Category: Cross Stitch

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, SBQ

SBQ and another ornie

Anne S

Thanks for the words of advice and comments about my shoulder – I tried Nurofen and stretching etc for the first 24 hours, but it didn’t do anything.  The last time this happened I put up with it for a couple of weeks and felt like a wreck due to the lack of sleep etc – I eventually got the name of a ‘nerve manipulator’ in Heidelberg, and she fixed it.  It’s not very pleasant while she’s manipulating it, but it’s all over with in a couple of minutes and well worth every single cent spent.  I checked yesterday, though, and I had a crappy pay (my overtime comes on next payday) so things will be extremely tight for the next fortnight … mind you, Jan (the manipulator) told me that if you don’t treat a trapped nerve it can eventually affect your breathing and you could end up being hospitalised, so now I’m more educated about it I’m happy to get it fixed as soon as it happens (but I’ll always give it 24-48 hours to see if it clears itself first).  It just means I’ll stocking up on essential food only for a fortnight again 😦

Anyway, I sat and had a glass of sparkling wine last night to help ease the pain (yeah, OK, the truth is I just really really felt like having one! LOL) … and I managed to finish one last ornie for the day (even I have to admit my needles have been smoking the last 2 days!). This one is so much prettier in real life in the magazine photo – the DMC 498 is so rich and scrummy, I love it! 😀

Elizabeths-Design-Christmas-Rose-a-02May07

“Christmas Rose” by Elizabeth’s Designs
from 2002 JCS Christmas ornie issue
Stitched on the same 28ct ‘mystery’ evenweave as yesterday using the recommended threads

  Now, before I head off and do some tidying up and general housework for the day, I’ll answer the last two SBQ’s, ‘cos as per normal I’m behind in answering …

2 May – Today’s SBQ was suggested Kathryn and is:

How many WIPs do you have? How many UFOs do you have? When does a WIP become a UFO?

Hmmm, good question … first of all I guess I class a project as a UFO when I haven’t touched it for about a year.  As for how many WIP’s I have, I’d say 8 in my current rotation, although three of those technically became UFO’s as I hadn’t touched them for just over 12 months (Egyptian Garden Mandala, Winter Queen and Le Jardin Silk Sampler) … as for other UFO’s, I’ve managed to finish a few over the last two years, and I’m down to a sum total of 30 now – but there is a pretty big mix of what type of project they are, ie they’re not all XS.  Breaking them up into categories, I have:

  • 5 Stumpwork (all by Jane Nicholas) – Needlework Accessories set; Dragonfly; Pomegranates and Beetle; Honesty and Heartsease; Oriental Poppy
  • 13 Cross Stitch/Counted Thread – TW’s English Garden Sampler; Mediterranean village scene; Love and Affection by JBW Designs; TW’s Noah’s Ark; Nature’s Resting Place by Stoney Creek; Topiary Tree bookmark by Textile Heritage; Christmas Welcome on plastic canvas; Butterflies & Hearts needleroll by Lorri Birmingham (I’m going to unpick and change the colours); Apricot Elegance by Cindy Valentine; Hussif by Martha Schmidt (class project); Egyptian Garden Mandala by Chatelaine; Winter Queen by Mirabilia; Le Jardin Silk Sampler from JCS magazines
  • 1 Beading – 3-dimensional beaded fish
  • 2 Quilting – Golliwog applique quilt (from a class – just has the binding to be finished, but I can’t remember how to do it); cot quilt (my first attempt – I really need to get this finished!!)
  • 1 Goldwork – Goldwork pea (class project)
  • 6 Surface/Wool Embroidery – Summer Fruits pincushion from Inspirations magazine; Hussif by Monica Hunt (class project); Bullion rose facecloth (likely to just unpick and start using it!); Wool hotwater bottle cover (class project); Berry Delightful Bag (class project); Wool beehive needlebook from Inspirations magazine
  • 2 Canvaswork – Frogs in longstitch; Ornamental Delights (Group Correspondence Course through EGA)

19 Apr – Today’s SBQ was suggested Danielle and is:

Are you on “The Wagon?” If so, how long have you been on and how “serious” are you about it? If not, have you considered it?

