Category: Works in Progress

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}}.

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.

Cross Stitch, PhotoHunt, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

PhotoHunt – Gross, & Bordeaux Update

Anne S


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It’s that time of the week again … well, almost … seeing as I’m starting night shifts tonight, and I have to get up to do a house inspection at lunchtime tomorrow, I didn’t think I’d be much in the mood for posting tomorrow … so here’s this week’s contribution to the Photo Hunt Saturday. The topic is “Gross”, and I was stuck a bit for choices yet again … but I thought these grasshoppers being on sale at the bird market in Hong Kong was quite gross, so I couldn’t resist taking a photo! (Hopefully I’ve linked it OK so you can click on it for a slightly bigger piccie.)

I also managed to get a couple of stitches into the Bordeaux Sampler today while I watched my Dodgeball DVD for the umpteenth time … I still crack up every time they start throwing the wrenches and dodging cars 😉 Next up is my Macaw SAL – I want to at least get an hour into this piece, because I know my eyes won’t handle the over-one stitching once I start my night shifts … Anyway, here’s my pitiful progress on Bordeaux for the week (the only difference from last week is the bottom row of long-arm XS and the backstitched vines for the 2nd lot of Rhodes grapes):

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Long Live the Queen

Anne S

What happens when you finish the end of your 10-hour rotation and you don’t want to put it down?  You throw in the Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD, plonk yourself back down in the stitching chair, and just keep right on going 😀  I finally decided to bead as I go, as there some seriously large blank spaces where the beads go, so I couldn’t resist it before putting her away, and sat for a few hours tonight adding beads and that revolting Wisper thread.  At least now I’m filling in all the gaps, I can cut away the finished parts of my working copy to make it more manageable … and she really does look so much better with some of her white gaps all filled in!  Alas, though, now the scroll bar has been removed from the floor stand, to be replaced with something smaller – it’s the Christmas Ornie SAL weekend, so tomorrow I’ll be stitching a new ornie, or finishing some I’ve already started …

In the meantime, here’s the final shot of Winter Queen before she was removed … she looks even lovelier with her backstitched face and beads 😀

Cross Stitch, Rotation, SBQ, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

Bordeaux, Winter Queen and SBQ

Anne S

Australia Day logo

To my fellow Aussies, Happy Australia Day to you all – thanks for letting me stay in your beautiful country and letting me call it my new adopted home 😀

Australian flag

Here’s my latest progress piccie of Bordeaux Sampler – I’m loving stitching on this more regularly each week, and normally have difficulty putting it down after my two-hour stint working on it.  Yesterday, though, it was a bit easier due to the fact my concentration wasn’t really up to par.  Unfortunately I won’t be reaching the halfway mark by the end of the month like I’d hoped, as I’d forgotten this band has more of that wonderful over-one lettering … mind you, that’s not as bad as those darned over-one single grapes floating around in the middle of the band … grumble grumble 😉  Please note I still haven’t frogged those golden leaves from the previous band, either … that’s a chore for one day when I’m more in the mood … at some stage before I finish band 7 😀 (Sorry, but this photo is quite dark, as the flash wouldn’t work!)

Bordeaux at 25Jan07

I’ve also finally managed to finish my 10 hours rotation slot on Winter Queen.  Here’s the “before and after” shot – I did my first 10 hours on this back in November 2005, and it hasn’t been touched since, which is shocking … it’s nice to see her come back out of the woodwork again.

Before
 Winter Queen at 24Nov05

After
Winter Queen 26Jan07

I think the 10-hour rotation really works for me on the whole – I tried doing one project per night, and it just doesn’t work with my shifts, and I feel as if I’ve only just picked something up when I have to put it down again.  At least with 10 hours you can really see some progress at the end of it, and the 10 hours can be spread out over a weekend, or a full week, but you have time to get into a rhythm with the project.  I still give myself some flexibility with those 10 hours, and they’re not always 100% rigid at that mark – if I get close to the 10 hours and I’m still loving the project and don’t want to put it down, then I’ll keep doing an hour or so more before I move on to the next project.  Having my little ‘tub’ of WIPs next to my stitching area has also helped with that too, with everything ready to start again for the next rotation.

  Now, on to the SBQ’s that I’ve been seriously neglecting for the last 3 weeks:

“Do you dream of running your own LNS/ONS? If so, tell us about your dream. If not, tell us about your cross stitch dream … maybe you dream of designing, dyeing your own floss or fabric, etc.”

Nope, I can’t say I’ve ever had the desire of running my own LNS/ONS – working in one, perhaps, but not running it.  To be honest I figure running one would entail so much work that it would impact on my stitching time, and that’s more important to me.  I have to admit, though, that I was having a few ideas about designing my own needlerolls before Christmas, but if I ever do that I’ll offer it as a freebie online here instead of doing it ‘properly’ – but I’d love to learn how to dye my own fabric and floss one day, especially floss!  My main dream is to be able to give up work and still have an income and stitch to my heart’s content every day … hey, we can dream, can’t we? 😉

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

Yep, that was done on New Year’s Day … the post is here.

