Category Archives: Mirabilia

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, stitching patterns by

There has been no stitching at all this week. First time in a long time, but I’m exhausted. Work, home, sport, illness;  it’s all catching up on me.

I have done some work on a potential RR layout however.

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I’m thinking of extending the castle out to a panoramic type view. Then I’ll only be one spot short (need seven) and I think it could look very cool.

WIP Wednesday & Smalls SAL check in

Posted in freebies, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

Hello!
I’ve been very busy, in between painting the house, refereeing the brats, work and the cricket world cup (& amazing laugh filed brunch with stitching girlfriends) but I’ve completed my Small this month.

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This is a Joan Elliot design from the same book as the Orient piece. Much nicer to stitch! This is on a simple 6*8 frame for Sarah, one of my work mates who has a gorgeous garden. It’s her birthday on Sunday and I wanted to give her something special.

I’ve decided to stitch the rest of the bead stars on Stargazer. I’ll pick up some invisible thread to do that with. In the meantime I started one of the free cherubs from the Mirabilia site.

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I’ve changed the background colour from 310 to 823. So far I hate the hair colour but let’s see how adding more colours changes it. I’ve already frogged a section due to cricket excitement so that’s not a problem anymore.

I’ve also tentatively decided what to stitch for the Round Robin. I’m very lucky as Zeb is lending me some of her charts to snip some small portions from. As of today, this is how I look:

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What do you think? I am short one section still…

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

2004freeWell, I did get some progress done on Jug, but forgot to take the photo this morning *facepalm*

My work piece is the 2004 Mirabilia cherub. I’ve opted to use DMC 823 instead of black in the background, & I’m sure that won’t be my only conversion.

If you want to stitch along, visit http://www.mirabilia.com/category/free-graphs/ to download or view any of the other free charts.

and in SQUEEEE! news, I have been accepted in a Mirabilia/Nora Corbett Round Robin (RR) group for this year. Really excited – now I need to chose parts of 7 pieces to have stitched, plus choose a fabby, plus choose & stitch the border…pressure’s on! but so much fun.

I’m thinking my theme will be small things – as sometimes it is the small things that really grab me in a chart. Like the arch in Rose of Sharon. The White Rabbit in Fairy Idyll. That sort of thing. Feel free to chime in with suggestions!

Annnnd the Saturday stress has started

Posted in league, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, sport, stitching patterns by

Today’s post comes from Northall Park – yeah I didn’t know it existed either! Simon is in the middle for a pre-season Glenora v Glenora game, Bran is running one side line and the rest of us are settled in for a hot 40 minutes.

I’ve found myself a shady spot right next to the school playground. Mase is making friends (that’s my mum. She’s going to give me a new brother. I am? News to me, kid) & Zac is thinking about his creative writing prompt. Bats v Spidy. Who is the best a fighting crime? He thinks Bats. I’m undecided.

I think I’ll make pancakes when I get home.

WIP Wednesday

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

Does anyone want to welcome me back? Four days of migraine & I feel like it was four weeks. I had no end of FB notifications, emails etc – if you sent me something, send it again as it’s a big blur. However yesterday I sort-of felt human again & was up and about. I completely regret missing Z’s 12th birthday party but I can tell you that cricket balls against your window are not conducive to a fast recovery.

I finished the stitching part of my Small for the month (reveal is set for the 25th; if I showed you something now I’d have to get something else done before then!) and the beading on Stargazer’s dress. I did the large star but I’m not 100% sure if I want to do more, to be honest. Right now I am living with her in daily view so I can make a decision later. There’s no rush; she is for me so I don’t really care if that portion of the design is done or not. I am keeping the chart tho (I normally swap so I can a) keep my stash manageable & b) stitch something else I want to do cheaper) as I plan to do her again in 10 years or so!

