Tag: Cross Stitch

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, JBW Designs

Prancer

Anne S

Here’s my latest wee finish – I was able to complete the stitching last night after picking up the elusive DMC 368, then I put the beads on this morning.  It was supposed to be stitched 1 over 1, but I wimped out and stitched it over-two on 28ct, then just increased the bead size from 40123 to 00123 instead.

JBW Designs-Prancer
“Prancer” by JBW Designs
from 2004 JCS Christmas Ornie issue
stitched on 28ct white Cashel linen
with recommended DMC and Mill Hill beads

JBW Designs-Prancer

Now I’m off to find the ever-elusive bag of beads that I’ve already lost once, then I found them last weekend and put them somewhere safe … I should have known I was in trouble at that point, as “somewhere safe” usually means the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle … only I can lose something twice in as many weeks!!! … ho-hum :/

In fact, I might just hold off the search party and go and have some brunch across the road first, then I may even put together my bookcase … and then I’ll decide whether to start the search party again for my bead bag, or whether to sit in the lounge and finish off Boo! 🙂

Updated:  Hmmmm, I’ve just decided to check out my camera settings to work out why all my photos seem to be washed out just lately … sure enough at some stage I’ve managed to change my exposure settings permanently … now I’ve put it back to “0” adjustment, the photos are coming out more more crisply, so I’ve re-uploaded the Prancer photos – slightly darker fabric, but definitely a lot clearer on the beading detail!

Cross Stitch

So much stitching I’m exhausted! :P

Anne S

So much for the high hopes of completing my scissor fob stitching tonight … the sum total of my stitching entailed stitching the final 4 legs on my spider, and attaching the wee spider button body … um, and that’s it … kinda not worth taking a progress piccie really 😉

Tonight, though, was very productive from another perspective – I drove out straight from work to my old Chiropractor and FINALLY dropped off Boaz’s birth sampler gift, and as it turns out the girls are visiting Erin this weekend for Boaz’s … ahem … 1st birthday … ahem …  To be fair, the fabric took a number of months to arrive, but I was also then very slow to actually get it stitched and framed, and it’s been sitting gathering dust in my bedroom for the last few months while working out how the heck I was going to drop it off!  Oh well, it’s finally done and dusted, and one more ‘chore’ off the list 🙂

The 2nd stop was then to Officeworks where I picked up my little “slimline bookcase” – poor Katie had to resort to sitting in the back seat so I could fit the bookcase in my car, and I was clever enough to carry it into the apartment buiding, then took the box contents apart and brought them up in two trips up the stairs … a hernia is something I didn’t feel like tempting tonight!

Lucky last was a trip to Spotlight so Katie could pick up some cake decorating supplies, and I could pick up some ribbon and lining fabric for the With My Needle Quaker Friendship Book we did as a round robin last year.  I must say, I think the fabric is VERY pretty … and while the ribbon isn’t a perfect match, it’s still very VERY scrummy … and blue, of course … “Lapis” to be exact! 😛 

I also picked up one whole skein of DMC 368 that I couldn’t find at home for love nor money, which means I can now finish the latest ornie I got halfway through last weekend before having to throw in the towel.  Maybe I’ll even get that finished this weekend too … although going by tonight’s stitching efforts, perhaps I should just keep quiet about my stitching goals LOL.  I did manage to remember to pick up some plain white flannelette fabric that I use as lining on my metallic ornie forms, so that also means a couple more Christmas ornies can get finished soon …  And finally I was able to buy 3 of the reels of sewing machine cotton that Mum wanted me to buy for her – sorry Mum, but they don’t sell the Molnycke thread any more 😦

As for now, it’s time for an early night … and fingers crossed my pin pillow exchange turns up soon, ‘cos I’m champing at the bit to post a piccie! 😛

Cross Stitch, The Drawn Thread, Works in Progress

A bit more Boo!

Anne S

I managed a tiny bit of stitching again last night, and was able to add one little ghostie to my scissors purse.  I also managed to add a bit more to the fob by finishing the pumpkin vines and little black cat plus 2/3 of the wording – I’m hoping to have this one finished by the end of the weekend (stitching-wise anyway!).