I’ve been on The Wagon for about a year now – more for financial reasons than anything else.  I’ll occasionally buy something if I truly truly love it, but I haven’t been buying charts for a while now.  Once I complete my 50 Project Challenge, though (if finances permit), I’ll be doing one reasonable sized order … the key thing being “finances permitting”.  I have been buying any threads for charts already in my stash that I can’t find a substitution for.  In the meantime I’ve been really enjoying stitching from my stash and re-discovering the awesome charts I already have 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes

Christmas is finally here

Anne S

Well, maybe not Christmas itself, but the Christmas ornie SAL is here anyway … I’ve finally managed to get an ornie stitched up … in fact TWO ornies to make up for lost time (I’m only a week late!). I managed to hit these out in 5 1/2 hours today while listening to an Audible book – I’m tempted to try put the starting stitches into one more, but I’ll see how I feel once I’ve cooked dinner. It was annoying that both of these charts had minor errors in them … which I only found out later, so both ornies had a small amount of frog-stitching hmmmm. 

 
Cardinal Snowflake by The Victoria Sampler
from 2004 JCS Christmas ornie magazine
Stitched on 28ct Kiwi Illusions Jubliee in Alpine Spring (Countrystitch)
using my substitute threads from my stash
(this is such a teeny little ornie – very cute!)


Merry Christmas by Glory Bee
from 2003 JCS Christmas ornie magazine
Stitched on 28ct mystery evenweave
using recommended threads except substituting Crescent Colors Toasted Marshmallow for GAST Porcelain

I managed to trap a nerve in my shoulder blade during the night two nights ago, and I must have aggravated it doing so much stitching yesterday so I had a bad night’s sleep last night thanks to it … perhaps it’ll do me good to have a relaxing night with a break from the needles … but maybe not 😉

Thanks for all your wonderful comments as always – your visits and words are always very much appreciated 🙂

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Enough Bordeaux for a hangover

Anne S

I’ve been stitching like a woman possessed today – and I’ve loved every single minute of it! I managed to get the current band of the Bordeaux Sampler finished as hoped, but then I exceeded even my own expectations by taking the plunge and stitching all those pesky individual over-one grapes in the previous band … which means I just have two more bands to complete and then it’s all finished (and I already have a slight head start on the border for the next band too). I truly can’t wait to see this one finished. The photos in no way do this project justice, it’s awesome in real life … I must say, though, today was my personal record for stitching of Rhodes stitches – I don’t want to see another one for a day or two 😉

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Come in EGM, your time is up!

Anne S

Yippee, I finally finished my 10 hours rotation slot with Egyptian Garden Mandala – I struggled at the beginning working on this, but I have to admit today I really enjoyed the stitching, and finally found my needles getting momentum again.  Hopefully that’ll continue for a while as I pick up my next pieces.  Here are my before and after photos, mainly for my own motivation – I feel as though I haven’t achieved much over these 10 hours of stitching, so this serves as a reminder that there really is some progress 🙂

I was originally thinking of doing some ornie stitching for the rest of today, but I don’t have anything kitted up, so I think I may pick up Bordeaux and do my week’s stitching on it a day early … I’m really keen to finish off this band, and seeing as I’m on days off I thought I’d spend some decent time on it and meet that goal … hopefully.  Then tonight I’ll start kitting up some small ornies that are quick to stitch, ready to pick up over the next couple of days – I’ve missed the last two months of the Christmas Ornie SAL, so I need to catch up, or before I know it it’ll be November and I’ll have nothing stitched!

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

Sleeping like a baby

Anne S

I’ve been exhausted the last couple of days, and I have to admit yesterday I struggled a bit at work, watching the clock very closely until hometime!  When I got home I finally succumbed to my body’s chatter instead of ignoring it and listening to my brain tell me when I should call it a day.  My eyes were struggling to remain open at 6pm, so by 7pm I gave up and just went straight to bed … although I woke up a few times during the night, I went straight back to sleep again and only just woke up properly with my alarm going off at 6.35am … yikes, that’s nearly 12 hours!!  Oh well, I guess I needed it!

