Clear to see what my 5YO’s wants are this weekend!
Hope you’re all having some giggles with the family too!
First of May, first of May…
I won’t complete the line from an old Jilly Cooper book in case it offends anyone, but today is (for me) one of those earworm days. I also have the same experience on the 4th, only it’s Luke etc saying “May the Fourth be with you”.
I know. You really needed to know that.
I thought I would trial listing my goals for the month. If I crash & burn, it’s likely to be the last goal list, but here goes nothing.
- Complete Ali’s April prompts for One Little Word
- Print out the last 10 days before Christmas & journal to complete my December Daily for 2014
- Bead the night sky on Stargazer (which is only 4-6 hours at the most!)
- Start & finish the C fairy for framing; it’s the MIL’s birthday in six weeks so this is priority!
- Complete my portion on Jacqui’s RR (hoping it’s leaving Scotland today/tomorrow) – second priority
- Chose & stitch a “Small” for the Smalls SAL
Nice to do’s:
- Finish the stitching & beading on Mediterranean Mermaid
- Sort out what my next big Mira will be
So that’s just three starts this month (one being a Small, and one being not much bigger as our limit was 2500 stitches) and hopefully four stitching finishes. Sounds doable.
You Can Quote Me
Getting back on track with my timeliness!
Today is part of my year-long One Little Word, Serenity. Long time followers (or indeed anyone who has kids or works in a manic environment – oh look, everybody then!) knows that I am often looking to find a moment of peace.
Here’s something added to my pinterest board today. It’s going on my office wall today too. Visual aids!
WIP (oh dear) Thursday & Smalls SAL
So…this month has been a little slow on the stitching front.
I sussed out (finalised) the pieces for my Round Robin & completed the base framework. It was posted yesterday – before deadline! This is what it looked like – with the tiny bit of 422 that remained on my bobbin!
I completed two small poppy badges for my Smalls entry, & to wear for ANZAC day. Sarah P received one, and mine was finished on black felt as I wanted it to be flat to go into my One Little Word Album.
I brought an awful lot of charts – see previous post – and another arrived that I swapped to receive – Mirabilia Dressmaker’s Daughter. Sulked a little as I realised the fabbie I had stashed for that was 28ct, so TOO SMALL to fit DD on it, unless I divide it into two halves (not happening, could get a different dye lot which would screw it all up). Fabric was the charted Milk Chocolate, but the chart calls for a FQ of 32ct. Stupid rookie mistake.
Thought about changing plans on that fabric and using it for Persephone – what do you think? This is from the Viewer; I still need to do a floss toss myself to confirm. Might take it to Zeb’s on Saturday & get her and Jenny’s opinions.
I didn’t complete any larger WIPs which has left me a little discouraged. I only need to do beading on Stargazer (I have decided she needs it); a small ammt of stitching on Med Mermaid (beads arrived last week) & a lot of stitching on the freebie Christmas cherub. I think the “only” needing to do the beading on Stargazer will mean that she comes to dinner with me Saturday!
What’s Wrong With the Media and Bruce Jenner
I don’t personally follow Jenner or the other “reality” stars. You won’t catch me buying or reading a gossip mag or watching a tv show that’s based on the same premise. But there’s one paragraph here in Kate’s blog post that rings so, so true regardless of who the media (or you!) are thinking about, putting down, raising up (think the Bali 9 here if you’re local to Australia/Indonesia) – and that’s this:
I’m a Christian and I believe in the word of the Bible. I know what scripture says about homosexuals, transgenders, men who dress as women and vice versa. Make no mistake, this isn’t a religious argument. This isn’t about being condemned to an eternity in flame – my sins are just as real as anyone else’s. There is no hierarchy, a sin is a sin. Just because you believe something doesn’t mean you have to condemn or shame another human being. What about “love thy neighbor” and the story of the Good Samaritan? We are supposed to identify the needs of the people around us and reach out in love.
Storage that looks cool
I’m a sucker for that! Here’s something I found via Pinterest today.
The Web link is: http://www.u-createcrafts.com/sewing-notions-wall-by-yellow-spool/
If you’ve made something like this, please share!
We Will Remember Them
Today marks 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli campaign. It’s now generally recognized that there were massive mistakes made, but we gather at cenotaphs all over New Zealand and Australia to mark the sacrifices of the young men who left their homes and families, traveled to the other side of the world and fought for King & Country.
A phamplet covering some of Grandads writings
I personally don’t have memories of any family members who fought in WWI but both my grandfathers were present in WWII. Pa was a driver; while not on the front line fighting his war must have been horrific. Grandad McLean was a sapper who was present at El Alamein & acted as his troupes medic. Grandad came home on the hospital ship “Oranje” which left port in July 1945. Grandad wrote prolifically while overseas and then revised everything when he got home (removing the redacted words) so his diaries are very complete.
Today I miss my grandparents & wish that I could have shared then with my children.
Packed service at Swanson RSA
If you want to know more about the ANZAC tradition, take a look here: http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/index.html
To the men & women serving my country today, thank you.
