. although didn't finish my focus piece, Hogwarts, mainly because of the seven summer and six Dark October projects eating into its time. But it doesn't matter; every single project has been fun to work on and I have no regrets about starting any of them.

My overall statistics now appear like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2018 - 12 large, 24 challenge = 36
Plus number of new starts - 2 large, 42 others = 44
Less number of finishes - 0 large, 35 others (plus 1 purge) = 36
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2020 - 14 large, 24 challenge, 6 others = 44

So I ended the year with 8 mores WIPs than I started with. I'm OK with that; like I said, no regrets.

Now for the lists of those projects in the above stats:

LARGE WIPs (mostly inactive but never say never)
1) Mythical Dragon (True Colors)
2) QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
3) SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
4) QS Come Softly (HAED)
5) Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
6) Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)

7) Mini One (HAED)

8) Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
9) OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
10) Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
11) Magnolia (not yet blogged)
12) Tribal Dragon (Thread Geeks)
13) NEW Hogwarts In A Bottle
14) NEW Kings and Queens

CHALLENGE WIPs FROM JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
1) Friends For Life
2) Feline Groovy
3) Loves Me ... Love Me Not
4) Daisy Hugs
5) Book Worm

6) Carefree Summer

7) A Tatty Friend

8) Dandelion Time

9) Flower Power

10) All Aboard The Walnut Shells

11) Christmas Wishes

12) Daisy Umbrella

13) Cuddly Feline Friends

14) Choc-A-Holic

15) I Love Butter

16) Good Morning Nelson

17) Winter Hugs

18) Lickle Snooze

19) A Windy Day
20) Little Green
21) Start Trek TOS
22) Clue
23) Evil Minions
24) Pandas

2019 NEW STARTS (excluding large)
1) January Birthstone - FINISHED
2) A Very Merry Winter - FINISHED
3) Parrot On Parade - FINISHED
4) Green Halloween Banner - FINISHED

5) February Birthstone - FINISHED
6) Green Dragon - FINISHED
7) March Birthstone - FINISHED

8) Purple Dragon - FINISHED
9) April Birthstone - FINISHED

10) A Very Merry Spring - FINISHED
11) May Birthstone - FINISHED
12) Kookaburra - FINISHED
13) June Birthstone - FINISHED
14) Parrot 1 - FINISHED
15) July Birthstone - FINISHED
16) Christmas Cat Yawning - FINISHED
17) Snow Globe Tree
18) Winter Bird - FINISHED
19) August Birthstone - FINISHED
20) Autumn Twirls - FINISHED
21) Autumn Bird - FINISHED
22) Scaredy Cats - FINISHED
23) A Little Witch Of The Night
24) A Little Wizard Of The Night
25) Christmas Cat With Present
26) September Birthstone - FINISHED
27) Blue Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
28) Chandelier - FINISHED
29) October Birthstone - FINISHED
30) RIP Halloween Hootie - FINISHED
31) Trick Or Treat - FINISHED
32) Bird Candelabra - FINISHED
33) Boo! - FINISHED
34) Candelabra - FINISHED
35) Hocus Pocus - FINISHED
36) Haunted Library (on perforated paper) - PURGED
37) Haunted Library (on aida)
38) November Birthstone - FINISHED
39) Happy Christmas - FINISHED
40) December Birthstone - FINISHED
41) Ho ho ho - FINISHED
42) Grow Your Own


As for my Box of Shame, I started the year with 18 pieces, added 35 more, fully finished off 28, so have ended the year with 25 pieces; lots of projects for FFOing in 2020 then!

So, here's what was and/or still is in my Box Of Shame:

BOX OF SHAME PIECES
1) Cookie and Cream - FINISHED
2) French Country Witch - FINISHED
3) Humerous Alphabet - FINISHED
4) Snowman - FINISHED
5) January Calendar
6) February Calendar
7) March Calendar
8) April Calendar
9) May Calendar
10) June Calendar
11) July Calendar
12) August Calendar
13) September Calendar
14) October Calendar
15) November Calendar
16) December Calendar

