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Redwork dilemmas

Anne S

I’ve decided I really need more experience in doing finishing of items – I am so disappointed with my redwork piece, it’s not funny … I was so proud of it last night when it went under a pile of books to be pressed, but when I uncovered it at 3am when I came in from work my heart sank … and I have absolutely no time to stitch something else instead, so I’m going to have to send it as it is 😦 To be honest, it looks really nice, but it’s part of the functionality of it that I’m disappointed with. This is a finishing technique I’ve got the original design and everything all kitted up to do for myself, and I’ll be modifying a lot of their instructions for it next time. Time will tell if my recipient feels the same way as I do … I’m probably making it sound much worse than it actually is – it is basically just the ‘hinge’ that is too long so it flops around … I have a way to compensate for it, but I don’t know if I can find the hardware anywhere here, and it has to be in the mail straightaway.

I’m also miss cranky pants this morning, so that might be colouring my judgement as well, and perhaps I’m being overly critical of my efforts … I had a really rough night at work (on the 6pm-2am shift to help someone out) with some ‘interesting challenges’ and couldn’t get to sleep until almost 4am, then some kids playing soccer in the middle of the street and a noisy lorikeet sitting screeching in front of my bedroom window woke me up very early, so I’ve only had about 5-6 hours sleep. My eyes feel like little slits 😦 Hopefully that won’t mean me falling asleep in the movie theatre today, as I’m taking Mum to see Pirates of the Caribbean 2 before she goes home … I’d better get running and get dressed, as it starts in an hours time for the session I want to go to …

Thanks for comments about the framing – I have to admit I bought a matcutter in the US years ago, and haven’t used it yet, and I brought that back with me with my last lot of freight, so I definitely do want to learn to do my own framing eventually, and I’ll start looking for some cheap frames to use (good suggestion from Gina to check out the op shops too!). I have to admit, I’ve laced a couple of things before, so that’s not too major … come to think of it, there’s really no excuse for those smaller jobs! 😉

Rightio, the Pirates wait for no-one, so time to get a hurry on …

SBQ

Needleroll exchange on its way

Anne S

Yippee, there was a cheer of relief today as I returned from the Post Office – into the mail went a chart I’d promised Katrina, as well as my first of two exchanges … my needleroll exchange is winging its way across the oceans. I have to admit, I was really looking forward to doing this one as I know the recipient quite well, but it took me a while to work out what I wanted to stitch. All-in-all, though, when it was finished I was pretty pleased with it – with any luck the recipient will like it too 😀

Nothing else to report, really … I still have to do the final touches to the finishing of my redwork exchange – after my 6am shifts last week I was too mentally exhausted to attempt it, but it should hit the mailbox by Monday afternoon as I’m working all day Saturday and from 6pm-2am on Sunday night … but that leaves me most of Sunday to put the final touches on it. I’ve never ever attempted this sort of finishing before, so I’m a teensy bit panicked about it, but hopefully I’m worrying for nothing!

I’ll finish this short post with the SBQ … Today’s SBQ was suggested by Anna M and is:

“What do you keep your WIPs and other stitching supplies in when traveling?”

I have some tote bags made out of calico that Mum made for me, or use a plastic folder either with a ‘zipper’ glider on the top or with a flap and press-stud closure. At the moment I’ve got a pile of the plastic folders on top of my books in my bookcase, which is right next to my stitching chair, and they house all my WIP’s I’m stitching on at home (I don’t honestly have travelling WIP’s that often as I drive to work, and don’t have the time to stitch at work that often).

This week’s SBQ was suggested by Carolyn and is:

“How do you share your finished pieces with others? Do you frame them, scan and/or photograph them, or do you have another method that you would like to share?”

