Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Still around …

Anne S

Just a quick post to say I’m still around, but not particularly stitching and certainly not doing anything exciting.  I’m still struggling to get over my bugs – as soon as I think I’m coming right they knock me back down again.  Monday saw my boss plus my other team member off sick so it was back to being just me in the department, which is definitely not conducive to getting my own work done … It would be lovely to get my head above water just for a short while workwise, as I’ve forgotten what that feels like!  Once Mum goes home I’ll probably go back to working a day over the weekends just to catch up a bit.

Unfortunately this all-work-no-play lark has affected my stitching mojo, and I’ve barely lifted a needle for the entire last week … and I have no desire to do so.  Instead I’ve been sat up in bed playing mindless computer games for a couple of days on the laptop, which has relaxed me more.  I have a small Lizzie*Kate project that would normally get finished in 1 or 2 nights, but it’s taken me all week so far, and still not finished ho-hum.

On Friday I’m taking the day off so Mum and I can visit some LNS’s in the northwest of Sydney that I haven’t been to before, then we’re having dinner with my old friends.  Saturday sees us up bright and early having breakfast at Darling Harbour, when we catch up with a friend from Melbourne who’s flying out to Saigon on holiday and organised a 5-hour layover in Sydney so we can catch up.  Once he heads back to the airport we’ll be rushing up north of the city to the Stitch & Craft show to meet up with Alison and Amanda and some other ladies I don’t know.  We may go to the Zoo on Sunday, depending on the weather, then the Dragon flies home on Monday. 

I feel bad because this visit hasn’t been a quality one for Mum – I haven’t wanted to do anything or go anywhere due to illness, and when I’m sick I don’t want to be around anyone, so that’s put on an added strain.  In the evenings I’ve just wanted to curl up in a little ball and pretend the world doesn’t exist.

I also feel bad because I’ve been nominated for some Awards by some beautiful, beautiful people, and haven’t had the energy to sit down and acknowledge them and pass them on.  I will rectify that in the near future, hopefully.

I have to admit, though, I’ve been having thoughts over the last few months whether to give up blogging for a while, as I’m not really getting any enjoyment out of it just lately and it’s starting to feel more like a duty rather than pleasure.  I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing, but it is likely that I won’t be posting as regularly as I have been (although I’ve already started posting less and less to when I lived in Melbourne).  I like the sentiments about “Blogging Without Obligation”, so I need to take that sentiment on board when I start feeling guilty about not posting.

Geez, I’m a real bundle of joy today!!!  I’ll sign off for now and jump in the shower before another looooong day of meetings and getting no work done (!) … I hope I can get the ringing out of my head while I’m in there (someone’s smoke alarm has been going for the last hour at least, which is seriously doing my head in – who needs an alarm clock??).

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Val's Stuff, Works in Progress

Is it snowing outside?

Anne S

Well, the weather will surely be changing because a miracle occurred in Chez Shackles over the last 24 hours!  I managed to get my August ornie completed before the middle of the month … now I KNOW I’m not feeling well!!

Val's Stuff-A Merry Kitty Klaus
“A Merry Kitty Klaus” by Val’s Stuff
from 2007 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
using Crescent Colours Sassy Brass and Cupid,
Olde Willow Shale, Wisper thread and DMC for the remainder

Went to the GP yesterday who confirmed my bugs are just a viral infection (which I’d already guessed) – I’m now loaded up with Buscopan for the griping stomach cramps and on orders for Panadol, fluids and rest … if that doesn’t work I have to go back to have blood tests, but I’m sure that’s all it is (which is the main reason I hadn’t bothered going to the GP before now).  I was still pretty crook throughout the weekend, and definitely not my perky self (commented on a lot by colleagues at work, which didn’t do anything to help my mood, especially when someone drew a smiley face on a piece of paper and wrote “SMILE” on top for me … made me want to throttle them instead of smile!  I’m terrible when I’m feeling ill, I just want to sit in a corner away from people until I get over it hmmm).

