Category Archives: Mirabilia

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, House, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

Oh dear, it’s Wednesday again? Where is this year going to? At least I have something to show 🙂

Si & I went on a short P&O cruise over the weekend. It was lovely being out on the water and being child-free (altho I had some baby time on Sunday morning. Yay for handing back the smelly ones) & we came back oh-so-relaxed. We didn’t do too many of the organised activities – neither of us are party animals nor are we big on alcohol so we used the time to brainstorm an upcoming house reno and to spend time together. Next cruise we think should be a destination one – thinking of around the Pacific islands, or back from Sydney.

As souvenirs I brought only a couple of Pandora charms; a crown (790930) because it was the Queen’s celebration weekend with Trooping of the Colour; and a cruise ship (791043, it’s retired now). It’s so cute, it even has a pool and umbrellas! They’re kind-of visible on my second Flosstube video (search Paula SewScrapMuse, I have some FSG’s on there too).

20160614_191813.jpgStitching-wise I made a huge ammt of progress on Mermaids of the Deep Blue. Basically everything from the halfway fold was done on the boat. I felt that I should have taken Afternoon in London (and I would have finished it too) but I wasn’t enjoying the progress, and I can’t be bothered doing something that I am not enjoying. I worked “in hand” which means my right hand is very, very sore; and I learnt also that Kreinik is best to do on the stand, but I was happy with my progress. Did not give a rats that some people my age were very craftist and looked down on me for what I was doing; frankly I was looking down on them for their behaviour towards other passengers and the ship’s crew. It was a mutual disadmiration society going on.

And last night got home to this: you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s our house on the market! I’ve deliberately taken a very crappy photo so that you can’t determine some detail. Like our street name, or my rego numbers.20160615_055826.jpg

Si is very cross – we can’t get to our spare parking area now until this is moved. I’m inclined to let it go; the auction is July 2nd and I like these neighbours. The only reason they are selling in a hurry is that his job has transferred them to Wellington and I’ll be sad to see them go. Anyone want to buy a 4bed brick & tile?

 

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, family, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

well here we are! I missed last week so I have a wee bit to show.

We celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s birthday this past weekend, so there was an extra day away from the desk. Si has gone to Ohakea on Thursday at oh-dark-oclock as he refereed at an inter-base league tournament. He also came home at an equally it’s-dark-everywhere hour on Monday morning. This idiot had driven him too/fro from the base, so I had to get up reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal early to pick him up. But it was worth it to have him home 12 hours earlier than expected.

With no senior footy, B only had the one game to referee so we had a family quiet weekend planned. The bigger boys studied and played the weekend away, Mase whined. And whined. Then on Monday night he crashed big time. Turns out he had a virus. Someone will turn up and yank away my mother card soon. He’s on the mend now, but has binged watched an awful lot of Netflix.

I finished stitching & beading the Mill Hill fireflies kit (and beaded the back a couple of times, doh), and also stitched up a little piece from the JCS Christmas 2014 issue, but on plastic canvas and not quite as designed. I plan to string this up on a cream ribbon and set it into a frame.

I also put Persephone away for a wee while. I was losing heart with that skirt; so as much as I do love the colours that I’ve converted her to, it was time. My StitchMAYnia goal wasn’t the traditional 15 starts but to stitch every day in May, and I very nearly got there. Persephone alone was stitched 23 days of the month & on 3 days she wasn’t touched, I stitched a Small. I’m pretty happy with that.

On Sunday night I pulled out Mermaids again. I’m nearly at the half-way mark of the chart (one more colour to go) so here’s what they look like, as of 5.30am today:

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I also popped up on Instagram my version of parking. Most of the multi-page charts I have used have a greyed-out section, usually the bottom two lines of the chart. I simply DON’T stitch the top leg of the last cross, and then on the next page, I draw a box around the incomplete stitch. I don’t pretend to be an expert at parking, and this probably won’t work for everyone, so no offence if this doesn’t work for you.

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May SMALLs & WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL by

So it turns out I’m very late posting! Sorry, but last week was a mess in our household. Mase went down on Saturday night, and everyone else fell like dominoes over the next few days. I was grateful that I have a laptop for work so could stay up-to-date while I was at home.

The Smalls SAL is a free choice SAL hosted by Heather over at Stitching Lotus. You can click on the button in my sidebar and it’ll take you there or on her blog name for the current check-in page.

My May small is the spring side of my biscornu. I found what I think is the perfect thread for the autumnal leaves at my LNS the Friday before we got sick, but I didn’t stitch for a few days there (vomit doesn’t enhance much).

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I’ve made some really visible progress on Persephone’s dress. It’s so freaking huge! I was thinking of swapping out to another project for June but then I worry that I would get overwhelmed & not pull her out for ages. So I think I’ll keep moving on with her. I am using the chart grid and stitching in 10*10 blocks vertically – each night I can get between 200-400 stitches in. I’ve beaded the RHS jellyfish and confirmed my substitutions for the dress back-stitch and beads. So, progress!

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WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

I’m not enjoying this skirt! It’s so freaking huge that I’m forcing myself to sit down. Luckily I had plenty of flosstube to watch last night. I had to scroll last night to find my comfort point, so I took the opportunity to take a full length shot as motivation:

That’s probably 1000+ stitches in a week – so at this rate I would finish before I’m 50!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

My goal for Stitch MAYnia was to do something everyday. So far, OK – I missed Monday as I had a migraine but we’ve gone from this:

IMG_20160430_212727to this (and the garland is complete with beads, her creepy hand is backstitched & waiting on beads):

I’m well underway in her huge, huge skirt. And I’ve been working on my Small at work. I have a buyer for it already!

WIP Wednesday – the tooth version

Posted in cross stitch, family, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

So yeah, I get that most people reading expect that I’ll post progress weekly. But today I have a story for y’all first.

