Feather Stitching

Just a quickie …

25 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

To say I’m going to sign up for housesitting with a proper agency until February (if I can find somewhere) … if I could find something more long-term it would be absolutely perfect, but in the meantime I’m on the hunt for more housesitting jobs again. It’ll cost me about $200 to sign up, but hopefully it’ll be worth it in the long run …

On another note, I’ve got my fingers crossed that I can get some annual leave approved – if that all pans out, I’ll be heading back over the pond to have a visit home to see Mum & Dad, and my closest family friends, in November. With any luck I’ll get the chance to have a full two weeks over there, which would be great (even though Dad will probably have me going through my stuff in the garage for a full week … groan … LOL). Just imagine, two whole weeks of being pampered at home, with no pets to look after, or driving to be done … two weeks with plenty of time to stitch, and stitch, and stitch … of course, I just have to get the leave approved first! 😉

At work I’ve been asked to be a ‘mentor’ to new people wanting to do relief Hotline work, and take another 4 people under my wing as a kind of buddy/trainer … plus another big project I’ve taken on for 3 months … who says life is boring? LOL.

Talking of which … time to see if that darned cat has returned home to roost yet, as she’s been out for ages, and I’m soooooo keen to get into bed before midnight for a change – it’ll be a welcome change to the 3am’s I’ve been doing so far for the last week or so! 😀

See, I told ya it was just a quickie!! 😉

Cross Stitch

Oops, I forgot … more enabling! (updated)

24 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

You can blame this little bit of enabling on Cindy – thanks for bringing it to my attention, Cindy … one more for the wishlist!! 😉

This is actually a slightly different design than the previous one by Maryse – and I have to say I think it would look exquisite in other monochrome colours as well (DMC 115 would be especially gorgeous in that rich red) … me thinks I’m going to have to cave in for this one at some stage as well – even though I’ve already bought the first one! One can never have too many trays, right?? LOL 😀

(Updated to add:)

*** Amy if you want to order it, there is a previous post I made about her last design, that has the ordering info on it here.
(https://shakatak66.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/le-plateau
-de-la-brodeuse-ordering-details/)
You just send a PayPal payment to Maryse (I think this one is also EUR10.00) and she emails you the chart .pdf files (they’re in French, but easy to follow). Just don’t forget to tell her exactly which chart it is you’re wanting, as they’re both a “plateau de la brodeuse” chart … this one is the monochrome one.
Cheers,
Anne ***

Cross Stitch, Finishes

One down, one to go!

24 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

I’m referring to my revolting commitment stitching … yes, that does indeed mean that poxy plastic canvas piece is finished, done and dusted, and out of my hair forever – woohoo!!! I’ve decided that Lisa can make it up herself into the little hanger, I’ve done the stitching on it and that will suffice … if you want to see what it will look like when finished, I’ve taken a photo of the kit cover for you. The only scissors I have on me are my Gingher’s and they sure as heck aren’t going to be used to cut plastic canvas!

Wire Welcome by Dimensions

I finished it quite late last night, and didn’t have the energy to start stitching the Winnie the Pooh bookmark straightaway – instead I figured if I’m already stitching projects I hate, I might as well keep the ball rolling … and put the final touches into a wee kit project that I started when I went into hospital to have my gallbladder removed two years ago. I only managed to stitch just under 1/2 of it at the hospital, and I finished it off in a couple of hours last night while sat up watching The Incredibles and Wallace & Gromit movies on DVD. The colours on this are quite odd, and I’m sure they put the wrong dark blue in the kit – which is one reason it’s taken so long for me to finish this … the blended stitches are really ‘obvious’. Goodness knows what I’ll do with it … make it into a pinkeep maybe?

Morning Glory – Carolyn’s Garden, by Serendipity Designs

Today I picked up the final piece of revolting commitment stitching, and have stitched about 1/4 of the Winnie the Pooh bookmark – the shifts I’m working this week won’t give me much free time so I won’t have chance to get it stitched before I leave here in a couple of days, but at least it will go nicely into an envelope so it can be posted to Lisa down the track if necessary … no piccies of that one until it’s all finished.