I wish I could afford to get everything framed, but that’s just not an option – I am starting to think about finishing alternatives to framing, though, such as quilted wallhangings etc. I blog about any finishes I’ve had, and always scan them or take a photo and keep an electronic record. I keep a Webshots album that I keep relatively up-to-date, plus I keep a printed record in a ringbinder. I print a copy of the photo/scan plus info on the chart/designer, who it was stitched for, when it was started/completed, and any notes that might be of interest. In case you haven’t seen it before, here’s an example of one of the pages.

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stash

Another RAK … and stash …

Anne S

(Updated to apologise for the piccies – Blogger won’t upload photos for some reason for a change hmmm, so I’ve had to use Photobucket, so no chance of enlarging…)

Further to my post yesterday, I have another lovely piccie to share of some goodies that Missy sent to me – she was going through her charts and found this one that was just perfect for me … I knew the chart was coming, but I didn’t expect the other goodies – stitchers are such generous souls! I have to admit I literally laughed out loud when I opened the envelope and saw the chart title … I just love it! And I adore the dishcloth that Melissa crocheted herself, as well as the yummy thread – I feel very very spoiled. I don’t want to use the dishcloth … I just want it to sit in the kitchen and not get used/soiled – I just adore hand-made gifts. Thanks again Missy for an awesome treat 😀 {{hugs}}
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And believe it or not, I had a 3rd arrival today as well … another expected parcel, with unexpected contents – this time from KarenV. I sent Karen the specialty threads for the Love needleroll ornament for her to stitch it, and had the threads returned with some added company across the oceans – not only did Karen send me some scrummy threads (unfortunately the Stef Francis thread is now unusable, as it’s totally covered in drool – that’s the prettiest colour I’ve ever seen in her threads … I almost don’t want to use it, but just to continue drooling over it for years to come), but there was also the sweetest little biscornu, all stitched by Karen … I was absolutely floored, and thrilled to have these little treats, and felt quite overcome by it all. Thanks Karen for your generous gift … and I will treasure the biscornu always 😀 {{hugs}}
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As the title states the word “stash”, you can correctly conclude that squishy mail has also been arriving in my PO Box from a spending spree … thanks very much to a generous gesture from my employers, we got given a wee bonus last week at work – not as generous as past years, which is understandable, but sufficient for me to have a little stash splurge on scissors! Thanks to the kind offers made by Jenna and Erin to help me procure some lovely Gingher’s, I’ve been thinking about this for a wee while now … and when my ‘crappy’ old scissors started having problems cutting a simple DMC thread early last week, I jumped on the internet as soon as I heard about the bonus and filled a shopping cart with shiny metallic things of different shapes and sizes 😉 Seeing as I was paying all the money for postage, I added a couple of extra ‘cheapo’ pairs in there as well as a new pair of Gingher’s and Tres Claveles, so I can also make up a few small sewing kits that can sit with my WIP’s etc … I’ve already christened one of the el cheapo pair, but I’m waiting until I put a scissor fob onto my Gingher’s before they get christened, and they’re never going to leave the house again! Thanks again, ladies for your kind offer, but I ended up just biting the bullet and splurging (and thanks again to my lovely employers!!) 😀
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Also, today saw the arrival of even more stash … the last remaining items from a very old backorder from SB&B, plus some other charts that we added on when we returned from Hong Kong. Now you may remember I went on the wagon and said I wouldn’t be buying any more charts until at least my birthday … well, I have actually been sticking to it so far – you see, all these new charts are actually for Mum, not me (she’s paying for them). We bought her some more #26 Piecemaker needles (she’s already worked out how great they are haha), some Floss-Away bags, and some Kreinik braid for us both as I’d run out, and a few charts. The M Designs needlerolls (Butterfly, Rose Mosaic and Snowmen ones) were from my backorder, as were the two Victoria Sampler kits (that’s what was holding the whole process up – Level 3 #1, Whipped Spider Web Rose, and Level 4 #1, Four Sided Pulled Stitch & Four Sided Hemstitch). Mum went mad on Prairie Schooler Santas (Starry Night … which is a gift for me from Mum yippee … Redwork Santas, A Christmas Visit, Santa Collection 1996-99, and Santa Collection 1988-91), plus Lizzie*Kate snippets (2001 Ready or Not, and 2004 A Good Night). The last little goodies were some 32ct cream Belfast that I needed as I miscalculated a biscornu I started stitching before the biscornu exchange earlier in the year, and needed another piece so I could actually stitch the back (pretty important in the scheme of things LOL), and the Silk Bella needed for the Lavender Rose Sewing Case SAL (which is no longer a SAL, as I think everyone’s almost finished … oops … never fear, I am still committed to stitching it, and will be doing this before I stitch anything else … I just have to get my exchanges in the post first, and I’m getting VERY close to the wire with that!! Next week should see me finally starting this gorgeous new project).
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Now I’m going to finish my stash report with a hug for both Gina and Sharon, who always make such wonderful company to visit with. They kindly drove all the way to my little flat and spent their time fondling my stash and finished pieces/WIP’s, as well as sharing other items of interest – Gina brought some great books to flip through (and I seriously will have to get a copy of the Why am I tired? book … Sharon, if you see me coming in saying cheekily “I’ve seen a book, I think it’s blue, and it’s something to do with being tired”, you’ll know which one I mean, ‘cos I know nobody else that does such daft things teehee), and Sharon brought some wonderful CQ blocks to examine … I have to admit I harbour no desires to try a CQ myself, but I really do love to see them in real life – perhaps when I turn 80 I should be about 1/4 through my stash by then, I might consider it LOL. We had a lovely lunch, with much chatting, and then a great afternoon tea of goodies that they brought with them. I feel like I’ve known these lovely ladies for so much longer than I really have, and you’re welcome to visit at any time {{hugs}}.

