Category: Cross Stitch

Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Finishes

Scissor Fob Exchange

Anne S

Phew, Su has received her scissor fob exchange from me, so I can post a piccie. For a beautiful close-up of the stitching you’ll have to pop over to Su’s blog, as mine is just done on the scanner and much less artistic 😉 I was majorly stressed over this exchange, as Su’s stitching and finishing is so awesome, and I had the huge delays with SB&B with the ‘extra goodies’ arriving. Anyway, it’s finally reached it’s destination safe and sound, and I’m very happy! This is my last exchange for a little while, though – and putting the stress factor aside LOL, I’ve enjoyed each and every one 😀



Silken Roses Scissor Fob by The Sweetheart Tree
stitched on 32ct Lavender Mist Belfast linen
with the recommended threads
but omitting the eyelets on the back and personalising
with our initials and the year

Rightio, time to have brekkie then it’s back to my stitching corner … I’ve decided to stitch Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs for my needleroll SAL, and if I have time I’ll also try and finish my Snow Fall needleroll from last month too … oh dear, I guess that means no housework again today, that’s too bad hahahaha 😀

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Round Robins

RR and Turbo Needles

Anne S

It’s been a very busy day in my household … for my needles! Absolutely nothing else has been done, but my needles have been flying since 8am until 10pm and I totally finished Wendy’s RR piece woohoo!! 😀 It means I should be able to get it in the post next week, well and truly before the Christmas rush. Here’s a scan of my winter block, as well as a very poor photo of the whole thing finished 🙂


I should have been stitching a needleroll for this weekend’s SAL, but I just couldn’t put the RR down until I’d got it all finished. Now I have to decide which needleroll to stitch tomorrow … it’s a choice between Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs, or a freebie on Classic Stitches website – ooh, decisions decisions.

Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Round Robins

RR & Exchanges … and stuff

Anne S

Thanks for all your comments and emails of support – I’m still feeling a bit ‘blue’ (which I would normally be happy about haha), but I’m getting there slowly. Anyway, I won’t dwell on my current issues now, as I’m trying hard to keep them from my mind and not brood on things. I just wanted to post a few piccies of the fantastic exchange I just received today.

I received my scissor fob exchange from Cari, and I’m seriously blown away by her generosity … not only did I receive the most exquisite fob in my fave colours, but also a pair of “Julia” Gingher’s scissors, no less, and a VC silk in the most glorious blue … I’ve been shaking my head like a stunned mullet (there’s an Aussie saying for you) ever since I opened the envelope at lunchtime – and 6 hours later still feel gobsmacked by it all. The fob is absolutely gorgeous, and Cari’s stitching and finishing is awesome … I definitely don’t feel worthy … I just LOVE everything, and it will all be treasured for years to come – thanks again so much Cari!! 😀 I’ve taken piccies of the whole kit and caboodle, as well as trying to take a close-up shot of the front and back of the fob, so here goes:


On top of that I remembered to take a photo of the recent RR’s I’ve been participating in … this one is Lynn’s RR so far, with just one more stitcher left to go (I stitched the Winter square earlier – sorry for the out of focus photo).

And this one is the latest RR I’ve received – this is Wendy’s … and I just have to stitch the Winter square on this one before it gets returned home to Canada. I’m hoping to get some quality stitching time over the next weekend, so I’ll concentrate on getting some of this stitched up then (as well as finishing a gift piece now my missing Kreinik braid has arrived). Anyway, I thought Wendy might like to see how it’s looking so far – hopefully I can whip through the stitching quickly so it can be posted back before hitting the pre-Christmas rush.

Tomorrow is a public holiday here in Melbourne – the only city I know where the entire city has a holiday for a horse race! I loved the description I just found on this website (actually the rest of the page is quite a fun read – and some of the Aussie slang is great):

“Melbourne is famous for Australia’s premier horse race “The Melbourne Cup” held the first Tuesday in November at approximately 3pm at Flemington Racecourse. It is a public holiday in Melbourne, and in the rest of Australia and now in many parts of the world people stop work just to listen to this race. Horses from all over the world come here to participate.
The Queen entered a horse in this race a few years ago – it did not win. Generally it will be won by a horse that has been bred in New Zealand.”

