Cross Stitch – Page 47 – Feather Stitching

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Finishing, Stitching Smalls

Biscornu finish

31 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Did you hear a lot of muttering and cursing down under last night? If you did, it was likely to have been me!! I was all set to finish-finish my beautiful red tuffet/biscornu … and had the pieces freshly ironed ready to go, with the perle cotton and threads ready to start making wee tassels … Remember my joy in finally finishing this project??

Well, as soon as I started to thread needle through the backstitching on the sides, I thought to myself “hey, those fabrics feel totally different in hand” … and lo and behold on finer inspection and measuring they have been stitched on two different thread counts so the sides don’t match up!!! Lesson to self … do not take thread count on labels as gospel, always check before stitching!!! To say I was less than thrilled was a HUGE understatement last night – I was absolutely gutted … that means I have to either stitch the big piece again on the new fabric, which I have plenty of, or I have to try to find other fabric to match … considering I had such a bad run on stitching the main piece previously I have absolutely NO desire to stitch that again. Anyway, it’s been thrown in the corner to sit in disgrace until I decide I have the motivation to look at it again and decide what the heck to do … ho-hum 😦

Luckily I had another design ‘in reserve’ to finish as a biscornu for the Monthly Finishing Challenge that Becky has been organising … this one seemed to go relatively hitch-free, although I wish I’d left a bigger margin of “clear” fabric at the edge of the design before starting the backstitching for the whipstitch join, as it looks a little ‘busy/crowded’. Never mind, I still like it, nonetheless … So, here’s my attempt for this month, just in the nick of time! 😀

“Mystery Sampler” design by Debbie Draper
from Gift of Stitching Magazine (issues 6 and 7, 2006)
stitched with Carrie’s Creations threads
finished with seed beads from U Bead It (Sacramento, CA)

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Happy mail day

30 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Just a quick post to thank Ally for her kindness in sending me this wonderful chart off my wishlist – I’ve drooled over it big time already, so it’s a good job it’s in a plastic covering! LOL. The design is Maidens of the Sea by With My Needle – which comes with some very very cute little fish thread holders.

And I absolutely ADORE the Paris postcards – I’ve decided to put a couple of them up at my desk at work to give me a smile every day … Paris remains my favourite city in the world to date, so looking at those postcards will always evoke wonderful memories of my visits there. Thanks again Ally for your generous gift! 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Finishes

May’s Christmas Ornie

29 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Yesterday I started and finished my Christmas ornament for the monthly challenge on XSers Yahoo group. Unfortunately I chose to stitch on 32ct instead of 28ct, which means my teeny buttons look overpowering on it, so I’m not bothering to put them on … I may still add larger red ones to the corners when it’s eventually made up into an ornie though – in fact, I think I’m due to have a large ornie-finishing session soon! 🙂

“Spool Ornament” by Sue Hillis Design
from 2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament magazine
Stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen with DMC

Stash, Works in Progress

Bit of Stash and Progress

28 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Not much has been happening over the last 24 hours – Mum and I spent the entire day at home stitching our little hearts out (I didn’t even get out of my PJ’s until we went out to buy petrol at 7.30pm!!!). I managed to quite a fair bit of stitching done on Mirabilia’s Winter Queen, which seems to be all I’ve been stitching on this month. It would be lovely to actually get her finished, but I think once I’m back to work again that goal will still be quite some time away. I’m probably just short of halfway through the stitching (you can see the full piccie in my sidebar). In the meantime you’ll just have to get bored seeing her skirt in various stages of completion! Although I may soon unroll her and take a full photo … even I haven’t seen her in all her total glory as yet! 😉

I’ve decided to take her off the floor stand for a few days, though, so I can work on a couple of smaller items for a short while – including finishing my biscornu, my monthly Christmas ornie, and something I want to stitch as a model for Karen.

Today we’re doing a bit of housework – the washing is in the machine, and the dishes are done, now we’re about to strip my bed and put freshly ironed sheets on … while it’s a pain in a patootie to iron those darned things, it’ll be sheer bliss to slip between them tonight!! They’re pure Egyptian cotton with a very heavy thread count, and unfortunately no polyester so they crease like hell in the washing machine.

