Category Archives: cross stitch

Wowzers! Be in to win!

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, friends, grateful, High Five For Friday, me, Smalls SAL, WIPocalypse by

UPDATE 29/10/15: This competition is now closed.

When I started blogging I didn’t think that anyone other than family would notice. I’ve been blessed by your feedback and comments, and now I’d like to pay it on!

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The prizes are:
A Lizzie*Kate snippet, Cross Stitcher in Residence plus goodies
OR another snippet,  Stitching Forever plus goodies
OR if you follow me because I read & you read, I’ll custom make you a book mark. It could be the design pictured here, or something else that depicts you or what you read (let’s keep it pg tho!).

So to enter, you need to be a blog follower and comment below with “snippet” or “bookmark”. If you comment with bookmark, let me know what genres/authors interest you, or a cross stitch designer or theme of you prefer. I’ll post wherever so this contest is open internationally.

Three winners will be announced on October 27th, two WIPocalypses away from today.

Good luck!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, family, grateful, me, Mirabilia, round robin by

Today’s WIP are brought to you with a bit of bitterness on my tongue. I won’t go into this too much, as I am not out here for sympathy, but I am choosing to walk away (click away?) from a FB group. I will miss some aspects of the community but it’s healthier for me (& less drama for others) if I just leave. So that’s what I’ve done. This way I can forgive & then forget without the constant reminder that someone let me down then broke my trust in them.

Keely's choice; Angels from XS Crazy 2012

Keely’s choice; Angels from XS Crazy 2012

Anyways, let’s get onto the good stuff. This is where I left Keely’s piece at last week. Since then I have completed most of the Angel’s skirt, her wings (blah to DMC metallic) and some of the presents that are on the bottom left. I forgot to take a more up-to-date shot (even on Instagram) so next week’s will look much more complete. I won’t be posting it this week tho, which gives Kathryn a bit more breathing space.

I’m waiting on the international Mira RR to get to me still but I had to get back into something that was my own for a little bit.

progress as at 9th Sept

progress as at 9th Sept

The rugby world cup has started and so I pulled out Persephone while the AB’s played Argentina (very) early Monday morning. I got two cranes done then, and a half plus the ribbon done while supervising homework later than day. I love working with the silks of the Waterlillies – this is the first piece I’ve used them in, as they are quite expensive down here and previously I’ve always subbed them with the DMC. I’ve now got the frame around the top done so it will be all about filling in this last section of “wallpaper” this week. I can’t wait to start back-stitching to define her face but that beading should wait until the end. It’s heavy already given that I stitch “in hand” & I don’t think I should add to that weight yet!

Let’s see if that thought lasts until Christmas, hmm?!

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progress as at 22nd Sept

Hi Five for Friday!

Posted in books, conversion details, cross stitch, grateful, High Five For Friday, steptember 2015 by

High FiveLISTENING: Picked up an audio book that I can’t remember reading in print – JD Robb’s Indulgence in Death. Great for drowning out the routine crap at work.

READING: Planning on getting into The Fringe Hours this weekend as I’m just about finished Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. This week was potentially not the week to think about ditching survival! Since I started one change (setting the alarm half-an-hour earlier) I’ve been woken by family at least two hours earlier…sorry peeps, but there won’t be a review tomorrow.

CRAFTING: Working on Keely’s RR still (no stitching since Tuesday!) and waiting for the next Mira one to hit me. I also brought Summer Queen of someone who was destashing. I want to convert her colours from the blue to rich, adult-y pinks, kind-of like Debra Foxx did. Which leads me nicely into…

ANTICIPATING: I signed up to “16 in 16” – a facebook group based on encouragement to finish 16 WIPs in 2016. The only problem is that I don’t have 16 WIPs! But I have an excuse to start some more pieces!

CELEBRATING: 6 days in a row of little sleep but still getting to my Steptember goal. So far, that’s 117.3km walked. Pretty happy with that!

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Conversion:

changed 939 to 154
changed 924 to 902
changed color 3810 to 915
changed color 597 to 718
changed color 598 to 3608
symbol circle with dot in center 3608 & white
changed color 902 to 550
changed 915 to 552

No bead changes were made.
changed color 718 to 553
changed color 3608 to 554

summer queen blue

Original colours

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, steptember 2015 by

It’s been a week of huge self-imposed pressure – LEARN TO SAY NO, PAULA!! – but I feel hugely rewarded.

  • walking every day has increased my overall energy levels and I am more patient with the family. Am not noticing that clothes fit better yet. Hopefully that comes soon!
  • the team I am managing won 28-4  – I may have mentioned that already. If so, I’m not at all sorry to repeat it. Only the one problem parent & that’s rudeness. I can cope with that.
  • I finished Andie’s RR piece, the Gingerbread House from Shannon Wasilieff. She’s beading later so it is being posted to the next person today. Only 6 weeks late! I may eventually get over that.
  • I made a decent start on Keely’s piece, which is oh-so-cute. I expect to have that away by next Friday as no beading is required here either.
  • The posts are up on the Facebook group to remind the Ornament Exchange and Round Robin stitchers to post. Phew!
Gingerbread House

Gingerbread House

cheery cherry blossoms

cheery cherry blossoms

Keely's choice; Angels from XS Crazy 2012

Keely’s choice; Angels from XS Crazy 2012

Hi Five for Friday!

