Feather Stitching

1 out of 50 Projects Completed

21 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

It took me forever to do just a tiny bit of stitching last night … I’m still struggling to get my needles active again – but I persevered until the final stitches were put into my little bee project … “Bumble the Bee: Waxer Pocket” by Moss Creek Designs. I only had the beads and chain stitch left to do on the main piece, and the whole of the name label. It might be a while before it’s actually finished into the pocket itself, but at least the stitching’s finished 🙂

The pictures are totally out of proportion, too … the little name label on the right is actually only marginally over an inch in size! When I cropped it on the scanner, it automatically resized it hmmm.

Now I’m off to have a quiet day again … I’ve had a couple of minor dizzy spells today, so I’m taking it majorly easy and just pottering … not sure whether my needles will see the light of day today … time will tell.

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Health all OK

20 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

My wee health scare yesterday was just a scare after all … all my test results came back OK, which is great news. Nothing concrete given as the reason for it happening, but we think perhaps my continued lack of sleep and the pain in my neck/shoulder/back just sent me over the edge. Let’s just say, the next time I do these shifts, I’ll be taking a sleeping tablet on the first night to get me in the rhythm … that is if I can find them! I was going to take one last night, but couldn’t find them – but even without them I managed to sleep off and on for 11 full hours … crikey!!

Didn’t do much today, aside from a bit of light housework (more tidying up in general), and making a big pot of pumpkin soup. Tonight I intend sitting on my big bum in front of the TV and trying to stitch for an hour or two and taking it easy – I picked up two DVD’s from Video Ezy before going to the GP (they’re right next door to one another … very convenient), so I’ll be watching The World’s Fastest Indian and Walking the Line. I couldn’t stitch at all last night ‘cos we had a power cut … the flat looked really pretty, though, with about 20 candles lit around the place 😉

That’s all for me for the night … Thanks for all your well wishes – they’ve been very very well received! {hugs}

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Small health scare

19 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

Well, my walk around the waterfront didn’t eventuate … instead I ended up having a walk around the block in the other direction – to the local Medical Centre. I got up from the computer to walk to the kitchen, and started blacking out and falling over … I caught myself on the kitchen chair with my arm, and the table collected my forehead, and while hanging on for dear life my legs and body started having, for want of a better word, convulsions. I have to say it scared the bejeezus out of me, and I phoned work to say I was too worried to drive … so this arvo I ended up having a multitude of blood tests done as well as an ECG – the GP is marking it as urgent so I can get the results back tomorrow afternoon … which also means I’m off work for tonight and tomorrow night. I know I hate the 6pm shifts, but this isn’t what I expected to get me out of them!! The GP thinks it’s possibly just anaemia (which I had when I was younger, and had to have vitamin B12 shots about 7 years ago), and the lack of sleep just sent me over the edge … he doesn’t think it’s true convulsions – rather the anaemia that caused me to black out, and I panicked which caused the convulsions. My blood pressure is a little bit high, but he said that’s to be expected after my body reacted how it did. Fingers crossed anaemia is all that it is … gave me a pretty big scare, though 😦 If nothing else, I’m definitely going to take a sleeping tablet tonight to give me a good rest … at least there’s no work tomorrow to worry about sleeping in! 🙂

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Budget reduction (updated thanks Jess!)

19 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

Today I feel like death warmed up … these shifts are going to be the death of me this week – thank goodness tonight is the final 6pm-2am shift! Last night/this morning I didn’t get to bed/sleep again until 4am (standard stuff on this shift), but I was awake again at 6am, and couldn’t get back to sleep until almost 9am, tossing and turning the whole time … I kept dozing on and off until just after 12 noon, but after the 3rd night of only getting about 5 hours sleep, I feel like crap (‘scuse the language!) and everything, especially my stitching, is suffering ‘cos I’m wandering around like a zombie {heavy sigh}.

Yesterday I tried to blow away some cobwebs before work and went for a walk and signed up for membership at the local Video Ezy store … I then came home and put my Homescreen membership on hold for 3 months, because I think I’m wasting money unnecessarily each month by not sending my movies back quickly enough … I think it might be better to pop up the road on my days off and pick something up when I really need it, rather than having them turn up on inconvenient days etc. I’m hoping this money will be better spent on other things … such as … a trip up to Sydney to visit friends, and a trip home either just before (unlikely, though) or just after Christmas.

