Category Archives: cross stitch

January WIPocalypse & OLW Thrive

Posted in cross stitch, family, goals, grateful, Journal, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, OLW, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, travel, WIPocalypse by

Hello everyone! I hope you’re well. WIPocalypse is the monthly check-in SAL hosted by Measi on her blog, and via the Facebook group – we welcome all enablers! Click on the icon to the right to learn more.

My January goals were:

  • Finish Jardin Prive’s Eiffel Quaker COMPLETED
  • Mill Hill Golden Tannenbaum for my Small/Christmas All Year Round BOTH FFO
  • Hello There March (& FFO) not started
  • 341 stitches in Shakespeare’s Fairies for the HP SAL ACHIEVED

Additionally, I’ve got over a thousand other stitches in SF and at work, I’ve stitched two Genoa Santa’s (one for me, one for Lou), and started two of the Wales version. I’ve also touched one of my yearly goals and stitched on Fairy Idyll – one of the monthly HPSAL goals was 500 stitches in gold, so I’m used her dress. So far, there’s only 3 days this month I haven’t stitched, & I’m happy with that.

Late last year I asked Belinda (@aussiestitcher) if she wanted to part with her copy of Coffee Quaker (the one that says “first I drink the coffee, then I do the things”) and she sent me a huge haul. Three needleminders (great for holding up copies of charts on the frame), two pieces of Colour Cascade fabric, the chart and her thread remnants, some of which will be enough to complete the smaller portions on the chart! I’m spoilt.

February goals:

  • Bead & FFO Genoa Santa’s
  • Complete stitching on Wales Santa’s
  • Stitch & FFO Hello There March
  • Work on Fairy Idyll
  • Work on Shakespeare’s Fairies

Question: What SAL’s are you participating in this year?

After last year’s abysmal failure, I’m only doing two. One is the #ChristmasAllYearRoundSAL via my Instagram posts (if you don’t know, I’m Christmas mad) and the other is the #HarryPotterSAL via the Facebook group. I’ve completed a few challenges this year & I’m looking for ways to incorporate more WIPs into the rotations.

A LATE EDIT, JUST FOR STEPHANIE January Stitch From Stash has come out positive, despite the NZD-UK Pound exchange rate. Idyll cost quite a bit! And some fabric sales came thru the bank account last night, moving me from my already positive 59cents. LOL.

Jan-19
Budget $25.00
Fairy Idyll for Gail -46.76
Spotlight DMC*6 -11.40
Eiffel Quaker 21.25
Golden Tannenbaum *2 12.50
Fabric Sales (Lani) 70.00
Total Available Budget $70.59

As my One Little Word this year is THRIVE (and Simon has also adopted it when it comes to us as a couple, like he did with YES in 2018), we took advantage of a child & work free day and went to Hamilton on Monday. It was super hot very early on, so we didn’t spend much time in the sun but on the drive, I not only finished the stitching in Genoa but made a start to Wales. I enjoy these pieces when we’re driving. We ended up at the Gardens, a favourite place, and took in the new Katherine Mansfield garden. It’s based upon her short story, The Garden Party, and while I forgot to take shots of the tennis court area, the house had us going ah…

 

It’s just a 3-4M deep facade, but so much detail. In another year, when the garden is that much more established, it’s going to be beautiful.

And of course, in the entry piazza that leads to these extra garden “rooms”, there’s Alice & the White Rabbit:

20190128_104605

WIP Wednesday #239

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Hello everyone! Today is the 19th birthday of my eldest boy, and where am I? Work. Huh. He’s tucked up in bed as it’s one of his days off. Wouldn’t that be nice?

This past week I have stitched away at Shakespeare’s Fairies, Fairy Idyll and the Genoa Santa’s. I am guilt-free now on Idyll and am liking her again. Bonus.

Also we’re going to be walking every night – puppy sitting. Mase is so enamoured that he is even happy to pick up poo. I had hoped that this would cut out the want for a dog but in other ways I get why – he’s a little lonely as his older brothers move off into different directions and wants a companion. But that’s a problem for another day…

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WIP Wednesday #238

Posted in Christmas, cross stitch, goals, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Hello my lovelies! I’ve had an up & down week, and there’s lots of pressure at work (year end on the 27th & an annoyingly slow system) so I’ve been following doctor’s orders and stitching as much frustration away as possible. I am also at payday with money still in the everyday account, and I haven’t spent anything on stitching supplies for myself this month, altho there are 6 skeins I need for Shakespeare’s Fairies.

I did get rid of a huge guilt patch by sourcing and buying another copy of Fairy Idyll and having it posted to Gail. She lent me her copy in September 2017 and I never thought it would take me so long to stitch, & I’ve been feeling awful about it. The chart is OOP and was 25 pounds but… worth it for the relief.

