Cross Stitch – Page 36 – Feather Stitching

Ackworth Friendship Book, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Quaker, Round Robin, Round Robins, With My Needle

Ackworth Friendship Books

24 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

I just realised that I haven’t shown a photo of the final round of our Ackworth Friendship Book/Quaker Friendship Round Robin. Here are the final photos of both Katrina’s and my pieces – I think they look really lovely 😀

Anne’s (my) Round Robin
“Ackworth Friendship Book” by With My Needle
Stitched on 35ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
with Carrie’s Creation thread “Twinkle”

Katrina’s Round Robin

One thing that Katrina asked is for us all to provide a quote or two about Friendship – and I thought I’d share my choices here:

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same.” – Anonymous

“What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” – Aristotle

“Friendship is the golden thread that ties the heart of all the world.” – John Evelyn

As for me, for the first time yesterday in two whole weeks I felt closer to being back to normal healthwise, and even managed to get a fair bit of housework done during the day. I’ve continued to potter around today to try to get the lounge back to normal, so hopefully tomorrow I will just have to run around with the vacuum cleaner and mop, and finishing cleaning the bathroom. Then Monday it’s back to work – and unfortunately, being a week behind now, I will probably end up working late most nights – gotta love deadlines!

As you may have worked out by now, I opted for Mum not to come over – my first reaction to Mum’s suggestion was that I was worried she would catch this dratted flu bug, and comments received confirmed that that was the right decision to make. As much as I would have loved to have been pampered for a couple of days, I’m really not much company when I’m sick and prefer to be away from people, so it seemed a lot of money to spend for a couple of days being housemaid!

Anyway, time to walk away from the computer again and get a few more things tidied away while my washing is in the machine – I may even bake a batch of muffins tomorrow ready to start eating healthily next week! Hopefully next time I post I’ll have enough progress in my Just Nan piece to warrant a photo 🙂

Cross Stitch

Halloween Giveaway

20 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

As I’m a total sucker for Halloween, I just HAD to share the fun with a Halloween giveaway that’s being offered by Missy. If you’re a fan too, pop on over to visit the Deep Inside Missy blog, as there is a giveaway every day for the next 13 days up until Halloween. If you click on the “13 Days of Halloween” button above, it should take you directly to the information on how to enter for the giveaway 😀

Just thinking of Halloween makes me want to get out some more Halloween stitching – even though I’ve got Boo Club underway already, I’m itching to start another one as well … hmmm, perhaps I could put Just Nan’s Winter in the Square to one side until the next rotation … and scratch that Halloween stitching itch by starting a new Halloween one – but then the only problem is choosing which one to stitch!

I love, love, LOVE Halloween stitching – dunno what it is about it, but I just ADORE Halloween designs … just can’t get enough of them – even though we don’t really celebrate Halloween … I just love the designs 😀

HTR052

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Quaker, Round Robin, Round Robins, Stitch-alongs, With My Needle

Final round of Quaker Round Robin

20 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

Today saw me glued to the TV set just for a change – I’ve been stitching pretty much every hour of the day since yesterday afternoon inbetween looking up at seasons 6 and 7 of Buffy … I haven’t wept so much over a damned TV show in a long, long time, but I’ve been totally sucked into the characters (in particular Spike), and the last few days has been an emotional rollercoaster watching those DVD’s. In some ways I’m glad I haven’t seen any of the series before, as it’s been a real treasure watching one season after another, without worrying about viewing schedules or adverts! And it’s been super-conducive to my stitching, that’s for sure, particularly during my recuperation 🙂

And here’s the final piece of stitching that I’ll probably get done for a day or three – here’s the final round of our Friendship Quaker Round Robin, belonging to Katrina. I’m quite surprised at the colour of Milady’s Teal, as its a lot more grey than I would have imagined – but it looks really quite classy stitched up 🙂

Of course I now have to start putting all my pieces together now, but I think a trip to the fabric/ribbon store will be needed before I can start getting to work.

Before I started stitching this morning I finally got around to trying to tea-dye some linen fabric – this wee piece is for Just Nan’s Winter in the Square. The original linen (the same as I used for Autumn in the Square) was too pale, I felt, to really show up the white floss, so I opted to tea-dye it slightly. I didn’t want a particularly splotchy look, so I tried to move the fabric around a reasonable amount in the saucepan while it was stewing – the only sign of the original fabric is the odd splotch or two on the bottom edge, which is great as it’ll be hidden by the frame eventually. So that means that that will probably by my next project in my “small-medium projects” rotation slot, which I still have about 7 hours left of 🙂

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Lizzie Kate

One gift finished

18 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

I decided to use a few of my rotation hours for small-medium projects (my next/current rotation slot) to slay one of the gifts that has been outstanding for quite some time. I have had major problems getting the fabric from the US (the supplier will remain nameless at this time), but after having it on order for MONTHS, it finally arrived a wee while ago, and I’ve finally pulled my finger out and got it stitched up. Sorry, but at 1.30am the photography is appalling for a change, and doesn’t show up the lovely Graziano checked linen… This is a gift for my Chiropractor’s first child – all I have to do now is to frame it 😀