With those goals in mind, I’ve also reduced my Monthly bits cost at SB&B to a lesser monthly amount, and cancelled my Silkweaver FOTM for the timebeing. The way I look at it, especially after looking at the list of all the projects I can stitch from my stash (gulp), I really don’t need it all … admittedly, though, the Monthly Bits from SB&B are just threads that I need for specific projects, so that’s not so bad – I’ve also asked if I could get the WDW/GAST threads more quickly than the rest, too, as those are needed more quickly (and it’ll also give me more choices to substitute from for other charts).

Anyway, time to really cut back on unnecessary items, and focusing on the things I really need rather than just want … not something I’m very good at! LOL. Luckily I get a travel discount through work, but with all the airport taxes and fuel surcharges it still makes it a costly exercise to travel these days … but it would be so worth it to catch up with everyone. At least the room rental’s cheap where I’m travelling to LOL … so fingers crossed that all going well I’ll be heading north to Sydney in November, and then back across the ditch in December/January. I’ve decided to try and get back to NZ for one week every year from now on.

As for right now, I think I’m going to drag myself out and get some fresh air by walking round the waterfront for an hour … I have no idea how I’m going to survive the night at work tonight – but I’m thinking tonight might be a fantastic time to try out those sleeping tablets I’ve had sitting there ‘just in case’ I need them, I’d KILL for a good night’s sleep 😦

Then tomorrow I can finally pick up a parcel that’s been lurking in my PO Box since before the weekend … they’ve been closed each night this week as I’ve been going to work late, but tomorrow I’m on 3-11pm, so they’ll be open woohoo … I LOVE getting those little slips of paper in my PO Box, which means there’s something larger than the usual bills waiting for me … it also usually signifies stitching stuff has arrived! Yippee!! 😀

And to finish, here’s another cultural experience I had … attending an Indian wedding not long before I left Auckland to move here – that’s me in the blue (shock, horror!) sari … what an awesome experience!!

Piccie by Photobucket ‘cos Blogger won’t uplift for a change …

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Travel

50 Projects lists

18 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

I decided not to list a list of projects I want to complete as part of my 50 Project Challenge, as I need the flexibility to pick and choose as the mood fits … and considering my HUGE list of possible candidates in my current stash, there should be no problem whatsoever in finding 50 projects. My relatively full stash list is here, and is by no means complete (eg I have most of the TW charts in existence from a stash collection spree years ago).

There are a few projects in the “highly desirable/pretty definite” pile, though, and these are:

Lavender Rose Sewing Case – Fancy Work
Bordeaux Sampler – Sampler Cove (WIP)
Egyptian Garden Mandala – Chatelaine (WIP)
Dolphins Domain (aka “The Dratteds”) – Cross My Heart (WIP)
Winter Queen – Mirabilia (WIP)
Stitching Leporello – Chatelaine
Star Spangled Scissor Finder – Calico Crossroads
Apricot (“Marine”) Elegance – Cindy Valentine (WIP)
Autumn Arbor – Drawn Thread
For the Birds – Drawn Thread
Summer Solstice needleroll – Eventide Designs
Quaker Swan Case – Fancy Work
Golden Garden Sweet Bag – Forget-Me-Nots In Stitches
Raphael’s Raspberries – FMNIS
Secret Garden needlecase – FMNIS
Folding Cross Needlebook – Indigo Rose
Le Jardin Silk Sampler – JCS magazine (WIP)
Pacific Pohutukawa – Jen’s Jems (WIP)
Polynesian Paradise – Jen’s Jems
Evening Star – Just Nan
Winter in the Square – Just Nan
Sapphire Star – Laura J Perin
Angel of Love – Lavender & Lace
Coffee Menu – Little House Needleworks
Needle Nick – Lizzie*Kate
Sun needleroll – M Designs
Schwalm Whitework Pinkeep – Moss Creek Designs
Lavender Blue Celtic Knot Quilt – Nancy’s Needle
Onyx – Paw Printings
Here Comes Santa Claus 2005 – Prairie Schooler
Rainbow Lorikeets – Ross Originals
Flight of the Bumblebees – Ruth Schmuff Designs
Nature’s Resting Place – Stoney Creek (UFO/WIP)
French Monogram – Twisted Oaks (WIP)
Crimson Fire – The Victoria Sampler
Bunnies in my Garden – With My Needle
Strawberries So Faire – With My Needle

