Category: Crafts – Needlework

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

A quick update before I fly out

Anne S

It’s been an interesting week in many ways – after the stresses of last week Mum and I cleared the air on Friday morning and went shopping … I found a top to wear to the eXcel function at Target of all places for a very cheap price, meaning I also didn’t have to undertake the lengthy drive to Dandenong.  We then had lunch with Fraze in the city before heading to Myer department store where I found a pair of black shoes for my outfit … I feel so much better now!  I’ll take photos later of the whole outfit if I get chance 🙂  It was a really lovely last day for Mum, and one that we enjoyed immensely.

Unfortunately the flight loadings weren’t looking too fantastic, so Mum had to be dropped off at the airport before work on Saturday – I could’ve cried when the alarm clock went off at 5.30am, and I have to say it was the longest shift in history to get through to my 5pm finish time … but poor Mum was sat at the airport for 4 hours before her flight – I’m not sure which was worse!!  Eventually, though, she got home OK … and I have to admit the flat felt very empty when I got home that evening – but I got busy and cooked up a beef in red wine casserole, did a load of laundry washing, and some parcelling up of RAK’s, and it helped to fill in the time.

 Talking of RAK’s, I was glad to hear over the last week or so that my last lot of post I sent to people have now all been received … I’ve been scouring wishlists and sending off charts from my “I no longer love it” pile and sending them off to someone else that will give it a more loving home 🙂  Some of the recipients have been on the blog-circuit, but others are from The Wagon BB – TW’s Lily Maiden and Spring Faerie are now being loved, as is HIH’s Steeple Sampler, and Barbara & Cheryl’s City Collection, plus Marbek’s Regency Angel … and there is a small pile of the next round ready to be posted out to new homes … plus a few others that yet have to be parcelled up.  I was originally thinking of putting them on Ebay or Trademe, but to be honest I can’t be bothered with the hassle of either (although the money would have been nice LOL) – it feels so much nicer to give them as a small RAK knowing that it will be well received 😀  Here’s the latest round ready to go … will one be coming to YOUR door? 😀

I’ll finish with a quick update piccie of my Peacock Needlecase … still nowhere near being finished, and unfortunately my hissy dramas over the evening outfit threw all my plans out the window, and I’m now waaaay behind schedule with this project as I haven’t touched a needle in just over a week.  But I still have two weeks to go before the class, and miracles do still happen … right? … OK, maybe not 😉 (sorry for the crappy photo … and for those of you with eagle eyes, yes I still have one row of chain stitches on the bottom right-hand side yet to complete)

Only one more day before I fly out to Sydney, then I’ll be out of blogging/email action until at least next weekend.  Tonight I had a phone call from the best friend in NZ – which was a wonderful pick-me-up, and definitely what the doctor ordered … and in two short days I’ll be living it up with her brother and beautiful SIL in Sydney – yippee!! 😀

Hope everyone is healthy and happy … I hope to get back to reading what you’ve all been up to when I get home 😀

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, Works in Progress

Now Mum’s cruel!

Anne S

After telling her this morning that some of you have been Googling for huntsman spiders, she said “ooh, do it for me too, I want to see them!” … seeing as Mum is computer illiterate I’ve had to sit here and Google it for her … the last thing I wanted was the damned things sitting on my computer screen, but she got to see them!  Funnily enough, Mum’s not overly fond of spiders either, especially those that size, so it was a big ask to get her to come to my rescue … she’s not terrfied of them, though, like I am.  Apparently I’ve been like it ever since I was small – I’d scream the place down to get them to remove a ‘money spider’ in my room (you’d be lucky if one of those is more than about 2mm in size!!).  I have to say I can deal with the little ones now as long as they’re not actually on me, but I reckon huntsman spiders are just hideous – you could put a saddle on and ride the damned things! LOL.  My apologies for not putting a hyperlink in here for you to the spiders … I only thought about that after I’d shut the site down again (very quickly after opening it, I might add!), and I really don’t want to go back in again – you’ll just have to Google it from scratch haha.  And I’m not posting a piccie here, otherwise I’ll freak every time I see my own blog 😉

Yesterday, before I went to work, I managed to get a few more stitches put into my Peacock needlecase while catching up on CSI episodes we’d been taping during the week … inbetween listening to the ‘zoom-zoom’ noises of the Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 cars zooming around the Albert Park circuit – I’m amazed how loud it sounded yesterday to say we live a couple of km away from the tracetrack!  It’s a busy week in Melbourne with the Grand Prix, the Melbourne 2007 FINA swimming championships, and (of more interest to us) the Stitches & Craft Show.  We’re sitting on the fence at the moment whether to go to the S&C Show on Sunday, but we’ll play that by ear on the day – neither of us have any money so we’re thinking perhaps it’s best to leave temptation out of it and stay home LOL.

