Category Archives: round robin

Harvest Moon WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin, WIPocalypse by

Mase took these photos last night, as we headed down the North Western motorway to pick up Dad. A cell phone can’t capture the sheer size and the colour – no wonder the American Indians & Maori (among others) called this a Harvest Moon.

My September has been all about my round robin prep. This was a love/hate relationship for sure and I AM NEVER USING DMC SATINS AGAIN. Until next time. However I am finished with the frames & thinking that they do look amazing – even if I had to dig in my ORT jar to finish the top leg of the last 20 or so stitches! Playing thread chicken is not as fun as you might think.

I’ve also finalised my layout, and the lovely Elizabeth has come to my rescue and has ordered Bluebeard’s Princess mermaid for me (www.stitchnz.co.nz) so while I may have to post the intended portion on the FB group, I will have it in time for someone else to stitch. Just not Mel in Australia – but there’s four others for her to choose from. My start is the Queen Mermaid – but I’m thinking about adapting her “purse” to either a treasure box (Atlantis-type) or a shell, like this one I found on Pinterest:

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I am looking forward to Christmas 2017 when I should get this one back! First posting isn’t for 3 weeks, so Queenie will be done by then.

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Question of the Month

Tell us a story about the journey you took through one of your completed pieces.

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This is one of my favourites – the first I completed and had framed intending to keep! Which was a Big Deal, as it marked 10 years of stitching history. This is Bran’s birth sampler, the Alma Lynne Noah’s Ark Collector. I still have the chart…but I can’t find it in online stores, sorry, so it must be OOP.

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It’s the first that I re-charted portions on – I added personalisation to include Bran’s name, DOB. I used Kreinik for the first time (the lightning bolt) and I gave myself permission to stop angsting over those French knots. Beads all the way! This hangs in our hallway and even at 16, B still appreciates it. There’s true love for you!

Solo September SAL

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

Reading today’s blog digest lead me to this SAL – just what I need to get committed to the large stitch Mirabilia round robin I was invited to join. Andie is organising it, & she’d be one of my favourite people.

I decided on Mermaids, got the Simon input (vertical, so it will hang in a certain spot in the house), sorted designs, then got a mad hair on and decided to stitch the “frames” in a shiny thread. Couldn’t get to Ribbon Rose and I was too impatient to mail order, so I grabbed a DMC satin.

Never again. I am not enjoying this part of the process at all!

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The fabric is actually much deeper than this picture: Catherine @ CountryStitch’s Cook Strait, in a 28ct lugana (my fav). The frame is from Cathy Habermann’s Chalk Christmas ornaments set II.

Review: Daughters of the Bride

Posted in books, cross stitch, family, me, round robin by

cover-daughtersDaughters of the Bride – Susan Mallery, July 2016, HQN Books

Courtney ~ The Misfit ~

As the awkward one, Courtney Watson may not be as together as her sisters, but she excels at one thing—keeping secrets, including her white-hot affair with a sexy music producer. Planning Mom’s wedding exposes her startling hidden life, changing her family’s view of her—and how she views herself—forever.

Sienna ~ The Free Spirit ~

When Sienna’s boyfriend proposes—in front of her mom and sisters, for crying out loud—he takes her by surprise. She already has two broken engagements under her belt. Should she say “I do” even if she’s not sure she does?

Rachel ~ The Cynic ~

Rachel thought love would last forever…right up until her divorce. As Mom’s wedding day draws near and her ex begs for a second chance, she’s forced to acknowledge some uncomfortable truths about why her marriage failed, and decide if she’ll let pride stand in the way of her own happily ever after.

This book links into Mallery’s Mischief Bay series (see here for my reviews  ) which I loved. This title is one I’d solidly rate 4 stars also; it ticked nearly every box. I would put myself in the Rachel camp, so I’ve learnt something from this book – it is okay not to expect the same effort in bathroom hygiene from my boys as I would put in, but it’s definitely okay to give them a checklist for guidance!

  • Well drawn characters
  • Believable plot
  • Consistency in character behavior
  • Consistency in story line
  • The animals didn’t hurt the story either!

