Cross Stitch, Finishes, Great Pumpkin Challenge 2010, Halloween, Mirabilia

Happy dancing before bedtime

Anne S

I was trying my hardest to get this piece finished on Saturday, but alas it is now 1.10am on Sunday morning and I’ve just put the final beads on, so I didn’t quite make it!  But it doesn’t matter, ‘cos regardless I’m doing one HUGE happy dance for this one! 😀  I couldn’t wait until tomorrow for decent daylight to take a photo – it looks much better in real life 😀

Mirabilia Nora Corbett-Halloween Fairy
“Halloween Fairy” by Nora Corbett
(from Cross-Stitch & Needlework magazine)
Stitched on 28ct hand-dyed Desert Sky linen by Silkweaver
with recommended DMC threads and Mill Hill beads

Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Still around

Anne S

I have some big deadlines coming at work that have just been dropped on me that I now need to do before I go on leave … along with the fact that our team has been told we need to help out the other half of the team with their day-to-day duties because they’re swamped and not coping … this is really funny seeing as I’d just walked out of a meeting with my own boss and she’d just raised concerns that I wouldn’t be able to get through my own workload before I go on leave!  Oh well, I see some massive working days coming over the next two weeks, so not much stitching is going to get done I guess, except for the weekends when I’ll just be sat on my bottom and stitching like mad. 

Oh well, 2 weeks from today and I’ll be on 3 weeks holiday … with absolutely nothing planned yet (apart from my ticket home to NZ) … yippee.  Not sure how many days we’ll stay in NZ, but then we’ll probably come back to Oz (Mum and I) and have a wee holiday somewhere nice.  Mum was keen to go to Adelaide for a quick visit, and we also wouldn’t mind either going back up to Cairns/Port Douglas once again, or drive down the coast and stay at a place which right now the name escapes me!  I’d rather not stay at home in our flat much during the visit, hence the idea of tripping away somewhere nice, which also gives me a true break before going back to work again 😀

A GP visit this week to get a whole raft of blood tests done – mind you my 3 weeks leave will probably do a whole lot more for my mental and physical health than anything else 😛  I’ve already started thinking about what stitching to take with me, and so far have the list narrowed down to about 6 months worth of stitching time hahaha.

Then the other day at Spotlight I came home with these:

I’ve always wanted to learn how to crochet, so I figured with all the tutorials available these days with online videos I should finally give it a go and cross one thing off my bucket list.  So into my shopping basket went an el cheapo set of crochet hooks to try out, along with a ball of 8 ply wool and 8 ply cotton blend … when I bought them I had no idea what to make, so I just grabbed wool/cotton that I like the colour of and was relatively cheap!

Add to that something even more strange, that I’m hankering to knit a washcloth/dishcloth!  Yeah, Mum, don’t faint over THAT one!!!  Mum will attest to the fact that I get really bored really quickly with knitting – I can do basic knitting stitches, and can generally follow a pattern (and even finished a jersey/jumper once!), but I get halfway through the first ball of wool to knit a scarf and I’m bored to death … and Mum ends up pulling it all out and starting from scratch and knitting it for me (bless you Mum for all the knitting you’ve done for me over the years!).  Anyway, this in itself was enough to send me to the GP – because obviously my mental health really is suffering … I mean, ME, with an urge for KNITTING … I mean, COME ON! 😛

Of course when I DO eventually get keen and try to knit my first washcloth, I have a whole heap of potential patterns on the wishlist to look at and decide from … God bless the internet!  The only thing is I gave all my knitting needles away to Mum so I might have to borrow some back again!  Mum would be horrified, but I do use the washcloth that Missy sent me years ago, and just love it – and it does feel nice to use things that have been made 🙂

Hopefully in a few days time I will be able to share my latest finishes – but I can’t show them until they’re received, as they’re from my Autumn Exchange.  It won’t be long before they’ve arrived, though, so I should be able to post piccies in a few days I hope … in the meantime I’ll leave a little teaser …

Friends & Family, Photo Hunt, PhotoHunt, Travel - Fiji

Photo Hunt – Anniversary

Anne S

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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This week’s theme is ”Anniversary” and my first choice is dedicated to one of the most infamous anniversaries in modern times – that of the World Trade Center terrorist attack. In keeping with the theme, here is the block I stitched for the WTC memorial quilt. The last two photos were not taken by me, but are photos of the finished quilt on display then being presented at the White House.

