Category Archives: stitching patterns

Dealing with Pressure – NaBloPoMo four

Posted in books, Journal, me, Mirabilia, NaBloPoMo, photos, stitching patterns by

normal

Normal by Lizzie*Kate & stitched by Claire. Pattern available here: http://www.123stitch.com/item/Lizzie-Kate-Normal-is-Just-a-Setting-Cross-Stitch-Kit/LK-K32

Sometimes I can deal with pressure like a sponge, and soak it all up. Sometimes the smallest thing will set me off. I guess everyone goes thru phases like this. After going thru a crap last six months at a previous employer, I have learnt a few things. I also know that I would rather work for someone else and be able to shut the door behind me at night.

four

  1. Have a PLAN for achieving things. If I record something, I am not only more likely to do it, I’m more likely to achieve more. Plus planning allows for movement. Urgent report? Move this to do that. Easy. Take a look at the diary offering at your local stationery/big box store or try the planner link from yesterday.
  2. Have an ESCAPE HATCH. Do something that makes you happy, be it something crafty, read a chapter, surf the web, go for a short walk. I return to work refreshed when I do one of these.
  3. While I have been known to crank up Seether, I usually listen to something softer. (Confession? I am a closet Nickelback listener, but more of their earlier stuff. Yeah I know, such little justification!) Make a playlist of your favourites, hook up the iPod/phone, find a radio station, listen to a book. I am a bit late to the party but have discovered podcasts. BBC comedy? Yes please. Lee Mack, you need to get on there more.
  4. Have something in your pod/office space that INSPIRES you. I have no outside windows so I have a few extra things. A huge Eiffel Tower canvas from Typo in Onehunga. Glass candlesticks with globes, turned to where my friend Jill is sailing presently or where friends who need prayer are (it will be showing Noo York for a while). A framed stitching piece (converted version of a Mirabilia mermaid’s compass). Inspirational quotes – we’ll get into some of those each Thursday. A Garfield coffee mug from L that holds my pens & pencils & stuff and makes me smile, as I know she was thinking of me when she brought it. Photos that bring back memories. Too many electronic devices.
  5. Nine times out of ten, a toddler is cranky ‘cause they’re hungry. The same thing applies to us too. Eat lunch away from your desk for an extra mental break. And so your keyboard doesn’t get full of crumbs and yucky stuff.

What do you have around you? What do you do to help alleviate pressure at work? Do you have any other podcast recs?

imagesCA9AHI2U

Someone Needs A Name

Posted in books, Journal, NaBloPoMo, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

As I sat in the sun on Saturday high up in the Waitakeres, I had NO desire to work on Jug. This may be why she is taking so long – sometimes I hate the way she is looking. I also wonder where she will fit in my (far too) masculine home – in a way I don’t care about when it comes to the Corbett Sleigh and reindeer (they are going up regardless). So I listened to the birdsong (at least until the chainsaws started) and took out a new start. I’ve been carrying around the beads, along with the fabric, working copy and DMC 310 for ages. And ages. Fred needs a friend, right?

much interupted, but progress (about four stitching opportunities)

much interupted, but progress (about four stitching opportunities)

Feel free to submit name suggestions. He is going to be the Yellow Figbird (NC187, in case you give a crap). Eventually he’ll end up like this, only I have changed out the background blue as per Lynne’s suggestion to be DMC 827. The charted 3846 just looks wrong when up next to Fred, so I’ll carry 827 into the next two birds as well. And does anyone know the flower? Sort of reminds me of a magnolia. Is that what it is?

Twitter peeps will know that on Sunday I spent the afternoon at a Bunnings in South Auckland working on a BBQ for charity. A good friend, Mel, is running the half marathon this Sunday for the Auckland City Mission & all the proceeds of the BBQ went to the participants’ charity pool. There were 6 of us in total – over $460 raised which I don’t think was too bad for a wet Sunday. I’ll never run any distance for charity (let’s be honest, I don’t even run for me) so this is one way I can help out. The Mission does amazing work in a field I am so uncomfortable with and sometimes I think those less glamorous charities get lost in the noise. Hardly a week goes by without someone calling for a donation for something and “traditional” charities are getting drowned out, like the SPCA. I tend to support what I see as tangible and practical, which will clearly be different from your priorities. And that’s fine.

When it comes to NaBloPoMo plans (which starts tomorrow for me, eep!) I have gone OK. There are some reoccurring themes (WIP Wednesday for one) as I think I will be more likely to finish the challenge if I have some “gimme” days. So far I have five days unplanned and I have some posts part-written already. This is because I should really be working as Sunday was the End of Month (and Quarter) here at work, and people want their reports. How unreasonable! I did escape the grind for a bit yesterday and went to Living & Giving, our gift chain, which has a store in St Lukes. Massive 40% off Ecoya (actually all candles and fragrances, with 30% off everything else but I only wanted Ecoya, along with everyone else I know) and got a pillar candle in beautiful Vanilla Bean, and two of the limited edition Pine jars to get the house smelling like Christmas. That is the one thing with an asthmatic kid – no real tree. But at least my house will smell “right” – and this will overpower the Screaming Teen’s boy room smell. Or at least that is the plan!