17) Spotted Owls
18) Midnight Manor
19) NEW January Birthstone - FINISHED

20) NEW A Very Merry Winter - FINISHED

21) NEW February Birthstone - FINISHED

22) NEW Purple Dragon - FINISHED
23) NEW March Birthstone - FINISHED
24) NEW Green Dragon - FINISHED
25) NEW April Birthstone - FINISHED
26) NEW A Very Merry Spring - FINISHED
27) NEW Parrot On Parade
28) NEW May Birthstone - FINISHED
29) NEW Kookaburra - FINISHED
30) NEW June Birthstone - FINISHED
31) NEW Eastern Rosella - FINISHED
32) NEW July Birthstone - FINISHED

33) NEW Christmas Cat Yawning

34) NEW August Birthstone - FINISHED
35) NEW Autumn Twirls - FINISHED
36) NEW Green Halloween Banner
37) NEW Autumn Bird - FINISHED
38) NEW Scaredy Cats - FINISHED
39) NEW September Birthstone - FINISHED
40) NEW Blue Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
41) NEW Winter Bird - FINISHED
42) NEW October Birthstone - FINISHED
43) NEW RIP Halloween Hootie - FINISHED
44) NEW Chandelier
45) NEW Trick Or Treat
46) NEW November Birthstone - FINISHED
47) NEW Bird Candelabra

48) NEW Happy Christmas
49) NEW Boo!

50) NEW Candelabra
51) NEW December Birthstone - FINISHED
52) NEW Ho Ho Ho
53) NEW Hocus Pocus


Finally, I stitched for a total of 608 hours during the year (which is at least 125 hours more than in both 2017 and 2018) averaging out at 1h 40m per day. I count myself very lucky indeed.

Tomorrow I'll reveal my 2020 plans... and they're BIG!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2018 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

So, here we are at the end of another year and time again for me to look back on my stitching and finishing over the last twelve months. It's the same boring format as previous years and mostly for my benefit, but for those of you who like lists, this is for you too!

I began the year planning to start and finish 12 pieces for the Smalls SAL, work on and finish 12 Challenge WIPs from 2015/2016 and possibly start (and finish) up to 6 new projects.

So, how did I do? Well, I finished 13/12 Smalls SAL pieces, finished 12/12 Challenge WIPs, and started and finished 4/6 of my planned new starts. I also treated myself to an unplanned new start on Christmas Day. So all in all, it was a very successful year!

Which means my statistics now appear like this:

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2017 - 14 large, 36 challenge = 50
Plus number of new starts -  1 large, 13 smalls SAL, 4 others = 18
Less number of finishes - 3 large (purged), 12 challenge, 13 smalls SAL, 4 others = 32
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2019 - 12 large, 24 challenge = 36

Now comes the really boring bit (if you're not bored already!) .....

Here are the lists of projects which make up those statistics:

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Mythical Dragon (True Colors)
2)  Rainbow Angel (White willow Stitching) - PURGED
3)  QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
4)  SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
5)  QS Come Softly (HAED)
6)  Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
7)  Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)

8)  QS Fairy With Butterfly Mask (HAED) - PURGED

9)  Mini One (HAED)
10)  Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
11)  OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
12)  Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
13)  Scarlet Macaw Preening (Shinysun) - PURGED
14)  Magnolia (not yet blogged)

JANUARY/FEBRUARY CHALLENGE 2015 WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Friends For Life
2)  Feline Groovy
3)  Loves Me ... Love Me Not
4)  Daisy Hugs
5)  Book Worm

6)  Carefree Summer

7)  A Tatty Friend

8)  Dandelion Time

9)  Flower Power

10)  All Aboard The Walnut Shells

11)  Christmas Wishes

12)  Daisy Umbrella

13)  Cuddly Feline Friends

14)  Choc-A-Holic

15)  I Love Butter

16)  Good Morning Nelson

17)  Winter Hugs

18)  Lickle Snooze

19)  A Windy Day
20)  Little Green
21)  Spring - FINISHED
22)  Start Trek TOS
23)  Summer - FINISHED
24)  Canal Crossing - FINISHED
25)  Hufflepuff Crest - FINISHED
26)  Clue
27)  Sugar - FINISHED
28)  Pretty Little Paris - FINISHED
29)  Evil Minions
30)  Spotted Owls - FINISHED
31)  Winter - FINISHED
32)  Tea - FINISHED
33)  Pandas

