PhotoHuntThe theme on 25 September was ”Natural” and here is a natural still-life or two just sitting around on a local beach waiting to be photographed.
Category: PhotoHunt
Photo Hunt – Half (15 May)
The theme for 15 May was ”Half” and here are a couple of crayfish cut in half and baking in the oven. The dreadful thing is that there were only three of us for dinner, so we got an extra half to share (and mostly for the chef, me – yummo! 😀 I think this is my favourite way to cook crayfish (lobsters to you, up north), however at $50 each crayfish it’s definitely a real “treat” once in a decade! 😛
Then of course there is the Half a pumpkin that I’m still working on in the lounge … it’s almost growing at the same rate as a real pumpkin, very very slowly. Fingers crossed my threads arrive this year so I can get it finished sooner rather than later!
Photo Hunt – Miniature (16 October)
The theme for 16 October was ”Miniature” and here’s one of the smallest pieces of stitching I’ve completed – and most definitely the smallest I’ve ever had framed (and the smallest the framer had ever completed, they found it quite a challenge!). The stitching is just over an inch tall and just under 2 inches wide 🙂 (The bottom photo is the closest to the actual colour of the fabric etc.)
Photo Hunt – Mother/Mum (8 May)
The theme on 8 May was ”Mother/Mum” and for a change here’s a photo of my Mum’s Mum – Nannan herself. The photo was taken in June 1956.
And if that’s not enough, here’s a photo of my own dear Mum in her younger days 🙂 Unfortunately I don’t know how old Mum was in this photo – can you help me out with this one Mum??
Photo Hunt – Itchy
This week’s theme is ”Itchy” and quite frankly I’m at a bit of a loss for an appropriate photo for this theme. The only thing I can think of is a dog I had to look after during house-sitting in Melbourne – she had such a bad flea problem, we were both itchy for the entire time … until I finally got so fed up I went out and bought some flea treatment for her!! Other than the flea problem and the incessant barking, she was a beautiful mild-mannered dog that was a pleasure to house-sit for 🙂
I will look at posting photo choices for the themes I’ve missed over the next few weeks.
Photo Hunt – School
This week’s theme is ”School” … here is my final High School photo from way, way back in time … way back to 1982 in fact 😛 (I’m 2nd in from the left in the front row – the photo is ‘borrowed’ from an old school chum on Facebook, as my old school photos are still back at home in NZ).
Photo Hunt – Anniversary
This week’s theme is ”Anniversary” and my first choice is dedicated to one of the most infamous anniversaries in modern times – that of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. In keeping with the theme, here is the block I stitched for the WTC memorial quilt. The last two photos were not taken by me, but are photos of the finished quilt on display then being presented at the White House.
And finally, this is in honour of my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary, which is coming up in 3 weeks time – this photo was taken about 10 years ago on one of our rare family holidays, in the Fijian islands 😀
Photo Hunt – Hot
Photo Hunt – Framed
This week’s theme is ”Framed” – this is the view through a ‘window’ in the Chinese Garden of Friendship, Darling Harbour, Sydney, providing a natural framed view.
And here are some Framed photos that are stitching-related, from my very first attempt at making my own frames and framing my own work.
Photo Hunt & a new start
Yesterday I felt as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders – my feral and miserable mood finally disappeared, plus I had reconnected with my one and only “regret” in life overnight.
I had lost contact with a dear friend (who was, in all honesty, the one true love in my life from those early days – and most definitely the one that got away, or at least that I pushed away – he was the only guys I’ve ever thought I could have married … oh how I wish I had the strength of character and wise mind back then that I do now!) – anyhoo, I got a Facebook request from an old school chum from when I was about 11/12 years old, along with links to some old school class photos, and it brought all those childhood memories flooding back, and that old regret came bubbling back up to the surface … as well as the romantic regret, more so the regret that I had lost a rare and special friendship all those years ago.
Well, I did a quick Google search and found Glen surprisingly easily. He has his own animal dermatology business in Florida, where he lives with his wife and two kids. I received an email back from him on Saturday morning touching base and telling me a little about his life since leaving home. So perhaps that has been the biggest contributor to the weight being lifted from my shoulders, or perhaps it was just coincidence … but I do know it was lovely to share a couple of childhood stories and touch base once again. Mum always thought of him as the son she never had – I’m really glad to hear he’s OK and happy, and knowing that he’s happy may just let me move on too 🙂
Anyway, for the first time in ages my mood gave me a jolt of mental energy – I had an urge to stitch something ‘new’, and put my hand into the kitted up drawers to find something … that “something” ended up being a stumpwork correspondence course from the Embroiderers’ Guild of America. I’d forgotten just how long it takes to stitch one little item in stumpwork (at least it does for me!!) – even with chunky Brazilian embroidery threads being used, it took me the entire afternoon just to stitch 1 1/2 leaves! But I have to say I really enjoyed it, and am about to go and finish off that 2nd leaf.
Here you can see the entire design – called “Gracie”, it’s a big chunky goldfish when it’s finished. The colours are eye-popping vibrant oranges/reds. The leaves are outlined with stem stitch (there is LOTS of stem stitch in this project), padded with chain stitch, then covered with sloping satin stitches. It was quite hard to stitch last night in the poor lighting, so hopefully it will be easier this morning with the natural daylight coming in as well … fingers crossed I’ll get that 2nd leaf finished by lunchtime, to give me time to do some baking (see, I told you I had energy all of a sudden! haha).
This week’s theme is ”Numerical” – here are some numerical signs outside a shop in Berrima.
And in trying to tie-in some stitching into my photo meme themes, here are a few stitched numbers:
