Works in Progress – Page 2 – Feather Stitching

Autumn, ByGone Stitches, Canvaswork, Christmas, Finishes, Halloween, Laura J Perin, Lizzie Kate, Northern Pine Designs, Prairie Schooler, Quaker, Ruth Schmuff, Works in Progress

Latest stitching efforts (picture heavy)

27 September, 201527 September, 2015 Anne S

As I mentioned in my first ‘return from the dead’ post last week, I’ve managed to do a spot of sporadic stitching here and there over recent months – often the sessions were weeks apart, and each spurt of stitching energy was short-lived. Anyhow, here are the updates and the WIPs and finishes that happened while I’ve been away …

It seems I never showed the final finish of this piece, which I finished back at the end of January:

“Autumn Leaves” by The Prairie Schooler
Finished 25 January 2015
Stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
with recommended DMC threads

Here’s one I managed to finish in June – which now means I’ve stitched everything in that particular leaflet. I was going to on-sell it or use it as a trade chart, but think it may come in handy for any future exchanges that I do, I think some of these squares are really cute:

“Autumn Leaves” by The Prairie Schooler
Finished around 14 June 2015
Stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
with recommended DMC threads

At some point I decided a change of pace was in order, and I picked up a canvaswork project to stitch on. This was my next finished piece, finishing it in early July – and one of the first times in ages I truly enjoyed my stitching experience, even with all the metallic ribbons! Unfortunately I had run out of the turquoise ribbon, or it would have been finished much sooner!

“Navajo by Northern Pine Designs”
Finished on 5 July 2015
Stitched on 18ct eggshell mono canvas
with recommended threads

Next up are all the current works in progress … I’ve just signed up to a bunch of other stitch-alongs in one of the Facebook groups I belong to, so there will soon be a pile more WIPs added to the pile – I’ve chosen SALs where I already have a project that is high up on my to-do list, so it’s motivating me to start stitching them. Anyway, in the meantime here are the current WIPs:

“Flight of the Bumblebees” by Ruth Schmuff – this one is a very old UFO that I’ve started making a conscious effort to get finished. Unfortunately, as per my normal luck, I’ve run out of one of the gold metallic braids, so I’m waiting for a stash parcel to arrive with the replacement (I had a splurge a month ago to finish kitting up some other charts that were missing threads). I”m pretty pleased with how this one is going, though, and it doesn’t have too much more to go before it’s finished.

“Blue Birds” by Laura J Perin – While I was on a ‘canvaswork roll’, I decided to drag out a freebie from Laura J Perin I’ve had sitting in my stash for many years. Sadly, though, I ran out of the navy Pebbly Perle that was used around the border, so once again another design sits unfinished. A wonderful fellow stitcher, though, came to my rescue quickly and sent me a card of the thread I need. As soon as I find my card of blue Tiara thread, which has apparently gone into hiding, I’ll be able to finish this one off pretty quickly. I just LOVE the colours of this one! If anyone is interested, the chart is still available for download at the Rainbow Gallery site.

Wedding Sampler for Elie – This is a self-designed wedding sampler that I’m stitching for a close male friend. I struggled the whole way with this one, so I haven’t pulled my finger out and started it, and the wedding was nearly 3 years ago!! I’m still not 100% with the fabric and thread choice, but I’ve decided in this case I’m my own worst critic, and I should just continue on with it. I think the groom will love it regardless of how it looks – the contents of the sampler are very personal to him, so hopefully it will be treasured. I’ve shown a picture of what the whole thing will look like once it’s finished. The photo isn’t very good at all, the fabric is a buttery creamy colour.

“Halloween Mystery Sampler” by Lizzie*Kate – This one was a gift from my Mum for Christmas when the designs were first released. I also purchased the Tin Roof fabric that was recommended for this one, but really didn’t like it at all, so it sat in a box for ages while I found something else. I’m still not 100% with this choice either, but I certainly like it a lot better than the Tin Roof one! I started this one as part of a Sampler SAL, and really enjoying stitching it!