As you can probably guess with my level of tiredness there hasn’t been much stitching happening.  I managed a total of 2 more hours of Egyptian Garden Mandala, which means I’m now halfway through this rotation slot.  I know when I’m finally on my days off (ie Tuesday), I’ll probably finish the rest of the 5 hours in one sitting.  It may just be because I’ve been so tired with my shifts this week, but I can’t say I’ve been enjoying stitching it … or perhaps it’s just this little band itself that I’m not enjoying.  Oh well, it’ll soon be over and I can move on to the next bit 😀

If nothing else, it’s nice to see the little boxes slowly getting filled up on my rotation checklist – although how slowly I’m stitching EGM, I think I may need to re-think how many boxes I’ve allocated to it LOL.  Now if you never thought I was ‘anal’ before, this will surely change your mind haha.  These are the little pages I charted up in December some time especially for my rotation.  Originally I just had one Excel spreadsheet with all the projects listed down the side, but I thought it was messier when you completed one project and had to add one, so I came up with my own version in a Word document.  Now I can print a new page any time I want, and I have them all held together on a clipboard that stays beside my stitching chair.  It’s really easy to work out when the 10 hours slot is finished as I’ve separated the 10 hours into their own little spaces, and each page is for one rotation slot.  Once I’ve stitched my 10 hours on one slot, I take the page out, and move it to the back, and just start straight on the next page.  I find it easier this way to work out where I’m at in my rotation at any time, ‘cos the current project is always on top.  With my Focus Piece I just have the one slip of paper (as below) that sits in a little pocket of the clipboard, then I have another page that just says “Focus Piece” in the actual rotation slot in the pile of pages. It seems to work well for me anyway, anal or not (although I forgot to add my stitching time that I worked on the Leporello when Mum was here, and I keep forgetting to add my stitching times for Bordeaux … oh well)  😉

 

Not much else has been happening really – I went to check my mail yesterday ‘cos I forgot it was Saturday, and there’s a parcel sitting in there … hmmm, I’m not expecting anything … I’ve just received KarenV’s Quaker RR, so I know it’s not that, and I know there’s something wee coming from Judith, but it shouldn’t be here yet unless they’ve brought the Concorde back into service for Australian Post, so I don’t think so 😉 Luckily I’m going into work again tomorrow for 4 hours overtime so I’ll have chance to pick it up and solve the mystery.  Maybe it’s just a really large bill! 😉 

Talking of which, I suppose I should start thinking about breakfast and getting ready for work … today is day 7 straight, although my personal choice.  I have 4 hours overtime today and tomorrow (originally these were my days off) … while I’m not thrilled to be going in, I’ll be more thrilled in 2 1/2 weeks time when the money is sitting in my pay packet! 😉

Ooh, I just received an email to say I’ve won a door prize drawing from the Online Needlework Show – how cool, I never win anything!!  Woohoo!!!  I’ve won a chart of my choice by Heartfelt Designs … how I’ve just got to choose something, which is gonna be difficult!  So far I’ve narrowed it down from 8 possibilities to 4 … hmmm, better think about it a bit more tonight …  Here are the four I’m trying to decide between:

  

 

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

The Quilting Conspiracy

Anne S

OK, I am starting to get a bit paranoid that there really is some kind of quilting conspiracy happening around here … quilting is everywhere!!  And places where it just really shouldn’t be!! 

Today I received the May newsletter for the Embroiderers Guild … and what do I find in there but the following advert:  “The Patchworkers’ and Quilters’ Guild of Victoria is holding its annual quilt exhibition at the Glen Eira City Council Gallery, on the corner Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, Glen Iris, dates 17-20 May, between 10am-5pm.”  Not only that, but I just flicked quickly through a few blogs on my Newsgator feeds that I lurk on, and wander over to read the new post by Beadlust – normally amazing eye candy of arty beading projects, today it’s full of quilting projects (like journal quilts) from a recent exhibition … hmmm, do you think someone is trying to tell me something?? LOL.

