Category Archives: freebies

WIP Wednesday #272

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, me, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Hello everyone! Today marks halfway thru the mandated national quarantine program. My personal opinion is that lockdown will extend further, but we’ll see what happens. Good bless the media, they ask the stupidest questions in the daily updates from the PM (can we vote her in for life?) & are looking for holes. I’m over negativity.

This week, I’ve finished both Antique Celtic Sampler and the Hands On Design #bewellandstitch freebie that is featured on Cathy’s blog. My thread choices are shown in the photo.

I’m now working on beading the two Genoa Santa’s from the Mill Hill & Sandra Cozzolino team. I’m mowing thru my WIPs and that makes me happy.

Hope you are all doing okay. Talk to you Friday or next Wed.

Friday Review: Brene Brown’s Unlocking Us

Posted in books, freebies, grateful, growing, me, You Can Quote ME by

Hey everyone! Hope lockdown is going okay, that you’re not going too crazy & that you’re getting contact with your nearest & dearest.

Right now one of my dearest is Libby, Mase’s Hospice counselor. She rang this morning then they had a Zoom session this afternoon. There’s one scheduled for next week & I’m so grateful.Today’s review isn’t a book. It’s Brene’s new podcast. No surprise that I lurve her work. Research plus stories? Yes please! Her first episode isn’t the initial planned, but it’s about FFT. That first F stands for a bad word, but it’s minimally used during the episode and I’m sure you’ll find something to resonate with, especially in this “new normal” (I’m beginning to hate that phrase).

You can listen in your fav app (I use Podcast Addict on android), or online at https://brenebrown.com/unlockingus/

Ep 2 is surprisingly light hearted for the heavy topic. It’s got me hooked. I almost burnt the schnitzel!

WIP Wednesday #209 & #passthestash

Posted in Christmas, cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, grateful, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Woot! I have had a bloody good Finish week. Both Jamaica Santa’s are FFO, one on my tree and one ready for Aliese; and even better, Believe is an FFO as well! I found a funky frame at Living & Giving (it’s by Umbra) that was cheap, as one piece of glass was broken. You’re supposed to put the photo between the two pieces of glass, but instead my sandwich is the perforated paper, glass then a piece of thin, sturdy card. Doesn’t it look cool?

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I’m also very, very pleased to have nine (now ten!) stitched pieces on display.

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My work piece therefore is new – it’s one of this year’s Lizzie*Kate Coffee Time designs. I’ve even coffee-dyed 28ct white Lugana to suit, & I’m using the Gentle Art threads I used for the Mia Mermaid. They aren’t very variegated but they are nice to work with. Progress shot next week!

What this means is that Believe is ready to #passthestash. I use a working copy, so the chart is pristine. The leftover DMC floss & beads are included; some will definitely be enough while others will need to be sourced/exchanged for what is in your stash. Entries are open from now until New Year’s Day 2018 & I’ll get Mase to randomly choose someone next week.

Comment below – do not mention the word G I V E A W A Y or I will delete. Let us know what you would give to someone who doesn’t believe in Santa!

WIP Wednesday #201 + WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, goals, lavender & lace, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

whoa – some lovely comments from post #200 & my give-away! This is still running; please click and comment on that post.

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WIPocalypse is hosted by the lovely Measi over on her blog. Please click on the icon to the right; it will take you to her blog. You can check out years worth of submissions! It’s fun (for me) to see the progress fellow stitchers make, & get haul ideas.

Stitching-wise, I am definitely in line with this month’s question:

Question of the Month – How do you get yourself out of a stitching drought?

Yeah. I’m there. I have ALL THE THINGS but ouch! wrist movement since that big BBM morning. I wear a brace to drive & stitching is so minimal. I have too many options too, which is making me pause.

On Nantucket Rose, I am maybe 8-10 thread lengths past where I was last week. It’s so minimal I can’t even be bothered to take a photo.

