2012 UCJC - Day 31 ... and done!!

I can't believe this day is finally here. I also can't believe I managed to start 31 new projects in 31 days!! Holy crap! If I wasn't crazy before, I am now. What a ridiculous challenge!

Today's start is SK Oriental Courage by Lee-Anne Seed (HAED). I'm stitching this on 28 ct black jobelan , 2 over 1 tent stitch. I decided that since this piece has such huge chunks of colour that I would try tenting on this one too. I find the stitches are a little uneven right now, possibly because I am adjusting to stitching on black, which is more difficult than I had expected. Good progress for not a lot of stitchy time.

This challenge was 100x more difficult than I had expected. What a lot of ups and downs! It started off super exciting and fun, but within a few days the stress of switching projects every day started to get to me. I hung in there, and the stress of switching diminished thankfully, but then I couldn't remember most of what I'd stitched -- it was a blur. After 3 weeks, when I had 10 starts left, the exhaustion set in. While I enjoyed my daily stitching, I really wanted the challenge to be over.

Today I take a big sigh of relief -- no more pressure to start and stitch daily. No more pressure to blog like a mad woman. I can just stitch as much or as little as I want on whatever I want. Hurray!

I originally thought that I'd pick up Drama Queen and put some time into that piece once the challenge was over, but I don't have the energy or concentration for such a complicated piece. I think I'll pick up one of my simple, monochrome silk projects from the beginning of the challenge and just relax for a bit. :) It'll be interesting to see what gets finished in the next 11 months.

To my followers, old and new, thank you so much for joining me on this adventure.

2012 UCJC - Day 30

I stitched a Lickle Ted kit last year, and I know how tiresome stitching shades of cream and beige can be. Add to that the annoying fractionals and loads of backstitching, well, I have no idea why I chose to do another one. I will admit they are very cute though.

During the entire challenge, I dreaded starting this project the most.

Oddly enough, I rather enjoyed stitching today. I was bummed that I only had a very limited amount of stitchy time.

So, today's start was Lickle Bit Shy by DMC. I traded out the aida in the kit (stupid to have aida with a pattern with so many fractionals) and replaced it with some 32 ct white lugana.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day of the challenge. I've been trying to decide what project I'll work on on February 1st, but I really can't decide. Maybe I won't stitch at all, who knows?

2012 UCJC - Day 29

I was so not in the mood to stitch today. I am burnt out from all these new starts. I dreaded starting today, and I dread starting projects for the next 2 days. But ... after getting this far, I'm going to finish the stinking challenge.

Anyway, today I started the last of the tiny kits - Sapphire Snow Christmas Jewels Charmed Ornament by Mill Hill.

2012 UCJC - Day 28

Another fun and easy start today!! I was working on a freebie ornament called Christmas Eve Flight by thesamplergirl.com.

I made decent progress too. :) It's stitched on 18 ct white aida using DMC 321, 433, and 826. The blue might be a bit bold, but I like it!

2012 UCJC - Day 27

I really liked today's project, even though the stitches started off a little funky.

Today I started a new HAED - QS Blue Butterfly by Ching Chou Kuik. I'm stitching this on 25 ct Night Magic lugana by Sassy's Fabbys, 1 over 1. The picture doesn't do the fabric justice AT ALL. It's not grey, it's actually a very deep, dark teal. It's gorgeous.

The first 100 or so stitches in this piece looked funny to me, and I was worried that the hand dyed fabric was responsible for the weirdness. Although, as I put more stitches in, it seems to be working itself out.

It's very strange to be stitching with so much pink (this is the second project this week that has been nothing but pink so far), but I'm kind of enjoying the happy, bright, bold colours. I think this piece is going to look amazing on the dark background.

To be honest, it shocked me when I printed out the chart ... only 2 full pages and 2 itsy bitsy partial pages. For a HAED, even a quick stitch, it's tiny! This might just be finished this year after all!

4 more starts to go. :)

Edited to add a slightly better photo:

2012 UCJC - Day 26

Today I started Imperial Irises by Serendipity Designs. I did not make much progress. It really doesn't look like anything yet. But it's a start! LOL

Side note -- This past weekend was IHSW (International Hermit and Stitch Weekend). While I did stitch, I feel like I have nothing to show that's new. Everything I stitched has been posted as part of the UCJC. So, sorry for falling short on that mark. Next month -- I promise it'll be better!

2012 UCJC - Day 25

Another Serendipity Design -- Carolyn's Garden Sunflower.

It's hard to believe I've started 25 projects, and still have 6 more to go. To be perfectly honest, I'm exhausted. I usually stitch every day for an hour or two, but with this challenge, I feel pressured to not only stitch daily, but to make enough progress that a photo doesn't look like nothing.

As well, the first 15 projects I started were designs that I LOVED, and couldn't wait to stitch. I already know where I want to hang half of them. The last 16 projects on my UCJC list, well, most of them I'm starting because I have the kit, and I like them, and I should start them eventually, but the passion to stitch them isn't really there. I also feel guilty for starting a few new HAEDs, even though I haven't put much of a dent in the current HAEDs I have on the go.

I'm glad I did this challenge. Organizing my projects was a blast, and most days the stitching has been fun. It certainly got me out of the stitching rut I was in. I will not do this again next year. (I think I need next year just to finish what I started this year.) If I do this challenge again (perhaps in 2014), it will only be 15 starts. 31 is just too insane.

But I will finish the challenge this year. I will start them all!!

2012 UCJC - Day 24

Another fun stitchy day (though not as much time spent stitching as I'd like)!

Today I started another Serendipity Designs kit called Carolyn's Garden Violets. These kits are actually really nice. I love the thread sorter card that comes in the kit and the pattern is easy to read. I have a few of these in my UCJC list -- cute kits, but I doubt I'd buy any small kits like these again. What can I say? I like bigger projects.

Anyway ... here's my progress:

2012 UCJC - Day 23 & January TUSAL

I had such fun stitching today! I started on a little design from a book called Quick to Stitch Cross Stitch Cards. The design itself is a little pink kimono by Joan Elliot.

I think I made decent progress. I'm not normally a pink kind of girl, but this was just so cheerful! I like that I can SEE substantial progress.

It's also time for the first TUSAL post of 2012. (TUSAL = Totally Useless Stitch-a-long)

I didn't think I'd have much in the jar, but I have done a ridiculous amount of stitching over the last 3 weeks. I'm so used to stitching large, complicated projects where I spend half my time threading needles and planning my stitching route. I don't make a lot of ORTs with those projects. All these crazy starts generated not just a lot of ORTs, but a wild array of colours too!

2012 UCJC - Day 22

Not much to see today, but it's still a start.

This is Snowflake Tree - part of the Festival of Trees Charmed Ornament line by Mill Hill. I actually stitched this same ornament last year and I loved the look of it so much, I'm stitching it again!! It's a pretty easy stitch and shouldn't take me long to complete, once I get a chance to put some time into it.