I’ll leave you with a photo of one of three bulbs in flower – this is a hyacinth that Sharon brought with her as a gift for me, and it’s just stunning (every time I tried to get the whole pot in, they came out blurry, so it’s just one of three bulbs in the piccie) … thanks heaps Sharon, it’s gorgeous! Who would believe on Saturday it was all in bud!! (My blog will start having an identity crisis now … it’ll be thinking it’s actually Carol’s blog, with the flower piccie at the bottom … the photography’s not as good as Mike’s though LOL.)
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My apologies to anyone I’m owing an email to … I hope to catch up next week – I don’t tend to spend much time online while Mum’s here, after her making a comment about me “wasting” so much time on the computer during the last visit, which means that I get even further behind than I normally do … and I’ve been bad enough on my own just lately! LOL.

Gifts TO BE FIXED

Gobsmacked by Kindness

Anne S

My apologies for not posting for a wee while, or for reading blogs, but I haven’t been spending much time online for the last week due to other commitments. I was supposed to be in bed 20 minutes ago, as I’m on 6am starts this week (and boy oh boy am I feeling it hmmm), but I wanted to post about some wonderful mail I’ve received after I got home from Hong Kong … unfortunately I had a major brain meltdown and forgot about posting about it – I picked it up from the PO Box and was very touched when I opened the envelope and saw all the goodies inside, but then got really sick on the way home and ended up spending the rest of the night laying down … then the parcel got moved by Mum and it didn’t jog a reminder. So, a huge apology to dear sweet Cathy, who not only sent me a piece of lining fabric for the Bee’s Garden chart (by Wendy KC Designs), but also a pile of DMC threads and a gorgeous chart by Glory Bee called Priceless – I knew the fabric was on its way, but the rest of the goodies were a total surprise … thanks from the bottom of my heart Cathy – you’re a total sweetheart, and I love everything! 😀

I also have one more parcel to post about, but I’ll leave that until tomorrow, so I can drag out sharing my wonderful spoils over two days … but what a lucky girl I’ve been! 😀

I also had a wonderful visit from Gina and Sharon on Saturday, that I’ll post about tomorrow as well … unfortunately I only had about 5 hours sleep on Sunday, and 6-7 hours last night, with the same happening tonight, so I really must get to bed now.

