Rhymes with slacker

Okay, so its been a busy week.

Three days in Wellington with the girlygirl, and lots of car time. Much cross stitch was accomplished.

News of the week - my purple biscornu won the Stitching Pirates 5 colours or less competition on deviant Art. I am doing some serious happy dancing on the inside.

Last week I finally finished the August quiltlet. September's theme is Dreams and Aspirations *whisper*whichkindofmakesmegag*/whisper*.



Also, finished another gifty thing:


And CTC20 - Fortitude


And CTC21 - Vacation


Details of all of these, as always, on my deviant art site

More pics to come sometime in the next week, or whenever.

Website update will be needed sometime soon too, but that's a wee way down the priorities list right nao.

Catch you on the rebound :)

Nothing to see here

Just trying to get my head around what gifty things I need to get done before I can start working on xmas. Feel free to ignore this one.

L - pillow - just needs making up
J - xwordstitch, shoes - need framing
A - blessing - needs framing
IM - willow - pattern made

Not started
JB
S
V

I'm sorry, mojo can't come to the phone right now, she's having a panic attack...

Spring iz sprung

Okay, so. The less said about August the better. Goals for this month: get through September.

I'm working on a couple little things, but honestly, I'm not expecting to achieve a lot of anything but work.

There will be some CTC updates, and some more gifty things finished. No Magda goals. No ornament goals. Which isn't to say none of those things will get done, I'm just realistic enough to know I'm running things pretty tight at the moment and it would be just dumb to set the bar too high this month.

Or next month for that matter.

CTC19 - Gray

Just what it says. Finally, a ctc update.

Not much of anything else, tho. Little website update yesterday. Yadda yadda.

Sass Jordan said it best

Okay, so I've been going hell for leather to finish a cross stitch that I'm really sick of now. Pics prolly next Sunday when its done.

No ornaments and no real inspiration for them neither, so I'm not forseeing them being done this month, but I've had the coolest idea for the August quiltlet.

Started another bracelet and that is looking good too, but I keep running out of headpins so I've just ordered a bunch online and they'll take a couple days to arrive.

Domestic front is messy. Very very messy. And muddy.

Charmed, I'm sure

Cross Word Stitch - farewell gift 2
Charted directly from a crossword that my coworker and I completed last week.


My first attempt at a charm bracelet, from stash


Pretty little bracelet for a friend's grandaughter.


Heart bracelet.


Kinda got distracted from the goals by pretty shiny things. Sorry about that.

I'm thinking about building an ark

Finished this a couple days ago for the secrets and codes challenge over at Sprite Stitch



July's Magda progress


Miss Lucy's Flower - farewell gift for a workmate
Tick that one off the August goals! Yay me!


k. That's all.

Still raining

Okay so July goals were a bit of a bust. Finished ornaments, finished quiltlet, didn't quite finish Magda.

So. August goals. Complete the current section of Magda. Ten more ornaments. This month's quiltlet (childhood memories). 2x farewell gifts. Finish charm bracelets (hah, you weren't expecting that one, were you? Pics soon.) Update website!!!

There is no domestic front this month. I have concelled it due to lack of enthusiasm.

10 oclock and all's well

I don't know when ten oclock started to feel late. I suspect it was around the time when 30 stopped sounding old.

'kay, so one day left in July and I have finished the quiltlet and might, if I push it tomorrow night, get the goal done on Magda. I'm not sure where the camera batteries went - I think they went into boyo's electronics set, so no pics tonight.

I need to see what kind of quality stills I can get from my webcam. When I have a few minutes to spare.

I wish my kids would put their socks in the wash, rather than leaving them under whatever piece of furniture they were sitting at when they took their shoes off.

Unusual definition of frequent

Okay, so twice in the holidays I tried to update. Once my computer crashed and once the internet broke.

So, here I am. July goals were not an incredible success.

I finished my ornaments.

Unfinished: Madga, Quiltlet.

Secret birthday something ended up being purchased because I found the totally most perfect gift for the birthday boy. Detective Conan patterns ended up being shleved because I was taking too long and the requester decided to do them herself. Cat ear fleece hat didn't happen because my sewing machine and I are not on particularly friendly terms.

But I did get a couple of things done:

A Biscornu pincushion for my mum.



CTC19 - Rainbow
The dragon fractal from the chapter headings of Jurassic Park.



Claddagh for a workmate's wedding



I still have four days left, so I'm hoping to get the quiltlet and Magda goals done. I'll keep you posted.

July Goals

2 symbols on Magda
July Quiltlet
10 ornaments
Secret birthday something (really, no idea what yet)
Cat-ear fleece hat
Detective Conan patterns


Two weeks holiday starts friday. Expect frequent updates.

