Autumnal Baby Dragon - finished!

And hello again!

I was hoping to squeeze another finish into February, and only failed by two days because of waiting for a delivery of beads. But with MM in full flow, I forgot to post this finish so here it is now!

This is Autumnal Baby Dragon (did you guess from 🍁👶🐉?!) the first of the 17 projects started for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Stitching Challenge. Here's my start from that day:

Between October and December last year, when I was stitching for only 5-10 minutes per day, this was the project I worked on every one of those days. It may have only been a few stitches but 5-10 minutes each day all added up, meaning by the end of the year I'd achieved this much:

That left just a little bit of stitching, all the backstitching and some french knots (aka beads) to add. So now they're done, here's the finished piece:

Autumnal Baby Dragon by PatternsBySAstitch (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Tea Stain over-dyed aida

Started - 23rd July 2021

Finished - 2nd March 2023

Total stitching time - 23 hours 10 minutes

I don't 'love' the beads but, to me, they are far better than suffering the pain of french knots! I do, however, love the whole design, especially as it combines two of my favourite things - dragons and autumn.

That's now eight WIPs whipped so far this year; 2023 is definitely off to a good start!

Take care,

Rachel x

Tokyo Olympics New Start #1 - Autumnal Baby Dragon

Helloooo!

So the Tokyo 2020 Olympics are finally here, and that means not only can I be an armchair athlete for the next 17 days (as much as life allows) but I can also start 17 new projects to accompany my 'participation'.

I love the Olympics, and always have; it's an opportunity to watch the best of the best and see how the world can forget its differences by coming together under the flag of sport. The opening ceremony, I thought, was very respectful to the current situation, and it was lovely to see and hear essential key workers being thanked for their role in tackling the pandemic. My favourite part of the opening ceremony was the live performance of the pictograms. Some choreography to get that right!

I chose my 17 Olympic projects ages ago and decided to stitch them in alphabetical order.

So here's start number one, which just happens to incorporate three of my favourite things... autumnal colours, a dragon and cuteness!

Autumnal Baby Dragon by PatternsBySAstitch (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Tea Stain over-dyed aida

Stitch count 65 wide by 45 high

Started - 23rd July 2021

Stitching time to date - 3 hours 50 minutes

I decided to stitch this one colour at a time to avoid constantly changing threads whilst being distracted by the opening ceremony. I think the bit I've done so far clearly identifies the outlines of the wings and tail.

Fun Olympic Fact

Because the number eight is lucky in China, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Games in 2008 commenced at 8 o'clock on the 8th day of the 8th month (wonder why it wasn't also 8 minutes past the hour?!)

Back tomorrow with start number 2 and another Fun Olympic Fact.

Take care,

Rachel x