Stash report & WIP

OK, here’s the stash report from my Nordic Needle haul … have to admit, I wasn’t as thrilled as I thought I’d be when I opened it - I think I’ve just been waiting so long for it to arrive, it almost feels like an anti-climax … weird, I know - I’m such a strange creature! The one piece that kept taking my eye all night, though, was Thea’s “Close at Heart” chart - too beautiful!! Anyway, here’s the piccie, as well as a list of the charts:

• Onyx - Blackwork Beginnings Series by Paw Printings
• Orca Whales - Peter Underhill’s Marine Creatures
• Butterfly Garden Sampler by The Victoria Sampler
• Close At Heart by The Victoria Sampler
• Bruce (the Spruce) & Friends by Full Circle Designs
• Sapphire Star (canvaswork) by Laura J Perin Designs
• Spring Needle Roll kit by Lorri Birmingham
• Butterflies & Hearts Needle Roll kit by Lorri Birmingham
• Teddy Bear Santa mini stocking kit by Lorri Birmingham
• 18ct mono canvas in eggshell for Sapphire Star
• Piecemaker tapestry needles (2 x #26; 1 x #2

And here’s today’s progress piccie for Summer into Autumn - thanks for everyone’s lovely comments on my progress so far … greatly appreciated :)) I had to frog stitch one strand of the overdyed silk due to a blonde stitching moment from reading the chart wrong … and I’m also thinking of unpicking the tree foliage, as I think I’d prefer to confetti stitch it, so it doesn’t have the really distinct lines. I’m a bit annoyed that the kit contents stated the MH glass treasure in the shape of a maple leaf was supposed to be included … it’s not to be seen! I mentioned this as soon as I received it to Stitching Bits & Bobs, and they’re going to send me one as part of my back-order when it comes in.

Summer into Autumn

Well, especially for Karen & Isabelle, here is the first progress piccie of Summer into Autumn that I started today. I was so over-tired this morning due to broken sleep, I frog-stitched the top band a sum total of 3 times and it’s such simple stitches!! Anyway, there are some things I don’t like about it, but some things I love about it … The dislikes are more to do with the kit itself - the threads are cut so darned short, they barely manage to stitch across the bands - for example just the short 4-sided bands and smyrna crosses I was left with literally one inch of thread in the needle! That’s spoiling the fun of stitching it a bit with me, ‘cos halfway across the band I’m focusing more on whether I’ll have enough thread to finish, than on the stitching itself I would have preferred to cut the threads myself to a reasonable length. Also, I’m not sure how I feel about the single strand coverage with the cross stitches - but with it being a kit, I daren’t increase the threads to two strands, as I won’t have enough thread to finish … I haven’t decided yet, but I may yet stitch it again with my own threads just to compare it later - and see how it looks with the 2 strands giving it a bit more concentrated colour.

On the positive note, though, the little bands are really fun to stitch - and they’re so tiny! Now I know what you meant when you were stitching it, Karen - the bands are only about 2 inches wide, with a nice mix of stitches and techniques. Don’t know whether I’ll match Karen’s finishing time of 5 days, but I might come close
Well, time to think about getting to bed … it’s 1.44am, and I’ve only been home from work about 10 minutes, but I’m feeling pretty shattered - and I’ll be having another wake-up call in about 5 hours, from who I have affectionately nicknamed the “Bin B*stards” … it’s rubbish collection day, and the garbage trucks stop right outside my window at about 7am - mind you, it’s better than the last place I lived in … they came at 5.10am every week like clockwork, which is when they got their nickname! LOL.

Hopefully I’ll be able to put some more time into SIA tomorrow, as I still have 8 hours left in its rotation Ooh, before I sign off, my order arrived from Nordic Needle today … some pretty stash enhancements - only missing size 10 short beading needles, which are still on backorder, but they sent me 2 x canvaswork charts by accident, so I’ll have to send the spare one back - fingers crossed they’ll reimburse me for the postage … Anyway, I’m a bit tired to post the stash contents today, so I’ll leave it for later

Bye-bye Dratted’s

Managed to get a bit more of them done yesterday, but I’m ready to move on … they’re now being taken off the floorstand ready for the next slot in my rotation. It’s supposed to be my ‘finishing’ slot, but I had a pretty rough sleep last night, and my eyes are like road maps, so I think I might wait and leave that slot until the next time when I can concentrate better … and swap the next two slots around. That means I get to stitch on ‘free choice’ … and today’s choice is … The Drawn Thread’s Summer Into Autumn :)) I’ve got 6 days of 5pm-1am at work this week (yuk), but then I’ve got 5 days off, so I’ll be more energised to do my finishing work then I think.

