Category Archives: cross stitch
Long time, No talk…
Mase at the summit of One Tree Hill, looking towards Rangitoto (the island in the harbour).
I have really neglected this blog! No excuses, just busy elsewhere. I am going to Butterbean Motivation boot camps and have ramped this up from once a week to three – and Si is now joining me. He is also enjoying the eclecticness of the group and how welcoming they are. I know I’m getting stronger – last week I was so ill I didn’t do much from Sunday night to Saturday morning (worked from home tho) & I only managed half Saturday’s set. I had lost 8.3kg since starting on June 27th but after last week I’m sure it will be a gain. I’m still sick so I’ve elected not to attend JC for a couple of weeks & will meal-plan with more knowledge, commitment & a scan of some weight watchers books. It will be nice to be eating the same as the kids for a few weeks anyway. Here’s me at my first bootcamp & then earlier this month. I have cheekbones!! And I’m two sizes smaller. Yay for finally fitting that Fleetwood Mac shirt I brought last November. And Loren – she’s amazingly dedicated. I’m so grateful that she thought to include me in this group.
Jen & I gave up some time on Saturday to collect for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Jen looked after the kids; I go the weirdo with the “theory” on how women get breast cancer. Eep. Still, we were clever enough to have an inside spot as the rain continued to cover Auckland & helped bring in cash for a good cause. The text link is still applicable if you’re in New Zealand!!
I got lots of haul, some of it yet to arrive. My Stitch from Stash is well in the red – so I need to get some finishes done! Ms Oh Sew Crafty (Stephanie) is running this on facebook – search for the group Stitch From Stash 2017A. It was intended to start in January and run until June, but like some others, I am trying to be conscious of what I am kitting up now in anticipation. Right now I’m in debt until January!! And I’m in a bit of a bid war for L&L Firefly Fairies so that’s still to be added. The Herschners list is from their sale (3 Nora Corbetts and one other) & thankfully I had brought from Jenny (www.homestitchness.com or on Etsy) earlier!
| Stitch From Stash | Oct-16 | |
| Budget | $25.00 | |
| Expenses | Nantucket Rose | -8.00 |
| CountryStitch FQ x 3 | -100.00 | |
| Herschners Sale x 4 | -5.65 | |
| Finishes | Mill Hill Lapis x 2 | 10.00 |
| Mill Hill various FFO | 16.00 | |
| RR – Queen Mermaid | 10.00 | |
| Rollover | 0 | |
| Total Available Budget | -$52.65 | |
Stephanie has created a worksheet for tracking spend/finish. I’ve added the column so I know what items I spent/finished & set my budget (fortunately postage costs don’t come into it!) and set a value for each finish. It’s quite a clever way of being mindful.
I’ve started using one of the fabrics from Catherine at www.countrystitch.com already (Geyser 28ct Lugana). I’ve looked at Save the Stitches and another couple of Liz Almond designs, but this one was in the Spring 2015 issue of Cross-Stitch & Needlework, which I already owned (stash!!). I’m converting the reds to green threads & started last night: 
And today is the post date for my Mira RR. I finished the Queen on Saturday – there are no thread conversions in this one. I’m planning on beading the whole lot once it returns, as I suspect I will need to re-stitch the borders. If I do I won’t use DMC satin but find a comparable silk or Waterlillies thread instead. On the left will be Waiting for Ships facing Queen; Gypsy facing Bluebeard’s Princess & Enchanted facing Waiting for Ships. This is on 28ct Lugana in Cook Strait from Countrystitch.
I’ve also had a blitz on finishing some of the Mill Hill ornaments that I plan to give for Christmas. One set is for the SIL and another for the FIL & his girlfriend. I’ve kept the patterns in case I decide to re-stitch any for our tree next year. There’s one more to do for each set. If you’re curious, I don’t follow the thread instructions. I only use 2 strands, not 3, and the repeated set are on 14ct plastic canvas not perforated paper.
Production Line! Lapis at the top, the second Holly at the bottom.
