Author Archives: paulainauckland

We’re home!

Posted in family, Mirabilia, travel by

And the unpacking begins. I have a load in the washing machine already, the dead fish has been farewelled (not the baby sitters fault I must add) and my treasures are being stashed.

I picked up a Mirabilia for a song as someone lost the photo (fairie treasures) & a New Zealand Centennial jug. The Jug has a couple of chips so again it wasn’t much; but it’s only 15 years to our bi-centenary and for something that probably got a lot of use it’s looking good.

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Z has about ten more Commando comics to file away; B has some Marvels and my little M didn’t want much. He’s so sweet right now. I bet he becomes a little rotter when school goes back!

Windy as in Wellington

Posted in family, travel by

Actually, it’s not. I only had to use one hand to hold everything down!

We went to the AirNZ exhibition at Te Papa; funny how many of the little bits and pieces we have at home! I’ll have to add photos when we get home as the mobile app isn’t uploading photos.

Also we caught up with my brother, who helped Z find a few more of the costumes he was missing. I didn’t realize Orlando Bloom was so short, he can’t be much taller than me! 
Today is more exploring Wellington; I think we’re heading out to Miramar and hoping Weta is open, then a bit more in town, then up to New Plymouth via Wanganui. Bye!

Hawkes Bay

Posted in travel by

This is our third time coming to Napier in about 18 months;  looking ahead we think we will retire here. Only 35 years to go!
The climate is warm,  the views are beautiful and I love the history. Napier and a lot of the surrounding areas are Art Deco, due to a devastating earthquake in 1931.
We’ve done a lot of driving and a lot of walking today – my feet hurt! – but memories are being made.

Today we’re en route to Wellington. Can’t wait to see my bro!

Stitching Tips I Love

Posted in embroidery, stitching patterns by

Not that I actually follow this tip much anymore, but it’s invaluable for the new stitcher, or the first few times you move from aida to evenweaves or linen. If I think that my fabric might not be big enough for the design I plan to stitch, I do grid, just for safety. There is nothing more frustrating than getting near to the end of a project and realising that you haven’t left enough room for framing  – cushions perhaps? – and the start point/centre points can be super critical.

This is from Liz the StitchSmith’s site. She ran the embroidery course I went to last year (that feels odd to write that, last year!) and she’s fantastic. http://www.thestitchsmith.co.nz/

Grid marking:

I find it helpful to mark a grid on your fabric so it’s easy to keep track of where you are. You can do this on white Aida with a water soluble marker pen – just draw your grid on and then once you’ve stitched the design, it washes right out.

With black Aida though you will need to stitch your grid. This is easy to do and worth taking a few minutes extra time. Just take a single thread of your stranded cotton and make large stitches over a 10 block square as shown in the photo. Download pdf to see a bigger image.

Once you’ve done one row it’s easy to do the next rows – do make sure your first row is correct!

When you are stitching try not to pierce your grid thread as this makes it just a bit harder to pull out when you’ve finished. It also leaves behind a bit of fluff. If you do find this happens, just wrap some sellotape around your fingers and dab away the fluff. Easy peasy.

On your chart, you will find it helpful to rule the 10 block squares in a highlighter. These squares will match the gird on your fabric. Mark off the rows as you go so you don’t keep having to double check where you are. 

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

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I’m changing out to Stargazer for the next week – ROAD TRIP – partially as I need to chart some ribbon from Rudolph to the next reindeer. I’m combining a scene from one of M’s fav Christmas books, where the reindeer are practicing before Christmas Eve, so no glowing nose (frankly, that’s one part of this Rudolph I don’t like) and lots of little combined details. The border will be a modified version of Blitzen’s with some Prancer. I think it’s going to look gorgeous. But as Stargazer is completely as charted (I haven’t even changed any thread colours as I want this to look as close to late twilight as possible) it should be easier. Just lots of thread swapping and the old “count twice, stitch once” theory going on.

Anyway, not sure how much will get done while we travel (must buy some wipes to keep my hands clean) as we explore with the kids. I am looking forward to the two exhibitions at Te Papa (our national museum in Wellington). One is 75 years of Air New Zealand (both S & I worked for the company) and there is, as you would expect, more about the Hobbit. There is also a treasure hunt, of sorts, with a Middle of Middle Earth Costume Trail. I love the fabric details in the LOTR movie franchise and I am fan-girling a little. Or a lot. Probably a lot.

http://www.wellingtonnz.com/discover/things-to-do/sights-activities/the-middle-of-middle-earth/middle-of-middle-earth-costume-trail/

So the next few posts will be a mix of scheduled and spontaneous. Hope you enjoy a look around our country!

