Short post before I head to work

I just want to post a public thank you to the stitcher who left the original “Pickaninny” link - we have had a few email exchanges and my mind has been put to rest that there was no malicious intent, and the emails have been very very much appreciated.

Since my ranting post it appears to have blown up bigger than Ben Hur … and I was in a bit of an emotional state yesterday when I read it on arriving home.  I’ve been working exceptionally long hours (15 hours some of the days), and I am mentally and physically dog-tired and exhausted - because of that I’ve been very over-sensitive to these issues that have arisen and they have affected me a lot.  Normally I’d have the strength to think “whatever” and ignore the original link, instead of letting it get to me emotionally.  Last night I was at such a low ebb, aftering reading the latest round of comments (one particularly) I was very tempted to shut off the comment option or walk away from blogging altogether … once again, just an over-reaction due to my emotional state right now.  I do want to thank those of you who have offered support in your comments, though, it is appreciated.

I have, however, decided to take a break from writing or reading blogs for a week or so - until I’m not so manic and stressed at work, and life and my emotions have returned to an even keel.  I’m dealing with so much at work right now, I don’t need to add to the emotional stress when I get home as well.  There will still be a Photo Hunt post regardless, as I’ve post-dated about 2 months worth of photos … as for the rest, I’ll be back when I’m ready I guess, then I can put all this stuff behind me and move on.

Right now, it’s time to get dressed and get back into the office for the rest of the day - at least I should be able to achieve a few things today without distractions or interruptions … I’ll return again soon.

Just popping in briefly

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has left such kind and generous comments on my Photo Hunt posts - it’s something I’m still enjoying doing each week on the whole, and at least it means some form of photo is present every week even if it’s not stitching ones!

I’ve taken two photography courses in the past, but both were purely about working in the darkroom, which taught me absolutely nothing about what I wanted to learn (ie composition, exposure, lighting etc) - so if the photos come out well, it’s probably pure luck and perhaps a reasonable eye when it comes to cropping in the editing program

It’s been a long time since I’ve been madly taking photos of my surroundings - when I went travelling years ago with my “film” camera (before I learned about the joy of digital) I’d come from with bags brimming full of film reels for processing because I’ve always been snap happy.  Only in recent months have I started getting the joy of photography back again and started taking a few more photos.  One day I may look at taking another class again (but for digital, not film, so there’s no chance of just ending up in the darkroom!), or perhaps I’ll just get a tutorial book for digital cameras … one day …

Today, however, I’m about to head off back to my bed and catch up on some TV viewing from the last few weeks while stitching up a wee freebie or two - I also have to get my Christmas ornie finished for June … I feel another lazy weekend coming on!

Thanks once again for all the lovely comments on my photos - and also on my stitching, it’s greatly appreciated that you’ve taken the time to do so.  On the reading front I’m almost halfway through catching up on my backlog so you’ll see me leaving more comments on your own blogs once again - it’ll be nice to get into that daily blog reading routine that I used to have before moving to Sydney

Day out down south

As I mentioned yesterday, Mum and I drove down to Mittagong, Bowral and Berrima on Saturday, and had a really lovely day out.  I wasn’t going to write this post just yet, but I’m up (not bright but) early thanks to Lisa coming home inebriated in the wee small hours and spending half the night in bed listening to her throwing up in the bathroom opposite … I figured now is as good a time as any to write it up!

Anyway, we started the day off by driving to Mittagong to Victoria House so Mum could see the stitched models.  And we ended up coming out with a few charts from their bargain/sale bins … I didn’t take any photos of the stash, sorry, but basically Mum’s were all Christmas ornament charts, and I bought a couple of Hillside Sampling charts, a needleroll chart, and a wooden bellpull hanger for my Bent Creek Christmas wallhanging.  It was nice to wander around and view the stitched models - always my favourite thing to do when visiting a new (or old) needlework shop

We then drove on a few km’s up the road to Bowral where we’d heard there was a Food & Wine Festival on … if there was, we didn’t find it, so ended up having a very non-Weight Watchers snack of meat pie and pastries from Gumnut Patisserie - this patisserie has won awards 4 years in a row, and it’s easy to see why, absolutely everything we tried from there was absolutely divine!!  No piccies, unfortunately, as we scoffed them while on the road (very naughty, I know!).