“Quaker Christmas II – Songs of the Season” by ByGone Stitches – This is another one I’m really struggling with, as I can’t stand the fabric I chose to stitch it on. It’s on a 35ct Weeks Dye Works fabric, and it’s just dreadful – it feels like I’m stitching on an old rag! Anyway, the chart itself is at least enjoyable to work on, I just need to forget about the immense size of this one and keep focusing on one motif at a time. I haven’t worked on it for well over a year, then when Mum came to visit a month or so ago I sat and stitched on it while we were both sick and watching TV all day. It was a good design to work on when you didn’t have to concentrate too much! I actually managed to do a lot more than I thought I had … I’m now almost 3 pages down, and only about 12 left to go … haha.

As to what’s coming up next, there are a lot of decisions to be made … lots of SALs and lots of designs to choose from that will fit within each SAL – some decisions are going to be easier than others, that’s for sure! I’ll do a separate post for my own sake so that I can refer back to it and help myself choose closer to the start times! But I’ll also be continuing to work on these as well, as all my SALs chosen don’t have set finish dates … that means I can easily slot them into my rotation along with these other projects as well 🙂

2014 WIPocalypse, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Lizzie Kate, Mirabilia, Rotation, The Drawn Thread, Works in Progress

December WIPocalypse 2014

30 December, 2014 Anne S

As normal, I totally missed the December deadline … truthfully I haven’t been doing too much stitching, with some more long hours at work that cropped up. I’m finally enjoying a fortnight off work over the Christmas break, and catching up on some chores, including my final catch-up for the year here. I spent Christmas Day with my closest friends in Sydney, which was wonderful – we sat superglued to the lounge sofas for 4 days and watched all 4 seasons of Game of Thrones – that also meant I got a bit of stitching done, although I was more distracted by the TV, 2 dogs and 2 cats to get any finishes under my belt 😉 So, here goes the most recent stitching recap, and the final one for the year:

Finishes:

The first finish I had was Poppy by Mirabilia – this is a gift for my hairdresser, whose favourite colour is red, and she asked me to stitch something for her. I just need to frame it now for her and give it to her in the New Year 🙂

“Poppy” by Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
Stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast by Countrystitch ~ colour Winter Sky
with recommended threads and beads
Started Sep 2014 – Finished 30 Nov 2014

“Summer Arbor” by The Drawn Thread
Stitched on 32ct Light Mocha Belfast linen
with recommended threads but substituted the brown beads
Started 7 Dec 2014 – Finished 23 Dec 2014

“The Greatest Gift is Love” by Lizzie*Kate
(from 2001 JCS Christmas ornie issue)
Stitched on 32ct Natural Belfast linen (I think)
with a mix of recommended and substituted threads
Started 23 Dec 2014 – Finished 23 Dec 2014

Works in Progress:

While I was away at Christmas I managed to start the following two new projects (I took those because they were relatively easy to stitch so I didn’t have to concentrate on them 100% while being distracted by the TV and chatting to company).

First up was Red Lace Sewing Case by The Drawn Thread. Sadly I ran out of thread for this one, stupidly thinking one skein of Gloriana silk would be enough, and no doubt a replacement skein won’t match the same dyelot, but I’ll have to wait and see once I get around to a stitching order. I was surprised just how quickly that design chewed through the skein of Gloriana! This will eventually be going to a new home (hence the hiding of the letter in the centre), so hopefully it won’t look too bad when the new skein arrives … The only change I made was to use two strands of silk for the alphabet – I used one initially as per the design instructions, but I hated the look of it, so doubled the strands (sadly that wasn’t the reason for running out).

