Category: Finishes

Finished needlework

Finishes

Two little Happy Dances

Anne S

I’ve been very very lazy in that I’ve been sat up in bed all day stitching my little heart out, while clearing my taped TV programmes … thanks to House, Desperate Housewives, Lost, The Amazing Race and NCIS, I have managed to complete not one, but two ornaments over the last 24 hours – yippee! I put the final stitches into Star of Wonder before I went to sleep last night, from the 2002 JCS ornie issue – this is a design by Ellen Chester, of With My Needle, and I really love it … a bit challenging to stitch, with the over-one sections, but a fun stitch 🙂

The second ornament is Herald Angels from the 2003 JCS ornie issue – designed by Pamela Byrd Smith of The Prairie Schooler, Inc. This was part of the Christmas Ornament challenge on the Friends Gather BB, as there is a chosen designer each month, and we choose any design we want to stitch by that designer – and I chose the Herald Angels. I have to admit, I was very worried about it while I was stitching it, as it was so so dark – but as soon as the metallics were added it really lifted it, and I like it again. Perhaps in hindsight I might have used a navy blue instead of the black, though, to lighten it a bit more. Anyway, off they go to my finishing pile for later in the year …

My next challenge is to stitch my Marine Elegance piece – followed by my charity pieces, then back to my rotation again … as well as the Bunnies in my Garden SAL that’s starting with the StitchingSmalls Yahoo group next month … so much stitching, so little time LOL.


Today’s SBQ is:


“Do you stitch “over-one”? If so, describe your experiences. If not, have you considered it?”

Hmmm, I have a love/hate relationship with over-one stitching. I really don’t enjoy the stitching part, but I love to see the finished product. That being said, I really want to stitch Graham Ross’ Macaw and Rainbow Lorikeets over-one, as well as a green tree frog I’ve already stitched over-two. The best tip I learned from a class with Jodi Merusi – and that was to stitch it like a tent stitch, except you come back across the row with the top stitch (which I also use a tent stitch for) … it saves the floss threads slipping under the fabric threads, and gives you more space to slip your needle under when anchoring ends on the back. You can’t do this with overdyed threads, though, as each stitch has to be done individually, darnit!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

Another day gone …

Anne S

… and still no needle in sight …

We have, however, uncovered the answer to the mystery of the weird-looking creature in my previous post – Sharon, you’re spot on, thank you!! I did a Google on “case moth” and found the following link, with some interesting info. Also, glad to know it’s harmless … and not a relative of the dreaded 8-legged Huntsman or something daft – quite fascinating to see it, and it’s the second one I’ve seen now, so the curiosity got the better of me this time … there you go, Mum, now we know! 😀 The male moth is quite spectacular when it emerges … typical, though, the female has to spend all its life cooped up in that cocoon ;P

And I’m glad to hear my last piece of stitching finally reached its destination, so I can finally release the full picture from the teaser I put out earlier – I stitched a small token of friendship for Jenna, to help to cheer her up after going through so much just lately … Jenna was one of the first people to comment on my blog when I started, and the comments she made had a big impact on my self-esteem, and that started to help me deal with things that had caused me personal pain last year – it was just a few kind words at just the right time … and it helped open my eyes to a whole big world out there, and start to appreciate who I am, and get back my caring nature. So, this little token was just my way of saying “thanks for everything – your friendship means a lot to me” 😀 Funnily enough, I’d already started stitching this when Jenna answered a previous SBQ about what the perfect project would be … the answer was “My perfect project would probably be a star-themed design, since I’m so nuts about stars. It would have some purple in it somewhere, or at least some blue. Kreiniks, of course, or another brand of metallic, to make the stars sparkle. And stitched on a gorgeous, rich hand-dyed fabric with luscious overdyed silk threads.” Amazingly, without trying, I think I almost nailed every point! haha. Glad you like it, Jenna – you deserve it! 😀

And it looks like my previous post has brought to the fore more Little Britain fans haha – now I know which of you have the craziest sense of humour haha. We’re always mimicking the characters … I mentioned to Rosa that last year I had my gallbladder removed, and while I was in hospital I was in a room with 4 beds – opposite me was an older lady who was a bit hard of hearing, and to the right of me was a younger lady who had her husband/partner visiting (we all had our curtains drawn) … anyway, the nurse came in a couple of times, and the hard-of-hearing lady was called Margaret … she’d come in and call out “Margaret … Margaret …” – I nearly wet myself, especially when a male voice pipes up from the next bed “… have we got any pirate memory games?” – I could hardly contain myself from giggling my head off … that programme has got so many people hooked, it’s great!