Personally I won’t be having the day off, as I’m working (and I’ll be very grateful for it when payday comes, as it’s a double-time day which will be exceptionally handy this coming payday!!). I do have to admit to spending $2 on a non-essential item yesterday, which in 7 days isn’t bad going 🙂 It’s pretty compulsory that you get involved with this infamous horserace and I joined the throng for the work sweepstake … very high roller this betting chick 😉 Apparently the horse that got put against my name is a relatively good one, not that that will make much difference – but it’s all a bit of fun and the entire office gets behind it. My horse is called “Efficient”.

Anyway, that’s all from me tonight – just wanted to post those couple of piccies … and say thanks for all the support – it has really helped to keep my spirits up 🙂 {{hugs}}

Food, SBQ

SBQ with Chicken

Anne S

Today I’m cooking a roast chicken for dinner … shhhh, don’t tell Fraze, or he’ll be round on the double … this is by far the easiest roast chicken recipe ever, and without a doubt the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. Called, funnily enough, “Easy Roast Chicken”, we nicknamed it to be “Salt and Pepper Chicken”. Here’s the recipe:

SALT AND PEPPER ROAST CHICKEN

1 small fryer or broiler chicken (basically just any frozen chicken – I prefer Inghams)
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh ground Sea salt

Preheat oven to 425F (210C). Rub chicken inside and out with sea salt and pepper. Roast in oven 45-55 minutes, basting frequently with its drippings. Chicken will be golden brown and very juicy, and leg will move easily when it is ready.

See what I mean when I say it’s easy? And it’s divinely yummy!! And the great thing about it is that this will do me for about 3 days of eating, both lunches and dinners … woohoo!! I’ve also made up a big pan of brown rice today to go into the freezer ready for lunches – one of my fave meals is rice salad with Tuna Tempters with a few chopped veges like celery, corn etc. There’s no excuse not to take lunch to work when it’s already half made up! 🙂

No stitching piccies today, so here’s the last two SBQ’s:

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

“If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a morbid or “creepy” saying on it? If not, why?”

That’s pretty easy, if I still love the design, I’d just remove the saying. If we’re thinking about HOHRH that whole design doesn’t tempt me to stitch it and has nothing to do with the saying. In fact, I’m not really into ‘historical’ style samplers etc and that’s where you’d find most of the morbid stuff, so there’s no chance I’d ever have to worry about it 😉

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Lee and is:

“How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?”

Initially I started off struggling with a blog name, and just came up with “Stitching Shack” just because Shack is part of my surname and often a nickname at work … when I sat down and started thinking about it more a few months down the track, I wanted something that would include my love of ducks … ideas that got tossed around was “On the Pond”, “Shack by the Sea” (due to my new location here) … in the end I came up with “Feather Stitching”, as well as being an actual stitch itself, it refers to the duckie side of me … and I think I still like it as it’s quite simple, a bit like me …

Finishes

A quick finish

Anne S

My decision to start something new was a good one … although I didn’t end up starting the actual stitching last night, just kitting up two things – a Christmas ornie for me, and Wendy’s seasonal round robin. Today I spent a short time stitching, after a bit of clearing out with the boxes in the spare bedroom. That poor room now looks like a war zone, but I did manage to finish my ornie while watching Jamie’s Kitchen-Melbourne. I’m loving that show, especially knowing it’s right on my doorstep. Perhaps my treat to myself once I get out of this financial tight spot will be to have lunch out there at Fifteen Restaurant … hmmm food for thought.

Anyway, just a short post, as I’m not really in blogging mood … here’s the ornie I stitched – it’s Starry Starry Night by JBW Designs, from the 1998 JCS ornie issue. Complete with the Mill Hill treasures I bought earlier in the year, this is one expensive little ornie 😉 It’s stitched on a mystery hand-dyed 28-count linen that I think came from Silkweaver in last year’s Halloween trick or treat bag. That also means one more project crossed off the 50 Project Challenge, yippee – 9 down, 41 to go 😀

Finishes

Where does the time fly?

