Category Archives: Mirabilia

WIP Wednesday & the Smalls SAL update AND the new hotel for Travelling Bunny

Posted in Mirabilia, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

Is that a contender for longest blog title ever?

I am rocking along with Stargazer. Last night’s progress wasn’t as much as hoped as I tried a couple of different beads for the swag (froggy came a courting) then settled on Kreinik #4 002. It’s more subtle than I wanted but gold beads are too much, and neither 00150 or 03050 or 03014 looked right. The front (white/lilac) part of the skirt is still to be beaded (I will likely use 03044 here) but I had to move onto the threads again as was watching NCIS season 12 kick off here. It’s the first time I’ve pulled that show apart while watching and I hope my love affair with it isn’t waning.

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For Smalls (hosted by Stitching Lotus, link here:  http://stitchinglotus.ca/2015-sal/  ) I managed not one, but TWO pieces. First was of course, Travelling Bunny. I used Anne’s finishing technique to complete him, and I’m really happy with how he turned out.

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Second was a colour conversion of Not My Circus, which is on my filing cabinet here at work. It isn’t properly laced as I am looking for that perfect Monkey or Circus button or brad to add to it but it serves the purpose as a reminder not to get caught up with other people’s dramas here at work, no matter how entertaining they might be. If you want a copy of my stitching notes, including colours, please flick me an email at paulainauckland at gmail dot com & I’ll get it out to you. I’m really happy with the tones that progress down the word Circus. REALLY happy.

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Next month’s Small should be the Lizzie*Kate Stitching Forever piece, as I picked up the chart on a quick visit to Ribbon Rose last week. I’m planning on incorporating some of the jewel threads that Gladrider sent me this month to illuminate it. Yummy!

Now, the last thing is to announce where Travelling Bunny is heading off to! I got lots of lovely comments – awesome to have contact with people who have stitched him in the past and are still following him – and seven entries. Drumroll please…Bunny is heading off to Stephanie42! You’ll be able to catch up with him here: https://stephanie42.wordpress.com/

Congrats Stephanie – check your email later on today!

Sunday, Gorgeous Sunday

Posted in family, Mirabilia, OLW by

It’s beautiful here in Auckland today. Well, the West is! Yesterday the cricket was on at Eden Park, so of course it rained. Great for my fruit trees, they could have done with the soak (stupid hose doesn’t reach to this side of the house, so I bucket around). Not great for the cricket – it was rained off. I think the next Eden Park game is v Australia in the ICC World Cup – I want to go to that one.

Si is sick so yesterday was super quiet. M & Z went to Grandma’s quite late in the afternoon, then around nine I got a phone call to say that they were going to stay the night. AWESOME! B got a lesson in consequences; he’s on kitchen this week and has been mostly on strike. So after multiple warnings, I followed thru (& felt like the worst parent in the world) – no dinner was served. Mind you, he’d had two ham croissants not an hour earlier but Ah Ma Gord the circus erupted. Newsflash – the world is not fair to the Screaming Teen. But we’re adamant that he must learn consequences – better now at home than in the workforce. This is safer.

I stitched. And stitched. So excited when I look at the height growing in my thread jar, and the growing yellow on my working copy (I don’t often colour but I find it easier to pick up a stored WIP if I do) then I look at her skirts & groan. Seems like I’m getting nowhere fast! There is so much still to do – and I still need more beads.

But the upside of having God throw patience lessons at me all day yesterday is this: I know what I want to invite into my One Little Word life. And that’s patience. It’s OK to not respond immediately. It’s OK to count to ten. It’s OK to have consequences for my actions or inactions. It’s OK to walk away. It’s OK to say “I am not involved in your story”.

And that feels good.

Travel Recap + WIP Wednesday

Posted in books, family, Mirabilia, stitching patterns, travel by

Just for Chiara! Here’s a small sampling of our photos from the long weekend.

This is a boutique hotel in Cambridge. I’m thinking it could be the perfect spot for a stitching retreat – altho it would be a pricy one!

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This is B – if you’re on my FB, sorry, as you would have seen this already. From our stop in Taupo. Plus the sundial that is in the Rose Garden next to the play park, on State Highway one as you drive through town.

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Junk shops – we probably stopped at about 50% of those we saw, so Z can look for vintage Commando comics. One of my bosses collects old gramophones – this was in an ugly shop in Havelock North.

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Also in Havelock – Duart House. As soon as I saw it I recognized the resemblance to the family home in Scotland. http://duarthouse.org.nz/ sadly it was shut when we discovered it, so it’s on the diary for the next time we visit Hawkes Bay.

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Day two was in Wellington. We went to Te Papa, the museum where Z started his Lord of the Rings/Hobbit costume search. This is the Elven Lieutenant – love the detail.

