DUCJC 2016 - Day 2 - Sally Squirrel

Morning all!

Thank you for all of your lovely comments about Frankie Hedgehog yesterday. He was definitely a good project to start the year with.

Despite doing a Woodland Folk piece for day 1, the children chose another for me for day 2. So here is Sally Squirrel:

Sally Squirrel

DMC Woodland Folk

Stitched on 16ct Kelp over-dyed aida by Fabric Flair 2 over 1

Stitch count 55 wide by 54 high

Estimated stitching time 15 hours

Stitching time to date - 4 hours 10 minutes

I like this one - it's got big areas of the same colour! And stitching the butterfly first gave me the satisfaction of actually finishing part of the project. The remaining stitching was a bonus.

Something slightly different for tomorrow which the children think resembles me most of the time!

See you then,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 1 - Frankie Hedgehog

Hello all!

So, here we are, back to stitching madness and the first of 31 new starts which make up Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2016.

For the 1st January we have Frankie Hedgehog:

Frankie Hedgehog

DMC Woodland Folk

Stitched on 16ct Kelp over-dyed aida by Fabric Flair 2 over 1

Stitch count 52 wide by 52 high

Estimated stitching time 14 hours

Stitching time to date - 6 hours 30 minutes

The first stitches went in just a few minutes after midnight - nothing like getting out of the starting blocks quickly! And as there wasn't much else that desperately needed doing I could get away with stitching a lot during the day. What a naughty girl I am!

Back tomorrow.
Rachel x

Happy New Year and 2016 Stitching Plans

Good morning everybody!

It's one minute past midnight (UK time) so Happy New Year and welcome to 2016! I wish you all a happy and healthy year with lots of time to stitch lots of little x's. Thank you for joining me as I embark on yet another year of madness. Your company and comments are greatly appreciated!

So, are you ready for the first day of stitching action in 2016! I am raring to go, but before I put in my first stitch I thought I would outline my stitching plans for the year ahead.

1)  DEBBIE'S ULTIMATE CRAZY JANUARY CHALLENGE - 31 starts in 31 days

I am really looking forward to this Challenge again! Most of my new starts are fairly small so I should be able to finish a good portion of them during the next 12 months. I had originally planned their stitching order but have decided to copy Katie (Jeremiah's Mom) and ask my children to pick one at random each day. My OCD is shuddering at the thought!!

2)  SMALLS SAL - an ornament a month

I have joined the Smalls SAL run by Stitching Lotus in which we post a small finish towards the end of each month. My 12 pieces will be Christmas ornaments by either Lizzie Kate or Country Cottage Needleworks.

3)  APRIL'S A-Z CHALLENGE

I have a small project planned for this challenge with each letter being easily achievable each day. It's a silly little project I have had on my to-do list since about 1995!!

4)  NEW STARTS?

To say for definite "no more new starts" would be too restricting so in addition to the above I am allowing myself up to five small(ish) new starts providing they are "special" projects. I don't have to do them but the flexibility is there just in case I get really itchy fingers. Small gifts for exchanges or as presents do not count as they are not for me!

5)  DECREASE MY BOX OF SHAME / THE ORPHANAGE EACH MONTH

I have quite a collection of unfinished-finishes (Orphans) in my Box of Shame so would like to home an Orphan each month either by framing, scrap-stitching or making into an ornament. This is in addition to finishing any finishes I have during the year. Given my past record, this will be the plan on which I fail the most!

6)  STITCHING RETREATS
Hopefully there will be one, if not two, Stitching Retreats during 2016 where I can meet up with stitching buddies and enjoy a couple of short respite breaks from caring for my mother.

7)  OTHER PROJECTS

My larger projects were terribly neglected last year and even though I feel a bit guilty I'm not actually that bothered. If I get the chance during 2016 I would possibly like to stitch on:

a)  Mini One

b)  Mini The Owrd Lord
c)  Dolphin Ruins
d)  OMG Tigger Is Out
e)  Dragon Eye

8) TRY TO KEEP UP WITH BLOG READING AND COMMENTING
I've lost count of the number of times I have fallen behind with both of these and as you know, it's quite difficult to catch up. So this year I hope to be a better reader and commenter. I can't promise anything, but at least I can try!

And finally:

9)  SCARLET MACAW PREENING
The saga of this piece has been going on for nearly two years. I so desperately want to start and stitch him but feel I will never find the right background colours. The search is still on.....


So, there are my many and varied plans for the year. Wish me luck - I think I might need it!

If you are making plans for 2016 I wish you good luck in setting and keeping to them! I'll be here to encourage you along.  :)

So, let's go and find my first project then!

