6 Box of Shame Finishes

Hello all!

I'm back with more Box of Shame finishes although, to be honest, it's really only one even though I've counted it as six! I started (and finished) these six Lizzie Kate Green Series charts last year as part of Debbie's January Challenge. They were quick and fun to do and I'm so glad they are no longer in my Box of Shame.

Lizzie Kate Green Series
This was a splurge frame which I actually bought last September. I spent a long time deliberating if this set was worth custom framing or if I should make them into ornaments. I decided that, as I would probably never get around to making ornaments, a frame was best. The muted greens and pinks of the fabric were quite hard to match to the available mounts but in the end I opted for a dark red inner mount and dark green outer mount surrounded by a mahogany frame and with non-reflective glazing. I'm absolutely delighted with the result even if it was extravagant for such small pieces.

Shame the photos don't do the pieces justice (the conservatory was too sunny!)

And individually:

I think I've done really well with my Box of Shame finishes so far this year but this one will probably be the last for a while. Apart from the set of six Woodland Folk animals, most of the remaining pieces are for making into ornaments and that is a task I am not overly keen about. I expect I'll keep putting them off and putting them off until one day I get the enthusiasm to start them and have an ornament marathon. Can't see it happening anytime soon though!!!

Take care,
Rachel x

Eat Locally - DUCJC 2016 Finish 17/31

Morning!

I have another finish from my myriad of January starts to show you:

This is how Eat Locally by Lizzie Kate looked after my meager 30 minute January start:

And it now looks like this:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 28th January 2016

Finished - 3rd September 2016

Total stitching time - 8 hours 45 minutes

(estimated 11 hours)

This now completes my stitching of this set of Lizzie Kate Green designs so all six are ready to be finish-finished. I spent a fair amount of time deciding how to finish them off and in the end opted to frame them. I have already ordered and received the frame so it's just a case of putting them in, which I plan to do today.

Happy stitching everyone,
Rachel x

Be Kind To Animals - DUCJC Finish 11/31

Hello all!

Here's another finish from the Lizzie Kate Green series. It's number four of the five I had outstanding at the beginning of the month and went from this:

...... to this:

Lizzie Kate
Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 25th January 2016

Finished 24th March 2016

Total stitching time 6 hours 55 minutes

(estimated 11 hours)

In the back of my mind I was hoping to finish all five this month but with only a week of March left and a few busy days planned over Easter this is unlikely to happen. Nevermind, it'll get finished later in the year.

I'll be back at the end of March not only with my usual WIP round-up but also some rather exciting news about a project which has been a weight around my neck for two years!

Until then, happy stitching. :)
Rachel x

Plant A Tree - DUCJC Finish 10/31

Morning!

A short and sweet post this morning just to show another finish in the LK Green series. You must be bored with seeing these but I did say March was going to be a LK month!

This is how it looked after my January start:

And completed it now looks like this:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 8th January 2016

Finished - 14th March 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours

(estimated 11 hours)

Another easy but enjoyable stitch, and one which means I'm now 1/3rd of the way through completing my January starts (although I have chosen to stitch the smaller pieces first!) Now to work on another one. Don't worry, only two more to go!

Happy stitching everyone,
Rachel x

Save Water - DUCJC 2016 Finish 9/31

Hello all!

On behalf of a very happy Angela, who has now received her gift certificates, I would like to thank you all for the congratulatory comments you left regarding her win on my blogoversary giveaway. You were very magnanimous in defeat and, like I said, please come back next year and try again!

The reason for this post today is self-explanatory by the title - I have another finish to show you. This is the second LK Green chart I have completed this month and the third of six in the series.

After one day of stitching in January it looked like this:

And now it looks like this:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 13th January 2016

Finished - 12th March 2106

Total stitching time - 7 hours 45 minutes

(estimated 10 hours)

Once again I overestimated how long it would take to stitch, which is really satisfying and an encouraging feeling for stitching the others.

I have been asked how the set are going to be finished and, to be honest, I don't know. Originally I had a multi-aperture mount in mind but now think I'll make them into some sort of hanging such as bunting. I'll have to browse the good old www for inspiration.

But for now it's back to the grindstone of stitching - the next LK is on my frame and I'm raring to go!

Oh, and an apology..... I am almost a week behind with my blog reading and commenting. I'll try to catch up with you all over the weekend.

Take care,
Rachel x

Keep Our Air Clean - DUCJC 2016 Finish 8/31

Hello fellow bloggers!

Thank you for your comments regarding my second blogoversary and your entries into the giveaway. It's interesting to see which goodies some of you would buy with a voucher.

Second, on my quest to finish all 31 January starts during 2016 here's my latest finish. It's Keep Our Air Clean (obviously!) and was another fun and easy stitch. Here's how I left it in January:

And here it is now:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 21st January 2016

Finished - 2nd March 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 5 minutes

(estimated 11 hours)

I substituted the lighter leaf green from 580 to 731 as the original colours were too close to each other to distinguish the leaves from the veins. To be honest, in a design like this you could do a lot of substituting and it wouldn't really matter.

I'm going to continue with my month of Lizzie Kates and aim for another finish next week.

Don't forget, there's still plenty of time if you wish to enter the giveaway on my previous post for a chance to win a £10 / US$15 voucher for the store of your choice. Just follow the guidelines and keep your fingers crossed!

Back soon I expect!
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 28 - Eat Locally

Hello again!

So, here we have the last of Lizzie Kate's Green series, challenging us to be more environmentally friendly. Stitching-wise this was the least I have achieved in one day for a long time but was still enough for a visible start:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 30 minutes

Remember on Ride A Bike I mentioned it looked like the greens might have been listed incorrectly or swapped around on the girl's jumper? Well, I'm more convinced that that is now the case as I definitely used the correct colours for the leek yet they are the opposite to those on the picture again.