Anyway, this week I’ve got (what I am counting as) two FFO with the Golden Tannenbaum ornaments now ready for the tree, a good start on two Genoa Santa’s and well past the monthly goal on Shakespeare’s Fairies.

Hope you all have a great week!

WIP Wednesday #237

Posted in Christmas, conversion details, cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, weight loss by

Hello everyone! It’s hump day, hooray.

Life update: I’ve been on antidepressants for three weeks now & had a check up yesterday. A lot of improvement in my overall wellbeing, my blood work was fantastic & I’ve actually lost 1.3kg (side benefit). I’ve got another check in 3 months & will continue with the meds in the meantime. I also went back to bootcamp this week…. mild ouch.

S

titching wise I frogged the initial start on Shakespeare’s Fairies by Mirabilia. Neither hubs nor I liked the fabric, so on Monday I went back to the initial plan of Urewera Mist and restarted. Much happier.

At work, I’ve finished the paper stitched version of Golden Tannenbaum by Mill Hill & started a plastic canvas version. Once that’s stitched, I’ll bead them both. Then onto a Santa!

Hope you all have a lovely week.

2019 & WIPocalypse Restarts

Posted in cross stitch, goals, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

January 6 – Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

Well. This is my fifth year of WIpocalypse. It’s the most committed I’ve been to any SAL & I put that down to the pressure free, encouraging environment that Melissa hosts. If you’re a crafter, please join up either on your blog or via the Facebook group – we welcome all enablers!

If you’ve not read from my blog before, I’m in my mid-40’s, a working mum to four (ranging from 24-9) & partner. I am book-mad, often found stitching & listening to podcasts or audiobooks, and I wouldn’t mind winning Lotto so that I could stay home and stitch (but I’d have to remember to buy tickets first). We own our home near the base of Auckland’s Waitakere Ranges & can often be found working on it or a friends (my partner was an engineer, he’s bloody handy with a tool belt), walking on the beach or in one of the many beautiful parks Auckland boasts. I’ve been hand stitching since before I was 10, can’t knit an even scarf or crochet to save myself and don’t often pull my machine out (altho I brought a 1940’s Singer recently, purely on impulse as I love the look). I’m a whizz at curtains.

Goals for 2019 (I only have 9 WIPs right now & that’s about right for me) :

  • Finish SFS in the black
  • Complete & FFO the remaining monthly Hello There pieces (Mar-Nov)
  • Re-start Shakespeare’s Fairies & complete one fairy
  • Work on Tapestry Cat, Fairy Idyll, Arezzo, Four Season of NZ

Mini January Goals:

  • Finish Jardin Prive’s Eiffel Quaker COMPLETED
  • Mill Hill Golden Tannenbaum for my Small/Christmas All Year Round
  • Hello There March (& FFO)
  • 341 stitches in Shakespeare’s Fairies for the HP SAL
Initial Start of SF
Frog of SF
a finish!

Hopefully with returning to work/school/other crap I will still feel stitchy most nights & achieve all these goals.

December WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, goals, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin, Smalls SAL, stash cache app, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

as of this morning

Well. When I said earlier that 2018 wasn’t going to be my busiest stitchy year, I wasn’t wrong.

Goals (bracket date indicates the start month & year):

  • Mirabilia Ashley’s Roses RR section (Dec 2018) COMPLETED
  • Semco Toy Story Sampler (October 2013) – Zac will be 15 soon, & this needs to be done before then! But first I have to hunt it down… DIDN’T TOUCH IT BUT I FOUND IT
  • Mirabilia Fairy Idyll (September 2017) – Gail has loaned me the chart, & I want to return it this year HALF-WAY THRU
  • TW Tapestry Cat (Dec 2006!)  – because it deserves progress DIDN’T TOUCH IT
  • Mirabilia Persephone (May 2015) –because I want to get thru that skirt! COMPLETED
  • Jane Austen SAL (December 2017) –because I want to keep up with the readings FLAGGED

In addition to the above, I did get a few more things completed, & a few starts:

  • LHN Bethlehem (which I forgot to get framed for this Christmas)
  • Melinda’s RR choice,  Gigi
  • Lizzie*Kate’s Be Bold
  • LHN Summer Sampler (I’m FFO’ing that this weekend, finally, as it’s now Summer down here)
  • Mill Hill ornaments – two each of the Beehive, Trinidad Santa, Peridot and one re-worked Santa for Bec
  • Mirabillia’s Portrait of Antique Vines (converted)
  • Mirabilia Renaissance Mermaid for my own RR (& then I beaded it all)
  • Home*Stitch*Ness Remembrance Wreath (FFO)
  • Joy embroidery wreath (FFO)
  • Clouds Factory’s Princess Bride
  • Cathy’s Hello December, January & February (also FFO)

I am very close to my first 2019 finish – a conversion of Jardin Prive’s Eiffel Quaker.