Back tomorrow!

Love and hugs :)
Rachel x

December Progress on DSDUCJFC 2015 Pieces

Good morning all!

Last post of 2016!

During November, I hardly stitched on my Challenge pieces so aimed to rectify that in December. After I had finished my LK Stamp for the month and a couple of small Christmas pieces I dove straight into my Challenge pieces and as well as finishing one piece, April Showers, made the following progress:

Friends For Life from 1st January

finished the clouds and stitched a little of the dog

Little Black Cat Tea from 23rd February

finished all but the background stitching

Little Black Cat Sugar from 16th February

stitched the cat (minus eyes) and continued with the sugar

Winter from 22nd February
finished the tree and stitched down to the horizon

I had intended to stitch on more pieces, but once I'd picked up April Showers I couldn't put it down so that took up most of my time.

I don't expect many of my remaining 43 Challenge pieces from 2015 will see much daylight in 2016, given that I will be starting another 31, but I really hope that's not the case. I still love and want to finish each and every one of them. I suppose I'll have to see where my mood takes me!

Tomorrow I'll be posting my stitching plans for 2016 - another long and boring post - then there will be daily posts from 2nd January with my 31 new starts. Hope you don't get bored of me!!

Keep stitching!
Rachel x

2015 End Of Year Summary

Hello all!

As we say goodbye to 2015 I thought I would look back and summarise my stitching for the year. This record is mostly for my benefit so some (most) of you will probably find this very, very boring.


Number of WIPs brought forward from 2014 - 11 (all large)
Plus number of new starts - 77 (59 challenge, 12 LK stamps, 4 gifts, 2 large)
Less number of finishes - 34 (17 challenge, 12 LK stamps, 4 gifts, 1 large)
Number of WIPs to carry forward into 2016 - 54 (42 challenge, 12 large (5 now suspended))


Hmm, I know that most of these WIPs carried forward are small(ish) pieces but I shall be adding between 44 and 49 to them in 2016 (31 challenge, 12 ornaments, 1 A-Z, 5 others) which could bring my potential number of WIPs up to 103! That figure doesn't scare me but I do realise my total WIPs could quite easily get out of hand (if you don't think it has already!!) so.....

..... I have already made an executive decision that if my number of WIPs (excluding large and suspended projects) by the end of 2016 is not less than 40 I shall not do the January Challenge in 2017. This means that roughly 50 of my starts/WIPs need to be finished next year - or one per week. Now that does scare me!!


As for stitching itself I totalled 810 hours with needle and thread in hand and amazingly stitched every single day throughout the year. Admittedly, some days were for only 5 minutes, but I am so pleased to have not missed a single day. It definitely kept my mojo and enthusiasm running smoothly.


Now here comes the really boring bit.....

Here are the lists of projects which make up the statistics at the top of the page:

NUMBER OF WIPs BROUGHT FORWARD - 11
1)  Mythical Dragon (True Colors) - NOW SUSPENDED
2)  Rainbow Angel (White willow Stitching) - NOW SUSPENDED
3)  QS Emerald Dragon (HAED) - NOW SUSPENDED
4)  SK The History Of Chocolate (HAED) - NOW SUSPENDED
5)  QS Fairy With Butterfly Mask (HAED) - NOW SUSPENDED
6)  QS Come Softly (HAED)
7)  Mini Bookworm Fairy (HAED)
8)  Mini The Owrd Lord (HAED)
9)  Mini One (HAED)
10)  Dolphin Ruins (Rabnann - ebay)
11)  OMG Tigger Is Out (UnconventionalX - etsy)

NUMBER OF NEW STARTS - 77 and FINISHES - 34
1)  January stamp - FINISHED
2)  Friends For Life
3)  Christmas Quacker - FINISHED
4)  Dragon of Air - FINISHED
5)  Feline Groovy
6)  Loves Me ... Love Me Not
7)  Daisy Hugs
8)  Dreaming Of Dolphins
9)  April Showers - FINISHED
10)  Book Worm

