June WIPocalypse

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.

I haven’t posted in WIPocalypse since the March check-in, so here’s some catch-up.

April Focus:

  • Finish the Mira RR piece – done, & mine has come back!
  • Continue with the Satsuma Stocking – yeah, nah
  • FFO a 2017 ornament into a flat fold – again, nope
  • March Flosstube update – even tho it’s going to be very short! – I *think* I did something

June/July Focus:

  • Celebrate the return of the stitchy bug by recording something every day (only missed one so far)
  • FFO Mill Hill honey pots (almost done) – DONE*
  • FFO Trinidad Santa (backing) – DONE*
  • FO Celebration Santa (with greyhound instead of cat, as this is for Becs)
  • Look to stitch last portion of my Mira RR – POSTPONED*
  • Look at available beads for Mira RR – POSTPONED*

*as you can see, I wrote this post a week ago in prep, so I wouldn’t miss it again. I’ve actually knocked out the two mini FFOs and revised my Mira plans. Jocelyn from the FB group Mira Madness has started an event – 50 Days of a Mira UFO & I broke out Persephone, who had been in storage since May 2016. I *think* #50daysofPersephone will get us to the finish, especially as I’ve sorted out what thread type I will use for the skirt hem. Here’s a start, then a shot from yesterday:

STITCH FROM STASH – I had my first “no purchase” month in quite some time in May. This has gone out the window as Nora Corbett is celebrating her 25th anniversary with her Mirabilia designs. There is the usual monthly release (Alice), then the 25th Celebration piece (Lady Mirabilia, complete with butterfly charm), a booklet with an exclusive design (cameo) and five re-released OOP designs, of which I have attempted to purchase Seaside Kingdom & Lady of the Flag (which I will convert to Zealandia).  However as I don’t yet know and haven’t been invoiced, I *might* finish this half in the black, but I’ll be so far out in July! Never mind, it’s the thought that counts…

April – Talk to us about your longest-running WIP or UFO. For WIPs, that’s Tapestry Cat by Teresa Wentzler. At least three of my children are older, but I’ve had it a shamefully long time. I do still intend to finish it however. UFO – I have an American type village, Stoney Creek style, that I started on aida back around 1998/1999. Simon wanted it & but I lost the love. It’s languishing in a draw & my worry now is that my threads wouldn’t match. It’s about a third done, from memory.

May – Where do you love to shop for stash? This year I am trying to shop used or local. I am looking in Opportunity Shops, on stash clearance sites – I need to list the opalescent evenweaves that I know I’m not going to use. That might balance out my Mira spend too…

June – Tell us what you think the ideal stitching retreat would include. Food that doesn’t stain! Comfy chairs, heaps of light, unlimited stash fund. My children quietly occupied elsewhere on the cruise ship (cause I like stitching at sea!).

Hope you all have a lovely month – & I’ll see you Wednesday for my “normal” update.

Feeling Good

It was the first long weekend of the “summer” for us down here in NZ. The forecast wasn’t too crash hot but who cares? Three days away from the desk beckoned…

And it stayed that way. I thought about work late last night & decided that hey, I’m capable of getting heaps done today, so why break into family time when I really don’t need to? So we snuggled down (as much as one can with a sulky teen) & relaxed. I’m so relaxed right now that I have “losted” my work key and sat in my car until (work) Z appeared this morning! It worked out well as I remembered my alarm code & he couldn’t remember his.

Screenshot_20161022-160919.pngSaturday started with boot camp, like it has for the last few weeks. I am enjoying this start to my weekend. We did the other steps at Trusts this weekend for a change; terraces to bear climb (or reverse bear) or run down, steps to run up, ab work on the dock in the sun, listening to the water rush by. I still don’t like being in photos but there is a huge difference between 8 weeks ago and now. I have cheekbones! That’s Loren, Si & myself, with #masetheace above us. Si keeps telling himself (and us!) that he was the rose. Huh.