Anway, off to do something else for my final two hours before beddy-byes … I’m going in to work an hour earlier for overtime tomorrow, then I’ve amazingly managed to get 4 hours overtime on Sunday … the extra money will come in more handy than having the day off, I’ve decided! And it’s so rare to get overtime just lately, you grab it when you can!

Finishes

Quilt panel completed!

Anne S


Unfortunately, it means I’m going to bed a bit later than planned for my 6am start at work tomorrow, but I just couldn’t put my quilt panel to one side until I’d finished every name … I was just too close to finishing. So, now I can get it in the post either tomorrow or Tuesday to the organisers – woohoo, another lot of commitment stitching out the way! 🙂
In answer to Tobie’s question … “what next?” … I’m not exactly 100% sure yet, but I probably should get my Marine Elegance piece up-to-date for my SAL first, seeing as I have another SAL starting in April – then I still have another two charity quilt squares to stitch (the Batman logo, and an Echidna) … these aren’t due until May, so I have some time up my sleeve for them yet. So, I guess I should start committing myself to restarting my rotation again, seeing as I haven’t touched it since the end of 2005 (gee, that seems so far away LOL). That being said, the following is my hastily hatched stitching plan (but I reserve the right to change it on a whim haha):

  • Marine Elegance SAL (Cindy Valentine)
  • Echidna quilt square
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Smalls/Ornaments
  • Batman quilt square
  • Jen’s Jems canvaswork
  • UFO – Bil Berry by Shepherd’s Bush
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Smalls/Ornaments
  • Winter Queen (Mirabilia)
  • Le Jardin Silk Sampler
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Finishing items
  • UFO – Nature’s Resting Place
  • Free choice

As for the Adam Sandler movie, it was “Punch-Drunk Love” … if you get the urge to watch it, please try to control that urge and save yourselves the trouble!

OK, off to bed now for my first of 6 x 6am starts …

Finishes

2nd happy dance today

Anne S


Just in the nick of time (ie before midnight) I managed to put the final stitches into my 2nd stitching goal for the day … and it took me all that time to actually finish it. I’m sorry to say that I really didn’t enjoy stitching this one at all, which is probably why I was so slow at stitching it. I found the colours really drab, and I really detest stitching over-one with variegated thread because I have to stitch each stitch individually – all-in-all this is not a project I would ever have chosen myself … however, there is a good piece of news in all this – as this is one of the ornaments Mum liked in the 2005 JCS ornie issue, this will be finding its way to her tree at the end of the year … at least it will be going someone who will love it 🙂 If anyone is wondering what the design is, it’s “Home for Christmas” by Brightneedle.

Still haven’t decided what to stitch tomorrow yet … will see what I feel like when I get up. I also need to make an eating and exercise plan from tomorrow night onwards … you see, tomorrow is D-Day (Diet-Day) – our company is subsidising 50% off 3 months of Weight Watchers for those of us wishing to lose weight, and I put my name down for it a few weeks ago – tomorrow is our first night/sign up. Another sign that I’m feeling good about myself, I guess – I’m actually wanting to make an improvement to my body, as well as my mind. 🙂 It couldn’t have come at a (possible) worse time with my finances in trying to cut back, but I’m already committed to it, and it’s something I think I really need to do as I have put a considerable amount of weight on over the last year or so, and I’m starting to feel really unhealthy. They say life begins at 40, perhaps it’s true … 😉

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Survived the day … just!

