DUCJC 2016 - Day 23 - Santa

Morning all!

So, ho ho ho, my rather special person is none other than Santa! At least starting him in January means I should have him finished in time for Christmas!

Stitching his hat and face had to be my top priority and luckily I had a good long evening session in which to do it. I like the way Dimensions have combined the use of 1 or 2 strands of thread with full and half crosses for effect. I know they do that with bigger charts but didn't expect it on these smaller ones.

Here's where I left off:

Dimensions

Stitched on 16ct Ice Blue aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 44 wide by 44 high

Estimated stitching time 13 hours

Stitching time to date - 3 hours 15 minutes

For day 24 I have another environmental (although probably less achievable) message.

Until tomorrow then,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 22 - Spring Alphabet

Good morning!

This was my children's choice for me for day 22. As you know, I love Lizzie Kate's alphabet series and especially like this one because of the bright pink fabric I am using. I appreciate it's not to everybody's taste but I think it's rather gorgeous and a much braver choice than my original spring green. It certainly gives the feeling of freshness I was trying to convey.

Spring Alphabet by Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Cloud Pink aida by Sewitall.com 2 over 1

Stitch count 112 wide by 158 high

Estimated stitching time 59 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 25 minutes

Tomorrow, a rather special person is dropping by!

Until then,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 21 - Keep Our Air Clean

Hello all!

Well, as we're nearing the downward stretch of this challenge it's inevitable that you are going to see some repetitive designs. This is the third of the Lizzie Kate Green series, with my progress looking like this:

Lizzie Kate

Stitched on 16ct Muted Garden hand-dyed aida by The Crafty Kitten 2 over 1

Stitch count 40 wide by 63 high

Estimated stitching time 11 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 5 minutes

As usual I opted to stitch the easy words first!

No hint for tomorrow's design, but I will tell you it's on a rather gorgeous pink fabric.

See you then,
Rachel x

By the way, does anybody know what's happened to Tracy and Elegant Jewels of the Needle? Tracy used to stitch a lot of Mirabilia mermaids and ladies but I noticed that her blog has been deleted. Such a shame as her work was beautiful. :(

DUCJC 2016 - Day 20 - Ollie Owl

Morning all!

Here I am, back again with the last of the Woodland Folk designs. This is Ollie Owl and I know at least one person (HB) who will be pleased to see his appearance!

Ollie's post also marks the two-thirds-of-the-way-through-this-crazy-challenge point. It's certainly all downhill from now on!

Here's how Ollie will look when completed, and my progress to date:

DMC

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

Stitch count 75 wide by 49 high

Estimated stitching time 18 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 15 minutes

I almost always start stitching at the top of a design but had to break with tradition for this one and start with Ollie's gorgeous eyes - how could I not?!

Tomorrow I will have another environmental message for you.

TTFN,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 19 - Black-Hatted Snowman

Good morrow!

It's about time I said another thank you for continuing to follow me in this challenge and for leaving lovely comments. I will reply to you all... at some point!

For day 19 we have another Christmas Pals Ornament which I have called Black-Hatted Snowman. I like the way he's blushing; it's as if he's just been kissed! Here he is and here's my progress for the day:

Dimensions

Stitched on 16ct Ice Blue aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 44 wide by 44 high

Estimated stitching time 13 hours

Stitching time to date - 2 hours 30 minutes

I'll be back tomorrow with the last in a series of little woodland characters which a lot of you have found so cute.

See you then!
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 18 - Blueberry

Morning all!

Another day, another project and another cutie! This is Blueberry from the Popcorn and Friends range of characters. I think this chart was a magazine freebie - a long time ago! The lurex aida is really stiff to work with but provides a lovely background. I didn't get too much done but it's a good enough start:

Featured in ????

Stitched on 16ct Gold Lurex Cream aida by Zweigart 2 over 1

Stitch count 47 wide by 46 high

Estimated stitching time 10 hours

Stitching time to date - 1 hour 25 minutes

Can I also take this opportunity to introduce a fairly new blogger to you? We all know how difficult it is starting out and gaining followers so I thought I'd mention Stitching Out Of Bounds. She's recently started 14 sweet little CJC pieces and one GORGEOUS larger piece and certainly deserves comments from bloggers other than me! It won't hurt to pop over and take a look.

As for me, I'll be back tomorrow with a rather bashful guy!

See you then,
Rachel x

DUCJC 2016 - Day 17 - Penguin

Good morning again!

With our slight dusting of snow it was appropriate that Heather picked this little Christmas Pals Ornament for me to stitch for day 17. I didn't stitch for long after day 16's marathon but still made good visible progress:

Christmas Pals Ornaments by Dimensions
Stitched on 16ct Ice Blue aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 44 wide by 44 high

Estimated stitching time 13 hours

Stitching time to date - 1 hours 25 minutes

Thank you for wishing Heather well for Frost Camp. The Scouts all had a thoroughly good time with Heather, as usual, mucking in more than most. She returned home wearing 7 layers on her top half and 4 on her bottom half! I wondered why her rucksack was half empty!!

Tomorrow sees a real cutie so if you like those type of designs you're in for a treat!

Back in the morning!
Rachel x