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M as a pilot! He’s got his “oh grow up Dad!” face on.

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B designed a plan in the AirNZ exhibit.

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We had drinks then walked around with one of my brothers. We don’t spend much time together and I’m so sorry R – B & M combined can make anyone’s ears bleed! R helped Z find more costumes. Here’s Gloin – one of the dwarves. His costume was sumptuous yet sturdy. Those boots! Huge.

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Day 3 was more Wellington then the drive to New Plymouth. This is one of the houses along the Wellington ocean coast. I have a thing for lighthouses!

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Hawera – the water tower. Again, closed – but had we been 30 minutes earlier we could have climbed to the top. Apparently only takes 10 minutes! Yeah, right. Chiara, I’m sitting on the ground about 300m away from the base to take this. Any further away and I would have been on the road! The oaks surrounding it are planted to commemorate Armistice Day in 1918 by the local dignitaries and a VC winner.

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And the War Memorial in Hawera.

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We didn’t take many photos from New Plymouth to home. Unfortunately we’d done too much in too few hours and everyone was grumpy and ready for their own beds. It was fantastic to get home.

I did get quite a bit of Stargazer done, given that most of this was in the car on the long straights (don’t try to stich thru the Manawatu Gorge. It’s too windy and too beautiful to miss). All that dark yellow was the trip & I’ve pretty much made up my mind to rip the face/hands and re-do it with 2 over 1 tent, to give more detail. One more week of work then I’ll rotate to a small plus some finishing.

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Reading – Monica Ferris’ Needlecraft Mysteries. Gentle (Betsy’s no Miss Marple) & I like the stitching references. I also like the way the author is experimenting with the genre. Luckily there’s a few books so far in the series! Next will be a re-read of Unbroken before I see the movie (it’s been a few years since I read an advanced copy).

 

We’re home!

Posted in family, Mirabilia, travel by

And the unpacking begins. I have a load in the washing machine already, the dead fish has been farewelled (not the baby sitters fault I must add) and my treasures are being stashed.

I picked up a Mirabilia for a song as someone lost the photo (fairie treasures) & a New Zealand Centennial jug. The Jug has a couple of chips so again it wasn’t much; but it’s only 15 years to our bi-centenary and for something that probably got a lot of use it’s looking good.

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Z has about ten more Commando comics to file away; B has some Marvels and my little M didn’t want much. He’s so sweet right now. I bet he becomes a little rotter when school goes back!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

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I’m changing out to Stargazer for the next week – ROAD TRIP – partially as I need to chart some ribbon from Rudolph to the next reindeer. I’m combining a scene from one of M’s fav Christmas books, where the reindeer are practicing before Christmas Eve, so no glowing nose (frankly, that’s one part of this Rudolph I don’t like) and lots of little combined details. The border will be a modified version of Blitzen’s with some Prancer. I think it’s going to look gorgeous. But as Stargazer is completely as charted (I haven’t even changed any thread colours as I want this to look as close to late twilight as possible) it should be easier. Just lots of thread swapping and the old “count twice, stitch once” theory going on.

Anyway, not sure how much will get done while we travel (must buy some wipes to keep my hands clean) as we explore with the kids. I am looking forward to the two exhibitions at Te Papa (our national museum in Wellington). One is 75 years of Air New Zealand (both S & I worked for the company) and there is, as you would expect, more about the Hobbit. There is also a treasure hunt, of sorts, with a Middle of Middle Earth Costume Trail. I love the fabric details in the LOTR movie franchise and I am fan-girling a little. Or a lot. Probably a lot.

http://www.wellingtonnz.com/discover/things-to-do/sights-activities/the-middle-of-middle-earth/middle-of-middle-earth-costume-trail/

So the next few posts will be a mix of scheduled and spontaneous. Hope you enjoy a look around our country!

 

January WIPocalypse

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, OLW, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

January 5- Topic: Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

Introduce Myself. Hmm. Right. I’m Paula, and I live in Auckland, New Zealand. My avatar name is pure panic/laziness, as I needed a personal email the one time I had to go job hunting and that was all I could think of. Paula, in Auckland. I am a mum to four, who range from 20 to 5. I am a partner/fiancé of nearly 19 years now. I work as a vendor performance manager for a major retail group, and I have my fingers in quite a few pies. I also do volunteer work during the league season – in 8 years I’ve only taken the one season off. I’m seriously considering being a sideline mum this year. I don’t use my degree at all, unlike Si, my partner, who uses at least two of his in the day-to-day role he has. I am overweight & not really looking to fix this in a hurry because I have no desire to run even Round the Bays. I’d rather walk it. Or swim.

Personality wise I am friendly, altho don’t lie to me. I will drop you like a hot potato. I like to make people smile or laugh, and it was only after a massive issue at my then employer in 2012 that I learnt to say “no” when asked to do something. A very valuable skill to have. I like to support people and find solutions to help make them happy. Happy friends = happy me.