It’s almost like when I first bought my current heap of cr*p car when I moved to Aussie – my dream car at the time was a Mazda Protege 323 … I actually found one that I really liked on the same car lot that I bought the infamous heap of cr*p Nissan, but it was $1000 more than my Nissan, and a few years older, so I didn’t think it was worth the extra expense.  When I told Frazier’s best mate “S” about the car is really wanted (ie the Mazda) he talked me out of it as supposedly it was hard to get parts in Aussie for them as they’re imported and you don’t see that many around … now, “S” really knows his stuff about cars (or so I thought), so I took him at his word, and started looking at alternatives to my beloved Mazda (I actually think my last Mazda cost me less in about 13 years of driving than this Nissan has cost me in 3, and my Dad is still driving it to this day!!).  It was, of course, Murphy’s Law that the very next day after signing the contracts and driving my new heap of cr*p car that every third car that I drove past in the street was a Mazda!  Let’s just say that to this very day “S’s” name is Mud with a capital M (as well as for many many other reasons that are more personal, but I digress …).

These days, of course, I’m stuck with the heap of cr*p Nissan for a while longer yet … my goal is that I only have to put up with it for another 3 years, as that’s when I’d really love to be in a better position to upgrade to something I really love.  And there’s no points for guessing which car it will be … not a Protege, but definitely a ‘323’ (or as they now call it, a Mazda “3”) … this one is without a doubt my absolute dream car, and has been for a couple of years now – the colour is not negotiable, of course … if I had one of these I think I’d even sleep with it, I love it so much!!! My heart melts every time I see one on the road {{heavy sigh}}.  I really need to win Lotto!  Mind you, I suppose if I actually bought a ticket it’d increase my chances of winning somewhat 😉

 

Oh boy, I could sit and look at that picture all night!!!  But in fact I have much more important things to do … I have stitching to do!!  And I’d better hurry up and do it soon, as my energy levels are flagging rapidly – doing a 10-hour shift on a 5am start used to be so easy when I did overtime regularly, but it nearly killed me today … I’d better keep busy so I don’t get lulled into having a nanna nap, otherwise I’ll never sleep tonight.  I’ll update later when I have a progress piccie to share, as it’s Bordeaux night for me (I did another 1 1/2 hours on EGM last night, not that you can tell so I won’t bother with a piccie of that for now).

I can’t remember whether I’ve done this meme before, but the results turned out to be pretty accurate … and at least it didn’t mention quilting! 😉 

Your Element Is Water

A bit of a contradiction, you can seem both lighthearted and serious.
That’s because you’re good at going with the flow – but you also are deep.Highly intuitive, you tune in to people’s emotions and moods easily.
You are able to tap into deep emotional connections and connect with others.You prefer a smooth, harmonious life – but you can navigate your way around waves.
You have a knack for getting people to get along and making life a little more peaceful.

What’s Your Element?

Updated to add a piccie of Bordeaux … I only had 1/2 hour left to stitch tonight as I forgot I needed to cook dinner … but the TV has been to blame thank for extra stitching time.  It’s the Biggest Loser final tonight – and I made the HUGE mistake of leaving the TV on while I set the video taping for Mum to watch later … and started watching it … well, I could hardly go to bed without seeing the rest of it huh?  I didn’t want anyone at work to tell me who won … so I’ll be Miss Cranky Pants tomorrow as I’ll be going to bed 2 hours later than I should be … oops 😉

It’s my hope to totally finish this band during next week’s session, but I’m not 100% sure I can reach that goal … I’ll have fun trying, though 🙂

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

ANZAC Day

Anne S

 

Today is the one day of the year where the Aussies and Kiwis come together as one, to commemorate ANZAC Day.  If you want to read more about it, this is a great website here.  A snippet from their site is the following:

“ANZAC Day – 25 April – is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

Australians […and Kiwis obviously…] recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.”

Today it’s been incredibly quiet around the office … the roads are sheer bliss to drive on without the usual hubbub of business traffic (it’s a public holiday today for those of us who are non-shift workers), and it was incredibly peaceful around the area when I enjoyed my lunchbreak at 9am … sheer bliss, and chance to offer a quiet bit of silent thanks and remembrance for those who fight for both our wonderful countries (both past and present). 

