12 Days of Christmas

I know, I know, Christmas is over and it's just the beginning of a New Year, especially for me, a Chinese, who's still in the middle of celebrating Chinese New Year. However, for the participants of the Margaret Sherry Round Robin, we're just getting started with her 12 Days of Christmas design. There are 11 of us altogether - Allison, Angie, Jackie, Kathy (our organiser), Kirsty, Lynn, Marilyn, Marion, Priscilla, Sarah and me. There was supposed to be 12 of us but because of personal reasons, she had to pulled out. Maybe someone might want to help me stitch the last pattern when the piece comes back to me in April next year?

Anyway, first off, there's "A Partridge in A Pear Tree". Now, this piece is very special to me because believe it or not, this is my first time stitching on evenweave. I can tell you, I was rather nervous trying something new and I lost count of the number of tips and guides I read before starting on it. It took a lot of getting use to but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't that different from stitching on aida. I'll confess that I felt rather apprehensive after signing up for the RR, wondering if I've bitten off more than I can chew but now I'm confident that I can handle it. I really like the more refined look evenweave shows off a pattern so I just might start stitching on evenweave more. This piece is also more challenging than what I've tried before because of the many fractional stitches. Still, it turned out fine and I'm very happy with it.

Next is "2 Turtle Doves" which I stitched for Kathy. This time, it's gold fleck evenweave which once again, is something totally new for me. That's the intersting part of this RR. I get to try out different types of fabric. Managed to finish this pattern in 4 days which is a lot quicker compared to the previous pattern. I really like the effect of the gold flecks on the fabric, reflecting both colour and light, turning the pattern to live. Too bad this type of fabric is not yet available in Malaysia or I just might be tempted to buy it for my next project, whatever that might be. Hmm... then again, there's always the option of shopping online... *wicked grin* 

By the way, in case you're wondering, contrary to much popular belief, the 12 Days of Christmas are not the 12 days before Christmas, but in most of the Western Church are the twelve days from Christmas until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6th; the 12 days count from December 25th until January 5th). According to legend, the 12 Days of Christmas song originated in England as a coded reference to important articles of the Christian faith in the 16th century, during the religious wars when Christianity was forbidden. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor but to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. Here are the 12 symbols along with the meanings: 

• A Partridge in A Pear Tree - Jesus Christ, the Son of God 
• 2 Turtle Doves - The Old and New Testament 
• 3 French Hens - The 3 Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope and Love) 
• 4 Calling Birds - The 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) 
• 5 Gold Rings - The first 5 books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch"(Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) 
• 6 Geese A-Laying - The 6 Days of Creation 
• 7 Swans A-Swimming - The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit (Prophecy, Ministry, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Leading, and Compassion) 
• 8 Maids A-Milking - The 8 Beatitudes (Blessed are the poor in spirit, Those who mourn, The meek, Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, The merciful, The pure in heart, The peacemakers, Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake) 
• 9 Ladies Dancing - The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness,Generosity, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control) 
• 10 Lords A-Leaping - The 10 Commandments 
• 11 Pipers Piping - The 11 Faithful Apostles (Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas bar James) 
• 12 Drummers Drumming - The 12 points of Doctrine in the Apostles' Creed 

Hope you found that as interesting as I did.