Anne S

I can’t believe it’s November already!! I’ve been looking at all my planned stitching goals for 2006 and realised I’ve hardly touched them … oops. Can’t say I’m in a major hurry to complete many of them before year end, and will just push them into 2007 for stitching ‘whenever’. They’ll get placed into my rotation at some stage, I’m sure …

Well, today was the first day of the new pastime of packed lunches – I used to take a home-made lunch every day, but got out of the habit months ago. Last night I made a loaf of bread in my breadmaker (Wholemeal Beer and Mustard Loaf … yummo), and had a bit of a ‘ploughmans’ thing going today – I slapped some crumbly cheddar cheese and piccalilli between a couple of slices, and it was scrummy. I’d forgotten how satisfying it is to eat something that you’ve totally made from scratch (ie the bread, not the rest of it) … it’s quite a good feeling 🙂

When I parked my car this morning it made a funny noise again … and I noticed my dashboard clock was out of synch – I’m pretty sure I readjusted the clock yesterday before driving home, but can’t be 100% positive. If I did, then it means my problem still isn’t resolved, and it could be something to do with the wiring or alarm that’s draining my battery … I’ll have to check it again over the next couple of days. Mind you, if there’s anywhere I need to go to before Saturday I’ll be doing it on foot to save on the petrol! I’ll be acting quite the miser before month-end 😉 Anyway, this photo is especially for Mum – it seems the breadmaker is working just fine, and the last disasters were obviously related to the recipe itself … this one turned out gloriously!

As for my stitching, I managed to get the final stitches put into my Halloween freebie before bed, but was too tired to make it into an ornie … oh well, there’s always next year 😉 Now I’m off to scour the recipe books for something that uses tinned tomatoes (I have about 8 cans in the cupboard from a cheap sale months ago, so it’s finally time to find a good use for them) with either chicken breasts or tinned tuna. Then I’m settling in with a glass of wine straight from the fridge, with my stitching, to watch ER … a bit of personal pampering is in order (and hey, it’s all free!). I might even do something very very decadent and start a new project!! Rotation? … WHAT rotation??? LOL.

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Gift stitching … piccies

Anne S

That’s the only thing I hate about secret stitching … I can’t share piccies until after it’s been received, darn it! Seeing as it won’t give the game away, I’ve decided to show you a sneak preview of my current gift stitching, though. It’s about 2/3 finished now, but I can’t complete it until I get a spool of Kreinik braid … fingers crossed that’ll be in my first parcel from SB&B that’s on its way and should be here within a week’s time … if not, that’s the time to start panicking 😉

Actually, I just heard from Jenna that her birthday gifts have arrived safely, so I can also add an extra piccie to this post … I didn’t take photos of the extra goodies I sent, but I did take one of the lavender sachet I stitched. I haven’t done any hardanger really since I took a beginner’s class about 5-6 years ago, and haven’t tried wrapped bars before (ie just wrapping all 4 threads together), but it worked out OK – it was strange using such large count fabric and pearl cotton (#3 and #5), but the finished product is really pretty. I chose it because lavender is a natural therapy for headaches, and poor Jenna is regularly plagued with them – thankfully USA Customs restrictions aren’t as strict as here, and you can send lavender into the country, yay. The design is a freebie from the Classic Stitches website. I’m so happy it arrived safe and sound, and that Jenna likes her goodies 😀

Other than that, not much has been happening in this neck of the woods – after my appalling night’s sleep yesterday, I managed to get tuckered out and went back to bed at midday for another 3 hours – I felt much more human after that … but at least it got my kitted up projects entered into a spreadsheet, which has proved helpful already as I searched for a DMC thread for my gift stitching yesterday – I had a quick look at the spreadsheet then went straight to the right project to grab the skein out … awesome!

Tonight it’s back to early nights for sleeping, I need to be in bed by 7.30pm to try and get 8 hours before being up at 4am for work … 4 days of 5am’s this week, finished with one 9am shift at the end – only 5 days straight again, oh boy am I loving that!!

Thanks to a conversation Isabelle and I have been having, I’ve been contemplating making a patchwork quilt next year … I’ve been dreaming about it for a number of years now, but never started one for myself, and I’m thinking 2007 might be the year to try it out. I’ve been looking through my quilting books and choosing some possible designs … once I’ve narrowed my choices down I’ll share some piccies.

