DSDUCJFC 2015 - Day 51

Morning!

A tiny start for today, the evil minions from Despicable Me 2. When completed I thought I would make this into a reversible hanging ornament - if it ever escapes the bin of shame that is!

Sad to say the Pixel Power curse is still with me though - on Star Trek I only managed to stitch Uhura's hair, Clue required constant frogging and this one... I stitched the wrong colours - and it's not as if there's that many to choose from! Maybe I'm jinxed and shouldn't do any more from this company!!!

Evil Minions

Free chart download from pixelpowerdesign.com here

Stitched on 16ct Platinum aida 2 over 1

And now for the big March to-stitch-or-not-to-stitch reveal. Thank you to everyone who voted and/or left a comment either trying to knock sense into me or urging me to carry on. It was a very hard decision to make but in the end my head had to rule over my heart so, I'm afraid/pleased (depending on your viewpoint) to say that I shall not be carrying on daily new starts past 28th February :(

My main reasons are:
1) I would like to return to my big projects (alright, I could do both I suppose)
2) I would like to finish at least some of the 59 starts (less likely if I start more)
3) I would probably have to buy more fabric and threads (an unnecessary expense)
4) I would like to leave enough for the challenge next year (without buying any more)
5) and most importantly..... when I agreed to do February I promised there would be no more new starts other than those planned at the beginning of the year..... and I like to keep my promises.

I also strongly considered the psychological effect that, later in the year, I would feel guilty or overwhelmed or depressed to look at a box full of projects which have become UFOs instead of WIPs, Deep thinking there!

So, it's 51 down and only 8 more to go. Honest!

Happy stitching
Crazy Rachel x

DSDUCJFC 2015 - Day 44

Good morning again!

Daughter Heather says thank you very much for all the get well wishes and hugs you have been sending her. She's still totally exhausted but has an incentive to get better as she's supposed to be camping (indoors) with the Scouts next weekend. Next week is also half-term so she can concentrate on recovering without the added pressure of school.

On to my new start - it's the cast of Clue. Clue is my favouritest film of all time so there was no doubt I was going to stitch this sooner rather than later. If you don't know the film, it's a who-dunnit using the characters, weapons and rooms from the Cluedo board game. The superb cast (including Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan and Christopher Lloyd) do a brilliant job of bringing the game to life with fantastic over-acting and a witty plot. It's a very recommended good waste of 90 minutes if you get a chance to watch it.

Cast of Clue

From Pixel Power (etsy)

Stitched on 16ct Platinum Aida 2 over 1

But..... it was a nightmare to stitch! I kept miscounting, frogging, and talk about threads getting tangled up! It was a really frustrating day. Perhaps I was affected by friggatriskaidekaphobia!! There's another Friday the 13th in March so I think I'll not stitch that day!

Happy stitching

Crazy Rachel x

DSDUCJFC 2015 - Day 37

Morning all!

Oh boy, with one thing and another I had a horrible day so did not manage to put the first stitch into this until gone 10.30pm, by which time I was not enthused and thinking more about the next day's project! Still, it's the first blip I've had since 1st January so I'm certainly not complaining.

This chart is being stitched to accompany The Next Generation crew I completed last year. Each character takes about 3-4 hours to stitch so progress will be easily noticeable. I like that in a project! This is Uhura's hair and collar (although at the moment it looks like her hair and beard!)

Star Trek - The Original Series

From Pixel Power (etsy)
Stitched on 16ct Navy Blue Aida 2 over 1

Back to a cutie tomorrow and, being a Saturday, I hope to get a lot done!

Happy stitching
Crazy Rachel x

Star Trek TNG - finished and framed!

Hello fellow stitchers!

It may have taken another two weeks to finish the last character but, yes, it's finally happy dance time again! Star Trek The Next Generation is finished and framed and looks like this:

Pixel Power
Stitched on 16ct Navy Blue Aida 2 over 1

Stitch count 115 wide by 89 high

Started - 26th August 2014

Finished - 9th October 2014

Total stitching time - 25 hours

The black frame is just a standard 10 x 8 from Wilkinsons. It isn't perfect but as I didn't want to spend a lot framing this piece it'll do for now, although, as the photo proves, it does need non-reflective glass!

