Tag: Gifts TO BE FIXED

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stash

Disappointing news about Silkweaver

Anne S

Just a quick post to say how disappointed I feel about Silkweaver’s announcement that they won’t be selling plain fabrics etc any longer, but will just be selling hand-dyeds … Normally it wouldn’t worry me so much, but I had almost completed my ‘mental’ order of fabrics that I wanted to buy using Jenna’s birthday gift certificate, and they were all plain/opalescent fabrics for upcoming projects. When Country Stitch did this recently, Linda had her stock of plain fabrics at discounted prices, so you still had chance to try and get the fabrics that you needed – I knew I wouldn’t be able to get a lot of them, but you at least had a chance to quickly contact her to see what she was still holding in stock. Silkweaver have just sent an email saying that’s it, no longer available for sale 😦 I’m sure I can find some lovely hand-dyed fabbies to spend my voucher on, but I just feel a bit disappointed in the whole thing {{pouting}}. A lot of the local suppliers down under just don’t have the same range, and I can understand the business reason behind it (Linda and I discussed this at length over a few emails, and I don’t blame her for not stocking plain fabrics anymore). Thank goodness I still have Karen at Dragonfly Dreams – but geez I wish you were in my home town, as you have the best selection down under of everything!

I still can’t believe what we pay at my LNS for threads etc … to give you an example, that quite frankly shocked me senseless, and I’m tempted not to set foot in it again without taking smelling salts to help with the shock of the bill! I really, really wanted to use the right threads (well, as much as possible, anyway) for my recent Christmas ornies – but there were a few colours I didn’t have in GAST … so I called into my LNS on the way home from work, as it’s only a 5-minute detour from my route home – they had the main 3 colours I really needed, so I trotted up to the counter with them. To be honest, I expected them to be expensive, but not nearly as much as they were – I ended up paying $16.50 for 3 skeins – that’s $5.50 each skein!!! Bl**dy hell, my brain kept thinking all the way home – I was in shock! I know you have to have mark-ups on your products, and I know us down under have to pay for the shipping/customs charges in the long run, but I don’t understand that sort of mark-up whatsoever! Unfortunately for them, in the future if I’m buying locally, Dragonfly Dreams will be getting all my local business – at $3.50 a skein for GAST, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out why … aside from that, Karen’s service is exceptional and very personalised! (and I would have said that, even if I didn’t know you were reading my blog now, Karen! LOL) Once I get back to being confirmed as a shift worker again, I’ll be getting an order in, that’s for sure! I really needed some fabrics for some upcoming Christmas ornaments, but perhaps I just need to have a hunt through my stash and become a bit creative, or just choose a different ornament to stitch in the meantime … Geez, I’m a bit of a grizzle-guts at the moment LOL.

BUT on a much brighter note, I have to say I had a wonderful surprise in my PO Box on Wednesday, but haven’t had chance to acknowledge it online on the computer at all … my apologies for the delay in making an official acknowledgement! I had a wonderful belated birthday prezzie from my sweet angel, Tobie – thank you so much, Tobie, it was a wonderful surprise and a wonderful gift, from a wonderful friend 🙂 Thanks heaps and HEAPS!! It had a wonderful chart from my wishlist – Sun needleroll by M Designs, and a gorgeous skein of blue Anchor pearl cotton with a metallic thread through it …. it’s just gorgeous! But wait … there’s more! … there’s also a
packet of my absolute favourite needles – some #26 Piecemakers, and a packet of 14ct aida, which is absolutely perfect for my charity quilt blocks – and you’ll never believe it, but I’ve just been thinking I was going to have to buy some more ‘cos I was short of fabric for one block I’ve committed myself to stitching – talk about perfect timing!! Wow, Tobie, I was well and truly spoilt rotten!! Thank you, thank you, thank you my dear friend! :)))

During my last bit of stitching, I managed to finally watch the last DVD’s I got sent by Homescreen (they’ve only been sitting there for 2 weeks!) … and they were all dreadful – “Breaking in” with Burt Reynolds; “The Brush-Off” – an Aussie movie, and semi-watchable; and the worst one of all “The Good Girl” with Jennifer Aniston – what a load of rubbish!!! Let’s hope the 3 movies heading out my way this week are a bit better … “The Program”, “Boat Trip” and “Memories of Me” … ‘cos the ones I’ve been choosing lately have been appallingly bad! Maybe I should just start closing my eyes and pointing my mouse at the screen, and selecting whatever it falls on, ‘cos that would have to be better than the drivel I’ve been choosing myself!! On the latest stitching front, I managed to get about two more inches stitched on Marine Elegance, so I’m just around the bottom point and heading back up to the top … don’t think I’ll attempt any more today though LOL.