Thanks for all your comments about the Dratted’s - I have to admit, they’ve grown on me again, and I’ve been enjoying watching them grow … still can’t wait until they’re finished, though Gina, in this case they’re definitely being framed - but not to hang on my walls … I offered my best friend as a wedding gift for her and John to choose a chart out of my stash, and I’d stitch it for them - and this is the one they agreed on. Little did I know back then just how hard I would find this one to stitch, and my joke of them getting it for their 10th wedding anniversary is starting to look like reality LOL. I’ll probably just send a money order or something to them, so they can get it framed locally, rather than me trying to organise framing for them (they live in the South Island of New Zealand). Hopefully they’ll be pleased how it finally turned out.

Thanks for the link to the stitch clips, Carol … I have to admit I own a set, and absolutely love them! Unfortunately, though, when I first had the Dratted’s on my scroll bars I only had a short sidebar available, and my floorstand has a clamp that sits on the left hand side of the sidebar, right where the little clips went, and it wouldn’t clamp properly (kept slipping) … hence the reason I laced it instead, which gives me really good tight tension. Can’t remember where I read about doing that - somewhere online, anyway
I have to admit, I’m getting much more time for stitching since moving out on my own - at the last flat I was in, I did almost all of the cooking etc, while now I cook every now and then and the rest of the time just have to defrost (if I cook casseroles etc I just eat one meal then freeze the rest) … amazing how much time that frees up LOL. And Mum commented yesterday that while she’s here on holiday I should get even more stitching done, ‘cos she’ll be helping out with the housework etc … love ya, Mum!!

Update on Dratted’s

Well, today my recliner has my bum imprint clearly embedded on it I’ve been super-glued to it all day stitching my little heart out. Actually, saying that, I’ve just realised it’s 11pm and I didn’t stop for dinner … oops! I’ve been having a DVD-fest today at Shackbuster, watching soppy movies such as Sleepless in Seattle, 50 First Dates and The Sixth Sense. I managed to complete one whole rotation segment in one day … plus a little bit more - seeing as I also put 4 hours into this piece earlier in the week, I’ll decide tomorrow whether I’ll continue for the next 4 hours to complete another rotation segment, or just start on my next rotation slot. Anyway, here’s the latest progress piccie of the Dratted’s … hopefully it will only be about another 2 rotation slots for them before I can cut the side lacings and move the fabric up on the scroll bars … yippee!

Rightio, off to bed for me … was going to sit and blog for a while to catch up on everyone’s blogs, but I might have to leave that until the morning - didn’t realise the time until I came to send this …

Nearly the weekend!

For me, I only have one more working day left tomorrow (Saturday), then I have two days off, and can’t wait! Been a so-so day today … didn’t get a great night’s sleep, which is mainly to do with me feeling a bit flat and very over-tired - we had yet another big thunderstorm during the night, so I had a pretty broken sleep. Mind you, I was still up at 7.30am and straight into work stitching on the Dratteds to make me feel more human - and loved it! Managed to get 2 hours stitching done on it … isn’t it amazing how much more quickly the needle flies when you’re really enjoying the stitching? Will be interesting to see if the enthusiasm continues for the next 8 hours of my rotation LOL. I’m now about to leave the ‘main’ dolphin behind, and head over to the right-hand side of the fabric - I want to finish all the top half of the chart before winding up the scroll bars, as I’ve got the sides laced, and I hate re-lacing them.

On a positive note I received the first of my long-overdue backorders today - from Wyndham Needleworks. I was very very disappointed to find out, though, that the 2001 JCS Christmas Ornament issue had sold out … wish I’d known that weeks ago when I ordered it - I was really disappointed when I opened the envelope, especially when no mention had been made of it in emails Oh well, the other charts etc were ones I needed for SAL’s etc, and the 2002 JCS Christmas ornie issue was there, and I have to say I love quite a few ornies in the 2002 one The other charts I received were Strawberries So Faire and Quaker Needlework Treasures by With My Needle, and Quaker Swan Case by Fancy Work.
I also forgot to post I received my back-order from The Silver Needle at the start of the week too … I’d actually forgotten about my back order from them (!) - plus my back-ordered 32ct natural Belfast linen from Silkweaver, which also arrived earlier. Have to admit, I really love the colour of that linen … very very nice! The Silver Needle was just one JABC button for an ornament plus some MH crystal treasures and Kreinik braids for two projects I’m really keen to stitch - it now means I have everything in place for my MH stand-up Christmas tree woohoo!!!