Anne S

I have to say you all should have come round for a stitchalong yesterday – my little flat was the perfect location … everyone would have had perfect stitching, as I’d swallowed all the frogs!! To say I woke up with a croaky voice was probably an understatement – a little touch of laryngitis was in order. I’ve had this in the past when I’ve overindulged and been dancing etc for a lengthy time among a lot of smokers. Thanks for the offer of the Berocca, Katrina, that would have been lovely yesterday LOL. Have to admit, I woke up feeling OK, although I didn’t get much sleep, waking up every hour – but I can honestly say that’s been the hardest day of work I’ve done in ages … the after-effects decided to wait until the afternoon to arrive. Luckily that was more in the form of a splitting headache and fatigue, and nothing else … can’t complain, though, as it was worth it for such a good day out LOL. I have a small amount of sunburn which has given me a healthy glow, and slightly aching calves from all the dancing – and it feels great! 🙂

Anyway, back to stitching news – can’t say there has been a lot of it happening for the last week or so … I started stitching something the same night I finished the M Designs’ Thistle Treasure Bag, but it’s a small gift for someone … and to say it’s small, it’s taking me forever to stitch! I think a lot of it is that it’s on a very small count linen (or it seems that way) with a darkish colour, and I’m using metallics for the whole thing. Hopefully on my next days off (Mon/Tue next week) I will be able to get my WTC quilt panel finished as well as putting the final touches into this little piece. I can’t resist putting a teaser picture up – but there’s not much to tease you with LOL.

The other stitching news is the very small gift I sent to Becky for her birthday – I was a bit disappointed with how it turned out, but I couldn’t find much within my stash that had a suitable design for that little mirror. In hindsight, I probably should have used a slightly darker brown for the backstitching. It was well received by Becky, though, and I guess that’s the important thing. If you haven’t seen these before, they’re made by Framecraft, a UK company, and they’re quite neat little items.

Rightio, that’s all for today, I guess – except to say, thanks again to all of you for your kind words of support during my ‘blue day’ … it really does mean a lot to me, and made it easier to ‘roll with the punches’. {{hugs}}

Now I’m off to start preparing for my interview tomorrow, and have to sift through my poor old brain for real-life on-the-job scenarios for when I’ve had to deal with complaints (gee, it’ll be hard to find one of those LOL), gone above-and-beyond with customer service, etc etc … I feel quite ‘OK’ about this interview – I’m going in with the expectation that I won’t get it, as there are some top calibre candidates again, and it’s helping to keep my nerves down. I refuse to let it affect me like it did last time … que sera sera, what will be will be 🙂

Ooh, one last thing … a big Happy Birthday to Danielle – hope you have a wonderful day, Danielle, full of everything that your heart desires!! Birthday Surprise Party

Finishes

Happy dance

Anne S

Thankfully the full-on migraine only lasted 24 hours … I picked up my needle at about 9.30pm last night, and stitched my little heart out for a few hours, finally putting everything down at 1am – just stitching for a short while helped me feel a bit more relaxed. And today I put the last stitches into my Thistle Treasure Bag by M Designs – not very often I get to finish an entire design in 24 hours, but the last few days has seen two done! My thistle just has to have it’s little bee charm attached to the top right of the thistle head, and then made up into a bag … but I think I’ll leave that until a bit later 🙂 Thanks Tobie for a project that was real fun to stitch! 😀

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I’m finding that even just a short time spent on the computer today is straining my head a bit, so I’m keeping my PC time very very short to try and keep the migraine at bay a bit longer. Not sure what I’ll attack next …

Charity Stitching, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

A day of mixed blessings

Anne S

Today started off quite sadly – by saying goodbye to Mum at the airport. I felt fine until she said goodbye at the departure gate, and I was teary-eyed all the way home. As much as it’s nice to get back to my routines, the flat feels very very quiet after having her company here for 2 months. Love you loads, Ma – and miss you already! Miss You

I was originally going to attend the Guild’s general meeting today after going to the airport, but I didn’t feel in the mood. Instead I came home and finished my second quilt block for Quilts4Kids – this is my second block for wee Emily T, stitched in its recommended colours, except I replaced the gold metallic thread with a plain yellow DMC … the next one will be the Batman theme for Jordan B.