Tonight is my last 6pm shift, thank goodness … next week it’s more civilised with a mix of 3pm and 12 noon shifts, yippee.  Only another week and a half before Mum heads back home again.  She actually offered today to fly back over while the builders are here fixing up the building if I pay for her ticket with my frequent flyer points … she’s a real sweetheart.

Well, I feel a bit more awake now so time to tackle my stitching for a bit … I got woken up from a deep sleep (no nightmares, thankfully) by fighter planes flying overhead, getting ready for the aerial display during the Grand Prix – that’ll be fun to watch over the weekend if we’re around – we were in Acland Street at St Kilda last year when it happened, and it was great to see the formations flying overhead 😀

I’ll finish with a small shot of one of the leaves right outside my lounge room window – as you can see autumn has arrived down under, and it’s awesome to sit and watch the leaves change colour each day … I’m actually thrilled I’m still here to see autumn arrive in Elwood, as my street is gorgeous with all the elm trees changing colour right up both sides of the street … very pretty 😀

I’m now backed-up with the SBQ’s from the last three weeks, so I’ll finish (I promise this is the last ‘finish’) by catching up on the questions:

28 Feb – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

“Do you find yourself stitching faster when you are getting to the end of a design?”

I’d probably have to say that depends on the design itself, but generally I guess the answer would be “no” … when I get that close (for example, the Dratteds) I don’t stitch faster, but I do feel more motivated to stitch “more” on it … I just don’t want to put it down so I can get it finished in its entirety – but then when it’s finished I almost feel let down, expecting fireworks to go off in celebration, instead I feel “is that it?” LOL.

7 Mar – Today’s SBQ is: 

“Do you use your needle, a seam ripper, or something else when you have to frog stitches? Why do you use the method that you do?”

I mainly use my tapestry needle where possible, but I will use the tips of my Gingher’s to snip a few threads if it’s getting tangled etc, or just to speed up the process (I just snip the top cross of the stitch very very carefully).

15 Mar – Today’s SBQ was suggested Danielle and is:

“If you had $500 to spend on stitching-related items, what would you buy?”

Geez, there’s a loaded question … and funnily enough I would answer this one differently now then if I’d answered it a year ago.  Right now I’m relatively happy with the stash I already have, and I’m pretty well set up as far as stitching ‘equipment’ (ie ott-lite etc) – I’d probably rather spend it on a stitching retreat, or ordering the full chart and kit for another Chatelaine design or two (that’d kill most of the money in one hit anyway LOL).  The only other thing would be to buy the threads that I still don’t have to finish kitting up some of my existing stash.

Right, now I’m definitely off to stitch for an hour – then it’s off to work early to pick up my overlocker from the ‘doctors’ so Mum can sew me a top or two … she loves sewing clothes.  Dad’s Mum was a lady’s maid for Lady Winterton in Shropshire years ago, and did all the Lady’s sewing – she taught Mum how to sew … and years later Mum tried to teach me.  I used to enjoy sewing, then learnt embroidery and my passion for stitching started … I’m starting to get the urge to try clothes sewing again, but it might not be for a while yet, there’s too much stitching to be done in the meantime LOL.  Talking of which, I’m definitely outta here now – way too much yapping being done, and not enough stitching! haha.

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, Stash, Works in Progress

Squishy mail & lovely visits

Anne S

Well, tonight I ended up having a reprieve from work … we had a wonderful visit out today, but driving home it took us over 1 1/2 hrs to get home from Eltham, and by the time I got home I was feeling decidedly squiffy again, so I called in work and said I’d be staying home for the night 😦  We even had to stop off at a local Dairy (stop giggling my fellow Aussies, that’s our Kiwi equivalent of your Milk Bar … I still can’t get used to calling it a Milk Bar – for you Brits out there, it’s the equivalent of the ‘corner shop’) so I could buy some ginger drink to try to quell the queasiness.  Anyway, that’s enough of me moaning … on to the brighter moments of the day 🙂