And unfortunately that’s all I have time for today – I’m absolutely exhausted … it’s only 4.10pm and I can hardly keep my eyes open … only managed to get about 5 hours sleep last night ‘cos I was up all night chatting, which is not very clever on a 6am shift LOL. Tonight Rox is out to dinner, leaving me and Fraze on our own, so hopefully I can get an early night to make up for it … but I’m seriously thinking of having a kip right about now … But hopefully Fraze will get home early enough for us to go for a beach walk for an hour before dinner – that should tire me out even more LOL. Tomorrow night I’m off to dinner with Rox on our own, to have a proper catch-up and girlie night out … it’s been so wonderful to see her – I still can’t really believe she’s here in this country!!! 😀

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

Another day gone …

Anne S

… and still no needle in sight …

We have, however, uncovered the answer to the mystery of the weird-looking creature in my previous post – Sharon, you’re spot on, thank you!! I did a Google on “case moth” and found the following link, with some interesting info. Also, glad to know it’s harmless … and not a relative of the dreaded 8-legged Huntsman or something daft – quite fascinating to see it, and it’s the second one I’ve seen now, so the curiosity got the better of me this time … there you go, Mum, now we know! 😀 The male moth is quite spectacular when it emerges … typical, though, the female has to spend all its life cooped up in that cocoon ;P

And I’m glad to hear my last piece of stitching finally reached its destination, so I can finally release the full picture from the teaser I put out earlier – I stitched a small token of friendship for Jenna, to help to cheer her up after going through so much just lately … Jenna was one of the first people to comment on my blog when I started, and the comments she made had a big impact on my self-esteem, and that started to help me deal with things that had caused me personal pain last year – it was just a few kind words at just the right time … and it helped open my eyes to a whole big world out there, and start to appreciate who I am, and get back my caring nature. So, this little token was just my way of saying “thanks for everything – your friendship means a lot to me” 😀 Funnily enough, I’d already started stitching this when Jenna answered a previous SBQ about what the perfect project would be … the answer was “My perfect project would probably be a star-themed design, since I’m so nuts about stars. It would have some purple in it somewhere, or at least some blue. Kreiniks, of course, or another brand of metallic, to make the stars sparkle. And stitched on a gorgeous, rich hand-dyed fabric with luscious overdyed silk threads.” Amazingly, without trying, I think I almost nailed every point! haha. Glad you like it, Jenna – you deserve it! 😀

And it looks like my previous post has brought to the fore more Little Britain fans haha – now I know which of you have the craziest sense of humour haha. We’re always mimicking the characters … I mentioned to Rosa that last year I had my gallbladder removed, and while I was in hospital I was in a room with 4 beds – opposite me was an older lady who was a bit hard of hearing, and to the right of me was a younger lady who had her husband/partner visiting (we all had our curtains drawn) … anyway, the nurse came in a couple of times, and the hard-of-hearing lady was called Margaret … she’d come in and call out “Margaret … Margaret …” – I nearly wet myself, especially when a male voice pipes up from the next bed “… have we got any pirate memory games?” – I could hardly contain myself from giggling my head off … that programme has got so many people hooked, it’s great!

Anway, off to do something else for my final two hours before beddy-byes … I’m going in to work an hour earlier for overtime tomorrow, then I’ve amazingly managed to get 4 hours overtime on Sunday … the extra money will come in more handy than having the day off, I’ve decided! And it’s so rare to get overtime just lately, you grab it when you can!