From there we drove another short distance (about 8km) across country to Berrima, where I’d been recommended to visit - and we weren’t disappointed.  What a lovely quaint village atmosphere - and not touristy at all, I thought.  The buildings are just lovely, and we spent a couple of hours just wandering aimlessly in and out of all the shops … with the odd thing jumping into our bags every now and then

A highlight for me was Mrs Oldbucks (they also have mail order from their website) - there is a room just filled with every sort of tea imaginable.  I bought four as my treat for the day, then Mum bought me one more with a tea filter for my mug … I came home with Wild Berry, Raspberry & Lime, Chai Herbal Blend, Summer Blend, and Marsala Chai - I should take some photos of the teas themselves … just opening the shopping bag up to read the labels my senses are filled with an amazing smell … aaarghhhh

As well as the room full of teas, there is another long room at Mrs Oldbucks which is filled with all kinds of culinary goodies - lollies (sweets), jams, chutneys, honeys, mustards, etc etc etc … an absolute treasure trove of yummy goodies.

We also spent a little bit of time wandering through the local patchwork shop, and managed to find a fat 1/4 each of fabrics we just HAD to have … plus I bought a wire hanger with 7 hooks on it to use for hanging my scissors up (I’ll try to remember and take photos later when I unpack all my scissor fobs and scissors … yep, still unpacking! haha), plus a couple of small wire hangers that I’d been hunting for for months!

There were also a couple of lovely antique shops that we found in a side street later, but it was getting too late to call in - but I loved a few of the buildings in that wee street (I’m a sucker for old buildings).

When we turned out of the street to return home, we were greeted by the magnificent sight of loads and loads of cockatoos sitting up in the trees - I’ve seen this phenomenon before but Mum hasn’t … it was hard to take a photo, but you can see all the white specks in the trees, well they’re all cockatoos!  It’s a glorious sight!!

After we arrived home we decided to celebrate the end to some wonderful adventures, as we were unlikely to be tripping off again during this visit - I cooked a light chicken dinner (stir-though sauce compliments of Leggo’s haha) and we cracked open a bottle of bubbly and placed a hibiscus flower in syrup that I bought in Perth recently in the bottom of the glass (they’re so cool!! - their website has a much better photo and information if you want to check them out), and settled in for the night … a fitting end to a wonderful holiday (I’m just trying hard not to think about work tomorrow as I know I have a gruelling procedure writing session for my ‘huge project’ as soon as I walk in the door hmmm).

Happy Birthday to The Dragon!!!

It’s my Mum’s birthday today, so we’re off to do some shopping at Spotlight on the way to the train station, then into the city to spend the rest of the morning at Darling Harbour.  The highlight of the day will be tickets to Phantom of the Opera, which was my birthday present to Mum.  (That photo was taken a few years ago - there have been a few additional wrinkles since then haha.)

We had a great day yesterday - the day included a massage, a walk along the beach, and a few hours at the Cronulla wine and food festival called “Jazz and Shiraz” … I’ll do a full write-up when I get a chance.  Right now I’ve gotta run and get changed so we can “hit the road Jack!”

Will be quiet for a few days…

… One reason is work at the moment is absolutely frenetic!  I haven’t had a ‘real’ lunch break for ages, and didn’t leave until 8pm on Monday night.  The only reason I managed to leave ‘early’ at 6pm tonight was because I was getting my hair cut, and have to be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning.  I’m heading across the ocean to our southern state of Tasmania to visit one of our call centres for a site visit.  I’ll be getting to sit in on a training session for 3 hours of the massive project I’ve been working on since January, plus a Supervisor meeting, followed by sitting with a Hotliner or two listening to calls (which will be interesting seeing as that’s the job I was doing in Melbourne! haha).  I’m looking forward to putting some names to faces of people I deal with on a regular basis, as well as setting foot in a part of Australia I haven’t been to before, even if it is just to see the drive from the airport to the call centre!  It will be an incredibly long day, though - in essence from the time I arrive at work to meet my travelling companion to the time I touch down on the tarmac again it will be a 15-hour working day (not to mention the local commuting time) ho-hum. 

