Feather Stitching

Canvaswork, Round Robins, Shepherd's Bush, Stash, Works in Progress

Stash galore – and a new start

23 January, 201323 January, 2013 Anne S

Over the Christmas period while I was at my parents’ place Mum and I went a little crazy with some major sales (ie 40% or more off) happening. In some ways you could say this was my Mum’s Christmas gift to me, as she gifted me with a “Visa card repayment” which meant I had some additional play money while I was there. I hadn’t realised really just how much I’d ordered until it all started turning up last week! LOL. There is still one parcel yet to see, as I sent it to Mum’s address, thinking I was staying there for Dad’s surgery – so I’ll have an extra little treat waiting for me when I return (assuming Mum hasn’t put it somewhere “safe” never to be seen again LOL). Anyway, without further ado here is the MASSIVE pile of stash that arrived, which also managed to clear off a number of items that have been on my wishlist for years!

As for stitching, my needle has been very scarce these days – I did have a sudden urge to stitch a few nights ago and opted for the first thing I could find that was already kitted up, was relatively small, and basically could be ready to stitch at a few moments notice (considering I made my “let’s stitch” decision at 9pm at night!!) … I ended up choosing one of the Shepherd’s Bush scissor fobs from my original Crazy January Challenge list. I still haven’t finished it yet, but I was very good and marked up my rotation spreadsheet to make sure I’m still allocating the right times to each slot. The front is completely finished, and I just have to complete the back and it’s done 🙂

Next up, though, is to start (and hopefully finish) my Round Robin piece – which are the Seasonal Topiaries by Passione Ricamo. This was originally published as a set of freebies on the internet, but I think they’ve been long since taken down, and the design has since been published in a magazine. I’ve decided to stitch mine on a piece of hand-dyed Pipi Belfast by Countrystitch … and seeing as it’s due to be posted out on 1 February, you know what I’ll be doing the entire long weekend this weekend (thank heavens for that extra day so my goal feels slightly more achievable!).

And on that note, I’ve ironed my piece of fabric tonight ready to start, so I think I’d better so drag the tub of DMC out and start finding the colours I need. Mind you, in actual fact it doesn’t really matter if I don’t 100% finish my section, as long as I complete all the border pieces … “she’ll be right”! This is a link of what my round robin will look like – and I love the added verse at the top of the sampler so much that I’ve ‘stolen’ the idea and will be doing the same thing with mine too … the only difference is that I’m moving the Winter tree to be on the left to make the sampler a teeny bit more balanced 🙂

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Cross Stitch, Finished Items, Finishes, Flowers Trees & Gardens, Frangipani, Goals, Pay It Forward, pincushions, scissor fobs, Stitching Smalls, The Floss Box

It’s a woman’s prerogative…

15 January, 201315 January, 2013 Anne S

No sooner had I set out my stitching plans for 2012 that I started to realise I really don’t know how in the hell I’m going to achieve all of those finishes/goals when I really only get to stitch on the weekends (and not every weekend at that) … so I’m seriously thinking of throwing those previous plans out the window, and just going back to a rotation instead. That means I’ll also be able to focus more on my existing WIPs which are actually starting to bother me, rather than trying to cram in those same WIPs (at a lot slower pace than I’d like) as well as meeting all the SAL and commitment deadlines at the same time … and probably not getting any of them done by the year’s end (but not stressing about it).

Perhaps it’s just that my head is in the wrong space at the start of the year with Dad’s health and some work issues that are still really bothering me. Both of these issues are slowly getting resolved, with Dad seeing his surgeon this Friday, and I’ve started having dummy spits in the office to voice my frustrations at issues I’m facing (including telling a team member they’re doing my head in and they’re not helping my stress levels … yep, there have definitely been a few dummy spits lately in that respect, and probably a couple of months well overdue at that!!). Anyway, maybe removing the pressure of having to finish all these projects will help to restore some sanity to my stitching – most of the projects in my list will still remain there as part of the rotation, I will just have no expectation to actually complete them by the year’s end … plus I’ll have the opportunity to change my mind at a moment’s notice, as I’ve also come across some other projects that I really wanted to stitch, but that didn’t make the cut for my initial 15 projects … I think the stress of only limiting my stitching to a set group of projects also inhibits my sense of freedom, and as soon as that sort of pressure starts mounting I find I don’t end up stitching at all … so perhaps it’s for the betterment of my stitching this year to just ‘let it all hang out’ so to speak 😉