Finishes, Needlerolls

Not much to post about …

Anne S

… but I finally managed to get 3 needlerolls in their finished stages – I started at just after 10pm tonight, and definitely need to get some sleep now! 🙂 One of these will be winging their way across the oceans tomorrow … a very VERY belated gift I had meant to send an entire month ago – geez, I’m just shocking at the moment with a head like a sieve!! My sincere apologies, mystery recipient, but I hope you still like it! 😀

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Looking and feeling good!

Anne S

The title refers to my new lounge suite etc … My old lounge suite was picked up yesterday morning, and it’s amazing how different this little place looks – Von and Jenna, you were absolutely right, I do love it now … as soon as the place became uncluttered again, it made me feel so much better, and I have to admit it looks really nice! Funnily enough, the new lounge suite colour matches my voile curtains I have hanging in the lounge perfectly, and the new Ikea coffee table just sets things off beautifully. I’ll try and take a piccie tomorrow soon when I have more time. Unfortunately I had to give the guy a hand yesterday moving the old lounge suite, and I have body aches and a couple of bruises to show for it (but thankfully it didn’t aggrevate my already wrenched neck!) … moving a sofabed down 4 flights of stairs isn’t my idea of fun before work, but I’m so happy it’s gone now! 😀

Funnily enough, Von, it was Melbourne’s Freecycle group I signed up with, and that’s where I got rid of the lounge suite – what a wonderful idea that is! 🙂 In a fit of desperation I typed “get rid of furniture melbourne” in Google … and that’s what it came up with 😉

Now all the lounge and dining room is free again, I feel as though as I have more head space again for stitching, and life in general – I know that sounds crazy, but I was feeling very cluttered and overwhelmed in every sense of the word … I feel ready to get moving again, and back into the swing of things 🙂 Just a shame I have to work again now as well 😉

Fraze also just paid me the balance of money he still owed me, and that was a huge relief too (for both of us) … and this Saturday I’m having my first ‘public unveiling’ of my flat to some fellow bloggers and friends – Gina and Sharon are coming round for a get-together with Mum and I to drool over stash and have a chat, and I’m really looking forward to it 😀 So, yeah, life is definitely good 😀

Now I’d better get motoring as I’ve got to get ready for work (it took me 4 hours just to read new emails at work yesterday yikes).

Before I do that, though … a message to anyone who’s reading that’s a member of the SBEBB – I’ve pulled out of the group to give someone else a chance to participate. I was going to stay in until the Redwork Exchange was completed, but due to an admin error it’s already been cancelled, and it seems daft to reapply just for the one exchange. I’ll keep an eye on everyone’s blogs to see the exchanges rolling in … but I just wanted to say “it’s been fun, and I’ve really enjoyed the exchanges I’ve been involved in”, but seeing as I’d only be doing an exchange once every 3-6 months now, it was best that I stepped down. I probably keep more up-to-date with everyone’s blog than on the BB, so at least I can still keep in touch with everything that’s happening 🙂 And I’ll look at joining in with some of the exchanges on the Robin’s Nest BB to keep my hand in 🙂

Also, to those of you from the Friends Gather BB … I was very saddened to hear of the closing of the BB without being able to say “farewell” (I couldn’t get in when I got back from Hong Kong, so I presume it’s all closed up already) … again, I just want to say to any members who are reading, that I loved being part of that community, and there were some wonderful ideas and groups for broadening my stitching horizons, as well as some wonderful people there – I will most definitely miss that BB most of all.