Reading – I finished The Lady in Red and had one of those book hangover periods where nothing was good enough. I’m not quite ready to move onto something else “serious” so I am re-reading K.S. Nikakis’ Kira Chronicles again. Nikakis’ first book of the trilogy was her debut; Mel gave it to me years ago as an ARC and I loved it so much I sulked when I had to pass it onto someone else. I have all three on my reader. Very original high fantasy with the main character, Kiraon, being a young girl. Traditional fantasy elements and it’s blood thirsty enough to appeal to two of my brats. http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/n/k-s-nikakis/ unfortunately her next works are still in progress. Hurry up!

a good life comes with effort

Posted in books, family, Journal, me, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler by

Cultivating a Good Life is not stressing about finding the perfect balance but realising that I am good enough – Selena Sorensen as seen on Becky Higgins’ blog (my capitalisation)

I wrote this yesterday.

Another busy week, just doing normal stuff then preparing for M’s Pirate Party. S hired a bouncy castle from his work and that enabled plenty of playtime – we only used one planned game and left them to it for most of the time. No fights, which I was grateful for, as the kids came from different places, and no injuries other than a graze, which I am also very grateful for. The house is super, super tidy – as evidenced by this morning’s search for wallet and keys.

Rediscovered my love of swimming. The glide though the water and the self-challenging episodes.

I am reading new-to-me Rosalind Lauer, who came up on a search for my current fav, the Amish romance. There is a lot of peace in these novels and I’m enjoying the slower pace. I finished A Simple Winter and am up to A Simple Spring.

Stitching a TW medallion, the lion from her Fantasy Sampler. I’m planning a fairly ornate background, texture in the stitches. I have plenty of the Semco evenweave to play with, after all. As it is a very artificial fabric, you can see thru the gaps so any ornie needs a background fabric then the stuffing, so I feel easy about experimenting. Not colouring within the lines!

INTERUPTION I have just read on the NZ Herald online that Robin Williams has died, likely by his own hand. How bloody tragic and wasteful. I have loved most of his work – at one stage I could quote most of the Genie’s lines thanks to L’s Aladdin phase. And Mrs Doubtfire – classic laughs!

In his own words about addiction: You can’t [deal with it on your own]. That’s the bottom line. You really think you can, then you realise, I need help, and that’s the word … It’s hard admitting it, then once you’ve done that, it’s real easy.

I feel very, very sorry for his family and friends. Obviously it isn’t “real easy”.

Prompt 38: Paint your page any colour you like. Then… make a list of things that are in the contrasting colour (the colour on the opposite side of the colour wheel). You will have to concentrate – or did you find it easy?

I can’t do this online but my first fav is blue, and I think this makes the contrast colour orange? So therefore yams, oranges & other citrus, pumpkins, squash, burger rings, that moustache M wore Sunday after he’d snuck some orange fizzy…

Prompt 39: What is your favourite crafting technique?

Have you not being paying attention?!

Prompt 41: You have just written your first novel. What is it called?

How To Survive Your Kid’s Childhood Without Going (Too) Barmy. Lots of tips, like baby wipes should be brought in bulk and are fantastic for cleaning nearly every mark on the wall; to direct some of your salary to a savings account BEFORE it gets to your main account or otherwise you will live with your child forever; to buy the good wine, you will deserve it. And lastly Nigel Latta’s Ladder of Certain Doom is the bomb. Best Parenting Tip Ever.

Prompt 42: Do you collect things in your purse? Rummage through your purse or your bag and find some receipts. Tell us about at least two of them.

My bag has to hold at least the following items:

  • Day planner (personal size)with notes, cards etc. Mine is about 12-13 years old, but leather is wonderfully resilient. I do personalise some pages and download others from Pintrest, but my main calendar is Filofax.
  • Cell phone, that should live in my planner but floats about
  • eReader – don’t leave home without it!
  • Small-ish stitching project
  • Notebook or journal & pens
  • Chewing gum, in case I get caught out
  • Keys to work.

I tend to clean out the receipts daily as I wait for reports to run but there are multiple library check out slips and the last spend at Rebel (footy boots) and Briscoes (frame for a cross stitch).

Prompt 28: You always keep a well-stocked freezer. Today is the day you organise your meals for the week. However, on searching through your stores you discover that ‘miraculously’ all your frozen food has been converted into melon balls. What do you do?

I’m going shopping, that’s what I am doing. I’ve outgrown the Midori phase.

Prompt 43: List 5 things you accomplished yesterday!

  1. I planned exercise – a walk to the mall to shop for lunch then later on while Z was training I walked around from Fowlds to the library and back.
  2. I ate well – not too much junk and loved the taste of the feta/tomato/chicken combo.
  3. As a result of 1, I hit goal on my Polar Loop.
  4. I did some stitching, although it was fairly minimal.
  5. I wrote up some journaling, although I’m posting it late and after some editing.

