Category: Cross Stitch

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Little House Needleworks

Peppermint ornament

Anne S

After having an afternoon ‘nap’ of 4 hours, I decided to try finishing my Peppermint ornament by LHN and surprised myself by managing it 🙂  It’s supposed to have a JABC peppermint cane button attached, but when I placed it on my ornie it didn’t suit it at all (not to mention it seems I had bought the wrong size!).  Unfortunately I chose a fabric that was a bit too light so the DMC 3865 didn’t show up clearly – I had to sub it with DMC B5200 to allow it to show up at all.  But that also means the colour doesn’t match the button at all … never mind I think I prefer it without the button anyway, so this is how it will stay 😀

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“Peppermint Twist” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 32ct hand-dyed Lugana by Countrystitch ~ colour Pipi
with recommended threads (DMC, Crescent Colours, Weeks Dye Works)

I really need to stop being lazy and taking my photos on my iPhone late at night … note to self, start taking photos using your camera in the future!!!

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

A touch of vertigo and stitching

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.

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“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

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“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!!

Christmas Ornaments, Finishes, Glory Bee

Snow by Glory Bee

Anne S

I just felt like doing a bit of stitching that didn’t tax the braincells too much yesterday – I’ve been working long hours again at work, and Dad’s back in hospital again, so I couldn’t handle doing the beading on my Enchanted Mermaid (which has sadly been languishing in the corner with all my other stitching in recent weeks).  So I decided to drag a partly kitted ornie out of the ‘kit box’ (these all have the fabric ready and cut to size, but don’t have the threads) … once I pulled the threads I had a very slow stitching session … it took me almost 6 hours to stitch this little ornie, but at least it’s better than no stitching at all, and I think it’s a cute little finish.  I was unsure of my fabric choice on this one as I was stitching, but kept plugging along anyway.  I guess it didn’t turn out too badly after all 🙂

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“Snow” by Glory Bee
Stitched on 28ct mystery hand-dyed linen (can’t even remember which company!)
with recommended GAST threads

Enchanted Mermaid, Mirabilia, Works in Progress

Let the beading marathon commence!

Anne S

Thanks to a lazy weekend, along with a day of sickness at home I managed to put the final stitches into Enchanted Mermaid (inbetween bouts of sleeping) … which means the final phase of this project is ready to commence … the beading marathon.  I swear this gal is seriously drowning in shiny bling!  Aside from 33 packets of Mill Hill glass treasures, there are 3 packets of one colour of Mill Hill petite beads, and another 2 packets of another colour (plus a packet of a 3rd colour) … serious, serious bling!!!

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Let the bling begin!!!!! 😀

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I’m hoping to be able to afford to fly home to NZ to visit my parents over the next month or so, so this one will be going home to visit as well if I can get her finished in time … I think both Mum and Dad will go crazy over this one! 😀

 

Cross Stitch, Enchanted Mermaid, Mirabilia, Works in Progress

More Enchanted Mermaid

Anne S

Been an interesting few weeks – I finally got to see a Rheumatologist about my back/foot/finger joint pains, and we think I probably have psoriatic arthritis – if it is, then it’s quite possible it is treatable with medication, which is wonderful.  It also seems that it can cause mood changes, so perhaps this has been behind my depressive episodes all this time?  The time-frame since my joint pains started getting really bad is probably around the same time, so it is quite possible I guess – I’ve had really bad pains for at least 3 years now.  Anyway I have an MRI booked in for the end of July, and then hopefully a week later I’ll get a formal diagnosis and I can start a treatment regime … I’m sick to death of feeling so crappy all the time, so anything that can improve my state of mind and pain levels would be just wonderful!!