Finally photos

June Quiltlet - Coffee


The Magdalene. Sort of depressing when you see it like this :( So much to doooooo...


CTC14 - Smile


CTC15 - Silence


CTC16 - Questioning (Cherchez la femme - Look for the woman)


CTC17 - Blood (Cross from Trinity Blood, manga)


New Goals tomorrow, cos somewhere in the world it isn't July yet...

Shattered

Murphy was an evil bastard.

Can't find the camera so no pics, but I did finish the goal on Magda and the quiltlet. Yay me!

I wish it would stop raining.

I'm going to go watch pointless blood and gore, and finish stitching CTC17. k?

Progress Report

Ornaments done for the month. Lost count, so did 11 instead of 10.

Quiltlet done.

Haven't touched Magda.

Hit 100k on pattern site.

Pics later.

How is it almost the end of June already??

Sick.

With a cold. Or the flu. Or something that has turned me into a walking, moaning snot factory. Took a day off work on friday and I didn't even stitch anything - just slept. How rude is that??

Having said that, I managed to have a productive day yesterday, and the week wasn't so bad, so here goes:

Ornament 1: The Christmas star


The Other, Other Secret Birthday Something - Smokey the Cat


Ornament 2 (and 3 and 4) - Mittens


CTC12 - Insanity. King Lear vs the Fool.


CTC13 - Misfortune. A tukutuku pattern showing the story of roimata toroa - the tears of the albatross.


The pattern website will be pretty static till I get my shit together, which isn't looking likely any time soon.

I think that's all.

Just the pix, ma'am.

The secret birthday something. W00t!



The May Quiltlet
They tell me, all the wise women that I know, that it doesn't matter how old they are, when your children are in pain the mother in you cries out.

I tell them, all the wise women that I know, that when your mother is in pain, it doesn't matter how old you are, the child in you cries out.

**

Trying to represent pain is not an easy thing to do. Chronic, long term pain is insidious, it tears holes in the most carefully ordered of lives. Taking a steak knife to something you just spend three hours quilting is also not an easy thing to do.




CTC10 - Breathe Again
Think Toni Braxton and you'll get there eventually...


CTC11 - Memory
"Midnight. Something something something streetlights..." Meh.


Hoping y'all are having a good week.

And No Returns

Okay, so its June. Two pics - one of the xmastree ornaments from last month and a snowflake one that I did today towards this month's total.




Goals for June -
1. two sets of symbols from the Magdalene in the new section. Pics this week, I promise.
2. ten ornaments or I will never get the damn things done in time
3. secret birthday something by the 8th
4. other secret birthday something by the 28th

Keeping it short this month because its going to be a long one at work. Also, taking some steps back form the website because it is an enormous time sink.

Anyway, I've had my first play with plastic canvas in the last week, and I'm liking it. Not the fiddly cutting out stuff, but the scope for free form 3-d stuff. Expect to see more of it here in the future. 

And last but not least - CTC 8 and 9

Innocence

“That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end” - Lise Hand

Drive


Catch you on the flipside

Heroic Effort

This weekend I finished the quiltlet and May's goal for the Magdalene.

No pics yet cos the camera batteries are flat and they're both too big for the scanner. Expect pics sometime this week.

Also managed to finish two pattern requests and start another of the ctcs. For the benefit of those who have recently joined us, CTC is the 100 themes challenge. Check out the ctc tag for the beginning of the saga. 

And finished the four felt ornaments this morning. Can't forget that. So, given that the threads for the Lorikeet have to wait until I am, shall we say, more financially secure, by my calculations, that makes all the May goals done and dusted. ***I rock!***

In other news, my baby is turning nine on Tuesday. I don't know who gave him permission to turn nine. I didn't get that memo.

Okay, that's everything.

CTC 5, 6, 7

Bit slow to post these, because real life trumped me several times this week.

I don't think any of these need any sort of elaborate explanation. Its funny, I really like #7, but it was #6 that got all the attention when I posted them on dA. Go fig.

CTC 5 - Seeking Solace


CTC 6 - Break Away


CTC 7 - Heaven


It is a week away from the end of the month and I am waaay behind on May's goals. I'm thinking I better get moving on them this weekend. I'll let you know how that works out :)

All the small things

Finished the secret birthday xs - yay me!

About 1/4 of the way through the may goal for the Magdalene.

Haven't so much as touched the ornaments

Might have to put off the draco bookmark because my pattern is a couple stitches too wide and if I mess iwth it too much its gonna look naff.

I think that's all.

CTC#4 - Dark

Dark Mark from Harry Potter, dedicated to Boo.



