Pretty Little Paris - finished and framed

Hello all!

So here we have this month's finish from Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy January February Challenge 2015. This is finish number 34 out of the 59 starts and is, of course, Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street.

At the end of September I had made this much progress:

And now with final additions of Sacre Coeur and the Montgolfier Balloon:

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street

Stitched on 16ct Apricot Sunset hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 111 wide by 104 high
Started - 19th February 2015
Finished - 9th October 2018
Total stitching time - 39 hours 15 minutes

And, continuing my fully-finishing-off streak, here it is framed. I really wanted a blue frame to bring out the Eiffel Tower but my usual frame supplier, easyframe.co.uk, didn't have the right shade, so I opted for the same as London - a 13mm red stain frame with non-reflective acrylic glazing.

Here are London and Paris together:

As it turned out, the two frames are slightly different in both colouring and texture, even though they are supposed to be the same. I guess, like most things, different batches are not exactly identical. Not that it bothers me; it was never my original intention to frame them as a matching pair anyway.

I really enjoyed stitching both Paris and London this year, watching landmarks take shape in weird in wonderful colours. It's no wonder the Pretty Little Cities are popular although, having said that, I haven't seen any around for a while.

I have a few others Pretty Little Cities I would like to stitch 'one day', the first of which will be  Toronto. But don't hold your breath waiting, I am fairly certain it will be quite some time before it makes an appearance!

Take care,
Rachel x

September Progress on 2015/2016 Challenge Pieces

Hello there!

Another month gone and another month of steady progress to show you on a couple of projects I started for Debbie's Challenges back in 2015/2016.

During September I finished and framed Tea from the Little Black Cat range (posted previously) and made progress on:

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street

started 19th February 2015; last worked on last month
finished the bridge and added the Arc de Triomph

Winter Alphabet by Lizzie Kate

started 26th January 2016; last worked on in March 2016
continued alphabetically, adding two more rows

In October I plan to finish Pretty Little Paris, make further progress on Winter Alphabet and bring the final Hogwarts House Crest, Hufflepuff, out to play. If all goes well, all three pieces will be finished by the end of the year.

Take care,

Rachel x

August Progress on 2015/2016 Challenge Pieces

Hello there!

So we're now 2/3rds of the way through the year and I'm slowly but surely keeping up with making progress on some of the pieces I started for Debbie's Challenges back in 2015 and 2016.

During August I finished Summer from The Four Season (posted previously) and made progress on:

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street
started 19th February 2015; last worked on last month
finished Notre Dame, added the trees on the left and started the bridge
(much better representation of fabric colour)

Little Black Cat - Tea by Heritage Crafts
started 23rd February 2015; last worked on in December 2016
filled in some of the background
(much better representation of fabric colour)

In September I plan to finish Tea, make more progress on Pretty Little Paris and bring the final Lizzie Kate Seasonal Alphabet out of its bag for some much needed attention. Fingers crossed.

Take care,

Rachel x

July Progress on 2015/2016 Challenge Pieces

Hello there!

Another month, another progress update on a couple of pieces I started for Debbies' Challenges back in 2015 and 2016.

July was another successful month, finishing Lizzie Kate's Summer Alphabet (posted previously) and working on:

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street
started 19th February 2015; last worked on last month
finished The Eiffel Tower, stitched The Pompidou Centre, The Louvre and a bit more of Notre Dame

Summer from The Four Seasons
started 8th February 2015; not worked on since then
worked down one colour at a time

The gaps I've left are because I've found a mistake on the chart! I don't know about you but this is quite rare to me. Here's the original chart and as you can see the gaps should be stitched in a creamy-peachy sort of colour.

But this is the colour given on the chart, which I have a slight inkling is not quite right!

Actually, I think it's a simple typo and it's supposed to be 3771 not 3371 but seeing as I rarely pick up my stitching until after 10pm it's not something I can correctly check in artificial light (even with a daylight bulb).

If I actually remember to check during natural daylight hours, Summer will be finished in August (which means that all four seasons will have been completed) Pretty Little Paris will grow some more and the final Little Black Cat will make an appearance.

Take care,

Rachel x

June Progress on 2015/2016 Challenge Pieces

Hello there!