Tomorrow I’m off to the local GP to try and get some antibiotics for my bugs, which will also help to bring me back to a state of equilibrium (and probably less likely to have dummy spits at work LOL) … and perhaps feel more like stitching … but in the meantime I’m going to start my rotation guilt-free just as soon as I’ve finished my Round Robin piece that’s due out for mailing at the end of January … but not before I have fun by adding a few more rotation projects to the pipeline 🙂

And I’m not stressing if I change my mind a million times throughout the year … as the title of this post says, “it’s a woman’s prerogative” … as long as I enjoy my stitching this year I’m happy 😀

Ooh, before I forget, I heard from Cindy that my little gift arrived safe and sound when she returned from holidays – so I can now share the full goodies … just as soon as I find the photos!!! I think I’ve shown the finished biscornu before, but I’ve never shown the finished fob that matched it. It feels good that this is now finished and living in its new home 🙂

“Biscornu 458” by The Floss Box Stitched on 32ct Thunderstorm Belfast linen by Zweigart with DMC threads

While I’m at it, I think there are also a number of framing jobs that I completed in November last year that I haven’t shared on here yet … the Tiger and Summer Snapperland are both for me, whereas the bears and the Letter S are both for gifts. I did most of the framing of the Tiger 2 years ago, but couldn’t finish-finish it as the backing board was too high … he’s one of my first ever finishes (stitched on aida) and I love, love, love him!

Finally here are a couple of yummy things I brought back from New Zealand with me on my last trip – the scrumptious blug electric kettle was compliments of Mum and Dad’s Fly Buys points in NZ, while the bowls are from my ‘glory box’ still in storage over there. Both have already been christened, and I’m totally in love with the jug in particular!! And I can’t WAIT to try out the new Orange Truffle Baileys over a bucket of ice … hmmm, in fact I just may choose that for dessert tonight, the ice will help soothe my throat and the alcohol will help to lull me into sleepy submission … hmmm …

The final photos are of my frangipani plants on my balcony to show Mum – now both plants have finally flowered, although I’m disappointed to see the 2nd plant which has flowered for the first time has the pink frangipani … it’s still very pretty, but I do have to admit to preferring the white frangipani on the whole.

And I think that will do me for another post … I still have some other things to post yet, but think I’m a bit photo heavy already … and it’ll give me something to write about later (if I get over the shock of having so many blog posts in one month!!!).

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Finishes, Theme Thursday, threads

Crazy January Challenge #1 and other Finishes

13 January, 201313 January, 2013 Anne S

I picked up my needle for the first time since returning home yesterday and managed to put the finishing stitches into two pieces – one a VERY overdue travelling pattern, and one I started over the Christmas holiday in NZ. I would have got a lot more stitching done yesterday if I hadn’t chosen to watch almost the entire season of So You Think You Can Dance (season 9) that had been taping while I was away … that show is definitely NOT conducive to stitching!! I’m really thrilled, though, to see both my favourite dancers were given “winner” status … the male winner brought me to tears on a number of occasions in the last couple of episodes! Anyway, I’d better get on with what I came on here to post … here are my two finishes for yesterday, starting with Easter Treat by The Trilogy. This was originally going to be a Crazy January Challenge pieces for 2013 but I started it earlier than expected while I was in NZ – I was never happy with the lack-lustre thread choices, as the ‘sweet pea’ border was really wishy-washy and everything just looked so ‘blah’. I also wasn’t happy to have pink as the predominant colour and of course had to replace it with blue – the problem being there wasn’t enough of the kit thread, and the only colours in blue I had with me were a lot brighter … in the end I bit the bullet and ripped out the entire border and re-did it in a brighter fuchsia silk I had brought with me and used a brighter blue. I’m so happy that I did that as I now really love the brightness and colour combinations in this one!