Before I do that, though, I just realised I haven’t written anything about our weekend social night out with Sharon and Pete … We went round there for dinner on Saturday night, and had the most wonderful time – dinner was divine and the company excellent.  I took my stitching with me but we were enjoying ourselves so much it came out briefly for a show-and-tell, but not a single stitch was done.  I also received a wonderful birthday gift voucher for Bustle & Bows from Sharon, and very touched with that generous gift … unfortunately the gift I gave Sharon wasn’t quite as good … unfortunately I’d chosen a chart I knew she loved, but she’d just bought it for herself as a kit … oops 😦  I already know what I’m doing next time, and think I’ll be safe with that choice 😉  Before we knew it it was almost midnight, and I felt like we’d just arrived – as always a definite pleasure and both Mum and I enjoyed ourselves immensely 😀

Back to today – we caught up with another fellow blogger and Melbournian for a beautiful lunch and stash drooling.  We drove over to visit Gina today, albeit half an hour later than we planned due to a visit from the real estate agent (which I’ll talk about soon), and then because I took a wrong turn and had to consult the Melways … because of supposedly going to work for 6pm we had to cut short the visit, as we knew the drive would take a while to get home – we would have loved to have stayed longer … next time we definitely have to choose a non-working day so we can have more time 🙂 Thank you again Gina for a lovely day out – it was great to finally visit and see that infamous collection of linens … and see your Indian first-hand 😀  Mind you, if I’d known I’d start feeling sick again on the way home, we wouldn’t have had to hurry off 😉

The other highlight of the day was the wonderful mail I received – firstly Becky’s piece for the Quaker Friendship RR … it looks gorgeous in real life, and I’m looking forward to adding my little bits to it in round 2 of this RR 🙂

Next up was my order from One Star’s Light – my Cat’s Whiskers charts and 17″ Q-snaps … and I have to agree with everyone else that Jenna’s extra attention to detail is lovely with everything individually wrapped in beautiful tissue paper and wax seals … even Mum’s drooling over the Alyssum scissor keeper, and I can see her extra birthday gift being something stitched this year (she already has the main part of her gift in some Gingher scissors etc).

Last, but certainly not least, is a wonderful RAK from Linda … she very generously sent me her copy of Just Nan’s Dragonfly Scissor Purse, and I’m just over the moon about that – I was seriously drooling over Linda’s blog every time she put a progress piccie up, and I’m thrilled that I now get chance to stitch one of these beauties!  That was enough on it’s own to have me grinning from ear to ear, but she also sent another chart from my wishlist, M Designs’ Snow Wonderful – I fell in love with this after seeing this on another blog, and yet again Mum’s eyeing it up too because of the snowmen and snowflake!  Linda also sent another chart which I hadn’t seen before – Winter Getaway, and I just love the little cabin scene, so it will definitely be stitched up as well.  Thanks again, Linda, I truly adore everything 😀

On a different note, we had a visit from the new real estate Property Manager, and she was dumb-founded by the cracks … I’m really impressed by her attitude – she took loads of photos and said she was calling the landlord immediately as the cracks were very serious.  As I said to her, I’m happy someone from the agency is finally taking me seriously, as my previous chasing phone calls were doing nothing at all.  Within an hour we had a phone call from her saying the landlord wants to visit tomorrow morning, and she’s trying to get someone from the Body Corporate out here immediately as well, because it’s that serious!  Hallelujah!!!  It will be interesting to hear what they have to say tomorrow! 😀

And to finish this very lengthy post, here’s the progress to date of my CA Wells’ Peacock Needlecase … not too much to show, but I’m not touching any other stitching until this one is finished in its entirety.  I’m feeling a bit brighter than when I first got home, so I just might be able to get a thread or two into this tonight … fingers crossed 🙂  Which is exactly where I’m heading now … off to watch House and Medium with Mum … aside from the squiffy tummy, it doesn’t get much better than this 😉

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

Bye-bye Etui for a while

Anne S

Yes, I’ve reached the milestone where I can comfortably put the Pyramid Etui away for a short while – thanks to some kind soul who left a comment that as long as you have the smaller pyramid, base, and one large set of triangles/diamond completed for the class, it will be fine, as that gives you an opportunity to try all the finishing techniques out.  My apologies to the kind soul who said that, as I can’t find the comment again now, but it definitely did put my mind at rest regarding my deadlines for getting the stitching all finished!  I just have 3 more of the larger triangles/diamonds left to go.  Thanks to everyone who’s left hints and tips for me with this project – it’s been really really helpful! 😀  Here are all the pieces laid out together for now: 