I gave up Stitch From Stash in November. I went stupid from all the stress and on a spending spree. Overall the year finished $126 in “debt” but I plan to be better in 2019. I’ve begun a course of antidepressants and things are so much better – I’m not anxious (or as anxious) as I was so yay for that.

Anyways, Happy New Year & I’ll be back for the Intro & 2019 Goals post next week.

It’s Christmas Eve!

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And I’m sure you can feel the children’s anticipation in the air… Mase the Ace particularly is excited this year, don’t ask me why.

But I want to thank you all for your comments & thoughts this year. I really do appreciate it. Merry Christmas to you & yours, and I hope to “talk” to you in the New Year.

WIP Wednesday #236

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Man. I am flipping from project to project faster than you can turn the page.

With the lounge rearranged, I no longer get enough light to stitch at night in my big chair with the frame. This had meant a lot of frustration but… solution is to put Fairy Idyll away for a while.

So… big project wise I brought ahead my plan to start Shakespeare’s Fairies on January first. The Urewera Mist fabric arrived & it’s not quite as deep as I had hoped. So I went thru my stash & found Sparklies Winter Sky in 28ct lugana. I’m stitching weirdly but can do this in hand, so it should be fine for the road trip. Altho I am tempted to start SF on the Urewera anyway, just to double check…

Travel projects had also flipped. I brought a small haul from 123Stitch & included Hands On Design Hello There. Currently stitching December, which was dumb. I should have started January then I’d have a head start on the new year…

Home stuff is as per. SIL is coming up for Christmas (cue tension headaches) but in response we’re going away. I’m looking forward to a break!

WIP Wednesday #235 & WIPocalypse catchups

Posted in cross stitch, DIY home, family, grateful, growing, house - gardens, me, Mirabilia, Movies, Nora Corbett, photos, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, WIPocalypse by

I could quite easily copy/paste the same info as last time we met.

Still plodding away on the reno at MIL’s (deck done, but the weather isn’t conducive to concreting so Mase & I have been planting like mad things)…he took the photos from this last batch. It’s cool to have a gardening buddy. We knew the tags are unlikely to stay with the plants, so at least we have a rough idea of what we planted in this batch. His fav is the Fireworks.

Still radio silence from the SIL (I’m about ready to tell her not to come up, but that would hurt the MIL & actually, I need a break)…

Still working slowly on Fairy Idyll…mostly hour chunks when I can get control of the TV remote from Mum! We watched The Great NZ Bake Off last night, and the guy in the photo was eliminated. GF sponge cake is hard, y’all.

I did start and finish CloudsFactory’s The Princess Bride, as a tribute to William Goldman. If you haven’t seen the movie, you’re in for a treat. And it’s PG, so family safe. I think I want to add his name and dates to the bottom tho. Appropriately, this is on Cloudburst 28ct Lugana from Countrystitch. 

Now, because the stitchy bug has been gone, or superseded with all the other things, I didn’t post in either the Oct or Nov WIPocalypse pages. I’ve given up on Stitch From Stash, as I have been buying ALL THE THINGS and really gone ridiculous (for me. Maybe not if you’re Katy the Stash Queen). I am daily anticipating the first parcel from 123…and the fabric from Catherine at Countrystitch. I went for Urewera Mist (that mottle one). I’m going to return Gail’s Fairy Idyll chart as I have my working copy & will hunt out an original for myself. I really, really want to work on Shakespeare’s Fairies so I will, once the fabric arrives. Stitching & guilt shouldn’t go together IMO, & I also know that if I do park a Mira for a while, I will always return to it. 

So – here’s the Q&A I missed from the last two episodes.

October 28 – Do you prefer to stitch on a rotation or one project at a time? I’ve tried rotation and it doesn’t work for me. I prefer to leave a project out on the bars rather than pop on or off…& I usually have a car project with me to break up the monotony of being monogamous.

November 25 – What new stitches or techniques did you learn this year? Eh – nothing. I brought back some embroidery (two hoops, whoop-de-woo) & perfected my pin stitch, but that’s about it.

WIP Wednesday #234

Posted in cross stitch, DIY home, family, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

I’m telling myself it’s still Wednesday somewhere…

Not much had been done in the way of stitching this last week. However, Mum’s gardens are cleaned up, re-planted & barked. I need some more filler plants but I need to research a little first. Low pollen is needed, but she wants colour. Right.

We’ve also started the ramp… at the recommended 1:12 fall, it’s going to be over 9 metres. Eep. That’s a lot of timber, folks (yes, we could get a temporary metal ramp, but that wouldn’t tie into the existing decks and it would look very, very ugly). I learnt how to rout timber!

On the bad side of things, the SIL is still in radio silence with everyone but mum. Christmas is going to be interesting.

So. Minimal work on Fairy Idyll, but one strand more of the over one was included in all that.

Hope you all have a lovely Stitchy or yarny but joy filled week.