In the afternoon I surprised the kids with the Lego exhibit that was on at Trusts. I won over cynic Teen 1 AND 2, not bad for seven bucks a head! We probably spent a couple of hours there; didn’t buy anything but I am lusting after both the Disney castle and Hogwarts – I have earmarked part of my bonus on a family holiday, part towards a canopy for the new ute and now part for a Lego castle. I am earning it, I may as well be frivolous with part of it! Mase dug into his pile of Lego on Monday and created a robot – he asks that you note the “glasses” it is holding.

We also went to Waiwera to soak out the stresses. Biebs stayed home so Lou came; Mase and (regular) Z went down the lazy river, had cannon fights and so on; I got very annoyed at a bunch of 15yo boys who had a go-pro, took over the relax pool and talked (loudly) about boners, shaming fat girls & so on. If any one of them had a gf I’d be very surprised – what little sh*ts. Grateful I don’t see my teens in this mode (altho I am very sure they have a sh*t mode too).

img_20161023_133618Sunday was devoted to Grandma’s house. Two sets of steps are replaced; the gardens are pruned/chopped/weeded, lawns sorted. Hard to believe these were puny $2 buxus that I put in 12-13 years ago. That hedge is as high as my waist now.

Monday started at Bethells dunes with Chris & Loren (Paige & her fam were late). For all the time I’ve spend at the beach, I’d never gone into the dune side. Chris had planned a three-step exercise for us and OUCH my calves were cramping very quickly! However apart from the reverse bear crawls up the slope (no-one managed that) & the two-feet-together-jump-up (only Si managed that) & the body drops (I struggle with those as my wrist goes too far, so I sub out) – I managed to complete a set. Si, Loren & Bran were well into their second set at the end of 20. Then we did a final set as nine – Paige had appeared by then – & I think the kids beat us adults hands down. Next time I’ll bring the board to go down the dunes! 20161024_085847.jpg

The rest of the day was devoted to relaxing (we watched Peter Kay’s Tour that wasn’t a Tour vid, totally recommend & I was in stitches for good portions of it and its fairly clean), getting ready for the week ahead (I prep Si’s & my breakfast cereals, snacks & so on for the whole week on Sundays now as a kick-start & did a lot for the kids also), and speaking of stitches, I got in some time on Andie’s round robin. It was a bit awkward as her stitching is the opposite to mine (/// then \\\) and had forgotten that I could turn it 90 degrees to get the same result and use my method. You can tell I clicked yesterday as the progress was so much more! Doh.

Tag starts this week; Si and Biebs are refereeing at two tournaments a week this summer, on Wednesday and Fridays. Then boot camp is Thursday (I want to start adding Tuesday to my schedule); next Monday sees the start of Tag…our weeks are filing up as Monday swim classes started last week. The next few months are going to be an exercise in balance; but only 15 sleeps until the US Elections (I do not envy your selection), 29 until Thanksgiving (the tradition I think I would adopt) and 60 sleeps until Christmas! So that’s 55 until I’m on holiday…

 

Hi Five for Friday!

High Five

LISTENING: to Elise Joy podcasts about creativity, taking a leap, changing focus www.elisejoy.com or via iTunes

Elises Site

READING: blogs more than books. I especially loved this one from Carol this week, about the owls in Birmingham. I think public art projects like this are the bomb. I’m looking at the Warehouse this weekend for a little owl that I can use for my own version of Tea T Owl. https://aslightobsessionwithbooks.wordpress.com/

tea-t-owl_e

PINNING: Minion party ideas. See my “party theme” board on Pinterest. Yes, I know, the theme changed.

CRAFTING: Slooooooow progress on Tapestry Cat’s border, quick progress filling in her body. This is what she will look like when I’m eventually finished. Hopefully before 2020.

TC finished

DOING: Trying to catch up on six days of delivery errors while staying up-to-date with this week’s issues. I started out Monday with 361 emails, last night at 126. Plus all the reporting is done, including next week’s supplier reviews. WIN!