I'm Baaaaack!

Hello readers, Happy New Year!

I returned from a wonderful winter holiday in Europe at 4.ooam on 31st December. I am still jetlagged, and have been awake from about 3.00am this morning, along with the rest of the family. Maybe after the weekend I will be back on track.

We all had an excellent time. The weather was perfect- freezing- but perfect, and we had some beautiful snow in Innsbruck. Only two rainy days, and the rest were clear and cold(minus temperatures all day) but not windy and great for walking. We had a traditional German Christmas Eve with some friends and then went off to hear the beautiful choir in Regensburg Cathedral at midnight. I think I saw every bit of every Christmas market in Europe- but I loved it all and am still not sick of it. I would happily plan another winter holiday in Europe.

However, the New Year is here, and with it a new set of plans and challenges. I am fortunate to have been offered a full time job this school year, and it will be the first time in a VERY long time that I will be off to work every day. I will have to plan my shopping and cooking more carefully, and also my stitching time. I think it is possible I will be more organised, and I may actually find myself getting more stitching done. We will see.

I started the year yesterday by filling in my stitching journal and finalising all the info for 2008. I am ashamed to say I have 37 WIP's now. I made 14 new starts last year and only 4 finishes. I would like to remedy this situation in 2009 and get some of my WIP's, (and I still love them all) on the wall. I do have several good projects finished and waiting for framing, so that will be a priority this year too. With my new job however, I can afford to do some framing. I'm not going to make any promises about new starts or new purchases. I'll just try to get some work finished on a regular basis. I think I will always be a "screaming rotation" person- the joy is in the journey after all, and I don't want to force myself into stitching, which in my experience just makes me procrastinate and I don't get as much done.

Firstly, however, a serious cleanout and re-ordering of the stash cupboard is in order.I am not happy with the way my WIP's are stored.Perhaps I will put some of them on hangers. And I need more DMC so I don't waste time searching for a colour and raiding project boxes.Increased efficiency is the aim I think, so my time can be spent just stitching and not sorting and searching. I don't like to blog without a pic, but haven't picked up a needle this year yet. So here is one of the aforementioned finished projects that I would like to have framed this year. (Shepherd's Bush "Gathered Hours")

Last post for 2008

I wanted to squueze in these pics before leaving on holidays.

I stitched these ornaments last year and left them with my DD who lives in Melbourne, and has the sewing machine. She arrived yesterday off the plane and gave me the finished products. They are much brighter in real life. I am yet to master the art of good stitchy photography!

Since the last post I have had a couple of great GTG's with the ladies here, culminating in a Christmas dinner at Marilyn's last Saturday evening. We had a great time and had a "Secret Santa" gift giving. I was the lucky recipient of some "Six Strand Sweets" which I have never even seen in real life before, and a piece of gorgeous dark blue linen.

I have not got much stitching done, but I am very hopeful for 2009. I have had to put away all my stitching things in a bit of a rush this week. While we are away, my SIL and BIL are staying here, with their two children. A toddler will be sleeping in my stitching room, so everything is out of sight. I am looking forward to re-organising it all in the New Year, and making some plans for stitching progress. I will be working full time next year, but I think it will make more MORE organised and I may find I get more done than when I have all day to swan about!

Let's hope anyway!

To anyone reading my blog, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I hope you and your families stay well and safe. We are heading for a white Christmas in Europe. I'm looking forward to the New Year, and all it will bring.

Love to you all, and happy stitching,

Susan.

Another GTG

Last Saturday Janine held another GTG at her house. Cathy and Diane were there, and Marilyn came later. I remembered my camera this time. When I arrived Cathy was busy trying out Diane's Lowry frame, and she is borrowing it for a while to see if she wants to get one of her own. Cathy stitched on about 3 different projects while she was there. I still can't master the talk AND stitch thing.

Diane was continuing her work on the Mira RR piece. Marilyn arrived later after feeding hordes of family members of all ages, and brought no stitching with her!

Janine made cups of tea, heated pies and brought in lots of new stash for us to look at, and also provided the ultimate enabling service by having her laptop on and ready to go if we needed to see a new chart pic, or look up something.