Tonight I’d really like to see the scissor fob stitching finished – anything else is a bonus, although I should probably be able to get the back ‘panel’ finished on the purse as well … that just leaves the front panel to be stitched over the weekend … and the finishing – although I don’t know if I have any suitable fabric to use for the lining yet … will have to check the stash, but I’m pretty positive it’ll entail a trip to Spotlight or a quilting shop somewhere!  Yep, I’m pretty sure this one will have to sit in the finishing basket for a wee while yet!

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stash, Sydney, The Drawn Thread, Works in Progress

Boo!

Anne S

Boo! Scissors Purse and Fob by The Drawn Thread is my current Work In Progress – so far I’ve managed to get almost halfway down the scissors purse, and about 1/4 of the scissor fob stitched.  I’m still really tired in the evenings, so my stitching is going r…e…a…l…l…y s…l…o…w…l…y.  Here’s my progress to date – once again, very washed out under the daylight bulb and even Photoshop Elements is struggling to get the colours right with a ton of manipulation!  I started this one in about the middle of last year, but hated the feel of one strand of silk, and just never found a rhythm … I stopped halfway through completing the little pumpkin on the ‘flap’, and it’s only this last week that I’ve pulled it from the depths of my WIP basket and decided to give it a little bit of love again.  And before you ask, yes, the “Boo” part at the top is supposed to be upside down … you see, it’ll fold over and then be the right way up again 😀

On Sunday I had a really lovely day out with my favourite Sydney ladies – Alison and Amanda … as always it was a riot, and much laughing and chattering was to be had.  We went to the new craft show that was held out at Homebush at Sydney Olympic Park.  I was on a stricter budget than normal, and there wasn’t too much to tempt me this time, but I still managed to come home with some great wee treasures … more in the shape of BIG floss rings for my threads (which are like hens teeth to find here!) and some more scissors (hey, a girl can NEVER have too many!!).  I also bought a strand of beads that I think will be awesome as a scissor fob for the Gingher Roberta scissors … plus some necklace ‘thongs’ to put together some chunky style necklaces for myself and Katie.  Hmmm, sorry about the green shopping bag that was used for the photography … not the best choice as a background to show off stitching scrummies! LOL.

And just LOOK at my favourite splurge of the day … I’ve been drooling over these Eiffel Tower scissors for the looooongest time, and that was my parting gesture to the show … and without doubt my very FAVOURITE purchase – I love, love, LOVE them, and don’t begrudge the AUD25.00 it took to procure them! 😀

Saturday was spent doing a bunch of tidying up in my pigsty of a bedroom, and tidying up my threads and stitching things – I finally grabbed a few of my kitted up projects that actually have DMC in the bags and entered all those threads into an Excel spreadsheet.  It seems that these days I’m constantly putting projects on hold part-way through stitching ‘cos I’m one or two threads short, so hopefully this will help me know where to start rummaging when I’m hunting for an elusive thread!  One other GREAT thing about tidying up my thread inventory is that I found the teeny tiny bag of embellishment beads for my January Accent Sampler by Periwinkle Promises … which also means I now have no excuse not to get it finished.  All I need to do is to add the little beads, and my initials/year, and stitch the back-stitch border on the backing linen, and I’m all set to do the finishing … not much, right? … well, let’s just say it’ll get done some time soon either before or after I finish Boo! 😛

I’m hoping to take Friday off this week so I can run a couple of errands like FINALLY picking up a bookcase from Officeworks that I bought late last year (they didn’t tell me it had arrived then shipped it back to their warehouse again … bless them!) … which also then means I get to play DIY with my power drill (LOVE that thing!), and I also just might FINALLY finish unpacking those final boxes in my bedroom that are full of embroidery books etc … which will then perhaps FINALLY lead me to putting a bunch of my books I no longer want on Ebay … perhaps 😛

Work has been ‘challenging’ over the last couple of weeks – just for a change LOL.  I’ve had it hinted from my boss that there could be a sort of new opportunity on the horizon that I should put my hand up for as it could be good for my career (and builds on the good relationship I already have with this group) … not really any different to what I’m doing now, just more focused on one area … time will tell if it actually pans out and goes ahead, and if so whether I get it or not, as there are obviously no guarantees.  I have already stated openly to him, though, that I would be interested if it went ahead.