IMG_20170824_211656_040.jpgAll I have finished (& by finished, I mean up to the “cut out the backing & glue magnets on) are two pairs of Lucie Heaton Designs Chucks from the September Cross Stitcher magazine. Red for Louise, purple for Aliese. At least they will qualify for a Smalls SAL entry!

So stitch-from-stash, I’m still in the black & intend to be there, all going well & if Nora doesn’t release anything amazing between now and when I can legitimately ask for Christmas presents! YTD I am now -$48.40 but will be in the black by October, without any additional spend or finishes. I must look at the group & see if Stephanie (Ms Oh Sew Crafty, check out her blog for some serious stitchy progress!) has the check-in post up.

Stitch From Stash Aug-17
Budget $25.00
Expenses Lynne- Mira Mermaid -30.00
(Sunset Laguna + beads)
Finishes Plastic Canvas Chucks * 2 4.00
Rollover Rollover $57.12
Total Available Budget Total Available Budget $56.12

So August is a bit of a wash really. I spent, but only one piece. Even if I had full movement of my wrist, no way would I get to complete the top leafy portion, but at least I was close to monogamous for the month.

September Plans are to be in-line with Stitch MAYnia SALs, the Mira month & Return to Hogwarts. I plan to pull out either Mia Mermaid, or my Reindeer Parade; and the Clouds Factory Hogwarts banners to start (I have abandoned the initial 36ct start!). There’s also the 19th Pirate day, & I’ll pull out the Mill Hill Jamaica (mon) Santa for that one.

So, if you’re a regular reader, thanks for getting this far! And if you’re a WIPocalypse check-in-er, I look forward to seeing your progress too. Have a lovely month!

WIP Wednesday #200 #passthestash #sprinklestitchykindness CLOSED

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, grateful, lavender & lace, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler by

Okay then! Let’s get into this.

So the number is very, very arbitrary & we won’t get into my dodgy calculations to work out how many WIP Wednesday posts I’ve done since moving to WordPress. There are a few, so let’s leave it at that & get to the exciting stuff.

20170823_054202.jpgAfter 10 days or so not stitching, I am back working on Nantucket Rose, altho only 2-3 thread lengths per session. Anything more still hurts! I am about a quarter towards my goal of completing the top canopy. I don’t know if I will continue on her past the end of August or swap to my planned Mira month or Return to Hogwarts which are the Stitch Maynia SALs. If I have the fabric I might just start the Clouds Factory Hogwarts House banner pattern.

So. The Good Stuff. I want to #passthestash and #sprinklestitchykindness on you all in chart form. SO, in the comments, please indicate which piece(s) you would like to go in the draw to win. I will post worldwide, but you will only be eligible to win ONE chart. I will be drawing the charts in the order below, so as an example, if you win #1, and have asked to enter #4, you’ll be automatically ruled out of the later draw. You must also be over the age of 18, and entries prior to midnight NZ time on 09/09 will be considered. Winners announced in the WIP Wednesday scheduled for 13/09. Google random generator will be used to pick the winners 🙂

I’ve chosen my favourite designers or themes here. Hopefully there is something to entice everyone!

  1. Ross Designs White Tiger
  2. Teresa Wentzler’s Summer Carousel Horse
  3. DMC Poppy Field (this one does include the threads)
  4. Country Cottage Needleworks Joy
  5. Nora Corbett Inkberry (kindly donated by Lynne)
  6. Little House Needleworks Gourmet Garden

20170822_052919.jpgRight. Have fun, share this around, do whatever. TTYL!

REVIEW: Just In New Zealand series – Rosalind James

Posted in books, freebies, me by

JUST THIS ONCE: Escape to New Zealand #1

Everyone needs to be rescued sometimes.

Everyone but Hannah Montgomery, that is. She just needs a vacation. Three weeks in New Zealand to sort out her life, figure out what she wants, seems just right. Oh, and to relax. She should definitely put that on the agenda. She certainly isn’t looking for a fling with a professional rugby player, no matter how attractive he is. Hannah doesn’t do casual. But maybe just this once. . .

