Tag Archives: stitching

WIP Wednesday #283

Posted in cross stitch, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Top o the morning to ye… happy St Patricks Day to all my fellow Irish descendants out there (clearly, there’s more than a few at Google)! I am about to relax for the rest of my day, the last of my “sick leave” before I have to go back into the office. I’ve worked thru from home and I’m stuffed. There will have to be a conversation with the boss about this, as the office “manager” won’t allocate someone  to even part of my role while I am on leave or sick, unless it’s Christmas. My pay is great but condition wise this sucks eggs.

Because I am so tired, I’m really not stitching. This week I have not even started the prompts; I’ve FFO’d one of the Hands On pieces and that is that. It is pretty gorgeous tho! I also scored some stuff from Hospice shop, two boxes of threads for $30. One half is pretty much Anchor thread, but I can use that for little things or embroidery so all good there.

Anyways, have a lovely week.

WIPocalypse 2018 Intro

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, goals, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin, stitch from stash, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/ 2017 was the seventh year of the SAL, and my third year participating; 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!

January 7 – Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

So for those of you new to my blog, my name is Paula & I live in Auckland, NZ. My partner & I have four children, ranging from 23 to 8 & we both work full time, plus have plenty to do outside of work & home, so I can already predict that 2018 isn’t going to be my biggest stitchy year. BUT at least this year my plans are realistic!!

IMG_20180106_073029_085So my focus pieces for 2018 (given that I want to end in the black for Stitch From Stash also) are in order of attention (bracket date indicates the start month & year):

  • Mirabilia Ashley’s Roses Round Robin section (Dec 2018)
  • Semco Toy Story Sampler (October 2013) – Zac will be 15 soon, & this needs to be done before then! But first I have to hunt it down…
  • Mirabilia Fairy Idyll (September 2017) – Gail has loaned me the chart, & I want to return it this year
  • TW Tapestry Cat (Dec 2006!) – because it deserves progress
  • Mirabilia Persephone (May 2015) –because I want to get thru that skirt!
  • Jane Austen SAL (December 2017) –because I want to keep up with the readings

 

42068-1I brought Si the Lego Technic Fire Rescue set on Friday & we sat down last night, telly on in the background (8 out of Ten Cats & Taskmaster Season 5, if you’re that interested) and stitched/bricked and talked into the late hours. He starts back at work today so that may not have been the brightest idea ever, but I found that as his hands were busy, they weren’t constantly changing channel & I could focus more on the stitching. I’m up to a bit where the symbols beside each other are shades of the same colour – a filled in heart & a filled in upside down triangle. I see a frog in my future!

WIP Wednesday #201 + WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, goals, lavender & lace, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

whoa – some lovely comments from post #200 & my give-away! This is still running; please click and comment on that post.

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WIPocalypse is hosted by the lovely Measi over on her blog. Please click on the icon to the right; it will take you to her blog. You can check out years worth of submissions! It’s fun (for me) to see the progress fellow stitchers make, & get haul ideas.

Stitching-wise, I am definitely in line with this month’s question:

Question of the Month – How do you get yourself out of a stitching drought?

Yeah. I’m there. I have ALL THE THINGS but ouch! wrist movement since that big BBM morning. I wear a brace to drive & stitching is so minimal. I have too many options too, which is making me pause.

On Nantucket Rose, I am maybe 8-10 thread lengths past where I was last week. It’s so minimal I can’t even be bothered to take a photo.

IMG_20170824_211656_040.jpgAll I have finished (& by finished, I mean up to the “cut out the backing & glue magnets on) are two pairs of Lucie Heaton Designs Chucks from the September Cross Stitcher magazine. Red for Louise, purple for Aliese. At least they will qualify for a Smalls SAL entry!

So stitch-from-stash, I’m still in the black & intend to be there, all going well & if Nora doesn’t release anything amazing between now and when I can legitimately ask for Christmas presents! YTD I am now -$48.40 but will be in the black by October, without any additional spend or finishes. I must look at the group & see if Stephanie (Ms Oh Sew Crafty, check out her blog for some serious stitchy progress!) has the check-in post up.