Anyway, talking of work, I guess I should hurry up and post this and get into beddy-byes … an extra half hour of sleep just could make all the difference for me tomorrow 😉

The next finish you see will hopefully be my Pin Pillow exchange piece, which is hurrying across the oceans as we speak, and hopefully won’t be too far away from its destination … 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishes, Mosey 'n Me, Threads Through Time

Little finishes

Anne S

Katie and I have been hitting the lounge chairs almost as soon as we’ve walked in home at the end of each day, as we’re both a bit under the weather and really tired this week – it means we’re also now keeping on top of our TV viewing as well, and watching all our favourite shows within 24 hours of taping them … I’ve got Katie into my mindset of taping everything then watching it the next day and forwarding through the adverts … ah, bliss!

Of course all this sitting on my bottom early has meant a bit more stitching time this week … which would be great if I was stitching to my normal levels, but I’ve been stitching like an old snail this week, and it’s taken me 4 nights to complete one little ornie!  Oh well, it’s better than nothing, and I have to admit it feels good to see one more kitted up finish off the pile.

Threads Through Time-Reindeer Garden
“Reindeer Garden” by Threads Through Time
from 2000 JCS Christmas Ornament issue
stitched on 36ct cream Edinburgh linen with DMC

Once I’d finished Reindeer Garden, I also dragged out my Mosey n Me freebie “Love February” – I’ve never been happy with it ever since I stitched it back at the beginning of February … so I unpicked all the cream stitches and re-stitched in the pink colour, plus I was really unhappy with the green used for the rose’s stem, so out that went tonight as well, and I re-stitched the stem with a darker green.  While the photo is really really washed out and bad, I’m a LOT happier with this version than the previous one, and really glad I opted to do some frog-stitching tonight!  Now this one can officially join the “finished” list as well 😀

Before ……………………………………………. After
 Mosey 'n Me-Love February freebie

“Love February” by Mosey ‘n Me
stitched on 32ct Lambswool linen in DMC
with addition of small red heart button

As it was quite late by this stage, and I need to kit up some more charts/fabrics with their actual threads, I started stitching a simple JBW Designs Christmas ornie that was already kitted up tonight … I have a busy weekend planned, though, so no guarantees it’ll get finished until early next week … unless we have another DVD marathon tomorrow night 😉

With any luck my missing thread won’t be too far away now so I can get back to stitching my canvaswork Sapphire Star … I’ve also completed all the stitching of my Periwinkle Promises January Sampler Accent, but I’ve mislaid the teeny tiny bag of blue beads, and don’t seem to have the colour in my stash (Murphy’s Law!) … once I get a replacement packet, I just need to do the backstitching around the back piece of linen, make the corner tassels, and put it all together (I’ve obviously decided to use the linen backing instead of using the fabric for something else).

And on that note I’d better get my A into G and get some of those threads kitted up so I can jump into bed and get some shut-eye, so I’m a bit fresher for more stitching tomorrow night … and of course it’s a big day at work for a change, so I guess being fresh for work won’t go amiss either 😛

Cross Stitch, Elizabeth's Designs, Finishes, Needlebook, pinkeeps, Stitching Smalls

Gifties received

Anne S

I heard from Becky today that the Postman worked overtime over the weekend, and my little gifties arrived safe and sound.  I’ve had the stitching done on these for 3 whole years (!!!) – the pinkeep has been sitting around finished ever since then, waiting for it’s companion needlebook to be finished.  As soon as they became a matching pair officially (finally!!!), they were parcelled up and sent over to the US to their new Mum.  Becky has a lovely photo on her blog, but here are a couple more from before they were made up into their finished versions (and these show the colours much more accurately):

As you can see, I had all intentions of getting them both finished the year they were stitched, so they still have 2007 stitched on the ‘backsides’ 😉  I have to agree I really love the little backstitched bees, but for the life of me I can’t remember which design I borrowed them from!  And here’s the finished duo together all finished, just before packaging them up:

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

Quick catch-up

Anne S

It was a busy weekend – started by Friday night’s shenanigans being dressed up as a nun for the Sound of Music Sing-a-long.  I only managed to get one paltry photo taken without the flash, while in the office, so it’s incredibly unflattering (like most photos of me) … anyway, it gives you an idea of how I wandered around Sydney train stations and streets for the evening.  We had a blast, and really enjoyed our meal at Retro Cafe next door to the theatre before the show.