Next up is the stitching on my CA Wells Peacock needle/scissor case – I love the colours in this one, and looking forward to making a start on it today.  We’re off to dinner tonight with a close blogging buddy, and my new start will be joining us – I’m sure Sharon won’t mind, although I can’t guarantee there’ll be any stitching done on it, as we’re usually too busy chatting … but best to be prepared ‘just in case’ ;P

Now I have a huge thank you to a couple of fellow bloggers who have been sending me some treats through the mail.  I’ve been off work for the last couple of days (I took an extra few RDO’s – rostered days off – as I still had plenty up my sleeve, and work wanted me to use them up … such hardship LOL), so haven’t been near my PO Box at all as it’s near work – we made a special trip out yesterday to clear the mail, and there was an unexpected parcel sitting in there for me!

Tracy sent me a RAK parcel brimming with goodies – she stitched me a gorgeous pillow roll in blues (I forgot to take a piccie of the backing fabric, but it’s really scrummy – and I just love the little kitty cat at the bottom) … isn’t it gorgeous?  But that’s not all … she also send a packet of Kiwi Snifters yummo (and it got cracked open as a chaser to my morning Weet-bix this morning haha), and the most divine beaded scissor fob ever!  I can’t stop playing with it … the colours and the beads keep attracting my attention and I have to keep touching it!  It’s already sitting on the scissors that I’m currently using, and I’m looking forward to having an excuse to keep fondling it during my stitching session today 😀  Thanks again Tracy – as I said in my email, you’ve made my week! 😀

 

Next up is some extra pretties that Nicki sent me earlier, and I just realised I’d forgotten to take a piccie – Nicki and I did a trade for a chart (A Cherished Box by Cherished Stitches), plus she sent me a partial skein of TTG Silk ‘n’ Colors for my Etui, so I knew they were on their way … but I got a surprise when I opened the envelope as my goodies had some extra company – I also received some divine Dinky Dyes silks and the most scrummy ribbons (yep, I have to say turquoise is pretty much my favourite of all the bright blues!) … that was a wonderful surprise, and I love everything! 😀

Lastly I’ll finish by saying, yet again, that I love WordPress … this time it’s to do with my Photo Hunt post – sometimes lately I struggle with online time (at the moment it’s more to do with having Mum here, but other times it’s to do with my shifts), and I’m pressed to get my Photo Hunt post done each Saturday.  From memory with Blogger you can publish a ‘forward’ post, but I’m pretty sure it just posts straightaway with that date on it … anyway with WordPress you can write your post, set a future date for posting, and the post publishes at the exact date and time you set.  I tried doing it for this week’s Photo Hunt post and it worked perfectly – I’d actually found the photos during this last week, and I already have next week’s post done this way as well while I was in ‘photo hunt mode’ … yep, luv ya WordPress! 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishing, Quilting

Finish-along weekend

Anne S

This weekend was the first FAL weekend on the Focus on Finishing blog, and it was a pitiful effort on my part … although the fact that I’ve been at work both days and been home for a sum total of 3 hours all weekend (ie tonight) might have been the key factor in that.  Seeing as I set the date, and supposed to be leading the FAL, I just had to finish ‘something’ before I went to bed tonight!  I managed to finish two Christmas ornaments – one of the first ornies Mum ever stitched for me (Prairie Schooler Santa), and a Lizzie*Kate ornie I stitched early last year some time.  Not the most flash finishing ever, but at least it’s two items out of the to-be-finished/FUFO pile!

  

I also forgot to post a piccie of some goodies that Mum and I picked up while we were out thread-hunting at the LNS’es last week … some gorgeous navy and turquoise fabrics that scream out to be made into part of my proposed quilt (I grabbed every little bit I could find in the remnant bins – Mum and I had the entire contents tipped out going through them, as there was nothing left in a bigger piece on the bolt), as well as some other turquoisey fabrics that just screamed my name.  We also picked up some Altoid tins from the USA Foods shop (both shops in Bentleigh) – there’s actually another red Altoid tin floating around somewhere, but Mum’s pilfered it so she can eat the mints 😉

I’m determined to attempt my first quilt this year, along with dear Isabelle, and these fabrics are one teeny tiny step closer to that goal 😀

Cross Stitch, Stitching Smalls, Works in Progress

Pyramid Etui update

Anne S

At last I can show you the first sections of my Etui all finished … you have no idea how much time has been spent labouring over these few little panels!  I was very happy with my thread choices until it came time for the stitching – I stitched as much as I could on the little triangles for the pincushion pyramid bargello sections, but couldn’t complete them as I was waiting for my main thread to come from Hand-Dyed Fibers. 