“Welcome Baby” by Lizzie*Kate
Stitched with a mix of WDW/GAST as recommended &
DMC for the two threads I didn’t have
on 28ct pale blue and white checked Graziano linen

The next gifts I need to stitch will take considerably more time to complete, but I think I’ll make a start on those next as both birthdays are next month yikes! There’s a good chance of getting one finished, but I’m not entirely sure about the second one…

Beading, Boo Club, Cross Stitch, Lizzie Kate, Works in Progress

Another round of Boo Club

17 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

My little needles have been turbo-charged over the last couple of days – and today is the first day that I’ve woken up and actually thought through all the housework that needs to be done etc … signs of this blasted bug finally getting out of my system. While I’m still quite wheezy and trundling through the tissues, I feel much brighter within myself, and ready to start getting out of my stitching chair for more than 5 minutes at a time – yippee 😀

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a latest photo of my progress on Lizzie*Kate’s Boo Club – here are parts 1-4, which leaves me with just 9-12 to go (although in honesty I’ve almost finished part 9, with the exception of the broom handle).

Time to put my rotation to one side briefly, though, as the final round of our Friendship Quaker RR has arrived on my doorstep so I really need to get cracking and get that one finished soon! Mind you, I also have two little gifts that are well overdue being stitched, so those will have to be slotted in as well – oh so many things to stitch, so little time 😛

I’ll finish up with photos of a beaded fish that I made once at a class in Melbourne. I’ve never been able to take a good photo of it, but now my Panasonic Lumix has a fantastic macro setting, I thought I’d give it another shot while it was just sitting there! You probably can’t tell, but it’s hollow all the way through to the tail – I just adore this little fella …

I really need to get the instructions out again and brush up my beading skills so I can get these little guys out of the ‘filleted’ stage and into the finished stage, which will knock off another two UFOs! (UnFinished Objects for those of you who are searching for actual UFOs in this post) In this photo you can clearly see how the little fishies are constructed … I only hope I can work out how to do the beaded stitch once again, as it’s been quite some time since I took the class! 😀

Cross Stitch, Finishes, JBW Designs, Needlerolls, Sweetheart Tree

Anne, the UFO Slayer

15 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

Thanks to my dearest flatmate leaving me her entire collection of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD’s to watch, my eyes are now square, and I think I have almost OD’ed on Buffy over the last few days (I’m now up to Season 5 – not bad going in two weeks!). For someone who’s lasted 40+ years without having Buffy in her life, I have to say I’ve rather enjoyed it! I’ve shed tears over the ‘Angel-thing’, and laughed out loud at poor old Spike, and slobbered a bit at good ol’ Giles (who I’ve always adored as the Prime Minister in Little Britain – had I known he was in Buffy, I would have started watching years ago haha). Anyway, watching all this slaying has been good for the soul, and good for the stitching – I’ve been doing a bit of slaying of my own today, and managed to finish two old UFO’s – I’m not quite feeling up to tackling the sewing machine just yet, so the needleroll will get finish-finished later.

“Wildflower Needleroll” by The Sweetheart Tree
stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen by Wichelt
using recommended DMC threads and Mill Hill beads

This really, really old one just needed to have one heart bead attached for it to be finished (after unpicking and restitching some of the beads in the outer border), so within 1/2 an hour today this one is also finished. Unfortunately it’s really hard to get a good photo of it, as it’s all pretty much monochrome. I’m going to attempt to frame this one myself, I think 😀

“Love and Affection” by JBW Designs
stitched on 32ct antique white Lugana (I think)
using recommended threads and beads

This “rotation” business is really helping me to keep focused on my stitching goals – no more dithering between stitching sessions, I know exactly what I need to be stitching next … although right now I can’t decide whether to tackle the start of yet another UFO, as I have a few hours of my rotation left, or whether to just move on to my next slot, which is my Boo Club focus piece … ah, decisions decisions … 😀

Still not feeling 100% today, I asked my boss if I could reinstate the two days leave I’d just cancelled last week, so I have the next few days off to recuperate more fully … which means more stitching, yippee 😀

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

A lot of illness and not much stitching…

14 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

Unfortunately when I was finishing off my Acorn Needlebook on Saturday, I was also fighting off a viral infection/flu-bug that had been kicking me for a couple of days last week. On Sunday it hit me full force on the side of the head, and I spent 3 full days in bed either in my bedroom or on the sofabed in the lounge – a high fever and blinding headaches as well as a beautifully phlegmy chest and nasal congestion have put paid to any major stitching on my days off work … I hate being so sick you can’t even stitch! 😦

Today, though, I finally managed to stay upright all day, albeit in my stitching chair and not wandering around. Still feel pretty grotty, but certainly not as bad as I have over the last few days. I did, however, manage to get a little bit of stitching in today. I forgot to take an ‘in progress’ photo of this piece that I started weeks ago, so you can’t see the minimal stitching I’ve actually managed, but I’ve now stitched as far as I can until a skein of Crescent Colours Cocoa Bean turns up … sorry, but the photography is really bad as I had my stitching light directly over it and it’s washed the colours out really badly.