1501259_10152549310298148_6943350996164834711_o

Then I ended up starting a Prairie Schooler design called Autumn Leaves. This has been in my stash forever! In hindsight I wish I’d chosen a lighter fabric so the colours pop more, but I chose 32ct Lambswool that I thought the design called for … presumably they used a different linen to the Lambswool I chose! Oh well, I’m sure I’ll still love it when it’s finished … (sorry, but the weird colouring of the fabric is due to my bed’s duvet cover behind it!)

10845884_10152549304643148_7925177249164251277_o

Recap of 2014 accomplishments:

It looks like I had a relatively poor stitching year compared to normal, thanks to some mental working hours. Then again, though, some of the projects were quite large in comparison to other years, so all-in-all I’m still pretty stoked with my progress this year. Here are all the projects I completed in 2014, including 1 older UFO and 2 WIPs carried over from 2013:

Rotation plans for 2015:

When I was sticking to my rotation it really worked for me this year – and it gave me a place to start again when I did fall off the rotation wagon. Therefore I’ve decided to keep going in 2015, but I’m leaving it as very much a ‘fluid’ rotation again – if I feel like stitching more than the allocated 10 hours for each slot, I’ll do so … whatever keeps me enjoying my stitching, and actually doing stitching, is what I’ll follow next year 🙂 In saying that, though, there are a few projects that I’d really love to work on during the year – I wouldn’t call them goals as such, rather a wishlist of sorts … but I know I change my mind on a whim where my stitching is concerned, so I won’t be too surprised if I change my mind again during the year! Anyhoo, here are a few projects that are currently calling my name for my rotation next year:

Medium-Large projects:

Christmas Elf Fairy – Nora Corbett/Mirabilia
Trick or Treat Box – Just Nan
Three Friends – The Drawn Thread
Sweet Pea Pixie – Mirabilia
Lavender Rose Sewing Case – Fancy Work
Very Berry Needlework Accessories – Forget-Me-Nots in Stitches
Coffee & Tea series – Little House Needleworks
Witchy Way – Just Nan
Christmas Sampler – Jeanette Douglas
With My Needle – Just Nan

WIPs & UFOs:

Red Lace Sewing Case – The Drawn Thread
Autumn Leaves – The Prairie Schooler
Flight of the Bumblebees – Ruth Schmuff
Cottage Etui – C A Wells
Egyptian Garden Sampler – Chatelaine
English Garden Sampler – Teresa Wentzler
Sailor’s Valentine – C A Wells

Small-Medium projects:

The Formal Garden – Heritage Collection
Wee one birds (various) – Heart in Hand
The Tea Room – Country Cottage Needleworks
Sitting Pretty – Valerie Pfeiffer
Bliss – Bent Creek

Large-BAP projects:

Quaker Christmas II – ByGone Stitches (carried over from this year)
Quaker Diamonds – Rosewood Manor
Christmas Flip-its – Lizzie*Kate
Bluebeard’s Princess – Mirabilia

I can’t see many of those getting done, but I can certainly see a few new starts from that list getting started! 😀 As long as I enjoy the journey and continue to enjoy what I’m stitching, I don’t really have any other ambitions other than that 🙂

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Little House Needleworks, Works in Progress

Acorn Hill

13 October, 201313 October, 2013 Anne S

After finishing Trick or Treat I couldn’t face going back to do the beading on my mermaid or the blended needles on my TW so I opted for an easy stitch that I’ve wanted to do for years … I’ve always adored the warm colours of this one and it hasn’t disappointed at all – it’s been a fun stitch so far. I’m at the halfway mark now so it’s time to roll up the scroll bars to start the bottom half. Sadly, though, my usual stitchers curse has appeared again and I’m going to run out of the Brown Sugar thread … b*gger! Never mind it’s an excuse to kick myself into gear to place a thread order 😉

Brown House Studio, Canvaswork, Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Northern Pine Designs, Works in Progress