Anyway, this is turning out to be a huge post. I’ll try to get back into the regular WIP Wednesday/review/share posts from this week. Thanks for reading, and take care!
Harvest Moon WIPocalypse
Mase took these photos last night, as we headed down the North Western motorway to pick up Dad. A cell phone can’t capture the sheer size and the colour – no wonder the American Indians & Maori (among others) called this a Harvest Moon.
My September has been all about my round robin prep. This was a love/hate relationship for sure and I AM NEVER USING DMC SATINS AGAIN. Until next time. However I am finished with the frames & thinking that they do look amazing – even if I had to dig in my ORT jar to finish the top leg of the last 20 or so stitches! Playing thread chicken is not as fun as you might think.
I’ve also finalised my layout, and the lovely Elizabeth has come to my rescue and has ordered Bluebeard’s Princess mermaid for me (www.stitchnz.co.nz) so while I may have to post the intended portion on the FB group, I will have it in time for someone else to stitch. Just not Mel in Australia – but there’s four others for her to choose from. My start is the Queen Mermaid – but I’m thinking about adapting her “purse” to either a treasure box (Atlantis-type) or a shell, like this one I found on Pinterest:
I am looking forward to Christmas 2017 when I should get this one back! First posting isn’t for 3 weeks, so Queenie will be done by then.
*~~~~*~~~~~~*
Question of the Month
Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces.
*~~~~*~~~~~~*
This is one of my favourites – the first I completed and had framed intending to keep! Which was a Big Deal, as it marked 10 years of stitching history. This is Bran’s birth sampler, the Alma Lynne Noah’s Ark Collector. I still have the chart…but I can’t find it in online stores, sorry, so it must be OOP.
It’s the first that I re-charted portions on – I added personalisation to include Bran’s name, DOB. I used Kreinik for the first time (the lightning bolt) and I gave myself permission to stop angsting over those French knots. Beads all the way! This hangs in our hallway and even at 16, B still appreciates it. There’s true love for you!
Solo September SAL
Reading today’s blog digest lead me to this SAL – just what I need to get committed to the large stitch Mirabilia round robin I was invited to join. Andie is organising it, & she’d be one of my favourite people.
I decided on Mermaids, got the Simon input (vertical, so it will hang in a certain spot in the house), sorted designs, then got a mad hair on and decided to stitch the “frames” in a shiny thread. Couldn’t get to Ribbon Rose and I was too impatient to mail order, so I grabbed a DMC satin.
Never again. I am not enjoying this part of the process at all!
The fabric is actually much deeper than this picture: Catherine @ CountryStitch’s Cook Strait, in a 28ct lugana (my fav). The frame is from Cathy Habermann’s Chalk Christmas ornaments set II.
Review: Daughters of the Bride
Daughters of the Bride – Susan Mallery, July 2016, HQN Books
Courtney ~ The Misfit ~
As the awkward one, Courtney Watson may not be as together as her sisters, but she excels at one thing—keeping secrets, including her white-hot affair with a sexy music producer. Planning Mom’s wedding exposes her startling hidden life, changing her family’s view of her—and how she views herself—forever.
Sienna ~ The Free Spirit ~
When Sienna’s boyfriend proposes—in front of her mom and sisters, for crying out loud—he takes her by surprise. She already has two broken engagements under her belt. Should she say “I do” even if she’s not sure she does?
Rachel ~ The Cynic ~
Rachel thought love would last forever…right up until her divorce. As Mom’s wedding day draws near and her ex begs for a second chance, she’s forced to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths about why her marriage failed, and decide if she’ll let pride stand in the way of her own happily ever after.
This book links into Mallery’s Mischief Bay series (see here for my reviews ) which I loved. This title is one I’d solidly rate 4 stars also; it ticked nearly every box. I would put myself in the Rachel camp, so I’ve learnt something from this book – it is okay not to expect the same effort in bathroom hygiene from my boys as I would put in, but it’s definitely okay to give them a checklist for guidance!