I did try and stitch a little. I brought with me Petal Fairy, all the threads etc- but not the chart! Luckily I also brought Live Each Season, and managed to put in about 20 stitches- I really can't concentrate when I'm so distracted by chat and lovely stash. I did take Trick or Treat to show the ladies, but I couldn't see well enough to work on her while I was there. I'm more and more dependent on my Daylight lamp for some projects.

T or T is nearly done- NOT finished by Halloween as was the plan- but then I never am good with stitching deadlines!

I bought two charts by a designer that is new to me-"Scholehouse for the Needle". Wee Bit Samplers 4 and 5.

I really must stop buying new stash for a while- well charts anyway. I have so many projects I want to do, and I'm running out of space to store my stash. There is also an element of guilt- financially I should not be spending at the rate I am, when I have so many lovely charts, fabrics and supplies ready to go in my stash cupboard. I'm going to try and go on a stash only stitching diet(AGAIN), but it is very difficult when your GTG's are at the LNS!

We are planning another GTG next weekend. I am going to make an effort to stitch and make progress on something.

Bye for now,

Susan.

Old WIP No. 2

Well this is another old WIP, TW's 'The Castle'.

I started this one on 3rd May, 2002, so it is over 6 years old. My son chose this piece, and he was 15 at the time. He is 21 now, but unlike his sister, he still likes The Castle, so he will have it when it is done. This was my first TW. I did stitch "Stretch" first to see if I could manage her style, and found I enjoyed it, challenging as it is, and particularly enjoy the amazing use of colour. Like most of my WIP's, it is close to being finished.

I am only sorry that I started this one before I knew hand dyed fabrics existed, because I would have loved to do this on a 'stormy sky' kind of background. I can't see myself stitching it a second time though, so this is how it will be! I will have to try and employ some clever framing instead.

Anyway- OLD WIP NO. 2- out of the closet!

Susan.

Old WIP's

Well, this is Mirabilia's Fairy Flora. I started her so long ago that I can't even remember the year. My daughter was about 14 I think, and now she is 24, so maybe 1998?
This is the first Mirabilia I ever bought. My DD and I saw it in a patchwork shop of all places, in the South West of W.A. while we were on holidays. I had never seen anything like it. It took me years to get up the courage to start stitching her. For a start, I had never stitched on linen. Secondly, I had never use metallics or beads. And I had no idea where to get the supplies. ( I was told that "grey" linen could not be got in Australia).
Well, this chart started a long and steep learning curve!

I started a Just Nan on linen to practice before I started stitching the large piece.(Ebony Heart, which is also a WIP). My Mum was visiting Sydney and happened to pass Tapestry Craft where she saw a model of Fairy Flora in the window. After a phone call to me she bought up all the supplies including the required Barnwood linen! What a great Mum! I would never have thought back then to alter the fabric from the recommended colour. As it happens, I really like this pattern on the barnwood.

My DD has moved on from wanting this piece on her bedroom wall- especially as she has left home and shares her bedroom with a guy who probably doesn't want a fairy anywhere! (Her current request is for Deco Spirits). I do like FF, although she is VERY colourful. I stopped stitching her because the fabric is very slubby, and one of the slubby bits is right in the middle of her face, and it seems a bit distorted to me. I'm sure after being washed it will look o.k. but it did put me off for a LONG time. The point of airing some of my old WIP's here is to spur me into some action.

So maybe sometime soon I will post a pic with some progress. I am better at managing large projects like this now. I have started quite a few Mira's since. Once I had this chart in my hands I found the website online, and the rest is history as they say! I enjoy beading. The blending filament is bit of a pain, and the wings are huge. The newer Mira charts seem to use braid rather than BF.

Anyway, that's "old WIP" number 1. (Maybe she is even in vintage category!) She's not a UFO. I would like to get her done. As I continue my pictorial record keeping(I don't have photos of most of my stitching) I will give you a virtual look through my WIP shelf. If nothing else the experience will make you feel very productive and well organised- I don't know too many people with WIP's as old as mine!

Happy stitching,

Susan.

Ain't she sweet!

This is Nora Corbett's "Halloween Fairy" (an odd name as she has no fairy attributes, like wings!) which is in the September edition of Cross Stitch and Needlework.(Not to be confused with the other Halloween Fairy that came in a kit)

I had to have this as soon as I saw it online, and Janine kindly ordered in the mag for me. I have since seen it stitched on some of the forums and it is really sweet. I am enjoying stitching it so much. I did not have any suitable hand dyed fabric but I am very happy with this piece of Jobelan which is a mauvy colour- I don't know the name. On this pic it looks a dirty grey but it is definitely a pretty purply colour!