“Easter Treat” by The Trilogy
stitched on 32ct Summer Khaki Belfast linen
but substituting a couple of threads from the kit choices

The next one is a travelling pattern that has been well overdue for stitching – I have to admit that I’m quite unhappy with my colour choices for this one. I chose a rich blue/purple Stef Francis silk for the centre text and border hoping to then add other blues to the mix – sadly, though, when it was stitched the purple colour overpowered everything and none of my colour choices seem to work (not helped by the fact I chose an ice blue linen to stitch it on!). In the end I chose a dark purple for the contrasting text and just forgot about trying to use blues … I think I’ll definitely be stitching this one again in the future, but next time it’ll be on a plain white Belfast with blue threads! In the meantime I have other commitments to complete, so that won’t be happening for a little while yet … I have to admit, though, that I still like the finished version, it’s just not how my mind had planned it! 🙂

“Good Things” by Lizzie*Kate
stitched on 32ct Ice Blue hand-dyed linen by Countrystitch
with a mix of Stef Francis silks, Carrie’s Creation threads and DMC

I’ve also heard that a couple of finished pieces were received by their recipients, so I can finally show the finished products here (sadly one ornie exchange has gone missing in the mail so I have to stitch a replacement this week to send over to them).

“2010 Ornament” by The Sweetheart Tree
stitched with recommended threads and beads for ornament exchange on Aussie Facebook group

“White Christmas” freebie by The Drawn Thread
stitched on 36ct Pipi hand-dyed linen by Countrystitch
with recommended threads except Kreinik braid and GAST Claret (used substitutes for both)
I can’t find the ‘finished’ photo, which seems to be a regular occurrence for me lately!
(freebie is still available here)

“Joyeux Noel” by Monsterbubble
(my version choosing my own colours)
(I forgot to take a photo of the finished version, so I asked the recipient to take one for me!)

And that’s it for me for now stitching-wise … this afternoon I will be kitting up my next travelling pattern, as well as ensuring all my upcoming rotation pieces have all the threads and fabric kitted up ready for ‘action’. I’ll be heading back over to NZ again in a couple of weeks, so I want to be much better prepared for it this time round – even though I’ll be working while I’m over there, we fully intend to have some leisure time in the evenings, which for us means stitching time 🙂

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Goals

Planned projects in pictures & health issues

6 January, 20136 January, 2013 Anne S

It seems that Mum and managed to pick up some nasty bug from the hospital while visiting with Dad last week – Mum managed to get away with just a handful of grotty days, but I seem to have picked up the full brunt of it … after struggling with just a head cold and a head like a tap for a few days, I started getting chills and a slight fever at the end of the week … thankfully I’m just starting to come through the tail end of it and just have blocked sinuses and feeling a bit run-down. It wasn’t the most pleasant trip home this morning because of it, but because I hadn’t slept much the last 3 nights I managed to nap through half of the flight, which was great!

We finally saw the surgical intern at the hospital on Thursday … after waiting for 2 hours we were finally told she had been taken into emergency surgery and could we come back again in 2 hours time, only to wait for yet another 2 hours before she was ready to see us! Anyway they are saying that his surgery may not take place now until late January/early February, depending on the surgeon who’s going to be doing the operation. He’s supposed to send Dad a letter with his new appointment, with the surgery to follow approx one week after that appointment … but we don’t know when the letter will be coming (some time over the next 2 weeks). As it was too uncertain when the surgery was going to take place, and Dad seems quite stable with the diet he’s been following over the last week, I decided to fly home and go back to work for the next couple of weeks … then I’ll return to Auckland again once we know the surgery date. In the meantime, though, I need to pull my finger out and get a new passport issued, as it runs out on 7 February!