Saturday I went with Katie to my hairdressers for a MUCH needed haircut!!  I had to cancel a couple of weeks ago due to my vertigo/virus.  I am now thrilled to be sporting a fringe once again, along with a couple of inches off the length … woohoo!!! 😀

While we were there we also decided to go the whole hog and had a beauty session while the other person was having a haircut.  I got my eyebrows shaped and had my … shock, horror … first EVER pedicure!!!  Oh boy, was it lovely – I enjoyed every minute of the pampering.  I’ve been a tad stressed at work fairly recently, so it was really good to chill out and do nothing for the morning.  Unfortunately, though, I was so exhausted afterwards (thanks to an early morning start) I ended up having a nana nap in the early evening … which didn’t help with the evening sleeping ritual … I ended up getting back up at 10pm and continued stitching my pin pillow exchange piece!

Sunday saw me getting up relatively late, but the entire day was spent in front of the gogglebox clearing up the hard-drive and watching Medium, Ghost Whisperer, Fringe and Good News Week episodes … but I DID manage to get the final stitches into my pin pillow exchange, and made it up in the little pillow … now it’s sitting in its padded envelope waiting for a visit to the Post Office during the week 😀

After finishing my exchange piece, I started a new Christmas ornament from an old JCS issue that I’d already got kitted up from a couple of years ago – I made an OK start into that one while watching TV last night … and I’ll put a few more stitches into it tonight.

Tomorrow I’m heading off to my GP to check a few things checked out – my lightheadedness continues, unfortunately, so I’m going to ask to get my blood pressure checked out.  I’ve also had really bad acid reflux over the last few months, so that’s also on the list … better to be safe than sorry, I guess!  And on that note, it’s time to go get some soup for dinner and settle in front of the TV for an hour or two 🙂

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

Nunning and … What, more stash????

Anne S

The parcels have been coming in thick and fast this week … from orders that were placed right after Christmas but finally arriving – these are all from big sales held from two separate stores … and I’m still awaiting for my recent order from SB&B with my missing thread so I can continue with Sapphire Star (gotta make the most of that postage – although I have already braced myself for a looooong wait!!!).  Let’s just say that these orders are what prompted me to declare I’m going on a stash diet … ‘cos when I have a splurge I don’t do it by halves (although I don’t have one that often these days, so perhaps it does me good to have a big blow-out once a year)!!!


Back row:  Heart in Hand-Snow; Imaginating-Seashell Silhouette; The Cat’s Whiskers-Queen Anne’s Lace; Laura J Perin-Halloween; M Designs-Miss Mary Mac’s Pins & Needles Pincushion
Centre row:  Heart in Hand-Wee Santa 2008; Erica Michaels-Random Thoughts of Spring; Cross-Stitch & Needlework Nov 07 & Jan 10; JABC button packs-Christmas wreath & lights, SB’s Be Attitudes, Bent Creek’s Autumn Snapperland
Bottom row:  Heart in Hand-Birds; LHN-Loving & Faithful; LHN-Gentle & Kind; LHN-Queen Bee; LHN-Pear Tree

Prairie Moon-Merry Xmas; Laura J Perin-Mallard Duck Collage; Shepherd’s Bush-Baby Bug Ball; Milady’s Needle-Peacocks Rule (and the ruler needed for it); GAST-Brethren Blue; JABC button pack-Waxing Moon’s Halloween Stack; WDW 30ct Guacamole linen; Shepherd’s Bush-Mummy button

The Prairie Moon design is for my friend/flatmate’s Christmas gift – she’s not quite a ‘goth’, but she loves Green Day and a LOT heavier music than I do, and she loves skulls and goth type stuff … and she joked that she really really wants to have a white Christmas tree with black ornaments on it, with a skull instead of a fairy/star on top of the tree … well, as soon as I saw the Merry Xmas chart, I just HAD to get it for her!!!  Hopefully she’ll like it 😀

