Moonset Ornaments 1, 2, 3 and 4 all finished (possibly!)

Good morning one and all!

For Naughty November I started four new projects, all of which were fairly small and all of which I hoped to finish during the month.

Well, I didn't quite manage it, but wasn't far off; just one day off in fact, finishing the final design on 1st December.

As is usual for my WBTW projects, I made a few small changes...

 - the lighter parts of the moon in all four were stitched using a blend of 762 and C415, and the darker parts using 168 and C318.

 - the Gates and Lamppost have had one strand of normal 3799 replaced with C3799.

 - the Cenotaph and Cross were stitched with the brighter 167, 738, 3823 and 3865 instead of the muted 840, 841, 842 and 3866 respectively.

Other than that, they are stitched as charted!

Ornament 1

Hmmm... compared to the cover picture above, the black cats are a bit lost in the shadows. I'm thinking of frogging the shadows and either stitching them in one strand or subbing for a lighter grey than 3799.

Ornament 1 'Gate' from Moonset by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Started - 4th November 2023

Finished - 27th November 2023

Total stitching time - 21 hours

Ornament 2

Even taking into account perspective, this seems a little out of proportion to me... that's one big owl! But at least the Cenotaph doesn't (quite) look like a skyscraper anymore!

Ornament 2 'Cenotaph' from Moonset by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Started - 11th November 2023

Finished - 28th November 2023

Total stitching time - 15 hours 5 minutes

Ornament 3

I really love the detail of the cross on this one but, again, the owl looks a little too big.

Ornament 3 'Cross' from Moonset by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Started - 18th November 2023

Finished - 30th November 2023

Total stitching time - 10 hours 50 minutes

Ornament 4

Although this is as charted, I think the lamppost needs a base. It's artistic, but looks incomplete. I should have enough spare fabric for another 10 or so rows, so maybe this one isn't complete after all! It's nice to have a little bit of colour though.

Ornament 4 'Lamppost' from Moonrise by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Started - 25th November 2023

Finished - 1st December 2023

Total stitching time - 5 hours 55 minutes

So that's all four of my Naughty November starts finished, unless I change the shadows and /or extend the lamppost. It's also another four pieces added to my Box Of Shame; if I don't get FFOing soon, I'll need a bigger box!

Time to focus on Christmas stitching now and, if I'm lucky, another finish.

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #4 - Moonset Ornament 4

Good morning everyone!

We've just had the last weekend of November, and therefore my last new start of this mini new start binge.

This is 'Lamppost', the second from the left and smallest of the four:

And because it's quite small, my start over the weekend looks close to a finish; just the lamplight, the birds and a bit of the moon to stitch. One or two more evenings should do it:

Moonset Ornament 4 'Lamppost' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 3 hours 55 minutes

So now the race is on to see if I can finish all four before November ticks over into December. I don't think I'll quite do it but I won't be far off. Keep an eye out for the quadruple Happy Dance post!

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #3 - Moonset Ornament 3

Good morning everyone!

Gosh, week 3 and half way through Naughty November already. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun!!

So this weekend saw the start of the third Moonset ornament, 'Cross', the one on the left:

Not such a good start but that's OK, especially as this ornie's about half the size of the previous two:

Moonset Ornament 3 'Cross' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 55 minutes

Like last week's ornie, I have added Etoile to the moon and, when I get there, will be subbing the muted colours of the cross for the brighter ones.

Final new start next weekend!

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #2 - Moonset Ornament 2

Hello everyone!

It's week 2 of Naughty November 2023, a very naughty mini new start binge.

Last week I made a good start on 'Gate', and continued with progress during the week. But on Saturday I put that one down in order to start the second ornament - Cenotaph - the ornie on the right. How apt that it should be the Cenotaph for Remembrance Day.

Taking Saturday as a self-care day, here's my really good start over the weekend:

Moonset Ornament 2 'Cenotaph' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 6 hours 50 minutes

For this one, I subbed the colours of the cenotaph to match those of the previous WBTW designs I've stitched. Admittedly they are a lot less subtle, which is probably a mistake for that haunting effect, but I prefer these colours (although do admit the Cenotaph looks a bit like a skyscraper at the moment!)

With a fair amount already done, it's quite possible this could be a finish before next weekend... who knows?

Take care,

Rachel x

Naughty November New Start #1 - Moonset Ornament 1

Hello everyone!

Shhh. No, I just couldn't resist the lure of Naughty November, a mini new start binge I have been trying to do for a few years.

The idea of Naughty November is to start a small-ish project during each of the four weekends of the month, with the aim of also finishing them during the month, or soon after - hence the emphasis on 'small-ish'.

I know you'll think I'm mad for starting four new projects when I need to catch up on a lot of things, and you're right! Realistically, me resisting the lure of a new start... or four... was never going to happen.

I couldn't do NN last year, but in 2021 I stitched the four designs from the Moonrise leaflet by Whispered By The Wind. Remember these?

This year I am hoping to complete the four designs from the accompanying Moonset leaflet:

As with my other Whispered By The Wind designs, I am adding Etoile to the moons and gates for a little bit of sparkle. 

I've chosen to work from largest to smallest, naming them Gate, Cenotaph, Cross and Lamppost. Here's my weekend start on Gate, the second from the right:

Moonset Ornament 1 'Gate' by Whispered By The Wind

Stitched on 32ct Vintage Dark Grey Murano

Stitching time to date - 4 hours 30 minutes

Not a bad start. Wonder how far I'll get before starting number two next weekend?

Take care,

Rachel x