My day began the normal way; I even managed to watch one of Katie the Stash Queen’s vids while I stitched. Went to work (why can’t people drive normally the first fog day🚔). Got a head start on next week, as I completed all the reports needed for my boss’ supplier meetings (this is rather than stressing Monday when I go back to work). Drove home. Still foggy. Took Mase to the EMERGENCY dentist.

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This is the new look for the next (up to) 2 years. His dad is already making hillbillies jokes; I think the lisp is adorable.

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He doesn't want you too see this!

Oh. I got heaps of progress on Persephone too. Four days in a row of carving out stitch time.

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I’m determined to work around that creepy hand so I can backstitch it this weekend! I have the next two days off so planning lots of stitch time.

Stitch MAYnia begins

Posted in cross stitch, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

You may have heard of a variant of Stitch MAYnia somewhere on the Web. Facebook or Instagram or YouTube. The standard version is a new start for the first fifteen days (don’t ask me why, IDK) or a madder version with 31 starts.

For me, it’ll be a little slower. I aim to stitch a little everyday so my planner doesn’t have the word “nil” in any blocks this month. Tame isn’t it?

Here’s my starting point for Persephone. I’m into the vast thread chewing skirt, and I think the daily IG photos will help keep momentum as much as a daily stitch. Fingers crossed!

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April WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, family, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, WIPocalypse by

Another full moon – now that I am in the habit of looking for the moon I’m much more aware of the way the seasons are turning and the effect it is having on the world around me. My driveway is bordered with liriope (see this post) and the lilac flower stems have finally gone. There’s little colour left in my garden except the rosy red apples – I must go pick those tonight.

Oh, and after we dropped Lou at her flat last night, we paused in our drive to look at the stars. Yesterday was ANZAC Day so it was perfect to see the Southern Cross in all its glory, and think of the sacrifice made by men and boys half a world away a century ago. Humbling. Grateful. Relieved. Patriotic. All those feels. So happy the flag did not change.

Anyhoo, WIPocalypse. This is a full-moon check-in hosted by Melissa over at her blog, Measi’s Musings (you can link to it anytime with the image on my sidebar). I haven’t had much stitching time this month, but I do have some progress on my major pieces. I still won’t have a Small for this month tho unless I pull finger, but I’d forgotten how eye-straining it can be to stitch on darker fabrics (in this case, a 28ct Elixar Navy).  Second Mermaid has some more hair, and Persephone has most of the beading done in the top half. Last night I worked on her arm – I stitch right to left and I didn’t want to risk getting oils on her white dress portions if I lean over to do that arm, so it’s nearly done. I did run out of the Nymo thread – that bobbin didn’t last long enough so I’ll have to get some more.

This months’ question: What do you listen to while stitching? (via Jo)  I have a mix of things. Easy, non-thinking TV or movies (my darling brought me a case which is fixed to my lap stand, so I can mount my phone in the perfect spot when streaming), podcasts or even the radio. I don’t often listen to audio books unless it’s something I’ve read, like Harry Potter, Roald Dahl or Winnie the Pooh (I often have company while stitching).

Podcasts include (I use Podcast Addict, an android app that takes from iTunes and RSS feeds, and can include video subscriptions):

  • Around the Table
  • Elise Gets Crafty
  • Hope*Writers (I liked the earlier variant of this podcast, it remains to be seen if I continue to subscribe)
  • No Such Thing as a Fish (the QI researchers, funny but not suitable for under 13’s)
  • Sorta Awesome
  • The Charged Life (a new rec, I haven’t started listening)
  • The Simple Show (freaking awesome)
  • What Should I Read Next (the modern mrs darcy out loud).

I also watch FlossTube (stitch vids on YouTube). Currently loving:

  • Ms OhSewCrafty
  • Carolyn Mazzeo
  • Eclectic Possesions
  • Donna Murray
  • Pyrex Stitcher
  • lindystitches (funny)
  • CoffeeStitcher
  • Stitching Mae
  • Teresa Little Stitcher
  • The Evergreen Needle
  • The Queen of Starts (hello Kate)
  • The Stash Queen (hello Katy)
  • and many, many more

What do you do? Do you have any podcast or Netflix recs for me?

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stash cache app by

Dear Diary,

It’s been a while since I last wrote. This is not because I’ve been busy (altho I have) but more because I am simply too tired. Which isn’t really an excuse as I generally update WordPress from work. And it’s on my phone, so this changes the reason to because I’m lazy.

I haven’t stitched much at all this last fortnight. I have about half of my Small to go, and I’ve added a few beads to Persephone so that I can roll her up on the scroll and start that humungous skirt of hers. I’ve changed out the bronze/brown bugle beads to a smaller gold for her necklace, & I love how they look against the blue. So much better that the original. And there’s a little more work on MotDB but that’s about all, folks.

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I won a USD20 voucher from @donnamurray86 (her IG account) through a giveaway she hosted on her flosstube channel, so I grabbed The Silver Dragonfly (I hear it’s nearly OOS) and a more recent release, The Snow Queen. Postage took over half the voucher, so as I was going to have to top up any purchase I made, I made it worth my while. I also won a Trademe auction for Santa’s Magic, a very early Mira. All three are now added to the Stash Cache file page, if you’re using those.

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We gained a digital Freeview tuner and I hooked that up Monday night to our TV – while the TVs have built-in Freeview, they don’t have a series-link capable recording capacity. By adding a 1T USB to the tuner, I’m hoping that I will have some of our favourites recording so I can binge-watch as I want. I hardly stay up to TV past about 8.30 at night, and most of the good stuff starts then. Neil Oliver’s Coast New Zealand started last night – I love his BBC series – & I think it will be interesting to see what he made of our shores. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11623166