As I mentioned earlier today, I went to my first Guild stitching group today. It was a pleasant experience, and I love the fact that many of them do cross stitch or don’t actually FROWN on cross stitch! I wasn’t entirely sure what to take with me today, but I figured I was soooo close to finishing Sapphire Star that I really should just pull my finger out and finish it off … and sure enough I managed to finish it while I was at my Guild meeting. Unfortunately it’s very overcast here tonight, and the photo is taken directly under the bright daylight lamp, so the photo is far from the best (I’ll try to remember and take better ones next weekend) … but nevertheless it’s a finish, and I’m totally in love with it! 😀
“Sapphire Star” by Laura J Perin
using recommended threads, except substituted Pearl Cotton for
the pale blue Hi-Lights thread used in one of the borders
(I soooo have to take a better photo of this one!!!)
Alas, this wasn’t on the list of my Crazy January Challenge, so I can’t cross off another one of those projects, but it feels wonderful to get this piece finished finally after all this time. And of course the Shepherd’s Bush needleroll from last night was on the list, so I’m sitting relatively comfortably at 3 out of 15 finishes for the year … and 2 out of 24 Christmas ornaments …
And on that note I need to go clear the mountain of rubbish that’s currently sitting on top of my bed so I can actually get in there tonight … then I just may put a few more stitches into Bittersweet Season, as that is the other ‘WIP/UFO’ that I was working on at the Guild today – a few more nights stitching and I think this one will be finished too 😀
I’ve been out of town for the last week with work, spending my time in our call centre in Brisbane (Queensland). It was grueling work, with some days being 14 hour working days, but it was really invigorating and rewarding for me personally, and the feedback I received from the staff I worked with was inspiring. Not to mention how wonderful it was to sleep in air-conditioned comfort for 4 nights. This was home for 5 days – and the great thing is there was a full laundry and kitchen, so aside from self-catering to keep the bills down (and healthy food to keep the weight down) I was able to do my laundry on Thursday night so I didn’t have to do it this weekend 😉
Alas the testing didn’t quite get completed which means I have to do a bucket load more myself this week – I’d booked an RDO for this week from weeks and weeks ago stating there was no way I was going to be doing project testing on my birthday … but alas it looks like that will have to be cancelled and I will indeed be doing testing on that day (unless I put in the hard yards Mon/Tue and keep my fingers crossed both days).
Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter really, it’s just a day, and I didn’t have anything special planned for the day anyway … the night’s different, though, Katie is treating me out for dinner on Wednesday night to a local French restaurant that I’ve been wanting to go to ever since I moved to this part of Sydney. They have cheap mid-week set menus, and while the food certainly isn’t Weight Watchers friendly, it looks yummy and I can’t wait!! We’re also getting a bus up as well, which means I can have a drink or three for a change 😀
I didn’t stitch at all when I was away in Brisvegas, as I was generally found glued to massive Excel spreadsheets on the laptop every night, so yesterday I refused to move from my stitching chair, and cleaned out all the TV recordings from last week (and believe me, there was a LOT) – I may have had numb-butt syndrome, but I did manage to put the finishing touches into this (just don’t ask me when the actual needleroll finishing will be taking place, ‘cos I think that’ll be some time away yet!).
“Happy Pumpkin Needle Roll” by Shepherd’s Bush
stitched on 32ct Parkside (I think) hand-dyed linen by Silkweaver
with recommended threads
(I subbed my own button and beads as this was a 2nd-hand used chart)
Today I’m driving to the other side of Sydney to Concord for my first visit to a stitching group at the NSW Embroiderers Guild. I signed up when Mum was over here when I was feeling really motivated about my stitching, but of course they closed over the summer holiday period and this month it is finally reopened again properly so this is the first opportunity I’ve had to pop on over. I’ve found two groups that are mainly XSers that meet on the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of each month, so I phoned up and found out they both had spaces available … and today is my first visit to the first group. I’m feeling extremely nervous, as I’m very shy meeting new people, but this is something I just need to push through and get over! Hopefully it will turn out that I really enjoy it, and it gets me out of the house every once in a while 🙂
Here is my choice for this week’s “ABC Wednesday” – brought to you by the Letter “D” … starting with a Dublin door-knocker:
And this week’s “one I prepared earlier, stitchy/crafty content” is Dolphins Domain (also at the time known as “the Dratteds” because I wasn’t particularly enjoying stitching the seemingly endless shades of grey!):
The last week has been an interesting one, but alas no needles went into fabric for the entire week until yesterday!
