Title: Daruma Doll Calendar
Date Completed: December 2022
Design: Lord Libidan
Count: 13
Canvas: White
Colours: 11
Pop Culture: Japan
 
When Jamie (Mr X Stitch) from the Xstitch Magazine reached out about a 2023 calendar I was happy to join in! But then he set the challenge, and I panicked! We had to make a pattern using only 12, pre-selected colors!
 
I don’t mind admitting, that I was stuck on this one for a long time. But one of the traditions passed on from my traveling family was a Daruma doll.
 

These dolls are considered toys by some, but they also play a special role in Japanese culture and religious practices; many use daruma dolls for good luck in the new year. The idea is that you color in one eye at the start of the year, and when you achieve your goal, you fill in the second eye. Then any dolls that haven’t been completed by the end of the year are burnt in a ceremony.
 
The great thing about these dolls though; is they come in all kinds of colors that represent different things! And you guessed it; the colors matched the challenge perfectly!