I went a little bit mad…
One of the ladies in our group decided to de-stash. I only brought one piece of fabric but….
Mirabilia Persephone kit: Like the lotus flowers behind her, with their blooms growing up from the darkness, Persephone emerges from the underworld once a year to return to her mother Demeter and herald the beginning of spring. Surrounded by cranes, symbols of happiness, good fortune, and longevity, she embraces the beauty of the Victorian era in her aquamarine gown while she contemplates the luscious pomegranate and the coming harvest.
Mirabilia Biancabella kit: In honor of her mother who stitched in the palace orchard, Biancabella visits the place where her mother once pricked her finger and made a wish. Her heart’s desire was to be granted a lovely daughter with skin as white as the fragrant snowdrops at her feet, hair as black as the friendly raven who perched above, and lips as red as the crisp apples that hung from the branches around her. She holds the last apple of the season aloft, admiring its succulent scent, wondering if it possesses the power to bring her a true love in spring. I have a mirror shaped frame, I think her face/hand/apple will be perfect but I’ll have to stitch over 1 or on 40000 count to fit it in!
Peony Garden: Exuberant double blossom peonies create a purple haze at twilight. With names like “Cup of shining night”, “Story Enchantress” and “Red embroidered needles ball”, it is no wonder that the peony tree is the center of every spring imperial garden. I’m going to reverse this one so she faces Damask Roses.
Damask Roses (v excited, this one has just been discontinued and Wichelt do not ever, ever re-print or load as digital): A Grecian beauty clasps a bouquet of pink roses to her heart, her gold-banded teal gown draped in serene folds about her as she dreams of days last spent with her one true love in this very topiary garden. There are no beads on this design– the textural interplay of carved stone, shimmering silk and soft rose petals is embellishment enough.
Christmas Elegance (again, I think this is now discontinued): Glorious gifts await on the lap of the emerald-gowned heiress who sits beneath the softly falling snow on a starry Christmas Eve. Who would guess from her beaded and bejeweled opulence that she waits each year at this time to spread lavish holiday cheer among those less fortunate?
Cinderella: “She made her escape as lightly as a deer. The Prince followed, but could not catch her. Only she dropped one of her glass slippers, which he picked up and treasured. Romantic quote taken from: Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur. The Sleeping Beauty and Other Tales From the Old French. Edmund Dulac, illustrator. New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910. I needed a second copy of this one. The one I have is tatty, being about 5th hand and not cared for at all.
And the mermaid letters A, D (I shall extend this into the P as this still hasn’t been released) and L. I’ll convert anything red into “traditional” mermaid colours and use lots and lots of Kreinik, as you do.
That’s 9 charts. Oh. It’s a very good thing I am not participating in “stitch from stash” & that both my birthday & mother’s day are coming up soon. Told Si & the kids that they don’t need to buy me anything, i’m so very happy with this haul!
Most of the text above was taken directly from www.mirabilia.com – usually there’s a little tale with every design. I wish there was a noracorbett.com with the same!
You Can Quote Me
Recently I came across an ad for a Max Lucado Easter devotion. I have no idea where I stumbled across the ad but it’s led me to this app.
And next to Facebook & WordPress, it’s my favourite app. I could lie, and say it is my favourite, but we all know I spend far too much time chatting on FB in the groups. Or oogling stitched works. And I have to say WordPress, ‘cause it’s so much better than Blogger, and well, what am I publishing on?!
Anyway, what it sets you up with are short, functional devotionals. There are plenty available, all sorts of themes – I am currently working away on a Newsboys one, based on one of their albums. There are other functions here too, I just haven’t explored properly, but I have used the Verse/Image option. And changed the format to NIV, as that is what I am used to.
Here’s the links for both Android and iCrap:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sirma.mobile.bible.android&hl=en
https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/bible/id282935706?mt=8 ///
You can even work online – here’s the current plan: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/940-we-believe-devotions-from-newboys
With regards to Newsboys, I have loved them since I was a teen. Breakfast is still one of the catchiest songs! & I love this cover.
WIP Wednesday
I finished putting together one of the two poppies I stitched for ANZAC day, which is this Saturday. The finished one is for Sarah P (who gave me stitching stash for Secret Santa, removing the “secret” but rocketing her into my “favourite” list, see here: https://sewscrapmuse.wordpress.com/2014/12/19/secret-or-not-so-secret-santa/ ) & she’s already wearing it, and the second I want to add the phrase “Lest We Forget” and “1915-2015” top & bottom, then finish as a hanging ornie. Pics later – I need something for my Smalls SAL post next week!
Today I need to work out the final two rectangles of my RR and where the corner border will finish in relation to those. Because some ribbons go thru the border on The Dreamer I also need to chart something to fill in the gaps that looks natural. The easiest way would be to frog the RHS of this corner and mirror the LHS exactly but who likes easy? Or do I just finish at that first scroll? Decisions, decisions…
sewscrapmuse 