 

So much for preparation

Posted in me, work by

Yesterday was the first day back at work after the stat holiday break (I haven’t taken leave yet). Only four days away from my desk, but man-flu turned me into a mess. I packed my lunchbox & stashed it in the garage fridge on Sunday night, and left a note on the front door…

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I didn’t forget my lunch box. I forgot my breakfast instead….muppet.

January WIPocalypse

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, OLW, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

January 5- Topic: Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

Introduce Myself. Hmm. Right. I’m Paula, and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. My avatar name is pure panic/laziness, as I needed a personal email the one time I had to go job hunting and that was all I could think of. Paula, in Auckland. I am a mum to four, who range from 20 to 5. I am a partner/fiancé of nearly 19 years now. I work as a vendor performance manager for a major retail group, and I have my fingers in quite a few pies. I also do volunteer work during the league season – in 8 years I’ve only taken the one season off. I’m seriously considering being a sideline mum this year. I don’t use my degree at all, unlike Si, my partner, who uses at least two of his in the day-to-day role he has. I am overweight & not really looking to fix this in a hurry because I have no desire to run even Round the Bays. I’d rather walk it. Or swim.

Personality wise I am friendly, altho don’t lie to me. I will drop you like a hot potato. I like to make people smile or laugh, and it was only after a massive issue at my then employer in 2012 that I learnt to say “no” when asked to do something. A very valuable skill to have. I like to support people and find solutions to help make them happy. Happy friends = happy me.

I read A LOT. Like, two to three books a week. Anything from suspense to biography to contemps to historical. I don’t read horror, or misery memoir. I did read M&B (bath books!) but it’s more than a little stupid to use your Sony in the bath. I’ve been reading since I was 4 & I love to escape into a world that someone else has created. Pretty much everything I read is now digital. Forget diamonds – eReaders are this girl’s best friend. I do occasionally buy physical books – for the pretty pictures or the travel guides.

I dabble in scrapbooking – mostly Project Life, December Daily and this year I’m taking Ali Edwards’ One Little Word. The idea is to take one word that really speaks to you, and make it your focus. You can read about my choice here: https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/one-little-word-2015/ and more about Ali’s course here: https://aliedwards.com/projects/one-little-word

I took a surface embroidery class in 2014 and enjoyed it. Not enough that it has taken over my main hobby, which is cross stitch, but enough that I can see where I want to incorporate it into pieces (Mirabilia Sleeping Beauty’s blankets seem to be a cool spot) & I have some confidence to do so.

I made Teddy Bears – proper old fashioned ones – in the past. One sits on my console here at work & is regularly picked up and examined. Others have been gifts for newborns and friends going thru hard times. Others have sold, which was amazing to me at the time. I still have the tools and a banana box of stash/patterns but I haven’t made a bear in years.

2014 saw a revival of sorts for me, stitching wise. It went from a chore & an ignore to a woo-hoo! & I got lots more completed than I thought I would do so. I filled my TUSAL jar. An attempt at rotation (let’s blame my wanting to grow up to be Anne for this) failed as I got the “must finish it now” bug. I got a Nora Corbett bug & brought heaps of patterns, altho I cleaned out boxes and boxes of stash.

This year’s WIPs are:

  • Nora Corbett Reindeer (I started with Rudolph). I only have five charts more to go…six to buy!
  • Nora Corbett Mediterranean Mermaid
  • Mirabilia Stargazer
  • Teresa Wentzler’s Tapestry Cat

Planned new starts:

  • Nora Corbett Letter C
  • Nora Corbett Letter P
  • Mirabilia Rose of Sharon

 

I am still collating my list of Smalls for the SAL this year, as I like to be a little flexible (I was regimented about the 12 TW smalls for last year and finished with 3. Dismal fail). I sort-of think the NC letters are small, as I tended to finish them in only a fortnight, but the rules state they are not.

  •  Travelling Bunny (he came from Wisher in November, & he needs to move on)
  • A biscornu
  • A Just Nan special finish
  • a “not my circus, not my monkeys” piece I saw on Pintrest. It fits nicely with my OLW for this year too.

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And that’s it. A shorter list than I anticipated! #mustworkharder