The one thing I especially loved was the monthly Christmas Ornament SAL – and this is something I’d like to continue myself in the future. I loved KarenV’s idea to choose a designer each month, then choose an ornament by that designer – it opened my eyes to designers I hadn’t considered before, and I loved some of the stitched choices once I’d completed them. I think I’ll continue to do this over the coming year and beyond … I’ll continue with the list of designers we’d had on the BB, then I guess it’ll be time to sit down and look at my wishlist of ornies and make my own list up 🙂

Rightio, I definitely have to run now … have a great week everyone – hopefully I’ll be catching up on blog reading again soon (I’m behind again since Hong Kong oops).

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, SBQ

SBQ and ‘stuff’

Anne S

Just for a change, I thought I’d answer the SBQ as soon as I received it … I actually wrote this post, then saved it as a draft, and forgot all about it until now, two days later!

A busy couple of days, with not a stitch in sight – I did a whole pile of hemstitching on 5 different needlerolls on Wednesday night, as I couldn’t concentrate on much else, but I still have to get the sewing machine out to do the seams before stuffing … and there’s too much clutter around to do that at the moment hmmm …

On Thursday morning we were up with the larks, to let in the ‘odd job man’ who does the maintenance on my unit – I’ve been having problems with the front door lock for quite some time, and finally decided to mention it when I had my recent inspection … it turned out Paul had to go out and get a new lock to fit, so we had to spend a bit of time waiting around at home – but at the same time as Paul being here, the delivery van arrived with my new lounge suite. To be honest, I was really disappointed with it when it arrived, but it’s grown on me since then … I only saw the colour on a wee swatch, and it looked a lot darker when it arrived, and not quite as ‘blue’ as I thought. It’s got a bit of a violet tinge to it, in some lights … then looks ‘french’ blue in others (a bit more french blue than DMC 792). I have to say, though, it’s 100 times more comfy than my old one, that’s for sure! Here’s a piccie of the new suite … I’d take a piccie of the whole room to show it off better, but it’s a shambles at the moment (I’ll say why in a minute …) … I’ll take an ‘overall’ photo once the lounge is tidied up and finished. In fact the photo makes it look a lot bluer than it actually is – it has more of a ‘792’ tinge in real life …
Before:
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After:

We’ve had a drama trying to work out what the hell to do with my old lounge suite. Fraze decided that he didn’t want it after all (I only found out the night before the new suite was delivered), and the Salvation Army won’t take it because it has a tear in one of the arms (that happened while it was in the old flat – I let them hang onto one of the chairs for a while after I moved out, as they only had a sofa … so now I’m stuck with this bloody thing). I found an online Yahoo group to give away ‘free stuff’ for the taking, and I posted a message earlier this afternoon for my old sofabed and chairs “free to a good home” – and within an hour I’d already got a response saying someone would like it, and will pick it up on Monday. At the moment it’s piled on top of each other between my lounge area and dining table (hence the difficulty in getting to the sewing machine at the moment, as it’s on the dining table) – with the size of my flat, that’s the last thing I need piled up in a ‘corner’! 😦

To top it off my mother has been a very very bad influence … she’s helped to drain my bank balance in its entirety (as at yesterday I have $20 to my name again!) – but it was for a good cause 🙂 We went to Ikea earlier in the week to check out some storage ideas for my future wishlist, and I found some bookcases etc that I love … well, after coming home to my lovely new lounge suite, we ended up going back to Ikea and picking up a few things … my last two days have been spent playing DIY Queen, and I’ve made up a bookcase with doors for a new china cabinet (so a lot of my glasses have been able to come out of storage yippee), plus a CD tower to match (I previously had 4 x mini CD towers that were a bit rickety in front of the lounge windows, but decided they had to go in readiness for cat-proofing my home), and a new coffee table to match as well. On top of that, we also got 4 sets of mini drawers for my flosses etc to go into, also freeing up some cupboard space. I spent last night and this morning staining them with wood stain – white for the outsides, and blue (surprise, surprise) for the drawers – and hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to fill the first lot (I’ve only painted two sets so far, ‘cos we didn’t have enough room to do the whole lot, as it’s covering the last remaining space in the lounge).