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, SBQ

Mixed bag of ‘allsorts’

Anne S

Daft title, but a bit of what this post is all about – a little bit of everything …

First all I want to send a HUGE thank you and {{{hugs}}} out to BeckySC who sent me my final birthday gift – I have to admit, I knew this one was coming, but it was still a lovely surprise to open my PO Box door this morning and find that envelope sitting in there 🙂 And not only that, but there was a gorgeous packet of cards as well, with bright blue butterflies on them – and this was extra special for me, as it reminds me of a trip I did with Mum to Cairns, Queensland when we visited the butterfly farm especially to see those big blue butterflies! Brought lovely warm fuzzies and memories flooding back – thank you so much sweet Becky, I really really love my gifts … thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Today’s SBQ is:

“Do you have an organizational system for your patterns? If so, how do you organize them? If not, have you considered organizing them?”

My physical charts are all in ringbinders, in plastic sleeves – they’re mainly organised by theme, ie samplers, beading, hardanger, canvaswork, etc, and XS charts are organised by theme as well, ie marine, scenery, birds/animals etc – my ringbinders are on bookshelves. I have one ringbinder for freebie charts, and they’re semi-organised into themes as well. Where I have a lot of designs for a specific designer, eg Mirabilia, L&L, TW, they all have their own ringbinder each. I used to keep a spreadsheet in Works that listed every single project/XS chart I owned, so I could do a search by topic etc, but I haven’t kept that up-to-date for years … and don’t ask what number entry I got up to!! LOL.

Next subject … dieting! Last week I did a blonde thing, and fell asleep on Tuesday night at 5.30pm … and missed the sign-up for Weight Watchers – so last night I made sure I didn’t miss out again, and am now officially a member of the clan. We’ve re-nicknamed it “Fat Busters” … after one of our favourite UK comedy shows, “Little Britain” – very very sick humour, but extremely hilarious. One of my favourite characters in the first series was Marjorie Dawes, the leader of Fat Busters, which is like WW … she’s a right royal cow, and very rude to the members – I’d offer to share some episodes with you, but I think it would lose itself in the translation to just tell you about it. Let’s just say that it had such an impression on our household, we still keep asking if we want a bit of cake, … “cos we all like a bit of cake, don’t we?!” And don’t forget the wonderful game of “high fat … low fat … high fat … low fat … Dust!” As well as those other wonderful characters … “Computer says no…”, “Margaret … Margaret … Have we got any pirate memory games?”, and Daffyd “The only gay in the village”. Not to mention the non-stop talking Vicky Pollard, and the hysterical Lou and Andy (“I want that one … I want THAT one … I don’t like it!”) – and my latest favourite, because it’s so incredibly ‘bad’ – “Just call me Bubbles!” If you like really funny characters, have an open mind, and want to have a very adult giggle, check them out if you haven’t already done so – it might take a sketch or two to get into the characters, but once you do, you’re hooked! It’s the only TV series I have to buy the entire series on DVD as soon as it’s released! These two actors are insanely clever and funny – hurry up and come out on DVD, Little Britain 3 … I can’t wait!!!!Anyway, back to the story, I’m now keeping a track of my eating etc, and trying the points system out for two weeks, to see if it works for me – otherwise I’ll skip over to the no-count system instead. I’m paid up for 3 months regardless, so plenty of time to get into the routine of getting healthy again … and I kicked it off well last night by coming home and going for an hour’s walk up the beach (approx 3km).

Now on to something totally different (sounds like a Monty Python sketch) – do any of you clever Aussies know what this creature is? About 10cm in length, it has a caterpillar-looking thing inside that is bright orange with black stripes … unfortunately, a noise startled it and it shot back in its cocoon while I was trying to take a photo. When I got home from work it was hanging by it’s ‘top’ from the roof – obviously some sort of moth larvae or something, but I’d love to know what it actually is!

Well, I think that’s about it for now … still haven’t shaken off my headache yet, but at least it’s not a full-blown migraine yet. Took some Nurofen this morning to try to nip it in the bud, and it had eased off a bit by this afternoon – at least I get a sleep in tomorrow, as I don’t start work until 11am yippee. Then I just have to work 11am-7pm Saturday (my 7th day straight), and I get two days off woohoo. I’ve got friends coming to stay for a week from Sunday, which will be OK – just a bit difficult as I’m on 5am shifts for a couple of the days. They wanted to bring a family member from out of town to stay as well while I was on 5am shifts, meaning they’d be sleeping in the lounge, but I put my foot down … I just don’t think I could cope with it even just for a few days. It means I probably won’t get much stitching done again next week … then H&P will be leaving, and I’ll just have time to change the bedsheets etc, when a close friend will be arriving from Auckland, NZ for a couple of nights, followed by friends from Christchurch, NZ over Easter … blimey, it’s starting to feel like a Bed & Breakfast haha.