As much as he’s shared with Hannah, Drew Callahan has kept one very big secret. And learning the truth, now that she’s back home again, has made Hannah warier than ever. Drew knows that she’s right for him. But how can he convince her to let down her guard enough to explore what they could have together?

New-Zealand-Website-Slide_10_bksI’m a sucker for books about my own country/environment. Add on romance, a hot book boyfriend and I’m sold (Rock Hard, anyone? https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/review-rock-hard-by-nalini-singh/ The concept of the plot isn’t too far out there (find me a girl who hasn’t dreamed of a bf that’s a sports/rock/movie star, & I’ll show you a liar) and the secondary characters are funny and well crafted.

James, while a Yank, has spent enough time here to perfectly describe our environment and she does it so well. Even our unique lexicon is sweet as… J I have devoured all the books in the series multiple times & would only admit to not liking one, which is very good odds for a series as large as this one has become. Overall I’d rate the series 4 ½ stars, which is very high for me! The best thing? The titles are now available on Kindle Unlimited and James has written plenty of others too. Book One, Just This Once, is available for free on most platforms in any case. Please click on the links below & enjoy:

WIP (somewhere it’s still) Wednesday…

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, work by

I just found this in the drafts – whoops!!

I had a full-on day yesterday, so apologies for not writing. Hubs packed/left for a work trip (solo parenting, oh yay); I had work, I left work early to look after sick MIL & sick child, worked at home, did three loads of washing (did I mention sick child?! I meant, SICK child), stitched a little, forgot to eat lunch, found warm clothes, left Screaming Teen in charge and went to the British & Irish Lions game at Eden Park (thank you adidas crew). If you want a match report, go HERE

As you can see, primo seats, right on the 22 and UNDER COVER. The only wet was from beer spillage when the people in front of me cheered. Unexpectedly, the Auckland Blues won 22-16. Personally, used to rugby league referees, I thought this one sucked when it came to positioning. He appeared to be in the way multiple times so kudos to the players, having to add “don’t pass to the dude in white” to their thoughts every time they passed from the base of the scrum or a ruck.

Stitching-wise, I am nearly completed all the DMC in Andromeda’s rock. I have decided to change out the charted green to a Kreinik to give gloss, like you could expect from wet seaweed/mussels, and eagle-eyed punters will see that I have frogged the lilac in the waves on the left & worked out that I will replace this with 3752, which is in the same depth group.

The image on the right is very true to the colours of the fabric, which is Country Stitch Antarctic Storm on 28ct lugana. Catherine likens it to DMC 800 and that’s pretty much what it is, just slightly darker as I specifically requested.

http://www.countrystitch.com/Handdyed-Fabric/Handdyed-Fabric-Antarctic-Ice

 

April Smalls, Stitch from Stash Update & WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, WIPocalypse by

Smalls is hosted by the lovely Heather on her blog, click here for the rules:  http://stitchinglotus.ca/2017-sal/

WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/

And another month draws to a close and I got some stitching in! Mind you, it was a bit of a race for the last portions of beading on Mermaids but – I got a finish!!! My goal for the month was to finish all the stitching, but I could see the finish line and off I went.

April Goals:

  • FFO the How to Train Your Dragon pieces for the swap & post (bookmark, needle book and small hoop). COMPLETED – but I kept the small hoop
  • Finish all the stitching on MOTDB and get to the beading potion. SMASHED
  • Start Julie’s RR piece (as that has arrived to me super early). NOT STARTED
  • Plan what I will do for the #disneycraftswap (waiting for my partner to post her mosaic still). PLANS COMPLETE, STITCHING STARTED
  • 15th – Diamonds. Beading the clear beads on MOTDB. IGNORED
  • 22nd – Earth Day. Start the Mill Hill Seagull kit. COMPLETED

I also worked on a small Easter piece, the freebie Prairie Schooler chart that Kristine sent me. I chose black aida (stash!) and initially stitched it in similar colours to the original…I plan to repeat with different colours to make a basket of mini eggs.