Today I’ve got Rogan Josh marinating in the fridge, so we can have an Indian curry for dinner tonight … unfortunately no stitching will be done again tonight, as I can’t get to everything in the shambles that is currently our lounge, and I managed to put my neck/shoulder out lifting the DIY stuff – I’m just a walking disaster area healthwise these days! hmmm …

Now onto the SBQ … Today’s SBQs were suggested by Ami and Anna and are:

“Do you have an organizational system for your fabric? If so, what is it? If not, what do you store your fabric in? How do people store their fabric, especially those small but potentially usable pieces? Do they sort by count? How do they label it or otherwise know what each piece is?”

Basically I just have all my fabrics in three separate plastic storage bins – one for 32ct, one for 28ct, and one for everything else … I just keep them in the original bags with the labels on them, and regardless of size it all just gets lumped in together – definitely not very flash! 😉

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Round Robins

One commitment done

Anne S

I can cross one “must do” off my list for the next week or so – I just put the finishing stitches into Vash’s RR … this is using the freebie “Birds & Butterflies” on the Vermillion website. The main challenge for me was stitching my XS’es in the opposite direction – I’ve never frogged so much in my entire life in such a small design … it’s just 2nd nature for me to cross my crosses my old way! I think it turned out OK, though, and it’ll be winging its way across the oceans to Canada some time over the next week.

We had a surprise phone call yesterday saying my lounge suite is ready for delivery, so we’ll be home tomorrow for that … unfortunately, though, we still have our old one here, so it’s gonna be pretty cramped until we can get rid of it. I’ve offered it to Fraze, as he and his girlfriend have just moved in together two weeks ago, and he’s accepted it … he just has to work out how to pick it up as he doesn’t have a car or trailer … if that falls down, then I’ll donate it to the Salvation Army.

Aside from that, my health has been so-so over the last day or so – after being so ‘cocky’ that I felt good the other day, we popped out for an hour or so to Ikea getting ideas for storage, and I ended up coming home with a splitting headache, and even more splitting tummy pains … no stitching for me that night, and I just spent the rest of the night curled up on the sofa feeling like death warmed up. My tummy was still gurgling last night, but thankfully no pains this time … time will tell over the next day or so, I guess, whether I’ve managed to get rid of whatever it was for good!

Now a quick question for Jess., if you’re reading – thanks for your comment about Stitchery Blue in Williamstown … I have to admit, I took a train trip out there once when I was here visiting – but I haven’t been back since I’ve moved here. My absolute favourite would probably be Lazy Daisy in Heidelberg – I also really like Bustle & Bows in Malvern (and to a certain extent the one in Surrey Hills), but I find their prices quite steep … also the last time I went in the new manager followed me around the shop like a shadow and I felt really uncomfortable – I haven’t been back since hmmm. I also like The Embroiderer in Brighton for threads, but they lack greatly in charts – they’re pretty helpful to order in items if you need them, though. You mentioned “Broderie” in Bentleigh – do you know where it is?? I haven’t heard of it before, and I’d love to track it down, especially as it’s in my neck of the woods, and I couldn’t find it in the Yellow Pages online … 😀
Well, that’ll do for today, I guess – it’s blowing a gale outside today, but it’s beautiful and sunny, and I feel like blowing the cobwebs out by going for a short walk … then we need to get furniture moved around ready for the delivery tomorrow – I can’t wait to see my new lounge suite in here yippee! 😀

Uncategorized

Couple of replies

Anne S

No stitching to report this morning, as it’s all been shown already … later today I’ll be working on Vash’s RR piece, which will be a challenge as it’s all stitched the opposite way to me – I’ve never had to change the direction of my XS’es so that’ll be a first for me. It’s mounted on the scroll bars, with the threads all in floss bags, so I’m ready to get going as soon as I’m home. I’ve also been reading through the chart for the Lavender Rose Sewing Case so I can get started with this SAL, then I need to get my 3 hours of Bordeaux Sampler done for the week … not to mention my exchanges … crikey!

