#24HoursOfCrossStitch July Challenges

I finished the July challenges yesterday!!! I loved doing these! I have printed out August and can't wait to see how they go. So let's go over the July challenges again.

First up the acrostic (my favorite part by far!!)
We had to plug in something for each letter in TEAM 24 HOUR. You could be creative to make it work. Whatever you had to do. So here is how that worked out...

✅ T - Salt Water Taffy by Joan Elliott

Goal at least 4 hours.

Connection: The T in the title

Here it was before...

Actual Time Added: 7 Hours 45 Minutes

  ✅ E - July from Lizzie Kate Flip-Its Stamps 

Goal probably 8 hours to finish.

Connection: In the summer you Eat watermelon and there is one in the project

Actual Time Added: 12 Hours and 2 Minutes

 ✅ A - Adjust Your Sails 

Goal at least 4 hours.

Connection: The A in the title

Here it was before...

Actual Time Added: 4 Hours 6 Minutes

✅ M - July from Sand, Sea, and Cross Stitch Book 

Goal probably 8 hours to finish.

Connection: Monthly design I'm stitching all year

Actual Time Added: 7 Hours 50 Minutes

 

✅ 2 - 99 Bottles from Ink Circles

Goal maybe 4 hours definitely more than 24 minutes.

Connection: Going to add 2 more bottles.

Before...

Actual Time Added: 2 Hours 41 Minutes

✅ 4 - 4 Seasons Winter by Erica Michaels

Goal probably 4 hours.

Connection: 4 in the title

Before...

Actual Time Added: 2 Hours 36 Minutes 

(Ran out of time this month for more still more than minimum amount though so I'm happy.)

✅ H - Halloween Mini - Vampire Face by Artecy

Goal probably 4 hours could finish.

Connection: H in the title

Finished Actual Time Added: 3 Hours 8 Minutes

✅ O - Wish Upon a Starfish by Designs by Lisa

Goal at least 4 hours.

Connection: Starfish is an Ocean dwelling creature.

Before...

Actual Time Added: 4 Hours

✅ U - Under the Sea SAL by Lakeside Needlecraft

Goal at least 4 hours.

Connection: U in the title. So glad to have the push to get this one back out finally!

Before...

Actual Time Added: 4 Hours 11 Minutes

✅ R - Flip Flops kit from Mill Hill

Goal probably 8 hours to finish.

Connection: The flips flops are Red and white. 

Actual Time Added: 4 Hours 34 Minutes

I've definitely learned I have a hard time calculating how much time it might take me to finish a piece. I finally am remembering to hit my stop watch like it's a normal part of my stitching routine. I'm really happy with everything I accomplished! I had a feeling the challenges would be good for me and boy they were.

Next up was the Holiday Calendar...

In order to call this one complete you must stitch on 12 of the different holidays mentioned for the minimum of 24 minutes or 120 stitches. I think this one was a little more difficult but I noticed several people including our lovely Jo really enjoyed it. I personally enjoyed the acrostic more. But I did complete the 12 so I could call this challenge finished.

2nd -- World UFO Day -- I finally got Under the Sea SAL out of hiding and made progress on it.

3rd -- Stay Out of the Sun Day -- Halloween Mini Vampire Face definitely qualifies for this one.

4th -- 4th of July -- Free to Be Me worked for this one since it's patriotic.

10th -- Don't Step on a Bee Day -- I think the Mill Hill Flip Flops piece works for this one since it's shoes and that makes it so you don't step on a bee bare foot.

12th -- Simplicity Day -- I divided my July Lizzie Kate into 4 hours sections. 1 for this one. The Lizzie Kate pattern was simple to work on. Big nice blocks of color.

15th -- National Give Something Away Day -- Adjust Your Sails works for this one since mom is going to steal it.....Oh I mean I will give it to her when it's finished.

22nd -- National Hammock Day -- I used another section of the 4 hours on my Lizzie Kate stamp. I think you could lay in the hammock while eating watermelon. Don't you?

23rd -- Hot Enough for Ya Day -- Wish Upon a Starfish. I stitched this one while there were heat warnings outside. We even had an extreme heat warning this month.

24th -- International Self Care Day -- The last 4 hour section of my Lizzie Kate Stamp. I definitely do stitching for self care so stitching this one for myself definitely counts.

25th -- Thread the Needle Day -- Guess you could really use any of the projects for this one. I used Salt Water Taffy though.