Of course, nothing good lasts forever – now I’m home my peace is well and truly shattered … the neighbours that own the property on my right have been seeing how big they can get their power bill this month by using every single garden power tool they can lay their hands on.  What started off as slightly annoying hedgetrimming with the electric cutters for an hour, soon turned in a continuing rhapsody of weedeater, lawnmower and the latest masterpiece instrument, the leaf blower!  I’ve been home for almost 3 hours now, and he’s barely stopped to take a breath … geez, I’m sure he must be due for a smoko soon!!!  I wonder if he thinks he’s in the northern hemisphere and that Spring has arrived … personally I’d like to wrap him IN a spring coil right about now so his hands can’t touch a power tool for the rest of the day!  Ooh, ooh, wait … there’s silence … could it be true?  Nah, must just be smoko time 😛

So, how do you spend your day when you’re working on a public holiday?  Personally I enjoy the extra 8 hours allowed to be sitting at work in my scruffy jeans … that in itself is worth being in there (and of course the extra pay won’t go astray)!  I actually got to bed on time last time and was settled in under the duvet at 8pm … I don’t even remember getting comfy, so I must’ve flaked out straightaway and didn’t wake up until the alarm went off at 3.45am.  I’ve felt absolutely fantastic all day!  I think my lack of energy etc really must get linked quite seriously to my sleep patterns – if I can get a full 8 hours sleep it makes so much difference!  As for the rest of my day, it was ‘steady’ on the phones … regular callers throughout the day, but not really ‘busy’.  I went into work prepared with my biscornu to stitch some more on, plus some quilting magazines to drool over … I can’t believe I pulled the magazines out first, and spent all day flipping through them.  Oh boy, I think I’m going to have to feed this urge very very soon, and I think I’ve worked out how to do it – I’m going to drag out some of my beginner quilt books that have some tiny projects in it, like a bag, pincushion, cushion etc, and try something small first from my scraps.  Then when I can afford to get some ‘real’ fabrics, I’ll start work on my ‘proper’ quilt.

As for my ‘main hobby’, I did actually manage to get a sum total of 1 1/2 hours into Egyptian Garden Mandala last night, to officially kickstart my rotation again.  It’s actually quite pitiful just how little I managed to get done in that time (mind you, I kept getting distracted by the TV) … it just looks like I tied a couple of bows on the corners!  I’m actually showing the progress piccies more for my own record, so I can see how much more will have been completed after the full 10 hours of rotation.  Of course it’s about to be Bordeaux time, so it’s going to be pushed to one side again soon – poor EGM, it’s only just come out of hiding and it’s being rejected again … it’s going to need counselling soon!! 😉

 
Before ……………….. After
(the latest piccie is probably the closest to the actual fabbie/thread colours)

Talking of which, I’d better get cracking and get the needles out again – I’ve got a couple of hours overtime over the next 4 days (1 hour tomorrow, 2 on Friday, then 4 hours each on Sun/Mon yippee) … it means my 6-day week has now turned into an 8-day week, and my 5-day break next week will now be a 3-day break, but pay-day will be looking good! 😀

Cross Stitch, Rotation

A finished Pyramid Etui!

Anne S

OK, if you’re expecting to see my Etui sitting here all finished in this post you’re seriously delusional – you might have to check back in about 6 months time teehee … but I just HAVE to give a great big plug for my CA Wells stitching buddy Georgie, who has completed this masterpiece in all its stunning glory already!  Georgie, you are most definitely my hero!!  And I know where to come when I come unstuck months in the future when I finally get my stitching completed 😉

Today I had a good day at work … yesterday was a shocker, and I had to put up with a senior member of staff in head office going off her nut at me before I left work.  Without going into details I have to say I left work fuming, with steam coming out of my ears!  It takes an awful lot to send me into ‘seething mode’, but she managed it yesterday.  Part of my job on the Hotline is to problem-solve and fix errors etc … yesterday I was copping it from the customer’s side of things, then copping it worse from an internal customer’s side of things … you could have fried a couple of eggs on my cheeks, as they were roaring hot (a good sign things are NOT going well LOL).  I came home and poured a big tumbler of bourbon and L&P and sat sipping it at 2.43pm … luckily this is not the norm, and I’m not about to become an afternoon lush haha. Today, however, I just had to speak to this woman and bring the issue out in the open – we had a very open discussion how it makes the job so much harder when we cop abuse from their department, when we’re just trying to rectify an error we’ve made … I hate conflict, but I also won’t just sit there and take it when I feel strong enough about the issues concerned, and I’ll most definitely stand up for myself … the end result is that we cleared the air, she apologised that it was never meant personally etc, and we’re back to being good work colleagues again.

