Category: Crafts – Needlework

I ended up not doing any stitching aside from two whole lengths of thread today … instead I’ve been pondering my situation and talking things over with Mum for 2 hours, and a close friend from work for another 1 1/2 hours. 

The upshot of everything today is that I’ve typed up my month’s notice for my landlord … I’ve decided the best thing I can do for my mental health is to just pack up and move on, whether the housesitting comes through or not.  While it breaks my heart in some ways to move on, I know it has to be done for both financial and physical reasons.  Now I’ve made the decision, it feels like part of a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  Tomorrow I’ll start the ball rolling officially by dropping off my notice to vacate (actually, I may just phone them, then pop the letter in the post to save the petrol costs) … then I’m heading out to a relatively local self storage company to pick up about 6 boxes and ask about storage space costs etc.  At least that way it’s not very far for the truck to drive from here, so it will cut down the costs somewhat.  I’ve just paid my rent for the next month, so I should have no further outlay except for the final utility costs.  I’m also going to approach Freecycle to see if someone has more boxes that I can pick up … as well as the Dan Murphy’s option as well.

Unfortunately I won’t be taking up your suggestion of picking up some Chardonnay from Dan’s, though Ally … I will, however, be chucking some more in the fridge from my home selection … aside from the fact it’s nice at the end of the day, it means something else that doesn’t have to be packed … any excuse is a good one 😉  Mum and I joked about that earlier today too – I just polished off the rest of a cask of port last night (the only thing I can generally drink from a cask … I’m actually impressed by the quality of the Penfolds casked port!) … and we both said, oh well one less thing to pack haha.

For the first time today I shared the photos with one of my close friends at work – she was absolutely shocked, and phoned tonight to tell me I’ve got to get out of there this week and move in with her straightaway, what a sweetheart.  Anyway, we had a great talk, and it helped get things set in concrete in my head.  Over the next couple of weeks I’ll spend up to a maximum of 3 hours a day packing, with at least 1 hour a day on ‘down time’ such as my stitching etc.  Seeing as I’m picking up some boxes tomorrow, it’ll give me a head start doing a bit of packing this week once my back is fixed and back to normal.

Closer to the time of moving I’ll send an email to all RAK Registry participants to give you my work address, as I won’t have email/computer access for a while.  My computer will likely go into storage, and I’ll have to rely on internet cafes/libraries for a while … but that’s all 3-4 weeks away yet, so there’s still time.  I’m also in the middle of moving the Registry over to WordPress, so I’ll try to concentrate some time on doing that this week 🙂

That reminds me to add Iinet to my ‘to do list’ for the week – to find out options for my emails … wondering whether I can move to a dial-up account for a month or so to keep the costs down, then I can work out alternatives such as a wireless provider etc (geez I wish I had a laptop not this 10-tonne brick of a PC to lug around!!).  Talking of which, do any of you out here in Aussie-land use a wireless provider already, and if so can you recommend them?  Actually, I think I should start typing up an official to-do list so I don’t forget when I wake up! (my head has been on another planet for the last couple of months, never mind just this week!!)

Anyway, I’ll sign off for the night … and leave you with my latest WIP, For the Birds by the Drawn Thread.  Hopefully I’ll get this finished over the next couple of days inbetween doing everything else (please excuse the blurry photo). Mind you, hopefully the next stitching session will see more than 2 lengths of thread being stitched!  So much for getting this finished today – all I ended up doing was the green border 😉 

OK, I am starting to get a bit paranoid that there really is some kind of quilting conspiracy happening around here … quilting is everywhere!!  And places where it just really shouldn’t be!! 

Today I received the May newsletter for the Embroiderers Guild … and what do I find in there but the following advert:  “The Patchworkers’ and Quilters’ Guild of Victoria is holding its annual quilt exhibition at the Glen Eira City Council Gallery, on the corner Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, Glen Iris, dates 17-20 May, between 10am-5pm.”  Not only that, but I just flicked quickly through a few blogs on my Newsgator feeds that I lurk on, and wander over to read the new post by Beadlust – normally amazing eye candy of arty beading projects, today it’s full of quilting projects (like journal quilts) from a recent exhibition … hmmm, do you think someone is trying to tell me something?? LOL.

It’s almost like when I first bought my current heap of cr*p car when I moved to Aussie – my dream car at the time was a Mazda Protege 323 … I actually found one that I really liked on the same car lot that I bought the infamous heap of cr*p Nissan, but it was $1000 more than my Nissan, and a few years older, so I didn’t think it was worth the extra expense.  When I told Frazier’s best mate “S” about the car is really wanted (ie the Mazda) he talked me out of it as supposedly it was hard to get parts in Aussie for them as they’re imported and you don’t see that many around … now, “S” really knows his stuff about cars (or so I thought), so I took him at his word, and started looking at alternatives to my beloved Mazda (I actually think my last Mazda cost me less in about 13 years of driving than this Nissan has cost me in 3, and my Dad is still driving it to this day!!).  It was, of course, Murphy’s Law that the very next day after signing the contracts and driving my new heap of cr*p car that every third car that I drove past in the street was a Mazda!  Let’s just say that to this very day “S’s” name is Mud with a capital M (as well as for many many other reasons that are more personal, but I digress …).