JANUARY CHALLENGE 2016 WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Summer Alphabet - FINISHED
2)  Spring Alphabet - FINISHED
3)  Winter Alphabet - FINISHED

NEW STARTS 2018 - SMALLS SAL
1)  Raspberry - FINISHED
2)  Gouldian Finch - FINISHED
3)  Pear - FINISHED
4)  Cute Little Cockatiel - FINISHED
5)  Yellow Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
6)  Dolphin With Cocktail - FINISHED
7)  Christmas Cat On Branch - FINISHED
8)  Tweeties - FINISHED
9)  Pineapple - FINISHED
10)  Purple Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
11)  Banana - FINISHED
12)  Christmas Cat Hanging From Branch - FINISHED
13)  Mr Rush - FINISHED

NEW STARTS 2018 - LARGE
1) Tribal Dragon

NEW STARTS 2018 - OTHERS
1)  Haunted House Bell Pull - FINISHED
2)  French Country Snow Globe - FINISHED
3)  A Shower - FINISHED
4)  Midnight Manor - FINISHED

I may still have a lot of  projects left to finish but am very happy that it's 14 less than I started the year with.


As for my Box of Shame, I started the year with 52 pieces in it, added 29 more, fully finished off 63, so have therefore ended the year with 18 pieces remaining. I had a massive fit of fully-finishing-off at the beginning of the year and have mostly kept up-to-date since. Only a few (if you can call 18 a few!) pieces remain to completely empty the box.

So, here's another boring list of the the projects which were in, were added to and/or are still in my Box Of Shame (and again this is mainly for my benefit). Even if you don't read it all, look at all those FINISHEDs as you scroll down. Boy, am I proud!

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  January Stamp - FINISHED
2)  February Stamp - FINISHED
3)  March Stamp - FINISHED
4)  April Stamp - FINISHED
5)  May Stamp - FINISHED
6)  June Stamp - FINISHED
7)  Autumn - FINISHED
8)  July Stamp - FINISHED
9)  Cookie and Cream
10)  August Stamp - FINISHED
11)  September Stamp - FINISHED
12)  October Stamp - FINISHED
13)  November Stamp - FINISHED
14)  December Stamp - FINISHED
15)  French Country Witch
16)  Humerous Alphabet
17)  Summer Bird - FINISHED
18)  Ghost - FINISHED
19)  Halloween - FINISHED
20)  Halloween Cauldron - FINISHED
21)  Witches Hat - FINISHED
22)  Autumn Alphabet - FINISHED
23)  Penguin - FINISHED
24)  Snowman
25)  Woolly-Hatted Snowman - FINISHED
26)  Black-Hatted Snowman - FINISHED
27)  Santa - FINISHED
28)  January Calendar
29)  Polar Bear - FINISHED
30)  Bear - FINISHED
31)  February Calendar
32)  Spring Bird - FINISHED
33)  Coffee - FINISHED
34)  March Calendar
35)  Milk Train - FINISHED
36)  April Calendar
37)  May Calendar
38)  Dreaming of Dolphins - FINISHED
39)  Gryffindor - FINISHED
40)  June Calendar
41)  July Calendar
42)  Cream - FINISHED
43)  Birds With Umbrella - FINISHED
44)  August Calendar
45)  The Lock - FINISHED
46)  September Calendar
47)  Red Foxes - FINISHED
48)  October Calendar
49)  Pretty Little London - FINISHED
50)  November Calendar
51)  Slytherin - FINISHED
52)  December Calendar

BOX OF SHAME PIECES ADDED 2018
1)  Raspberry - FINISHED
2)  Winter - FINISHED
3)  Gouldian Finch - FINISHED
4)  Spring - FINISHED
5)  Pear - FINISHED
6)  Spring Alphabet - FINISHED
7)  Cute Little Cockatiel - FINISHED
8)  Canal Crossing - FINISHED
9)  Yellow Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
10)  Spotted Owls
11)  Dolphin With Cocktail - FINISHED
12)  Sugar - FINISHED
13)  Christmas Cat On Branch - FINISHED
14)  Summer Alphabet - FINISHED
15)  Tweeties - FINISHED
16)  Summer - FINISHED
17)  Haunted House Bell Pull - FINISHED
18)  Pineapple - FINISHED
19)  Tea - FINISHED
20)  French Country Snow Globe - FINISHED
21)  Purple Patchwork Hootie - FINISHED
22)  Pretty Little Paris - FINISHED
23)  A Shower - FINISHED
24)  Banana - FINISHED
25)  Winter Alphabet - FINISHED
26)  Christmas Cat Hanging - FINISHED

27)  Hufflepuff - FINISHED

28)  Midnight Manor
29)  Mr Rush - FINISHED

So there we are... boring lists over!