Today I’m off to pick up two weeks worth of mail from the PO Box and to get two parcels in the mail. Also tossing up whether to take a side trip out to the Cat Protection Society, seeing as my tummy has now eased up – I managed to eat a big meal two nights ago, and retained everything in my body like it’s supposed to, and didn’t have to rush off to the loo whatsoever yesterday … I think I’m cured!! 😉

Anyway, I realised I’m outstanding with a couple of queries that were in comments recently, so here we go …

For Anita – regarding the pansy scissor fob … unfortunately it was from a class I took at La Chatelaine in Auckland, New Zealand, and isn’t available as a chart. It should be relatively easy to copy, though, if you enlarge the photo. It used Brazilian cast-on stitch for the petals, close fly stitch for the leaves, feather stitch for the ‘stems’, and a french or colonial knot in the centre of the pansy with a few straight stitches. The sides were done with palestrina knots. Sorry I can’t help more with that one.

For Heather – on the Teddy Santa Stocking, the beard is just done with straight stitches … very very simple, but very very effective. I just made sure I railroaded the stitches to get them to lay flat and even.

For Jenna/Erin – thanks heaps for the offer to pick up scissors for me 🙂 I’ll definitely stick my hand up if I need to, thanks ladies 😀

Could I also take this opportunity to thank everyone who reads and comments – it means a great deal to me … plus I’d like to welcome my newer readers – I’ll be popping over to return the favour very soon (I have 600+ unread feeds in my inbox, though, since I was away on holidays hmmm).

And I’ll finish off with a photo of a couple of HKG souvenirs I bought … just for a change, I found duckies!!! ROTFLMAO!!! Even though I have quite a few already, I can remember where I bought each and every one, and this little Nici duck will always remind me of my time in HKG … then I was walking out of the store and spied the mug with ducks on it, and just had to take that home too! My final purchase from the airport was this little Chinese tea set. I’d been eyeing a set up in a local store, but decided not to get it … then succumbed in the last few minutes before boarding our flight home – it’ll be nice to drink my green teas in. And as Mum said, it’s got dragons on it, so it’ll bring back memories of my holiday with her LOL.

Finishes, Needlerolls

Needleroll SAL weekend (updated)

Anne S

I have to admit that I’ve only been stitching my chosen needleroll since about 10pm last night, but I’ve been stitching all day today, and managed to almost finish the entire thing … I’ve just hit the wall a bit now, so taking a break, and unsure whether I’ll get it finished tonight. I’m stitching Summer at the Ocean by Jeannette Douglas Designs – I’ve been itching to stitch this design ever since I first saw it about 12 months ago … and I can finally say I’ve reached that goal … well, “almost” reached that goal anyway! 😉 I just have to do the over-one words (my favourite … NOT!), the rest of the ‘ship’s wheels’ band, followed by all the beading. My favourite bands are the swirly ‘shells’ (3rd band down), and the pinwheels – it’s been fun stitching something that’s not XS for a change 🙂

Tomorrow I’ll make a start on the Lavender Rose Sewing Case, as well as doing some work on Vash’s RR … and I need to get to the Post Office, as I haven’t cleared my mail for nearly two weeks now (we went out there on Saturday morning, but it turns out they’re not open on Saturdays anymore, and I’d left my PO Box key at home … what a blonde!!). I have a couple of things to get in the post tomorrow, so that’ll be something else we can tick off the to-do list for the week 🙂

(Update …) I decided to go back to my needleroll after a short break, and managed to put the final stitches into it tonight. I might even get around to actually “finishing” some soon … maybe 😉 Anyway, here’s the final version of the stitching before being finished into an actual needleroll.

Summer at the Ocean
by Jeannette Douglas Designs
Stitched on 32ct Blue Ice hand-dyed linen by Country Stitch