Anyway, off now to see if I can get motivated to pick up a needle – my eyes are like little slits, I’m so tired, but it’s only 6pm and I really need to stay awake a bit longer …

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne

Squishy mail :)

Anne S

I have to say my heart sank when I saw the PO Box worker carry my parcel to the counter before work yesterday, thinking my outstanding Silkweaver fabric was sitting impatiently for me to pick it up … my disappointment was tangible … BUT, when I took the parcel from him, my curiosity was aroused – I wasn’t expecting another parcel … imagine my total surprise and sheer joy to find a birthday gift from Bine – and at a time that couldn’t have been any better if she’d tried. It put a huge smile on my face, and I am very very touched at this generous gift. Bine, you’re a real sweetheart – and I love everything in it! Now, if that’s a “little” piece of linen for me to try, I’d hate to see a big one … my parcel contained some 32ct Permin Country Linen in the colour “shell” – I’d admired it for Bine’s DT Gameboard Sampler, and now I get to stitch on some in real life … it really is beautiful – the colour is gorgeous, and I love the feel of Permin linens (that’s what the Dratteds are stitched on). Bine also sent a gorgeous little address book, and some scrummy beads … funnily enough, I used to do some beading projects, and have been thinking of getting back into it again, so they will come in handy not just for stitching, but for other projects as well. Thanks so much, Bine, for your gift – it was very generous, and very very welcomed 🙂 {{hugs}}

I’ve been managing to keep my nerves etc under check quite well about the interview results, but my subconscious was having a harder time trying to keep itself under wraps, it seems … I was awake almost every hour last night, and especially struggled to sleep after 4am – the interview results at the forefront of my mind each time. Oh well, only a couple of hours left before I get put out of my misery and I get told either way … regardless, I still feel quite positive about keeping to the mantra “it is what it is” … I think ;P

I’m glad today is almost my final late shift for the week – I have taken tomorrow off work so that I can go to my ‘official’ birthday dinner with Ben and friends … we’re going to Cafe Platia, my favourite mediterranean/Greek restaurant with chargrilled calamari, souvlaki, lamb on the spit, various dips and saganaki etc … I’m drooling just thinking about it – I’ve only ever ordered off the menu before, and adore their food, but this time they’re putting a banquet on for us as there is a group of 15. And on the upside from last week, I’m getting the $65 back from my best friend. When asked how much I hate him, my reply was just that I was disappointed and that life is too short for hate … boy, oh boy, living on my own and ‘finding myself’ again has been fantastic – I’m finding it so much easier to ‘let things go’ again. As long as I have my stitching, I’m happy haha.

Talking of which, I’d better go dry my hair from my shower, and try to take my mind off today for an hour and pick my stitching up – I really want to get my little gift finished so I can post it off … then my next project has to be the WTC quilt square – hmmm, after that, who knows? LOL. With any luck my threads will be on their way any day now from NZ, so I can catch up on my “Marine Elegance” (I’m soooo behind now!) – and I also have two more charity squares I’ve promised, so I think I should probably stitch those first before getting carried away with other things … then I think it’s time I get my A into G and get back into my rotation again …

Thanks again for all your supportive comments – that’s another reason I’ve found it easier to roll with life’s punches these days … having the emotional support from you all, even though we’re miles apart and never met, it really does help to bolster you up. I appreciate it greatly, and love you all for your kind thoughts and comments 🙂 {{hugs}} And there was no need to send a ‘pick me up’ gift, Carol – but that’s very typical of you, you’re soooo generous, and just an all-round gorgeous person with a big heart! {{hug}} In saying that, though, I’ll be stalking my PO Box in a week’s time haha.

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED

Survived the day … just!