IRL, I have not lost more weight altho I have stayed static for the last two weeks. I can however slide my jeans off without undoing them and I need new bras. This is progress! Simon’s torn some cartilage in his knee, and is on a wait for surgery. Understandably, he’s in discomfort most of the time and outright pain at other times. Yesterday I picked up a brace – and we both slept solidly. 7 hours or so my Polar tells me! Apart from the night he fell asleep on the couch, I haven’t had more than five to five-and-a-half hours for a few weeks. I’m hoping this is the start of a beautiful friendship. It’s very hard to get up at 5am and go swimming without restful sleep!

20160814_205158I didn’t stitch for a couple of weeks, but then I binged a little over the last weekend and finished Afternoon in London! It’s currently on my noticeboard here at work, as I need to make time and go to the framers in Mt Eden. I’ve started the Harry Potter House Banners for Z, and it’s BORING. Seriously boring. It’s going to be a Netflix binge watch to get thru these things. I have also joined up a large format (5K stitches) round robin – what was I thinking?!

 

 

IMG_20160816_213950.jpgMase is collecting the Countdown Star Wars cards right about now. He wrote Pete, our COO, this cute letter to say thanks! It’s one for his 21st wall.

 

February Smalls SAL

Posted in cross stitch, round robin, Smalls SAL by

This 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 Feb’s page is HERE.

This month I’ve been really productive Smalls wise. I have Rahenna’s pixie, the Noel Mini Sampler (three specialty stitches I’m proud of, and it’s even laced up, ready for backing) and Up in the Treetops, a much-converted Lizzie*Kate design. I’ve also decided that the March Joyful World SAL piece will be perfect for our September, so that’s planned for then.

Plans! Ah! Those things I break…notice there’s no Mira update? That’s because I hate that fabric. I see a big frog session in my future…

WIP Wednesday

Posted in 16 in 2016, cross stitch, family, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

One really good thing about regular posts is that the pressure is off to create witty titles. I’ll leave that one up to Maia, eh?

This week hasn’t been great. This fortnight, really. I am dependant on meds to keep the headaches at bay and continue functioning. I am nowhere near as bad as some people (and freakily there is a shortage of Sumatriptin right now here in NZ, so I am hoarding the 10 tablets I have left and using the other stuff) but I am going to have to have a serious conversation with my boss when he returns from Ambiente next week. Ideally I’d like to work from home Wednesday and use that to catch up on sleep and slide my working day by a few hours. I’m fairly disciplined and there are no regular scheduled meetings for me that day, apart from his catch-up. Say a prayer for me, please?

20160215_215159On the Finish front, I have #3 – Crafty Rahenna’s round robin is done, and will be off in the post today. I think that is actually ahead of schedule! There are no beads, as she will add these post a wash (Poppy’s wings need it, they aren’t as white as they could be) and no thread conversions on my part.

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Mase has begun to stitch again – he is already converting the baseball from this chart to a red cricket ball and made the decision to swap around the two colours in the gridiron ball.  Okay, then. I might have started a monster! This is at about an hour of work, and he’s actually done more. Apparently he “needs” his own Instagram as he doesn’t want to continue to use mind. Hmm, really? Need?

WIP I’m so late it’s Thursday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

Due to yet another migraine, I’ve managed only two thread lengths since the last photo. I feel like I’ve lost the better part of two days, and that’s not fun at all.

But here’s my minimal progress on Lily:

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I do like the colours and I find it interesting that I chose almost the same tone of fabric for my RR. I think plain fabbies are best for displaying such a big variety of designs. 

The Cousins are Over

Posted in 16 in 2016, conversion details, cross stitch, family, freebies, friends, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

And if you’re a FB friend, you’ll have seen that we have been very, very busy each evening. Combined with the fiscal year end here at work, I’ve barely had any space to stitch. However, we do have a finish! My second for #16in2016. This is the Mirabilia 2004 Cherub with Tree freebie, with lots of conversions:

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The changes are:

Original Used Notes Original Used Notes
310 823   500 319  
356/758   1/2 strands 502 320  
356/434   2/1 strands 598 932  
839 938   926 931  
3052 3022   3756/3811 3753  
3768 930   Kreinik 009 2 strands

Backstitch: 2 strands 844 for border & wings, 356 for skin & 310 for lashes.

Beads: N in the border 02026 to 03050; O in the border/hair + collar went from 02010 to 00161; tree is all 03050 except the star is 03016; O in the dress is all 02026.

