Category: Cross Stitch

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stash

Disappointing news about Silkweaver

Anne S

Just a quick post to say how disappointed I feel about Silkweaver’s announcement that they won’t be selling plain fabrics etc any longer, but will just be selling hand-dyeds … Normally it wouldn’t worry me so much, but I had almost completed my ‘mental’ order of fabrics that I wanted to buy using Jenna’s birthday gift certificate, and they were all plain/opalescent fabrics for upcoming projects. When Country Stitch did this recently, Linda had her stock of plain fabrics at discounted prices, so you still had chance to try and get the fabrics that you needed – I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a lot of them, but you at least had a chance to quickly contact her to see what she was still holding in stock. Silkweaver have just sent an email saying that’s it, no longer available for sale 😦 I’m sure I can find some lovely hand-dyed fabbies to spend my voucher on, but I just feel a bit disappointed in the whole thing {{pouting}}. A lot of the local suppliers down under just don’t have the same range, and I can understand the business reason behind it (Linda and I discussed this at length over a few emails, and I don’t blame her for not stocking plain fabrics anymore). Thank goodness I still have Karen at Dragonfly Dreams – but geez I wish you were in my home town, as you have the best selection down under of everything!

I still can’t believe what we pay at my LNS for threads etc … to give you an example, that quite frankly shocked me senseless, and I’m tempted not to set foot in it again without taking smelling salts to help with the shock of the bill! I really, really wanted to use the right threads (well, as much as possible, anyway) for my recent Christmas ornies – but there were a few colours I didn’t have in GAST … so I called into my LNS on the way home from work, as it’s only a 5-minute detour from my route home – they had the main 3 colours I really needed, so I trotted up to the counter with them. To be honest, I expected them to be expensive, but not nearly as much as they were – I ended up paying $16.50 for 3 skeins – that’s $5.50 each skein!!! Bl**dy hell, my brain kept thinking all the way home – I was in shock! I know you have to have mark-ups on your products, and I know us down under have to pay for the shipping/customs charges in the long run, but I don’t understand that sort of mark-up whatsoever! Unfortunately for them, in the future if I’m buying locally, Dragonfly Dreams will be getting all my local business – at $3.50 a skein for GAST, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out why … aside from that, Karen’s service is exceptional and very personalised! (and I would have said that, even if I didn’t know you were reading my blog now, Karen! LOL) Once I get back to being confirmed as a shift worker again, I’ll be getting an order in, that’s for sure! I really needed some fabrics for some upcoming Christmas ornaments, but perhaps I just need to have a hunt through my stash and become a bit creative, or just choose a different ornament to stitch in the meantime … Geez, I’m a bit of a grizzle-guts at the moment LOL.

BUT on a much brighter note, I have to say I had a wonderful surprise in my PO Box on Wednesday, but haven’t had chance to acknowledge it online on the computer at all … my apologies for the delay in making an official acknowledgement! I had a wonderful belated birthday prezzie from my sweet angel, Tobie – thank you so much, Tobie, it was a wonderful surprise and a wonderful gift, from a wonderful friend 🙂 Thanks heaps and HEAPS!! It had a wonderful chart from my wishlist – Sun needleroll by M Designs, and a gorgeous skein of blue Anchor pearl cotton with a metallic thread through it …. it’s just gorgeous! But wait … there’s more! … there’s also a
packet of my absolute favourite needles – some #26 Piecemakers, and a packet of 14ct aida, which is absolutely perfect for my charity quilt blocks – and you’ll never believe it, but I’ve just been thinking I was going to have to buy some more ‘cos I was short of fabric for one block I’ve committed myself to stitching – talk about perfect timing!! Wow, Tobie, I was well and truly spoilt rotten!! Thank you, thank you, thank you my dear friend! :)))

During my last bit of stitching, I managed to finally watch the last DVD’s I got sent by Homescreen (they’ve only been sitting there for 2 weeks!) … and they were all dreadful – “Breaking in” with Burt Reynolds; “The Brush-Off” – an Aussie movie, and semi-watchable; and the worst one of all “The Good Girl” with Jennifer Aniston – what a load of rubbish!!! Let’s hope the 3 movies heading out my way this week are a bit better … “The Program”, “Boat Trip” and “Memories of Me” … ‘cos the ones I’ve been choosing lately have been appallingly bad! Maybe I should just start closing my eyes and pointing my mouse at the screen, and selecting whatever it falls on, ‘cos that would have to be better than the drivel I’ve been choosing myself!! On the latest stitching front, I managed to get about two more inches stitched on Marine Elegance, so I’m just around the bottom point and heading back up to the top … don’t think I’ll attempt any more today though LOL.