Anne S

I have to say you all should have come round for a stitchalong yesterday – my little flat was the perfect location … everyone would have had perfect stitching, as I’d swallowed all the frogs!! To say I woke up with a croaky voice was probably an understatement – a little touch of laryngitis was in order. I’ve had this in the past when I’ve overindulged and been dancing etc for a lengthy time among a lot of smokers. Thanks for the offer of the Berocca, Katrina, that would have been lovely yesterday LOL. Have to admit, I woke up feeling OK, although I didn’t get much sleep, waking up every hour – but I can honestly say that’s been the hardest day of work I’ve done in ages … the after-effects decided to wait until the afternoon to arrive. Luckily that was more in the form of a splitting headache and fatigue, and nothing else … can’t complain, though, as it was worth it for such a good day out LOL. I have a small amount of sunburn which has given me a healthy glow, and slightly aching calves from all the dancing – and it feels great! 🙂

Anyway, back to stitching news – can’t say there has been a lot of it happening for the last week or so … I started stitching something the same night I finished the M Designs’ Thistle Treasure Bag, but it’s a small gift for someone … and to say it’s small, it’s taking me forever to stitch! I think a lot of it is that it’s on a very small count linen (or it seems that way) with a darkish colour, and I’m using metallics for the whole thing. Hopefully on my next days off (Mon/Tue next week) I will be able to get my WTC quilt panel finished as well as putting the final touches into this little piece. I can’t resist putting a teaser picture up – but there’s not much to tease you with LOL.

The other stitching news is the very small gift I sent to Becky for her birthday – I was a bit disappointed with how it turned out, but I couldn’t find much within my stash that had a suitable design for that little mirror. In hindsight, I probably should have used a slightly darker brown for the backstitching. It was well received by Becky, though, and I guess that’s the important thing. If you haven’t seen these before, they’re made by Framecraft, a UK company, and they’re quite neat little items.

Rightio, that’s all for today, I guess – except to say, thanks again to all of you for your kind words of support during my ‘blue day’ … it really does mean a lot to me, and made it easier to ‘roll with the punches’. {{hugs}}

Now I’m off to start preparing for my interview tomorrow, and have to sift through my poor old brain for real-life on-the-job scenarios for when I’ve had to deal with complaints (gee, it’ll be hard to find one of those LOL), gone above-and-beyond with customer service, etc etc … I feel quite ‘OK’ about this interview – I’m going in with the expectation that I won’t get it, as there are some top calibre candidates again, and it’s helping to keep my nerves down. I refuse to let it affect me like it did last time … que sera sera, what will be will be 🙂

Ooh, one last thing … a big Happy Birthday to Danielle – hope you have a wonderful day, Danielle, full of everything that your heart desires!! Birthday Surprise Party

Food, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stash

Gob-smacked again – I LOVE the 40’s :)

Anne S

Today was another good day in ‘my world’ … I’ll get to the part that had me gob-smacked earlier today right until the end … but I won’t keep you too long before you can get there (unless the curiosity has got the better of you already, and you’ve left me here on my own, and already jumped to the bottom! LOL). I’m pretty tired tonight, so my apologies if I’m not too coherent. Anyway, back to business …

Yesterday was a wonderful mail day in general – in addition to Barbara’s gorgeous gift, I also received an Ebay win in the post. I have to admit that after my huge financial blow-out last year, I’ve been avoiding Ebay like the plague so I’m not tempted, but Sharon and Gina told me there was a XS book called Allura’s Australia in XS at a reasonable price – after seeing Sharon’s copy first-hand, I decided I definitely had to check this one out … so I did, and managed to win it for a sum total of AU$2.24 – daylight robbery on my part, is all I can say! I can’t believe a hardback book of 192 pages and oodles of charts could go for such a paltry sum!! I honestly do feel as though I’ve robbed the seller – with postage included it came to a total of AU$10.64 – crikey!!! Am I grinning? You betcha! Thumbs Up

The other wonderful thing to arrive is my black aida … finally!! It was supposed to arrive last week after being on backorder – but the supplier stuffed up and missed it off the back-ordered shipment, but it finally turned up yesterday. I was about to email off to the US organisers taking up an offer for them to send me some, as my Aussie supplier had fallen off the rails, but luckily it came through … and that means I can finally stitch up my block for the World Trade Center charity quilt … Cheerleader