And now it’s time to head off to bed again, after only being home an hour - want to try to wind down early, as they’ve just started up a party next door … at least my bedroom is on the opposite side of the apartment to the party … phew!

Second post today…

I’ve been very slack by not answering the SBQ’s immediately, so this week I’m answering the last two together …

Last week’s “Stitching Blogger’s Question” was suggested by Kimberly and Lili and is:

“How do you feel about staying totally true to a pattern? Do you feel that you have to rip out stitches to fix a mistake or do you feel it’s acceptable to incorporate a mistake into the design?”

Hmmm, it all depends. I generally stay true to a pattern, but lately I’ve got a bit more adventurous and can consider taking different parts of a project out to combine with something else, or especially changing thread colours. There are a few charts I have in my stash that I’d love to stitch, but they’re stitched with pinks which are definitely not me, so I intend to switch the pinks over to blues. As for the mistakes part of the question - if the error is minor, and it was stitched waaaay back in the chart, I’ll work around it if I can, otherwise I’ll frog-stitch it and fix it up … I’m not as pedantic about my own stitched pieces anymore, and don’t mind fudging where necessary, but my first instinct is always to frog!

Today’s “Stitching Blogger’s Question” was suggested by Kimberly and is:

“Do you always sign your projects? If not, why? If so, do you use your first name, initials or what?”

I have to say I’m pretty bad about signing pieces - I do try to remember now to sign and date my stitched pieces, but I generally don’t bother with it. Mum was always nagging me that I should sign them, but it didn’t seem important. I will usually add the name and date if it’s a sampler or ornament where it can be easily incorporated into the piece, but I’m not too fussed about including it on other pieces.

On a different note, between 9-11pm Tuesday night it was quiet on the phones, so I managed to daydream a bit and make a list of stitching projects in my stash that are currently calling to me the loudest for future stitching - just thought I’d post them for posterity … and to remind me when I have a ‘free’ stitching rotation which projects to choose from first:

‘General’ projects:

• Summer into Autumn by The Drawn Thread
• Crimson Fire Sampler by The Victoria Sampler
• Lily Pond sampler by Just Nan
• Angel of Love by Lavender & Lace
• Frangipani kit by Just Jude
• Rainbow Lorikeets by Ross Originals
• Max’s Moon by Cross Your Heart
• Either Pyramids or Eiffel Tower by John Clayton
• Walk the Gentle Path by Cross ‘n’ Patch
• Royal Holiday by Mirabilia
• The Queen Mermaid by Mirabilia
• Deco Spirits by Mirabilia
• Canvaswork by Jen’s Jems (choice of two really bright ones!)
• Le Jardin sampler (Just XS magazine)
• Water Tiger by Kustom Krafts
• Garden Sweet Bag by Forget-Me-Nots-In-Stitches

Stitching smalls (separate to SAL’s):

• Terri’s Needlecase by Lorri Birmingham
• Bee scissor fob by Shepherd’s Bush
• Butterflies & Hearts needleroll by Lorri Birmingham
• Close at Heart needleroll by The Victoria Sampler
• Summer at the Ocean by Jeanette Douglas
• Acorn Needlebook by Periwinkle Promises
• And Many More needlebook by Just Nan
• Raphael’s Raspberries by FMNIS
• Just about everything (!) by Twisted Oaks Designs
• Never Enough Berries by FMNIS

UFO’s:

• Cream button bag (weekend retreat with Shelley Warner)
• Noah’s Ark by Teresa Wentzler
• Hussif by Monica Hunt
• Wool embroidery hot water bottle cover
• With Love & Affection by JBW Designs
• Summer Fruits pincushion (Inspirations magazine)
• English Cottage Sampler by Teresa Wentzler

Phew, that should keep me out of mischief for the next 10 years LOL There’s a whole lot more, but they’re my ‘main’ wishes … what a shame we have to work to pay the bills - imagine what sort of dent we’d do in our stitching lists if we had 24 hours of no other commitments … oh well, I can but dream! :))

Come in ‘Dratteds’ - your time is up!