After three of them I decided a change of scene was in order, so I started on the two boxes for the base.  I’ve managed to stitch the oblong tied cross stitch on the first box a sum total of 4 times … not to mention other frogging due to colour changes and my own stupidity of not being able to count properly!  I spent more time frogging than actually stitching the other night   One of the main problems I had is that the pale blue I chose was very pale when just using two strands, and I needed something richer to ‘lift’ the piece … my first trip to the not-so-LNS (an hour’s drive away) saw me come home with a slightly lighter version of the Vikki Clayton silks I’d be using for my ‘main colour’ – and I have to say it looked so much better than the pale green or pale blue versions I’d previously stitched, so I was happy with attempt number 3 … that was, of course, until I started stitching the border in the variegated silk …!

The problem is that when stitched up the variegations show as a very different blue … without that purplish tinge I originally saw on the whole skein – meaning that new blue thread I’d just stitched up was now sticking out ever so slightly like a sore thumb (slight exaggeration, but it just didn’t look ‘right’, as much as I really adore the colour).  I’d already been to this same not-so-LNS a few days earlier trying to track down some silk ribbon to finish off a couple of birthday gifts that are now WELL overdue, because I’d been unable to find anything locally that was suitable … hence the reason I’d returned the 2nd time for the silk thread, as I knew already they had what looked like the full range of AVAS and Madeira silks …  Unfortunately, though, that also means the Vikki Clayton silks aren’t going to match either … oh what a quandary, and a severe dampening of spirits was in order!!

Yesterday we decided to hit the LNS’s (of which there are two) – the Embroidery Den in Brighton, and Broderie in Bentleigh … I bought one half skein of Kreinik at Broderie just in case I couldn’t find anything else, and a couple of Madeira silks at the Embroidery Den, but it was still niggling me that they weren’t ‘quite right’ … what’s a girl and her Mum to do?  You guessed it … back across the city again to Bustle & Bows at Surrey Hills where I found a closer match in AVAS, plus a replacement for the main colour (to replace my Vikki Clayton silks).  While they’re still not 100% perfect, they’re as good as it’s going to get at this late hour.  I’m pretty unhappy how dark the darker blue is against the rest of the stitching, and it seems to be overpowering everything, but we just couldn’t find a lighter blue that was still within the tonings of the variegated thread 😦  It means when my VC silks arrive they’ll be used for either With My Needle’s My Stitching Treasures or Quaker Huswif … they certainly won’t be going to waste!  Mind you, I’m still tempted to re-stitch this Etui again in the ‘Monet’ colours I have in my head … I just have to search for the perfect variegated thread to fit in with it (or attempt to dye my own!) – that won’t be for quite some considerable time, though, if ever, but you might find me stalking websites for such yummies as Gloriana over the next few months 😉

I’ve spent so much time on this project over the last two weeks, inbetween the dreadful heatwave we were having which made it ridiculous to even attempt picking up a needle (I managed to go through an entire packet of needles in one week!) … and I’m so far behind with my stitching goals for it, it’s just not funny!  By this weekend I should have had three of my assignments done (I set myself stitching goals for each week which would see me getting everything stitched in time) … at this stage I will be lucky if I manage to complete two of the weeks assignments where I should have done three.  I’m now starting to stress big time, as my shifts coming up aren’t fantastically conducive to stitching … and because of that I’ve had to put my other stitching commitments on hold until I can get a bit more comfortable with the stitching deadlines I’ve got.  I’d be gutted to go all the way to Perth for this class not to have the stitching completed!

Anyway, enough moaning … with any luck things will work themselves out, and now I have my colours committed to I might get the stitching done more quickly. 

Without further ado, though, here’s the stitching of my two square bases (one inside, one outside) for the main ‘outside’ pyramid …

 

And here’s the stitching of one of the small bargello triangles for the inner pincushion pyramid (I still have one more triangle and the square base to complete) … this is probably where I find the darker blue a bit overpowering, but I’m sure it’ll all look fine when it’s stitched together and it won’t seem as bad.