So, that was my wonderful mail yesterday all sorted out … The other good news I had today is that I had an exam at work for another permanent Hotline role – it was supposed to be next week, but the Supervisor running it has finally got a surgery date to get her gallbladder out, in two weeks time, right when she was planning interviews … so we’ve been getting pulled in really quickly to sit the exam. And I passed, which means I’m at least over the first hurdle – 17 have applied for the job again, but I don’t know how many have got to the interview stage … but I’m now trying hard not to think about the outcome of the interview, as I’m appalling at interviews, and I wanted it too badly last time … this time I’m going to try to ‘go with the flow’ and not end up with a couple of weeks off with cluster migraines over the whole situation … what will be, will be!

OK, I’ve prattled on for long enough … on to the great mail day for today … oooh, no, before I do that, let me say I finally made the infamous Mars Bar slice today to take into work, and it went down a treat, with yet another two people wanting the recipe. Anyway, I figure it’s always such a winner with people, I’d share it here as well … if you decide to make it, your arteries will hate you for life, but your family, friends and loved ones that you share it with will love you for eternity LOL:

MARS BAR SLICE
Base:
3 x Mars Bars (approx 60g-65g each)
90g butter
3 cups rice bubbles
Topping:
200g milk chocolate
30g butter

Yup, that’s all there is in it – do you see why I said your arteries would hate you? haha.

Base: Melt together the Mars Bars and butter in a saucepan over a low heat, making sure not to let it burn – keep mixing until it’s a smooth creamy mixture (can take quite a bit of time). Mix in rice bubbles until they’re all coated, then press down into the base of a greased 19cm x 29cm lamington pan (or equivalent dish – I usually add baking paper as well, as it can be a pain to get out!). Spread with the topping, and devour! (I usually pop it in the fridge to set properly, especially when it’s roasting hot weather!)
Topping: Melt together the butter and milk chocolate over a pan of hot water (ie using a double-boiler).

Frazier heard I was making Mars Bar slice today and he put his orders in straightaway for me to save him some!

OK, now on to the best bit … you see, you always have to leave the best bits until last … Today I got an additional surprise in my PO Box (I really love my PO at the moment – they’ve left some wonderful surprises in that box!) – today I received a parcel from my very best friend of all time, Vicki, in New Zealand. Vicki and I have been best friends since we were 10 years old, so exactly 3/4 of my living days to date. Anyway, she is the most creative soul I’ve ever met – everything she touches creatively, she turns to gold … she works in the scientific realm for her work, and comes home and does all sorts of crafts … and every craft she has tried, she does it to perfection! If I didn’t adore her so much, I’d hate her for being so bl**dy perfect haha. She seriously is amazing, and I’m very very blessed to count her as my best friend. I would most definitely give her both my kidneys if she ever needed them! And she really out-did herself with this little creation!!

So, what did this gorgeous creature do for my birthday? She created the most amazing tribute to our friendship – she has gotten into scrapbooking in a big way I think, and has put together a concertina book with photos from our growing up years and memorable occasions … I’ll photograph and scan the images so I can share it with you …

Above is a photo of the other gifts as well, and I adore them all – another duck for my ever-growing collection (but I’ll never ever have enough LOL) (the little duck was chosen by little Orion – boy, did he choose well!), and a lovely hand-bound book by a bookmaker (Rhonda Niven) in Motueka, Nelson. For those of you who are non-Kiwis, that’s a fantail on the cover … and of course everything is in my absolutely favourite colours (yep, turquoise is definitely my all-time favourite of all the blues). OK, on to the details of the concertina book Vicki made me … here is a scan of the cover:
And the four inside ‘pages’:

And inside each of these ‘pages’ there is a little page that pulls out – this is the most amazing part of it … I just love the contents of these!