28th -- Parents Day -- Mom's Nautical July piece since it's for my mom.

30th -- International Day of Friendship -- 99 Bottles When surrounded by our friends we like to drink beer.

So there is my 12 filled in.

Last challenge is to stitch 24 hours throughout the entire month. I hit a total of 53 hours and 54 minutes.

So that made all my July challenges complete!!!

I think August challenges deserve their own post. Stay tuned.

Monday Update with Lots of Stitching Going On

Wohoo I had a very nice stitching filled week last week. We had a heat wave with several days of close to 100 degrees and a few days of even over 100 heat index. So what better excuse then hide in the AC and stitch away.

I shared in my last post the finish of the Mill Hill Flip Flops. I really wanted to get some more checks on my July acrostic from the #24HoursofCrossStitch group challenge. Which remember was TEAM 24 HOUR this time around. I had E, M, and R marked off.

So Tuesday I brought out Salt Water Taffy. I used it for the T. My goal was 4 Hours. I worked on it for Tuesday and Wednesday. Here it was before...

Here I am now...

My actual time was 7 hours and 45 minutes. Wednesday I got a lot of stitching done between loads of laundry. So 4 of the 10 letters marked off now. Next up is Under the Sea SAL for the U. My goal was 4 hours. I haven't had this WIP out since November 2017. It definitely needed to be back out. Here it was before...

I had just finished up the July section. I started on the August section Thursday and a little bit Friday morning. Here it is now...

The whole piece...

I reached 4 hours and 11 minutes added to it. So 5 of the 10 letters marked off. Next up Wish Upon a Starfish. I picked this one for O since the sea star is an Ocean dwelling animal. Yes it was a fun stretch to make it fit haha. Here it was after the Longest Weekend SAL...

Same goal of 4 hours to mark off the letter. Here it is now...

I got 4 hours in Friday and was so happy with how much progress I made during those hours. Definitely can tell the difference in the two photos. So 6 of 10 letters done.

Friday night we were off to the cabin. We were under an extreme heat warning for the weekend but we had several movies we wanted to watch and relaxing to do. Saturday other than peeking out a few times we pretty much stayed inside most the day. It was just miserable outside. But it was wonderful inside. Jeremiah never even changed out of his PJs he was a happy camper indeed. We watched 3 movies together. Plus I got 3 hours and 8 minutes of stitching time as well. 

For the weekend I took down Halloween Minis by Artecy. This one fit easy for the H letter. I was hoping to finish the Vampire Face. I did!

I just LOVE the way he turned out!!! That's 3 faces complete now of the 8 I want to do from the set. So 7 of the 10 letters marked off. Wohoo!

We did swim Saturday right as the sun was going down. When it goes down past the trees it makes perfect swimming conditions. No sun burns. No need for sun screen for Jeremiah. We sat around and talked until bedtime after the dip. No need for a fire in the fire pit but we just enjoyed talking with each other. It was us, Dad and Bev, and two of Bev's family members. Sunday we went through all our camping things since we have a long camping trip coming up this week and pulled together what we needed. We are taking our friends pop up camper for our first time instead of tent camping. The heat finally went away last night after some storms went through. So luckily we won't have to deal with the heat warnings.

I pulled out 4 Seasons Winter by Erica Michaels last night. It's for the 4 in the acrostic. Another perfect fit. I was happy with the progress I got while watching TV. I got in 2 hours 36 minutes before bed. Here it is now...

The blue section with the rabbits, bears, and snowflake is all new. I'm going to work on it later today and hopefully finish up my 4 hour goal on it for another check.

Then I'll have A - Adjust your Sails and 2 - 2 More Bottles on 99 Bottles of Beer left to finish up my acrostic. I heard she will be releasing the challenges for August some time this week. Can't wait to see what she has come up with. I really enjoy these challenges. Easy and fun definitely but a push to work on my goal pieces I setup. I'm really happy with my progress on each one so far.

We are leaving tomorrow for a 5 night camping event in northwest Ohio (Wauseon for those who know Ohio). I'm taking the 99 Bottles of Beer piece with me. I do hope to squeeze enough time for 2 bottles at least to meet my goal. It's a perfect theme for the trip. Bash is a big party with tons and tons of friends like seriously 5,000 to 7,000 people in the past years. People even come from other countries to attend. It's a geocaching mega event. So it's a pretty big deal. My hubby is in charge of managing the 3 huge bon fires in the adult area in the evenings. So working on a beer related piece will fit right in haha. Jeremiah is staying here with Mom even though he's "of age" now. He wants me to be able to have no responsibilities. I love him so much. I hope everyone has a great week! I know I will.