What can I say? I don’t think I feel well at all … over the last two days I’ve been counting down the hours of my current rotation on Winter Queen, as I can’t wait for my next rotation slot - which is for those Dratted Dolphins! What the …??!!! That’s a first - me actually looking forward to stitching them … maybe that last migraine unsettled me more than I thought! Anyway, today I put the final stitches of my 10 hour rotation for WQ, and she’s about to be taken off the floor stand, to be replaced with the Dratteds for another 10 hours - I’m sure after 10 hours the novelty and joy of stitching them will have worn off LOL. Actually, I think I just really really want to get them finished so I can replace them with another piece on my rotation … and there are so MANY screaming to take their place (high up on the list is Angel of Love by L&L).

Sorry I’ve been a bit slack commenting on everyones blogs - I’ve been avoiding the computer a bit since Sunday, other than just checking emails every day, to try and make sure I helped to keep the migraines away. Hopefully now I’m all up to date with everyone again, and regular programming can be resumed!

I’ve also chased up some outstanding mail orders from months ago, when I had my huge stash-fest … there are still 3 orders yet to arrive It looks like my order from Wyndham Needleworks was mailed on 16 Nov, so hopefully it won’t be too far away from arriving. I’m still waiting for some needles to arrive for my Nordic Needle order, and a back-ordered chart and Gloriana silk from Stitching Bits & Bobs - I’ve asked them both if they could send what they have already and send the other items afterwards … I’m getting worried that closer to Christmas they’ll get lost in the postal system, and it’s too precious a cargo to go missing! Maybe I should just shove the parcels unopened under the Christmas tree this year for gifts to myself - what a treat … anybody want to take bets as to whether I’ll be able to keep from opening them? Nah, it’d never happen!! LOL.

And I can’t believe that Christmas is so close around the corner - this year for me will be an extra special one - my Mum is flying over to spend Christmas with me, for a 6-week holiday. It’ll be the first time since I moved here 2 1/2 years ago that I’ve had a family member to spend Christmas with, and I’m actually rostered off on Christmas Day too, for an even better bonus!! Mum gets to have a holiday here, and I get to have one too … Mum will not sit down for the life of her - or if she does, she’s usually doing something like knitting or mending something! She has the housework all done while I’m at work, so I don’t have to do anything when I come home … she’s the best! I wish sometimes she’d take the time to rest herself, but she’s happiest when she’s doing things for other people … she’s one of the most kind hearted and generous people I know!! And she’ll be here in only 3 weeks time - yippee!! I always joke I’ve saved a pile of ironing for her for when she comes, ‘cos I detest ironing with a passion - and she loves it! LOL.

Next week it’ll be time to start putting my little Christmas tree up - in our last flat I made sure we had a tree and trimmings up to make it feel like Christmas … Mum always had the best tree in the world (boy, I miss that tree!!!), and she’s instilled in me a love for Christmas with all its trimmings etc. It will be nice to share that joy with her again this year - and she’ll also be here in time to see the Christmas displays in the shops … she’ll be in her element!

Anyway, time to get ready for work, I guess - need to head off early to take library books (on tape) back … then only 3 days of work left (including today) before my next 2 days off. Really looking forward to 2 Dec, when I get 5 days off in a row … ah, heaven!!!

For those of you in the US … Happy Thanksgiving! :))

Winter Queen finally started…

I’ve been trying to start this project as a SAL with the StitchNZ yahoo group for a while now, but kept putting it off for different reasons - firstly I thought I wanted to use a hand-dyed fabric instead, but then opted for the plain white again, then I pulled the floss together to start kitting up, and realised I didn’t have enough skeins of some of the colours, or 3 colours of the MH beads. Well, I finally popped into Spotlight yesterday and picked up the skeins and beads I needed, and made a small inroad into starting her last night. She was just what I needed yesterday, but there’s not much progress to show just yet …

Sunday started off well, and saw me reorganising my threads while trying to work out what to use for my Apricot Elegance SAL in January - I had a slight headache, but nothing more … by the afternoon it had developed into a full-blown migraine that was so bad I ended up throwing up with it, and sleeping for about 14 hours all-up yuk!! I know what triggered this one - the messy shifts, jumping from one timeframe to another, and not getting a proper 8 hours sleep on any of them … Anyway, by late yesterday afternoon I finally started feeling a bit more ‘human’ - I wandered around the shopping mall for a couple of hours, getting a few things I needed (like painkiller tablets!), and it was really nice to just ‘potter’ with no timeframe or deadlines. By 7pm I was ready to start thinking of getting a bit of stitching done. And last night I had the best night’s sleep I’ve had all week - I feel so much better today. Luckily this week’s shifts are all relatively similar, with only 1 x 3pm-11pm today, followed by 4 x 1pm-9pm … hallelujah!!!