Other than that I have the freedom to choose a project at will 🙂 So much for not making a list!! oops hahaha

Thanks to everyone for their comments on the Aussies vs Kiwis – it is true that every country/race has their minority that are less than tolerant of other cultures, and friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) rivalry … and yes, the Brits vs Scots and Yanks vs Canucks are definitely right up there too! LOL. Personally I’ve always been very accepting of all races and cultures, and that’s been part of the wonderful experience that life has given me so far. While I’m certainly not perfect on that score, I try not to be judgmental and accept everyone for who they are … and have made some great friendships and learnt a lot by doing that. One of these life experiences was staying with a Fijian friend’s family outside of Suva, in a typical Fijian home (they were very poor) … they taught me a lot, and I treasure a lot of the memories from my time there.

Still no stitching news … tried again last night, but to no avail – I took a Shepherd’s Bush needleroll into work again, but not much chance to stitch, plus I was very tired last night after only 5 hours sleep (and last night it was the same, so heaven help me tonight! – geez I hate these 6pm shifts!!). I have had great plans of stitching a gift for a friend, but can’t get my head around designing/choosing the project … it might end up being a late arrival, as this week just isn’t the right time for me 😦

I’ll end of saying “welcome” to the new commenters here … it’s been nice to hear from you, and I’ll be popping over to your own blogs soon to return the favour 😀

Uncategorized

Back at work again & eye candy

17 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

Last night was my first day back at work since Mum returned home, and my great plans of getting some stitching done was foiled by having to do work … bummer haha. I returned to 3 full pages of unread emails that kept me busy for a few hours, then the phones were quite busy.

I had a guy at work give a great compliment to the Kiwis, which was wonderful to hear … and it reminded me of a very different situation on my last day of work last week … After having two different staff members come through being exceptionally rude about Kiwis, I snapped … one stated a bomb should be dropped on my homeland and nuke all its inhabitants – I warned him to stop before he went any further as I was a Kiwi (this is the Readers Digest Condensed version!) … then the next insult was a girl ranting about how Kiwis annoy her, and they want to become another state of Australia, and we sure as hell don’t want them here (very condensed version!!) blah blah blah … I very bluntly told her to nip it in the bud, that I am a Kiwi, and I was finding her comments very offensive, and that I’m sick of hearing it … mutter mutter mutter.

On the whole, I have a very good sense of humour, and can take a lot of bantering … as a Kiwi living in Aussie, you need a thick skin haha (and if anyone wants any sheep jokes, I think I’ve heard every single one known to man … although every once in a while I do get surprised with a new one LOL). I absolutely adore Aussie and the majority of its people, and this is likely to be my home for a long time to come … there are just a few pig ignorant ones in tiniest minority that tarnish the image in my eyes. I will continue to laugh at a friend who baa’s like a sheep to me every time I pick up the phone, and I find it highly amusing to have the mickey taken out of my (and that of my countrymen) accent (mind you, I’m a real mimic with accents so I have a great Aussie twang going, and is probably why people don’t pick up that I’m a Kiwi) … but when you start saying you’d like to drop a bomb on my head or don’t welcome me in your country, don’t expect me to laugh … Sorry, dunno where that little rant came from …

And just to prove I DO have a sense of humour, my fellow Aussies and Kiwis will laugh at this one (especially the Aussies) … those of you in the ‘outer regions’ may not get the joke, as it’s based on the Aussies taking the mickey out of the Kiwis’ accent, and you probably need to know the nuances of the accents – but I think it’s absolutely hilarious! (You’ll have to click on the link to enlarge it to be able to read it.)

And don’t ask me why, but that reminds me to check out Google to see if there’s a Billy T James DVD for sale … a great Kiwi comedian from my ‘youth’ …

Back to stitching … I forgot to post a few weeks ago about some new ‘smalls’ designs that have me drooling (but no, I’m still not tempted until my challenge is over LOL). If you haven’t seen them before, check these out … aren’t they all gorgeous?? The great thing about being abstinent for so long, is honing that wishlist down to seriously droolable items haha … ;P

Old Italian Sewing Set by Giulia Punti Antichi

While I Darn Sewing Set by Giulia Punti Antichi

Quaker Schoolgirl Needle Necessities by With My Needle

Uncategorized

50 Projects Challenge

16 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

Over on The Wagon BB, HasturTorres has decided not to buy any more charts until she has completed 50 of her existing projects, and offered up the challenge for anyone else to join her … after considering it seriously (well, actually I just woke up this morning and decided it still sounded like a good idea LOL) I’ve decided to join her in her challenge 😀 Originally I was allowing myself up until my birthday in February, but now that’s on hold, and the goal is 50 projects instead. Seeing as I have a mix of both small and large items I want to stitch, this could take me some considerable time, but I really don’t need any more charts, and have enough on hand to do the challenge at least 4 times over … and I love being able to see my progress – it’s just another excuse to start another list! haha.