BUT, there’s another GREAT reason why I’ll be quiet for a few days …

“The Dragon” (aka Mum) is arriving first thing on Thursday morning - yippee!!!  I really can’t wait, as I’m taking two weeks off on annual leave so we can spend some quality time together and see a few NSW sights.  Not entirely sure what we’ll be doing yet, aside from ticket to see Phantom of the Opera, but it will hopefully include Darling Harbour, the Zoo, a visit to The Stitching Post at Katoomba (plus visit to Leura this time too) and perhaps a quick trip up the coast to Coffs Harbour and/or Port Macquarie (yet to be decided if and when).  Regardless of what we do it will be “good times”, even if we’re sat at home stitching for the entire two weeks!

Anyway, I’d better sign off and jump in the shower to wash my hair and pack my bag (we’ve decided to take an overnight bag with sleeping gear and toiletries just in case we don’t get on either of our flights coming home … fingers crossed that won’t happen though!) … then it’s time to set the alarm clock for “sparrow’s fart” and time to hit the hay for the night …

A bit of royal stitching

I’ve been managing to get a few stitches into Winter Queen this week … I suppose any little bit is better than nothing!  This is how she looked before I put her away in January 2007:

And this is how she looks now (minus her head, ‘cos that’s now hiding under my scroll bar!):

I’m glad to see the beading all done, but now I’m facing the eternal swirls of the skirt part of her dress … endless miles of white stitching on white linen - I’d better start stocking up on wine in readiness!!!

Rhapsody in Red … enabling post

Just a very very quick public service announcement that Sampler Cove have released the photos of the next design in the Rhapsody in Red series … yep, yet another design for the wishlist!!!

Aside from that, not much happening in this neck of the woods that’s worth showing you - I’ve done about 3 hours worth of stitching on Mirabilia’s Winter Queen, including frogging an entire section of beads three whole times last night … hmmm.  Hopefully by the end of the week there’ll be enough progress to warrant a photo.  I can’t believe I haven’t touched this WIP/UFO since January 2007!!!  That’s a crying shame, and one wrong that’s being put right - I am to get this one finished before the end of the year

No stitching at all tonight, as we went to the movies straight after work to see “Made of Honour” - personally not a movie I would have chosen to see (Lisa is a HUGE Patrick Dempsey fan, so that was her choice!), but I have to admit I really enjoyed it, and had a blast.  It’s a bit stressful at work right now, so it was really good to chill out afterwards and have a good belly laugh

I’m also a bit of a hermit at home right now while listening to an audiobook and stitching … poor Lisa will wonder if she has a flatmate this week - I’m listening to The Red Dahlia by Lynda la Plante, and really enjoying it

Fun and productive stitchy weekend

I dropped Barnabee’s Bride over to Karen at The Stitching Post yesterday, and she’s now sitting on display in the smalls cabinet.  Alison joined me for the trip, and I had a wonderful time catching up with her before we made the drive - we had time to have a cup of coffee while I wandered around her stitching gallery and admired her beautiful stitched pieces on the walls … that was a real treat before we hit the road!  I was dying to see Alison’s latest stitched piece from her blog, and the photo doesn’t do it justice … that wallhanging is just divine in real life (as is everything else)!!!

Alison is always great company and we had an enjoyable drive chatting away the whole time.  We arrived at The Stitching Post early, where I had a panic attack that the shop was closed, not realising it doesn’t open until 12 noon!!  Phew!!!

Catching up with Karen and Brendon is always a treat - although poor Karen got absolutely no work done while we were there ‘cos we spent the entire hours of opening chatting away.  I apologise in advance if extra hours are needed this week to catch up!

I was given a thank you gift from them for the model stitching that was totally unnecessary, but it will be treasured always.  I am now the proud owner of one of Brendon’s jewellery pieces … isn’t this amber just amazing??  It will always be a reminder of their friendship when I wear it - thanks so much once again, Karen and Bren, I love it!

 

I had an extra treat of seeing the first three of my framed pieces up on the wall - I didn’t realise they were there, or I would have taken my camera with me and taken a photo … but I intend heading back again in a fortnight with Mum when she comes to visit, so I’ll remember to take a camera with me then

What I can show you a photo of, though, is my latest finish - I truly ADORE this piece!  As usual, because the photo is taken late in the afternoon without a flash or tripod the photography isn’t the best, but here it is in all its glory … in real life the colours really pop

“Beach Roses” by Just Nan
Stitched on 28ct natural Cashel linen
using recommended threads (DMC)
and embellishment pack of charm and pearls

And don’t you just love the little scallop shells and starfish charm??  I sure do!!

This project will likely head on over to my Trade page at some stage in the future - Nan was really generous with the beads, so there are still just enough pearls to complete the design again … but a charm will have to be bought separately.  I’ll make an announcement post here when I eventually get around to updating my list after I clean out a few folders in the future.

Right now I’m not entirely sure what to stitch next - I’m quite keen to get some of my older WIP’s (they’re probably better categorised as UFO’s now, but we’ll stick with WIP’s for now LOL) finished, as well as getting a few more models stitched for Karen - so I think I’ll bring out one of my BAP’s to concentrate on (that’s already started, eg Mirabilia’s Winter Queen), and do a 10-hour rotation with 1 or 2 of those, with an LHN/CCN design or Christmas design/ornament inbetween - with any luck that’ll see me get at least one BAP finished before too long!

Hmmm, perhaps that’s what I should work on tonight … Winter Queen … but an LHN is calling … oh decisions, decisions …

I’m in Heaven …

Just a really really quick post to say that I’m having the BEST time in Perth.  The CA Wells classes were fantastic - even better than last year’s classes!  And I’ve reserved my spot for next year already :) 

I’ll post full details when I get home again at the beginning of next week, but I had a total blast!  The company was wonderful, the projects gorgeous (even the Sailors Valentine has grown on me more), and I hit it off really well with the lady I stayed with.

After the classes finished, we were up bright and early for the ANZAC Day dawn service at Nollamara RSL - another fun and memorable experience (once again, full details will follow in a few days time).

Today I had a fun day out with Hayley - we started off buying out the Kiwi Shop at Joondalup, then we headed out to Sorrento Beach where we had a great lunch (prawn and avocado salad for me, yummo), followed by Cold Rock icecream … double yummo!!  We finished the day off having drinks and dinner with friends, and had another great night out

Tomorrow we’re heading out to Fremantle to spend the day - flights don’t look too promising to get home, so I might end up taking the overnight flight home tomorrow night instead of the lunchtime flight on Monday.  We’ll check again in the morning when I’ll make my final decision.

Rightio, time to hit the hay for the night - I just jumped online to check the flight loadings to get home, and thought I’d drop a really quick line on here.  I’ve got a few photos to share, so I’ll wait to tell the full stories of the trip until I can upload those!

A whole lotta SBQ’s!!!

I’m soooooo behind on emails both at work and at home, I’ve decided it was high time I sat and cleaned my folders out - I have over 2500 unead emails at work (mainly because when I moved to Sydney all my old emails I’d received in Melbourne now showed as unread here ho-hum!), and 720 at home (the joys of having intermittent ‘net access since housesitting etc, I just haven’t managed to keep on top of anything!) … well, today’s folder of choice for clearing out is my SBQ folder … time to finally answer those outstanding Stitching Blogger Questions, and deleting those emails outta there!  (Getting ADSL broadband set up at home is just awesome!  Pages are loading up soooo much more quickly etc, I just might start to enjoy being online again soon!)

  14 June 2007 (!) - Today’s SBQ was suggested Jennifer and is:

“How do you store your WIPs and other projects that you have kitted up?”

I still don’t have my WIP’s sorted out properly like I did in my old flat - but my storage system is relatively similar here.  I keep all my charts and threads in ’plastic envelopes’ or ziploc plastic baggies - my stitching is usually done on scrollbars, so they are generally stored in a plastic tub ready to be picked up again.  When I was working my rotation, I’d have all the plastic envelopes with the charts and threads in them lined up behind each other in another plastic tub, in order of the stitching rotation slots.  When I’d finished my 10 hours stitching on one project I’d place it at the back of the tub behind all the other projects, then take the next project from the front and start stitching my next 10 hours and so on.

At the moment I’m not working on a rotation (although I’m thinking of returning to one soon), and just have boxes full of projects that are kitted up (and there are many, many of them) - I’m tending to just work on one project until it’s finished, especially as I’ve been concentrating on smaller sized projects for a while.  I really do need to get back into stitching some more of my BAP’s, so perhaps my storage method will make a return again!

  24 January 2008 - This week’s SBQ is:

“Have you had a happy dance yet this year? If so, tell us about it! (Or just point to the entry that mentions it.) If not, when do you predict it will be?”

There was a very slow start to the year as far as finishes was concerned, and my first official finish for 2008 was on 27 January, Fill With Love ornie by Designs by Cathie Jean (2007 JCS ornie magazine) - details can be found here.