I also finally managed to put together (well, it’s almost finished anyway) my first ever scrapbook page for Doreen (my best friend’s Mum). I don’t think it turned out too badly, but I still have one more page to complete. I cut up 3 different colours of paper to make up an alpine setting reminiscent of the Desert Road and Mt Ruapehu in the North Island of NZ – I have so many happy memories of our skiing days there, so I thought that would be an appropriate theme for me. I just need to add some words to the page, which I’m going to add along the snowline at the top of the ‘mountain’.

Hopefully I’ll be able to catch up on blogs this weekend – last time I looked I had over 200 unread posts again … you guys have been busy!! LOL. Look forward to seeing what you’ve all been up to while I’ve been ‘away’ :))

Charity Stitching, Finishes

First charity square finished!

Anne S


I was quite surprised how quickly this one stitched up last night, but I settled in front of Sleepless in Seattle and S.W.A.T. (nothing like a bit of variety LOL) last night on DVD and stitched my little heart out … the end result was to finish my first quilt square for little Emily T. I’ll send a separate email to the organisers and hopefully generate some response that way (thanks Barbara for the heads-up on that one!). Excuse the basting thread – but I wasn’t sure how big the piece would be, and left them in just in case I needed to add a border of some sort …

This morning I’ve been looking at spending more money again (yikes) – but once again it’s for a good cause. I signed up a couple of days ago to stitch a block for the World Trade Center quilt – I have my list of names all charted up in my software program, and just have to wait for my black aida to arrive (hence the online spending) … and in the meantime I’ve just signed up for another quilt block for Jordan B on Quilts4Kids who has a superhero theme. As charts are few and far between for these, I found a Batman logo (one of Jordan’s favourites) online and thought I’d try charting it up myself.

So much for my rotation continuing this year … it’s been out the window since Christmas, but it feels good to be doing something for others at the moment. I’m sure I’ll get back into a more regular routine again soon 🙂

Thanks for all your comments – greatly appreciated. And funnily enough, Nicki, I was just commenting to Mum on the drive home yesterday that I was wondering if I should try and catch up with some Auckland stitchers in May … you read my mind! 🙂 I’ll let you know closer to the time what days I’ll be over there, but Mum’s birthday is the 25th so it will either be the week before or the week after 🙂

Finishes

I met the challenge!

Anne S


I was a bit slow off the mark, but today I took part in a 24-hour stitching challenge on the FGBB – we had from 7pm last night to 7pm tonight to stitch something small … I was so exhausted last night I didn’t even choose a project never mind stitch on it – so today I started a bit late at 2pm … and finished 5 minutes late at 7pm – I’m pretty amazed I actually met the deadline (well, pretty darned close anyway!). I decided to do my Xmas ornie that is due to be stitched ready for posting 16 Feb, so it was a good excuse to get a ‘commitment stitching’ project out of the way early I stitched “Merry Yule” by Erica Michaels designs from the 2005 JCS ornie magazine. As part of the same group, I’m committing to stitching one Xmas ornie every month, and we’ve allocated a different designer each month to give us a bit of flexibility of stitching designs for the SAL – the designs I’ve chosen for the year are as follows (all from JCS ornie issues):

  • Feb – With My Needle – Star of Wonder (2002)
  • Mar – Prairie Schooler – Herald Angels (2003)
  • Apr – Homespun Elegance – Holly Noel (2005)
  • May – Full Circle Designs – Perfect Gifts (2004)
  • Jun – The Workbasket – Quaker Christmas Bulb (2003)
  • Jul – Jeannette Douglas Designs – one of her needlerolls
  • Aug – Threads Through Time – Reindeer Garden (2000)
  • Sep – The Sweetheart Tree – Merry Christmas Bellpull (2004)
Finishes

And Many More …

Anne S


Yippee, I put the final stitches into my Any Many More needlecase – an exclusive kit for Silver Needle by Just Nan. As you can see from the initial in the centre of the ‘back’, I’ve decided to give this to Mum so it carries her first initial of “J”. Don’t know if I’ll get the actual finishing done before she goes back home to NZ, but I’ll give it a shot 😉

The back is shown upside down, but of course when it gets folded up, it will all be the right way round 🙂