November WIPocalypse

Hey look it's time for a WIPocalypse and I'm posting. I even posted on the last one on time. I know I know you're shocked...so am I haha. The idea for WIPocalypse was to stitch all our projects before the end of the world. I doubt I will come close to finishing mine but I like to say I'll try. It would really help if I stop starting new things but what fun would that be. I have decided to use this SAL to keep track of what I've worked on and how many days. I love looking back and seeing what progress I've made each check in. So let's see what I've been working on since October 30th...

Christmas Jar Ornaments -- 10 Days. This fun kit is from Dimensions. I fell in love with it the first time I seen it and then had a hard time finding the kit to purchase. It even sold out a few times now at 123stitch. When I finally got the kit I just had to start them. I've finished the first one and started on the 2nd jar Friday. I will post the progress on the 2nd one on Monday. Here is the first one completed...

Monthly Snapshots -- 6 Days. I've been doing these monthly. I missed July, August, September, and October because of being so busy. I decided to skip and do November. In the 6 days I was able to start and finish November...

Under the Sea SAL -- 7 Days. My other SAL that I am behind on. I did June for the 3 days of the November IHSW (International Hermit Stitch Weekend)...

Then I had to stick with it to finish up July because the mermaid was just too cute...

Here is the whole piece now...

Just 5 more sections to go with this one.

I've only had 3 no stitching days. So I'm definitely back to my stitching time of the year.

We also get fun questions to answer. This month's question is: What finishing style have you never tried but would love to do? Right now I would answer with ANY. I've only FFO (fully finished off) 2 pieces this year of the 13 I've completed the stitching on!! I got into a fight with my sewing machine and I've been scared to try it again. I HAVE to do something to finish off my beautiful projects just thrown into a tote. Soon....I mean it.

This next month is full of shopping, wrapping, and typical holiday things but I will work in stitching to save my sanity. Next post is December 31st. Wonder what I will have worked on by then?

Under the Sea SAL

I told you I thought the Under the Sea SAL would have to stay out so I could get a start on the mermaid. Guess what...

I was able to get the whole July section finished up after 4 days. She had 5 little fish join her and some sea weed to complete the whole section. Here is the whole project now only missing 5 blocks...

This is after 21 days total now. I am still just amazed at how perfect it looks as not only each individual part but then as a whole piece. Love it!!  Now this one is going away for a bit. The 2nd Christmas jar ornament is screaming to be started.

I hope my US friends had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We did. We survived the shopping, prepping, cooking, and the eating haha. My hubby asked for green bean casserole this year. So I got to try making it for my first time. I was so happy it turned out delicious. He was very happy and had two heaping plates full. Mom made her very complicated crock pot potatoes and they were really yummy. What a pain though. We joked about we will definitely not be making them any time soon. We also had deviled eggs, veggies and homemade dip, olives, pickles, and a cheese plate. Plus Ham and Turkey of course. Mom and me made two pumpkin pies and I don't eat them but I heard they turned out good too. It was DELICIOUS. It's hard without having my mom's family. We sure miss them in these special times even more than everyday but we did our best to make it special in our own way. They were with us of course. We could feel them watching over us.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend. Tomorrow we will bring in our tubs of decorations so we can get the process of putting away our Fall stuff and getting ready for Christmas next week. I love Christmas decorations so I'm ready even though it is a lot of work. Hopefully we will also get to relax and I'll get some progress on my 2nd Christmas jar to show you on Monday.

November IHSW

IHSW (International Hermit Stitch Weekend) was the perfect excuse to park it on my couch and STITCH the weekend away. Boy I did just that mostly. I appreciate my family for playing along. My hubby had plans all weekend. He volunteered with his local amateur radio club to help out at their Ham Fest which is like a retreat but all geek stuff haha. He had a great time.

My weekend goals was to finish up the June section on the Under the Sea SAL and catch up on a few shows off my DVR. (Once Upon a Time and Riverdale for those curious -- which I was able to catch up on Wohoo) Friday I pretty much didn't leave the couch. It was wonderful. Here is where I got on the June section after Friday...