So all-in-all it’s been a really crappy visit, truth be told … I have to admit it’s been a little bit stressful, as Mum and I haven’t been able to leave home and get a bit of a break and 1o0% relax, especially with all the uncertainty with Dad – he started to feel like a Jack-in-box in and out of hospital for the entire two weeks. While I’ve managed to get an awful lot of stitching done, it has been more as stress relief than enjoyment, and a way to fill in time at home – unfortunately all the things Mum and I had planned to do haven’t got done … so hopefully when I fly over the next time we may get an opportunity to do some of those planned fun things, and to catch up with people I had planned to see this time … It also means that my heart wasn’t really in my stitching either, and I managed to totally stuff up my colour choices for a Lizzie*Kate commitment piece I needed to do (a travelling pattern that I’d been holding on to for way too long). I might try to put the final stitches into this one tonight if I get chance, but I’m not entirely sure whether I’ll be keeping it or not. I want to re-do it entirely in blues, so I may see if I can quickly kit it up again and get cracking on it, as I want to get the chart into the mail by the end of the week at the latest.

To finish off this post I’ve decided to upload piccies of all the upcoming projects I have for 2013 as part of my new rotation … plus other commitments I have to complete that aren’t in the rotation officially. Mind you, I’ve already replaced one of the rotation pieces with another one I just remembered I wanted to complete, so you’ll now see Eiffel Quaker added to the list instead of the Periwinkle Promises one – I’d originally wanted to stitch this while in Paris but we were out and about so much during the day we didn’t get any stitching time! Rightio, without further ado, here come the piccies … you may also see more blogging again from me this year as I try to wean myself off Facebook, but I know I’ve said that before so I wouldn’t hold my breath 😉

Crazy January Stitching Challenge:

WIPs/UFOs:

SALs & other Commitment pieces:

xxx

Crazy January 2013 Challenge, Rotation, Stitch-alongs

Time for a Rotation again?

2 January, 20132 January, 2013 Anne S

I have signed up for so many different SALs and challenges this year that I think the best way for me to devote time for each one is to set up a rotation once again – the first time I tried a rotation it was amazingly successful, but later attempts have been disastrous … perhaps this time it will work … perhaps …

Then again, I also want to continue concentrating on older UFOs/WIPs to finally get them into the finished pile and not languishing around making me feel guilty and gathering dust bunnies …

I guess the first thing to do is to work out what SALs I have coming up this year, along with noting if any of those projects could be combined with the Crazy January Challenge or using existing WIPs/UFOs … then work out a schedule that could possibly work on a 10-hour slot basis. Rightio then, let’s start by noting all the SALs coming up (including those already started while I’ve been in NZ) … here goes:

November 2012 – Quaker Christmas II SAL
1 January – Nora Corbett’s Bluebell Pixie SAL
1 January – Drawn Thread’s Sampler Gameboard SAL
1 February – Aussie Round Robin
14 February – Ink Circles Cirque des Coeurs SAL
1 May – Teresa Wentzler SAL

Add to that the list of potential new starts for me this year as part of the Crazy January Challenge (the only difference is that I’m making up my own rules by choosing and kitting up 15 projects but not starting a new one every day, just rather working my way through the list). I have to admit I grabbed a handful of my chosen 2013 new starts when I did a rushed packing job to come to NZ and ended up already starting and finishing two of them, so I definitely need to re-do that list of projects once again. I am tempted to add the Quaker Christmas II sampler and Sampler Gameboard to the challenge list, but I’m not confident I can see either of them being finished by the end of the year and happy to just have them ‘in progress’ throughout the year. My CJC pieces will be as follows (there are only 2 relatively large pieces in there, so I’m hoping it won’t be too unachievable, but that could be famous last words, if this year’s crappy stitching time is anything to go by!):

Bluebell pixie – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
Little Blue Potting Shed – Brown House Studio
Blue Bayou – Northern Pine Designs
Christmas Elf Fairy – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
Bluebeard’s Princess – Mirabilia
Moon & Stars – Little House Needleworks
Trousse aux Fleur Bleues – CMon Monde
Spooky Scissors Fob – Shepherd’s Bush
Little Witch – Shepherd’s Bush
Trick or Treat Box – Just Nan
Acorn Hill – Little House Needleworks
Valentine Fairy – Mirabilia/Nora Corbett
Christmas double flip-its – Lizzie*Kate
Ebb Tide – Northern Pine Designs
Sky Blue Accent – Periwinkle Promises

As well as these projects, though, I’d dearly love to continue working on some of my older WIPs/UFOs, namely:

With My Needle – The Goode Huswife
Flight of the Bumblebees – Ruth Schmuff
English Garden Sampler – Teresa Wentzler
Enchanted Mermaid – Mirabilia
Egyptian Garden Mandala – Chatelaine

Taking all that into account, let’s see if I can work out a suitable rotation … hmmm, this might need a few days to think through, but easier putting it ‘in print’ and then reviewing again … and seeing as I don’t have any software loaded up on Mum’s computer at the moment, this is kinda my drawing board for now …

Nora Corbett/Mirabilia
(Bluebell pixie, Christmas Elf Fairy, Valentine Fairy, Bluebeard’s Princess, *Enchanted Mermaid (UFO))
Halloween
(Spooky Scissors Fob, Little Witch, Trick or Treat Box)
Quaker Christmas II SAL
Christmas Ornaments & Charity Quilt Squares
Canvaswork
(Blue Bayou, Ebb Tide, *Flight of the Bumblebees (UFO))
Other Crazy January
(Little Blue Potting Shed, Moon & Stars, Trousse aux Fleur Bleues, Acorn Hill, Christmas double flip-its, Sky Blue Accent)
Sampler Gameboard SAL
UFOs/WIPs
(With My Needle, *Flight of the Bumblebees, English Garden Sampler, *Enchanted Mermaid, Egyptian Garden Mandala)
Christmas Ornaments or Free Choice

That actually seems quite ‘do-able’ … but I guess the proof will be whether I manage to start it when I get home … which is now at least a week later than expected, depending on what Dad’s doctor has to say tomorrow. I got the go-ahead from my boss to work over here ‘remotely’ for a while, so that’s good news and takes the pressure off a little bit 🙂

Plus Mum and I placed a small order with 123stitch to re-order the missing threads I need that are waiting for me back home – at least that way I can still continue to do some form of stitching over here, which I have to admit I’ve been loving at the moment … I can’t remember the last time I stitched every single day for over a week at a time … sheer bliss!!!

Christmas, Cmon Monde, Debbie Draper, Finishes, Little House Needleworks, The Trilogy, Works in Progress

Last finishes for 2012 & First for 2013

1 January, 20131 January, 2013 Anne S

We managed to have a wonderful Christmas Day with some of our closest family friends (who are closer than family to us in most respects), and Dad managed to have a good couple of days before he was whisked away to hospital by ambulance late on 28 December. Here is our ‘gang’ on Christmas Day:

With Dad in and out of hospital like a jack-in-a-box the last week we haven’t been able to leave home much at all … which has meant a reasonable amount of stitching time for me. Unfortunately I was incredibly unprepared for this trip home and I just quickly chucked what I thought were some fully kitted up projects that were relatively small into my carry-on bag … only to find when I got here that one was totally missing fabric, and almost all of them were missing half the over-dyed threads! I had ordered them from 123stitch and they had just arrived a bare 24 hours before I left, but I forgot to pack them as well so they’re still sitting at home in Sydney …

In the meantime, though, I’ve managed to start and complete a couple of small projects over Christmas after raiding Mum’s stash of DMC so I could finish kitting them up (at least I’d brought a couple that used DMC!!) 🙂

“Blossoms & Bluebirds” by Little House Needleworks
stitched on 32ct Lambswool Wichelt linen
with recommended DMC
(but I’m thinking of removing the 3371 border and just back-stitching it instead
as it has totally overpowered the pretty blue border)

“Ma Boite a Tresors” by Cmon monde
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with recommended Atalie and DMC threads
(just need to find some ABC buttons for it)

I also made a start on a small Easter one (my first stitching choice for my holidays) but I’m really unhappy with the colours in the kit – I want to change the big pink egg to be blue, but there isn’t enough Old Blue Paint in the kit threads and nowhere to buy from locally over the Christmas holidays. I’ve looked at some of the other blue threads that I brought with me and some are great, but just don’t suit the other kit colours. This morning I woke up feeling very tempted to just change some of the other colours as well, but that would probably mean unpicking the entire border … will have to mull that one over a bit further, I think … but in the meantime I’ve placed another 123stitch order with some things for Mum and I with some other threads, so fingers crossed they arrive before I fly home again!