And unfortunately that’s all I have time for today – I’m absolutely exhausted … it’s only 4.10pm and I can hardly keep my eyes open … only managed to get about 5 hours sleep last night ‘cos I was up all night chatting, which is not very clever on a 6am shift LOL. Tonight Rox is out to dinner, leaving me and Fraze on our own, so hopefully I can get an early night to make up for it … but I’m seriously thinking of having a kip right about now … But hopefully Fraze will get home early enough for us to go for a beach walk for an hour before dinner – that should tire me out even more LOL. Tomorrow night I’m off to dinner with Rox on our own, to have a proper catch-up and girlie night out … it’s been so wonderful to see her – I still can’t really believe she’s here in this country!!! 😀

Finishes

Happy dance #4 for the weekend!

Anne S

Crikey, I’m surprising myself with my stitching marathon this weekend – in answer to your question, Jenna, I’m not joining in with the Stitch-a-Thon this weekend, as today (Sat) it’s the last day of my visitors being here, and we’re supposed to be meeting up with another friend who’s down visiting from Brisbane some time during the day, then out for dinner tonight with Fraze and Hayley … and I’m working 4 hours overtime tomorrow … so I didn’t think it left me with much stitching time. Now, if I’d classed my Stitch-a-Thon for 24 hours from Thursday night, I’d be laughing!! 😀

Anyway, last night I still couldn’t stop stitching – I was laying in bed, with my ornie magazines next to me and the fabric and threads for another very small project, and watching Medium on TV … well, let’s just say the temptation got too much for me, and at 10.30pm I picked up the needle again for a while. I got half of it stitched last night, then woke up early and finished the other half this morning while my houseguests are still sleeping their heads off. Don’t know what time they came home, but it was at least after 2am – goodness knows when they’ll eventually surface … probably just in time to have a quick coffee with Tom. Anyway, here is my last finish for the weekend … yeah, I know, I said that yesterday … haha. It’s the Peace*Joy*Love ornament by Lizzie*Kate from the 2002 JCS ornie issue – and I stitched this to complete a challenge on the Friends Gather BB to “broaden your horizons”. A different theme is set each month, and this month’s was L*K/Mosey ‘n Me style.

OK, off to do some quiet housecleaning and some computer software upgrades while my guests sleep everything off ;P

Finishes

3rd happy dance for today!

Anne S


Yes, that’s right, yet another project has hit the finishing pile today – the latest one is Bilberry by Shepherd’s Bush … this has been a UFO for a while, as I couldn’t work out how to do the hemstitching bands. After completing my Love needleroll at the start of this year, and using a different instruction book I have, I decided it would be a quick project to finish off, seeing as I’ve now tried and succeeded in hemstitching, and I wasn’t in the mood to tackle my Marine Elegance today as my concentration wasn’t quite ‘up to it’. I can thank KarenV partly for this – after seeing her latest Shepherd’s Bush finishes, it reminded me I had this in my UFO pile, and it wasn’t too far off finishing, so I thought it was time it saw daylight again. I put a sheet of coloured paper behind the fabric while I was scanning it, so the fabric looks off-white, but it showed up the hemstitching etc better that way.

Phew, three finishes in 24 hours … don’t expect to see any more for a while! LOL.