I did say, though, that I’m glad I went to my PO Box before work and opened the gifts at work, ‘cos if I’d done it at home I would have bawled my eyes out, I am so touched and honoured by this wonderful gift. The sentiment behind this gift makes it a treasure beyond compare, and it’s something I’ll continue to treasure throughout my lifetime … Vicki, I love this gift with all my heart and then some … if someone today offered me a million dollars for it, I would turn them down. I’ve always longed to own something that Vicki’s created, and this exceeds all expectations … yep, definitely “gob-smacked” and feeling well and truly blessed! As stitchers we all know how much time and effort goes into making something, so this is truly a labour of love … and worth more than gold itself to me!

Gifts TO BE FIXED

What a wonderful day!

Anne S

Thank you all for leaving such wonderful birthday wishes today – what a lovely inbox to come home to! {{hugs}}

Have to admit, the day went really well – my lollies/choccies went down a treat, and I got out of work for an entire hour walking around the two floors to hand them out and make sure everyone got one … see, there was a method behind my madness! LOL. As soon as I walked in the door I got ushered over to the ‘Hotline’ area where we sit when I’m on Supervisor Hotline relieving duty, and got given a big bunch of beautiful pink tulips, and a birthday card, and an envelope containing the collection money – so I now have another $95 to spend (wow), and I’ve told them I’m going to put it towards framing costs too, which means I can get both my fave stitched pieces framed – it will also be a long-term reminder of my 40th, and all the people in my life at that time. I’ve had a day full of ‘physical’ hugs from my colleagues and well wishes, and loads of ‘cyber’ hugs from you all, and I feel as though I am absolutely glowing from the good vibes 🙂

But the gifts didn’t end there at work, I also got yet another gorgeous gift from the other side of the world in my PO Box today … Barbara sent me some of the most wonderful, glorious threads in my absolute fave colour – blue!! Barbara, thank you too for your very generous gift … I am blown away by your generosity as well – thank you so, so much {{big hugs}}. And I get to see some of that that infamous silk thread up close and personal – it’s no wonder you love it so much … it’s “yummo”!

I’ve decided that the United Nations should start a campaign and get everyone in the world blogging – because I reckon world peace would be created within a couple of months 😀 Everyone I’ve met through blogging so far has been the most generous and loving in nature and spirit – OK, admittedly we’re all stitchers too, so maybe we have an edge there … LOL.

So thank you, thank you one and all once again … I’m now off to crack open a bottle of bubbly as my final end to a wonderful day … so I guess that means no baking happening tonight LOL.

Gifts TO BE FIXED

And the spoiling continues …

Anne S


… Yup, the mail man is getting overworked this week – I have yet another wonderful surprise gift from a blogging pal, KarenV … a most wonderful chart from my wishlist, “Accessoires l’oiseau bleu” by Au Fil des Reves. This chart is even nicer in person than it looks on their website. I do love my birdies at the moment 😀 And the great thing is that the finishing instructions are in English, but I can have fun deciphering the rest of the chart in my minimal french. Karen, I really love it – thank you so very very much. I’m just gob-smacked by the friendship and generosity of my blogging friends – you’re awesome! And it’s turning this birthday milestone into one of the best I’ve had 🙂

And thanks for all the supportive comments everyone leaves – it really is lovely to receive feedback from everyone … it’s the bright highlight of my day. Hugs to you all :))

A couple of people have asked when the ‘official’ day of my birthday is – so here goes … The day I officially turn the corner to the naughty-40’s is the 16th of February (so I’m only dragging my birthday celebrations out for a week heehee). And I finally heard back from Ben so we can go ahead and start organising our combined birthday bash, since Dracula’s got cancelled. We’re off to dinner at a venue yet to be decided on the 25th of February … OK, looks like I’m going to be dragging my birthday celebrations out a bit longer … hahaha.

Anyway, time to head off as I need to do a couple of errands for Mum before she finishes packing, as it’s her last night here tonight. As much as it will be nice to get my routines etc back to normal, I’m gonna miss her like heck – but I’ll be seeing her in May when I fly over for her 70th birthday celebrations 🙂

Gifts TO BE FIXED

Spoilt old me – birthday blessings!!