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Orewa beachfront

On Saturday we escaped the mugginess of the city and went for a tour north of the city. We did Waiwera pools to relax (I want this place, but Ben says 650-700K and I just about choked, so that’s a no https://www.barfoot.co.nz/562286 ) and ended up at Orewa for dinner. There’s a good takeaways on the edge opposite Hillary Square, and we trudged across the road to the beachfront. We drove home via Riverhead (which is where I wanted to live, but now I’m thinking the village vibe is going to disappear in the new subdivisions that are spreading out).

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the boys at Arataki, looking out towards Manukau Heads

Sunday was a bit easier – Sharon’s place, then Arataki, down across town to Devonport (proper lager at the pub, apparently) and home for dinner.

 

20160208_201656_011.jpgYesterday was recovery day, so Si & his dad chain-sawed pine trees for the gf & grandma to last them a couple of winters, then BBQ at Grandad’s – and no summer Barbie is complete without a game of cricket. See Mase in the front left, in blue? From that spot he threw the ball to the far wicket and ran Zac out. Amazing arm on that kid.

Today is the first day all three boys are at school – hallelujah! –  so of course I’m celebrating this by being at work. Hmm. Something is wrong with this picture. At least I have Rahenna’s piece to stitch on. By default I’ve ended up with Lily of the Valley, which I haven’t stitched before.

Poppy reminds me of Anne, as it was one of her finishes last year. Hey, Anne!

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WIP Wednesday

Posted in 16 in 2016, conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

I almost forgot to post! Head down, tail up at work and (mostly) at home, I am still not reading much and writing even less, with the exception of Board reports. Which are boring. Unless of course you want to know more about the good/better/best matrix and how that is affecting sales? Yeah, thought not.

Anyways, I still haven’t got Rahenna’s round robin from Jacqui and I’m getting quite concerned. Not sure what to do – a RR going missing in the last round is rough. I KNOW as I still don’t have mine, and that was from another Auckland address. I’m kind-of scared that this will mean that I won’t be in any more international RRs and that makes me sad.

I’m working on Cherub with Tree. So many threads now have been converted, I have notes all over my working copy (a plus that I don’t know a PDF would keep up with on my tablet). I’ve worked out how to stitch and watch Netflix or Flosstube – blu-tak! – and the only frogging I did was colour related. Si has picked out the blues for her dress and is waiting for me to start – but I am about 20 stitches away from completing her wings and I want to get that nailed first.

This is the original and where I got up to on the weekend:

Not that much further to go! Then I’ll have a second finish (the ornament just needs making up but you can wait until the Smalls check-in to see that).

I also found some large book rings – perfect for the BAP quantities of bobbins! This is Persephone’s, minus the dress…pretty!

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Done!

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

I’m so happy that I’ve completed my portion of the Round Robin in plenty of time to ship her to Rahenna.

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This is Nora Corbett’s Moonlight Laguna. I’m glad I had the magazine as colour copies never are the best, and I changed out the border threads where they pinged into the tail (Lenna had twinked out all the rest of the border).

And here’s the piece as it leaves me:

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High 5 for Friday!

Posted in 12 Days of Gifting, cross stitch, family, grateful, High Five For Friday, me, Mirabilia, round robin by

It’s been a busy few weeks. To be honest, I am struggling – with pain & loss of function, the return of the Screaming Teen, a tired partner, feeling oh-so-obliged – and being grateful went by the wayside.

Yesterday was a big day in the household; (bottom left) Mase’s group had a concert at school (they are repeating it at local resthomes today & for the public on Saturday evening) and (top left) Zac graduated intermediate. He also got a Service award!

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(top right) I am very nearly at the end of Lenna’s tail – there has been a bit of juggling to get the colours right in the roses. I can’t justify the drive across town for the three Waterlillies threads, especially as I’d be in so much discomfort after, so I dug in my 3 thread boxes and came up with something true to the original picture but also unique.

Mase is totally into Christmas – the last pic of the layout is my new Rudolph. He kind of reminds me of Beaker from the Muppets!

I am just about at the end of the “12 Days of Simon” for this year – but I think I will just number them and place them under the tree. I saw this boy at Living & Giving today & it’s perfect for Day 11 – my (frog) Prince 🙂 cheesy, yes. Who cares? If you’re looking for something similar, these are by Zoku and widely available world-wide.

frog prince