Med at March 9, 2015

Because DD still hasn’t arrived in the mail I pulled out a WIP last night. My “hospital” piece, the Mediterranean Mermaid. Last night was some confetti, the backstitch around the urn/hands (yes, that bead is not as charted) and a bit of working out where I was up to/where I want to go next. I sort-of have to finish her in the next block; the pattern’s already promised to a friend & they have been patient! Far more patient than I am 🙂 I love how the BS around the skin suddenly made it pop. Sorry about the spooky eye tho. Promise I’ll get onto that this week.

So a quick trip to Spotlight for a couple of DMC threads (I’m in a hurry and annoyed that I don’t have them to hand) and another order to Elizabeth at http://www.stitchnz.co.nz as I have changed the beads charted – again! The perils of not using the original fabric – something’s usually got to give.

WIP Wednesday

Posted in grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

I decided not to pick up Orient during my wait for more Stargazer supplies (impatient much?!), and decided even more not to start another bigger project. Instead I started my March small. Three evenings in and here it is:

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Sorry for the angle; at 2030 last night I wasn’t exactly thinking straight. This is the Joan Elliot design Joy of Gardening that was in the same book as Orient. I altered the “he” to “she”, because the intended recipient is also female & I know for a fact the other half is the designated hole digger/path maker. Anyways, it’s a quick design and you can’t tell where my count went out by a square. I think this one will be a finish this weekend, once the birthday parties are over and done with. Threads as charted except for the onions (the other colour didn’t stand out on my beige Lugana) and over 2 on 25ct. I was tempted to change the robins to tuis but I don’t know if they are in the recipients garden. Maybe next time – this is one I will stitch again. Even the border looks good – simple but effective. I’ll use that on something else too.

I’m seriously thinking that after Stargazer I might try one of the freebie Mirabilia designs in a tent stitch, 2 over 1. I also think I might be nuts. But I do know I don’t want to do a full cross over 1 again, as Arezzo languishes in the drawer unfinished. I was going to pull her out over the “summer” but then I put her straight back again. I really should just sit down with her while the cricket is on the telly.

What are you working on today?

Grateful for Stolen Ideas (#14)

Posted in grateful, Mirabilia by

Fourteen already? It doesn’t seem that long since Ash Wednesday, but I guess it is. Caffeine free me is feeling grumpy & impatient with others, but I don’t feel the need to suck down a coffee. That’s progress. Soon I’ll only be grumpy with others 🙂

Anyway I saw this list on GladriderCrafts blog here and thought OOH I can totally use that. So here we go….

  • Doing? Feeling hungover from a long SAP progress meeting this morning. Went for a walk & I’m still in the blahs over it.
  • Creating? Currently stitching my March Small (pic tomorrow) & waiting on my beads to arrive from Elizabeth’s online store http://www.stitchnz.co.nz
  • Thinking? of lunch. Sorry.
  • Inspired by? all the lovely images of Mirabilia Dressmaker’s Daughter online (why can’t I get straight to the Deviantart posts on my tablet?)
  • Procrastinating over? Clearly work, as I am posting while I should be looking at purchase orders!

So what are you doing? Creating? Thinking? Inspired by? Procrastinating over?

Smalls SAL + WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

I’ll confess straight out. I didn’t finish my small this month. I finished the stitching but I didn’t get brave enough to tea dye it like I planned. I have enough of the thread to test; does anyone know if DMC variegated is colourfast? Like the last small, this is on 25ct lugana, over 2.

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Souvenir de France, a Blackbird Designs freebie

In other news I HAVE NEARLY FINISHED STARGAZER! And as you can tell, I’m a little excited. Just two more hours I think of stitching then to compete the beading. I’m swapping out another of the colours as it looked very very wrong on my fabric (Jennie & Zeb concurred).

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Isn't she gorgeous?

And lastly, the current bane of my life, Orient.   I’ve spent some time with a working copy and a pen and I’m fairly confident I won’t stuff it up again. All that purple needs to be frogged then I can start again on the fan. I guess this is my rut piece. I might just move onto week three’s portion of the chart or finish the border. That at least should be idiot proof. Hush up there in the cheap seats!

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Orient, week 2

M has started on his first kit, a little owl he had fun choosing. I hope he enjoys the process – I made sure to buy him a needle threader for the next steps. Z sometimes picks up his piece but right now its all about the cricket. Next month it will be all about the league! He might finish that car before he’s 21 (house joke).

