French Country Pumpkin - finished!

Morning all!

So my ability to concentrate on anything other than a small project hasn't returned yet, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as it means I've got another finish! I'd only spent 15 minutes on this one previously so it almost felt like a new start.

And here it is:

French Country Pumpkin by JBW Designs

Stitched on 16ct Lichen over-dyed aida with ThreadworX 10348 Pumpkin Spice

Started - 4th September 2021

Finished - 20th April 2022

Total stitching time - 6 hours 5 minutes

The thread's a brighter orange than in the photo, but that's the best I could do without the fabric looking wrong. And this time I'll leave you to find the hidden motifs.

This piece was start number 12/13 from last year's Summer Paralympics and has now become finish number 12/13. With that in mind, I think you might be able to guess where I'm (probably) heading next!

Take care,

Rachel x

French Country Squirrel - finished!

Hi all!

Since the end of the Winter Paralympics a month ago I just can't seem to focus on anything relating to stitching or blogging.

Instead of keeping up-to-date, I've fallen behind again. And instead of stitching on the things I should be stitching on, I've been jumping all over the place and choosing the project which most appeals to me that evening.

Which means I have an unplanned finish!

This little cutie was started for day 11 of last year's Tokyo Summer Olympics and was chosen simply because I didn't want to keep changing colours:

French Country Squirrel by JBW Designs

Stitched on 16ct Lichen over-dyed aida with ThreadworX 10771 Autumn

Started - 3rd September 2021

Finished - 9th April 2022

Total stitching time - 6 hours 45 minutes

I love these designs, trying to spot all of the little motifs hidden within - can you see a bird, an owl, a heart, a basket, an apple/pumpkin, a couple of squirrels and various nuts?

I have the perfect backing fabric to make him into a mini pillow so, hopefully, he won't spend too long in my Box Of Shame. It all depends on how focused I can be.

Take care,

Rachel x

French Country Butterfly - started and finished

Hi everyone,

During the last few months I have had to make a number of impromptu train journeys and occasionally stay away from home. Not wanting (very selfishly) to miss a day of stitching, I carried a small and easy project with me which I could pick up and continue without having to think about symbols and colours. The result is this:

French Country Butterfly by JBW Designs

Stitched on 16ct Rhododendron over-dyed aida

Stitch count 62 wide by 48 high

Started - 18th June 2021

Finished - 16th September 2021

Total stitching time 6 hours 55 minutes

The butterfly is stitched using ThreadworX 1094 Party Time variegated thread. I must admit, I'm very happy with the delicate result.

Take care,

Rachel x

Tokyo Paralympics New Start #12 - French Country Pumpkin

Hi all!

This is my penultimate start for the Tokyo Paralympics. I like these types of JBW Designs charts, not only because of their relative simplicity and the hidden icons, but because they stitch up fairly quickly and look fantastic in variegated threads. And what better colour thread to have for a pumpkin than Pumpkin Spice?

French Country Pumpkin by JBW Designs

Stitched on 16ct Lichen overdyed aida

Stitched with ThreadworX 10348 Pumpkin Spice

Started - 4th September 2021

Stitching time to date - 15 minutes

Unfortunately I didn't get to stitch much but, like some of the others, it means I've got more to look forward to when I return to it.

Top Paralympic Moment

It was my third day of seeing no Paralympic action, so my top moment has been picked from the headlines of the day again. And it goes to Omara Durand from Cuba who added the 200m gold medal to the golds she had already won in the 100m and 400m T12 category (high visual impairment, generally run with guides). I remember her reaction with her guide after winning the 100m so can only imagine how they must have reacted to her third gold. Their runner/guide relationship must be very special indeed.

Tomorrow's post will be my final start. It's similar, but different!

Take care,

Rachel x

Tokyo Paralympics New Start # 11 - French Country Squirrel

Hi again!

Something different today now that I have started all of the dragons I wanted to. This has been sitting on my to-do list for many years and now seemed an appropriate time to start it, given that it's another on which I wanted to use variegated thread:

French Country Squirrel by JBW Designs

Stitched on 16ct Lichen overdyed aida

Stitched with ThreadworX 10771 Autumn

Started - 3rd September 2021

Stitching time to date - 1 hour 10 minutes

I'm still away from home, but because I wasn't quite so tired I managed to make a fairly good start. From the bit I've stitched, at least it looks like a squirrel!

Top Paralympic Moment

Again, I saw no Paralympic action and, again, I noticed that world and Paralympic records have been tumbling in the pool, none more so than by Jessica Long. Jessica swims in the S8 category (amputations or cerebral palsy) and has now won 29 Paralympic Medals spanning five Paralympic Games. OK, she may have been only 12 when she made her Paralympic debut in 2004, but to stay at the top for 17 years is an achievement in itself! Here are her results:

Athens 2004 - 3 gold

Beijing 2008 - 4 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze

London 2012 - 5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze

Rio 2016 - 1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze

Tokyo 2020 - 3 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze

And there's no sign of her slowing!