Finishes

Two little Happy Dances

Anne S

I’ve been very very lazy in that I’ve been sat up in bed all day stitching my little heart out, while clearing my taped TV programmes … thanks to House, Desperate Housewives, Lost, The Amazing Race and NCIS, I have managed to complete not one, but two ornaments over the last 24 hours – yippee! I put the final stitches into Star of Wonder before I went to sleep last night, from the 2002 JCS ornie issue – this is a design by Ellen Chester, of With My Needle, and I really love it … a bit challenging to stitch, with the over-one sections, but a fun stitch 🙂

The second ornament is Herald Angels from the 2003 JCS ornie issue – designed by Pamela Byrd Smith of The Prairie Schooler, Inc. This was part of the Christmas Ornament challenge on the Friends Gather BB, as there is a chosen designer each month, and we choose any design we want to stitch by that designer – and I chose the Herald Angels. I have to admit, I was very worried about it while I was stitching it, as it was so so dark – but as soon as the metallics were added it really lifted it, and I like it again. Perhaps in hindsight I might have used a navy blue instead of the black, though, to lighten it a bit more. Anyway, off they go to my finishing pile for later in the year …

My next challenge is to stitch my Marine Elegance piece – followed by my charity pieces, then back to my rotation again … as well as the Bunnies in my Garden SAL that’s starting with the StitchingSmalls Yahoo group next month … so much stitching, so little time LOL.


Today’s SBQ is:


“Do you stitch “over-one”? If so, describe your experiences. If not, have you considered it?”

Hmmm, I have a love/hate relationship with over-one stitching. I really don’t enjoy the stitching part, but I love to see the finished product. That being said, I really want to stitch Graham Ross’ Macaw and Rainbow Lorikeets over-one, as well as a green tree frog I’ve already stitched over-two. The best tip I learned from a class with Jodi Merusi – and that was to stitch it like a tent stitch, except you come back across the row with the top stitch (which I also use a tent stitch for) … it saves the floss threads slipping under the fabric threads, and gives you more space to slip your needle under when anchoring ends on the back. You can’t do this with overdyed threads, though, as each stitch has to be done individually, darnit!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

Another day gone …

Anne S

… and still no needle in sight …

We have, however, uncovered the answer to the mystery of the weird-looking creature in my previous post – Sharon, you’re spot on, thank you!! I did a Google on “case moth” and found the following link, with some interesting info. Also, glad to know it’s harmless … and not a relative of the dreaded 8-legged Huntsman or something daft – quite fascinating to see it, and it’s the second one I’ve seen now, so the curiosity got the better of me this time … there you go, Mum, now we know! 😀 The male moth is quite spectacular when it emerges … typical, though, the female has to spend all its life cooped up in that cocoon ;P

And I’m glad to hear my last piece of stitching finally reached its destination, so I can finally release the full picture from the teaser I put out earlier – I stitched a small token of friendship for Jenna, to help to cheer her up after going through so much just lately … Jenna was one of the first people to comment on my blog when I started, and the comments she made had a big impact on my self-esteem, and that started to help me deal with things that had caused me personal pain last year – it was just a few kind words at just the right time … and it helped open my eyes to a whole big world out there, and start to appreciate who I am, and get back my caring nature. So, this little token was just my way of saying “thanks for everything – your friendship means a lot to me” 😀 Funnily enough, I’d already started stitching this when Jenna answered a previous SBQ about what the perfect project would be … the answer was “My perfect project would probably be a star-themed design, since I’m so nuts about stars. It would have some purple in it somewhere, or at least some blue. Kreiniks, of course, or another brand of metallic, to make the stars sparkle. And stitched on a gorgeous, rich hand-dyed fabric with luscious overdyed silk threads.” Amazingly, without trying, I think I almost nailed every point! haha. Glad you like it, Jenna – you deserve it! 😀

And it looks like my previous post has brought to the fore more Little Britain fans haha – now I know which of you have the craziest sense of humour haha. We’re always mimicking the characters … I mentioned to Rosa that last year I had my gallbladder removed, and while I was in hospital I was in a room with 4 beds – opposite me was an older lady who was a bit hard of hearing, and to the right of me was a younger lady who had her husband/partner visiting (we all had our curtains drawn) … anyway, the nurse came in a couple of times, and the hard-of-hearing lady was called Margaret … she’d come in and call out “Margaret … Margaret …” – I nearly wet myself, especially when a male voice pipes up from the next bed “… have we got any pirate memory games?” – I could hardly contain myself from giggling my head off … that programme has got so many people hooked, it’s great!