A touch of vertigo and stitching

27 August, 2013 Anne S

Finally my work project launched recently, but not until I’d had a few weeks of really long hours – including a 2am finish and a few 10-11pm finishes in the final week. To say I was a touch mentally and physically exhausted at the end of it all is definitely an understatement. My boss very kindly offered for me to have a few days off work in lieu of all the extra hours I put in … so I decided to take 3 days off at the start of last week, 2 days of which were in lieu from the previous month’s project … only to fall ill on day 3. I had a wonderful couple of days off where I managed to stitch up a Christmas ornament, and did a whole lot of cooking for the freezer … but then on day 3 I woke up with severe vertigo, and have been bed-bound for almost a week since then. The last couple of days I’ve managed to sit up in bed and watch TV, but I have only managed to walk over to the doctor’s surgery once yesterday, and came straight back to bed again … I did, however, manage to put a few stitches into a canvaswork project – it was a nice calming distraction, and didn’t tax the eyes too much with the nice large holes in the canvas etc.

971819_10151604537623148_1334514417_n

“Folk Art Topiary” ornament by Brown House Studio (2004 JCS Xmas ornie issue)
stitched on 28ct Golden Needle Country French linen
with recommended Crescent Colours threads

1185043_10151604537588148_1598849201_n

“Ebb Tide” by Northern Pine Designs (work in progress)

Today I’m going to attempt to try and finish off another ornament already started, but in truth the fabric holes are really hard to see, so I may give it up as a bad joke pretty quickly … but if nothing else I’ll be catching up with the final episodes of Season 3 of True Blood … I hadn’t watched any of them before, but they were ‘free’ to watch on Quickflix (as part of my monthly membership), so I’ve been glued to the gogglebox watching all 3 seasons over the last couple of days … it looks like seasons 4 and 5 are on there too, so I know what I’ll be doing for the next week or two … I knew there was a good reason to up my internet quota, I’ve certainly been making good use of it at the moment, that’s for sure!!

2012 WIPocalypse, Works in Progress

WIPocalypse Update for February

7 February, 201225 February, 2012 Anne S

We are currently experiencing a hideous turn in weather with grey skies and rain forecast for at least another month – I think it’s my fault because I’ve been stitching the last two weekends! This last Sunday is the first time in over 2 months that I’ve been driven by a burning desire to stitch … and it felt really good!

It also means some decent progress on two of my WIPs for this month’s WIPocalypse update. First up is Bent Creek’s Winter Snapperland … taking the progress up to about 40% completion.

And next is Jardin Prive’s Christmas … taking the progress up to about 70% completion (I’m hoping to see this one finished by the end of the month – although that’s only if the stitching bug stays!)

Other than that nothing else to write about really – still working hard and still loving my new car … Same old, same old really … Except for one thing, that one of my resolutions for this year was to treat Sydney as if I was on holiday. When I was younger I would go traveling all the time on my own and eat out at restaurants etc on my own, either taking a book to read or my trip diary to write. I have missed out a lot over the last few years by not going to places because I don’t have people around me that share same interests – or I have made assumptions that way. This year I am putting my confident traveling mind back in place and going to things on my own if I really want to go 🙂

My first experience was about 2 weeks ago when I bought a ticket to see Ronan Keating in concert, along with Sharon Corr as support act … Oh boy am I glad I did, it was a superb night out!! Then next week I’m taking myself off to see Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera … Watch out world the confident Anne is slowly returning!!!

Later in the year I also have tickets to see the Australian Chamber Orchestra perform a baroque concert but Mum is flying over to join me for that one 🙂 Who knows what else the year will bring? Whatever it is I’m definitely open to all possibilities 😀

And on that note, it’s time to sign off for the day and I’m off to put another strand of thread into another WIP … wow, maybe we’ll starting getting snow in Sydney!! 😛

2012 WIPocalypse, Challenges & SALs, Christmas Ornaments, Crazy January 2011 Challenge, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Les grilles de Maryse, The Drawn Thread, The Goode Huswife, Works in Progress, Works in Progress

Where did the time go???

6 January, 20126 April, 2014 Anne S

First of all Happy New Year everyone!! I hope you all (if there’s still anyone out there) had a lovely Christmas and New Year, and that 2012 is treating you well so far!!