Now (and I'm aware I also said this after finishing Hang in There) I MUST return to my big projects and try to reach some more targets for 2014. But... I'm still not in the mood for starting Mini Space Traveler (or any other new project for that matter) nor in returning to my current WIPs. So I have pulled out Autumnal Abstract, one of my Suspended Works in Progress which hasn't been stitched on since I stopped going to my Cross Stitch Club back in July 2006! The colours are perfect for this time of year and I can see myself not putting it down for quite some time.

Until next time then,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

PS Happy 13th birthday to my daughter Heather. You're extra special and I love you loads!

Star Trek TNG - 6/7 completed

Hello all!

Sorry for the absence again - nearly two weeks to do 3.25 hours of stitching- disgraceful!

But I have a fairly good excuse - I have been busy de-mossing, pressure washing and re-grouting our drive and patios. This has put strain on my hands, right elbow and back, which has made sitting and stitching very uncomfortable. Obviously I'm not used to manual labour!!! But it's all finished now and looks fantastic even if I do say so myself! It's very satisfying seeing the paving look like new.

Anyway, the discomfort has now gone so I was finally able to finish Dr. Crusher. Here are the latest progress pictures of The Next Generation crew:

 After 21.75 hours

If it wasn't for the ginger hair you probably wouldn't know who this was supposed to be, but I like her anyway!

I'm really excited as I've only got one more pixel person to stitch and then this will be my fourth (yes, fourth) finish of the year!! OK, they've all been fairly small projects, but a finish is a finish. Yippee!!

Last up is Troi. I'm going to change her outfit from the season 1 boring grey ensemble to her blue season 7 uniform to be in keeping with the other characters. Should look good.

Until next time... and a finish...

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Star Trek TNG - 5/7 completed

Hello again everyone!

Well, the title of the post says it all really, so here are the progress pictures:

 After 18.5 hours

Next up is Dr. Crusher to the bottom right of Data.

Both children are away this weekend with their Scout Troop so I may be able to squeeze in a bit more stitching time - although that depends on what hubby finds me to do! No rest for the wicked, eh?? ;)

Also, I'm sorry if you're finding these little updates a bit boring, but bear with me - there's only two more characters to go and then I've got something much more exciting planned!

Be back soon...

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Star Trek TNG - 4/7 completed

Hello all!

Yes, that's another Star Trek crew member eventually completed. I say eventually because it's taken me 6 days to do 3.5 hours of stitching in basically half hour slots. That's BAD!

So here's La Forge and how the project is looking now:

 After 15 hours

Next up is Data to the bottom left of Picard.

Hopefully with the children now back at school and into their weekly routines I will be able to settle into my own stitching routine too.

Until next time then,

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Star Trek TNG - 3/7 completed

Hi all!

Wow! Three posts in three days - it's almost as if I've got nothing better to do!

I stayed up late last night to finish the third member of the crew. So here is Picard and the project so far:

 After 11.5 hours

The fun of stitching these characters continues so next up is La Forge to the bottom right of Riker.

All the best and
Happy stitching :)
Rachel x

Star Trek TNG - 2/7 completed

Hello again!

Just a quick post to show an update on ST-TNG. I have completed Riker so here is how the project is looking now:

After 8 hours

(dirty splodge is on camera lens not fabric!)

Next up Picard to the top left of Worf.

See you soon!

All the best and

Happy stitching :)

Rachel x

New Start - Star Trek The Next Generation

Good evening everybody,

In my last post I said I wasn't in the mood to start a new project but..... I found two lots of Star Trek characters hiding in my stash and couldn't resist starting them! I am quite a big Star Trek fan, as is my daughter, so these fill a gap as I do not want to stitch a big Star Trek project. They are designed and sold by Pixel Power and are of The Original Series and The Next Generation officers. For their size I think they're rather cute! Pixel Power do lots of other TV characters so I may have to return for The Twelve Doctors, Red Dwarf, Star Wars and Game of Thrones (among others!)

Here is what they will look like:

Star Trek - The Original Series Officers

Star Trek - The Next Generation Officers

And this is where I am up to at the moment:

Star Trek TNG by PixelPower
Stitched on 16ct Navy aida 2 over 1
Started - 26th August 2014
Stitching hours to date - 4 hours 30 minutes

I started on TNG first and changed Worf's uniform from red to yellow as that is his usual colour. I am not going to stitch the characters in a row but as a 2-3-2 so that the finished piece is square.

Next up is Riker.

Take care everyone and thanks for dropping by.

All the best and
Happy Stitching :)
Rachel x