One of the orders above, I placed it just so I could receive the Bent Creek snapperland border accessories (ie snaps and JABC buttons for both Summer and Winter Snapperlands) – these were ordered the same night I finished stitching Summer Snapperland … alas the order just arrived this week … withOUT the borders packs – they hadn’t been ordered right from the start, even though I’d sent clarifying emails with the product code etc … hmmm, oops 😦

I picked the second of these orders up a couple of days ago, and haven’t managed to get back to the PO Box since … I’ll now have to wait until Monday before I can go back there again, as Katie and I are taking a cab into work tomorrow … ‘cos it’s Sound of Music night tomorrow night!!! … and I’ll be dressing up as a Nun and getting a little bit tipsy (I wonder if I could hide a hipflask under those voluminous skirts?? LOL).  I’ll get Katie to take a photo tomorrow so I can share it with you all.  Alas Katie didn’t want to come to the store to try on the outfits tonight so I had to try it on and send her photos via the mobile camera – unfortunately she tried hers on tonight when we got home and she hates it, so she’s a bit unhappy about it.  I feel bad that she’s lost her $50 hire fee for nothing … but I’m really happy with my nun’s outfit (I had my heart set on going this year dressed as a nun, even if it meant getting dressed up on my own), and I’m looking forward to the night out 😀

We’ve been really tired this week, so haven’t really been online much at all – sorry Mum, I haven’t obviously uploaded the photo memes this week either – maybe over the next week I’ll load up a few advance ones so I won’t have to keep missing out 🙂

I have managed to get 2/3 of my exchange stitching completed this week, though, and hopefully should see the rest finished by the end of the weekend.  Alas I can’t share until it’s finished and the recipient receives it – fingers crossed she likes it … here’s a teeny tiny sneak peak … really teeny tiny! LOL 😉

And on that note, it’s time to hit the mattress, as my alarm will now be going off earlier than normal and it’s gonna be a really busy day  …

Bent Creek, Country Cottage Needleworks, Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Little House Needleworks, picture framing, samplers, Stash, The Drawn Thread, With My Needle

Shhhhh, don’t tell anyone…

Anne S

…but my trip off The Wagon seems to be continuing haha.  We drove up to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains today so I could pick up my finished stitching from The Stitching Post, and two designs from my wishlist fell into my shopping bag … oops!  I’ve been drooling over Mrs Wadelow’s Hussif since I first saw it on Ellen’s blog, and as fate had it Karen had it in stock already … well, I figured it was right there on the counter, so it just HAD to come home with me! haha.  The other design was LHN’s Fa La La from the latest ornament series.  Going by what many others have said, these ornies are rather on the large side, so I think I’ll be stitching them with one thread on a 40ct fabric (as opposed to the other option of stitching them over-one on normal fabric … yucky!).

 

Anyway, aside from a number of designs on loan that Karen never got around to framing for display, I now have these four little beauties back at home again in their lovely framed state 🙂

Framed Samplers

It’s been a very tiring – although very awesome – weekend … Katie and I went to the movies yesterday and saw two movies back-to-back (Valentine’s Day and Wolfman) – then we finished off the evening with a trip to G.P.K. (Gourmet Pizza Kitchen) for pizza before heading home to retire in front of the TV for a couple of hours watching The Hangover.  Of course then today we head over to the Blue Mountains for the day, so all-in-all I’m ready to curl up and not move for a couple of hours before we have to go to sleep before work tomorrow … ready for 5 days of work before we head out to the Sing-along Sound of Music on Friday 😛

And now I’m heading off to find some fabric to start my exchange stitching on, so we can blob out in front of the gogglebox with Jethro and the gang of NCIS 😀

Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Finishing

A spot of Christmas ornie finishing

Anne S

At least I managed to stitch up 7 ornie sides before my sewing machine packed up … here are 6 I managed to fully complete last night – the last remaining one is for my tutorial, and I prefer to wait until the weekend when I’ll have better daylight for the photos … now I’m off to sit in front of the goggle box for an hour or two to chill out – TGIF tomorrow! 😀

PS: I should add that this isn’t all my handiwork – only the top left and top right ornaments were stitched by my own fair hand … the other four beauties were stitched by my Mum 😀