I don’t honestly know where the last 2 months have gone, but I do know that it is my record for non-blogging – I have ended up having a true blogging break, although it was never intended, so I have neglected both the updating of my blog as well as the reading of your blogs! Since I came home for the Rugby World Cup final (go the All Blacks!!!) work has been hectic, my social life has been more active, and my stitching has pretty much been non-existent. I have barely lifted a needle over the last month or so, and the month prior to that very little stitching was done either. But there was just enough activity to see one old WIP finished …

“Joyeux Noel” by The Drawn Thread
Stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen by Silkweaver ~ colour Golden Harvest
with a mix of recommended and substituted threads

Then I managed to squeeze in one last finish for 2011 – and a nice simple design that would normally be completed in a day of stitching took me about two weeks!!

“The Red Noel Ornament” by Maryse Dupont of Les grilles de Maryse
stitched on mystery 32ct hand-dyed linen
with Threadworx thread

I managed to put a few more stitches into my Goode Huswife design that I started as part of the 2011 Crazy January Challenge … it no longer looks like a gherkin, but still not much closer to a finish! Pretty much how the entire January Challenge went for me last year – with my change in jobs, and 3 hours commuting each day, it meant my stitching time was very minimal … and I’m certainly not going to be signing up for any major challenges this year knowing this is something that will not be changing!

I did manage, however, to put a few more stitches into another of my Crazy January Challenge pieces, although yet again very far from being close to finished.

This year I am signing up for a challenge, but one that I can easily fit in with my new “hardly any time for stitching” lifestyle – I’m joining in with Measi’s 2012 WIPocalypse challenge. Seeing as you just have to show progress with your WIPs on a monthly basis, I figure that even I should be able to do that! Well, I’ll be giving it a go anyway!! As I also want to remove the pressure from what pieces to work on, I have decided to list all my outstanding WIPs and UFOs and my goal is to just work on them this year with a couple of new starts/Christmas ornaments during the year as well to keep me motivated. It means the remainder of my unfinished pieces from the 2011 January challenge will be leading the list … plus I have plenty of old UFOs already listed in my sidebar to keep them company!! When I get my act together, I’ll upload the full list into a new post.

In the meantime, here is my pitiful display of stitching finishes for 2011:

Christmas Ornaments, Crazy January 2011 Challenge, Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Lizzie Kate, Stash, Works in Progress

Still in the land of the living

11 September, 201125 February, 2012 Anne S

Sadly a number of shocking migraines and some late working hours have seen my stitching mojo fly out the window over the last month … yesterday, however, I decided to catch up on last week’s recorded TV shows (seeing as I didn’t switch the TV on at all during the week) and managed to put a few stitches into a commitment piece – I need to quickly get this one finished so I can get it framed for a birthday gift. I managed to do a fair bit last Saturday just before I started getting a throw-up migraine, and after yesterday’s efforts I can almost see the end in sight. There are still a bunch of bears to stitch on the left-hand side, but at least I’m about 2/3 finished now. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve stitched something that requires such a lot of back-stitching … not my favourite part of stitching, but it sure does make those blobs of stitching look wonderful once it’s done, and I’m glad to have got the first 2/3 of back-stitching completed before tackling the last section of the design! This is one of my Crazy January Challenge projects:

P1040491 — Here's how it looked back on 10 January

How it looked at the end of last weekend

How it looks now - a day in bed stitching in my PJs was worthwhile!

Last Monday I received an absolutely awesome ornie from my good friend Carol for our HoE Lizzie*Kate ornie exchange. I love the reason why Carol chose to stitch this one, as moose are indigenous in NH this is a wonderful personalised ornie with a taste of Carol’s home. I absolutely love it, and the stitching and finishing are as always perfect! Thank again Carol for another fantabulous exchange that I will treasure! 😀 I apologise in advance for the quality of all the photos today, as they had to be taken with my iPhone thanks to a flat camera battery that I just keep forgetting to charge up! Sadly moose ornie didn’t come up at all well on the iPhone 😦

My Lizzie*Kate ornie exchange received from Carol - I love it!

