Author Archives: paulainauckland

A very belated WIP Wednesday

Posted in Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

So you know how I said I didn’t stitch all weekend? The three day weekend?

Well last night I got the guilts and stitched likea mad thing. Finished France and it doesn’t fit the chosen frame! By about 30mm. Gutted. Plan B for the birthday present. Hold on. There is no plan B! And it’s too late to submit to a framer, so it will go into my box for now. At least it qualifies as a Small.

I also got a couple of lines done on Orient, & tonight I finished the verse and started on a frame and the first fan (it is this week’s target). Getting there. I hate doing lettering on light fabric. You have to be very careful to not leave shadows on the back.

Right now I just want to get back into Stargazer. Hopefully when I finish a couple of panels I’ll return to being excited. Hoping.

Cover Reveal – ROCK HARD (Rock Kiss Series) Book Two

Posted in books by

ROCK HARD

PRE-ORDER AVAILABLE

Releasing: March 10th, 2015

In New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh’s newest contemporary romance, passion ignites between a gorgeous, sinfully sexy man who built himself up from nothing and a shy woman who has a terrible secret in her past…

Wealthy businessman Gabriel Bishop rules the boardroom with the same determination and ruthlessness that made him a rock star on the rugby field. He knows what he wants, and he’ll go after it no-holds-barred.

And what he wants is Charlotte Baird.

Charlotte knows she’s a mouse. Emotionally scarred and painfully shy, she just wants to do her job and remain as invisible as possible. But the new CEO—a brilliant, broad-shouldered T-Rex of a man who growls and storms through the office, leaving carnage in his wake—clearly has other plans. Plans that may be equal parts business and bedroom.

If Charlotte intends to survive this battle of wits and hearts, the mouse will have to learn to wrangle the T-Rex. Game on.

Series Reading Order

Rock Addiction (Book One)

Rock Courtship (Book 1.5)

Meet the Author

 

nalini

NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting rock stars – and one sinfully sexy rugby god turned brilliant CEO. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, whileAngels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don’t forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.

STALK HER:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Share Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MDk5NjRmMDM5ZDM4YTBjYWM0YzAyYzM0NGI2ODRhOjU5Mw==/?

 

Just a little extra, that you won’t see anywhere else: Nalini has one of my stitched pieces on her study wall. How cool is that?!

Splinters in my fingers & sawdust down my bra

Posted in DIY home, family, house - gardens by

I didn’t do any stitching this weekend. None. Which is a concern given that one WIP is for a birthday this weekend.

But as the post title says, we were busy.

I now have two raised garden beds and a screen around two sides of the water tanks. And it looks good, if I do say so myself. Si has made it so sturdy and practical. I love it.

image

But I’m not totally enamored with the drop saw. Yes it’s fast but oh so messy! Next time I should borrow a burka or wrap up completely before I start. Or leave it up to the Screaming Teen. Now there’s a plan.

Splinters in my fingers & sawdust down my bra

Posted in DIY home, grateful, house - gardens by

I didn’t do any stitching this weekend. None. Which is a concern given that one WIP is for a birthday this weekend.

But as the post title says, we were busy.

I now have two raised garden beds and a screen around two sides of the water tanks. And it looks good, if I do say so myself. Si has made it so sturdy and practical. I love it.

image

But I’m not totally enamored with the drop saw. Yes it’s fast but oh so messy! Next time I should borrow a burka or wrap up completely before I start. Or leave it up to the Screaming Teen. Now there’s a plan.

Something to think on

Posted in grateful by

I read this in the NZ Herald’s supplement this morning. There’s a link to the full article in case you’re interested.

Instead of looking at what we are not getting, look at what we are in control of instead – and that is what we are giving.

Hmm. Note I’m not telling you to get out and give, but even the little things are good to give. Say how much you appreciate a co-workers help. Or how much your child has done for you/household. Sometimes the little bits have the most impact.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11398783

!!! a sad and urgent post

Posted in Uncategorized by

I see so much of the “copy” pins too. Please don’t pin charts or magazine pics – you are taking money directly from the designers with each pin. And if they can’t survive, they can’t design.

Cat's avatarThe Grey Tail

I’m really sorry to be back with such sad news, but I simply cannot rest until I let this out. it’s driving me mad since I found out about it, and since I had permission from Diane Williams (Little House Needlework) to say it – here it is.

my long time readers might remember I have started a project (SAL Sorpresa 2) by Sara Guermani who at that time designed as part of the collective trio Les Trois Brodeuses. well, I never went past the first part and meant to finish it off pretty much as it was as an ornament.

but tonight I found out to my astonishment that that chart (as well as at least a bunch of others) has been designed by Sara Guermani by making a collage of Little House Needleworks houses, barns, etc. – I am out of my mind as I type so I’ll…

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Saturday Share

Posted in freebies, Saturday Share, stitching patterns by

Most stitchers have to have a stash rummage, count on the fingers/fabric & the dash-around-the-house look for a ruler every time they want to start a new project. I’ve found something that reduces my time here – an app that tells me just how much 32ct linen I would need to start that new design.