Anyway, rather than bore you stupid with our mundane tasks for the day, I’ll leave you with a photo of our spoils from The Stitching Post on Monday … the only things not in the photo are the DMC skeins that Mum bought. I don’t tend to buy too much these days – although in saying that there are some items on order from Karen that haven’t arrived yet … can’t wait for them to arrive!! 😀

Cross Stitch, Sydney

Just a quick post with a few piccies

26 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

We just walked in the door after being out all day yet again … we were originally going to drive up the coast tomorrow, but we’ve opted to put that off for a few days, and have a day or two relaxing at home instead. Today we called in to pick up some drying racks for my washing to go on the balcony, then headed out to the Blue Mountains for the day.

We started off my stopping at Leura, where we spent plenty of time drooling in the imported lolly shop – I’ve never seen so many lollies in one place in my life!!! We were very good and only bought a couple of items (some Walkers treacle toffee, Barratt’s nougat, and lemon bon-bons), then sat and had a lovely lunch (albeit damned pricey!) at a local cafe. Mum had pumpkin soup while I had a sandwich with smoked salmon, capers and lettuce etc.

Only one side of the Leura lolly shop – there is another wall on the other side and in the middle!

After our stop at Leura we drove over to Katoomba and took a short bush walk to the Cliff Top viewing platform to watch the Katoomba SkyRail head across the ‘canyon’ – and I then tried to kill myself off by taking another very short bush walk to see the Katoomba Cascades (although this one was a steep walk, hence the knackered state I arrived in back up top!).

Walkway from the carpark to Cliff Viewpoint

Katoomba SkyRail car on its way back from the viewpoint station

View of the Blue Mountains from Cliff viewpoint

Our final stop today was to visit Karen at The Stitching Post – here Mum bought a Just Nan chart, some DMC and Aida fabric, while I bought some Dinky Dyes and Gloriana silks, GAST and Crescent Colours threads I needed, plus a holiday treat from my wishlist, The Drawn Thread’s Spot of Winter.

The Stitching Post, Katoomba

I also managed to take a couple of really crappy photos of the first three of the pieces that Karen has framed for me – they look great in real life! 🙂

“For the Birds” by The Drawn Thread

“Geranium House” by Country Cottage Needleworks

“Necessities Sampler” by Little House Needleworks

Now we’re blobbing out at home, about to put the TV on and put needle in hand, once we’ve had our turkish bread and dips for dinner … washed down by my new favourite Chardonnay … “Stonier” Chardonnay from the Mornington Peninsula – ooh, yummy!!! 😀

Cross Stitch, Food, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Sydney, Works in Progress

Wonderful day …

26 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Well, the Dragon definitely celebrated her birthday in style this year! I’ve provided a small sample of snapshots from each part of the day …

We started off by popping into Spotlight to stock up on DMC that Mum needed, along with some fabric to make me some cheap pyjama bottoms … then we parked the car and hopped on the train into the city. We headed straight to Darling Harbour, starting with the Chinese Garden of Friendship, which Mum really wanted to see during this visit. They were really lovely to walk around, and we were lucky with the weather, as it had been raining earlier in the day. It was a very pleasant way to spend an hour or so.

Next up was back over to Cockle Bay Wharf (still at Darling Harbour) where we headed to the Lindt Cafe to stock up on naughty goodies (I’ve fallen in love with Lindt’s Delices … oh my goodness, they’re divine!!!). Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of them before they were demolished, but another blog has a photo here.

Then we popped next door to Nick’s 103 Cafe where Mum had a lovely prawn and avocado salad for lunch. Here’s a photo of Mum tucking into her lunch, with her Lindt goodie bag sitting under her guard and watchful eye … and even though she doesn’t look it, she’s really enjoying her day out! 😉

Afterwards we had to hustle a bit to wander over to the Star City Casino and Lyric Threatre, where we saw the Phantom of the Opera. What a wonderful show – the stage settings, costumes and music were all truly haunting and magical, and Mum really loved every single minute of it, or so she told me afterwards. I’ve seen it before, but still really loved it myself … and a couple of the songs never fail to take my breath away! As photography is banned in the theatre, I’ve borrowed these files shots from a Phantom of the Opera website …

After the show we took a slow walk around Darling Harbour and over to the QVB Building to catch the train home while we reminisced about the day and the show. When we got home we finished the day off with a bit of stitching (on my part anyway), a glass of wine for me and a botte of Corona for Mum, and a couple of episodes of NCIS while munching away on our Lindt delicacies …

Here’s a quick shot of Cockle Bay Wharf at night:

And to finish off, here’s my latest photo of my progress on Mirabilia’s Winter Queen (geez, I’m soooo loving that white and Wisper thread … not!). Sorry she’s now headless, but I can never be bothered unrolling the towel and taking a full photo of her!

