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Wednesday 3 February 2016

Another DUCJC 2015 Happy Dance

I took part in the DUCJC last year for the first and only time (probably) because I wanted to honour Debbie's memory that first year.  I worked on 31 different projects in January 2015, many of them new starts and this year I am focusing on finishing as many as possible.

And here is the latest!


Yes, Book of Spells by The Goode Huswif is a finish!  I started this piece on the 10th January, 2015 and then put it to one side until the end of April when I had finished Prairie Moon Thine is the Trick and the Treat.  Book of Spells took its place as my bath time stitching!  The Small Boy's bath, not mine.  I stitch while I supervise him playing with the bubbles.

I took another break just before Christmas to focus on the Plum Street Sampler 12 Days of Christmas then picked it up again in January.



The fabric is a 40 count linen called Jewel Butterbeer by Under the Sea Fabrics.  It was a gift from my friend Karen (who doesn't blog anymore but you might remember her as Stitchy Woman?).  I used the DMC conversion with a few personal changes.  The moon is 4145 (greys) and 4130 (oranges).  It took a long time but is one of my favourite parts now.


This photo includes a ruler so you can see the final size of the piece.  A little over 9 inches or 23cm.  The plan I have is to get it colour photocopied and use that as a cover for a notebook and frame the original.


Since I finished this piece I decided to pick up another DUCJC start, a small this time:


This was my Day 7 start, a prize from Lee Under the Mountain, an older hand-drawn chart from The Sampler House called Strawberry Sampler.  I'm stitching this on 32 count Antique White linen.  I do love these delicate band samplers.  This one reminds me of the Shepherd's Bush series I also started, so maybe I'll move on to one of those next.

I've just checked back on the page for the DUCJC.  At the end of 2015 I had completed 17 out of the 31.  And now I've added another 2 finishes to that total.  Still leaves 12 WIPS to be slain!

I've also been making great progress on Nora Corbett's C Fairy, thanks to the Fifth Friday in January I had a free weekend which I dedicated to my Fairy:

Stitched on 32 count Oceanic Fantasia by Crafty Kitten

I have now stitched all the colours and just have white (or Cloud) to add.  That will be highlights on the waves and the rest of the wing.  Then it's backstitching in DMC and Kreinik and finally the beads. 

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Finally,  the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop will be taking place on Valentine's Day.  Full details can be found on this post but basically you email me a photo of something suitable for a lovely friend and I send you a photo from a mystery friend which you post on your blog to wait for your Secret Stitching Sweetheart to find you from the list of participants on my blog.  Have a look at last year's Hop to see how it all worked:




41 comments:

Kerryp77 said...

Yay a happy dance. Book if spells looks amazing. I love your idea to photocopy and use as a book cover too. The sample is lovely. I love stitching band samplers too, not that I do very often

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Love, love, LOVE your book of spells finish and to photocopy and use as a book cover is a great way to get double use out of such an awesome finish. Your band sampler will be lovely and the C Fairy is beautiful!

Katie said...

Congrats on your finish!! It's fantastic!! Cute new WIP progress and Love C!!!

Tiffstitch said...

Woohoo! Congrats on finishing up another WIP. Nice progress on the sampler too.

Linda said...

Congrats on the gorgeous finish Jo. Your almost done with last years 31 starts. SO, that means you can do 31 starts with me next year.

Linda

Loretta said...

Great finish!!! Congratulations!!

Bea said...

Book of Spells looks fantastic and 3 cheers on the finish. Doing a photocopy to use as a book cover is a great idea. Your new WIP is so delicate looking and C is lovely.

Unknown said...

Your book of spells looks amazing it would also make a good fabric cover for a notebook/journal - well done on getting another project completed. Your Nora Corbett is coming along nicely too. Sweet little sampler.

Sue said...

Congratulations on your finish! It's always fun to visit your blog. :)

Barb said...

I just love The Book of Spells. I have the chart and you just might inspire me to stitch it!

Sherry said...

Loving your finishes!

gominam said...

Yay, Book of Spells is finished! It's one of your many lovely pieces that I always look forward to, love all the details on this design. Congrats, well done:)

Amy said...