Then I started on my next rotation slot (WIPs/UFOs), and picked up an old UFO and added a few beads, as well as doing a spot of unstitching of the satin stitch band ‘cos I’d miscounted the last time I touched it – 1 3/4 years ago sitting on the floor of my empty flat here while I was waiting for the removalists from hell to deliver my furniture days later than planned. This is the “before” picture, but I won’t bother taking the “after” picture yet as there’s really not much to show aside from a few beads – with luck it won’t be long before you see the finished product – the way I’m feeling, I think I won’t be doing a great deal over the weekend, just taking it easy and continuing to recuperate and recharge the batteries again … Hopefully then I can get a better photo!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Finishing, Stitching Smalls

Acorn Needlebook all finished

10 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

A very big happy dance today as I not only put the final stitches into my Acorn Needlebook, but I also spent the entire day curled up in my stitching chair doing the actual finishing – not 100% perfect by any stretch of the imagination, as this is my first attempt at this style of finishing, but I’m pretty pleased with the end result 😀

So, without any further ado, here is my Acorn Needlebook by Periwinkle Promises…

Beading, Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Updated pic of Acorn Needlebook

6 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

Here’s a better view of the finished section of Periwinkle Promises’ Acorn Needlebook:

You may/may not be able to tell, but the different green is in the final leaf on the top right of the centre acorn section, along with the backstitching on the top half of the same stem.

So far no more stitching done tonight as I ended up taking photos of my scissors fobs (I’d actually made more over the weekend than I remembered) – and I made another two identical copies of one of them tonight as I love the blend of the beads together … unfortunately I’ve now run out of those beads, which is a shame 😦

And I’ve also run out of camera battery … now all I have to do is find my battery charger … LOL – I feel like I’m living in the Bermuda Triangle right about now!!! 😛

Before my battery ran out, though, I did manage to grab a really quick of two pairs of earrings I made for myself recently too … there just may be a few more pairs in the making soon too – I’d forgotten just how much fun making jewellery can be! 😀

P1020814

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Nearly Hump Day already!

6 October, 200925 February, 2012 Anne S

happy_hump_day_camel

I still laugh when I think of that term … “Hump Day” – I’d never heard of it before moving to Aussie, and remember the first time I ever saw it … sitting at my desk in the call centre, a ‘flasher’ went up on the wall advising it was Hump Day today … bearing in mind, a Flasher isn’t some pervert in a raincoat (well, not in this situation anyway!) – in the call centres many have a neon display on the walls on which messages flash up during the day. Mostly it is in relation to the number of calls on hold etc, so you can time your rise in blood pressure according to the colour of the wall display – green static text means all is good in the world and customers aren’t getting hot under the collar (aside from those that awake in a whingeing state and continue like that 24/7 regardless of the situation) … when the text turns to red, wait times are starting to build up somewhat … then when the red text starts to flash, it’s time to reach for the blood pressure medication (which is probably what the customers are doing at the same time!).

Anyway, I digress … I remember sitting at my desk watching that little neon board glowing green with “Welcome to Hump Day” text, and smiling to myself while raising one eyebrow (I’m so multi talented doing two things at once), thinking how cool it is that Aussies are so organised that they have an entire day devoted to … um … humping. It also means that everyone has a fair chance at it LOL. It was days later before I finally had to cave in and ask someone what it actually meant – giving them no end of amusement at my expense!!

For enquiring minds, according to Wikipedia they have the following to say about Hump Day:

An American English idiom for Wednesday is “hump day”, a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting “over the hump.”

Quite boring when I found out the true meaning … I much preferred my version (even though I did realise there was not a day dedicated to humping – just my perverse sense of humour interpreting it that way) 😉

Anyway, enough of the waffle and twaddle – and on to MUCH more important things! Tonight I managed to find my temporarily misplaced Lumix camera (perfection-plus for those stitching macro shots – I’ve missed it heartily!) … which means I can finally take some decent photos of recent scissor fobs and stitching … aaaaand I’ve decided to offer a little giveaway just for the hell of it (well, kind of a mini blogaversary, seeing as I actually missed my anniversary a couple of weeks ago!) of one (or maybe a couple) of my scissor fobs. I’m going to create a separate post just for the prize draw comments, so watch this space very very soon …

In the meantime, I’m off to find a glass of Chardy and put my final stitches into my Acorn Needlebook pincushion – might even squeeze in another episode or two of Season One of Buffy 😀