During the year I stitched for a total of 479 hours, almost the same as last year but w-a-y down on the 809 and 691 hours from 2015 and 2016 respectively. But I'm not complaining, it's simply life coming first. Anyway, the fact I am able to stitch every day is satisfying in itself.

As for my stitching plans for 2019... all will be revealed tomorrow!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

2017 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

So, here we are at the end of another year and time again for me to look back on my stitching (and finishing) over the last twelve months. It's the same boring format as last year and mostly for my benefit, but for those of you who like lists, this is for you too!

I began the year planning to start and finish 12 pieces for the Smalls SAL, work on and finish 12 Challenge WIPs from 2015/2016 and possibly start (and finish) up to 6 new projects.

So, how did I do? Well, I finished the 12 Smalls SAL pieces, finished 11/12 Challenge WIPs and out of my potential new starts I started 3 and finished 3. (I did, however, start a new large-ish project which I have barely worked on and not yet blogged about). So, all in all, a very successful year!

So my statistics now appear like this::

Number of WIPs brought forward from 2016 - 5 suspended, 8 large, 47 challenge = 60
Plus number of new starts - 1 large, 12 smalls SAL, 3 others = 16
Less number of finishes - 11 challenge, 12 smalls SAL, 3 others = 26
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2018 - 5 suspended, 9 large, 36 challenge = 50

Now comes the really boring bit.....

Here are the lists of projects which make up the statistics at the top of the page:

SUSPENDED LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Mythical Dragon (True Colors)
2)  Rainbow Angel (White willow Stitching) - really tempted to throw this away
3)  QS Emerald Dragon (HAED)
4)  SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED)
5)  QS Fairy With Butterfly Mask (HAED) - tempted to throw this away too

LARGE WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  QS Come Softly (HAED)
2)  Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
3)  Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)
4)  Mini One (HAED)
5)  Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
6)  OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)
7)  Dragon Eye (not yet blogged)
8)  Scarlet Macaw Preening (Shinysun)

JANUARY/FEBRUARY CHALLENGE 2015 WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Friends For Life
2)  Feline Groovy
3)  Loves Me ... Love Me Not
4)  Daisy Hugs
5)  Dreaming Of Dolphins - FINISHED
6)  Book Worm

7)  Carefree Summer

8)  A Tatty Friend

9)  Dandelion Time

10)  Flower Power

11)  All Aboard The Walnut Shells

12)  Christmas Wishes

13)  Daisy Umbrella

14)  Cuddly Feline Friends

15)  Choc-A-Holic

16)  I Love Butter

17)  Good Morning Nelson

18)  Winter Hugs

19)  Lickle Snooze

20)  A Windy Day
21)  Little Green
22)  Spring
23)  Coffee - FINISHED
24)  Gryffindor Crest - FINISHED
25)  Pretty Little London - FINISHED
26)  Start Trek TOS
27)  Summer
28)  Cream - FINISHED
29)  Canal Crossing
30)  Hufflepuff Crest
31)  Clue
32)  Red Foxes - FINISHED
33)  Sugar
34)  The Lock - FINISHED
35)  Pretty Little Paris
36)  Evil Minions
37)  Spotted Owls
38)  Winter
39)  Tea
40)  The Milk Train - FINISHED
41)  Slytherin Crest - FINISHED
42)  Pandas

JANUARY CHALLENGE 2016 WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  Summer Alphabet
2)  Spring Alphabet
3)  Winter Alphabet
4)  Polar Bear - FINISHED
5)  Bear - FINISHED

NEW STARTS - LARGE
1)  Magnolia

NEW STARTS 2017 - SMALLS SAL
1)  January Calendar - FINISHED
2)  February Calendar - FINISHED
3)  March Calendar - FINISHED
4)  April Calendar - FINISHED
5)  May Calendar - FINISHED
6)  June Calendar - FINISHED
7)  July Calendar - FINISHED
8)  August Calendar - FINISHED
9)  September Calendar - FINISHED
10)  October Calendar - FINISHED
11)  November Calendar - FINISHED
12)  December Calendar - FINISHED

NEW STARTS 2017 - OTHERS
1)  Cats In Love - FINISHED
2)  Summer Bird - FINISHED
3)  Birds With Umbrella - FINISHED

I may still have a lot of  projects left to finish but am happy that it's 10 less than I started the year with and now exactly 50. That's a nice figure to start from next year.