WTC Quilt

WTC quilt final

wtc quilt 1

And finally, this is in honour of my parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary, which is coming up in 3 weeks time – this photo was taken about 10 years ago on one of our rare family holidays, in the Fijian islands 😀

Mum and Dad Fiji 2002

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stash

Stash day!

Anne S

I had some wonderful mail arrive on Friday night that I drooled over on the weekend.  First up is a gorgeous and very thoughtful gift from Karen.  I’ve never seen a Hinzeit design ‘up close and personal’ and this one definitely looks like a perfect design for me – I love the colours, and love all the little charms that go with it!  That design is perfect for just about every stitcher, I think!!  The notepad is already hanging off the fridge ready to be used, and I love the extra little touches of postcards and stickers from Canada.  Thank you so much again Karen for a really awesome parcel that brightened up an otherwise very dull week for me – I love everything!! 😀

Next up was a parcel containing the JCS Christmas ornie preview magazine and the missing Kreinik braid that I need for Halloween Fairy.  The other Kreiniks and Caron Collection threads are an added treat for me for Laura J Perin’s Mallard Collage (gee, I dunno why I want to stitch that one! – Duckies!!! haha).  The final part of the order was some Gloriana ribbon in Cranberry to complete my ‘ingredients’ for Strawberries So Faire by With My Needle.  Seeing as I have everything else kitted up ready to go, I figured I really should start thinking of stitching this one up sooner rather than later!  Yeah, OK, I could say that of many projects really, but I really am trying to make a priority of those projects that I’ve spent the most money on in getting them kitted up, especially as most of the threads etc aren’t used in other projects.  The only problem is there are still LOADS to choose from LOL.

And that’s it for me really – I’m still waiting for my buttons to arrive for Summer & Winter Snapperlands … while Summer is just sitting here patiently in the corner of my WIP basket waiting for the border buttons to arrive (since being ordered in January no less hmmm), Winter Snapperland isn’t started yet, and I don’t want to start until the border buttons are in my hot little hands.

My flatmate is off work at the moment with tonsillitis etc that she’s had since last week … and this morning I’ve woken up with a touch of vertigo … thankfully the longer I’m sitting up, the vertigo is wearing off, so I’m going to attempt to go to work shortly … fingers crossed it stays at bay, ‘cos I can’t afford time off work at the moment!  Plus I have stitching deadlines to get my exchange into the mail next week, so vertigo is something I definitely do NOT want or need right now!!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Quaker, Sampler Cove

A finish!

Anne S

It’s been a while since I’ve had a decent sized finish, but on Saturday night I put the final stitches into Quaker Huswif – yippee!! 😀

Sampler Cove-Quaker Huswif
“Quaker Huswif” by Sampler Cove
stitched on 36ct hand-dyed Edinburgh linen –
Moon Shadows ~ Dove Grey by Stitches and Spice
with Vikki Clayton’s Hand-Dyed Fibers Premium Silk Floss in Midnight

I’m sure whether to get this one framed, or to turn it into the Huswif it was designed for … seeing as I don’t have any wall space free, that’ll probably end up being the decider 😛

The only other news is that I had some great mail arrive, but I need to send a quick email of thanks before I post the piccie 🙂

And right now I have to run, because I need to pick up my laptop from the ‘doctors’ … it’s costing me a brand new hard drive, but it’s only $130 plus labour (total of $213, which is relatively reasonable, considering they also transferred ALL my old files AND programs to the new hard drive!!) … and I now have a 500GB had drive, compared to my old 120GB one!  Can’t grumble … and it means I can go back to blogging from the comfort of the lounge chair or my bed … which also means the likelihood that I can get back into the habit of regularly blogging and blog reading … add to that I have a trip back home to Auckland coming up in 3 weeks time for Mum & Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary (of which a company travel bonus of $250 pretty much pays for my ticket!) … life is kinda good right now 🙂

Cross Stitch

Local prices

Anne S

I just happened to follow a link this morning to a ONS here in Australia.  As a matter of interest I jumped into the area for Shepherd’s Bush kits, and got a nasty surprise.  In the past I’ve always tried to spend part of my stitching money each year in local stores – but when money’s tight, I just can’t justify the price difference with items such as this.  I thought it would be interesting to compare … so here’s a little comparison of SB Needlerolls:

Here in Australia (only one store, mind you,
but I’ve seen them for sale for over $40 in another store!!):

Over there in SB’s home, in the USA:

Considering the exchange rate:

AU$37.90 = US$34.17
or US$30.74 sale price!!

