6 Box of Shame Finishes - Christmas Pals

Good afternoon all!

I'm still on a roll making ornaments... so may I present another 6 finished Box of Shame pieces.

These are the Christmas Pals Ornaments by Dimensions which I stitched as part of my 31 new starts for Debbie's Ultimate Crazy January Challenge 2016. I finished the first four in 2016 and the other two in 2017.

Using my usual finishing technique, they are all the same, only with different colour marble-effect backing fabric and matching (or as near as possible) barley twist cord:

These give a better indication of the backing fabric:

And (because I'm feeling just a little bit proud of myself) I thought I'd show them all individually too:

I must admit, having finished 18 ornaments so far this year, I now find it hard to understand my previous aversion to doing them; there's nothing to it really except having time and a bit of patience for the fiddly bits.

I might take a bit of a finishing break for a while (I think I deserve it!) but, since I am also eager to continue and already have appropriate backing fabric and cord for all but one of my remaining ornament pieces, there could be more finished-finishes soon...

Take care,
Rachel x

12 Box of Shame Finishes - Lizzie Kate Stamps

Good morning!

I think I might just be living proof that miracles do happen because... I've done it... I've actually finished off some ornaments from my Box of Shame! And because I'm so proud of my achievement this is quite a picture-heavy post.

One of my major flaws over the last few years has been not enjoying finishing off my cross-stitches as ornaments. Although they give a sense of satisfaction once completed, my head tells me that creating ornaments at an hour and a half each is taking valuable time away from stitching. But, for some reason, 2018 has brought a complete change of attitude and I have plunged into my Box of Shame with unprecedented enthusiasm!

And do you know what? I actually enjoyed making every single one of them. In fact, once the ball was rolling I couldn't stop!

So, what have I finished?

Well, back in 2015 I stitched the 12 Lizzie Kate Monthly Flip-It Stamps (changing November's from a turkey to a poppy) each one during its relevant month. I knew that I wanted to finish them as hanging ornaments and I knew I wanted each one to have a different backing fabric with coordinating barley twist cord.

Here are the fabrics (all by Tilda) and finished designs before I started working on them:

  

And... drum roll please... here are the twelve completed ornaments:

And individually...

Yes I know they're all the same but my mind just wouldn't let me finish them differently.

Each ornament was interfaced before being hand sewn and finished off with 2mm barley twist cord in a colour to match the background of the month, or at least as close as I could get. Admittedly the first couple took quite a while but once I'd mastered the corners, the stuffing and the cord the remainder were finished off much more efficiently.

Having now stitched them together, a couple of the backing fabrics don't really work but I'm extremely happy with the rest of them.

I am over the moon that they are all completed and no longer in my Box Of Shame; it's an achievement I can definitely be very proud of considering how long they've been in there. Now they'll each get a month's outing on our calendar and will no longer cause me guilt!

And now I'm on a roll (and have filled in a good proportion of my Box Of Shame status bar) I've got no excuse not to do more, so watch this space - the miracle may continue!

Take care,
Rachel x

Winter - finished

Good afternoon!

So here we have my first WIP finish for 2018 and finish number 27/59 from Debbie's Super Duper Ultimate Crazy January February Challenge (DSDUCJFC) 2015. This is Winter from The Four Seasons and a companion for Autumn which was completed in June 2015.

Here's how you last saw Winter way back in December 2015:

And now finished:

Winter

Designed by Maria Diaz and featured in Cross Stitch Crazy issue ???

Stitch count 56 wide by 56 high

Stitched on 16ct white aida 2 over 1

Started - 22nd February 2015

Finished 7th January 2018

Total stitching time - 20 hours 20 minutes

And next to Autumn as a reminder:

The winter colours were so soothing to work with and actually brightened up the gloomy rainy winter days on which I was stitching this project!

Both Autumn and Winter will remain in my Box of Shame until I have completed the whole set so that I can frame them all together. Spring and Summer are both planned finishes for this year.

Back soon with some actual finish-finishes.

Take care,
Rachel x

Happy New Year and 2018 Stitching Plans

Good morning everybody, and Happy New Year!!

After a successful 2017, and a lot of deliberation about where I want my stitching to go in 2018, I've more-or-less decided to stick to the 2017 plan because it worked so well. So, here are my plans for 2018:

1) Smalls SAL

I intend to carry on stitching one small project each month specifically for this SAL run by Heather of Stitching Lotus. I have a number of small projects kitted up all ready and waiting for the first of each month.

2) Decrease my number of WIPs

I aim to finish 12 WIPs this year from my 36 remaining 2015/2016 Challenge pieces, finishing one and working on two more each month.

3) New starts
I have allowed myself a maximum of 5 small-ish new starts during the year. They'll appear as and when I feel like it but only be worked on each month after I've completed my "compulsory" SAL and WIP stitching.

4) Decrease the number of finishes in my Box of Shame
I still have 52 projects which need to be framed, made into ornaments or finished off some other way. I must make more significant inroads than I did last year...

5) Large projects
My larger projects have now been neglected for the last three years and once again I have no plans to work on them this year. But plans can always change!

So there are my plans for 2018. No commitments other than the Smalls SAL, just plodding along, finishing off outstanding WIPs, with the odd new start if I feel like it.

Right, I'm to pick up my needle and put the first stitches of 2018 into a new project.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and very stitchy 2018.
Rachel x