So here’s my pieces for this month:

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Question of the Month – What projects are in your UFO pile? There’s not too much in my UFO pile, to be honest. Just the one piece that I have kept the pattern & half-completed project away. I am tempted to re-start it on evenweave as it is on aida & I had become a bit of a snob but maybe I should just pull it out. If I can’t get the threads to match it might be worth a restart…apart from this, I do have Tapestry Cat at 11 years of age but as I am still working on this, I don’t think I can call it a true UFO. Just a resting WIP. And I have a few of those!

  • Tapestry Cat, Dec 2006
  • Toy Story Birth Sampler, Oct 2013
  • Nora Corbett Arezzo, March 2014
  • Mirabilia Persephone, May 2015
  • Nora Corbett Reindeer, July 2015
  • Mirabilia Raven Queen, Jan 2016
  • Tamara blackwork, September 2016
  • Lavender & Lace Celtic Winter, Dec 2016

My May goals are fairly small. I’m not going to participate in StitchMAYnia, but there are some new starts:

  • Disney hoop & needlebook for new swap
  • Start Julie’s round robin (if I get a finish, I will start Andromeda!)
  • Finish Mill Hill Believe (about ½ done)

Lastly, I’m still in the black for Stitch From Stash. This is more good luck than management but I’ll take the win.

Apr-17
 Budget $25.00
Andromeda @ CountryStitch -41.40
Kreinik @ RR -27.90
HTTYD hoop FFO 10.00
PS Easter Folk Egg 5.00
MH Seagull 5.00
Mermaids of the Deep Blue 59.30
Rollover $2.92
Total Available Budget $37.92

Back to your regularly scheduled programme…

Posted in books, cross stitch, family, freebies, friends, me, Teresa Wentzler by

Important bit – none of the links below are affiliate. Deerskin is actually to a review, not the purchase.

It feels so good to be back writing, and reading, and stitching, and (dare I say it) work! I spent a good portion of the last fortnight ill, five work days away from my desk, and it’s only yesterday that the sleep-deprived me felt kind-of-normal.

SO about the above..

  • I started & finished Deerskin, by Robin McKinley. I’d not read any of her novels but I got hooked in by the cover. And the price (it was free that day). Now I’m adding Sunshine to the Kindle, as @aragonsgirl72 recommended her on my IG post.
  • For those of you that liked my version of Not All Those Who Wander, Emma Congdon has now uploaded this to her etsy site.
  • I brought myself the Palace Cinema from Lego. Loving it. Construction kept my mind tired and from being overwhelmed with solo parenting & worry. I finished it and brought the Bank set. I might have started a new obsession…
  • Mase “helped” with the construction. Cars are still a little boy favourite. Look how long his fingers are now! I miss the true little boy chubbiness.
  • And last night was my first night at a stitch group in far too long. I laughed and really enjoyed myself. It was in Grey Lynn, an older established and PRETTY suburb of Auckland. Love the way the trees grew to form a canopy.

And stitch-wise, I am well into March’s Stitch MAYnia designer SAL, which was Teresa Wentzler. My goal was to back stitch and fill in a lot of the gaps in the top floral border of Tapestry Cat. I’m really happy with the progress.

And as for the other, that’s for an Instagram swap. My partner loves How to Train Your Dragon, so as one of the pieces I am making her a needlebook with the two main characters front and back. Cloudsfactory make such easy, cute designs for this sort of thing.

What have you been up to?

 

Sharing is Caring: & so is doing good :)

Posted in freebies, goals, grateful, growing by

Last month I chatted with Chris Marlow because I love what he’s about: reminding us that we can do good in small, simple ways, right where we are. And those small, simple things can be a force for major global change. In this conversation, Chris and I talk about his experience starting a nonprofit organization,…

via Podcast ep. 41: Doing good is simple — The Art of Simple