Counting on with the Countdown

The third block of Spooky Countdown by Primitive Hare was very stitching-intense. Virtually the whole block is stitched so it took a little longer.

I made one small change, the chart doesn't make it clear which colour the backstitch lines are to be stitched in.  The cover illustration is quite small but I could see that the lines were orange.  However the only orange listed is 3776 which is used for the pumpkin stitching.  So I used 3774 which is a darker orange.

I am also making great progress on Elizabeth Burrows for the Scarlet Letter Year Challenge.  I have only one row of Montenigren Stitch and I'm done!  Here is the bottom half of the sampler so I don't spoil the grand unveiling of the finished piece!

I had to ask Marsha the designer what the bottom four rows said as it wasn't 100% clear to me.  They are:

ELIZABETH BURROWS SHE

MADE THIS IN THE YEAR

1725 AND WAS BORN AP

RIL THE 13 179 GB AB EB

What confused me was the April split over two lines in two colours!  The 179 is actually 1709 but she would have pronounced it Seventeen Nine so stitched it that way.  And by coincidence my Birth Date is 17/9 (17th September), this sampler was meant for me!  The final three pairs of initials are most likely her family as the all have the last initial B.

February is such a short month isn't it?  I knew I had to finish this piece by the 20th which would leave the rest of the month for my other stitching, specifically the Little Stitcher 12 Days and the Hallowe'en Blog Hop.  But of course there will barely be a week left of the month rather than the usual 10 or 11 days!

Finally my arm is aching where Joysze has twisted it up behind my back to join the Stitching Bandits' Chatelaine Challenge.  They don't call themselves the Bandits for no reason!  I really can't afford or justify buying an entire Mandala design this year so I said I would stitch one of the smaller freebies just to show willing.  I also said I wouldn't take up a place on the group blog, I'd post via Joysze.  But no, she has to send me an invite to the blog!  Of course it would be rude not to accept LOL.  Follow our their progress by clicking on the cute racoon creature below: