Scissor Fob Exchange

Phew, Su has received her scissor fob exchange from me, so I can post a piccie. For a beautiful close-up of the stitching you’ll have to pop over to Su’s blog, as mine is just done on the scanner and much less artistic I was majorly stressed over this exchange, as Su’s stitching and finishing is so awesome, and I had the huge delays with SB&B with the ‘extra goodies’ arriving. Anyway, it’s finally reached it’s destination safe and sound, and I’m very happy! This is my last exchange for a little while, though - and putting the stress factor aside LOL, I’ve enjoyed each and every one

Silken Roses Scissor Fob by The Sweetheart Tree
stitched on 32ct Lavender Mist Belfast linen
with the recommended threads
but omitting the eyelets on the back and personalising
with our initials and the year

Rightio, time to have brekkie then it’s back to my stitching corner … I’ve decided to stitch Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs for my needleroll SAL, and if I have time I’ll also try and finish my Snow Fall needleroll from last month too … oh dear, I guess that means no housework again today, that’s too bad hahahaha

RR & Exchanges … and stuff

Thanks for all your comments and emails of support - I’m still feeling a bit ‘blue’ (which I would normally be happy about haha), but I’m getting there slowly. Anyway, I won’t dwell on my current issues now, as I’m trying hard to keep them from my mind and not brood on things. I just wanted to post a few piccies of the fantastic exchange I just received today.

I received my scissor fob exchange from Cari, and I’m seriously blown away by her generosity … not only did I receive the most exquisite fob in my fave colours, but also a pair of “Julia” Gingher’s scissors, no less, and a VC silk in the most glorious blue … I’ve been shaking my head like a stunned mullet (there’s an Aussie saying for you) ever since I opened the envelope at lunchtime - and 6 hours later still feel gobsmacked by it all. The fob is absolutely gorgeous, and Cari’s stitching and finishing is awesome … I definitely don’t feel worthy … I just LOVE everything, and it will all be treasured for years to come - thanks again so much Cari!! I’ve taken piccies of the whole kit and caboodle, as well as trying to take a close-up shot of the front and back of the fob, so here goes:

On top of that I remembered to take a photo of the recent RR’s I’ve been participating in … this one is Lynn’s RR so far, with just one more stitcher left to go (I stitched the Winter square earlier - sorry for the out of focus photo).

And this one is the latest RR I’ve received - this is Wendy’s … and I just have to stitch the Winter square on this one before it gets returned home to Canada. I’m hoping to get some quality stitching time over the next weekend, so I’ll concentrate on getting some of this stitched up then (as well as finishing a gift piece now my missing Kreinik braid has arrived). Anyway, I thought Wendy might like to see how it’s looking so far - hopefully I can whip through the stitching quickly so it can be posted back before hitting the pre-Christmas rush.

Tomorrow is a public holiday here in Melbourne - the only city I know where the entire city has a holiday for a horse race! I loved the description I just found on this website (actually the rest of the page is quite a fun read - and some of the Aussie slang is great):

“Melbourne is famous for Australia’s premier horse race “The Melbourne Cup” held the first Tuesday in November at approximately 3pm at Flemington Racecourse. It is a public holiday in Melbourne, and in the rest of Australia and now in many parts of the world people stop work just to listen to this race. Horses from all over the world come here to participate.
The Queen entered a horse in this race a few years ago - it did not win. Generally it will be won by a horse that has been bred in New Zealand.”

Personally I won’t be having the day off, as I’m working (and I’ll be very grateful for it when payday comes, as it’s a double-time day which will be exceptionally handy this coming payday!!). I do have to admit to spending $2 on a non-essential item yesterday, which in 7 days isn’t bad going It’s pretty compulsory that you get involved with this infamous horserace and I joined the throng for the work sweepstake … very high roller this betting chick Apparently the horse that got put against my name is a relatively good one, not that that will make much difference - but it’s all a bit of fun and the entire office gets behind it. My horse is called “Efficient”.

Anyway, that’s all from me tonight - just wanted to post those couple of piccies … and say thanks for all the support - it has really helped to keep my spirits up {{hugs}}

Mail Art Exchange

I know Zohrah hasn’t received this yet, seeing as it only got sent out last week, but as far as I know she doesn’t read my blog, and I’ve decided to post a piccie of it anyway while I’m waiting for my dinner to reheat. Here was my 2nd attempt at the same design thanks to Mr Postman … I made a pretty crappy attempt at the buttonhole closures, and definitely need a lot more practice, but it looks OK, I think. The buttons were bought in Auckland while I was visiting in May … funnily enough, I bought 4 of them at the time … perhaps I knew something way back then!!! The names have been taken out for privacy reasons. The design was from one of the XS magazines that I can’t put my hands on right at this minute (mainly ‘cos I can’t be bothered to go looking - if anyone is desperate to know leave me a comment and I’ll track it down for you later).

(the front)

(the back)

Redwork exchange received

Just a quick note to upload some piccies, and say a HUGE thank you to Leslie for my Redwork exchange piece … isn’t this the most gorgeous thing? I just love it! It’s just so rich and scrummy … I have most definitely fallen in love with redwork - I just can’t get enough of it now! (Don’t worry, though, I’m still most definitely a blue girl at heart, and that won’t change LOL.) As well as the beautiful stitched ornament (which I adore), Leslie also sent some extra goodies along - some GAST threads and a fat 1/4 of some lovely quilting fabric … all very very useful! As well as that, she also sent the chart and remaining charms that she stitched mine from - which I also love, and it’s going to be very very handy as you’ve just given me a great idea for an upcoming gift This poor exchange has been sitting at the Post Office since just before last weekend, but this is the first time I’ve been anywhere near work during daylight hours to pick it up.

Before I forget, for Cindy - I used the flat-fold instructions from Judy Odell’s book, which is wonderful … but Kim has put very good instructions on her website here - the only major difference is that Judy attaches her ribbon before the pieces are put together, and she stitches the pieces together instead of using glue, using a ladder stitch - hope that helps

And here is the before and after photo of the Kitty Pi Mum knitted for me … I’ve conned her into making another one (one for the lounge, and one for the bedroom), but I’ve found where I can buy the proper wool (ie Noro Kureyon) here in Melbourne, so we’re going to get some of the ‘Real McCoy’ to use next time. As you can see, the ducks are seriously impressed with it! Just for a change, I thought we’d go “blue” LOLOL - the actual colour is more muted than the photo looks.

As for today, nothing much done except for housework - the lounge is tidy now (including my stitching corner, will miracles never cease??) … the next job is the dining table which is a pigsty, but I figure just doing a bit every day will eventually get the clutter put away - after that, I start decluttering the bedrooms, and that’s a full-time job haha. I had a shocking night’s sleep last night due to horrendously high winds making a racket, so I’m just taking it very very easy today, and I’ll have an early night tonight … hmmm, I wonder what rocket fuel cocktail I could make tonight to knock me out? LOL. Other than that today I managed to get Zohrah’s replacement mail art exchange in the mail … I haven’t felt too creative this week, so I’ve just re-done the original mail art I did (praying this one turns up, as I don’t think I could stitch it three times!!).

I think this arvo I’m going to drag out the Dratteds and put a few stitches into them … I really wanted to get them finished by Christmas, and that date is looming really really quickly!! After that, I think Egyptian Garden Mandala will be replacing them as my focus piece on my rotation … I can’t wait to stitch on this one again

Needleroll exchange from Sylvie

WOW!!!!! That’s what came out of my mouth as I stood on the pavement at the back of the Post Office today … I was too impatient to get home to open up my parcel, so Mum and I opened it up together there and then Inside the parcel was my needleroll exchange from Sylvie, and I can honestly and truthfully say I am totally blown away by it all - I just adore everything! The needleroll is stitched and finished so beautifully, and the design and colours are incredible … I’m lost for words as to how beautiful I think it is And if that wasn’t enough, inside the gorgeous bag (that is going to be oh-so-useful for my stitching bits and bobs next to my chair) there were Gloriana silks in the most dreamy and heavenly colours for a blue girl like me … serious drool material - I adore Gloriana silks! But there was even more yet … a lovely little address book, and cute turquoise bracelet, and a postcard from Normandie … and I love it all!! I still can’t believe that I get to keep it all, that it’s all mine! I’ll say it again … “WOW”!! Thanks heaps and heaps Sylvie for an exceptional exchange {{hugs}}

(I give up on Blogger tonight, so I’m using Photobucket mutter mutter mutter)

The other squishy mail I had today was my next round robin piece - this is Lynn’s seasonal round robin … I’m really enjoying stitching on these, and I’ve been looking forward to the next one arriving. Now I just have to decide which season to stitch, Winter or Spring … oh decisions, decisions …

Rightio, off to work I go again … but not ‘real’ work, though … Mum and I are going to try ornamentifying a few of her stitched ornies so she knows how to do it when she gets home. Which will be interesting, as I’ve only ever made the two square ones last year … we’ll be dragging out the magazines again to get some ideas, I think - mind you, seeing as Mum’s flying out tomorrow, I don’t think we’ll be getting too creative - nothing like leaving it until the last minute haha. We’re going to finish off her holiday tonight with king prawns (on sale at Safeway today), and breakfast out at St Kilda tomorrow morning and a trip into the city for some last-minute sightseeing/shopping … thank goodness for stitching, ‘cos I’ll be feeling a bit lost for a few days afterwards having the place to myself again … not for long, though, as I’ll be kept busy catching up on all the blogs!!

Redwork exchange

Just a quick note to say my redwork exchange on the SBEBB has been received by Nancy, so I can unveil it now … I used the Quaker Swan Case as my instructions, but used an online freebie as my basis for the stitching. As the stitching chart was wayyyyy too big, I deleted a few elements and played around with the flower leaves for a while until it fitted my measurements OK. It’s stitched with DMC 115, which I really love, on a 32ct hand-dyed Lugana from Country Stitch. I was really really disappointed with my finishing, as I found the ribbon ‘hinges’ too long, and it just flopped around when it was all put together, so I ended up putting a little line of backstitches on the two side hinges to keep it more ‘together’ - which also means now that you can hang it on a hanger on display … which I really love the idea of it, and may now do that with mine when I get around to stitching it too I also wasn’t too pleased with how the inside hearts are attached (the red ones), so when I do mine I think I’ll modify that a bit too. I’m really glad Nancy liked it, though, as I was a bit worried about it … I didn’t take a photo of it with the ‘tweaking’ of the hinges, or with the goodies I sent, and I don’t think Nancy updates her blog anymore, but at least you can see the needlecase

Seeing as it’s Mum’s last full day here today, we’re off out shopping … so no stitching for me until tonight. I do have a progress piccie to share, but I’ll wait until tomorrow or Thursday, when it’ll be a finished piccie hopefully

Needleroll exchange

Just a quick post before I head to work, as my needleroll exchange (on the Robin’s Nest BB) has been received by Nicki … as soon as I received Nicki’s name, I decided I now had two redwork exchanges to do, as I know Nicki loves red And I also knew I wanted to have something about cats on it … after trawling my stitching stash, and a couple of online freebies, I sat down at the computer and cranked open the XS designing software, and came up with the following needleroll.

It’s a combination of loads of different bits and pieces - the top band came from a Just Nan chart “A Summer’s Day”, the little fish bone skeletons I designed myself, and just used a row of herringbone stitches next. The band above and below the cat band is from the “Peace needleroll ornament” by Jeannette Douglas Designs. The blackwork cats are from Just Nan’s “Catnip Tea”, the blackwork fishies are from an online freebie by Kristine Herber, and the row of watery waves are from “Summer at the Ocean” needleroll by Jeannette Douglas Designs. I’d worked 4 different versions online before I finally decided on this final one, and I was really really pleased with the result - and I’m glad to hear Nicki likes it It was stitched on 32ct Maritime by Lakeside Linens.

Great Mail Day :)

I didn’t get chance to take piccies yesterday, so waited until today to post … I received an awesome mail art exchange from Aniza in Malaysia - and I absolutely love it! Aniza also sent some gorgeous threads with it too, and it’s now residing happily in my stitching smalls basket with my other treasures. I have to admit I feel very embarrassed at my pitiful attempt at mail art, and I really hope Zohrah doesn’t mind it … Aniza’s beautiful one puts mine to shame!! Thanks again, Aniza! Hopefully if you click on the piccies, it’ll take you to the big piccies so you can see a close-up of her lovely work

Stitching update

I had to take a day off work yesterday just to get some stitching in … well, actually it was because I felt like cr*p, and couldn’t face work - my sore throat turned into a bit of laryngitis on Tuesday night, and I hardly slept at all. When I woke up yesterday morning I felt really groggy and as though I’d been run over. This morning I still feel pretty rough - I’m more blocked up in the nose, and my throat is sore again, but my voice isn’t quite as laryngitis-like. Fingers crossed I’ll be OK to get back to work again tomorrow. It does mean, though, that I managed to get a bit of stitching done - and a bit of frogging too ;P I still have two stitches to fix up in the vines that I noticed I managed to miss yesterday, and they’re easily added in - but I’m slowly catching up to you, Carol I’ll continue to get this panel finished (the whole of part 1), then I have to get my ducks RR done to get in the mail by 1 July … then it’s “Dratteds, here I come!!!”

Just a quick post today, as my concentration at the computer isn’t great - I tried catching up on some more blog reading yesterday, but I ended up reading most things three times, and gave up. Off to have another Lemsip Cold & Flu, then cuddle up under my blanket again in my not-so-glamorous PJ’s for the day …

(Updated) Crikey, I just realised that I hadn’t posted piccies of my previous stash arrivals … for some reason I thought I’d already done it, but just checked back in my blog posts, and lo and behold nothing was there! Oops - I’d forget my head these days if it wasn’t permanently attached!! Anyway, here are the piccies of stash I received as gifts from some very generous ladies - thanks so much again Cathy and Nancy - your generosity is amazing, and I love everything (I know I’ve sent personal emails already, but just wanted to reiterate it now) Unfortunately blogger is, just for a change, having a hissy fit about adding more photos, so I’ve had to use Photobucket, which of course means you can’t click for a bigger piccie, sorry

Here are my wonderful spoils from Cathy:

And my wonderful spoils from Nancy:

SBQ’s and a very quick update

And still no stash photos - just haven’t had time … have hardly spent any time at my PC all week, but have been working hard to get my exchanges finished instead, as well as trying to unpack after my holiday, and tidy up a bit (my little flat looks like a bomb has exploded in it).

Anyway, just quickly I’ve managed to get my scissors fob exchange into the mail to Nicola (I’m safe to post piccies, because she doesn’t read my blog) - the stitching was all finished before I flew to NZ, I just had to whipstitch it, make the tassel and cording, and put it together … then while I was in NZ I just never got around to getting it done, and ended up bringing it back home with me (geez, I’m useless!!). Anyway, it’s finally in its little envelope and on its way back to NZ again phew!! And just for a change, blogger is having a hissy fit about posting photos, so I’m giving up … here are photos uploaded from Photobucket - and if you want to see a close-up of the front click here, and the back is here.

My mail art is all finished with the stitching - I hope the recipient likes it, but I have to admit to being a bit worried about it … I think I struggled as I couldn’t work out the recipient’s preferences, as there is no online album that I could find, or wishlist, so I feel like I’ve been stitching ‘blind’. Today I have the job of putting it all together into it’s envelope shape etc - I was going to do it yesterday, but it was day 7 of work, after doing the last 3 days with 5am shifts, and I was worried with my tiredness I’d stuff it up … best to leave it until today … although I still feel half asleep, so I don’t know … haha.

This weekend is our needleroll SAL, but I don’t know whether I’m going to manage to get one stitched, as I really do need to get that mail art 100% finished - maybe I’ll get some time tomorrow to put a few stitches in. If I do, I think I’ll be working on my half-finished ’sample’ one I was making for the Melanie’s Exchange, and try to get a little bit more stitched on it.

Rightio, lastly on to the SBQ’s before I sign off … I now have 4 SBQ’s to catch up on, so I thought I’d bite the bullet and get them all out of the way today, ‘cos before I know it there’ll be another one being posted I’ve decided to just answer the first 3 initially, as the other one needs photos, and I’m not yet organised for that one.

17 May - Today’s SBQ was suggested by Jenna and is:

“Lately, it seems that many stitching bloggers have experienced a loss of their stitching mojo. Have you ever lost your stitching mojo? If so, how did you get it back and how long did it take?”

I lost my mojo when I first moved to Melbourne, due to appalling living conditions that just weren’t conducive to stitching - but as soon as I moved out with Fraze and we got our own place I bought a cheap recliner, set up my stitching station, and never looked back … in fact I’ve stitched more in the last 24 months than I’ve ever stitched, I think I did get a bit overwhelmed with my commitment stitching etc over the last couple of months, which has been detrimental to my overall stitching … I think sometimes it’s a bit of a carry-over from when I had concussion years ago - even now if I get over-tired, I struggle to ‘focus’ on things - I find I have to make lists etc to keep on track, but when I get overwhelmed with ’stuff’ my head almost gets too cluttered and I lose track. I can sit in a chair, knowing I have lots of things I must get done, but half an hour later I’m still sat there, and don’t know where the time has gone hmmm. Now I’m realising that I need to be more realistic with my stitching time, especially as sometimes I get really tired with my shift work, so I can be more in control.

24 May - Today’s SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is:

“What is your favorite specialty stitch? Which one is your least favorite? Why?”

I don’t know what my favourite stitch is at the moment - I enjoy doing Rhodes stitches in whatever shape or form (which is probably a good thing, seeing as there are so many in the Bordeaux Mystery Sampler!), and I really enjoyed doing the Waffle stitch for my Melanie’s Exchange needleroll - I just enjoy the variety of loads of different stitches. Probably my least favourite would have to be bullion knots and french knots … definitely a lot easier to answer! haha.

31 May - Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

“Do you collect charts by one particular designer, yet have never stitched anything by that designer? If so, which designer and why do you collect the charts but have not yet stitched any of them?”

Perhaps the designs that come to mind here are Teresa Wentzler … I went through a phase where I had to buy every single design that TW had put out, and continued to do so for quite some time, including trading and tracking down copies all over the world (prior to knowing about Ebay!). I’ve never actually stitched any of them in their entirety, although I do have two of them that are currently UFO’s, so I do expect to eventually finish them both. I doubt I’ll stitch much of my collection, but it’s the only one I’ll be hard pushed to part with. Even if I never stitch them, I love flicking through the charts in my folder like a book of fine art - it’s uplifting for the soul to just feast your eyes on such beauty

I also started doing the same with Mirabilia charts, and used to received her new charts automatically - but the designs changed and I no longer loved them as I used to, so I stopped … I’ll still buy one if I fall in love with it, but it’s more rare these days, and I’ve even been putting a few up for trade that I know I’ll never stitch in a month of Sundays. They’re probably the main two designers I’m guilty of collecting.