These days, of course, I’m stuck with the heap of cr*p Nissan for a while longer yet … my goal is that I only have to put up with it for another 3 years, as that’s when I’d really love to be in a better position to upgrade to something I really love.  And there’s no points for guessing which car it will be … not a Protege, but definitely a ‘323’ (or as they now call it, a Mazda “3”) … this one is without a doubt my absolute dream car, and has been for a couple of years now – the colour is not negotiable, of course … if I had one of these I think I’d even sleep with it, I love it so much!!! My heart melts every time I see one on the road {{heavy sigh}}.  I really need to win Lotto!  Mind you, I suppose if I actually bought a ticket it’d increase my chances of winning somewhat 😉

Oh boy, I could sit and look at that picture all night!!!  But in fact I have much more important things to do … I have stitching to do!!  And I’d better hurry up and do it soon, as my energy levels are flagging rapidly – doing a 10-hour shift on a 5am start used to be so easy when I did overtime regularly, but it nearly killed me today … I’d better keep busy so I don’t get lulled into having a nanna nap, otherwise I’ll never sleep tonight.  I’ll update later when I have a progress piccie to share, as it’s Bordeaux night for me (I did another 1 1/2 hours on EGM last night, not that you can tell so I won’t bother with a piccie of that for now).

I can’t remember whether I’ve done this meme before, but the results turned out to be pretty accurate … and at least it didn’t mention quilting! 😉 

Your Element Is Water

A bit of a contradiction, you can seem both lighthearted and serious. That’s because you’re good at going with the flow – but you also are deep.Highly intuitive, you tune in to people’s emotions and moods easily. You are able to tap into deep emotional connections and connect with others.You prefer a smooth, harmonious life – but you can navigate your way around waves. You have a knack for getting people to get along and making life a little more peaceful.

What’s Your Element?

Updated to add a piccie of Bordeaux … I only had 1/2 hour left to stitch tonight as I forgot I needed to cook dinner … but the TV has been to blame thank for extra stitching time.  It’s the Biggest Loser final tonight – and I made the HUGE mistake of leaving the TV on while I set the video taping for Mum to watch later … and started watching it … well, I could hardly go to bed without seeing the rest of it huh?  I didn’t want anyone at work to tell me who won … so I’ll be Miss Cranky Pants tomorrow as I’ll be going to bed 2 hours later than I should be … oops 😉

It’s my hope to totally finish this band during next week’s session, but I’m not 100% sure I can reach that goal … I’ll have fun trying, though 🙂

Today is the one day of the year where the Aussies and Kiwis come together as one, to commemorate ANZAC Day.  If you want to read more about it, this is a great website here.  A snippet from their site is the following:

“ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

Australians […and Kiwis obviously…] recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.”

Today it’s been incredibly quiet around the office … the roads are sheer bliss to drive on without the usual hubbub of business traffic (it’s a public holiday today for those of us who are non-shift workers), and it was incredibly peaceful around the area when I enjoyed my lunchbreak at 9am … sheer bliss, and chance to offer a quiet bit of silent thanks and remembrance for those who fight for both our wonderful countries (both past and present). 

Of course, nothing good lasts forever – now I’m home my peace is well and truly shattered … the neighbours that own the property on my right have been seeing how big they can get their power bill this month by using every single garden power tool they can lay their hands on.  What started off as slightly annoying hedgetrimming with the electric cutters for an hour, soon turned in a continuing rhapsody of weedeater, lawnmower and the latest masterpiece instrument, the leaf blower!  I’ve been home for almost 3 hours now, and he’s barely stopped to take a breath … geez, I’m sure he must be due for a smoko soon!!!  I wonder if he thinks he’s in the northern hemisphere and that Spring has arrived … personally I’d like to wrap him IN a spring coil right about now so his hands can’t touch a power tool for the rest of the day!  Ooh, ooh, wait … there’s silence … could it be true?  Nah, must just be smoko time 😛

So, how do you spend your day when you’re working on a public holiday?  Personally I enjoy the extra 8 hours allowed to be sitting at work in my scruffy jeans … that in itself is worth being in there (and of course the extra pay won’t go astray)!  I actually got to bed on time last time and was settled in under the duvet at 8pm … I don’t even remember getting comfy, so I must’ve flaked out straightaway and didn’t wake up until the alarm went off at 3.45am.  I’ve felt absolutely fantastic all day!  I think my lack of energy etc really must get linked quite seriously to my sleep patterns – if I can get a full 8 hours sleep it makes so much difference!  As for the rest of my day, it was ‘steady’ on the phones … regular callers throughout the day, but not really ‘busy’.  I went into work prepared with my biscornu to stitch some more on, plus some quilting magazines to drool over … I can’t believe I pulled the magazines out first, and spent all day flipping through them.  Oh boy, I think I’m going to have to feed this urge very very soon, and I think I’ve worked out how to do it – I’m going to drag out some of my beginner quilt books that have some tiny projects in it, like a bag, pincushion, cushion etc, and try something small first from my scraps.  Then when I can afford to get some ‘real’ fabrics, I’ll start work on my ‘proper’ quilt.

As for my ‘main hobby’, I did actually manage to get a sum total of 1 1/2 hours into Egyptian Garden Mandala last night, to officially kickstart my rotation again.  It’s actually quite pitiful just how little I managed to get done in that time (mind you, I kept getting distracted by the TV) … it just looks like I tied a couple of bows on the corners!  I’m actually showing the progress piccies more for my own record, so I can see how much more will have been completed after the full 10 hours of rotation.  Of course it’s about to be Bordeaux time, so it’s going to be pushed to one side again soon – poor EGM, it’s only just come out of hiding and it’s being rejected again … it’s going to need counselling soon!! 😉

 
Before ……………….. After
(the latest piccie is probably the closest to the actual fabbie/thread colours)

Talking of which, I’d better get cracking and get the needles out again – I’ve got a couple of hours overtime over the next 4 days (1 hour tomorrow, 2 on Friday, then 4 hours each on Sun/Mon yippee) … it means my 6-day week has now turned into an 8-day week, and my 5-day break next week will now be a 3-day break, but pay-day will be looking good! 😀