- Well drawn characters
- Believable plot
- Consistency in character behavior
- Consistency in story line
- The animals didn’t hurt the story either!
IRL, I have not lost more weight altho I have stayed static for the last two weeks. I can however slide my jeans off without undoing them and I need new bras. This is progress! Simon’s torn some cartilage in his knee, and is on a wait for surgery. Understandably, he’s in discomfort most of the time and outright pain at other times. Yesterday I picked up a brace – and we both slept solidly. 7 hours or so my Polar tells me! Apart from the night he fell asleep on the couch, I haven’t had more than five to five-and-a-half hours for a few weeks. I’m hoping this is the start of a beautiful friendship. It’s very hard to get up at 5am and go swimming without restful sleep!
I didn’t stitch for a couple of weeks, but then I binged a little over the last weekend and finished Afternoon in London! It’s currently on my noticeboard here at work, as I need to make time and go to the framers in Mt Eden. I’ve started the Harry Potter House Banners for Z, and it’s BORING. Seriously boring. It’s going to be a Netflix binge watch to get thru these things. I have also joined up a large format (5K stitches) round robin – what was I thinking?!
Mase is collecting the Countdown Star Wars cards right about now. He wrote Pete, our COO, this cute letter to say thanks! It’s one for his 21st wall.
Flosstube #3 is up
Check out the notes before you watch, there’s a wee prize up for grabs!
Perfectly Covered in Grace
a lesson to be learnt here – thanks Daleen for sharing what is so, so personal. And Yay for Mr Right.
Our guest blogger today is Daleen of Sunday’s Child. She and I met four years ago through WordPress and have become great friends. Listen to her message today- it’s awesome. Love, Joanne
Hi, I am Daleen and I am persnickety.
Over 34 years of married life, I created the ideal time table. The perfect schedule. A well oiled, finely tuned machine.
Once a month I clean, vacuum, scrub, fuss and fluff the front entranceway. No matter what state or country we were/are living in, or the size of front entranceway, I buff and puff. I change the wreath or decor with the season. You will never see Fourth of July bunting still hanging on the 6th of July.
On the last working day of the month, I take a personal day. Facial, pedicure, manicure, hair (cut, color, highlight, hot oil treatment etc). I bike and rebound and get fresh air and sunshine.
Our master…
View original post 1,605 more words
July WIPocalypse Check In
Wow – July’s full moon has been beautiful. I’ve seen quite a bit, as I drive in the dark to the base pool.
I have got thru 3 rotations of stitching this month; a chunk of Persephone, over the mental hump of Afternoon in London and up to Maleficent in Raven Queen’s first page. Just quietly, I’m impressed I stayed disciplined enough to stick to those 3 at home.
Now I missed the June check-in – Topic: Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter? I am finding I am about the same this year, altho we’re really early into Winter down here. Making the commitment to record my projects and using Instagram has stopped a lot of my usual hibernation.
July – Topic: (two options) If you are participating in the Olympic Challenge, tell us about your plans – which type of challenge you’ve selected, the pieces you’ll be stitching on, etc. If you are not participating in the challenge, tell us how this year’s stitching is going for you so far, and if you’re meeting your stitching goals so far for the year. Having given up FB, I’m not participating in any challenges or SALs. This year was all about taking a breath, altho I did commit to “16 in 2016” finish count.
- Mirabilia 2004 Cherub
- Chinese Year of the Monkey ornie
- Nora Corbett Lily of the Valley (my last round robin contribution for that round)
- Noel Mini Sampler ornie
- Lizzie Kate Up in the Treetops ornie
- Hands On Design Plenty – FFO!
- Mill Hill Fireflies – FFO!
- Pickle Barrel Noel ornie
- Cross Stitcher Bunny wooden ornie
That’s nine finishes, and none will take much to FFO really apart from sending the cherub out to the framers. I’m OK with not having a big design finished in 2016, altho I do suspect I will finish Mermaids of the Deep Blue. And if all goes to plan this week, I will finish stitching the 4th of the Mill Hill ornaments and bead all four before next Friday.