Still haven’t finished my needleroll, as I need to concentrate a bit on the buttonhole stitch banding etc, and don’t feel up to it yet … hopefully it won’t be long now before it is completed though.  Now it’s time for me to jump in the car for another thrilling day at work (can you tell I’m really not in the mood right now?)!

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Heart in Hand Needleart, Works in Progress

A WIP and a finish

Anne S

First up is my “In the Dark needleroll” – if I were to do this again (which I wouldn’t do) I would definitely make some changes!  Firstly I think I would squish the wording up closer together and have it more centred, then I’d bring in the stars closer to the moon.  The way this is designed when it is turned into a needleroll you won’t see the full wording and definitely won’t get to see the sparkly stars, which seems such a waste as they’re so lovely!  Unfortunately by the time I worked that out I was too far into the stitching to be bothered unpicking everything.  I think it would be much prettier that way, though (mind you, I haven’t done the finishing yet, so I could be wrong). 

One change I did make, however, was to leave off the ‘smiley faces’ on the stars so it didn’t look quite so ‘juvenile’, and because of that I left off the bead ‘nose’ on the stars and just used the metallic braid.  All-in-all not my most favourite piece to stitch, but I do like the finished product – the colours and the sparklies do look very very pretty in real life … my Mum kept ooh-ing and aah-ing over it throughout the stitching process 😉

Designs by Lena Rose-In the Dark needleroll 1

Designs by Lena Rose-In the Dark needleroll 2

It still isn’t finished, though – I need to find some beads to substitute for those listed in the chart, and I’ve decided to do the bargello and buttonstitch bands for the top and bottom hems … yesterday I’d decided to leave it and finish it with a normal hemstitched band, but today I’ve had a change of heart, so back on the Q-snaps it goes …

When I opted to leave the bead selection for the needleroll until today, I couldn’t just sit and do nothing, so here is a very quick ornie stitch that I managed to stitch up in a couple of hours last night.

Heart in Hand-Christmas Peace
“Christmas Peace” by Heart in Hand Needleart
stitched with recommended threads (GAST)
on 32ct opalescent Lugana by Silkweaver (the colour escapes me right now!)

This fabric is one of the worst fabrics I’ve ever stitched on in my life – I truly detest this fabric, both the colour and the feel of it. I bought this originally to stitch Chatelaine’s Egyptian Garden Mandala on it, and hated it, so unpicked what I’d done and started again on a hand-dyed linen instead. Unfortunately I was left with all this revolting fabric and I didn’t know what to do with it … my idea to use for ornies instead – truth is I still hate it, and think perhaps I should try dyeing it myself. The photo gives no idea of what the colour is actually like – it is almost peachy/apricot in colour, yuk!!

I have no idea what will be stitched next … nothing is screaming at me right now …  I had the day off yesterday due to feeling crappy, so Mum and I sat in my bedroom and stitched all day – today I woke up with my mind turning about work issues, so perhaps I’ll go in tomorrow and try to get some work done, as obviously it’s preying on my mind under the surface hmmm.  I’ll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning … in the meantime it’s time to go stash diving for a new project I guess … or perhaps I should have a day at the sewing machine … or perhaps I should just have a day off … oh, so many choices 😉

Cross Stitch, Works in Progress

New WIP

Anne S

Thanks for all the lovely comments about my Lanarte finishes – they will eventually be framed with a mid-blue frame of some sort, but I’m not sure whether to frame them individually, or together in one frame …

My latest WIP is something I’ve had sitting kitted up in my stash for a long time – and seeing as I’d bought all the Kreiniks especially for this piece I thought I’d better justify the cost and hurry up and stitch it up.  I didn’t get too much done last night, but this is the result of 2 hours stitching and TV viewing with Mum:

In the Dark needleroll 6Aug08

The design is “In the Dark needleroll” by Designs by Lena Rose, and is being stitched on Abracadabra 28ct opalescent lugana by Silkweaver.  I really like the Silk n Colors used in the border – 977 Sherbert, it’s so delicate, pretty and girly (unlike me LOL).  Hopefully I’ll manage to get it finished by the end of this weekend, as there isn’t really a ‘huge’ amount of stitching to be done on it … but then again, that could be famous last words!!