Anway, off to do something else for my final two hours before beddy-byes … I’m going in to work an hour earlier for overtime tomorrow, then I’ve amazingly managed to get 4 hours overtime on Sunday … the extra money will come in more handy than having the day off, I’ve decided! And it’s so rare to get overtime just lately, you grab it when you can!

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, SBQ

Mixed bag of ‘allsorts’

Anne S

Daft title, but a bit of what this post is all about – a little bit of everything …

First all I want to send a HUGE thank you and {{{hugs}}} out to BeckySC who sent me my final birthday gift – I have to admit, I knew this one was coming, but it was still a lovely surprise to open my PO Box door this morning and find that envelope sitting in there 🙂 And not only that, but there was a gorgeous packet of cards as well, with bright blue butterflies on them – and this was extra special for me, as it reminds me of a trip I did with Mum to Cairns, Queensland when we visited the butterfly farm especially to see those big blue butterflies! Brought lovely warm fuzzies and memories flooding back – thank you so much sweet Becky, I really really love my gifts … thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Today’s SBQ is:

“Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them?”

My physical charts are all in ringbinders, in plastic sleeves – they’re mainly organised by theme, ie samplers, beading, hardanger, canvaswork, etc, and XS charts are organised by theme as well, ie marine, scenery, birds/animals etc – my ringbinders are on bookshelves. I have one ringbinder for freebie charts, and they’re semi-organised into themes as well. Where I have a lot of designs for a specific designer, eg Mirabilia, L&L, TW, they all have their own ringbinder each. I used to keep a spreadsheet in Works that listed every single project/XS chart I owned, so I could do a search by topic etc, but I haven’t kept that up-to-date for years … and don’t ask what number entry I got up to!! LOL.

Next subject … dieting! Last week I did a blonde thing, and fell asleep on Tuesday night at 5.30pm … and missed the sign-up for Weight Watchers – so last night I made sure I didn’t miss out again, and am now officially a member of the clan. We’ve re-nicknamed it “Fat Busters” … after one of our favourite UK comedy shows, “Little Britain” – very very sick humour, but extremely hilarious. One of my favourite characters in the first series was Marjorie Dawes, the leader of Fat Busters, which is like WW … she’s a right royal cow, and very rude to the members – I’d offer to share some episodes with you, but I think it would lose itself in the translation to just tell you about it. Let’s just say that it had such an impression on our household, we still keep asking if we want a bit of cake, … “cos we all like a bit of cake, don’t we?!” And don’t forget the wonderful game of “high fat … low fat … high fat … low fat … Dust!” As well as those other wonderful characters … “Computer says no…”, “Margaret … Margaret … Have we got any pirate memory games?”, and Daffyd “The only gay in the village”. Not to mention the non-stop talking Vicky Pollard, and the hysterical Lou and Andy (“I want that one … I want THAT one … I don’t like it!”) – and my latest favourite, because it’s so incredibly ‘bad’ – “Just call me Bubbles!” If you like really funny characters, have an open mind, and want to have a very adult giggle, check them out if you haven’t already done so – it might take a sketch or two to get into the characters, but once you do, you’re hooked! It’s the only TV series I have to buy the entire series on DVD as soon as it’s released! These two actors are insanely clever and funny – hurry up and come out on DVD, Little Britain 3 … I can’t wait!!!!Anyway, back to the story, I’m now keeping a track of my eating etc, and trying the points system out for two weeks, to see if it works for me – otherwise I’ll skip over to the no-count system instead. I’m paid up for 3 months regardless, so plenty of time to get into the routine of getting healthy again … and I kicked it off well last night by coming home and going for an hour’s walk up the beach (approx 3km).

Now on to something totally different (sounds like a Monty Python sketch) – do any of you clever Aussies know what this creature is? About 10cm in length, it has a caterpillar-looking thing inside that is bright orange with black stripes … unfortunately, a noise startled it and it shot back in its cocoon while I was trying to take a photo. When I got home from work it was hanging by it’s ‘top’ from the roof – obviously some sort of moth larvae or something, but I’d love to know what it actually is!