Secret birthday xs is coming along nicely.  You can see it in about three weeks. :)

CTC#3 - Light

"Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania." - Oberon, A Midsumers Night's Dream, Act 2 Sc 1



Wearing pansies (love in idleness), cos they're kind of important to the play.

CTC#2 - Love

Number two in the 100 themes challenge. A little emoticon from over on deviant Art. Hate hearts. But Ihave to admit, this little guy is cute.

CTC #1 - Introduction

Introduction > Please allow me to introduce myself > Sympathy for the devil > Rolling stones

Four degrees of seperation between the prompt and the final product. Not bad for me :)



Finished during an epic appointment with my hairdresser today. Chris, I love you.

CTC and other interesting things

Okay, so here's the May goals. And yes, I know it isn't May yet. And no, I don't care. 

1. Quiltlet: theme is Mother
2. Secret birthday xs - finish before said birthday.
3. Finish 4 ornaments
4. Magdalene - all square symbols on new section of chart
5. Outlines on Candlewick pillow
6. Draco bookmark
7. Get all the colours to finish the lorikeet
8. Start the 100 themes challenge.

And the 100 themes challenge, hereafter referred to as the CTC, is something missy-tannenbaum posted in her journal over on deviantArt. 100 prompts. Here's the list.

1. Introduction 2. Love 3. Light
4. Dark 5. Seeking Solace 6. Break Away
7. Heaven 8. Innocence 9. Drive
10. Breathe Again 11. Memory 12. Insanity
13. Misfortune 14. Smile 15. Silence
16. Questioning 17. Blood 18. Rainbow
19. Gray 20. Fortitude 21. Vacation
22. Mother Nature 23. Cat 24. No Time
25. Trouble Lurking 26. Tears 27. Foreign
28. Sorrow 29. Happiness 30. Under the Rain
31. Flowers 32. Night 33. Expectations
34. Stars 35. Hold My Hand 36. Precious Treasure
37. Eyes 38. Abandoned 39. Dreams
40. Rated 41. Teamwork 42. Standing Still
43. Dying 44. Two Roads 45. Illusion
46. Family 47. Creation 48. Childhood
49. Stripes 50. Breaking the Rules 51. Sport
52. Deep in Thought 53. Keeping a Secret 54. Tower
55. Waiting 56. Danger Ahead 57. Sacrifice
58. Kick in the Head 59. No Way Out 60. Rejection
61. Fairy Tale 62. Magic 63. Do Not Disturb
64. Multitasking 65. Horror 66. Traps
67. Playing the Melody 68. Hero 69. Annoyance
70. 67% 71. Obsession 72. Mischief Managed
73. I Can't 74. Are You Challenging Me?
75. Mirror 76. Broken Pieces 77. Test
78. Drink 79. Starvation 80. Words
81. Pen and Paper 82. Can You Hear Me? 83. Heal
84. Out Cold 85. Spiral 86. Seeing Red
87. Food 88. Pain 89. Through the Fire
90. Triangle 91. Drowning 92. All That I Have
93. Give Up 94. Last Hope 95. Advertisement
96. In the Storm 97. Safety First 98. Puzzle
99. Solitude 100. Relaxation

I'm going to start with cross stitch cos its easier and I don't have to think. but I reserve the right to move into other fibre art if the muse bites me. I'm also going to do them in order.

And in other news, my wonderful husband bought me a whole bunch of aida and stuff off trademe yesterday. It should arrive this week. w00t!

 

Weekends that suck

I have finished April's goal for the candlewick pillow. Pics later. That's everything done for April, 3 days before deadline. I am Legend.

Heaps done on the secret birthday xs which looks shit hot, I have to say.

Thinking about changing the pattern site over to a paid server because sooner or later my isp's gonna realise that my 3mb homepage has 50mb and well over 2 gigs of traffic a month. We'll see.

Tomorrow I will unveil the new project, because I'm too tired to do it tonight. Suffice it to say missy has a lot to answer for :)

What else. Um, new patterns and new gallery pics on the site and the leaky cauldron is linking to my HP patterns. w00t!

In other news, I had to put my dog down on Saturday. And I miss his warm head against my leg as I write my blog at night.

Ok, that's all.

Of mosquitos and megaman

I just got bit by two mosquitos. Thought you might like to know that. I got one of them. The other one is still humming around somewhere. I'll get that one too.

New patterns on the site - Megaman today. Lots and lots of megaman.

New pix on the blog. Yay! Enjoy.

 
This is the Magdalene with April goal completed. She's looking good.


Candlwick cushion with two daisies and poppies done. This one is killing me.
The thread keeps fluffing and shredding. Grrr.

Haven't stitched anything yet today. Off to do that now. Six days left in April and I'm a long way from finishing the goal on the secret birthday cross stitch. 