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Lanarte, Sea Life

Lanarte – Sea Life finished

Anne S

I put the finishing touches to the final part of the Lanarte Small Sea Life series while Mum and I sat watching an hour of TV tonight.  I really love the colours of this series – and adore the little fishing net at the bottom of this piece.

Lanarte-Sea Life #1

“Small Sea Life #1” by Lanarte
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with DMC cotton floss

Here’s a quick shot of all four together:

Seahorse Collage by Lanarte Fish Collage by Lanarte
Lanarte-Small Sea Life #2 Lanarte-Sea Life #1

Not entirely sure what I’ll start stitching next – it’s likely to be a needleroll that’s been kitted up for forever and a day …  I’ll be working late hours yet again this week, so will only get an hour in each night if I’m lucky (if I’m awake enough to concentrate on it when I get home!).

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Lanarte, Sea Life

Lanarte finish – part 3

Anne S

We had a stressful day on Saturday thanks to spending a couple of hours with a technician from Harvey Norman … during that time the internet also decided to spit the dummy and our wireless connection stopped working, which was necessary for the technician’s visit.  After a few frazzled hours we managed to send the technician on his way, and we settled down for a few hours stitching – then yesterday I spent the day in my PJ’s and we stitched all day. 

I managed to finish off the third part of my Lanarte Sea Life series, and decided I was so close to getting this set finished, I thought I might as well just keep on stitching the final part as well.  I just have 4 little backstitched seagulls left to stitch before the whole series is finished …  Here is the first one finished from the weekend:

Lanarte-Small Sea Life #2
“Small Sea Life #2” by Lanarte
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
using DMC cotton floss

Hopefully I can get the seagulls finished tonight, which means there will be another finish photo very very soon.

Cityscapes, Lighthouses, Photo Hunt, PhotoHunt, seascapes, Travel - Hong Kong

Photo Hunt – Cloud(s)

Anne S

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
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This week’s theme is “Cloud(s)” and instead of hanging outside in all weathers trying to find some decent cloud shots, I’ve decided to choose a photo that wasn’t actually of the clouds, but a lighthouse, but where the sky and clouds really appealed to me when I uploaded it.  I’ve cropped the clouds out on their own … then followed with the original shot.

PH Clouds

PH Clouds 2

Also, here’s a shot looking back from the other side of the lighthouse.

PH Clouds 3

This is the lighthouse from Lighthouse Beach, Port Macquarie, NSW Australia.

And to finish, here’s a shot of the city’s night lights reflecting off the clouds of Hong Kong harbour – we got very used to seeing those clouds, in fact I don’t remember a blue sky at all during our visit!

clouds 1

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Lack of posting

Anne S

Aside from work being manic as usual, there may be more of a lack of posting from me than usual over the next few weeks … ‘cos …

Fire Breathing Dragon by Pegasus Publications

“She’s baaaaaaaaack … !!!”

Yep, the Dragon arrived safe and sound into Sydney Airport this morning, and we’ll be spending time over the next three weeks when I’m not slaving away at work, doing the mother-daughter bonding thing.  Hopefully that’ll also mean my stitching mojo returning as there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting in front of the TV with a good DVD on with my Mum as my stitching partner.  In fact I sat and put a few stitches into a new project today while Mum had a lengthy snooze on the sofa.  It was very peaceful. 

I’ve been feeling ever so slightly ‘flat’ of late due to work stresses, so it was a really nice pick-me-up to have Mum’s company today.  Unfortunately I may end up going into work over the long weekend this weekend to try to bring some sanity to my working week next week, but the sooner I catch up at work the better for my future health and mental state!

If I’m not around, you’ll understand why – I’ll be hanging out in the Dragon’s Den! 😉