Well, I think that’s about it for now … still haven’t shaken off my headache yet, but at least it’s not a full-blown migraine yet. Took some Nurofen this morning to try to nip it in the bud, and it had eased off a bit by this afternoon – at least I get a sleep in tomorrow, as I don’t start work until 11am yippee. Then I just have to work 11am-7pm Saturday (my 7th day straight), and I get two days off woohoo. I’ve got friends coming to stay for a week from Sunday, which will be OK – just a bit difficult as I’m on 5am shifts for a couple of the days. They wanted to bring a family member from out of town to stay as well while I was on 5am shifts, meaning they’d be sleeping in the lounge, but I put my foot down … I just don’t think I could cope with it even just for a few days. It means I probably won’t get much stitching done again next week … then H&P will be leaving, and I’ll just have time to change the bedsheets etc, when a close friend will be arriving from Auckland, NZ for a couple of nights, followed by friends from Christchurch, NZ over Easter … blimey, it’s starting to feel like a Bed & Breakfast haha.

Anyway, off now to see if I can get motivated to pick up a needle – my eyes are like little slits, I’m so tired, but it’s only 6pm and I really need to stay awake a bit longer …

Finishes

Quilt panel completed!

Anne S


Unfortunately, it means I’m going to bed a bit later than planned for my 6am start at work tomorrow, but I just couldn’t put my quilt panel to one side until I’d finished every name … I was just too close to finishing. So, now I can get it in the post either tomorrow or Tuesday to the organisers – woohoo, another lot of commitment stitching out the way! 🙂
In answer to Tobie’s question … “what next?” … I’m not exactly 100% sure yet, but I probably should get my Marine Elegance piece up-to-date for my SAL first, seeing as I have another SAL starting in April – then I still have another two charity quilt squares to stitch (the Batman logo, and an Echidna) … these aren’t due until May, so I have some time up my sleeve for them yet. So, I guess I should start committing myself to restarting my rotation again, seeing as I haven’t touched it since the end of 2005 (gee, that seems so far away LOL). That being said, the following is my hastily hatched stitching plan (but I reserve the right to change it on a whim haha):

  • Marine Elegance SAL (Cindy Valentine)
  • Echidna quilt square
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Smalls/Ornaments
  • Batman quilt square
  • Jen’s Jems canvaswork
  • UFO – Bil Berry by Shepherd’s Bush
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Smalls/Ornaments
  • Winter Queen (Mirabilia)
  • Le Jardin Silk Sampler
  • Dolphins Domain
  • Finishing items
  • UFO – Nature’s Resting Place
  • Free choice

As for the Adam Sandler movie, it was “Punch-Drunk Love” … if you get the urge to watch it, please try to control that urge and save yourselves the trouble!

OK, off to bed now for my first of 6 x 6am starts …

SBQ

Stitching Bloggers Question

Anne S

Image hosting by Photobucket Today’s SBQ was suggested by Cheryl and is:

“What cross-stitch magazines or other publications (as opposed to blogs) do you read on a regular basis? What do you like about them? What do you not like? What would your perfect publication include?”

I have to admit, my tastes are changed substantially over the years I’ve been stitching – I used to be magazine crazy, and bought quite a few, but now very very rarely buy any magazines. The only one I subscribe to is the Australian publication “Inspirations” magazine – mainly because it offers more than just cross stitch, and I like to try different techniques (although I’m back in XS mode again right now). Inspirations also show you finishing techniques, which other magazines don’t offer. I’ve started flicking back through magazines again in the newsagents looking for charts that would be suitable for charity quilt squares, but I still haven’t been tempted to buy anything over the last few months since I’ve been looking.

As for what the perfect magazine would have – larger projects, as well as a few smaller ones, with more ‘grown-up’ designs. It would also have other techniques, not just XS, and finishing ideas/instructions.