Then I can move onto some “fun” commitment stitching – next up is Nicki’s Quaker Friendship RR piece … plus I’m going to start a new project to cheer me up after doing a few projects that certainly were not fun … the only question is “which one will it be??” 😉

And that’s pretty much all I have for you tonight – only two more nights left before I lose my internet access again … I still have over 600 unread feeds to plough through, but unfortunately that won’t be happening either – every time I catch up on some reading, another 50+ feeds update again 😉

Hopefully I’ll get chance for one final post before I head off into the wide blue yonder … although I’ll have to do all the housework over the next two nights quite late, as I have overtime both days for 2 hours.

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

Not much stitching going on

21 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

In fact, not much of anything going on!! I’m on my final shift today of 4 weeks of late shifts (6pms, overnights, 4pms, etc) – and as usual in this part of the roster I’m fighting a migraine and feeling quite generally like death warmed up, and have been all week 😦

Even though I haven’t been online too much, I haven’t been stitching a great deal over the last few days either – I do, however, have a stitching progress piccie from the other day that I can post … I was hoping it would be a finish I would be posting by now, but this will have to do. This is the infamous plastic canvas project – and I have to admit I’ve hated every single stitch I’ve put into this damned thing! After getting RSI years ago, I’ve found if I hold a hoop etc in my hand for very long, my hand cramps up (I now stitch using a lap or floor frame with scroll bars) … well, holding plastic canvas is worse for me. Even though I got suckered into stitching this one for my friend, I did say I’d do it, so here I am finally getting it out of the way – I have a day off work tomorrow, so I think I might just stay in my PJ’s all day and sit and get it finished. Then I just have to stitch her Winnie the Pooh bookmark (which isn’t even started yet) then my commitment is all over red rover … phew! (Mind you, I have to pick up some more DMC 702 to finish this one off – because I’m stitching it all with a tent stitch type stitch, I’m using more thread – but it’s the only way I can get my needle under the back of the threads without having a temper tantrum!!)

Emails have still been arriving, though, while I’ve been offline – which is making my wishlist grow ever longer haha. Here’s some more enabling for you {{insert evil laugh here}}. Here’s the latest collaboration piece from The Cat’s Whiskers & Dinky Dyes – I love it!

Also for those that I’m starting to enable towards the Group Correspondence Courses at the Embroiderers Guild of America, here’s the link to the entire education page of GCC’s {{insert second evil laugh}}. I’ve just succumbed to getting one more project (yeah, as if I need any more!!) – this one has been on my wishlist for a few years now, and it’s finally retiring at the end of December to make way for new classes starting up … well, I could hardly NOT sign up for it now it’s my final chance ever, right? Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! ;P

GCC Florentine Christmas Ornaments

I’m actually a member of the Cyberstitchers Chapter of EGA, and because we’re a very spread out group, we get many many opportunities to sign up for GCC’s throughout the year (everything is mailed out, and a Yahoo group set up to chat about the project and discuss any problems etc) – as well as a chatty Yahoo group to keep in contact with everyone in general. If you don’t have an EGA Chapter near you to attend face-to-face meetings, I’d highly recommend it – and they take PayPal for the membership dues and course fees, which is awesome for those of us “across the pond” 🙂

I’ll finish off my quick post with a shot of Ally cat (she’s a real lady, too, Ally just like you! – definitely a perfect housemate!!). Ally doesn’t even meeow, never mind hiss … and she enjoys a quiet cuddle every now and then, but mostly she’s left to her own devices and spends most of the time dozing around the house. The house is a beautiful villa, and I spent a lovely morning at the start of the week sitting on the front porch in the sun with my stitching before I went to work … sheer heaven.