The final finish I have is my first finish for 2013 – I managed to put the last stitches into it at 12.30am this morning, just after the New Year was celebrated (which for me was me in the bedroom wishing the TV a Happy New Year as the oldies were both asleep). This has been a UFO for longer than I care to admit … I tried to replicate a biscornu I’d already stitched, but the purple thread was much, much paler than when I originally stitched it and seems to have faded over time as well – the turquoise I’d originally used was WAY too bright so after stitching about half of the first side I chucked it into the naughty corner where it sat forlornly for at least 2 years. I (well actually Mum) finally unpicked all the bright turquoise and after deciding I didn’t have any well-matched over-dyed threads in my stash I resorted to pulling some of Mum’s DMC out and opted for 597 as my colour of choice. It’s really nice to finally have this one out of the stitching pile and into the finishing pile – as soon as I get home it will get made up into its final form and sent off to a new home along with some long-overdue promised goodies.

I still have another few projects left to be stitched, but sadly they really need the missing threads – in the meantime Mum and I popped up to the local Spotlight store for a piece of 14ct Aida and 32ct white Belfast linen so I can at least start my Round Robin which is due for posting out on 1 February and also start a charity quilt square (will have to raid Mum’s DMC yet again, though). I have a lot of SALs and other challenges to work on this year, but they will all have to be delayed until I return home, as I didn’t bring any of my SAL challenge pieces with me … we find out on Thursday whether Dad can have surgery and if so when that will happen, and will probably work over here for a short while (I brought my work laptop with me just in case). Either way this week will likely be my final free week for lots of stitching time … it’s been wonderful while it’s lasted, though, and I really need to make more time for it in 2013 to give myself a bit more work/life balance! 🙂

Finally, here’s hoping that 2013 is a better one for many of us who struggled in 2012 … I hope for everyone it is a year filled with stitchy goodness, lots of fun and laughter, love and friendship, not to mention good health and prosperity!

2012 WIPocalypse, Christmas Ornaments, Finishes

Final WIPocalypse post for 2012

29 December, 201229 December, 2012 Anne S

Unfortunately I can’t show piccies of the latest stitching I’ve been working on, as I’m on holiday with my parents in NZ and didn’t bother bringing my laptop with me … and of course I left the cord for the camera … and Mum’s PC is so old it doesn’t have a memory card slot … so the only stitching I can show from the last month is an ornie that I quickly whipped up in my last weekend at home before I flew out that I’d uploaded to Facebook – it was a gift for a work colleague who had had us over for lunch the previous weekend – hopefully she likes it as I didn’t get to see her before I left, and I could only leave it on her desk for her on Xmas Eve. I also just realised that I never took a photo of it finish-finished, so I’ll have to get Pauline to do that for me!

“Joyeux Noel” by Monsterbubbles (I think)
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with totally different Au Ver a Soie and Belle Soie silk threads from the design
(I wanted a more traditional look for Pauline)

The other stitching I’ve been doing is a little bit on a Bent Creek Easter design, and I am about 2/3 through Blossoms and Blackbirds by LHN (most of which was stitched last night). My Dad was taken into hospital 2 days after I arrived home and we’re just awaiting a surgery date for him now – it was supposed to be on this coming Monday, but now there is doubt that it will happen, and we were told to come pick him up from the hospital today and to take him back again tomorrow night. I’m glad I’m here as a support for both Mum and Dad even if it’s just for playing chauffeur service to/from the hospital and taking Mum shopping etc. At least he had a really great Christmas Day with our extended family before he went downhill again 🙂

And on that note I guess it’s time to head back into the lounge and pick up my stitching once again for some more family time – better make the most of it again before we head back to the hospital again tomorrow night!

Christmas Ornaments, Country Cottage Needleworks, Finishes, Heartstrings, Mum's stitching

Feathered Friends Santa

9 December, 20129 December, 2012 Anne S

I finally managed to get this ornie finished today – it’s only taken me pretty much an entire month to stitch this one … I was supposed to work this afternoon, after spending a few hours at a work colleague’s home for pre-Christmas festivities, but I was feeling a bit “over it” and decided to give work a wide berth for the night … I might regret that decision tomorrow, but it’s something I needed I think.