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Danielle and is:

“What company produces your favorite hand-dyed fabric? Are there any companies whose hand-dyed fabric you do not like? If so, why?”

I like Silkweaver fabrics, but the one I have for Egyptian Garden has quite a lot of fluff on it, and I’m forever having to pull off pils etc from it while I’m stitching, which is really frustrating.  The only other fabric I’ve tried is from Country Stitch, and I have to admit between the two I really love Linda’s fabric (Country Stitch) the most.  Her customer service is awesome, and she’s a sweetheart to deal with – it’s one of the few things I refused to give up during my penniless phase, my FOTM from Country Stitch.  Her fabrics have a lovely feel to them, and the colours aren’t blotchy but subtly blended … love them! 😀  Unfortunately I haven’t tried other products yet, so can’t compare.

And to finish, another quote I really like:

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

Blogging Memes, Cross Stitch, Food, Works in Progress

Leporello update (updated)

Anne S

I managed to get a bit more stitching done last night, and finished my Smalls rotation slot with the Leporello. Now it’s back to Winter Queen, which I realised I haven’t touched since I started her back in November 2005 – yikes!! Anyway, I managed another hour on her as well, but I won’t bother posting any progress until I’m at least halfway through my rotation. Here’s the Leporello, though, before I put it aside.

Leporello 21Jan07

This week I’m on 3pm shifts all week, which is great if I can keep up the habit of getting up early, and going to bed as soon as I get home (which is a bit harder to manage), as it gives me the whole morning to get a few things done – I take a meal into work with me, and have a regular meal break, as technically lunch is at about 7-7.30pm, which is perfect!

BTW, I managed to change my internet settings to get rid of that annoying Blogger pop-up … I’ll also go back to my last post and remove the old piccie as it seems to be confusing and annoying a few people 😉 Oh boy, though, it’s good not getting those stupid prompts before and after commenting – makes the whole process so much more pleasant … and speedy! 😀

Rightio, time to go and do the week’s laundry (I forgot about it yesterday, oops), then I may bake a batch of biscuits again (the Honey Coconut ones – yummo). Then I want to make some banana muffins or banana cake with my manky bananas, but that may have to wait until tomorrow … how awful, I end up with yummy munchies to splurge on LOL 😉

Updated to add a biccie piccie 😛
Honey Coconut Biscuits

Also: Thutmosis, if you’re by any chance reading this – I can’t find the comments link on your blog for some reason, and can’t leave a comment … could just be me having a blonde moment, though!

Updated: Well, what do you know?? I guess some quizzes really ARE good 😉

You Should Paint Your Room Blue

Peaceful and soothing, blue rooms have been known to reduce blood pressure.
Your blue room will encourage deep rest and great sleep.
A blue room is the perfect oasis for a stressful life.
Blogging Memes, Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Annoying Blogger! (updated)

Anne S

I must say there is something about the new Blogger that annoys the hell out of me! I’m sick to death of getting the following prompt before and after trying to leave comments … does anyone out there know how to turn the stupid thing off? I don’t know whether it’s in my PC settings somewhere, but I do know “it has to go!”, as it’s driving me crazy!!! Angry emoticon [Updated to say I’ve managed to fix it – thanks for the help!!]

[Photo removed to save confusion and frustration 😉 ]

Not much to report today – I felt like death warmed up yesterday and just blobbed out – I can’t even tell you where the hours went yesterday … no stitching or TV watching, just vegetating and doing nothing … tidying up a few computer files and photos, and websurfing, and that’s about it! Mind you that seems to be pretty standard stuff after coming off 5am shifts, oh well … today’s another day!

Seeing as I didn’t get my full quota of Bordeaux stitching done last week, I’m going to sit for another hour or so today and finally put a few more stitches into it so I can show some progress. I’d love to be able to hit the true half-way mark by month’s end, but I might be pushing it hmmm. I’m going to sit and do that now, then it’s time to get motivated and get some housework done – I need to start allocating an hour every day to go through my things and see if I want to throw out any items to save lugging them around again in the next move, as well as starting to think about actually packing things away that I’m not currently using (ie kitchen things etc).