And on that note, I’d better start making tracks ready for today’s day at work. I need to drive by my storage unit to pick up some DMC that the local store didn’t have (for the infamous plastic canvas) – luckily it just means driving a bit of a roundabout way to work, it’s not majorly out of the way. I’m also dumping my duvet inner back into storage for a wee while too ‘cos it fills my car boot up and I end up having to put my suitcase etc on the back seat … I should actually take a photo of my travelling kit … I always feel quite sad when I look at it and think about all my lovely stuff in storage – but it’s a means to an end, I guess, and I just have to keep remembering that!

Rightio, onward and upward – into the shower I go then off to work … did I mention, it’s the LAST ONE?? WOOHOO!!!! Apart from the 4 hours overnight on Sunday night, of course, but that’s my own doing … I’ll be kicking myself later, I’m sure, but at the moment I’m putting my name down for overtime left right and centre to try to give the finances an extra kick (buying all these GCC’s aren’t really helping the cause – thanks overtime for giving me the option though!).

Cross Stitch

World Trade Center Quilt

17 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

We just heard word via the WTC Quilt Yahoo group, that the quilt has been travelling around, and has been visited by a number of relatives of the deceased, as well as visiting the US President. Mary, our leader and coordinator, wrote a very touching tale of these events – and I have to say I feel very proud and blessed to have been part of this project. While the tragedy took place on US soil, it’s effects were felt right around the world, and still are today.

The quilt was taken to the White House on 16 April 2007 to visit with President George W. Bush where both of the Kentucky Senators, Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell, were present. Everyone loved it, and the President wanted it to hang in the Presidential Library – before this could happen, though, it was taken back to visit the families. The quilt is 15ft wide by 26ft long, and travelled by train on 7 September to NYC. There was a forum held on 10 September, but because the quilt is so large there was no way to hang it properly – instead it was partially hung, with the rest of the quilt laid on tabletops. Family members were able to find their loved ones name and touch it, and have photos taken with it.

Soon the quilt will be heading back to the Presidential Library, where it will have a permanent home. While I’m not a religious person, I have to say Mary’s final words in her post touched me very much …

“The Lord gave me the scripture verse before I spoke to the family members: Matthew 5:4: Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted. Through God’s mercy and grace we comforted those family members. God bless each one of you. It’s not how many panel’s you stitched that counts. It’s how many hearts you touched.”

Bless you, Mary, for organising this memorial – I, for one, am supremely proud to have been part of this experience! Here’s a photo taken at the White House.

Cross Stitch

CA Wells & Embroiderers Guild of America

15 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

I forgot to say the other day that my first CA Wells kit arrived, along with the latest two of my Group Correspondence Courses from the EGA. Here is the kit for CA Wells’ Sailor’s Valentine:

The latest projects to arrive from the Embroiderers Guild are as follows:

GCC To the Acorn by Pat Krahn

GCC Winterspring by Judith D Gulick

I must say these Group Correspondence Classes through the EGA are really good value for money – as well as being some exquisite projects, they are a perfect addition to any library, as the instructions are really useful (and extremely thorough) for other projects. I have two more yet to arrive later in the year, which are:

GCC Swiss Sampler by Ilse Altherr

GCC More Options in Hardanger by Dale Sokolow

And I’ve got numerous projects in the wings from previous years … I really must pull my finger out and get cracking on some of these! As well as the following, I also have a class on Schwalmwork and one on Ukrainian Whitework (which are both retired now, so I can’t find a piccie to share).

GCC Beginner’s Hardanger by Marion Scoular

GCC Options in Hardanger by Dale Sokolow

GCC Casalguidi & Lavender by Barbara Kershaw

GCC Crewel Confidence by Judy Jeroy

GCC Finishing with Flair by Marion Scoular

GCC Gracie by Ganet Burr

These next three are the only ones I’ve completed to date:

GCC Lace Ribbons by Dakota Rogers

GCC Blackwork in Red and Green by Ginger Gouger Miller

and my absolute favourite to date:

GCC Chess Anyone? by Dale Sokolow
(I really do need to try and take a better photo of this one as the piccie does no justice to it whatsoever)

As you can see, there’s still no stitching progress to be had … I’ve been spending the day cuddled up in my PJ’s in front of the computer screen, preparing the next round of Photo Hunt posts – apart from two weeks, I’m now totally prepared right up until the end of February, yippee.