  6 February - This week’s SBQ was suggested by Kathryn and is:

“Are there other crafts that you have tried and abandoned? Why do you like stitching better?”

I’ve tried numeous crafts over the years, much to my parents’ duress - their garage is still holding craft debris from the different classes I’ve done … among which you can include silk fabric painting, glass painting, basketwork (Mum would come home to find the bath full of soaking cane!), fabric painting, punchneedle (can’t remember what it used to be called years ago - but it was before the current trend!), fabric dyeing (including batik work with wax), knitting (which I’m sorry to say I detest), and beading just to name a few.  I was always trying something new just to challenge myself … and I still have a couple of things I’m dying to try, namely quilting/patchwork, mosaics (I really want to do a tabletop for a balcony/patio!) and crochet.  I can’t say why, but when I tried stitching I fell in love with it, and I’ve never stopped or got bored with it … it continues to give me as much delight today as when I first started trying it (in fact, probably even MORE joy today than it did in the early days!).  I have no idea why I stuck to stitching and nothing else … I just continue to love it and never get bored.

  13 February - This week’s SBQ was suggested by Loretta and is:

“Do you have any projects that you have scrapped and started over? What made you start over from scratch?”

I can honestly say no, I haven’t.  I have thrown things in a corner in a fit of frustration where it will stay quietly out of the way until I (hopefully) decide to rescue it and continue … normally this is due to a blaring great error which takes 10 minutes to fix and move on.  I have yet to actually start again from scratch, though.

  26 February - This week’s SBQ was suggested by Rachel and is:

“What is your cross stitch weakness? (i.e., What do you have to have when you see it, even if you are supposed to be on the Wagon?)”

Charts … charts … more charts … when I don’t have a restriction on my spending I don’t see anything I like … then as soon as I go on the Wagon Murphy’s Law kicks in and I want everything I lay my eyes on!

  5 March - This week’s SBQ is recycled from January 4, 2005 and is:

“After you stitch a pattern or kit, what do you do with it?”

I’ve always placed them in a separate folder so I know where to look if I ever want to stitch a project again.  I’ve recently been reconsidering this practice, though, as I hate stitching projects twice, and have so many ‘new’ projects to stitch there’s no real reason to continue hoarding old ‘used’ charts … you may see some appearing in my ‘for trade’ album one of these days in the future!  I must say that recently when I’ve stitched a newer design (eg LHN) and notice that someone has it in their wishlist, I’m more likely to offer it up as a RAK instead - or offer it as a prize draw on my blog … it’s nice to do a nice thing for someone every now and then

  26 March:

“When you stitch a pattern that you have downloaded do you print out the pattern or do you stitch directly from your computer screen?”

I go cross-eyed enough trying to follow a printed chart, never mind one on the computer screen!  I lose track of where I am really easily, so I find even for simple charts I need to have an enlarged working copy so I can cross off the squares as I go with a highlighter … the only time I’ve followed the computer screen is for the personalisation (initials) of my CA Wells projects because my printer isn’t loaded up to this laptop, or to see a clear closeup of a Chatelaine online design … otherwise printed it must be!  3 April:

“What items do you consider essential to your needlework that you keep in your stitching bag?”

In my every-day stitching bag it would contain Gingher scissors, spare needles (Piecemaker 26 and 28’s), highlighters, Dololly, Thread Heaven, contrasting (usually blue or green) sewing machine thread, and tapemeasure/ruler.  When I go to a stitching class I have a lot more in there - larger scissors, pen/pencils, water-erasable fabric marker, tweezers, eyebrow brush (for stumpwork), little plastic case with sponge and mini water bottle, notebook, and a few other bits and bobs.

  10 April - This week’s SBQ was suggested by Jennifer and is:

“What is the most complicated piece you’ve ever completed?”

This is a really hard question to answer - “complicated” can mean so many different things … to me complicated means “challenging” with different stitching techniques.  If that’s the case, I would perhaps say my stumpwork pieces that I’ve so far completed … or any of the CA Wells pieces.  It could also means more challenging in terms of blended needles etc - in which case I’d choose my Teresa Wentzler project English Garden Sampler, of which I’m still holding as a WIP/UFO.

The last two outstanding SBQ’s require a bit more thought, so I’ll leave those for later … now after all that I think it’s time to hit the hay for the night … at least my inbox is less a few unactioned emails tonight!