Time for another progress update. Let's see how I did in June on those many WIPs I still have left from the projects I started back in January/February 2015 and January 2016.

During June I finished Sugar (posted previously) and made progress on:

Summer Alphabet by Lizzie Kate
started 12th January 2016; last worked on last month
continued alphabetically (gotta love the little pink fishy!)

Pretty Little Paris by Satsuma Street
started 19th February 2015; not touched since then
more of the Moulin Rouge as well as parts of Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower have appeared

So far this year I have kept up with my plans; very slowly but surely my Challenge pieces are being worked on and finished. Fingers crossed that will carry on during the second half of the year too.

Frustratingly, however, my stitching time has been down by about 1/3rd for the last three months so I've hardly worked on the Haunted House Bell Pull. Even if I don't make much progress on it in July I am determined it will be finished during August.

Take care,

Rachel x

DSDUCJFC 2015 - Day 50

Hello!

Yesterday's Harry Potter quiz seemed to be quite popular, producing 5 Gryffindors, 4 Ravenclaws and 1 Hufflepuff. No Slytherins I'm pleased to say - if anyone had been a Slytherin I probably would have blacklisted you from my blog!

This is the only other Pretty Little City I have in my collection (so far!) It's nice and bright and cheerful, unlike the wind and rain outside. I'm really, really, really looking forward to returning to this one.

Pretty Little Paris

From Satsuma Street (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Apricot Sunset hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

It's also the end of the voting for whether or not I should continue daily new starts into March. The result was 67% for continuing and 33% for calling it a day. I'm actually quite surprised by that. After much contemplation, deliberation and procrastination (ooh, big words!!) I have decided to...... tell you my decision tomorrow - ha, ha, ha!!!

Happy stitching
Crazy Rachel x

New Stash - well, it is my birthday!

Hello fellow bloggers!

I've been a very naughty girl and, as the title states, received some new stash for my birthday. Note I said received, not bought, as these were presents from my mum, daughter and son (bless 'em!). So all of the following, which I just had to share with you, can be justified, can't they?? Of course they can!!

Lizzie Kate 

Monthly Flip-It Stamps (2005)
Stitch counts 47 wide by 47 high

I've noticed a lot of stitchers do Lizzie Kate projects so had to look at the website to find out what all the fuss was about. I'm not into samplers but fell in love with their 2005 Flip-It Stamps set. They will definitely be one of my 2015 WIPs. No offence to all American bloggers out there, but I am going to substitute the November Thanksgiving design for fireworks as that's much more English!

Satsuma Street (etsy)

Pretty Little London and Pretty Little Paris
Stitch counts 123 wide by 110 high and 111 wide by 104 high

All of Satsuma Street's city designs as on my wish list but as London and Paris are the most relevant to me those are the ones I decided to ask for first. The unusual colours should make them fun to stitch.

FluffyFuzzyPatterns (etsy)

Owls In Love
Stitch count 250 wide by 152 high

Oh my goodness... how cute is this??? There are only three shades of grey in the whole design and lots of unstitched areas so it should be really easy to do! Gorgeous.

EvasDesignsBg (etsy)

Dragon Eye
Stitch count 180 wide by 135 high 

This is a fantastic representation of a dragon's eye and I immediately knew that it was hypnotizing me to 'buy me or else'! So I did! There are only 11 colours in this design so would be easy to convert to a different hue if I wanted. Hmm... thinks firey reds/oranges perhaps?

Rabnann (ebay)

Dolphin Ruins
Stitch count 223 wide by 288 high

This design not only jumped out at me when I saw it but has also jumped to the very top of my to-do list. I don't know how long I will be able to resist the temptation of a new start but I doubt it will be long! I love the underwater mysterious lost City of Atlantis effect and the rippling on the dolphins' backs and marble columns. I hope the stitched picture is true to its mock up. Oooh, my fingers are itching already!!!


So that's 17 more projects to add to my to do lists - but in my justification, most of them are small. Anyway, aren't birthdays and Christmases specifically made as a reason/excuse to further increase our stash piles?? Good. I'm glad you all agree!!

As always,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x