Rightio, back to listening to the last part of Jeffrey Deaver’s Cold Moon novel (I’m really enjoying this one) and Bordeaux Sampler (I’m giving it some well-deserved stitching time, seeing as it’s been neglected for a few weeks) … it’s OK, though, Carol, I’m not motoring too far along with it today, just enough to show some difference 😉

Blogging Memes, SBQ

I tagged myself & SBQ

Anne S

In an effort to wind down after work (it wasn’t a good night, but I won’t go into that right now, or I’ll go back to focusing on it again), here’s another series of questions/answers I grabbed from Annette’s blog. I think I may have answered something similar when I first started blogging, but here goes anyway …

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Anne
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not as far as I know
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? About 3 weeks ago after Mum had gone home – a combination of being hormonal, sleep deprived and missing my Mum
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I always gets compliments on it, but I don’t think it’s anything special – depends what mood I’m in as to how tidy it is!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes, I’d say so, except I’d avoid being around myself on 5am shifts
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This blog is it for now
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope – got them taken out in my early 30’s
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Only if I was pushed … basically no!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Depends on my mood – Frosties when being ‘bad’, muesli when being healthy, and Weet-Bix for simplicity
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Mentally and spiritually yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Orange chocolate chip or coffee
14. SHOE SIZE? 8
15. RED OR PINK? Definitely red – basically anything BUT pink … yuk!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I am a procrastinator
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Mum when she’s not here
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not really relevant
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, denim-blue T-shirt, two-tone purple polar fleece jacket, and powder blue Skechers (I love weekend dress code at work!)
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Scone with jam an cream (someone at work made them and dished them out just before 11pm)
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Traffic noise outside
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue – that’s a no-brainer!
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Depends on my mood … frangipani flowers or vanilla
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Some moron telemarketing for ING before work … and a travel agent on the phone at work
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yes
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Jim Beam bourbon and L&P … sheer nectar!
28. FAVORITE SPORT? None, I hate them all equally … OK, if I HAVE to choose I’d have to say Rugby Union (but I usually only watch NZ vs Aussie matches anymore)
29. EYE COLOR? Blue
30. HAT SIZE? Large – I have a big skull!
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, not anymore – had my eyes lasered
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Depends on my mood … love lemon meringue pie, smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers on bagels, and king prawns … I just love food generally
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Mainly happy endings – but enjoy a scary movie every now and then
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Lemon meringue pie or pavlova
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not really applicable
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? As per 38
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Closers by Michael Connelly (audiobook)
41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Penguins – from a painting by a NZ artist
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing – didn’t switch the TV on … the night before was Jamie Oliver’s ‘Fifteen in Melbourne’
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The final beep from my headset when I’m signing out at work 😉
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Depends which home you’re referring to … the Greek Islands from NZ will be my choice for now
46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Don’t think any are particularly ‘special’
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I took it from Annette

And now for the SBQ …

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Vash and is:

“Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left-or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?”

I stitch /// then \\\ … probably because when I was teaching myself the little kit showed it done that way in the instructions, and I continued the same way ever since. I can’t say it has anything to do with being right-handed at all, just that I didn’t know any other way back then …

Stash

Last day of freedom

Anne S

It’s back to work again tomorrow, but it’s only a 5-day week for a change, which is just wonderful – this week’s shifts are reasonable, with a mix of 3pm and 12 noon starts. Next week it’s back to 5am starts again hmmm, which means I should get loads of stitching done just to keep me awake in the afternoons!

Yesterday I promised piccies of my great mail day, and here they are – the first piccie is of course Jenna teasing me with my scissors … I’m still laughing my head off today over this little trick – I love it! As well as the beautiful wrapping, it also has a gift tag already made up on it … “To Anne, From Anne” – what a crack up!

The other goodies I received were my back-ordered threads from Karen at Dragonfly Dreams – this means Sapphire Star will be joining my rotation as the next project on my list for the canvaswork slot … although my rotation is a bit out the window at the moment to fit in some commitment and gift stitching. Here in the piccie is the latest issue of JCS (only bought for the ornies in it, and I have to admit there are probably only 2 of them I’d consider stitching up, oh well), some 16ct Bay Leaf Aida for Mum, my Rainbow Gallery back orderered threads, a packet of 40557 Mill Hill beads (seeing as I still can’t find my other ones, and I need one to finish Lynn’s RR, plus this colour always comes in handy), 2 WDW threads I needed for upcoming projects, and finally some little buttons and charms for Christmas ornies coming up.