Stitching-wise, I just put the final stitches into outside border of the French Monogram Collection III biscornu by Judith Tuttle (Twisted Oaks designs) last night at work … only to find out I’m out somewhere and the final corner doesn’t line up – let’s just say I’m going to ignore it for a short while, ‘cos I hate to think how much frogging that’s going to entail … especially as I’m stitching in DMC 115 and the colour seems to stick to the fabric a wee bit ho-hum. Note to self, when doing a design like this, stitch a grid from all four sides and all four corners to save your sanity!! 😦

Oh well, at least I still have plenty of projects on hand to choose from instead … I was about to say I might head of now and put a few stitches in, but it’s now well after midnight … the joys of coming off of nightshifts, trying to get settled back into a ‘normal’ routine hmmm. Mind you, I’m on 4pm-midnight shifts all next week as well, so perhaps it’s a good thing to keep in ‘evening’ mode …

Rightio, on that note I’m off to play for an hour with a needle and thread … and dratted plastic canvas!

Cross Stitch

Le Plateau de la Brodeuse – ordering details

14 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

It seems there’s a wee bit of interest out there for Maryse’s new design. I managed to find the French instructions for mail order at the bottom of her website, then did a translation through AltaVista/Babelfish, and found out that you can send an order via PayPal, and the design will be sent back to you via email as a .pdf file. Following is what AltaVista threw back at me (although some of it doesn’t make sense, as normal!!):

“Conditions of sale. This is a workshop of independent artist. Thank you to respect my creations. The name of the workshop and the models which are presented there are deposited, it is interdict to copy them or to sell them. To acquire one of these models, two possibilities: – is a direct payment on my account Paypal maryse0558@hotmail.com, while not forgetting to mention of which grid it acts. – if you do not have a Paypal account, send to me a mall. You will receive a Paypal request that it is possible for you to regulate by credit card Visa or Mastercard, without you soyiez obliged to open an account paypal. The Paypal invoice holds place of proof of purchase. As of reception of réglement, the grids are sent immediately by e-mail, in files pdf. Thank you. Maryse Dupont. Contact: maryse0558@hotmail.com”

Haha, gotta love those translation sites, for a good giggle if nothing else. Anyway, I sent through a PayPal order to Maryse today and literally received my email back within the hour along with the chart attachments. Now I can’t wait to get cracking on it, although I’m thinking of finding some nice blue fabric first, then colour-matching my threads afterwards (yes, I’ve decided to go ahead with a blue conversion – surprise, surprise!) … which means I’ll have to hold off for a short while until I can go fabric shopping.

Anyway, if you want to order this design, feel free to make a PayPal payment to Maryse using her Hotmail email address above – the cost is EUR10.00 for the design. No affiliation, just an ecstatic customer today! 😀

Cross Stitch

But wait, there’s more! …

13 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve managed to get my unread blog feeds down to just under 600 today … but during the process managed to find out that some of the coffee series charts have been released by Little House Needleworks – so off to the wishlist they go … haha. Can’t wait for the tea ones to come out as well!! 😀

And I’m being really REALLY bad … I’m sending off for Maryse’s design today via Paypal … it’s futile to resist, so I’m just going to bite the bullet and order it! Sorry, what was that I just heard?? A what??? Oh! What happened to my 50 Project Challenge?? Oh well, I guess I’m just taking another project onto the end of it again … haha. Hey, this whole process is supposed to be fun, right? Well, this most definitely IS fun – and this project is a definite “must have”!! ;P

(Updated to add: I now have Maryse’s chart in my hot little hands … how’s THAT for service???) 😀

Cross Stitch

Enabling post

12 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Oh boy, if you haven’t seen this before, check this design out here! If you’re into stitching accessories, I’m sure you’ll love this one!!! I’d even consider doing this one in the pinks … although I can definitely see that replacing for equivalent shadings of blues would work very nicely too (dunno why that idea popped into my head! LOL).

