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Friday, 20 January 2017

My Dearest Darling,

That partridge, in that lovely little pear tree!  What an enchanting, romantic, poetic present!
Bless you and thank you.
Your deeply, loving Emily

 12 Days of Christmas (Correspondence) - John Julius Norwich

I completed the First Day of Christmas from the 12 Days of Christmas by Joan Elliott.  I started the borders on 12th December 2016 and I stitched on it every day for the 12 Days of Christmas as part of a Challenge on the Stitch Maynia FB page.  Since then I have been focused on finishing the Partridge for this month.  I did have a little break to fit in my Hallowe'en stitching though.

The plan is to stitch the borders each evening when my son is in the bath and return to Block 2 in February.  You can see where I stitched each block for a decreasing number of days for the challenge!  Block 12 only got stitched on the final 12th Day whereas Block 2 got stitched on every day from the 2nd onwards.

stitched on 32 count white evenweave

I showed the first Hallowe'en design in my GG post and here is the second Hallowe'en design for the year:

stitched on 32 count Lime Green Murano

It's the Moon which forms the O in Hallowe'en for the design Happy Hallowe'en from Imaginating.  That fabric is so much more lime green in real life!

Having finished my SAL stitching for the month I decided to start a little small which I've had for ages.  Antique Christmas Trees by JBW.  This was a gift or giveaway prize from someone at some point.  I know I didn't buy it myself but it got separated from the card which came with it and filed in with Random Charts.


I'm stitching it over one on a scrap of 32 count linen which was tucked in with the chart.  I'm using the DMC conversion.  The suggestion for the border is very pink and not at all like the picture so I decided to make the alphabet darker pink instead of the barely visible white.  I think the idea is that the white is the snow under the tree but it wouldn't show on my white fabric.   I might stitch this again, over 2 on a blue or grey fabric using the white.  It's a nice quick design anyway, that is just 2 afternoon's stitching there.

I have been continuing with my 10 Stitches a Day project which is Just Nan's Spring in the Square.  Here is a collage of the 20 days so far:


You can really see how the piece grows each day.  Some people have said that they would find it difficult to stop after just ten stitches.  That's where my personal challenge comes into it - seeing how early can I get my photo posted!  Every day I try get it posted earlier than the day before. Or not!

Finally, we have the Secret Stitching Sweetheart Blog Hop coming on Valentine's Day.  If you would like to take part, all you have to do is send me a photo of something you have stitched which is suitable for a stitching friend.  It could be a heart, or a pair of cute creatures, or the word "love" or anything which warms your heart.  Really anything you think a fellow stitcher would like to receive in her email Inbox.  I will then email you a photo to post on your blog on Valentine's Day.  Everyone then hops around trying to find out where their photo went and who is the Secret Sweetheart!

Just for inspiration, here are some freebie heart designs from around the internet.  Most of these could be stitched in a week so plenty of time for the Hop.

Valentines Heart - Anne les petites-croix
Love you to the Moon - Barbara Ana
Heart - Brigitte Dadaux
Un peu d’Amour et d’Amitié - Chalet des Perelles
Valentines - Cyber Stitchers various designers
Coloris Heart - DMC Creative
Keys to my Heart - Erica Michaels via Rainbow Gallery
Mini Floral Heart - Le Grenier de Zoe
My Heart Leaps Up - Hands On Design
Love, Black cat and Heart - Happiness is CrossStitching
Valentine Cat - Happiness is Cross Stitching
Isabella's Blog - Swirly Heart
My Valentine - iStitch Designs
Manydesigns - La Contesse le Point de Croix
Couer by Les Marottes de Nathalie
Valentine - Mindi, Joie de Vivre
Cherub with Heart - Mirabilia
Speciality Heart - Olga Maxden
Heart of Hearts - Miss T
My Happy Memories - You Hold the Key
My Happy Memories - Love Birds
Love Never Fails - The Primitive Hare
Red Heart - Renato Parolin
Be My Valentine - Sandra Longan Designs
VariousDesigns - Stickeule

And of course we must never forget the Patron Saint of Free design - Gazette 94!
22 Couer - Gazette 94
(there are 22 designs labelled Couer or Heart).
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26 comments:

  1. Mii Stitch20 January 2017 at 15:33

    Beautiful stitching update on the 12 days of Christmas. This is going to be a spectacular piece when finished :)

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  2. D1-D220 January 2017 at 16:20

    I don't think I can stop at 10 stitches. I like working in sections. They're usually small and once it's done I assess if I have time to go to the next one.

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  3. Katie20 January 2017 at 19:15

    Fantastic partridge finished block. Love the cute moon O too. Great new start and your ten-a-day is looking fantastic. I wouldn't be able to stop at 10 either.