Next up is to complete two of the large outer triangles (ie one full ‘diamond’ shape) before I switch over to the Peacock Needlecase to complete that over a couple of weeks) … then it’s back to completing whatever I can of the three remaining outer triangles of the Pyramid Etui – easy!

Cross Stitch, Round Robins, SBQ, Works in Progress

Quaker update & Bordeaux

Anne S

I finally managed to get my stitching finished on part one today – I’m using 32ct Country French Linen in Chantilly, with DMC Variations 4030 … definitely a non-traditional Quaker colour 😉 I really enjoyed stitching this one, although it took longer to stitch than I expected, and I’m looking forward to receiving part two as part of this Round Robin 😀

This is my first ever Quaker piece, but I’ve got a few charts waiting in the wings to be stitched, so it definitely won’t be my last!  It’s lovely stitching this one with some of my closest online buddies 😀  (This photo is a lot brighter than it is in real life, but I can’t get a decent one at the moment.)

It’s also Bordeaux SAL time for the week with Carol and Leslie – I actually did my stitching two days ago, as it was still sitting on my floor stand and it was easiest to pick up and stitch without too much effort haha.  I’m still a couple of weeks away from finishing this band, but I could probably say I’m at the halfway mark now of the whole project, give or take a grape or two 😉  I’m really looking forward to the next band, as it looks like a nice easy one … although I hope it’s all Rhodes grapes not over-one ones, or I’ll be slitting my wrists LOL.  This week’s progress sees one new boxer and basket, and a 4-letter “F” word

Thanks for all the lovely words about my new Pyramid Etui thread choices – I’m about to start stitching this soon, so we’ll be able to see if my choices actually work together.  In answer to Terri’s question … I signed up for the class pretty much sight unseen – I put my hand up before knowing which projects were going to be taught, as I was so keen to attend a CA Wells class – then on seeing a photo in someone’s online album the colours didn’t look as pale as the actual threads that turned up … they were still pastels in the photo, but not quite as ‘bland’.  I absolutely ADORE the Etui design, though, and still very glad I signed up for the class … but I have to say I’m MUCH happier now I’ve changed the colours to be more “me”. 

Thanks also to Nicki, who’s sending me some leftover Summer Shadows silk thread to save me having to buy an entire new skein for the Etui … you’re a real sweetheart!

  I’m also aware I’m now very overdue with the SBQ’s so here goes trying to catch up …

7 Feb – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

“Have you ever been to a stitching retreat?”

My answer would be yes, but only a very small one.  I attended a weekend retreat through the Counties Embroiderers Guild in Auckland when I was a relatively new member (and didn’t know anyone) – and we had the short class taught by Shelley Warner for her Cream button bag (which I only just completed recently).  Other than that I attended a Heart of Cross Stitch festival in Sacramento, CA many years ago … although that probably doesn’t class as a “retreat” in the true sense of the word.

14 Feb – Today’s SBQ is:

“Do you like to buy “chartpacks” that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?”

This is a good question – and my answer depends on the chart itself.  On the whole I’d usually prefer to kit up my own threads, especially if there are pinks in it (yeah, I know, that’s an obsession of mine … for example, I adore the Au Fil de Reves Stitcher’s Bourse and accessories charts, but would replace the pink for a powder blue instead, so would prefer chart only for that).  In saying that, though, sometimes you only need a tiny piece of each thread, in which case I prefer to have them as a partial kit.  I don’t generally need Mill Hill beads, as I have loads in my stash, but if charms or bigger beads are needed I’d prefer to have those as part of the chartpack, as it’s sometimes a pain in the neck to find the right ones or a decent substitute, the same goes with any ribbons etc – the downside to chartpacks, though, is that they generally cost an arm and a leg compared to kitting it up yourself.

21 Feb – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Kathryn and is:

“What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?”