You’d never have recognised me in my teens – I wouldn’t have said boo to a ghost!  Mum said the best thing that ever happened to me was working behind the bar of a rugby club in Auckland, as it really made me come out of my shell and stand up for myself.  Perhaps sometimes it taught me a little TOO well 😉  Normally quite placid, I will snap if my buttons are pushed enough.  A poor woman copped my wrath in Officeworks last week.  You may remember I felt pretty down when I got my car repair bill, well I drove straight to Officeworks after picking my car up for some overdue photocopying I’d been wanting to do – I’d just settled myself in at the copier when a woman came in and stood in front of the photo printing machine next to me.  She asked if I knew if someone was using the machine – my answer, sorry but I don’t know.  She continues, well did you see someone standing here?  My answer, sorry but I literally just walked in ahead of you, so I didn’t see anything.  Personally I think they were perfectly fine and appropriate answers.  As my copier had run out of paper in one of the trays, I walked off to see the clerk for a refill so I could start my copying … the woman started muttering as I walked past “well, you’re not very friendly are you?” ……..

At this point you could say I went from marginally upset and depressed to extremely irate in 0.5 seconds flat! LOL.  Most people would just take a deep breath and walk away … not me!  Let’s just say she picked the wrong me, on the wrong day!  I stopped and said “I beg your pardon?”  She repeated the statement, well you’re hardly very friendly, are you?  I could feel the lava bubbling up on Mt Shackles, and it was getting close to overflowing down the sides … I couldn’t help myself but to snap back … actually you have no idea what sort of person I am … I just walked in ahead of you, and answered your questions with the appropriate answers, I am just standing here minding my own business and doing my own thing, I am NOT an employee of Officeworks and I am NOT the bl**dy help desk … I’m sorry if that deems me as being unfriendly, mutter mutter mutter.  I tell you what, though, it got me out of that slightly depressive phase hahaha.  I told Mum the story when I spoke to her on the phone later that day, and she said she could just picture it – I said, yeah, you would have left the store in embarrassment LOL 😉

Hmmm, sorry, I hadn’t expected to waffle on so … do you think perhaps my blogging mojo is coming back too?  I haven’t waffled on so much in ages!!  Anyway, seeing as I don’t have any need to be lushful this afternoon, I thought I just might catch up on some TV programmes I’ve had taped for a while and … wait for it … start my rotation stitching again!! 😀

Yes, you heard it here, folks … the rotation is back in the building!  I actually put Egyptian Garden Mandala on my new 17″ Q-snaps last night in readiness, and it’s sitting here propped up against my stitching chair begging me to come over and spend some time with it … With any luck that’ll get me back into my normal projects again and I can start getting some of these darned BAP’s finished!  I have to admit, though, I was tempted to start with rotation slot #13 … free choice LOL … but then I figure there’s another one coming shortly in slot #3 so I haven’t got too long to wait (then I think it’s Snapperville here I come!)  😉

If you’re lucky you might even see a progress piccie by the end of the week … maybe … although it’s Bordeaux’s night coming up so that might hit the blog first!  Rightio, enough waffling on … it’s time to stitch! 😀

(BTW, I think you deserve a medal if you managed to get this far in reading … your stamina would earn you Gold, I think! LOL)

Cross Stitch, Rotation

Language slaughter and a rotation

Anne S

I was reminded at work today that the art of language has been well and truly slaughtered in this modern age … and I personally think Beverly Hills 90210 and shows of its ilk have a lot to answer for … I was reminded today by one of our younger staff members at work, of a discussion held between two girls on the train a couple of weeks ago – literally every 3rd word was “like”. I have never ever heard the word “like” so many times in one grammatical sentence … “… like, he went to, like, the doctors, and he, like, said he had to, like, have blood tests done … like, that’s so like scary ….” … like, OMG, I felt like slashing my wrists after like listening to like 5 minutes of that !!! ;P