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  4. Linda20 January 2017 at 19:31

    Congrats on finishing the beautiful partridge Jo. Does that chart have alot of quarter stitches? Love your new start and nice progress.

    Linda

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  5. Kerryp7720 January 2017 at 19:48

    The Just Nan piece looks amazing seeing it grow like that. Love the little Christmas trees too and 12 days partridge is lovely.

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  6. Vickie20 January 2017 at 19:54

    Antique Christmas Trees is adorable!

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  7. deb21 January 2017 at 00:29

    Love the partridge - he's fantastic! Your 10 stitches a day project collage is sort of a time-lapse thing, very cool - what fun to watch it grow.

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  8. Barb21 January 2017 at 02:26

    Your Partridge in a Pear Tree is beautiful!

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  9. Bea21 January 2017 at 07:21

    Very pretty new small. And it's amazing how 10 stitches a day is adding up. It's nice to see the daily progress. Love the little moon.

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  10. Brigitte21 January 2017 at 10:06

    Oh great, you have already completely finished Day 1 of your 12 Days project.
    And you are right, in your collage one can easily see how these ten stitches a day sum up and get more and more. Nice to follow the project's growth.
    Thanks for all the links to the heart freebies.

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  11. jocondine21 January 2017 at 19:38

    Nice partridge in a pear tree design, 12 days of Xmas appears very popular on blogs and give so many lovely stitching patterns. It's already on my list.xxx

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  12. Kaisievic21 January 2017 at 19:56

    Jo, that is such a very pretty Partridge, one of the prettiest around, I think. Great progress on your 10 a day, I am still faithfully stitching it but I have fallen behind on posting on FB - I keep meaning to update my album in the group but every day seems to be as busy as here. Great idea re the collage - I plan to do that at the end of the month. Sweet JBW design, too.

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  13. gominam22 January 2017 at 03:09

    12 Days is going to be gorgeous!Just seeing that Partridge and all the backstitch, stunning. Great going with your WIPs too. Thank you for sharing the freebie links, will check them out.

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  14. Mini22 January 2017 at 04:46

    The details in Patridge are amazing. The whole project is coming along nicely. Antique Christmas Trees looks so tiny. Amazing how much can you achieve with 10 stitches a day.

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  15. The Knitting Cross Stitcher22 January 2017 at 13:42

    Your Partridge is beautiful!

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  16. Desiree Ehleiter22 January 2017 at 14:10

    12 Days is wonderful!!! And I love how you are working it... So much fun. Thank you so much for all those freebie links.. I think. Ha, ha.

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  17. Julie22 January 2017 at 19:01

    The first block looks wonderful on 12 Days.
    JBW designs are always so lovely, I like your version with the red alphabet.

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  18. Justine22 January 2017 at 20:18

    I love the cute partridge and those antique trees are gorgeous. I couldn't do just 10 stitches a day...but you're going to be able to make an amazing time-lapse style film at the end of the year!

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  19. Tiffstitch22 January 2017 at 20:50

    Great finish on the partridge and progress on the rest, plus all your other projects! Thanks for all the links. I have to check my photos, because I don't know if I have another heart or love pattern stitched and I'm not sure I'll get one done in time.

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  20. Stitching Noni23 January 2017 at 02:44

    Love your Partridge in a Pear Tree. Gorgeous new start (which I have now seen all finished!)
    Thanks for the links to the freebies - I think I will need to stitch a new heart/love design just for the hop this year...
    Your 10 A Day project is looking really good :o)
    Hugs xx

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  21. Leonore Winterer23 January 2017 at 09:03

    Great progress on the 12 days - the borders are coming along nicely, and the Partridge is a lovely partial finish for this month. I also like the 10 stitches challenge, it really does show some progress each day!

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  22. Sarah in Stitches23 January 2017 at 13:01

    Congrats on finishing the Partridge! It looks wonderful. Lovely stitching progress on all your other projects too. I love Antique Christmas Trees, it's so cute! :D

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  23. Mary - Lecoeurceltique24 January 2017 at 00:32

    The partridge is lovely; such detail. The collage of your JN stitching is great in demonstrating how much progress you are making on 10 stitches a day.

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  24. The Crafty Princess24 January 2017 at 05:45

    Love your sweet lil Partridge. The 12 days is coming along and it already looks incredible. I fear I would fail on the 10 stitches minimum. I have no restraint for new starts and if I'm enjoying a stitch I fear I would fail to stop too. But you are made of much sterner stuff than me.
    xo Alicia

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  25. Christine24 January 2017 at 10:44

    The partridge is lovely.
    I would not have the will power either to make myself stitch 10 stitches a day on something or to make myself stop after 10 stitches!

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  26. Heather4 February 2017 at 20:30

    Beautiful projects :) I love how 12 Days is shaping up

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