In the meantime I’ve been spending a bit of time on the weekends stitching (no more time during the week now, seeing as I’m back to murderous commutes again) … I managed to put a pretty good dent into the stitching of one of the tail fins (or whatever the heck you call them).  Sadly I can see I’m going to run out of two of the Kreinik braids, so I have been “forced” to send away for a little order from 123stitch this week to get them replaced (which was shipped inside 24 hrs of ordering, bless them!).  I have to admit the main reason I put the order in straight-away was that I also noticed they had 25% off Christmas stocking kits and I’ve had one of those on my wishlist for months now … perfect time to suck it up and order it at the same time as my Kreiniks (plus a couple more threads off my wishlist).  I must say, though, I really wish they stocked Rainbow Gallery threads, as I have a bunch of those I need to order as well 😦

And just before I head back to bed for a Nana nap (I haven’t been feeling well this week, and my stupid flatmate woke me up when he came in last night then continued to talk loudly on the phone until 11.30pm!), I’ll show you a bad photo of my Enchanted Mermaid as she currently stands … I really need to find my camera cord so I can use my camera again instead of my iPhone, ‘cos I just can’t seem to manage a decent crisp photo on my iPhone (although that could also be because I’ve been uploading them to Facebook then downloading again to the PC hmmm)!!

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Enchanted Mermaid, English Garden Sampler, Mirabilia, Teresa Wentzler, Works in Progress

The UFO challenge continues

Anne S

I don’t know what’s wrong with me at the moment, I just seem totally obsessed with getting some older pieces of stitching finished … and I can’t seem to put them down … goodness knows what will happen once these two are completed, whether I’ll feel at peace enough to pick up a new start or a newer WIP, or whether I will continue with the urge to finish older items … but either way, this is my stitching challenge to myself at the moment.  In truth I’ve been battling with depression on and off for months now, and this is what is bringing me ‘stitching peace’ for some reason … so I figure it’s best not to fight it and go with the flow for now …  I guess that also means that my 2013 Crazy January Challenge has pretty much gone out the window, but them’s the breaks!

Anyway, here is my latest progress with two of my old UFO’s – Teresa Wentzler’s English Garden Sampler, and Mirabilia’s Enchanted Mermaid.

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Sadly my employer’s management team have decided in their ultimate wisdom to move our team back into the city once again, after moving us closer to home for the last 8 weeks (hence much more stitching being done that I’ve managed in a long time) … so it means no more 20-30 mins drive to work anymore, and back to 1 to 1 1/2 hr commutes each way … I guess if nothing else I’ll get more books read once again on the train, so perhaps I should focus on that silver lining, but all I can keep thinking of is the removal of my spare time during the week 😦  It’s going to feel a bloody long time until December comes and we can move back out to being near home once again 😦  So pffffft to you management team 😦

Cross Stitch, English Garden Sampler, Teresa Wentzler, Works in Progress

An old UFO sees the light of day

Anne S

What can I say, except that having so many UFOs (UnFinished Objects) is actually starting to bother me … I feel surrounded by clutter both in my physical space and my mental one … so last weekend I decided to have a true ‘mental health’ weekend and didn’t budge out of my stitching chair (in this case, bed) for two whole days and watching Buffy DVDs and stitched my little heart out.  It was just what the doctor ordered for body and soul last week, and the result is putting one of my oldest UFOs onto my scroll-bars for a bit of a workout … and boy it felt good!

Here is how TW’s English Garden Sampler looked when I dragged it out of it’s hiding place …

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And after an entire weekend’s full-on beauty treatment, here’s how it looks now …

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Of course since then I’ve been full-on back at work and crazy hours again, so it’s not had any attention over the last week … but I’m still refusing to put it away until it has a teeny bit more love … perhaps once I get the border done for this section, and then two of the topiary tree sections underneath … only then perhaps I’ll put it aside for another project to get some love … perhaps …

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Finishes, Mirabilia

Bluebell Pixie

Anne S

Just a fly-by visit while I’m sat at the PC … to show my latest finish, which is fresh off the Qsnaps tonight.  Sadly the photo was taken under the glare of my OttLite on a dark winter’s evening with just my iPhone, so it doesn’t show off her bling etc very well, but she’s WAY more stunning in real life … you’ll just have to take my word for it …

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“Bluebell Pixie” by Nora Corbett (Mirabilia)

stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Cashel linen by Stitches & Spice ~ colour Dawn Light
with recommended threads – with the exception of a couple of small changes, which are:
skin colour I chose DMC 950 (instead of two-toned), DMC 792 for the bluebell backstitching,
and some additional laces on her ‘back’ leg

Cross Stitch, Finishes, The Goode Huswife

The Goode Huswife finish

Anne S

I spent almost the entire weekend sitting in my PJs and stitching my little heart out, while getting square eyes catching up on recorded TV.  I left the house purely to get my hair cut after being over a month overdue for it to be done – I’m glad I can now see through my fringe again, and it’s helped me to feel a lot more human!  Then it was back home again to put on my laundry … and to climb back onto my bed for a marathon stitching session.