Fred

Posted in Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

Weekly progress of Fred, the Nora Corbett Blue Monarch Flycatcher. I kept the colours as charted. but did re-align the wing stitching. Awesome quick little design, looking forward to completing some of the others in her Audubon range (I’ve stashed four already!)

Fred, as at 19th May Fred, as at 22nd May Fred, as at 26th May 2014-06-02 12.17.43 2014-06-07 21.37.14

Journal, day eight

Posted in Journal, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

Prompt 8

The snowman walked in the air! Nancy Sinatra wore boots that were made for walking. Your mission today, if you choose to accept it, is to write about the last time you walked in the rain.

‘All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking’
Friedrich Nietzsche

 

2014-07-08 19.34.07

Today. That would be today.

I caught the train again today (it’s around fifteen minutes walk there, and ten on the other end) as I couldn’t be bothered to drive. Well & truly at work before I realised that I’d left my brolly behind, and then a couple of minutes later the tweets start.

Wind Warning. Thunder. Lightening (cue song in my head). Heavy Rain.

Brr. Got home before the worst of it, but I still had to pour the water out of my flats when I got home! But at least I don’t have to wash my face #panda

2014-07-08 19.33.12

something for my english friends 🙂

Excellent news: all my blood tests came back in range, except one which I shan’t worry about. I still have a well functioning liver! Months to go before I have another scan tho. And…yesterday’s step count, which roughly equals 11.1km!

2014-07-07 21.51.07

I haven’t rotated my stitching again this week – I need to go to Ribbon Rose and get some Kreinik and beads so I’ll plod along with Stargazer’s dress. I think she’s looking gorgeous.

2014-07-08 19.14.41

Mase has been practicing his writing; there will be tears when he starts school next term and is told that he can’t write everything in block letters. At least he didn’t include New South Wales in his list of favourite teams, but where are my Bunnies?! Time for bed, little man.

2014-07-08 19.18.42

 

Catching up

Posted in me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, Uncategorized by

So last week I had the brilliant idea that I should follow Anne’s example and rotate stitching. So I planned a start to Stargazer, kitted up another Nora Corbett/Mirabilia (Mediterranean Mermaid) and planned on working on Tapestry Cat in week three.

It’s week three and I can’t be bothered with TC. Part of this is a reluctance to pick up the confetti like stitches, part is the flu. I have the man flu! Managed to get one of the strains NOT covered in the injection, which was not clever of me at all. Stink bro, as Gish sings…

image

Mermaid after one week

Stitching

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

2014 saw the start of a big creativity phase. So far, I’ve…

  • started and completed Teresa Wentzler’s Stretch (her dragon logo) and a little Christmas ornament is ready to finish as a hanging ornament. 

Stretch
  • I also added some beads to Misty, one of the TW Rocking Horses. I think she’s ready to frame now.
    detail from Misty


  • attended an embroidery class with Zeb, a new friend (who I’m sure will get me in lots of trouble and laughs in years to come). I’m fairly confident with about ten stitches now.

My StitchSmith owl. Yet to be completed. Cause I’m lazy.

  • started and completed Nora Corbett’s Santa’s Sleigh AND AM TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH IT, so much so that I have acquired six of her reindeer patterns.  
    The Sleigh, nearly completed (some beading was still to be done at this point)

  • started Nora Corbett’s Arezzo, setting the bar high in making this my first colour conversion (hate the dress colour and the lilac roses, and have made the leaves darker) and my first “over 1”, meaning over the one thread not the usual two. Squintville, here I come. Not sure if this is truly an NC or a Mirabilia design, but it’s pretty and delicate.

Nora Corbett’s Arezzo

I’ve also stitched quite a few Christmas ornaments (starting early, but there is a lot of downtime while you’re waiting at league training and for reports to run) and made a cushion cover from a Pintrest image. Check out my NYC envelope cushion! 

birthday wishes

Posted in me, stitching patterns by

so I’m nearly 40. Si has been asking for ideas, Louise asks if I want a party. I really don’t know but this is my current short list…


  1. time alone! To nap, to read, to stitch, to wander the beach.
  2. Mirabilia’s Stargazer chart and beads. That’s here: http://www.123stitch.com/item/Mirabilia-Designs-Stargazer-The-Cross-Stitch-Pattern/06-1285 I have the perfect fabric already.

  3. another trip to Sea World – I could spend several hours at that lagoon. My own fish tank can’t quite compare. Yet. I do have a shark! 

  4. patience to finish Arezzo. Over 1 might not have been the best choice but now I do know the technique and limitations for when I need to do over 1 on a larger design. 
  5. another Sheltie. I promised Si I wouldn’t buy one. I never promised I wouldn’t accept one! This is Robbie, adopted from a puppy mill by one of the FIL’s friends. He’s gorgeous.