Wednesday is hump day

I know I said there'd be pics but there's not. I have finished the April goal for the Magdalene. Yay me! So no more about her until next month. I am mostly done with the daisies on the candlewick cushion. Haven't touched the secret brithday xs, because of the secret birthday person being around. Dug out another ufo that has been status-upgraded to wip. W00t!

So. I am off to watch Death note, vols 1 and 2. Unfortunately I do subs, not dubs, so I can't stitch while I watch. *sad face*

Ah well.

Catch you on the flip side.

Ooh, before I forget, I bought some plastic canvas today. No idea what I'm gonna do with it. Just bought it.

And updated the pattern site.

What is it about libraries?

The kids and I walked into town today. The weather turned to shite and we had two hours to kill so we headed for the library. I love our local library, it's modern and airy and has heaps of nooks and crannies to sit and read. The kids area has computers and toys and magazines and fabulous artworks. It can be packed but still has that quiet, very sensible feeling that libraries have.

So we chose some books and we sat and we read and boyo played on the computer and I almost fell asleep in the comfy chair. My daughter's friend turned up and they sat down and had a little giggle-fest, and you know, there's a reason they call it the living-room of the city. You walk in there and its like all the stress just sloughs off at the door. 

Libraries are special. There is nothing like a good library. Nothing at all.

So, I managed to get everything accomplished today that I needed to (apart from folding the washing). I am about fifty stitches away from the April goal on the Magdalene, and I have put the first 200 stitches into the secret birthday xs. No pics, cos its a secret. Magdalene pics tomorrow. 

Busy days with nothing much to do

Tidied a bit. Had a few visitors. Looked after one of the kids' friends from school. And suddenly its ten past seven and I've achieved 3/5 of SFA today. 



Here's the progress on the Magdalene. Which would have been more if I'd ever learned to count. The left hand side is a stitch out, from way way back when I was fed up with this and stopped working on it. I had to fudge a bit all the way up through the middle to make everything fit and not look too fragged.

Wonderful.  Having said all that, any day without backstitch is a good day ;)

Tomorrow I take my son to the hospital in the afternoon, then off to the craft shop to get the ingredients for the secret birthday xs and the other secret birthday thing. Which will be tricky given that one of the birthday people in question will be in attendance.  I am mother, see me multitask :)

Yay me!

Finished the wedding sampler. Backstitch damn near killed me. Grrr. Anyway, done now. Pic is crooked. My bad. 


I play a little game called "could have, would have" with finished pieces. Goes a little like this:
I could have used one strand of thread to do the back stitch, would have made the lines and grids a little clearer. But the grey was too light to see with only one strand. Solutions: could have used a darker colour, or could have used a lower count fabric - two strand might have looked better on 12 or 14 count. If I was going to do this pattern again, I'd probably choose 14 count white aida, and still use two strand of the grey. Not that I'm ever doing this pattern again. Ever.



Finished one ornament, mainly to see how long they are going to take. Did the machine sewing on the other four I had cut out. Looks a bit funky in the pics, but it's done with a variable colour thread that looks divine irl.

Website update

Holidays make me happy.

Elisabeth sending me pictures of cross stitches she's finished from my patterns makes me happy.

missy-tannenbaum sending me a new pattern to host on the site makes me happy.

Kirby... well, Kirby makes a lot of other people happy. That counts.

Holidays and Saturdays and Elisabeths and missys and it is a good day.

TGIF

Progress on the wedding sampler. It's starting to look pretty good.



In New Zealand, it is the end of the first school term. We now have two weeks break before term two. I have never looked forward to a term break as much as I have this one. Expect lots of progress updates, some new patterns and a much nicer mojo to have around.

April Quiltlet

On the theme of New Beginnings.

Read the whole story here

Short version: visualisation taken from Media Player.




Some more backstitch done on the wedding sampler.

Thursdays are hard.

Rhymes with pictures

Okay, so I remembered to bring the camera home and have taken some pix of my wips. Now we try le grande experiment and see if I can get the pix from my 'puter to my blog...

This is the pattern front of the Candlewick pillow and where I'm at with it. I'm a bit disappointed that so much of the white outline shows thru, but not disappointed enough to go back and rip the stitches out. :)



The wedding sampler. I finished the borders in the car today and am onto the backstitch. I hate backstitch.


The Magdalene. By the end of the month I want to have finished all the way up to the line. Lots of work to do on the left hand side there. She's so beautiful.


And lastly, my ornaments. I only have 45 more to cut out, then sew together, bead and make loops. Piece of cake.


So. There's the pix. I will post updated images as I update the pieces.

In other news, I now have a thread list for the secret birthday xs. Can't tell you what it is tho -it's a secret.