My penultimate new start tomorrow, and another JBW Designs chart.

Take care,

Rachel x

JBW Advent Calendar - Days 24 and 25 (and complete calendar) finished!

Hi all!

This year I was hoping to stitch all of the 24 designs which make up JBW Designs' Advent Calendar.

And I have! I've now finished the final date, number 24, Santa, not that it's particularly clear being white on white...

Started - 14th August 2020

Finished - 2nd November 2020

Total stitching time - 2 hours 15 minutes

... along with an additional simple one for Christmas Day, because there were 25 buttons in the pack and I couldn't leave the last one out!

Started - 14th August 2020

Finished - 3rd November 2020

Total stitching time - 2 hours 35 minutes

Each one is supposed to have a special charm, but since they were very specific, and therefore expensive, I bought a variety of teeny ones and added one of them to each day instead. I also added beads to some of them (when I remembered!) for an additional bit of bling.

Here they all are together:

With hindsight, I wish I'd paid more attention to the thread colours and actually looked at them before I started stitching. I would have definitely cut out some of the colours and worked with a much smaller palette, but it's all done and too late now; in fact it was too late after I'd stitched the first half dozen or so!

Once these final two have been FFOd they'll all be ready for hanging on 1st December - yay!

Take care,

Rachel x

JBW Advent Calendar - Days 15, 17, 12, 14 and 18 finished!

Hello all!

This year I am hoping to stitch all of the 24 designs which make up JBW Designs' Advent Calendar.

On my previous Advent Calendar post, I'd finished 18 of the 24 designs. Now I've finished another five, making 23 in total. I ran out of time at the end of September to finish the final one so it will have to wait until November, since I want to dedicate October to as much Halloween-related stitching as possible.

Here are the five newest finishes:

Day 15 - bunny:

Started - 12th August 2020

Finished - 26th September 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 35 minutes

Day 17 - houses:

Started - 12th August 2020

Finished - 27th September 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 50 minutes

Day 12 - church:

Started - 13th August 2020

Finished - 29th September 2020

Total Stitching time - 2 hours 10 minutes

Day 14 - rocking horse:

Started - 13th August 2020

Finished - 30th September 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 25 minutes

Day 18 - sheep:

Started - 14th August 2020

Finished - 30th September 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 50 minutes

I made a couple of changes in that I didn't stitch the stripes behind the rocking horse (none of the other days have stripes) and the sheep is a very pale blue instead of the suggested white which wouldn't have shown up on the fabric. Well, there's a pink bunny so why not a blue sheep?!

I'm so looking forward to finishing the final one, and the additional one for Christmas Day itself, as soon as November appears.

Take care,
Rachel x

JBW Advent Calendar - Days 3, 13, 19, 20 and 8 finished!

Hello all!

This year I am hoping to stitch all of the 24 designs which make up JBW Designs' Advent Calendar.

So far I've stitched 13, and have now added another five to add to the collection:

Day 3 - Heart:

Started - 24th July 2020

Finished - 9th August 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 25 minutes

Day 13 - Dove:

Started - 5th August 2020

Finished - 9th August 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hours 30 minutes

Day 19 - Garland:

Started - 5th August 2020

Finished - 10th August 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 35 minutes

Day 20 - House:

Started - 5th August 2020

Finished - 15th August 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 50 minutes

Day 8 - Sleigh:

Started - 11th August 2020

Finished - 15th August 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 45 minutes

So that's 18 down and 6 to go. All of the remaining borders have been stitched and the numbers attached, so it's now just a case of filling in the motifs. I'm hoping to have them all finished by the end of September.

Take care,
Rachel x

JBW Advent Calendar - Days 2, 10, 22 and 23 finished!

Hello all!

This year I am hoping to stitch all of the 24 designs which make up JBW Designs' Advent Calendar.

At the end of June I squeezed in three borders and one finish, all of which appeared in the #24 post. Now I'm posting about them properly, as they're all finished!

Day 2 - Gifts:

 Started - 29th June 2020

Finished - 10th July 2020

Total Stitching time - 2 hours

Day 10 - Christmas Tree:

Started - 29th June 2020

Finished - 15th July 2020

Total Stitching time - 2 hours 10 minutes
(I'm thinking of swapping the gold beads for red beads as they would show up better)

Day 22 - Little Tree:

Started - 30th June 2020

Finished - 30th June 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 25 minutes
(the skinniest and saddest-looking tree I've ever seen!)

Day 23 - Birds:

Started - 30th June 2020

Finished - 13th July 2020

Total Stitching time - 1 hour 30 minutes
(why are they green???)

That means I've now finished 13 of the 24. Given that they are really quick projects, I don't think it will be too much of a problem to finish the others in plenty of time for December.

Take care,
Rachel x