Last weekend I got to use my Christmas gift from Katie, tickets to Tap Dogs – alas, we thought Adam Garcia was in it (the primary reason Katie wanted to go), but it turns out he had completed his tour the previous week and returned to the UK to film his TV show. Unfortunately the guy who took his place might have won accolades and be a highly accredited dancer, but his stage presence was pure arrogance personified to me and it detracted from the show a little bit for me – I couldn’t stand watching him perform and quite frankly wanted to slap him stupid, he just came across as if he didn’t want to be there as well … BUT that didn’t spoil the show totally, as it meant I personally focused all my energies on the other dancers, and loved, loved, loved it. Every single one of the others brought their characters to the stage beautifully, and it was sheer pleasure to watch them performing. Unlike myself, Katie wasn’t expecting a dance show with pretty much no dialogue, but I’m glad that she too really enjoyed it and she said she would have been happy enough to go back to see it again. I would highly recommend it to anyone!!
The rest of the week has been spent trying to hide from the heat – it has been unbearably hot in our little flat, and not many hours of sleep to be had for the first few nights of the week, even with an electric fan going full bore throughout the night in each bedroom. Yesterday, so I am told, was 43C during the day, and apparently 33C indoors at midnight … yuk, yuk, yukky!
Yesterday, though, I spent the day hiding out in air-conditioned comfort at Wollongong where we had a get-together at Amanda’s place – it’s been well overdue to have a GTG and as always the day was spent drooling over people’s stitching and having a laugh. Thanks again to Alison for the chauffeuring to the venue and the highly entertaining chats in the car (I always have to drive everywhere when I go out, so I really appreciate the times when I don’t have to drive myself) – and thanks to all the girls for the entertainment value of the day, which is always a given with this group of gals. And shock, horror, a few of us actually stitched on the day, which is almost unheard of … and we even had two finishes – one for me and one for Alison! (Mind you, all I did was attach the beads to Sapphire Star, and complete a couple of sections on my canvaswork Sapphire Star piece, which doesn’t particularly warrant an update piccie!)
“Sapphire Star” ornament by Patricia Ann Designs from 2004 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on white linen with recommended threads and beads, except for a bugle bead modification (I used the next size down 80000 series)
Alas I wish I had taken more notice of Heather’s changes before I went back to replace my Mill Hill bugle beads for the medium size length (which as it turns out were STILL too long). I think I like the bugle beads that both Heather and Amanda used (I saw Amanda’s in the flesh yesterday), being silver lined instead of white. To be honest I just can’t be bothered unpicking it all now, so this is how it will remain. I originally had plans to do this a couple more times for gifts, so I’ll be better prepared for theirs when I eventually get around to it … short silver bugle beads it will be!!!! Serves me right for not checking the photos first!!
Then last night I quickly threw in a load of washing just in time for laundry curfew closing, in the hope that it will get dry ready for packing. I’m off to Brisbane tomorrow for work – although I’m also about to head into work today to do some more in readiness for Monday morning (alas I lost access to the computer system that my work is based on for 5 hours Friday afternoon, so I’m even more behind than ever!). The great thing about going into work today, though, is that there is air-conditioning … ah bliss haha.
And on that note I guess I really should get my A into G and stop procrastinating and go and get that work done … the sooner it’s done, the sooner I’m home! 🙂
I managed to find the exact bugle beads that I needed from our local Spotlight store (I nearly fainted on the spot when I found them!) … of course I went to two different shops first, thinking I might find them there – no bugle beads came home with me from those, but a couple of other extras jumped into my bag oops …
I picked up three whole beads plus a small packet of Swarovski crystals (that I thought I’d use instead of the MH ones for my Sapphire Star ornie) from my local uber-expensive bead shop. Then I picked up a couple of trims/ribbon from Pitt Trading (but when I just opened the package noticed that they only gave me 1/2 metre of the pink/red plush one instead of the 1 1/2 metres that I asked for … bugger). Finally from Spotlight I scored a skein of DMC that I needed thanks to mislaying my current one who knows where, plus some bias binding and some ‘mustard’ coloured fabrics to make a toaster cover for my elderly neighbour … and just a couple of 20cm cuts of different shades of pink fabric to finish off some Valentines ornies/cushions (although I can’t guarantee they’ll be done this year LOL).
I wouldn’t have gone out shopping today if it wasn’t for my good friend Alison texting to say she was in the neighbourhood for lunch – while I missed lunch (thanks to not getting the message until later), I did manage to catch up over a coffee at the local pub … it was a lovely unexpected pleasure for the afternoon catching up with the three generations 😀
… the ornie, that is, not my canvaswork that has been languishing way too long as a UFO!!! I managed to get a bit of stitching done yesterday, and hoped to actually get this one finished as it’s a relatively quick stitch … but alas, in fine form I find that yet again I’m missing one of the main components of the stitching – no bugle beads! I’m starting to think that *I* am missing one of the key components of my brain, as I’m doing this way too often just lately!!! Or perhaps there’s some hidden side of me that just loves to have a million unfinished pieces sitting around the bedroom while waiting for that ‘one little item’ … !!