Posted in books, cross stitch, High Five For Friday, house - gardens by

LISTENING: to Elise Joy podcasts about creativity, taking a leap, changing focus www.elisejoy.com or via iTunes and a lot more of radio than iPod – www.lifefm.co.nz

READING: I have a few I just read the first chapter of – and some I want to dive into but I just am not in the headspace. There’s a review for a gentle series scheduled for tomorrow and I’m in book 6 of another I need to schedule for next week. Any suggestions gratefully accepted – I just can’t do deep right now.

20150909_171137SHOPPING: for seeds – this is my haul from Kings this week. I’ll be able to mass plant lavender for minimal cost. And be giving away parsley. Lots of parsley.

CRAFTING: Getting into this RR. I’m thinking beads for the falling snow – and then I remember that it isn’t my piece!20150911_085354

DOING: Wrapping up the 80% portion of being a rep team manager. There are some people making it a lot harder than it needs to be – and getting texts after 11 at night is getting old. First game tomorrow!

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CELEBRATING: My first donation for Steptember! Not too late – you can view my progress here http://bit.ly/1JuNI9k  I’ve done over 100K steps since it began!

PLOTTING: I’m at 110 followers – thank you! I love hearing from you – and I said I’d do a giveaway at 111. Time to start thinking – it might have to be crafty and booky!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, round robin, steptember 2015 by

Well for today I don’t have much to show at all. I managed a few days on the wallpaper of Persephone (while bingeing on SOA). The left top corner now only needs the beads, which I will do much, much later. It’s a carrot to keep stitching along, especially as I wasn’t sure about doing the background initially.

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Then one of the NZ round robins I am organising went to custard. I have picked up the two pieces that were at one person’s house and now have THREE robins I’m stitching in. Luckily I don’t have the latest Mira one yet (probably next week) but the person hadn’t stitched much on the other pieces – one is due to be posted next Friday (not even opened!) and the other was a couple of weeks ago. Part of the issue was out of her control but I’m still disappointed.

I’ve decided to work on Andi’s piece this week (in between work, rep footy and walking) – it’s a Shannon Wasilieff piece called Gingerbread Houses. It’s available in her etsy store. I found this image on Google from another blog (mylifeisinstitches.blogspot.com which now looks like it’s been abandoned).

gingerbread SAL

I’m going to start the top left house & I’ll probably ignore the border – but the goal is to get a house done quick smart and off to Kathryn as soon as I can!

Steptember Update

Posted in cross stitch, Project Life, steptember 2015 by

Well, given that the average office worker hits about 3000 steps a day, I’m nailing it. However I’m not quite at 10K a day yet.

Wednesday – 6121 steps or 2.9km

Thursday – 7547 steps or 7.2km

Friday – 14564 steps or 7.9km

Saturday – 10470 steps or 5.3km

Sunday – 17421 steps or 9.5km

Monday (yesterday, back in the office) – 9584 steps or 5.1km

Sarah & I have plotted out some longer lunchtime walks for this week & I’m looking at taking a photo of something that catches my eye every day. A good Project Life mini theme album! Yesterday we saw this:
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and if you wish to donate or sponsor me, click here. NZ peeps, you’ll get a tax cert for next year’s refund. I’m very grateful for any donation, no matter how small. Email me your receipt confirmation and you’ll get a individual Christmas ornie too 🙂

And she’s done!

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

Yay for Saturday mornings with no sport.

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And a close up:

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I did change out some beads, more because I had them to hand but they fit so well on this fabric. Everything is still Mill Hill.
16603 became 03016.
18828 became 00143 (happily the packet I didn’t use for Stargazer).
In the bubble trails from her fins, I used 00150 instead of silver and 00161 instead of 02010.

I do feel a little stupid in that she’s been sitting in a bag for a year, and it was only a week to get a finish!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

So as I’m in between round robins and I felt kind of stupid having all those beads and something that was nearly a finish so…

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I finished her hair this morning. Just a tip: of you’re planning on stashing a WIP for any decent period, highlight where you get up to. That’ll save you a few hours!

Her tail is beading up quickly, as I’m only attaching them with a half stitch. All shiny!

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August WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, Mirabilia, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is a monthly-ish blog hop hosted by Measi.  This moon’s task was to choose a WIP and tell the story.

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This is Mediterranean Mermaid. Long time followers will know all about her; but for everyone else, this is why she’s still a WIP.

Our youngest, Mase, often has asthma flareups. Bad ones. End up on nebuliser ones. It’s long hours, often alone as there are other children at home, so I had to have a project that was permanently packed & could go anywhere with me. Lynne suggested Jug (as in, she carries an amphorae).

But so far in 2015, and with winter nearly over, we’ve kept Mase under control. Small flares, nothing major. Poor Jug hasn’t been worked on for nearly a year (I even brought the beads earlier this year in preparation),

It’s hard to feel for her tho!