Is it any wonder we sometimes look offshore for our supplies?  Even if you throw in US$12 postage prices, you’re still ahead, especially when you bulk buy a few items at a time.  I will still continue to buy some items locally, but if I had to pay these sorts of prices all the time I’d have to give up stitching pretty darn quickly!

And on that note, I’d better hurry up and get dressed so I can earn my day’s pay that allows me to continue stitching…

Cross Stitch, Flowers Trees & Gardens, Paris, Quaker, Scenic Sunday, Travel - France, Works in Progress

Sunday stitching & Scenic Sunday

Anne S

No housework or excitement here today – just my little size 28 tapestry needle, Vikki Clayton premium silk floss, and Season 1 of ER on DVD … can you say “happy as a pig in mud?” 😛

Not a great deal of stitching done, but it’s still one step closer to an actual finish. With any luck I’ll be finished with this one by the end of next weekend, and then soon afterwards my missing threads will have arrived so I can go back to picking up some of my older WIPs once again (although the urge to stitch a million new things is still around!) 😀

Quaker Huswif 29Aug10

And I’ll finish with something I haven’t done regularly for a while … here is my choice for this week’s Scenic Sunday – a Parisian garden.

Paris_0015 (2)

Scenic Sunday

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Busy and productive morning

Anne S

Today I was up bright and early getting my paperwork ready for a trip to the RTA (Road Transport Authority) … armed with a screwdriver (for my licence plates) and my various bits and pieces I trundled off to arrange the transfer of my car registration.  $300 later and I am the ‘proud owner’ (perhaps “relieved” would be a better choice of words!) of some ugly yellow NSW number plates, and a 12-month car registration.  Hopefully now there will be no further stress (car-wise anyway) for the next 12 months!

Next up was a trip to the ‘PC doctor’ for my laptop.  I have finally bitten the bullet to get a quote on how much it will cost to get it fixed – if it means an entire new hard drive etc, then I won’t bother paying to get it fixed, and I need to start saving up for another one … but I guess I need to know what’s wrong with it before I start making judgements.  I’m currently not reading many blogs (and haven’t truthfully for months now) because I spend most of the evenings in the lounge with Katie, and my PC is in my bedroom – by the time I come back into my room it’s too late to start blog surfing.  Oh well, fingers crossed it’s only something minor, ‘cos I’d dearly love to have it with me in NZ in October.

The next thing I did was to finally replace my laundry hamper which died a horrible death two months ago … gone now are the days of shoving my dirty laundry into bags, or leaving it piled up all over the floor … thanks to the local Bunnings store, I now have a relatively cheap sturdy hamper once again – yippee!!

The final thing I managed to tick off my list today was to finally phone up the TiVo service man.  I bought a 2nd TiVo a few months ago at a price that just couldn’t be turned down (a special direct from TiVo for existing owners) – well, but the darned thing hasn’t worked ever since I bought it … I’ve been trying to get it fixed via the Support emails, but have had no luck whatsoever.  Today I finally got on the phone and spoke to a real live person and he agrees with me what the problem is, and he’s escalated the issue so hopefully now I can get the unit replaced and have a fully functioning TiVo, which would be awesome ‘cos at the moment it’s a glorified ornament sitting by the TV!!!

And that’s all that my exciting day has unfolded today … this afternoon I intend to be semi-slothful after I’ve done my laundry for the week – the plan is to brew a coffee, and polish off the rest of the leftover cake that my boss bought me yesterday for my 10 year anniversary at work (the one in the picture – an Orange Poppyseed cake from Christopher’s Cakes yummo), then I’m going to settle into my bedroom with my fabric stash and kit up a few Christmas ornaments that I want to stitch for family this year.  Tonight I need to get cracking on my autumn exchange piece that is due for posting in 2 weeks time – it’s almost kitted up, and ready to be started tonight, although I found that I’m missing a few threads so I think a Spotlight trip will have to be in order next week if they don’t turn up before then!

I forgot the exciting news too – missing threads and (finally!!!) my border packs for Summer and Winter Snapperlands are on their way in the post (at least they will be very very shortly).  I haven’t had a chance to get to the PO Box this week, so that’ll be an awesome treat arriving in another week or two … it’ll be really great to get some of those WIPs that have been pushed to one side because they’re waiting for missing threads and/or embellishments.  That means there should be some more finishes coming ‘shortly’ aftwerwards – Halloween Fairy, Sapphire Star and Summer Snapperland … woohoo! 😀

Tonight I’ll be stitching on either my Quaker Huswif or a little bit more of my Gracie stumpwork … depending whether I end up stitching in my room or the lounge … ah decisions, decisions 😛