OK, now it’s time to get back to stitching stuff … and back to the subject of my rotation … you see I do actually have a full rotation worked out, and it was in fact working pretty well until I started the CA Wells pieces – even though it’s quite a long list of project slots, I think I’m going to pick it back up again and continue where I left off … with a bit of minor tweaking.  Originally I had a total of 17 rotation slots (yeah, I know, a bit crazy!), which included 3 separate ‘smalls’ slots (that I’m going to keep), but also 2 slots for UFO projects, and one for ‘kits/classes’.  I’ve decided to put the Pyramid Etui into every Smalls/Ornaments slot for now, so it’s almost like having two focus pieces (the other one being EGM) – once my Pyramid is totally complete, then I’ll replace it with the Stitching Leporello and so on.  With my new rotation it still means I’m working on my main WIP’s with some scope on my ‘free choice’ slots to stitch something small and fun inbetween times …  As Andie pointed out, I think part of the problem is that the majority of my current projects are HUGE ones, and I can’t see the finishing line any time soon, so I’m getting the urge to stitch something that’s quicker to stitch.  Obviously, though, unless I put some stitches into those huge BAP’s, they’re never going to get finished so I just need to keep plugging away at them.

As far as the actual ‘type’ of rotation goes, I’ve found that shift work isn’t conducive to having a daily or weekly rotation, as it depends on what shifts I’m working that week as to how much stitching gets done.  I’ve found the 10-hour rotation works best for me … some weeks it’ll only take me two days to complete a 10-hour rotation slot, but some weeks it’ll take me a couple of weeks to reach that goal, but at least that way every project gets equal billing and a chance to get a few stitches into them.  Of course I’m not necessarily that strict on myself too … if after 8 hours I’m absolutely hating the project, then I’ll put it to one side, likewise if I’m loving it at the end of 10 hours I’ll keep going for a while longer (say 1-3 hours more) until I’m ready to switch.  All-in-all in the past it’s worked for me that way … and I think it’ll work again, I just need to pick up that first project in the list and get cracking and back into the rotation rhythm! 😀

So, to recap for my own purposes again, here is my updated current rotation (once again, I may tweak it slightly once I have chance to think about it a bit more, but I’ve already deleted a couple of the original slots out of it for the timebeing – and I’ve left out my two SAL projects seeing as they’re supposed to be worked on each week separately, namely Bordeaux Sampler and Macaw) –

  1. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  2. Smalls/ornaments – Pyramid Etui (then Stitching Leporello, then My Treasures Workstation)
  3. Charity blocks/free choice (chance to stitch something smaller and ‘fun’!)
  4. Canvaswork – Flight of the Bumblebees (then Sapphire Star, then Celtic Knot Quilt)
  5. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  6. UFO – either chosen or ‘lucky dip’ (currently Nature’s Resting Place)
  7. Smalls/ornaments – Pyramid Etui, etc (as per above)
  8. Mirabilia/L&L – Winter Queen (then Angel of Love)
  9. Focus piece – Egyptian Garden Mandala
  10. Band samplers/specialty stitches – Le Jardin Silk Sampler
  11. Finishing items (may remove this and just use the FAL weekend on Focus on Finishing blog instead of doing both)
  12. Smalls/ornaments – Pyramid Etui, etc (as per above)
  13. Free choice (another chance for some ‘fun’ stitching)

The way I’ve been choosing my projects is that I’m working on those items where I’ve got everything fully kitted up, especially if I’ve bought beads/braids etc especially for it … no point paying all that money out and not actually stitching them!  My little financial breakdown last year put me into that frame of mind, and I’m glad it’s still in my head as it certainly makes sense 🙂

I’m soon about to have another different problem as well … I’ve found a friendly quilter at work … and she’s been bringing her latest quilts in to show me … I fear it’s going to be harder and harder to stave off the quilting bug … it’s compounded even more by seeing wonderful blogs like those of Nicole and Judith as well as numerous others where the most wonderful quilting projects are being showcased – I don’t think I can resist much longer … especially since I have my quilt design all created, I just need to get the fabrics … once I get that bank account stocked up again, I think I’llhave no option but to go shopping and feed this new urge!! I also have a great fabric shop to check out in Melbourne … according to Lena, it’s a must-see for quilters – it’s called GJ’s Fabrics, and the address is 443 Lygon Street, Brunswick East VIC 3057.  I can’t vouch for it personally, and have no affiliation, except I hear it’s the ‘bees knees’ with patchwork fabrics from $8 a metre ………. Oh boy, I fear soon there will be no hope for me!!! ;P