Also, this is yet another design I’ve fallen in love with, hook line and sinker!! I’d better start getting some overtime in soon! haha. It’s only available through The Silver Needle.

And on that note I’m heading off for an hour’s kip before work … halfway through my nightshifts now yippee! 😀

Melbourne, Travel

Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens

11 September, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

My next stop on my day out was Ashcombe Maze & Lavender Gardens – I was getting peckish at this point, though, so opted to sit and have my own version of a Devonshire Tea (with coffee instead of tea) … the scones were delicious! And it gave me chance to chill out and relax while waiting for a schoolbus of noisy teenage school kids to leave – it’s amazing the peaceful hush that came over the gardens once they’d gone! 😉

There isn’t as much to see in these gardens as with The Enchanted Maze Garden, but it’s still a lovely garden to stroll around. They have a “Great Gnome Hunt” for kids, where they have to find the gnomes with red name tags somewhere in the gardens … a great way to keep them amused.

Once again, the gardens will look totally different when the summer flowers are in bloom – I can’t wait to see the Circular Rose Maze when the roses are out, as they just look like a garden of twigs right now! It didn’t stop me from taking squillions of photos, though, focusing on the different types of flowers that were in bloom, as well as a few of the gardens themselves.

There were lovely spots in the garden where you could sit down and while away the hours in abject peace and serenity – there were some gorgeous little nooks where I could easily have curled up with a book without a care in the world 🙂

It was lovely to see some of the spring blossoms starting to arrive on the trees, and also to see some spring bulbs in flower – I was especially thrilled to see bluebells popping up near the lily pond … they always remind me of England, walking through the local woods near home (one of the few memories I do have of my childhood).

I took a few photos of the lavender garden – there seem to be quite a few new plants, so it wasn’t as spectacular as it will be when they’re more established, but it was still lovely to walk through the garden, as they have it set out as a small maze. I’ve only chosen a couple of photos from the dozens I did take, but no doubt will use a couple in upcoming Photo Hunts (I have one of a bee resting on a lavender flower that I really love … but you’ll have to wait for that one haha).

So, all-in-all, a wonderful outing – I finished off by driving as far as Sorrento afterwards, although it was getting late in the day so I didn’t have time to look around. Next time I’ll spend a day on its own perhaps exploring that part of the world, and maybe taking a return trip to Queenscliff on the ferry as well (weather permitting, seeing as I get terribly seasick!).

Anyway, this definitely won’t be the last time I visit these gardens – I’d love to take Mum around them as well next time she’s over (make sure you bring your walking shoes Ma!).

Rightio, time to sign off and think about getting ready for work again … fingers crossed when I return home tomorrow after my nightshift I won’t have cat sick to worry about! Mind you, at least this kitty is a friendly old thing – Ally is an 11 year old tortoiseshell moggie, and definitely very laid back and relaxed … that’s a nice change! 😉

Can’t guarantee to show any stitching progress for a week or two … although I do hope to get two small pieces finished while I’m here (one revolting bit of stitching on plastic canvas, and a Winnie the Pooh bookmark – for those of you who’ve been reading my blog since the start you might remember I was ‘cheated’ into doing some stitching for a work colleague … well, these are the pieces, and I still haven’t stitched them – but this is the girl I’m housesitting for at the moment, so I thought it would be great if I could get them done in time to leave them here). I’m also really REALLY itching to start Snapperville, and it’s taking all my resolve not to pick it up and start it yet … so I may just end up caving in and treating myself and starting that one real soon 😀

I hope everyone is doing well, out there in blogland – hopefully I’ll get chance to get online again soon to catch up on some blog reading before I lose my access again. I have to say, though, here were 1200+ unread feeds sitting in there, so it is definitely not going to be a ‘small task’! 😉