Anyway, here’s the finished product:

“Feathered Friends Santa” by HeartStrings/The Artists Collection
Stitched on 28ct Vintage Wichelt linen
with recommended GAST, DMC and Kreinik threads, except for 009HL which I subbed with 009

Last month I also finally put the finishing touches into one of Mum’s stitched ornies – I just had to add the mouths and the French knots, and it’s all done now ready to go back home to Mum once again.

“Season of Love by Country Cottage Needleworks
Stitched by my Mum
(from JCS Christmas Preview issue 2010)

And on that note I’ll call it a night … I might blog more often again soon, as Mum has got her PC up and running again, so my main audience member is back online – and perhaps doing that will keep me off of Facebook more, which is my biggest time waster these days!

2012 WIPocalypse, Christmas Ornaments, Works in Progress

Sorry for the missing photos everywhere! & WIPocalypse update

6 December, 20126 December, 2012 Anne S

Really sorry that there are “Temporarily Unavailable” pictures everywhere on my blog … I forgot all my photos on here were hosted on Webshots which has just shut it’s doors … and I need to find the time to upload everything somewhere else and re-add them into the posts once again … that is obviously going to be a MASSIVE undertaking seeing as how long I’ve been blogging for 😦

Unfortunately I’m also working 12-14 hour days every day at the moment, so I don’t have the energy at night to fix the pages up just yet. I apologise for any inconvenience, but I’ll return to fix the blog as soon as I get some spare time, but that may be a couple of weeks away yet.

As for the WIPocalypse, I can also blame my woeful working hours that I’ve barely picked up a needle in the last month. The only stitching I’ve really done has been two ornie finishes for exchanges (which I can’t show yet), and half an ornie for myself that I started about 3 weeks ago and still haven’t finished! If nothing else, I guess I can show you my ‘half an ornie’ for the month … maybe that’s better than nothing, and proof that I did at least pick up a needle at some stage towards the beginning of this lunar cycle!

And here are two little snippets from the exchange ornies that I completed (which I’ll be able to share in the final post for the year I guess):

Crafts - Needlework, Cross Stitch

Stitching/Needlework Acronyms

14 November, 201210 July, 2013 Anne S

How many times did you get a puzzled look on your face when you first ventured out into the world of stitching blogs and internet groups, when people in these groups seemed to have a language all of their own? Places where you could see people having discussions in a special mysterious code due to the total nonsensical words that were uttered to everyone’s comprehension but your own … “I decided to work on my HAED today, it’s a PITA BAP but I thought I should work on it for the SAL this week so it continues to be a WIP instead of a UFO”. I’m sure if I had read that sentence years ago the next acronym that would have sprung to mind would have been the more universal choice of “WTH…?”

After a while we tend to forget that there are still newbies out in internet-land that haven’t been exposed to this strange language, and are often too embarrassed to ask those of us speaking in code what these things mean … a recent discussion on a Facebook group I belong to prompted me to put a few meanings together on here just in case anyone was interested. Please feel free to let me know if there are others that you would like to see added, and I’ll update the list accordingly.

So, without further ado, here is the list of oft-used stitching and needlework acronyms out in the world today:

BAP = Big Ass Project/Big Arse Project (depending what country you live in): A very large project.

BF = Blending Filament: An evil (yet beautiful) metallic thread made by Kreinik that often brings out Turettes in stitchers, and it is rumoured it is best tamed by the use of Threadheaven (another stitching accessory something similar to beeswax but softer and synthetic).

BS = Backstitching: While some stitchers love it, others think it rather resembles the more general understanding of the term “BS” outside stitching circles.

FUFO = Finished UnFinished Object or Finished UnFramed Object: A project where the stitching has been completed but it is still sitting in the finishing pile waiting to either be framed or finished into it’s final form (eg needlework smalls etc).

GAST = Gentle Arts Sampler Threads: Manufacturer of an overdyed thread.

HAED = Heaven and Earth Designs: Designer of some exquisite designs whose projects are numerous pages long (often also referred to as “BAPs” – see above).