I’ve been given the OK to use my two latest needleroll finishes towards my efforts, as they’re not actually ‘finished’ yet, and have only just been stitched (and I’m probably going to re-do that wonky band on the LB one so the two bands match as it’s niggling me in the back of my mind), so I have a good start on it already. The only exceptions I have to the chart buying are the JCS ornie issues, and a recent XS magazine that has the Michael Powell Greek design in it (I’m still stalking the newsagents for that one to arrive down under as I ADORE Greek scenes with all that blue – surprise surprise). I still permit myself to continue my monthly stash programs – fabric from Country Stitch and Silkweaver (although I intend the latter to be more short-term) and threads from SB&B, and any fabrics/threads that I need to complete a project (which should be minimal) but that’s it for a while … perhaps it will give me more incentive to stitch faster ;D

Now I’m off to see if Blogger is playing ball this morning … last night I tried to catch up on some blogs, but many of them showed an internal server error and I couldn’t display them. I’ve also been tidying up my sidebars a tiny bit, and have moved all of my links to other blogs I like to read to a separate post, which makes my blog a lot quicker to scroll down, and makes it easier for me to add new blogs to the list … also, I don’t use the links myself anymore as I use a subscription service instead. Talking of which, off I go to add another 10 to Bloglines …

Stitching Smalls

Photo for Tessa

15 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

Just to satisfy Tessa’s curiosity … here’s my basket of ‘smalls’ – in fact, here’s a “before” and “after” shot haha … the first photo is from when I first started blogging just over a year ago – and the 2nd is the result after a year’s worth of stitching to fill it up! I eventually want to find a nice long narrow basket especially just for my needlerolls, which will give a bit more space to my pincushions again, but for now this will suffice. It’s sitting on top of my new Ikea cabinet I made last month which houses my glasses, and is the first thing you walk past when you come into my wee flat. I can’t believe how full that basket has got recently … me thinks perhaps I’m going to have to find another one to fill again soon too 😉

before ……………………….. after
Aside from that, nothing to post about really – I’ve been feeling really down and homesick today, so a phone call home helped a bit before settling down for the night. I’ve just been moping around for the last two days, perhaps because I haven’t been at work so haven’t had the distraction of chatting to other people there, and I’ve really been missing Mum since she’s been gone. Oh well, it’s back to work again tomorrow for 4 nights of 6pm starts (my least favourite shift – yuk!!), so I’ll have plenty of things to keep my busy then … I might even sneak in a small stitching project for work too, seeing as every now and then we get a quiet night and can get a few stitches in between phone calls 😛 This time I’ll make sure it’s not a Lorri Birmingham kit, so there shouldn’t be any errors for me not to notice!

And I’ll soon be meeting Katrina face-to-face when she’s over visiting Melbourne during the next couple of weeks, so that’ll be a great cheer-me-up and something to look forward to 😀 Then on 30 Sep I’m hosting my very first dinner party since I’ve moved out on my own … which is a huge big deal for me, as I’m inviting 4 people from work phew! I’m really nervous about it, but really looking forward to it as well – two of the ladies are definitely staying over for the night too, as they have a long way to drive, so it will be a fun social weekend, as we’ll be finishing off with brekkie at St Kilda before they head off home. I’m not really social on the whole, as I’m quite shy, and having people from work in my home is a biggie … I’m just nervous that people can be quite judgmental, but I feel secure enough with my surroundings now to make the move and invite people round …

Over the next week I’m hoping to catch up on blog reading, as I’m usually little miss cranky pants during the day and don’t get any stitching done on these shifts (I can’t usually get to sleep until about 4am, and don’t get a good unbroken sleep) … I’ve decided I’m fed up with Newsgator now showing piccies on the subscription feeds, so I’m moving everything over to Bloglines, and I’m catching up on each blog at the same time as copying over the subscription details – unfortunately, though, it’s going to take me quite some time to do it all, so my apologies if it’s a while before I get to ‘your’ blog 🙂

