Last weekend I managed to get a tiny bit more stitching done on my TW UFO … finishing off the last peacock/garden gate section, including the back-stitch, and making a decent start on the whitework band. Next up I really need to pull my finger out and decide on the quote to be used in the centre piece … oh decisions, decisions …
Category: Teresa Wentzler
Mixed bag of all sorts
I’ve been suffering from vertigo the last few weeks, so not a huge amount of stitching has been happening around here – I returned to work two weeks ago, and it really takes it out of me getting through the day, so I’ve been coming home and pretty much going straight to bed. Last weekend, though, I managed to put a few stitches into my English Garden Sampler. I managed to complete all the over-one stitching of the garden gate, and most of the foliage on the right-hand side of the gate … sadly it took the entire weekend last weekend to complete just those few stitches, so it’s going to take me quite some time to see an actual ‘finish’ of this one! It’s one of my oldest UFOs, and I’m still in love with the design after all these years, so I’m still keen to see this one finished sooner rather than later 🙂
I finally bit the bullet and ordered a skin for my Kindle … and it arrived this week. Last night I ‘pimped’ my Kindle, and I totally adore it! I can definitely recommend DecalGirl for their skins, that’s for sure, and it certainly won’t be the last I buy I’m sure … I’m starting to eye up laptop skins now too 😉
Work-wise I had a really awesome chat with my team’s “Head of” yesterday … he told me how impressed he’s been with my work with the latest project I worked on and the responsibilities I took on, and he’s going to see if he can do something about my pay rate as he feels my pay doesn’t accurately reflect the type of work I’m now doing and what he will be asking me to do in the future … you could have knocked me over with a feather! It’s really nice to be so recognised for the work you do. Will have to see what comes of it over the coming year, I guess 🙂
And lucky last for this post is an update on Dad … sadly he’s severely depressed, but understandably so. He never shows his emotions, but has been spending a lot of time sitting in his chair and crying, the poor thing. When Mum raised the issue with his surgeon he just said he needs to speak to his own GP about it. Unfortunately the surgeon also doesn’t know why he’s still oozing pus etc from his stomach … 7 months after his surgeries!!! It’s no wonder the poor old thing is so miserable within himself! The surgeon said the only thing they can do is to open him up again, reverse the ileostomy bag, and have a look around while they’re in there to see where it’s coming from. He also said, though, that Dad is in such bad shape at the moment that it is unlikely he will survive another surgery … so it’s a catch 22 😦
I’m hoping to fly over in a couple of weeks to visit and see if I can drag him out of the house for a few hours – although that would take a miracle in itself! He told me a couple of months ago on the phone that he missed us popping down to the cafe for a coffee and chat when he was in the hospital (I used to take him down in a wheelchair). So what I thought of doing is driving him into Auckland city and perhaps taking to a beach-front cafe at Kohimarama or somewhere else to sit and have a coffee and chat with a nice view. He’s a stubborn old bugger, though, so it will take some convincing to get him out of the house! I also want to talk about Enduring Powers of Attorney for them both, and all those horrible talks that are really important but are really difficult to tackle … things like getting all the life insurance policy details etc and getting a few more ducks in a row … not expected to be the most fun trip, but it needs to be done, I think …
And on that note I guess I should get my A into G and get away from the PC keyboard … time to go do some grocery shopping and a few chores … it’s laundry day, so I’d best get cracking and get on with it!!
This week’s theme is ”Silly” and this one is in honour of Dad from his better days.
The UFO challenge continues
I don’t know what’s wrong with me at the moment, I just seem totally obsessed with getting some older pieces of stitching finished … and I can’t seem to put them down … goodness knows what will happen once these two are completed, whether I’ll feel at peace enough to pick up a new start or a newer WIP, or whether I will continue with the urge to finish older items … but either way, this is my stitching challenge to myself at the moment. In truth I’ve been battling with depression on and off for months now, and this is what is bringing me ‘stitching peace’ for some reason … so I figure it’s best not to fight it and go with the flow for now … I guess that also means that my 2013 Crazy January Challenge has pretty much gone out the window, but them’s the breaks!
Anyway, here is my latest progress with two of my old UFO’s – Teresa Wentzler’s English Garden Sampler, and Mirabilia’s Enchanted Mermaid.