Stitch From Stash Aug-17
Budget $25.00
Expenses Lynne- Mira Mermaid -30.00
(Sunset Laguna + beads)
Finishes Plastic Canvas Chucks * 2 4.00
Rollover Rollover $57.12
Total Available Budget Total Available Budget $56.12

So August is a bit of a wash really. I spent, but only one piece. Even if I had full movement of my wrist, no way would I get to complete the top leafy portion, but at least I was close to monogamous for the month.

September Plans are to be in-line with Stitch MAYnia SALs, the Mira month & Return to Hogwarts. I plan to pull out either Mia Mermaid, or my Reindeer Parade; and the Clouds Factory Hogwarts banners to start (I have abandoned the initial 36ct start!). There’s also the 19th Pirate day, & I’ll pull out the Mill Hill Jamaica (mon) Santa for that one.

So, if you’re a regular reader, thanks for getting this far! And if you’re a WIPocalypse check-in-er, I look forward to seeing your progress too. Have a lovely month!

January WIPocalypse

Posted in 16 in 2016, conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, goals, grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Teresa Wentzler, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is into year 5! I’ve only been participating for one of these, but it’s a monthly check-in I want to make time for. WIPocalypse is hosted by Mel at her blog http://measi.net/measiblog/

Question of the Month: Introduce yourself, your projects, and any goals you have for the year!

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Me & the Moon at Mission Bay

Well, nothing much has changed since last January. I’m still in the same house, same job, same everything really – only the projects have moved on. We are very nearly done with the SIL’s house reno so that will open up more free time. The Screaming Teen turned 16 on Saturday and has passed the first year of his major exams; Zachary Quack is about to turn 13 & start high school (he has a scholarship, I was so proud I nearly burst) and Mase the Ace is posting his own Lego creations on my Instagram account. This is what you get when you have gifted kids and are stupid enough to use hubby’s new extension number as your cell pin.

I am up to the very last panel of a Mirabilia Round Robin – this one belongs to Crafty Rahenna. Then mine will come home! I’m pretty excited as I haven’t even seen an update for nearly a year now.

IMG_20160124_214031.jpgBut before I move onto the RR, I want to finish one piece so I have something completed on my #16in2016 list. Cherub with Tree is an older freebie by Nora Corbett, and I started her as a coverage experiment in June or July 2014, before putting her away and focussing on the Audubon St birds that are on the same fabric. She is on 25ct white Lugana, stitched 3 over 2, with 2 strands as the backstitch. I found that the darker threads don’t have as much coverage as the lighter (lots of others have commented the same with DMC) but overall I’m pretty happy with the result. Lots and lots of conversions (hubby chose the dress colours & is really pleased with the outcome). I think maybe another week and this will be done!

One thing I am doing for 2016 is keeping a separate portion of my diary for stitching goals AND keeping my WIP blog page updated with pics as I rotate. I have a page in my planner with my #16in2016 rotation goals – I am determined to be an adult about things this year. My trial isn’t time-based but section based. I didn’t think week about would work for me. So here we go:

  1. Mirabilia Mermaids of the Deep. First goal in December was to start the top mermaid and stitch the skin & hair. That took 11 days (altho some days I only put in a couple of threads!) and the next goal will be to complete the DMC in her tail.

I had a couple of days in between this one and my #newyearnewmira so I threw Roses of Provence up onto the stand to see if I wanted to add her to the rotation. And yes – she is back in.