Ah, such a blissful day … those are the things that dreams are made of!!! 😀

Cross Stitch

Unpacking instead of stitching

18 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

That’s what my day has entailed today … not a single stitch has been done, although I managed to stitch about 2 more inches of Winter Queen’s “derriere” and white fur before I hit the hay last night. I won’t bother taking another WIP photo though, as you’re probably sick to death of seeing her by now 😉

Instead I’ve been doing a spot of housework, tidying up the lounge and my bookcase – plus unpacking one more box in my bedroom. This contained a multitude of items … including a little note I’d jotted down at some stage – that note was to add a couple of designs to my wishlist. I couldn’t remember what they looked like, so I did a quick search online, and I have to say they’re still on my wishlist … I absolutely adore the Starry Night one!! This is from one of my favourite paintings (I have the full chart by Fine Arts Heritage, I think, to stitch – it’s quite large, and unlikely to be stitched in my lifetime but I still had to own it!).

“Starry Night” by White Hart Designs

“True Blue” by White Hart Designs

Now it’s back to the box again – I’d really like to clean out this one before I got to bed tonight … that leaves just 15 boxes left to go!! 😛

Cross Stitch, PhotoHunt, Works in Progress

Photo Hunt – Candy & some stitching

17 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve been a lazy slob today curling up on my bed with my laptop headphones on listening to another audiobook while stitching some more on Mirabilia’s Winter Queen. The book I’m reading now is “Dark Horse” by Tami Hoag … aside from the occasional bursts of language that have even ME turning grey, it’s an OK book so far – not the best I’ve ever read, but it’s kept me awake and stitching. I’ve been running downstairs to the laundry doing my week’s washing inbetween stitching and reading. I’ve managed to get to a stage on Winter Queen when I’m about to roll up the fabric on the scroll bars so I thought I’d take a WIP photo before I do … sorry but the quality is dreadful as it’s at night and I can’t find the battery charger of my ‘stitching camera’. Oh well, at least some of that dreadful white-on-white stitching has been done … almost one skein down, four left to go 😉

Mind you, the white may not be the death of me … it’s more likely to be the revolting Wisper thread – geez I detest that stuff!!! But, hey, I only need 2 cards of the stuff for my Queen … 2 cards too many

At least her knees will be warm while she’s waiting to be finished! 😉

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PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

This week’s theme is “Candy” and I have to admit I almost didn’t bother posting because I couldn’t be bothered finding a photo or taking a new one – then as I was loading the WIP photo of Winter Queen I remembered the photo of the Peeps that Monique kindly sent me … et voila, you have Candy!! 🙂

Cross Stitch, Uncategorized, Works in Progress

A bit of royal stitching

15 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve been managing to get a few stitches into Winter Queen this week … I suppose any little bit is better than nothing! This is how she looked before I put her away in January 2007:

And this is how she looks now (minus her head, ‘cos that’s now hiding under my scroll bar!):

I’m glad to see the beading all done, but now I’m facing the eternal swirls of the skirt part of her dress … endless miles of white stitching on white linen – I’d better start stocking up on wine in readiness!!! 😉

Cross Stitch, Uncategorized, Works in Progress

Rhapsody in Red … enabling post

13 May, 200825 February, 2012 Anne S

Just a very very quick public service announcement that Sampler Cove have released the photos of the next design in the Rhapsody in Red series … yep, yet another design for the wishlist!!! 😀

Rhapsody in Red by Sampler Cove

Aside from that, not much happening in this neck of the woods that’s worth showing you – I’ve done about 3 hours worth of stitching on Mirabilia’s Winter Queen, including frogging an entire section of beads three whole times last night … hmmm. Hopefully by the end of the week there’ll be enough progress to warrant a photo. I can’t believe I haven’t touched this WIP/UFO since January 2007!!! That’s a crying shame, and one wrong that’s being put right – I am to get this one finished before the end of the year 🙂

No stitching at all tonight, as we went to the movies straight after work to see “Made of Honour” – personally not a movie I would have chosen to see (Lisa is a HUGE Patrick Dempsey fan, so that was her choice!), but I have to admit I really enjoyed it, and had a blast. It’s a bit stressful at work right now, so it was really good to chill out afterwards and have a good belly laugh 😀

I’m also a bit of a hermit at home right now while listening to an audiobook and stitching … poor Lisa will wonder if she has a flatmate this week – I’m listening to The Red Dahlia by Lynda la Plante, and really enjoying it 🙂