Update on Stash Cache

Posted in Uncategorized by

stashcache_slider2I’m adding more base files to my Stash Cache page. Mostly Mira/Nora’s because I have a bit of downtime here at work.

Feel free to download and use for yourself; or if you want me to create a file specifically for you, let me know & I’ll help out where I can.

 

April Fools

Posted in me by

Wow. April Fools already (thanks for the birthday cake, Google. Lame.) It’s not even 7 and I’ve let myself get wound up about a few things already. I should stop reading Stuff (news site) feeds so early.Or I’m the fool.

Firstly it was the university study saying that people liking or using “pseudo-intellectual quotes” were more likely to be less intelligent – verbally, numerically, and fluidly – than those who don’t. It also found those people are more likely to have strong religious backgrounds, and to believe in conspiracy theories and the paranormal.

chewie Huh. I happen to think that no matter your IQ (and mine is pretty damn high, thankyouverymuch) you can find some quote/image/inspiration to match your current mood or jolt you into a new one. Hope you enjoy the one I picked for today!

 

Then there was the woman trying to compare her second divorce to that of Billie Piper. Again, huh. Unless she was in that marriage, nofreakingway is it the same. I came out of that one thinking that all the author wanted really is sympathy, some to pat her on the head and say it’s OK, you’re not a failure, everything will work out. And that’s true, as long as you take one of the aforementioned inspirational quote journeys and use your mistakes to move forward.

Lastly tho I did smile at the Young Noah/Audio Adrenaline song. It’s lovely. Yay for LifeFM when I’m driving to work in the dark!

Long Way to Go exemplifies three moments in the lives of three individuals. First the life of a young person struggling to find purpose and meaning in their existence. Secondly someone who has overcome the pressures of life and found peace and joy in God. Thirdly God himself who is reaching out to both people calling them to continue down the long road to redemption, forgiveness, and most importantly His presence. The way may be long but the reward is freedom from the stress and grief of their past and to walk into incredible visions and dreams of a meaningful future.
– Young Noah

If you want to listen to the song there’s a link here: http://genius.com/Young-noah-long-way-to-go-lyrics

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

The problem with a short week is that Wednesday is supposed to be “hump” day. You know, by lunchtime you can start to anticipate the weekend? Yeah, nah. In a short week I don’t get that until I’m heading home in the evenings. Perhaps it’s not getting enough sleep, trying to cram in heaps of things, or that general “I didn’t get my list done” crap. Not sure, really – how are you feeling?

This month it’s been all about the mid to larger pieces. I realised last week that I hadn’t done a Small this month but on Saturday I realised I didn’t really mind. I got several done in Feb and still none are FFO’s. That’s what I should mind.

Instead I’ve spent time on 3 larger pieces – Afternoon in London, Mermaids of the Deep Blue (I could stitch on the smaller stand while at G’s orchard in between customers) and at home, Persephone ruled the roost. Working out the colour conversion and seeing it all fly together has been really motivating. As of 9.30pm last night, all the stitching & back-stitching on page 1 is completed, and I only have to bead! I have the chart here at work today to make a working copy of the next page. Working copies are essential when doing conversions or stitching while parenting, IMO.

IMG_20160329_213404

I’ve also brought Stargazer to work. I’ve decided that her hands need to be re-done, and I’m pulling out the Kreinik I used instead of one level of beads and popping in Mill Hill 00557. I’m glad now that I didn’t frame her as I would hate walking past what I now see as errors every day. My internal debate is frogging all her skin (there’s not a lot, honestly) and doing it over one.

20160330_081559

Have you ever done anything like that? Sat on something that borders the line of being OK/a mistake, then deciding you need a do-over? How did you decide what to do next?

March WIPocalypse

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

I haven’t had as much stitching time this month as I would have liked – it’s the 24th here in NZ and I’ve had ten days so far without anything done. We opened two new stores (one of each brand) at Westgate, with the first trading day yesterday, which was tiring but fun; & I’ve had two migraines to top it off.

London stopped being fun, so it went away just shy of the half-way point (I did finish Buckingham Palace & the tree leaves first, but I forgot to take the photo):

20160302_084704

and then instead of Mermaids, which was next in my rotation, I thought I’d get Persephone’s jellyfish done. I’ve actually moved much, much further along than that & I’m really pleased with how the conversion is working out!

IMG_20160323_212631.jpg

The question for the month is: Do you use hoops, stretcher bars, lap stands or Q snap frames and why? (viaCathieJ) Well I don’t use hoops anymore (but that’s OK as Mase does). I was stitching in hand but with the issues last year I need to use a two-hand method to get stuff done, so I now have two stands. One is a huge stretcher bar stand, which currently has Persephone; and the other is the lap/table stand Andie gave me, which has whatever other project on it. Persephone’s about 3 inches too wide for the lap stand bars that were supplied, but I think I’ll order some longer bars as it can take them without modifications. I supposed the good thing about the bigger stand is that it displays a far bigger working space than the lap stand, but it’s not very portable at all!

WIP Thursday

Posted in cross stitch, me, Mirabilia by

This is becoming a habit! I intended to post yesterday, but a migraine got in the way. I gave myself permission to doze the day away and not feel guilt about letting the little things go – & we ended up with Chinese takeout for dinner too. Today I feel much, much better.

Instagram followers will know that I pulled Persephone out of isolation this week. I’ve gone from this to that, nearly completed the annoying jellyfish on the LHS. After those suckers I will get onto the dress conversion:

and adding to my feeling of wellbeing, I quit facebook. On my phone at least, which means that I can only get to the stupid thing if I log on with my personal laptop. Which I use maybe once a month now, so I’m freeeeeeee!

IMG_20160314_200011.jpg