  1. Mirabilia Raven Queen. My #newyearnewmira start in the FB group. My goal was to complete the border for the top half & get the architecture on the LHS done. I am doing the beads & Kreinik as I go. Next goal is the architecture on the RHS, including the Raven.
  2. Nora Corbett Cherub with Tree. The goal was to complete the LHS background and her hair – and that took 3 days so she stayed on the frame. This one will be my second finish for the year! My first is saved for the Smalls check-in later on this week.
  3. Mirabilia Roses of Provence. There’s a couple of others doing her as well in their rotations. Next goal is to get the tree and roses done. Beading as I go.
  4. Nora Corbett Blitzen. Goal is to get his body and the ribbons that connect him to Rudolph completed.
  5. Mirabilia Persephone. Next goal is to get her left arm and the “jellyfish” on the LHS finished. Then it’s onto her dress conversion!
  6. Nora Corbett Arezzo. This is my over 1 conversion. Goal is to get the lower pink roses done. I’m toying with using petite beads for the last lot of roses – talk about a glutton for punishment!
  7. Semco Toy Story sampler. Next goal is to get the dinosaur done.
  8. Teresa Wentzler Tapestry Cat. Next goal is to get the cat body done.

In addition I want to do a Small each month and drop in another couple of things – Simon has his eye on the Satsuma St “Pretty Little” series. He’s English, so London is perfect; he’s been to Paris, so that’s an obvious choice and we both love Sydney, so there’s 3. Smalls apart from this month will likely be the Joyful World SAL that I linked to the other week & the Tuscan Garden will replace Cherub as a Mini (my thought pattern is Small (Ornament)/Mini/Medium (a Nora Corbett size)/Large (a proper Mira size)/Yep That’s Big (Teresa Wentzler)/Absolutely Freaking Not No Way (HAED equivalent)).

Looking forward to reading some of the other WIPocalypse posts – jump on in!

Journal, day 3

Posted in Journal by

an update on yesterday – I HAVE learnt how to spell existential. Woo hoo.

Prompt 3

Make a fashion statement! What’s your style? Jeans? Jersey? Jacket? Tell us what makes you comfortable – or SMART!

I’ve reversed yesterday’s process in that this is a shot of my journal with the tags, stitches and textures, but the text is also below:
image

OK, so I read this and came to an abrupt halt. I’m not really a fashion person at all, I prefer individuality – hence today is a mix of purple chucks, skinny jeans, long black cardy and a beautiful blouse that was made in a little Hong Kong boutique (thanks much to my SIL, it’s one of my favs). Yay for casual Fridays 🙂

What got my brain storming was the word I took out of the prompt – FABRIC. I think stitching, embroidery (yes, they are different to me), LOTR costumes (I love the texture, layers & detail), glamour, warmth, comfort, aida, linens, evenweave…

I take a project along with me pretty much wherever I go, be it work or the car. I’m trying to embrace new things, like surface “free” embroidery – I went to a class earlier this year with Zeb, to the Stitchsmith and my head is overwhelmed with new ideas. I’m loving the creative buzz!

My samples? Aida (the white and blue square-like fabrics) – what new stitchers can learn on. Easy to work with & I’m currently stitching with Zac. A DMC wrapper – they make my fav threads. A pink ribbon – lots of focus on ribbons these days. Quiksilver tag – my new dress already for summer. And cream evenweave – reverse chainstitch, long/short fill & my most common stitch, the cross over 2 threads.

LINKS – Zeb’s blog : http://www.ixari.net/about/
– The Stitchsmith : http://www.thestitchsmith.co.nz/
– Write On, home to the prompts: http://fabrilicious.wordpress.com

READING: The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir. Apparently my brain had enough trash inbetween the solid stuff to absorb more facts.
LISTENING: iPod is still on shuffle. I can’t settle on anything so it pops from Nickleback (don’t judge hastily, the early stuff is great and non-commercial) to Alanis to Toby Mac to Ministry of Sound to Seether. Ooh, Duran Duran – lets hit that fast forward, shall we?
CRAFTING: on week three of the Mirabilia pattern Stargazer. So pretty, she reminds me of Maria in Elizabeth Goudges’ Little White Horse.
MISSING: Still cut up the the MIL killed my red tailed shark.