I've checked the LK website for errata and there aren't any listed for this Green Series (although I'm actually surprised at how many there are for other charts). It's a bit annoying but I think some frogging and substituting might be called for otherwise the sweetcorn and pea are going to look wrong. Take heed if you are thinking of stitching this series.

Tomorrow we have another Christmas Pals Ornament who would feel right at home on the east coast of America right now!

See you then,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 25 - Be Kind To Animals

Morning all!

Thank you for all of your support yesterday agreeing that, occasionally, stitching should take precedence over housework. Note, I said OCCASIONALLY! It is not something I want to get in the habit of doing.

After my Ride A Bike marathon it's not surprising I didn't stitch as much today. But I still had a good go at burning the midnight oil and managed to achieve this much:

Lizzie Kate
Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 1 hour 15 minutes

I thought I'd be different and not start with the wording this time. I'm also going to be mindful of the greens when I come to stitching them!

For day 26 we have another gorgeous piece of fabric appropriate to the time of year (in the northern hemisphere anyway!)

Back tomorrow

Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 24 - Ride A Bike - FINISHED!!!!

Hello again!

Oh boy, look what happens when you stitch for almost half your waking hours..... you end up with not only a really good start on a project but a finish too!! This was totally unplanned and only occurred because the temptation of carrying on far outweighed the thought of housework. You know how it is... I'll just stitch the girl... I'll add the bike...I might as well do the border... I know the writing won't take too long... that just leaves the insects... oh look - it's finished!! I admit I was very naughty and now today have all that overdue housework to look forward to. But I don't care - I've finished a challenge piece!!!!

The environmental message is plain and simple, but unfortunately not very realistic given most road conditions. I don't know about where you live, but in my area riding a bike is not something I would want nor encourage my children to do. But, as I don't drive, my children and I are used to walking everywhere (within reason) so are just as environmentally friendly that way!

Anyway, here's the chart and my FINISH:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Started - 24th January 2016

Finished - 24th January 2016

Total stitching time - 7 hours 40 minutes

It looks like I've swapped the greens on the jumper round but I'm sure I haven't! Perhaps I made a mistake when bobbinating my threads or perhaps the conversion from WDW to DMC was not very accurate. Either way, I won't unpick and restitch it as I actually quite like the darker jumper.

For day 25 I've been asked to stitch another in this series. And after yesterday's marathon I've promised myself not to pick up my needle until bedtime. Let's see how long I can keep temptation at bay today!

See you tomorrow,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 21 - Keep Our Air Clean

Hello all!

Well, as we're nearing the downward stretch of this challenge it's inevitable that you are going to see some repetitive designs. This is the third of the Lizzie Kate Green series, with my progress looking like this:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 5 minutes

As usual I opted to stitch the easy words first!

No hint for tomorrow's design, but I will tell you it's on a rather gorgeous pink fabric.

See you then,
Rachel x

By the way, does anybody know what's happened to Tracy and Elegant Jewels of the Needle? Tracy used to stitch a lot of Mirabilia mermaids and ladies but I noticed that her blog has been deleted. Such a shame as her work was beautiful. :(

DUCJC 2016 - Day 13 - Save Water

Good morning!

Thanks again for your recent comments. I'm glad you're keeping up with me!

Today the children chose the second of the Lizzie Kate Green series for me to stitch. Here's how I got on:

Save Water by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 15 minutes

Obviously, I started with the easy bit first! In a way it's a shame I'm using DMC instead of WDW threads as the variegated writing really does look nice. Nevermind, I still like mine!

For tomorrow's piece, I was curious how long it would be before my son, Toby, chose it!

See you in 24 hours!
Rachel x


PS I have had a couple of questions and comments about how I am able to stitch for 2-3-4 hours each day. Here's my explanation:

Firstly, I only work a few hours each week, the rest of the time I look after my mum who lives with us and is more-or-less bed-ridden. She cross stitches small projects and sometimes during the day I will sit with her and work on a piece while we chat away about nothing in particular. She needs/enjoys the company and even though I have to put up with her ramblings I get the benefit of being able to stitch for a little while!

Secondly, depending on what the children are doing, I can often fit in an hour or so of stitching after dinner.

Thirdly, a couple of years ago I deliberately set about limiting my sleep to around 5 1/2 hours each night as I was fed up with always feeling tired and exhausted during the day despite having a good 7-8 hours' sleep. I now use that "spare" time from about 10pm to stitch, uninterrupted, for maybe 2-3 hours.

I don't feel guilty about how long I stitch for because I know it's not at the expense of family life or the usual daily chores. To me it's essential downtime from my sandwich-caring responsibilities. If you flip the coin though, I don't get to go on holiday. I may get a couple of weekend breaks each year but haven't had a decent holiday for over seven years! That's why I need cross stitching as an outlet to stop me going mad!

I hope that explains it. I'm just sorry that I cannot share some of my stitching hours with those of you who are desperate to stitch but just don't have the time. :(

DUCJC 2016 - Day 8 - Plant A Tree

Hello again,

Us crazy January starters are into the second week of the challenge already. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?! I'm also managing to keep up with blog reading, which hasn't happened for a long time so it's been a good 2016 for me so far!

Day 8's chosen piece was another Lizzie Kate called Plant a Tree from her Green series. You may have already seen this started by Mii Stitch a couple of days ago.

Here's my progress:

Plant A Tree by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 5 minutes

I made a good start, but then I did stitch the easier words and border first!

Tomorrow I shall definitely be in a bad mood again!

Back soon,

Rachel x