Finishes

2nd happy dance today

Anne S


Just in the nick of time (ie before midnight) I managed to put the final stitches into my 2nd stitching goal for the day … and it took me all that time to actually finish it. I’m sorry to say that I really didn’t enjoy stitching this one at all, which is probably why I was so slow at stitching it. I found the colours really drab, and I really detest stitching over-one with variegated thread because I have to stitch each stitch individually – all-in-all this is not a project I would ever have chosen myself … however, there is a good piece of news in all this – as this is one of the ornaments Mum liked in the 2005 JCS ornie issue, this will be finding its way to her tree at the end of the year … at least it will be going someone who will love it 🙂 If anyone is wondering what the design is, it’s “Home for Christmas” by Brightneedle.

Still haven’t decided what to stitch tomorrow yet … will see what I feel like when I get up. I also need to make an eating and exercise plan from tomorrow night onwards … you see, tomorrow is D-Day (Diet-Day) – our company is subsidising 50% off 3 months of Weight Watchers for those of us wishing to lose weight, and I put my name down for it a few weeks ago – tomorrow is our first night/sign up. Another sign that I’m feeling good about myself, I guess – I’m actually wanting to make an improvement to my body, as well as my mind. 🙂 It couldn’t have come at a (possible) worse time with my finances in trying to cut back, but I’m already committed to it, and it’s something I think I really need to do as I have put a considerable amount of weight on over the last year or so, and I’m starting to feel really unhealthy. They say life begins at 40, perhaps it’s true … 😉

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Survived the day … just!

Anne S

I have to say you all should have come round for a stitchalong yesterday – my little flat was the perfect location … everyone would have had perfect stitching, as I’d swallowed all the frogs!! To say I woke up with a croaky voice was probably an understatement – a little touch of laryngitis was in order. I’ve had this in the past when I’ve overindulged and been dancing etc for a lengthy time among a lot of smokers. Thanks for the offer of the Berocca, Katrina, that would have been lovely yesterday LOL. Have to admit, I woke up feeling OK, although I didn’t get much sleep, waking up every hour – but I can honestly say that’s been the hardest day of work I’ve done in ages … the after-effects decided to wait until the afternoon to arrive. Luckily that was more in the form of a splitting headache and fatigue, and nothing else … can’t complain, though, as it was worth it for such a good day out LOL. I have a small amount of sunburn which has given me a healthy glow, and slightly aching calves from all the dancing – and it feels great! 🙂

Anyway, back to stitching news – can’t say there has been a lot of it happening for the last week or so … I started stitching something the same night I finished the M Designs’ Thistle Treasure Bag, but it’s a small gift for someone … and to say it’s small, it’s taking me forever to stitch! I think a lot of it is that it’s on a very small count linen (or it seems that way) with a darkish colour, and I’m using metallics for the whole thing. Hopefully on my next days off (Mon/Tue next week) I will be able to get my WTC quilt panel finished as well as putting the final touches into this little piece. I can’t resist putting a teaser picture up – but there’s not much to tease you with LOL.

The other stitching news is the very small gift I sent to Becky for her birthday – I was a bit disappointed with how it turned out, but I couldn’t find much within my stash that had a suitable design for that little mirror. In hindsight, I probably should have used a slightly darker brown for the backstitching. It was well received by Becky, though, and I guess that’s the important thing. If you haven’t seen these before, they’re made by Framecraft, a UK company, and they’re quite neat little items.

Rightio, that’s all for today, I guess – except to say, thanks again to all of you for your kind words of support during my ‘blue day’ … it really does mean a lot to me, and made it easier to ‘roll with the punches’. {{hugs}}

Now I’m off to start preparing for my interview tomorrow, and have to sift through my poor old brain for real-life on-the-job scenarios for when I’ve had to deal with complaints (gee, it’ll be hard to find one of those LOL), gone above-and-beyond with customer service, etc etc … I feel quite ‘OK’ about this interview – I’m going in with the expectation that I won’t get it, as there are some top calibre candidates again, and it’s helping to keep my nerves down. I refuse to let it affect me like it did last time … que sera sera, what will be will be 🙂

Ooh, one last thing … a big Happy Birthday to Danielle – hope you have a wonderful day, Danielle, full of everything that your heart desires!! Birthday Surprise Party