I also heard a while back that Joke had received the ornie I had sent to her – unfortunately I was late in posting, so I sent a little extra beaded scissor fob to apologise for the delay. I can’t remember taking a photo of the fob I sent, but you can see it in Joke’s post if you want to see it.

P1050086 — Lizzie*Kate ornie exchange sent to Joke

The only other thing I have to share is a wonderful surprise parcel in the mail I received from Orna Willis – I’ve been a fan of Orna’s canvaswork designs for years now, and have been a follower on her blog since she started it up. Orna has recently been having giveaways of thread/embellishment packs for some of her followers (just chosen randomly from the list of followers), and I was surprised one day to see my name up in lights on the blog … I had won one of the giveaways. I just had to take a photo of the way that everything was packaged up, aren’t they lovely in their own special little tin? I should probably take a photo of the contents separately as there are lots of little treats hiding in that tin, but I’ll do that on the day that I take them out to put them away 🙂

And that probably covers all the stitching news that I have. Nothing else has been happening really except for work, work, and more work – it’s been quite difficult trying to close off and start pieces of work for my current job while learning my new job one day a week, plus still attending many meetings and having to teach a work colleague aspects of my job. Hopefully after next week I’ll start getting back into a normal routine of only one job, although sadly 2 hours travelling time each day will probably eat most of my week’s stitching time that I normally have … it just means that I’ll have to plan my weekends so I can at least get ‘some’ stitching in every weekend 🙂

One great thing about working in the city now, though, is that last Wednesday after work I wandered over to the city swimming pool and did a workout in the hydrotherapy pool. My leg has been giving me a lot of pain lately so I knew I needed to make an effort to get those exercises happening again – and by the time I was ready to get on the train most of the peak hour people had gone home already … mind you, it meant not getting home until 9pm but what the heck, it felt good! 😉

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Freebies, Indigo Rose, Lizzie Kate, Sweetheart Tree, Works in Progress

Stitching for stress relief

1 August, 20116 April, 2014 Anne S

Last Sunday I managed to start getting a mini migraine in the afternoon … stressing out about my 2nd interview on Monday, I think – which means most of the plans I had on Sunday afternoon went down the drain … which is where my day’s baking went as well, ‘cos it was a total flop! We were putting on morning tea for a work colleague who left on Tuesday (this is the one I had issues with last year, although we actually get on OK now – we’ll never be the closest of friends, but we had a working relationship that was OK). Anyway, I have to say my baking Sunday/Monday was a total disaster … I think my head was too stressed out about my 2nd interview that I had on Monday – I felt physically sick during the interview, and I know I didn’t do my best in there, but it’s too late for that now, and the chips will just have to fall where they may. I was supposed to hear something back by last Thursday, but so far no news either good or bad.

I haven’t particularly touched a needle for the last few weeks, but this weekend I’ve made up for lost time – it’s all I’ve been in the mood for! I’ve superglued my backside to my mattress, and sat up in bed with needle in hand and clearing old DVR recordings … it’s been really enjoyable. Following are the results of my stitching efforts.

First up is a new WIP that I started a couple of weeks ago – it took me 4 whole nights just to stitch one pumpkin and the border, so this one has been sloooooow going – this is a 2nd hand chart so I don’t have the embellishment pack, and I can’t find my little black Mill Hill petite beads so this one’s now sitting in a pile waiting for them to turn up … I lost all motivation when I realised I couldn’t finish it quickly. Never mind, it’ll get completed ‘one day’ …

P1050067

Next up is a piece that I stitched up slowly over the last week – an Indigo Rose freebie – not my usual style, but it was really enjoyable stitching it up. I can’t say I was too thrilled stitching all the queen stitches (definitely not my favourite stitch), but eventually when I got into a rhythm with them it seemed to fly along (helped by watching Rescue Special Ops on TV to make the time go fast).