The jelly, sea star and upper right yellow fish were added. Plus the seahorse had a few more bubbles and the small piece of corral added by the right side of the sea star.

Saturday we had some plans in the evening and I didn't seem to do near as much...

The yellow fish and corral by the seahorse and some of the next jelly was added. A friend came down from Michigan to visit the Geek  Ham Fest and ended up volunteering with Fred all weekend. He crashed on our couch for the night. So we went out for dinner together after the convention was over Saturday. We watched Hitman's Bodyguard together afterward which was really funny. It was a fantastic visit so I didn't miss the missed stitches too much.

Sunday they were gone before I woke up which was okay because I got back to stitching and finished up the June section...

Here is the whole piece now...

Just so in love with how this looks together. Durene Jones is an extremely talented designer that's for sure. I think it's going to stay out to play some more because the next section has a beautiful mermaid to add.

I really enjoyed the new Facebook IHSW group. It was fun to see the others posting pictures of what they were working on. I do notice Saturday I spent too much time on the internet and not enough time stitching so Sunday I tried to keep it away and stitch instead. Now I need to go catch up on emails and blog reading to see what everyone was up to this weekend.

November Finish and IHSW Project

(Finish #13) November 16th, 2017

November Snapshot from Pine Mountain Designs

Stitched on 32ct Lambswool Evenweave

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started Nov 8th. Took 6 Days.

I really wanted to finish this one today and I did. Wohoo! Same as all the other months this was a fun stitch. It definitely had the perfect November feel to it. Now I have 5 left of these monthly snapshots. I think I will do December in December and then hopefully finish the others as soon as I can. I have so many projects screaming to be stitched I don't know when but they will be finished. 

Tomorrow is the start of IHSW. I got all my chores done today. So I'm obligation free I think. I've decided to work on my Under the Sea SAL. The last part I did was May so just a little behind...

Hopefully I can get some good progress this weekend. I will be back Monday with my update. I hope everyone has a great weekend and find lots of stitching time.

September WIPocalypse

Boy this year has just flew by. What a fun year but I keep forgetting my sign in posts for my blog SALs. Sunday was supposed to be the WIPocalypse check in post. I meant to do it Monday morning. Here it is Wednesday haha. I keep blinking and missing days I guess. Let's get to it...

WIPocalypse is a fun SAL that I joined in a few years ago. It's a fun SAL to stitch all our projects before the apocalypse happens. I like to use it as an excuse to keep track of what I've worked on since the last WIPocalypse post and how many days I've spent on each project. The goal of course is to have finishes to celebrate. Of course with me I tend to have a bunch of new starts and no finishes haha.

My last post was in July. It was a sad check in. Since we've been traveling so much this year my stitching has sure suffered. But the memories we've been making are priceless so I wouldn't miss them for anything even my stitching. Let's see what I've been working on since July 31st.

Under the Sea SAL -- 4 Days. I started and finished up the May section...finally haha.

Two cute seahorses were added for May. Here is the whole piece now...

I have 14 Days into this one now.

Spring Bell Pull -- 5 Days. I've been working on the I block. Here it was before with 3 days of progress on the I block...

Here it is now with 8 days of progress...

Here is the whole piece...

With 32 days total. So close to a finish on the I block as you can see.

Flock Together by Hands on Design 2 Days. I take this one on vacation and try to work on it. So here and there it's getting progress. Here is what it looks like now after 4 days of work total...

Dream of the Sea Beach Club Kit -- 2 Days. I worked more on the pincushion. Here is my progress after 4 days total...

Here is a reminder of what the whole set looks like...

I've already finished the bottom right piece. This is the top right piece that I'm working on now.

June Snapshot -- 6 Days. I started on June finally. Here is where I was able to get to so far...

Halloween Mini's by Artecy -- 1 Day. I felt like doing something Halloween so I got a start on the Skeleton Face from this set...

Here is my start on it...

Unfortunately I've not worked on the Family Crest in this span. I feel so guilty about that. Hopefully I will fall back in love with it soon. I just needed a break. As you can see I've been bouncing around and just enjoying my stitching when I do have time. I've had 38 days of no stitching at all. So my time is still pretty crazy busy. We've had a wonderful vacation and 2 camping trips since July 31st also.

Next check in October 29th. Here's hoping I actually remember to post for it.