As far as my gift stitching is concerned, I have one entirely finished and it’s winging its way across the Pacific as we speak, as I managed to get to the Post Office late this arvo. I’d offer a sneak preview, but it might give it away 😉 We’ll just have to wait a week or so until it arrives at its destination, then all can be unveiled 😀

Not entirely sure what I’ll sit and do tonight – possibly some kitting up of some Christmas ornies, or perhaps starting my next bit of gift stitching … I dunno yet, but no doubt whatever I do it will be stitching-related 😀

Needlerolls, Quilting

Happy as a pig in mud :)

Anne S

It was an interesting night last night, in that I was very sleepy very early, so hit the hay just before 11pm, only to wake up again at 2am with my body thinking “that was a nice nap, time to get up now” hmmm. I got up and wandered around for half an hour before going back to bed – took me a while to get back to sleep, but eventually I dozed off and didn’t get up until 9am woohoo 🙂

Last night I managed to do some of the slowest stitching in history (for me), and still haven’t managed to get that Snowman Needleroll finished yet … but I guess it’s a bit closer to finishing than it was before, so that’s all good 🙂
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Today has been a very productive day for me, although no stitching done as yet. I popped out and filled the car up with petrol (how wonderful to see it at $1.13 a litre woohoo), then went on a stitching adventure … I finally went to Centre Road in East Bentleigh to visit Amitie (downstairs – quilting) and Broderie (upstairs – embroidery), and really enjoyed it. The quilting part is quite large, with a reasonable selection of fabrics … and I’ve asked about classes there to teach me how to do applique and learn the quilting basics so I can complete my block of the month quilt I have sitting here doing nothing (complete with all the fabrics for it). Because of my shift work hours it’s really difficult to commit to a lot of classes because they’re usually spread over say 4 weeks, and I’d only end up being able to attend 2-3 of the classes. At Amitie, though, they have ‘casual’ classes each week, and you just pay for the class you attend and the instructors just help you with your queries … I’d definitely keen to do that, and it’s only 15-20 minutes drive from where I live yippee 😀 I can’t remember if I’ve posted info on my quilt yet, but this is the design I have sitting here (and yes, for a change, it’s blue!! LOL). Sorry but Blogger is being a dog again, and won’t upload piccies, so no clickable links again … if anyone knows how to make Photobucket piccies clickable, I’d love to know how! Actually, if you click here, you can see a clearer picture of it on the designer’s website 🙂
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Upstairs from Amitie is Broderie – I have to admit the space is quite small (just one medium room really), but Elizabeth has a decent range of threads etc in there, and she can order in most things they don’t have. The owner is the Elizabeth that used to be at Bustle & Bows Malvern – I really liked her, and glad she’s managed to set up her own business. It was really lovely to get out there and see a new LNS, as well as picking up a couple of items I needed to finish kitting up two new gift projects. I also managed to pick up a copy of the 2005 JCS ornie issue for Mum at half price, which was fantastic … and I was very very good and didn’t walk out with anything extra, only those items I specifically needed (pearl cottons and fabric), so I’m still working within the 50 Project Challenge guidelines. Unfortunately Broderie didn’t have everything I needed, so I had to call into The Embroidery Den in Brighton on the way home, where I managed to find everything else … even the 3mm satin ribbon in the perfect shade yippee 😀

My last trip on the way home was to Officeworks where I did some photocopying I needed to do for some working copies of charts etc, and picked up a 2007 filler for my diary. And my final purchase (yes, I FINALLY bought one, Mum) was from Autobarn … a dashboard cover for my car!! I have a Nissan Pulsar sedan, and the dashboard is the most horrendous thing I’ve ever had in a car, as it reflects the sun badly onto the window and makes it hard to see. When I first bought it I bought a piece of black felt and sat that on the dashboard to block out the reflections, but three years later the felt is well as truly dead (and brown!), and with summer here I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet … I’m so happy!!! 😀 (Actually I’ll be even happier when it arrives, ‘cos I’ve had to order it in haha.)

Tomorrow I’m heading into the city to meet my pal Fraze for dinner, so I might go in earlier and have a look around. Then Thursday I’m off to Box Hill to get my hair cut/coloured … I have to decide whether to have a dark colour put back in again (I had a semi-permanent put in before Katrina came here to visit), or whether to get the blonde back again until after summer … oh decisions decisions haha. I might just have to buy some dinner to take home from there, too, from my fave Vietnamese eating place yummo 😀

And with no further ado, I’m off to sort out my working copies to settle in for the evening … I may even get that needleroll finished tonight … maybe 😉