The app has free versions for both iPhone and Android users, and so far I’m impressed. Online, you can find it here: http://www.stitchingthenightaway.com/fabric-calculator/

Links to the app stores are below the online calculator. At this point, my only disappointment is that the app is only in inches – but my Filofax hole punch has both measurements available, so I’m all set for my next trip to Ribbon Rose!

Do you have a favourite craft app? Please share!filofax ruler FabricCalcAppPreview

On Awards

Posted in me by

versatile-blogger-award

I have trouble accepting awards but THANK YOU to Mindy from https://mindysneedleworkmania.wordpress.com/ for thinking of me. Nice to know someone considers me Versatile!

The rules are:

  • Show the award on your blog.
  • Thank the person who nominated you.
  • Share seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 blogs.
  • Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know.

Seven facts about me:

  1. I have Rugby League qualifications in team coaching, management & refereeing.
  2. I desperately want another Shetland Sheepdog, but I promised Si I wouldn’t buy one. So someone, please give me one!
  3. That phobia Si has about household pets dying is annoying me more and more every year. I think sometimes I will pop & come home with something other than a fish. Z has told me to divorce his father so we can get a pet!
  4. I think about the worst case scenario before I start something.
  5. Despite that, I don’t have an emergency supplies kit in case of an earthquake or whatever. I do have a first aid kit in the car tho.
  6. I am a book slut and will try nearly any genre/author at least once.
  7. Walking or swimming is my favourite form of exercise. I snigger on the inside every time I see someone on a Katy Perry, as Si calls the eliptical…

I won’t be nominating any other blogs (so no pressure, peeps) but if you want to let me know your Seven Things, I’d love to read them!

You Can Quote Me

Posted in grateful, OLW, You Can Quote ME by

Continuing with the One Little Word theme, here’s another thing that helps me hold onto that Serene feeling.

YCQM 4 Feb

So many times I’m guilty of looking over the fence or concentrating on something that is annoying me. I don’t look for the good, yet as soon as I do, the annoying thing slides away into a smaller, manageable portion (yes, even the Screaming SO-Much-Taller-Than-Me-Now Teen). Keeping a gratitude journal helps, so I can totally recommend that to anyone. Look for something that makes you smile – little things like butterflies on flowers, rain for your garden, a pen that is where you left it – these all count. Big  stuff? Of course it counts, but the reason it’s big is because it’s not frequent enough to feed your soul.

Focus on the little stuff. The little good.

BONUS task – we did this for a couple of summers and it spreads the message. I brought a cheap canvas & some Thickers, altho if your penmanship is good use that. I stuck on “Grateful” and “Summer year/year” and EVERYONE who walked through our front door had to write something they were grateful for. Everyone. Kids, adults, couriers, tradesmen. It’s so cool to look back at the things the kids were grateful for (altho I couldn’t agree with some of the music choices!) but everyone got into it. I need to resurrect that. Maybe in my office? Hmmm…

WIP Wednesday & WIPocalypse for February

Posted in freebies, Mirabilia, Smalls SAL, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

February 4 – Topic: How do you overcome that feeling that you’re in a rut with a particular project?

Right. Onto the hard stuff already, Melissa? Meanie.

In all honesty, I don’t do rut treatments very well. In the past, they’ve just gone into the UFO pile (altho there is actually only four pieces in that pile). I tend to fad about a piece and LOVE IT SOOO MUCH that it has to be finished, right then & there. Mostly, my 2014 choices reflect that. I got a heap of stuff completed & only left two major starts unfinished. One, because it’s my “hospital” piece – Mirabilia’s Mediterranean Mermaid – & I only work on it when Mase is hospitalised. The other – for some reason I got discouraged with Stargazer. I think it’s her hands – they look so awkward.

However, for all that gloating, I didn’t touch Teresa Wentzler’s Tapestry Cat. At All. Not even to get it out of the storage container it lives in. I think it must be the perceived difficulty & fiddly bits – I love the image and the colours and the work I’ve done so far. I know that if I just pull it out, and start stitching, I’ll fall back in love with it – after all, that’s worked with Stargazer. She languished for about four months until I packed her, and only her, as my “entertainment” for our family holiday early in January. Since then, I’ve worked almost exclusively on her. I guess forcing myself on something makes me appreciate it. Like doing the dishes – a clean kitchen is a beautiful thing. Or laundry – folded piles & clothes on hangers almost make it worth the repetition.

Anyway. Regular blog readers (hey!!) have seen a few other things & today I have two more to share. First is Blackbird Designs freebie Souvenir de France. I had planned to stitch this for Si’s birthday (whenever he sees a shot of the Tower he comments “been there”. It’s very annoying sometimes) but now it’s intended for someone else. I need to finish it this weekend – this is at about 6 hours stitching so even with variegated thread (one stitch at a time) it’s a quick stitch. 25ct natural Lugana & DMC 99, in case you care. I’m thinking of maybe washing it in cold tea to age it a little – what do you think? Link to get the chart is here: http://blackbird-designs.blogspot.co.nz/2009/05/souvenir-de-france.html

Second is about three hours of lettering – I am not in love with lettering at the best of times – of the Joan Elliot SAL (26ct cream Linen, lettering changed to DMC 311 as black looks too harsh). I also need to have this done over the weekend. Then I need to suss something out for Si. Perhaps something English? Help!

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