Sadly my employer’s management team have decided in their ultimate wisdom to move our team back into the city once again, after moving us closer to home for the last 8 weeks (hence much more stitching being done that I’ve managed in a long time) … so it means no more 20-30 mins drive to work anymore, and back to 1 to 1 1/2 hr commutes each way … I guess if nothing else I’ll get more books read once again on the train, so perhaps I should focus on that silver lining, but all I can keep thinking of is the removal of my spare time during the week 😦 It’s going to feel a bloody long time until December comes and we can move back out to being near home once again 😦 So pffffft to you management team 😦
An old UFO sees the light of day
What can I say, except that having so many UFOs (UnFinished Objects) is actually starting to bother me … I feel surrounded by clutter both in my physical space and my mental one … so last weekend I decided to have a true ‘mental health’ weekend and didn’t budge out of my stitching chair (in this case, bed) for two whole days and watching Buffy DVDs and stitched my little heart out. It was just what the doctor ordered for body and soul last week, and the result is putting one of my oldest UFOs onto my scroll-bars for a bit of a workout … and boy it felt good!
Here is how TW’s English Garden Sampler looked when I dragged it out of it’s hiding place …
And after an entire weekend’s full-on beauty treatment, here’s how it looks now …
Of course since then I’ve been full-on back at work and crazy hours again, so it’s not had any attention over the last week … but I’m still refusing to put it away until it has a teeny bit more love … perhaps once I get the border done for this section, and then two of the topiary tree sections underneath … only then perhaps I’ll put it aside for another project to get some love … perhaps …
WIP’s and UFO’s
This is especially for Kathy of the Blig Blog … here are photos of the current state of all my UFO’s (I could pretend that they were WIP’s but seeing as the majority haven’t seen a stitch put into them in over 12 months, 95% would definitely be deemed as UFO status!):
Egyptian Garden Mandala -&- English Garden Sampler
Le Jardin Silk Sampler -&- Flight of the Bumblebees
In the Dark Needleroll -&- Love & Affection
Wildflowers Needleroll -&- Apricot Elegance
Monica Hunt Hussif -&- Classical Garden Bookmark
Nature’s Resting Place -&- Wool Beehive Needlebook
Oriental Poppy -&- Summer Fruits Pincushion
Pomegranates & Beetle – Martha Schmidt Hussif
Stumpwork Needlework Accessories
Goldwork Pea -&- Wool hot water bottle cover
Honesty & Heartsease -&- Bullion Rose Facecloth
Long stitch frogs -&- Butterflies & Hearts Needleroll
Berry Delightful Bag -&- Mediterranean Village XS
Stitching Leporello isn’t included in the photos, as I’ve been stitching a complete section each time, so no individual section is in progress at the moment. And I can’t put my hands to either a photo or the actual project of GCC Ornamental Delights, so I guess that one won’t be getting stitched in a hurry haha.
Very sad that some of these projects are over halfway and never finished, however there are many there that are barely started … I’m sorely tempted to just unpick the bullion rose facecloth, for example, as I don’t know if I truly ever want to finish it, the same with a couple more projects in there … will see how I feel after one more stitching session on them, I guess, before I make the ultimate decision to turf out. It’s funny when you look back through the photos and remember why you stopped working on them … for example the Lorri Birmingham Butterflies & Hearts needleroll, I really hated the colours used, as I felt the wording etc just faded into the background, so no doubt that whole piece will be unpicked and started again from scratch with my choice of threads 🙂
I’ve already gone out and pulled numbers out of the hat for the first round, and highlighted the text in bold in the main list in the previous post … and I’m really looking forward to starting my rotation – I just want to finish my current piece first … although I guess I could just choose to start at the “free choice” slot and start counting my hours, that way I can continue with my current project and be starting my actual rotation at the same time – ooh, I like it when a plan comes together!!! 😀
That means my new current rotation is as follows:
- Focus Piece: CA Wells class projects
- Medium/Large: Lavenderblue Celtic Knot Quilt – From Nancy’s Needle
- WIP’s/UFO’s: Berry Delightful Bag
- Focus Piece: CA Wells class projects
- Small/Medium: Jumpin’ Jelly Beans – DKT Originals (freebie)
- Large/BAP’s: Egyptian Garden Mandala
- Focus Piece: CA Wells class projects
- Christmas Ornaments
- Finishing
- Free Choice