Decisions, decisions…HOLP!

So I brought some haul, as Andie was preparing for a serious move. It was my civic duty, right? Yeah, let’s hold onto that thought.

But now I have a dilemma. I want to start Celtic Winter RIGHT NOW but I am at work, and no threads handy. Not ones that would suit! And I need to finish A-Team. And I brought two pieces of fabric, and I’m at a loss as to which will be best. Keep in mind that I am planning on changing the golds to silvers…

celtic-winter

The StashCache file is already uploaded onto that tab 🙂

 

What do you think?

Starting Over Feels Like…

Stephanie has set up a mini SFS group to “dummy run” from November thru to January. Yay for the re-start. Now to be disciplined; October was a month of oh-I-can’t-buy-next-year-must-get-it-all-now and that isn’t sustainable in anyone’s life (craft, chocolate or whatever – do drinkers freak out before Dry July? Curious minds want to know).

After a nasty fall last week I’m starting over with exercise. I did walk to the Domain on Friday (just over 4km, so easy; Si & Biebs are now reffing a weekly tournament there in addition to Watchman Tag on Wednesday); we did the stairs on Saturday & the little ones and I walked OTH on Sunday. Last night I walked from work to Patiki; about 6.3km & then tonight is #BBM bootcamp. My summer routine will be about feeling strong.

I am not starting over with Jenny Craig however. I simply can’t continue to work those sums into the budget but I achieved what I wanted to. My portion size is mostly under control; I try to eat 5-6 times a day & I eat a lot healthier than I did. I’m certainly not eating chocolate every day (sorry for the sales crash, Whittakers) I’ve lost nearly 10 kilos and I don’t get headaches daily, even tho I stopped taking that medicine about 2 months ago. I’m counting all this as a win.

What can you start over to give you that “woo hoo” feeling?

PS – don’t forget to enter my giveaway over in Flosstube! Link in a previous post.

WIP Wednesday

First – please don’t forget to enter my blog giveaway! Check it out HERE and make a comment – entries are open until next WIPocalypse – only one more week! 🙂

20151015_170443We’ve gone from the League merry-go-round to the swim merry-go-round. This one involves a lot of early starts/early finishes at work, driving then sitting around. I spent about 4 hours there last week. This is my usual view now.

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Roses of Provence as at 18/10

I am up to a lot more data entry at work, up from roughly 600 delivery issues in July to 1100 last month. My right wrist is really, really sore and stitching has slowed down. I’m sure this is also due to stitching on 32ct linen as I’m finding I’m very annoyed with the unevenness of the weave. I got past that on Stargazer but I’m not sure I will on Provence – this is after about 8 hours. The leaves have been converted to more even greens; the charted were too lime for the dye of the fabric. I may frog and sell this fabric, and start again on Belfast. I am also plodding along with Christmas Elegance – found one mistake & frogged a little. I think I’ll wag work for a few hours Friday and go to the stitching drop in. I miss the community that arises around stitching or craft groups. I can also grab a pack of Mill Hill to bead around her cape. I had thought of using the Abalone in my stash but it’s not quite right.

Christmas Elegance as at 21/10

Christmas Elegance as at 21/10 – backstitching makes all the difference!

I also got some stash. I wanted Ashley’s Roses and this came as a set. So now I have two copies of Rose of Sharon and Sleeping Beauty. I’m more than happy to swap so drop me a line.

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The seller also had the seasonal angels from Lavender & Lace so I tripled my L&L stash with this bunch of 8 J no, I have no idea when I will get around to stitching everything in my folder, but who cares?

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Hi Five for Friday!

High FiveLISTENING: Picked up an audio book that I can’t remember reading in print – JD Robb’s Indulgence in Death. Great for drowning out the routine crap at work.

READING: Planning on getting into The Fringe Hours this weekend as I’m just about finished Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. This week was potentially not the week to think about ditching survival! Since I started one change (setting the alarm half-an-hour earlier) I’ve been woken by family at least two hours earlier…sorry peeps, but there won’t be a review tomorrow.

CRAFTING: Working on Keely’s RR still (no stitching since Tuesday!) and waiting for the next Mira one to hit me. I also brought Summer Queen of someone who was destashing. I want to convert her colours from the blue to rich, adult-y pinks, kind-of like Debra Foxx did. Which leads me nicely into…

ANTICIPATING: I signed up to “16 in 16” – a facebook group based on encouragement to finish 16 WIPs in 2016. The only problem is that I don’t have 16 WIPs! But I have an excuse to start some more pieces!

CELEBRATING: 6 days in a row of little sleep but still getting to my Steptember goal. So far, that’s 117.3km walked. Pretty happy with that!

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Debra Foxx Fuschia Summer Queen

Conversion:

changed 939 to 154
changed 924 to 902
changed color 3810 to 915
changed color 597 to 718
changed color 598 to 3608
symbol circle with dot in center 3608 & white
changed color 902 to 550
changed 915 to 552

No bead changes were made.
changed color 718 to 553
changed color 3608 to 554

summer queen blue

Original colours

WIP (oh dear) Thursday & Smalls SAL

So…this month has been a little slow on the stitching front.

20150427_184351I 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!

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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.

Persephone on Milk ChocolateThought 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!

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….

PersephoneMirabilia 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.

md130lgMirabilia 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!

md111lgPeony 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.

md1Damask 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.

md6Christmas 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?

md69Cinderella: “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.

mermaid l mermaid a mermaid d

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!