Tag Archives: bethlehem

February WIPocalypse & a Finish!

Posted in Christmas, conversion details, cross stitch, friends, goals, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/ ; it’s my favourite SAL, mostly due to the host organisation (which is spot on), the range of topics & the wide variety of stitchers participating. There’s always something to oooh over! Click on the link to the right.

February 28 – Gadgets! Show us your favorite stitching gadgets! and How did you do with Olympic Stitching, and what goals did you achieve?

clover

My favourite gadget is pretty and simple – the Clover pendant thread cutter. Most planes won’t allow scissors but this negates the need & they are widely available. An unpicker would be a close second.

My “Olympic” goal was to get the rabbit, topiary and wings done on this RHS of Fairy Idyll. I wanted to be focussed on Bethlehem at work & Idyll at home.

Achieved! Last night (Feb 28th) I put the last few stitches into Bethlehem (for the SM “Christmas All Year Round” SAL). It’s on Silkweaver 28ct Goldspinner Opalescent Lugana as I imagined the Star to have illuminated the stable & surroundings as it says in Luke 2:9 “Suddenly, an angel of the LORD appeared among them, and the radiance of the LORD’s glory surrounded them…” I made some changes; the flowers didn’t fit my viewpoint, so they were gone; the smaller stars got lost in the opalescent, so they are gone; and the crow is now a dove (eggshell plus DMC 168). I’ve just realised I forgot to initial it – doh.

20180228_194453.jpg

And while the next RR piece arrived mid-month, I didn’t start it. I have until mid-April, so it will now become my home piece until completed. I carried on the focus on Fairy Idyll (she even came to Wellington & road tripping with us) and I got the RHS wing, topiary (less the Kreinik strands) and bunny completed. I even got some of the grass done along the base and am in a pretty good space to continue after the RR witch.

Fairy Idyll as of 01/03

SALS – For the Jane Austen SAL, I listened to Juliet Stevenson read “Sense & Sensibility” (the Jan/Feb choice) but as I am waiting on my LHN Bookshelf chart to arrive, stitchy progress is nil. So I didn’t meet the stitchy portion of the SAL, but not too worried. I’ll make it up when Bookshelf arrives. The next one is P&P – my favourite Austen.

Satsuma Stockings.jpg

For the SM “Christmas All Year Round” requirements, my next purse project was given to me by a co-worker in a not-so-secret Santa two Christmases ago. It’s one of the Satsuma Street/Jodi Rice mini stocking designs. I’m choosing to start with the reindeer and I’m subbing a few threads. We’ll see how it goes! Satsuma St patterns are available thru her Etsy shop – here’s the link to the Stockings https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/472290722/mini-christmas-stockings-set-of-four?ref=shop_home_active_5

SFS – I’m still in the black! I did buy a couple of things from Stash Unloading but so far am being good. This may be blown as I intend to visit Crewel Gobelin in Sydney this month – don’t you just love that name?

Feb-18
Budget $25.00
Portrait of Columbus chart -4.75
Scent of Old Roses chart -10.86
Spotlight 3 DMC -5.07
LHN Bethlehem 16.15
Rollover $56.10
Total Available Budget $76.57

WIP Wednesday #216

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

Very little progress this week – some days I can get a few threads in, other days I can’t. Last night I was the only guest at #stitchandbitch, so I got the manger, second sheep, the angel and started the tree leaves. Look at the French Knots on my angel! Pretty stoked with those, TBH.

Hope your week is going well!

The Hux Part Deux & WIP-yesterday-was-Wednesday # 214

Posted in cross stitch, family, friends, goals, grateful, me, Mirabilia, music, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, weight loss by

About this time last year, I climbed the Hux with the BBM crew. This year, as a family we decided to do it again, opening up to whomever wanted to meet us but not letting the lack of “me too” hold us back.

The Hux, or Hakarimata Mountain summit climb, can be divided into two portions. There’s the relatively easy walk to the site of the 1922 dam (nice waterfall is just past this) or the more strenuous climb to the summit. 1K almost straight up, 1349 stairs.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/hakarimata-scenic-reserve/tracks/hakarimata-summit-track/?region=waikato&park=c46c7395-d05d-44ff-b48a-66d228a7e77e&activity=walking-tramping#activitypanel

Because I haven’t been very active, my personal goal was halfway plus two flights. I kind-of bullied Karl into the same (he originally had halfway) but then we just kept on moving. And moving. And after about an hour, we were there (Si & Mase had done it 1.25 times by then & Louise & her friend A were a little behind us). Woot!

On the way up I’d seen part of the Tuakau and some Rewa league boys & on the way down, some of the Hamilton BBM crew. It’s nice to see familiar faces but even more so, nearly 99% of everyone else on the Mountain is also doing it tough, no matter how you measure them from yourself. There’s a lot of encouragement & good vibes.

On the WIP front, my work/travel piece is still Little House Needlework’s Bethelehem. I’ve finished with the lettering as of last night and YAY it well fits into the fabric with plenty of room. And I got some progress in on Fairy Idyll – not visibly much as it is such a big piece, but counting & double-counting has got me to the far right. Sorry for the crinkles – I am also stitching this one in hand.

Music wise I am slow to the party & have just discovered Sam Hunt. Gorgeous voice and a STORY in the song? Yes please. Also Do Right by The Glades – she has a beautiful voice.

WIP (cough) post-Wednesday #212

Posted in cross stitch, DIY home, family, grateful, House, me, stitching patterns, work by

Apologies for the lateness but – yeah. Life.

This past week has been really odd, frantic busy & I haven’t had much stitching time at all. I finally started Little House Needlework’s Bethlehem & this is all I have managed, in between swearing & work, while in my little office.

We finished the work at the MIL’s on Tuesday, just in time to run home, clean up & shoot into town to see Jimmy Carr at the Aotea Centre. Another night without eating (trying to get parking & pre-pay so we didn’t get towed ate up the time) but it was so worth it. I know he’s crass & non PC, but his humour is on multiple intellectual levels. And his reaction to hecklers is spot on. I laughed until my cheeks hurt & very nearly at crying point. And we had a late night visitor – those stripes look odd!

Last night MIL and the boys arrived home – hooray! She kept on saying she’d loved what we had done, but then spoiled it a little by commenting about our wanting to sell it. For the fifty-fifth thousandth time – it’s not us thinking about selling. Grr. She has a lot of trouble just being grateful & that is getting to me. After all, that space was original 1979…it was well past due!

I don’t see much stitching in the next week either – I want to go to the last days of the Corsini Collection at Auckland Art Gallery. It closes Sunday but I plan on going Saturday with Mase in tow.

Blurb: From the private collection of the eminent Corsini family in Florence, Italy, comes this fascinating exhibition featuring Renaissance and Baroque painting by artists such as Botticelli, Andrea del Sarto, Caravaggio and Pontormo.

The exhibition provides a window on the family’s continuing passion for collecting art, their support of artists, and their ongoing loyalty to the city of Florence, which has prevailed through the devastation of WWll and the inescapable forces of nature during the flood of Florence in 1966.

Portraits, landscape, mythological and religious paintings, as well as sculpture, works on paper, furniture, costumes, embroidery, games, kitchen equipment and a lavish dining room set for six, will portray the life of this family at the Palazzo Corsini and their patronage of the arts.