HPI = Holes Per Inch: Measurement of fabric. Aida is measured by the ‘blocks’ (ie one hole at the start and finish of each little square block), eg 14 count (14ct) Aida = 14 holes/squares per inch. Linen/evenweave fabric is measured by the holes either side of each thread of fabric, therefore 28 count (28ct) linen = 28 threads of fabric per inch.

JCS = Just Cross Stitch: A needlework magazine (published in the USA).

LNS = Local Needlework Store/Shop.

NSLNS = Not-So-Local Needlework Store/Shop.

ONS = Online Needlework Store.

OOP = Out Of Print: Rare or hard to find patterns that are no longer published by the designer/manufacturer and are often only found by paying exorbitant amounts of money on such places as Ebay unless you can find a kind stitcher who is happy to sell/trade for a reasonable cost.

ORT (or Ort) = Old Ratty Threads: The tail end of the embroidery threads that you throw away.

PFH = Project From Hell: Often refers to a particularly bad “BAP” or “UFO” and is particularly onerous and torturous for the stitcher to work on it, often only assisted by the comfort of chocolate, wine, or both.

PhD = Project Half Done or Potential Happy Dance.

PIF = Pay It Forward: Usually an online blog writer offers to make a home-made gift for 3 people who comment on the post – those 3 recipients have to reciprocate and offer 3 home-made gifts for 3 of their commenters, and the game continues therefore sharing gifts of love throughout the stitching world.

PITA = Pain In The Ass/Arse.

RAK = Random Act of Kindness: A gift sent to a fellow stitcher “just because you can” and without desiring anything in return for the gift.

RR = Round Robin: A group of stitchers who each choose a theme or design/set of designs and in turn send their stitched piece to the next person on the list. Each stitcher gets to stitch a little piece on every other stitcher’s projects, and there is a set timeframe given where the assigned stitching must be completed by before posting to the next person. In each case you are always sending to the same person in the group – and the rotation continues until you eventually receive your own Round Robin project back once again in a finished form.

SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy.

SAL = Stitch-A-long: Usually a group of stitchers working on a specified project together. Many groups will have individual stitchers working on the exact same project around the world at a given time of the week/month and participants will encourage each other by posting photos of their stitching in progress. SALs aren’t just for a set individual project, but could be a specific designer, theme, or anything that the group wants to stitch together.

S.E.X. = Stash Enhancement eXpedition: Shopping spree for needlework supplies.

SINS = Stuff I’ll Never Stitch.

StRIP = Stash Reduction Implementation Plan: Usually when your stash has taken over your house stitchers may choose to go on a Stash reduction plan, by only/primarily working on existing projects in their stash rather than buying new purchases – this tends to be a temporary ailment that most stitchers get over quickly, and the only treatment seems to be S.E.X. (see above). Most people set a goal of only permitting themselves to buy more stash once they have stitched, eg, 10 projects or for a set period of time abstaining from S.E.X.

TUSAL = Totally Useless Stitch-A-Long: A monthly online blog game where participants post pictures of their orts that have been collected over the previous month – many people have special containers set aside as their ort vessels for the year.

UFO = UnFinished Object: A project that hasn’t been touched for a significant period of time, and lies punished and ashamed at the bottom of the cupboard in solitary confinement or with other UFOs.

WDW = Weeks Dye Works: Manufacturer of an overdyed thread.

WIP = Work in Progress: Generally a project that you are ‘actively’ working on.

WISP = Work in Slow Progress: Generally a project that you are actively working on … but progressing at a snail’s pace.

XS = Cross stitch.

Some other stitching terms explained:

Frogging/Frogstitch = Ripping out stitches that are wrong, based on “rip-it, rip-it” which sounds similar to “ribbit, ribbit”. Also known as “reverse stitching”.

Reverse Stitching = See Frogging/Frogstitch above.

Stash = Your own personal stock of stitching supplies, eg charts, fabric, threads etc.

Stitching Smalls = Not lingerie worn by your stitching, but rather a term referring to needlework items such as needlebooks, pinkeeps, pincushions, thimblepips etc.