Anyway, this is how it currently stands until I can pick up some white bugle beads … and now I’m just going to have to grab another ornie out of my ‘to-do pile’ and kit it up so I can meet my self-imposed deadline of two ornies each month (with luck). I have a whole heap of photocopied working copies from when my stitching stash was in storage, along with the fabrics cut up ready, and I just have to add threads and beads, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hardship 🙂
I decided to have an extra loooong weekend, and have taken today and tomorrow off work … next week starts our next round of project testing which normally means really long hours and a lot of grey hair at work, so I figured I’d take it easy for a couple of days beforehand before the mental onslaught begins. It also means I’ll by heading out of town in a week’s time to do project testing in our Queensland call centre – our fingers are crossed that the flooding stays contained to ensure we can get through the workload that we are planning to get through! It’s really sad to see so much devastation and personal loss on the news each day in Queensland, and I know a few people that work for my employers have lost everything … it really makes you appreciate everything that you have, that’s for sure!
Anyway, I thought I’d take some time out to complete the ABC’s of me that seems to be doing the blog rounds … mainly because it’s just too bloody hot to stitch at the moment, even with sitting smack bang in front of the electric fan – it just makes you have no energy to do anything at all. Today is apparently 30C with 72% humidity … thankfully it isn’t quite as hot as it was yesterday, but quite frankly it’s hot enough for me, in fact too hot! I could quite easily migrate to Siberia during Sydney’s summer months, I absolutely hate it here in summer … give me the moderate temperatures of winter any day!!! 😉
A – Age: 44 (about to add another year very very soon)
B – Bed size: Queen
C – Chore you hate: Pretty much all of ’em, isn’t that why they’re called “chores”?? If I had to choose one I guess it would be ironing … but then there’s the dusting … and … and … 😉
D – Dog’s name: Don’t have one, but I sure do WANT one! 😀
E – Essential start of the day item: Coffee (especially Mon-Fri!!) – and preferably a skinny cappuccino (yum)
F – Favorite color: Blue
G – Gold or Silver: Definitely gold – don’t “do” silver much at all
H – Height: 5’4″ (165cm)
I – Instruments you play: Used to the play the recorder, and the viola at High School very very badly – probably couldn’t read sheet music now!
J – Job: Business Analyst for an international airline
K – Kids: None
L – Living arrangements: Renting with a female friend/work colleague
M – Music you love: I have very eclectic tastes … ranging from AC/DC to Baroque classical, REM to the Beatles
N – Nicknames: Annie, Shacks, Shakatak … and my nickname from Mum growing up was “Butch”, until we moved to New Zealand and my Mum had it explained what “Butch” meant in slang terms … I’m no longer called Butch! Although another term of endearment from Mum was “Pesty” … I’m pretty sure she DOES love me, but one would wonder with those nicknames! 😛
O – Overnight hospital: Tonsillectomy in my early 30’s and Gall bladder removal in my late 30’s/early 40’s (the date escapes me)
P – Pet Peeve: Impatient drivers and disrespectful people … plus add lying into the mix as well
Q – Quote from a movie: “No harm ever came from reading a book!” (The Mummy)
R – Right handed or left: Right
S – Siblings: None
T – Time you wake up: About 30 minutes after my eyes open (I’m NOT a morning person)
U – Underwear: Sensible (too old and buxom for anything else)
V – Vegetable you dislike: Boiled cabbage and okra – otherwise everything is fair game
W – Workout Style: Tae Bo when I’m fit enough to get back into it again
X – X-rays you’ve had: Dental, back, legs, head, spine
Y – Yummy food you make: Onion Dip (Kiwi style – mix a can of reduced cream with Kiwi onion dip mix and a tablespoon of lemon juice/vinegar … the Aussies at work go crazy for it, which makes it easy for shared morning teas!)
Z – The best place to visit: OK, this is a tough one … Paris and Greece are at the top of my list so far, but so many other places have also left wonderful impressions too … but yeah, I guess Paris and Greece are outstanding in that regard
The only stitching update I can give you is from a couple of nights ago – whoopee to the progress is all I can say haha … and now I’m going to attempt to thread a needle and pop a few stitches into a Christmas ornie and see how long I last in this heat … don’t expect miracles, is all I can say 😛
Although I guess there is a bit of progress in this one since the “before” picture from the Crazy January challenge:
Here is my choice for this week’s “ABC Wednesday” – brought to you by the Letter “B” … first up is a Blue-winged Kookaburra:
Then for the weekly crafty/stitchy content here’s one I prepared earlier … Beach Roses by Just Nan (one of my favourite Just Nan pieces that I’ve stitched – love, love, love those colours!):
PhotoHunt
Feather Stitching 