Oh wow, I love Book of Spells! The fairy C is turning out lovely too.

Anonymous said...

gorgeous finish, love it. Lovely progress on the other projects

Rachel said...

Congratulations on your finish and what a clever idea to photocopy the finished piece to use as a book cover! Great progress on your other projects too. I don't think it will be long before we see a finished C! :)

Heather said...

Yay it looks so good! I love how the moon turned out. Congrats! Lovely progress on fairy and your band :)

Véronique Rose said...

whooooo!
j'adore la couverture de ton livre, c'est absolument magnifique
belle journée
bizzz

Christine said...

It's gorgeous Jo! Had you thought of doing a variation of your 3D block finish so that it stands up like a book?

Leonore Winterer said...

Congrats on your finish, it looks great and using a copy to bind your notebook in sounds like an awesome idea :) Your new focus piece looks really pretty so far as well, as does the fairy.

Mii Stitch said...

Congrats on your latest finish, it looks really nice!!

Julie said...

Book of Spells looks stunning, nice idea to photocopy it for a book cover, or maybe a stitchers diary.
The sampler is so delicate and pretty.
Nora C looks delicious.

Cross Stitch Claire said...

Great finish, it looks brilliant! I'm sure it will look fantastic copied as a cover.

D1-D2 said...

Congrats! Will you frame it? For some reason I keep thinking it would make a good book cover.

Ranae said...

Ohhh Book of Spells is beautiful, I must get back to mine. The fairy is looking beautiful too

Astrids dragon said...

I like the idea of copying and using the Book of Spells! C is looking beautiful, I love the way K turned out for my friend.

jocondine said...

Tarentallegra! It's not a happy dance it's a Dancing Feet Spell, I checked on wiki Harry Potter. Gorgeous finish!

Amy said...

Book of Spells turned out fantastic! Love it.

The fairy "c" is looking great too.

Carolyn said...

Jo,
Book of Spells is so cool! You did a great job stitching and finishing it. I love your changes. What a great idea for a book cover. You have a great start to your band sampler. C fairy is looking great.

diamondc said...

Book of spells is lovely, your Fairy is beautiful.

Blessings
Catherine

Irmeli said...

Your book of spells looks wonderful and nice new start too.

Brigitte said...

Oh Jo, this is a terrific finish. I think I would frame it as well. Great idea to use a photocopy as a notebook cover. Only 12 more projects of last year's Debbie's Challenge to finish.

I have always loved band samplers and still do. Yours looks very delicate. I have to go through my stash and choose a new one to stitch, it has been a while since I stitched one the last time.

Justine said...

Congratulations on a super finish! I love your idea to photocopy and make a notebook cover too.
I think 19 finishes out of 31 is a great achievement. I still have projects left from CJC 2014. I am hoping to finish them this year.

Sarah in Stitches said...

Yay!! Congrats on the finish! It looks amazing :D

Thoeria said...

Oh Jo.....your Book of Spells is fantastic!! I love your Halloween stitches :) And this is another great one!

FlashinScissors said...

Lovely finish Jo! Great idea photocopying it to use as a book cover!
Looking forward to seeing your Valentine's blog hop.
Barbara xx

Lili said...

Your finish is amazing! What a beautiful project, congrats!!

rosey175 said...

Oh, come on. We all know you soak in the tub with a plastic sheet over the bubbles to keep your stitching safe! :D Congrats on the finish! It's been fun watching this one grow. I think my favorite part is the little rainbow of circles by the moon. I like your idea of photocopying it for an actual book cover! Be sure to post the results of that!

♥ Nia said...

Such a beautiful project! :) Ohhh NC fairy is almost finished!!! :D

Mini said...

Its been a wonderful journey to see Book of spells grow. Congrats on a great finish!

Suz said...

OMG, your book of spells! <3 <3 <3

I need/want to stitch C for a niece, but I hate it with the background (other nieces don't have backgrounds for their colors?) After seeing yours sans background colors, I wonder if I can just skip doing it...

Stitching Noni said...

Wow! Your Book of Spells looks amazing! Fab finish :o)
I love your idea of copying it and turning it in a book cover!
Hugs xx