As for my Box of Shame, I started the year with 58 pieces in it, added 26 more, fully finished off 32, so have therefore ended the year with 52 pieces remaining. Yay, it's been reduced by... 6 pieces (but only because I've counted the calendar as 12 finishes instead of one in case I decide to cut it up!) Yes, lots of pieces were framed whilst the ornaments were completely ignored, but it's still an achievement, if only a very small one! At least making the ornaments will be less expensive than the framing (although more time-consuming) when I eventually get around to them!

Here's another boring list of the the projects which were or still are in my Box of Shame (and again this is mainly for my benefit):

BOX OF SHAME PIECES BROUGHT FORWARD
1)  January Stamp
2)  February Stamp
3)  Waterlogged - FINISHED
4)  Puddle Duck - FINISHED
5)  March Stamp
6)  April Stamp
7)  May Stamp
8)  June Stamp
9)  Autumn
10)  July Stamp
11)  Cookie and Cream
12)  August Stamp
13)  September Stamp
14)  October Stamp
15)  Winter Owl - FINISHED
16)  November Stamp
17)  December Stamp
18)  April Showers - FINISHED
19)  Ride A Bike - FINISHED
20)  French Country Witch
21)  Sleepy Book - FINISHED
22)  Cantankerous - FINISHED
23)  Sally Squirrel - FINISHED
24)  Bert Badger - FINISHED
25)  Balloon - FINISHED
26)  Keep Our Air Clean - FINISHED
27)  Save Water - FINISHED
28)  Plant A Tree - FINISHED
29)  Be Kind To Animals - FINISHED
30)  Humerous Alphabet
31)  Summer Bird
32)  Friends Forever - FINISHED
33)  Ghost
34)  Halloween
35)  Frankie Hedgehog - FINISHED
36)  Toby Fox - FINISHED
37)  Seahorse Critter - FINISHED
38)  Dolphin Critter - FINISHED
39)  Playful Puss 3 - FINISHED
40)  Playful Puss 4 - FINISHED
41)  Contentious - FINISHED
42)  Mini Midnight Manor - FINISHED
43)  Eat Locally - FINISHED
44)  October Fairy - FINISHED
45)  Halloween Cauldron
46)  Molly Mouse - FINISHED
47)  Ollie Owl - FINISHED
48)  Witches Hat
49)  Let's Eat Dessert - FINISHED
50)  Autumn Alphabet
51)  Penguin
52)  Snowman
53)  Woolly-Hatted Snowman
54)  Mr Daydream - FINISHED
55)  Black-Hatted Snowman
56)  Santa
57)  Mr Jelly - FINISHED
58)  Mr Happy - FINISHED

BOX OF SHAME PIECES ADDED 2017
1)  January Calendar
2)  Polar Bear
3)  Bear
4)  Cats In Love - FINISHED
5)  February Calendar
6)  Spring Bird
7)  Coffee
8)  March Calendar
9)  Milk Train
10)  April Calendar
11)  May Calendar
12)  Dreaming of Dolphins
13)  Gryffindor
14)  June Calendar
15)  July Calendar
16)  Cream
17)  Birds With Umbrella
18)  August Calendar
19)  The Lock
20)  September Calendar
21)  Red Foxes
22)  October Calendar
23)  Pretty Little London
24)  November Calendar
25)  Slytherin
26)  December Calendar

So there we are... boring lists over!

During the year I stitched for a total of 472 hours, well down on the 703 hours I managed in 2016. However, I did stitch every single day (admittedly a lot of them for only five minutes towards the end of the year) so am really happy with that.

I'll reveal my 2018 stitching plans tomorrow.

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x