Updated to add my progress piccie after one more hour on Bordeaux – I’m happy now I’ve managed to complete two hours stitching on it, so it can wait until Thursday again for the next stitching session 🙂
Bordeaux Sampler at 21Jan07

Rightio, time to surgically remove myself from this computer chair and get moving! I’ll update with a piccie later when I have something to show 🙂 But here’s something else I just remembered I did yesterday … now I can close that screen down 😉 Perhaps this explains my affinity to ducks! LOL

Geb

Engaging personality, sensitive, modest, occasionally narcissistic, but can rise above vanity.
Colors: male: violet, female: rose
Compatible Signs:Set, Horus
Dates: Feb 12 – Feb 29, Aug 20 – Aug 31
Role: God of the earth
Appearance: Green-skinned man, with leaves all over his body and a goose on his head. Sometimes he was shown laying on his side under his wife, the sky goddess Nut.
Sacred animals: goose

What is Your Egyptian Zodiac Sign?
Designed by CyberWarlock of Warlock’s Quizzles and Quandaries

Cross Stitch, Rotation, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

SAL revisited (updated)

Anne S

My apologies to Carina, but my SAL plans for last night were thwarted somewhat … thanks to the bushfires still raging in rural Victoria, it attacked transmission lines to the national power grid in NSW, causing massive power failures throughout the state of Victoria.  We lost our power at work just before 4pm yesterday, killing our lights and air conditioning … with a temperature sitting at 39C, that wasn’t much fun (but luckily I only had to survive 1/2 of that).  Then driving home all the traffic lights were out as well, causing a delay in travelling anywhere.  When I finally got home I had power on for one hour before losing that … I figured even though I had to have an early night due moving back to a 5am start today, I’d still get an hour’s stitching on my Macaw … then the power died while I was checking emails, and put paid to all those plans – it was way too hot to stitch without an electric fan on, and too dark in my stitching area without my ott-lite … so no stitching done at all for the night.

Tonight, however, I’ve also decided to change my mind yet again – and I’m going to unpick what I’ve done and do everything over-one … yeah, I know, I must be stark raving bonkers, considering I hate over-one stitching normally!  I’d opted to stitch over-two because there is one blended thread in the chart, but I’ve decided to just choose one of the colours used and stitch that part in just one colour … fingers crossed it’ll still look alright hmmm.  So, tonight I’m going to spend at least one hour getting a couple of stitches put into my Macaw to make up for last night … I just have to work out which fabric to use now …

Then tomorrow night I need to decide whether I continue a bit more with the Leporello, or whether it’s back to the Bordeaux Sampler for this week’s stitching session ready for a progress piccie on Friday/Saturday.  It probably all depends on how shattered I am this time tomorrow, I guess …  I have to admit I had a dreadful night’s sleep last night thanks to the shocking heat, and no power (it came back on during the night, but I was too dopey to get up and switch the fan on, just kept waking up every 1/2 hour and going back to sleep again) – it also appears my neighbours downstairs have had their baby, as the last two nights have also been spent listening to it screaming its lungs out while I’ve been trying to sleep … to say I’m little Miss Cranky Pants today is probably an understatement LOL.  One of the benefits of living on my own that I’m soon going to miss … not having to smile and be friendly when you come home feeling like death warmed up – there’s no-one to think about and impress, and my ducks don’t care if I look at them with baggy eyes and scowling frowns 😛

Actually, talking of the Leporello, I can probably show a progress piccie from the other night – I got very little done on it, but it’s a bit more than before so any progress is good progress 🙂  I’ll continue with this one now until I’ve completed 10 hours, then the next rotation slot is Mirabilia/L&L so I’ll put some more stitches into Winter Queen (which hasn’t been touched in an entire year … very very bad!).

My current rotation is as follows:

  1. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  2. Smalls/ornaments – Stitching Leporello
  3. Charity blocks/Free choice
  4. Canvaswork/Hardanger – Flight of the Bumblebees
  5. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  6.  UFO (Mystery – ie randomly picked by drawing a number out of a hat!)
  7. Smalls/ornaments/gifts – Strawberries So Faire (but doing Leporello instead this time)
  8. Mirabilia/L&L – Winter Queen
  9. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  10. Band Samplers/Specialty Stitches – Le Jardin Silk Sampler
  11. Finishing items
  12. Smalls/ornaments – My Treasures Workstation or Lavender Rose Sewing Case
  13. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  14. Kits & Classes – probably Ete en Grece (French kit of Greece)
  15. UFO (Chosen) – Nature’s Resting Place
  16. Quilting/Stumpwork – GCC Gracie stumpwork or The Blue Collection quilt
  17. Free choice – (not decided yet – whatever screams loudest at the time)

Crikey, I have a lot of projects in there – hence the reason I’m thinking of reworking my rotation, as it takes too long to get to some projects.  Maybe I’ll just work my way through it in its entirety once or twice then decide … I’m almost keen to become a one-at-a-time at the moment to get a few projects finished, but then again with a rotation I don’t get bored on the whole.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the latest unimpressive update of the Leporello … now I’ve got to get that fan on and find some fabric to restart my Macaw!

Last week’s blob has been replaced by an even smaller blob – I decided to just stitch the Macaw on some 28ct white Lugana.  It’s pretty slow going, but I’ve managed 2 hours stitching on it tonight anyway … and now I’m off to bed.  I thought I might as well show a piccie of the blob, otherwise it’ll be another couple of weeks before it resembles anything, and Carina will wonder if I’m actually stitching along with her! 😉

Macaw at 17Jan07