I read A LOT. Like, two to three books a week. Anything from suspense to biography to contemps to historical. I don’t read horror, or misery memoir. I did read M&B (bath books!) but it’s more than a little stupid to use your Sony in the bath. I’ve been reading since I was 4 & I love to escape into a world that someone else has created. Pretty much everything I read is now digital. Forget diamonds – eReaders are this girl’s best friend. I do occasionally buy physical books – for the pretty pictures or the travel guides.

I dabble in scrapbooking – mostly Project Life, December Daily and this year I’m taking Ali Edwards’ One Little Word. The idea is to take one word that really speaks to you, and make it your focus. You can read about my choice here: https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/one-little-word-2015/ and more about Ali’s course here: https://aliedwards.com/projects/one-little-word

I took a surface embroidery class in 2014 and enjoyed it. Not enough that it has taken over my main hobby, which is cross stitch, but enough that I can see where I want to incorporate it into pieces (Mirabilia Sleeping Beauty’s blankets seem to be a cool spot) & I have some confidence to do so.

I made Teddy Bears – proper old fashioned ones – in the past. One sits on my console here at work & is regularly picked up and examined. Others have been gifts for newborns and friends going thru hard times. Others have sold, which was amazing to me at the time. I still have the tools and a banana box of stash/patterns but I haven’t made a bear in years.

2014 saw a revival of sorts for me, stitching wise. It went from a chore & an ignore to a woo-hoo! & I got lots more completed than I thought I would do so. I filled my TUSAL jar. An attempt at rotation (let’s blame my wanting to grow up to be Anne for this) failed as I got the “must finish it now” bug. I got a Nora Corbett bug & brought heaps of patterns, altho I cleaned out boxes and boxes of stash.

This year’s WIPs are:

  • Nora Corbett Reindeer (I started with Rudolph). I only have five charts more to go…six to buy!
  • Nora Corbett Mediterranean Mermaid
  • Mirabilia Stargazer
  • Teresa Wentzler’s Tapestry Cat

Planned new starts:

  • Nora Corbett Letter C
  • Nora Corbett Letter P
  • Mirabilia Rose of Sharon

 

I am still collating my list of Smalls for the SAL this year, as I like to be a little flexible (I was regimented about the 12 TW smalls for last year and finished with 3. Dismal fail). I sort-of think the NC letters are small, as I tended to finish them in only a fortnight, but the rules state they are not.

  •  Travelling Bunny (he came from Wisher in November, & he needs to move on)
  • A biscornu
  • A Just Nan special finish
  • a “not my circus, not my monkeys” piece I saw on Pintrest. It fits nicely with my OLW for this year too.

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And that’s it. A shorter list than I anticipated! #mustworkharder

 

WIP Wednesday – the TUSAL

Posted in embroidery, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

TUSAL? ORT? I didn’t formally join the Totally Useless Stitch A Long this year but I loved the idea of it. I found a Moccona jar, scoffed down the coffee and this is the result…chock full of ORTS.

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Looking at the layers I can see where I was this year, and it’s a tangible reminder of what I have accomplished in 2014 (especially given that I haven’t found the $$ to frame most of what I finished). Starting off with Teresa Wentzler’s Stretch, moving on to the Nora Corbett Sleigh (my fav of this year), a few minis, the start of Mirabilia’s Stargazer, a start to Mediterranean Mermaid, some more mini’s, three NC birds that are completed, Lou’s Letter Fairy and the start of the Reindeer. I love the glints of the metallic Kreinik that shine thru.

This has been really satisfying. I plan to use these threads to fill a Christmas ornie and I’ve already picked next year’s jar – a big, faceted whiskey decanter. Very Downton Abbey 🙂

Next year (it’s nearly here!) I’m planning on taking a photo with each WIPocalypse. Could be embarrassing…

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Christmas, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

No stitching progress today. Yes, I’m sad about that too. The reality is that my wrist hurts so much that I am seriously considering the physio. Mouse opperation is ouch!!!

But planning for next year. Signed up now to the 2015 Smalls SAL (click the button on the sidebar) and Measi’s organising a WIPocalypse again (http://measi.net/measiblog/wipocalypse_main/2015_wipocalypse-basic-info-sign-up-page/) This is a huge effort so much appreciated. I brought stash while in Sydney – more Nora Corbett, quelle surprise – two pieces for Carol (my MIL) and the Party Cakes for Louise.

I also plan to complete at least two of the NC reindeer (they almost qualify as a small, given the size of my WIPs), Stargazer, and complete another chunk of Tapestry Cat. My smalls will most probably be Christmas ornaments; I’ll use the monthly check in to get some presents underway and finished! Bonus.