“Four Little Strawberries” freebie by Indigo Rose
stitched on 32ct Summer Khaki Belfast linen
with recommended DMC threads

Then there is this weekend’s productivity – three Christmas ornaments by Lizzie*Kate. This is probably what has finally got me back into the swing of stitching again – it feels great, but I’m not sure how long it’ll last!

“Noel” by Lizzie*Kate
from the chart Tiny Tidings XIV
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast linen by Silkweaver ~ colour Golden Harvest
with recommended Weeks Dye Works threads and embellishment pack

“Mistletoe” by Lizzie*Kate
from the chart Tiny Tidings XIV
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Belfast linen by Silkweaver ~ colour Golden Harvest
with recommended Weeks Dye Works and DMC threads and embellishment pack
but substituted GAST Butternut Squash

“Christmas flip-it” by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on 32ct Summer Khaki Belfast linen
with recommended GAST threads except substituting DMC white for Whitewash
and using DMC 898 for bird beaks and legs instead of DMC 310

The rest of the weekend has been spent guzzling a bowl of Tiramisu that I made on Saturday night – I’ve been craving some for months, so I finally pulled my finger out and made a half-serving of it … and took a wee plate full down to my elderly neighbour yesterday. I suppose all-in-all it’s been a productive weekend – not quite the productivity that I had planned for, but what my body and mind needed, I think 🙂

Autumn, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Halloween, JBW Designs, Waxing Moon Designs, Works in Progress

Autumn Harvest

15 May, 20116 April, 2014 Anne S

The last couple of weeks have been really stressful at work, so this weekend I made a special effort to chill out and relax – and spent most of the weekend with needle in hand, either catching up on recorded TV or watching DVDs in the lounge (including getting bored stiff watching the 2nd to last Harry Potter movie … yawn …). The result is that I have one more finish from my Crazy January Challenge list, and decent headway into one more (plus a whole lot of frogging as I need to change one of the listed conversion threads to something much lighter). Anyway, I’m a bit too tired to yap on any more, so I’ll just show the piccies … first up is my latest weekend finish:

“Autumn Harvest” by JBW Designs
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed linen in a mystery colour (perhaps Limestone)
with recommended Weeks Dye Works threads

Now on to my WIP (after frogging the outline of the ghost and cat) … I’m well about 2/3 through the stitching on this now, so it won’t be too much longer before it’s finished.

2360285950047689748cfpTOY_fs
“Halloween Short Stack” by Waxing Moon Designs

Cross Stitch, Prairie Moon, Works in Progress

Out of action

10 May, 201125 February, 2012 Anne S

It’s been an interesting few weeks, with not much stitching happening around here … and not a great deal of blog reading or email catch-ups either … the fact is I’m so shattered after working long hours at work at the moment, the only thing I feel like doing when I get home is clicking on the “hunt” button of the one online Facebook game I play, and everything else has gone out the window!

That’s not to say I haven’t been having fun, though – a few social occasions have been helping to fill in the non-work calendar … including a ‘high tea’ at the Sydney Museum followed by a movie session to see Thor, an overnight visit to my closest friends on the other side of Sydney, and my flatmate’s birthday bash at the local pub on Saturday night (which ended in the wee small hours of the morning … followed by a much needed cooked brunch and bucket of coffee at a local cafe the next morning!!).

Then last night K and I parked ourselves in front of the gogglebox (after I’d whipped up a batch of Tuna Mornay for tea) and watched a DVD while putting in a few more stitches into Merry Xmas. It seems my missing threads finally left the USA on 5 May, so hopefully by the end of next week they will be due to arrive any day and I’ll be able to get cracking on this one to get it finished … and the Dragon will be arriving so that’ll mean plenty more stitching time as we spend time relaxing together 🙂