Rightio, back into the kitchen again to finish cooking dinner … a very boring Tuna Bake, that’s going to last me for the next 3 nights …

Stash, Works in Progress

WIP updates

14 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

I was originally going to post a piccie once I’d got my latest project entirely finished, but it’s been slow going so I thought I’d post a progress piccie instead. This is the first time I’ve ever tried doing nun’s stitch, and I’m amazed at how slooooooowly that wee stitch goes … can’t say I’m a huge fan, although it looks OK. I still have to add the little bead eyes and do a broad chain stitch across the centre fold line – then I have to do the little separate name label before putting it all together … and being ‘finishing challenged’, I’m going goggle-eyed reading the instructions already – hopefully it will all slot into place once I have the actual finished articles and lining etc in front of me! This is “Bumble the Bee’s Wax Pocket” kit by Moss Creek Designs … I just love the little bee 😀 I wasn’t so fond, however, by the over-one stitching hmmm.

In fact, seeing as I’m not a great over-one fan, I’m definitely getting plenty of experience with my current/future projects … this one, plus the Bordeaux Sampler (all the verses plus the next band has oodles of over-one grapes), and the Lavender Rose Sewing Case (next on my list of smalls to stitch, seeing as I missed the SAL) … I’m either going to enjoy over-one more after all that practice, or detest it further … only time will tell …

And seeing as it’s almost Friday, I can finally post a progress piccie of the Bordeaux Sampler with my start of band number 2 … I haven’t touched this since coming home from Hong Kong, so I caught up a bit by putting 4 hours into it earlier in the week – and it’s time to get it back into a regular stitching slot each week. I’m looking forward to seeing Carol’s progress too 😀

Other than that, I have another mail art to be done as the original one went AWOL … have to admit, this is definitely not a stitching highlight for the week 😦

I do have to admit to a slight lapse off the Wagon last week too – just realised I’d forgotten to post a public announcement of my lapse, as well as a piccie of my spoils … Ashleigh was selling off a bundle of her stash on Ebay, and I’ve been dying to try some of the Periwinkle Promises little cushion kits, so I couldn’t resist trying some at a reasonable price to see if I like them … and after receiving them, I think I see more of them arriving on my doorstep in the future … after I’ve been on the Wagon a bit longer 😉

Now it’s off to bed for the night after a very inactive day … mind you, I can see the lounge room floor again, so I obviously got a bit of housework done today ;P

Finishes

Empty flat once again …

13 September, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

I just walked in from dropping Mum off at the airport, and the flat seems awfully quiet and empty … it looks like a tornado hit, though, so I’ll be keeping busy tidying things up – there’s stuff everywhere! LOL. Thanks for all your comments too about Mum and I … I have to admit, we’re very lucky in that the relationship we have is very close – I certainly wasn’t ready to have her go home yet tonight.

For Mum’s last day we spent our time making up a couple of ornaments, and we went through my Christmas fabrics and cut off enough fabric for each one of Mum’s stitched ornaments for her to finish them off when she gets home. Mum reckons I’m being a very generous daughter, but then again I’m just giving a bit back for all the things she’s done tirelessly for me over the years 🙂 Mum made a very good comment the other day, in that I’ve hardly done any stitching while she’s been here, apart from the commitment stitching … and she’s right. Never mind, I’m sure I’ll get back into the swing of things again soon. On the other hand, Mum’s been stitching enough for both of us … as well as the ‘finished’ ones, here are Mum’s ornies that she’s stitched:

As for me, I finished up my ornament that was Mum’s gift this year, so she could take it home with her – and I managed to quickly finish off my Sweetheart Tree Strawberry Needleroll from my finishing pile while I was waiting for us to head to the airport this afternoon.

I was originally going to get cracking and do some more finishing when I got home, but I’m not entirely sure how keen I feel now … I feel really tired and flat, and could do with some ‘down time’. I’ve been having a lot of pain in my right shoulder blade area, and been using anti-inflammatory cream for the last week or so to try and ease it … today I’ve started taking some Voltaren tablets to see if that helps, as it’s been so painful it’s been keeping me from sleeping properly each night as the pain wakes me up. If it keeps up in a week’s time, I’ll have to see a GP about it as it’s really getting me down, and it’s been niggling ever since we did our spot of DIY after the Hong Kong trip.