The smallest count I’ve stitched on so far is 36ct, which I’m using for the Bordeaux Sampler, and I’m really loving it.  I wouldn’t mind trying 40ct as well some time in the future, but don’t own any as yet.  On the 36ct for Bordeaux I’m stitching a fair amount over-one with the lettering and grapes … which is interesting.  I don’t know how Carol manages it on 40ct!!  As for the largest count I have to say it’s an 18ct fabric I used for Jenna’s hardanger lavender sachet, which was a big difference to other linens I’ve stitched on.  My favourite is generally 32ct, but now I’ve tried the smaller counts I’m starting to convert 😉

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, Stitching Smalls, Works in Progress

Leporello & more birthday gifts

Anne S

As promised yesterday, I can finally share Nicki’s beautiful gift with you – every time I’ve seen one of Nicki’s gorgeous over-one stitched letters I’ve drooled … now I can drool over my very own one!  I just adore my pinkeep, it’s stitched and finished perfectly as always … and once again very scrummy colours! 😉  As well as my gorgeous pinkeep, Nicki also sent a really cute notebook too, which will come in very handy! 😀  Thanks again Nicki, I love everything and will treasure my pinkeep always! And I love the clever personalisation on the back! 😀

   

The other photos I have to share are of my Stitching Leporello – part one is now all finished.  I just realised I had the stitching on a bit of an angle, so the camera has blurred the bottom part of the ‘frontal’ photo as I used my SLR, but you get the idea … also I tried to take one photo on an angle to show up the beads.  I really need to get a tripod so I can take better photos – another challenge for the year, I think, to improve my photography skills!  In the meantime, though, these’ll have to suffice.  As usual with this sort of design, the photos don’t do the project justice whatsoever … it’s just gorgeous in real life!  Unfortunately, though, it won’t see the light of day for at least another 3 months, as my upcoming stitching time will now be spent on the CA Wells class projects plus a birthday gift or two.

 

And on that note, I’ll shut down for the day, as Mum and I are off to Healesville Sanctuary for the day – and if we have time we’ll call into Emerald Lake Park before coming home.  It will be nice to have a day out in the fresh air.

Thanks again to everyone who has left me birthday wishes – I really appreciate all the comments, e-cards, and private emails I’ve received … thanks for helping to make the day extra special {{hugs}}.

Finishing

A blog is born … “Focus on Finishing”

Anne S

Yes, the time has come when our new blog can finally be revealed in all its glory, and the welcome mat is officially laid outside the front door! 


You can either click on the piccie above, or follow the hyperlink to our new blog home:
 http://focusonfinishing.wordpress.com/

I’ve copied our information from the blog to remind you what it’s all about:

“This blog has been set up as a resource both for stitchers who already enjoy finishing their own stitching creatively and want to develop and share their skills and also for those stitchers who would love to do so but don’t know where to start. It aims to be a place where you can learn new techniques, receive and give finishing help and advice and share pictures of your finished items with everyone. It also aims to provide a centralised information resource of finishing techniques, with pages dedicated to both tutorial links and links to websites/online albums for inspiration.

We hope to organise regular finishing classes where people can learn specific finishing techniques and also have regular FALs (Finish-A-Longs), where we set aside a certain time every week or month to finish up some of those stitched-but-not-yet-finished projects using any method you like. More information can be found on the Class/FAL schedule page.

If you wish to contribute to this blog as a poster rather than just a commenter, you’ll need to create a WordPress account (no need to create a blog, unless you want to) and then email Anne or Karen with your details (including the email address you signed up with).”

This is a blog that will be assisted greatly by your contributions – especially in feedback as to what you’d like to see included by the way of tutorials and finishing techniques, and sharing any finishing you’ve completed yourself.  Also, if you know of any finishing tutorials online that we don’t have included, or any stitcher’s albums that have some great inspirational finished items, we’d love to hear about them … sharing is definitely to be encouraged!

We hope this will turn out to be a great place to hang out with friends and learn something new, as well as those with more experience sharing that experience with others.  We look forward to seeing you there, so please do visit and make yourselves at home!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Food, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

A sip of Bordeaux (updated with finish info)

Anne S

Seeing as Carol as published her progress piccie of Bordeaux, I can now show my week’s progress as well – it’s a good thing I did my night’s stitching a couple of days ago, as I’ve been too busy yapping to Mum to concentrate on much else 🙂  This week I just managed one more little ‘man’ and a few more Rhodes grapes to complete the hanging vines, plus a couple in the border … I’m now exceptionally close to being halfway, and hopefully in about 2 weeks I’ll have met that milestone!