One urge I did feed last night, though, was that I started the finishing of the And Many More needlecase … I actually got as far as ironing the interfacing onto both the stitched piece and the lining fabric, and basted around the edge of the stitching, plus stitched the Skirtex in place … while I didn’t complete it, I did make a dent in the start of it, and if I don’t do it before, I’ll finish the rest on the next FAL weekend on the Focus on Finishing blog 😀

Rightio, now I’m off to see what I can rustle up for dinner … I was super-dopey this morning and left my half-pan of beef stew sitting on the stove (I was supposed to be freezing it then got sidetracked and ran out of time … I’m on 5am shifts this week …) – it’s been happily sitting in the sunshine all day so I’ll have to tip it out for health and safety … I’m kicking myself ‘cos it’s such a waste of food, but also now I have to think about dinner again, b*gger … oh well, there’s always beans on toast LOL! 😉

Cross Stitch, Rotation, Uncategorized

Pondering my rotation …

Anne S

I have a problem … quite a serious problem, in fact … I have fallen off the rotation wagon, and can’t get back up! After doing all the stitching on the CA Wells’ projects, every other piece of stitching got put to one side, and I’m finding it really difficult to pick them back up again.

To compound things I’ve got a serious urge to do “finishing” … I even got the interfacing cut out this afternoon to start putting together Just Nan’s And Many More needlecase that I stitched last January (I unpicked the letter J and replaced it with a letter A a couple of days ago … long story … but fortunately sense got the better of me, and everything is still sitting since untouched on the ironing board haha) … now that in itself is probably not a bad thing to get an urge to do, and in fact it is quite possibly an extremely GOOD thing … BUT … I also have a major desire to start something new – and not just one thing, about half a dozen things are screaming at me to be started … now THAT’s not such a good thing 😉

You see, I have all these wonderful projects that are already started, and I know if I just pick them back up again and put a few stitches into them, I’ll probably have difficulty putting them back down again … I wish those other ‘new’ projects would just calm down and wait patiently in the background until it’s ‘their time’ LOL.  I’m wondering if I cut down my rotation to perhaps just 4-5 projects it might mean me finishing a few pieces more quickly, so I can introduce some new projects a bit faster … but then I’d have to make a decision on which ones to include … ah, the trials and tribulations of a stitcher … so many projects, so little time!

So, please indulge me while I list all my current WIP’s in one place, so I can think about whittling them down … if I manage to get the list down to 8 projects, I think I’ll be doing quite well haha.  Right, here goes:

  • Egyptian Garden Mandala – Chatelaine
  • Stitching Leporello – Chatelaine
  • Flight of the Bumblebees – Ruth Schmuff Designs
  • Le Jardin Silk Sampler – Just Cross Stitch
  • Pyramid Etui – CA Wells
  • UFO’s – multiple projects
  • Winter Queen – Mirabilia
  • Macaw – Ross Originals (current weekly SAL)
  • Bordeaux Sampler – Sampler Cove (current weekly SAL)
  • Quaker Friendship Sampler – Samplers & Such (RR every 6 weeks)

    • Hmmm, that didn’t quite work out as planned … aside from the SAL pieces, which are kinda separate to my actual rotation in that they butt in every week and push everything else aside, there are only 7 actual project slots … there’s really no reason why that shouldn’t be manageable right? 

    But even after listing all those scrumptious projects, the voices are still screaming loudly in my head … the biggest voices are coming from Bent Creek’s original Snapperland, Victoria Sampler’s Fire sampler, L&L’s Angel of Love, Judy Odell’s My Treasures Workstation … but they’re closely being caught up by a myriad of other designs.  Geez, it’s no wonder I’ve been struggling to get to sleep … it’s been because of all these voices in my head, nothing to do with other circumstances! 😉

    How will I master the situation?  Who knows … there are worse voices I could imagine … but it’s getting harder and harder to ignore them …  In the meantime, it just feels good to feel obsessed with stitching again – perhaps my mojo is returning full force after it’s holiday 😀