WIP (ahem!) Thursday & Grateful

Posted in family, grateful, Mirabilia, stitching patterns by

Let’s start off on the high note – today is Simon’s birthday. He won’t thank me if I was to tell you how old he is but he withstood the birthday boy bounce from M! The boys gave him a card and gift before Z & I headed out the door. It’s a Zoku Ice-Cream maker – perfect for the man who has everything. I got it thru one of work’s stores:

http://www.livingandgiving.co.nz/kitchen-and-food/preparation/tools-and-utensils/zoku-ice-cream-maker-purple-5035057

Today my Grateful pic just has to be Simon. Not because it’s his birthday but because he has given me so many things to be grateful for. Three of them also on the bed!

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This could be the “before” pic too – I have brought an old (1920’s) solid timber door that I plan to scuff up and use for the headboard. The room looks bare without a headboard! Plus I’ve selected a few paint pots to try.

Low note. I am not at all happy with the Spirit piece. I don’t know if it’s the colours (the book might be different from the chart pack) but the fan background is purple for me, and mid/pale blue for others in the group. I’m talking Eeyore purple, the same skein that I used last stitching a piece that currently hangs in M’s room. The chart is also harder to read, as it is colour blocks and not symbols. I know why, it’s to help stop copyright thieves, but it means a few hours with a working copy & a marker and right now, I just don’t have that emotional investment in it.  So it went away on Monday & I pulled out Stargazer with the intent to finish her before the end of March.

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Stargazer makes me happy.

WIP Wednesday & WIPocalypse for February

Posted in freebies, Mirabilia, Smalls SAL, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

February 4 – Topic: How do you overcome that feeling that you’re in a rut with a particular project?

Right. Onto the hard stuff already, Melissa? Meanie.

In all honesty, I don’t do rut treatments very well. In the past, they’ve just gone into the UFO pile (altho there is actually only four pieces in that pile). I tend to fad about a piece and LOVE IT SOOO MUCH that it has to be finished, right then & there. Mostly, my 2014 choices reflect that. I got a heap of stuff completed & only left two major starts unfinished. One, because it’s my “hospital” piece – Mirabilia’s Mediterranean Mermaid – & I only work on it when Mase is hospitalised. The other – for some reason I got discouraged with Stargazer. I think it’s her hands – they look so awkward.

However, for all that gloating, I didn’t touch Teresa Wentzler’s Tapestry Cat. At All. Not even to get it out of the storage container it lives in. I think it must be the perceived difficulty & fiddly bits – I love the image and the colours and the work I’ve done so far. I know that if I just pull it out, and start stitching, I’ll fall back in love with it – after all, that’s worked with Stargazer. She languished for about four months until I packed her, and only her, as my “entertainment” for our family holiday early in January. Since then, I’ve worked almost exclusively on her. I guess forcing myself on something makes me appreciate it. Like doing the dishes – a clean kitchen is a beautiful thing. Or laundry – folded piles & clothes on hangers almost make it worth the repetition.

Anyway. Regular blog readers (hey!!) have seen a few other things & today I have two more to share. First is Blackbird Designs freebie Souvenir de France. I had planned to stitch this for Si’s birthday (whenever he sees a shot of the Tower he comments “been there”. It’s very annoying sometimes) but now it’s intended for someone else. I need to finish it this weekend – this is at about 6 hours stitching so even with variegated thread (one stitch at a time) it’s a quick stitch. 25ct natural Lugana & DMC 99, in case you care. I’m thinking of maybe washing it in cold tea to age it a little – what do you think? Link to get the chart is here: http://blackbird-designs.blogspot.co.nz/2009/05/souvenir-de-france.html

Second is about three hours of lettering – I am not in love with lettering at the best of times – of the Joan Elliot SAL (26ct cream Linen, lettering changed to DMC 311 as black looks too harsh). I also need to have this done over the weekend. Then I need to suss something out for Si. Perhaps something English? Help!

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