Anne S

Wow, I have to say I have been right royally spoilt rotten by fellow bloggers … my mail box had a lovely gift in it from Carol for my birthday – a Tacky Bob, which I was about to buy for myself in a couple of weeks from Stitching Bits & Bobs with my birthday money – I reckon this is one of the most useful stitching tools I’ve come across for those of us who use beads … just awesome – can’t wait to use it! And that’s not all – Carol also sent me a chart called “Be Kind to Birds” by Sunflower Samplings, as it reminded her of me with my fascination of the local birdlife (the feathered kind!) … thank you, Carol, from the bottom of my heart – you’re very thoughtful, and generous! :)) (I’m now rushing off to check my supply of GAST threads for it LOL).

And seeing as I opened Carol’s gift, the curiosity got the better of me today too – I finally opened Sharon‘s birthday gift for me … I’ve been smelling it for the last two days, as Mum had put in my room while our Canadian visitors used the spare bedroom, and was determined not to open it until my actual birthday … but … I weakened and succumbed 🙂 Thank you so much Sharon for the most wonderful smelling soap – I’m not sure if you realised it, but Frangipani is one of my most favourite flowers in the whole world! Thank you so much, too, for your generous gift – you’re a real sweetheart :))) And you have to congratulate Erin on that gorgeous artwork!! (yup, I did notice that little copyright name!)

Wow, I feel truly blessed – stitching bloggers really do make the best of friends! :))

Well, my visits are almost all over, and life will be returning to ‘normality’ again in a few days (Mum goes home on Saturday). As much as I’ve adored having everyone visiting, it will be nice to get back to my routines again. And I’m putting my only resolution to the test this month, hoping to get to some of the Guild F2F meetings – I don’t know what roster I’ll be following next month, so I can’t plan that far ahead yet.

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

There is an Angel out there …

Anne S

… and her name is Tobie!! I hope Tobie doesn’t mind, but I have to share something that happened to me today … Work today has been exceptionally difficult, in that I started at 4am – that means the alarm went off at 3am … and I’ve really really struggled to get through my day until 2pm this afternoon. They were needing people for overtime from 4am-7am to help with handling ex-London calls … deciding I really need the money for my birthday dinner, I put my hand up … never, ever again will I do that! My rostered 5am starts are bad enough, 4am is just WRONG! LOL.

So, today I left work like a rat up a drainpipe as soon as the clock hit 2pm … I felt like death warmed up, and probably looked it too! Anyway, my PO Box is a short 5 minute walk from work (I figured that was a more stable address than my home living situation when I first moved here, so that made more sense having one near work … but I digress …) – I made my daily pilgrimage to post my mail, and pick up the day’s bills … only to get the surprise of my life – sitting in that little PO Box was a parcel … thinking it was my Silkweaver FOTM finally arriving, I thought ‘that’s nice’ and wandered out the PO again. Then I started looking at the envelope thinking it was quite large for SW – then I looked more closely … it was NOT from SW – it was from an angel in the name of Tobie. Now I have to admit I knew a gift was coming from Tobie … which you can see from the following piccies:


Before (my current snippet ‘bag’)

After (my new, beautiful snippet bag!)
However, that envelope seemed awfully large for a little snippet bag (and if you haven’t seen these on Tobie’s blog beforehand, you’re really missing out!) … Sure enough, Tobie didn’t stop there – inside that envelope/parcel was a little stitcher’s treasure trove, and my jaw hasn’t been removed from the floor ever since I opened it! Inside was the snippet bag (in a beautiful blue, of course!), along with a kit of the Thistle Bag from M Designs (which was on my wishlist) – not only that, but also the fabric that is suggested on the chart (a lovely Lakeside linen) … but she didn’t even stop there – tucked inside the snippet bag was the most adorable hand-dyed threads by an Oklahoma designer called Windy Hill Designs … WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I don’t know what I did to deserve all that spoiling, but I feel very very blessed. Thanks again, Tobie, from the bottom of my heart! You’re a real sweetheart!! {{hugs}}


I did manage to pick my jaw up for 1 1/2 hours tonight, though, to take me 1/4 of the way through my 10 hour rotation slot for a new piece – Le Jardin Silk Sampler from some 1998 JCS magazines … just to prove it, here’s the progress piccie – not too much to show for it though – I think I was so boggle-eyed with tiredness tonight, I was stitching at about half speed haha. And I’m an hour late getting to bed, so I’ll be moaning again tomorrow when the alarm goes off at 4am … {groan}