Another stiticher online has left off some of the beads around the skirt, and I think I will do this too. Goodness this really is an awful photo. It has lots of braid and is quite sparkly in real life. Next time I'll try to get it right!

I started this piece last Tuesday after I found my fabric and pulled out all the DMC etc. The magazine was proudly brought home last weekend from a GTG at Janine's. Diane and Cathy were there too. Not Marilyn this time as she was unwell. We made it an all day affair this time, and it was fabulous. Plenty of time to stitch and gossip and shop AND have lunch. What more could you ask? Janine has some photos on her blog. Next time I will remember my camera. Diane showed us another great Mirabilia RR, and Cathy stitched diligently on her lovely purply sampler which is an online mystery thing.(pics on her blog with a MUCH better description!) We all did lots of shopping- it's great to see what other people buy- there's always a designer you have never heard of or a chart you have never seen, just waiting to claim your attention.

I purchased the afformentioned mag, some DMC(got to play in the big cabinet-pic in previous blog),a Little House Needleworks chart "Morning Berries",Loose Feathers "Beyond My Heart" and the Graziano linen for Just Nan's "Needle in a Garden".

I had never wanted to use the called for linen before- the checks didn't appeal to me. But the design really does belong on that linen(I now believe) so I needed a piece. Now, apparently the squares aren't 'square', so to speak, and Janine had to make sure she cut me a piece that went the right way. Eventually she said " stitch it that way, and if it doesn't fit, stitch it the other way". What sage advice from the LNS owner! Could it be any clearer? At the time it was very funny, and Janine may never live it down.

Hopefully the little Trick or Treat girl(she is NOT a fairy) will be finished by Halloween, and I will try to post a pic that shows how pretty she is. There are a couple of FABULOUS pumpkins and some spider webs and a sparkly moon to add yet, but I am enjoying it immensely so I'm quite motivated.

Till next time, happy stitching,

Susan.

What I have been working on...

A whole month has gone so quickly! I haven't done a great deal of stitching, but I will show what I have done.

Early in September I had a hankering to do something small and actually FINISH it, as in not just the stitching, but the actual finishing as well.I don't usually stitch small projects. I started "Halloween Kitty"(Cat's Whiskers) which I bought from Janine recently. I used DMC for the colours on the pumpkin. I didn't have the required Dinky Dyes, and WDW Carrot, which I thought would be o.k, was a bit insipid when stitched. So I used DMC 720 and 355. I used a piece of Belfast which may be Lilac, I'm not sure. I'm happy with the result.

I followed Janie's instructions for stitching up a fob. I have never done it the way she suggests- whip stitching the rows of backstitching together, but it does turn out neatly. I tried to have the cord(which I made from DMC) come out at a corner, but alas! it is really just an off centre cord! Anyway, it is for my use, so I am happy enough, and I will improve my finishing techniques as I do more of them.

Here's the front-

And the back(I love the cute little cat bottom!)-

Whilst in the mood, I also stitched the front and back of Ned Kelly Kitty

and also started the "Purrfect Bookmark". I will get back to finishing them another time.

The other project I worked on is the 2007 Mirabilia Christmas Tree. It looked like an awful blob until I added backstitching on the birds. Now it is a recognisable blob. The colours are really more lovely than the photo suggests. I like using the Crescent Colours- they cover well and change colour in a very satisfying way. I found I had to start beading as things were becoming a tad confusing. I now have a working copy and I'm using highlighters to help keep track. It's not a hard stitch though.

This week I pulled out Celtic Banner. I am trying to catch up on border stitching. I find working with the Caron Wildflowers on Jubilee and on such a large piece of fabric is quite painful for my hands(osteo) so I can only do this piece in small increments. I can't wait to see this on my wall one day though. I have just the spot waiting for it!



That's it! I missed a GTG at Janine's on Monday(public holiday here) and I'm really sorry about that. DH was in Sydney and my DD1 who has been visiting (for work) was flying out the next day so the timing wasn't good for me. I've read on Cathy's blog that a good time was had by all. Oh well, next time!

Thanks everyone for the comments on my last entries.

Happy stitching all!

Susan.