The results of the said marathon session was to finish an old WIP last night – I finally put the finishing stitches into this delightful piece.  I have to admit I truly ‘detest’ traditional samplers, they just don’t “do it” for me … but for some reason when I saw this one being stitched on someone else’s blog I just fell in love with the colours and the style of the piece … but only the bottom section of it.  I eventually bought the sampler, and decided to only stitch the part that I really loved … no offence to anyone else who adores the whole sampler, it’s just not “me” (as it is, even this section is so far from being me, it’s not funny!).  Anyway, here she is in all her glory … and on that note I’d better get my A into G and head off into work …

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“With My Needle” by The Goode Huswife
stitched with recommended NPI silks, with the exception of the skin colour
stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen by Countrystitch ~ in colour Haystack

2013 WIPocalypse, Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Cross Stitch, Round Robins, Stitch-alongs, Works in Progress

March WIPocalypse … a teensy bit late …

Anne S

Since I last posted there were substantial changes to Dad’s status, and over the Easter weekend I returned home and back to work once again.  Dad was still struggling to eat in the hospital, and really wasn’t improving greatly, and since he had proven himself a little bit with a 6-hour home visit they opted to let him come home.  His surgery wound is still not healed properly so he has a District Nurse that visits every couple of days – he is managing to empty and change his bag himself, though.  He is still very weak and has dizzy spells when he stands up, so he has to go back to his GP tomorrow – he’s still not eating well, but starting to walk up the driveway a bit each day to build up his strength and get him walking again.  The Hospital provided him with a walker that he will now keep permanently, which is great – I could go on and on about what they did well, and in particular what they did poorly – I had my say to the staff at our family meeting before bringing Dad home and told them where I felt quite disappointed … but I won’t get started on that right now, or I’ll never shut up!  Let’s just say we’re still continuing to have a couple of unresolved issues and discrepancies, even after he’s come home … not helped by the fact he was let home a week earlier than planned …

As for me, when I got home I switched on my beautiful Samsung TV only to find smoke billowing out the top … which is out of warranty now … and then when I went to start my car the next day my battery has died, along with my car registration and insurance!!  So today I finally managed to get a new battery installed, then a Pink Slip (warrant of fitness), Green Slip (CTP/Compulsory Third Party insurance), Car Registration and comprehensive car insurance … a lovely total of $1,600 out of the bank account today, which means I’ll be living on whatever is in the pantry and freezer for the next fortnight until pay-day !  It’s not the first time, and it sure as hell won’t be the last, I’m sure.  I’m very very happy, though, that my car is now drivable and registered so that’s one HUGE relief and big stress removed from my shoulders!

Since I’ve been home I haven’t managed to do any stitching whatsoever – after working each day I’ve been really exhausted, so I’m hoping that next week I’ll be ‘back to normal’ again and can get back properly into a routine.  In the meantime, though, I can share the tiny bit of stitching that I have done since the last WIPocalypse update in February – starting with the final Round Robin piece in our group of 4:

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Dyah’s Round Robin – Elemental Dragons by Dragon Dreams

Then I made a very small start on Little Blue Potting Shed by Brown House Studio.  This is a chart that was gifted to me by Barbara years ago, and I’ve finally managed to get around to stitching it.  This was on my list of 2013 Crazy January Challenge pieces, and I fell in love with it years ago when I saw part of the design stitched over-one for an exchange gift.  How can I NOT love it when it’s stitched in exquisite blue shades (well, at least the shed is anyway!).

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That’s all the ‘new’ stitching I completed since the last blog post – of course I had also completed some other stitching efforts, which were shown in my previous blog post, but which I’ll post again here for the purposes of this little WIPocalypse update for the month …

And now I think it’s time to actually drag out that stitching for a short while … it might just help to restore that sense of peace once more, and make better use of my time while I catch up on more recorded TV …