While I was out shopping yesterday I also finally picked up some scrapbooking paper to make an album page in honour of my best friend’s Mum who’s turning 70 in January. She lost her husband, Ross, just over a year ago, and it’s hit her hard, and she’s starting to lose her confidence and been starting to ask questions like “was I a good mother?” etc … anyway Vicki thought it would be lovely to put an album together with everyone donating one page of ‘memories’ - things about Doreen that you love and happy occasions with her etc … I think it’s the most wonderful idea! So, never having scrapbooked in my life, I’m going to put a page together - with possibly another one for my Mum, as she has some memories of her own to include - in fact, I’d better get cracking, as they need to be posted at the start of December. It’s a bit hard in that almost all my photos are back in NZ, but I think I’ve managed to find a couple that I can use, as well as some stickers etc. Hopefully it will cheer Doreen up, and help to give her a sense of purpose again She’s been like my adopted second Mum, and the whole family has had such a huge influence in my life - part of who I am today is in direct tribute to Doreen and her family … love you Doreen, you’ve impacted on my life more than you could ever know! :))

And seeing as I didn’t get my finishing done on my pansy pin pillow, I thought I’d better post a piccie now - I certainly wasn’t in the mood to finish it this weekend, so I’ll put it to one side until my ‘finishing’ spot in my rotation, which isn’t too far away …

Also thanks for all your kind comments about the new look blog, everyone - your comments are always greatly appreciated

And last, but certainly far from least (!), a HUGE thanks go to Jenna, the computer guru herself, for creating my progress bars so you can actually see them again … your blood is worth bottling, and while I may not be able to name my first-born after you, I’m extremely grateful to you {{hugs}} :)))

New Look !!

Well, what can I say, but gee whiz, I really like it! Took a few attempts to get things the way I was happy with it … and I’m sure Lisa has a voodoo doll made of me (perhaps that explains my ill health issues over the last few weeks?!! LOL) - but the final version I can certainly live with!

My main problem was that I had my heart set on having a paua shell background (you’re right, Sharon - that’s exactly what it is!), and I’d had some wrapping paper back in NZ that I thought would be perfect … Mum got sent on a shopping mission, but unfortunately the paper she found wasn’t the same - anyway, Lisa obviously managed to find a different graphic somewhere, and it looks pretty good … I just love the colours of the paua shell, I think the purples and blues are just stunning! So that was the touch of my Kiwi homeland … as well as starting to fulfil my “blue” fetish … and the ducks of course had to be on the page to tie in with my blog title. To add a little bit extra, I had the little photo added next to the comments sections, which is a photo we took on holiday driving to Adelaide earlier this year with Mum - it’s a photo of the Twelve Apostles, on the Great Ocean Road … so that’s also a little touch of my current home, Australia
Now I can play a little bit with the sidebars etc - unfortunately with the colours changing, you can’t see the progress bars anymore, so I need to try and work something else out there, plus centre the WIP’s etc. Every time I look at this new blog it makes my whole body go “Ahhhhh” - I feel very positive and ‘centred’ when I see it … it is definitely “me”
I finished the beading on the pansy pin pillow thingo this morning before I went to work, but I thought I won’t bother posting a piccie until I’ve stitched it together into the actual pillow - with any luck I’ll get that done some time tomorrow …

South Park Annie!

I had to follow suit, and have a play on the South Park Studio site, after seeing Jenna’s South Park character - have to say, Jenna, very very cute! So here’s my “me too” effort … it really was way too much fun on that site! Kept me amused for a short while when I got home from work LOL.

And yes, you’re right, Jenna - that is the pansy needle keeper from Mill Hill … and I have to say your photo album is divine! In fact, I’ve also fallen in love with your needleroll from the Classic Stitches site and just HAD to go and download it myself What a great enabler you are … and the needleroll didn’t cost anything, so my credit card company loves you too haha. Anyway, I’ve managed to get a fair bit of the pansy done tonight, but it’s time to hit the hay - I don’t start work until 1pm tomorrow, so with any luck I can get some more stitching done before I hit the road, and if not, I’ve then got two days off so I should be able to finish it totally then.

And my new-look blog is soon to be unveiled … woohoo. It’s taken a few ‘re-writes’ but the latest version combines the three requisites … (you’ll never guess two of them LOL) … 1) a touch of Kiwi to remind me of home; 2) ducks (!); 3) blue (!!). Anyway, I’ve just asked if the comments section can be made one tiny shade lighter to make the text easier to read, then hopefully it can get the final tick of approval and I’ll have the new look unveiled next week yippee