Whatever happened to WIP Wednesday?
Long story short – this is one of the last hang-overs I had from FB. Right now, I simply don’t want to update my WIP when (for this month anyway) my rotation finish date is the very next day. This may change; I do post more often on IG or maybe it will be my Work WIP Wednesday?
Here’s my stitch calendar, for anyone who is interested. July doesn’t have heavy goals; to simply be loyal to one WIP each week at home, and to bead the Mill Hill ornaments I finished stitching last month. Simplicity is key, especially when your current season includes school holidays. I need to get out my WIP pile and work out who will be what week next month – altho it will probably be Persephone for the first week again. A “tick” indicates that I stiched on my home WIP that day – satisyingly, there are more ticks that I hoped for!
On the being honest about my weight loss front, I had an amazing loss despite feeling blah towards the end of the week and my Sunday/Monday migraine. Another 1.5kilos – 3.3lbs, for a total of 3.9kg or 8.6lbs, very nearly Mase’s birthweight. My polar shows that I was particularly lazy some days (pretty shameful days actually) so the loss was a big surprise. I’m going to reward myself at the 5kg mark with a Pandora five charm – they don’t appear to have a ten so not sure at that point what I will do! I am still struggling to fit in all the food (my rep says about 80% of who they see are actually not eating enough to kick their metabolism into gear, and isn’t that interesting?) but I am trying.
Tourists in our own Island
My rotation plan has gone out the window- well, not entirely but there’s an edit. When we checked the referee’s draw on Thursday, neither Si nor B had been allocated games, so we decided to escape Auckland for the weekend (thanks Emma for feeding the fish!). We knew the weather wasn’t going to be sharp anywhere we went, but it’s all about the adventure. We don’t know how many more weekends we will be able to get away as a family of 5 (B plans on finding an apprenticeship for 2017) so we want to take advantage of the opportunities. Raven Queen is too unwieldy to do in the car (32ct dark fabric? ah no) so I picked up Afternoon in London. I needed a jump to get over my stitching hump with this one.
We booked in at a little cottage in Opua, in the Bay of Islands. It’s just before Paihia (too touristy) and it’s where the car ferry for Russell leaves from. Small, but we could see ourselves retiring there. They even have a Stitch & Bitch session! Sadly we did not win lotto so that dream will wait a while longer. Even in the gloom the view from up on the hill was engrossing and I spent time at the windows both mornings. My only complaint would be that the kitchen doesn’t face that view.
Saturday we were all up early so we jumped in the car, planning to get to the northern most tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Mase wanted to be the first boy to have been at both top & bottom of the islands (he’s forgotten all about Stewart Island!) & goal achieved. We did stop wherever we felt the need – lots of junk shops & second hand bookstores. I found some haul too as well as a very thick bio on Mary Magdalene (amazon link here).
Williams House, Paihia – part of an Anglican Mission
sailboat under repairs at Opua
Wesleydale Memorial Church, Kaeo-KeriKeri parish, c 1820’s – & still in use
Simon mourns the ruins of old houses
The Cape was a bit different from what Simon remembered as a teen. The parking lot is now well back from the lighthouse (a ten minute walk) and the entry has been all tourist-fied with piped in traditional Maori music and planned plantings. Never mind. Once you’re thru that, it’s raw and as it should be.
where the two seas meet
The lighthouse is smaller than I thought, much smaller than I remember Castlepoint being. Sadly it’s operated by remote computers now, but I could imagine the loneliness a keeper would have experienced. It’s so open and you can see where the two seas meet – Tasman on my left, Pacific on the right – and recall the Maori myth about this being the departing place for the spirits of the ancestors, as they made their way back to Hawaiki (better story here).
Being back at work is kind-of a letdown. I would much rather be back at the lighthouse.
and lastly – Mase reenacting the story of Jonah…