Mum and I just popped over to The Needle Point (old Bustle & Bows in Malvern) to find a couple of buttons, seeing as they have probably the best selection I’ve seen in Melbourne to date … unfortunately they didn’t have what I had in mind, but I managed to find a couple of charms that fit the bill quite nicely, so now I can put the final touch to my best friend’s belated birthday gift, and the last ornie I stitched.  Vicki’s birthday was in November, but that was when I had my financial meltdown and couldn’t afford to buy bread and milk, never mind parcel postage costs, so I’ve been unable to think about mailing it until recent times.  I don’t know if she reads my blog regularly, but I don’t think she’ll mind a sneak preview anyway, as it’s been long overdue … I’ll post another piccie when it’s finished-finished, as I want to make it into a quilted wallhanging (which’ll be a first for me).  But here it is, with all the stitching completed … I ended up choosing a silver heart charm instead of the recommended button/bead, and it seems to compliment the design well (you can click for a bigger piccie on this one).  On the whole I enjoyed stitching this one, but it took a lot longer to stitch than expected … the only part I didn’t enjoy was the outside borders of smyrna crosses in #8 pearl cotton (yuk!).


Friendship by Calico Crossroads
Stitched on mystery 28ct linen with recommended threads
substituted silver heart charm for Mill Hill glass treasure

You can tell Mum’s in the country … from my meagre pantry offerings from the last few months, the following plate is definitely NOT the norm, and probably won’t be seen throughout the rest of Mum’s stay (after that, that is haha) – but it was a wonderful treat for our first night 😀  Yep, we’re both prawn MAD … don’t they look scrummy? 😀  That was our snack in the afternoon … then the rest of the prawns for dinner along with some Turkish bread and a selection of dips (Tzatziki, hummus, spicy capsicum), stuffed green olives, Kalamata olives, stuffed bell peppers, grilled mushrooms and artichokes … yummo!!!

 

Now on to the awesome gifties Mum brought with her … I received a lovely sarong from Auntie Trudy in Auckland – even though it’s not blue haha, I love bright colours, so the orange has gone down a treat, especially as I love all the Hawaiian/Fijian style prints like this. 

Then of course there was the usual ‘Red Cross parcel’ from Mum – this time she came loaded up with Twisties, Griffins Gingernuts (sorry, but they beat Arnott’s gingernuts hands down in my eyes), and Malaysian style noodles packet mix that you can’t buy here … and to top it all off some NZ Cadbury chocolate – believe it or not, it’s very different to the Aussie Cadbury chocolate, and is actually a bit creamier.  Bang goes any thoughts of a diet I might have been having! haha. 

Last, but certainly not least – this is my Christmas present from my very best friend Vicki … my jaw hit the floor when I opened up this gift, and I actually felt quite overcome.  I absolutely ADORE this photo of us at Vicki’s wedding – we just look so ‘in tune’ with one another and completely at ease and loving the moment … I have to say it has been my favourite wedding ever, and it brought some wonderful memories back.  I’d just become a poor student before she got married, so I never could afford to buy some of the official wedding photos from the photographer at the time – it’s just wonderful to have one to grace my walls now.  I have to say out of everything, I adore this gift the most … it has a very special place in my heart!  Thanks so much Vicki, with all my heart!!  (Sorry about the poor photo, with the reflections from the windows etc – but it should be clickable) This is also the wedding that I promised the “Dratteds” (Dolphins Domain) as a wedding gift 😀  Also very special is the necklace I’m wearing – Vicki made that herself … the dangling part is from an earring that was her very favourite pair she bought at the Vatican – she lost one of them, and chose to give me the remaining one as part of my necklace … something I’ll always treasure, as I know how much she loved them!

The last photo I’ll show is of a few of the small gifts I gave to Mum … a couple of Christmas XS mags full of ornies for her to stitch, plus a pair of Gingher’s shears for her dressmaking (an early birthday present, even though her birthday isn’t until May it’s unlikely I’ll be seeing her again before then), plus some small Gingher’s scissors for her embroidery.  I also had a pile of Christmas fabrics for us to share, but we haven’t divvied it up yet, so no piccies. 

And on that note I’d better sign off … I’ve managed to get tomorrow off work, thank goodness, as I’m still really struggling to get over my night shifts this week, even more so than normal.  Even Mum commented how dark the circles are under my eyes today, just to cheer me up haha.  Now we’re off up the road to pick up a few more fresh groceries ready to cook dinner … the final lot of prawns we bought (we’re making a Thai Green Curry from half of them, and Garlic Aioli Prawns from the other half).  Then we’re back to having cheap food like spaghetti bolognaise for the rest of the week LOL. I actually received two other birthday parcels, but I haven’t opened them yet … I think the temptation may finally break tomorrow though! LOL.