11)  Dragon Of Earth - FINISHED

12)  Carefree Summer

13)  Playful Puss 1 - FINISHED

14)  A Tatty Friend

15)  Friends Forever - FINISHED

16)  Dandelion Time

17)  Cookie and Cream - FINISHED

18)  Dragon Of Fire - FINISHED

19)  Flower Power

20)  All Aboard The Walnut Shells

21)  Christmas Wishes

22)  Daisy Umbrella

23)  Cuddly Feline Friends

24)  Choc-A-Holic

25)  Dragon Of Water - FINISHED

26)  I Love Butter

27)  Good Morning Nelson

28)  Winter Hugs

29)  Lickle Snooze

30)  A Windy Day
31)  Playful Puss 2 - FINISHED
32)  Little Green
33)  Spring
34)  Coffee
35)  Winter Owl - FINISHED
36)  Gryffindor Crest
37)  Pretty Little London
38)  February stamp - FINISHED
39)  Start Trek TOS
40)  Polar Bears - FINISHED
41)  Summer
42)  Cream
43)  Canal Crossing
44)  Hufflepuff Crest
45)  Puddle Duck - FINISHED
46)  Clue
47)  Red Foxes
48)  Autumn - FINISHED
49)  Sugar
50)  The Lock
51)  Ravenclaw Crest - FINISHED
52)  Pretty Little Paris
53)  Evil Minions
54)  Spotted Owls
55)  Winter
56)  Tea
57)  The Milk Train
58)  Slytherin Crest
59)  Waterlogged - FINISHED
60)  My Treasure - FINISHED
61)  Pandas
62)  March stamp - FINISHED
63)  April stamp - FINISHED
64)  May stamp - FINISHED
65)  June stamp - FINISHED
66)  July stamp - FINISHED
67)  August stamp - FINISHED
68)  September stamp - FINISHED
69)  Initial I ornament - FINISHED
70)  October stamp - FINISHED
71)  Initial J ornament - FINISHED
72)  Owls In Love - FINISHED
73)  Dragon Eye (Large Project)
74)  November stamp - FINISHED
75)  December stamp - FINISHED
76)  Wait until Dec 25th! (1) - FINISHED
77)  Wait until Dec 25th! (2) - FINISHED

Are you bored now?? Or did you just skip the lists?!!

Regarding Stitch From Stash, had it carried on I would have finished the year with deficit of about £33. Just thought I'd let you know.

And regarding my contribution to Tammy's A New Stitchy Start blog, well, I never really got out of the starting blocks. The saga of searching for the perfect fabric on which to stitch Scarlet Macaw Preening is still on-going.....

Thank you for allowing me to continue to bore you witless and for being there to keep me sane. I appreciate and value every visit and comment I receive. You are a wonderful bunch of stitchers and I am so pleased to have "met" you!

With pretend glass in hand, here's to the end of a fantastic stitching year and the start of another - cheers!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

Challenge Finish 17

Good morning everybody!

I hope everybody has had a good Christmas or restful break over the last few days? Was Santa good to you? I'm excited to see any new goodies you have received and might be stitching on in 2016.

Santa was good to me and gave me a few little second-hand charts which he'd apparently bought on ebay - clever Santa! So I have a little Halloween Kitty and some more Lizzie Kates to add to my collection. My daughter also made a fabric case for me to carry a project and the accompanying thread bobbins. It took a long time and required a lot of work so I will blog about it later as it definitely deserves it's own post.

Our family had a quiet but busy festive period but not so busy that I couldn't do a fair amount of stitching! So, as the title has given away, I have another Challenge finish to show you. This will definitely be my last for 2015.

Once I'd picked this piece up I couldn't put it down and somehow knew I would work on it until completed. I left him back in June having only stitched the umbrella and rain but now Lickle Ted looks like this:

Lickle Ted - April Showers

Featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue 110

Stitched on 16ct Iced Coffee over-dyed Aida by Fabric Flair 2 over 1
Stitch count 86 wide by 111 high

Started - 8th January 2015
Finished - 28th December 2015
Total stitching time - 32 hours 40 minutes

Some of the umbrella and scarf were supposed to be stitched using satin threads but I just used normal DMC. Compared to the original picture I don't think it makes much difference. I love the half stitching for the rain and the variegated thread used for the puddles. I even enjoyed watching him come to life as the backstitching was added. Unfortunately the subtle shading of the fabric has not come out too well in the photograph. :(

For the time being Lickle Ted will become an Orphan in my Box of Shame until I decide how to frame him.

17/59 Challenge pieces down, 42 to go!

Now to go and make sure everything is ready for my 31 new starts in January. I must be mad!

Happy stitching everybody!
Rachel x

Merry Christmas!

Good morning all!

I just wanted to wish all of my lovely blog readers a very Merry Christmas 2015!

Image from www.hdwallpapersnew.net

I hope Santa has been good to you and your day is filled with love, laughter and lots of stitching. I look forward to reading all about your new stitchy goodies you have received for Christmas!

If you do not celebrate Christmas, then I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable break.

Love
Rachel x