hermitting with stitching at last!

After a long drought I finally have a couple of pics to post!  I spent the weekend doing a bit more stitching than I normally do (lately it's been zero, lol)  and I have a little almost-finished ornament, see below

It's the Prairie Schooler ornament from the JCS 2011 Christmas Ornament issue!  Just the angel's lips and hands - oops! and I can stitch the white if I feel like it, and the outer stars too.  If you have the magazine you'll note the ornament is actually supposed to be a perfect cube, but the Aida I stitched on wasn't perfectly even so it looks more like a diamond.  The horizontal squares are narrower than the vertical ones, if that makes sense.  I'm happy to have stuck to it over the weekend, though if I sewed through this week it would have been the work of 30 minutes to finish the entire ornament as pictured in the magazine.  The thing is, I got sick Tuesday (caught a bad cold, still recovering from it).

In other news, I also worked on the Peaches chart and you can see my progress below.  I believe this is what's called a WISP (work in SLOW progress!)

You can see where I've stitched in the wrong direction LOL and I'm in the process of frogging.  That bit of green I actually finished already - I was too lazy to get up and check which direction I'd sewn my tent stitches on the companion piece (Plums).  When I finally checked, I discovered that I'd sewn them in the opposite direction!  I was so disheartened.  I continued with the gray shadow in the correct direction.  I'm bent on finishing the tent stitches to the right of the chart so I know whether I have enough fabric for it (yes, I know, I did measure it) but I only had this piece of fabric that matched the companion piece - I needed white Aida that I can be assured is even, and so I used this piece which is 12 x 12.  I only have 1 inch of border between my stitches and outer space.... LOL

If you only knew what I've been through with this... last week it was missing from my basket and I couldn't find it!  It went missing for an entire week.  But praise be, it was found on the table beside the tv.  Now you know what I do while stitching!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

there and back again !

hello all! for some reasons i won't go further into (i mean no further than i already have in my last post, anyway!) i've been a bit down and not really in the mood to stitch.  plus last week i had some minor aches which remind me that i'm not 35 anymore LOL  honestly prior to 40 i felt rather invincible but now i'm starting to feel the opposite!  however this state of affairs can't continue to last, because it IS such a downer...  gloom and pessimism actually make me more ill!  so i've decided to take charge of a few things, the easiest of which at present time is my stitching and my walking habits!

so... as if the world is helping me along with my resolve, i actually received a huge bit of good news today.. my charts have arrived in the post office!  yippee! for 2 weeks i've been in suspense because  my cousin said she had mailed me my charts (it was nice of her, although because the post here doesn't have such a stellar reputation i wanted either to pick them up myself, or have her send them here together with the big box of supplies/things/goodies she usually sends her mom round halfway through the year).  well anyway.. she told me about it when she'd already mailed it so it was fait accompli - there was nothing i could do except wait for them to arrive. or not arrive.  and, hallelujah.. this afternoon my mom said i had a card from the post office!  which means.. there is a package to be picked up from there!  fingers crossed that there is no duty to pay.. i am sure i will have to open the box for them to see what's in it.

and in another bright spot.. rain!  it's finally cooler and it's much easier to sleep nights.  the a/c has been out of commission for some months now (i wrote about it in one of the posts way back when), and we have not had it repaired yet.  we could sleep in another bedroom with a/c but somehow we don't do it.. maybe we're too lazy or it's habit, but we don't.  funny though, cause we used to in the big house.  anyway, the guy who repairs our a/c and electric fans is back from Dubai so fingers crossed, he can take a look and see what's going on with it.  we tried it last week and it turns on but doesn't cool (not to mention it goes off in about 2 minutes, must be something we may have done with the timer!)

so, all in all, cool beans!  as for the walking part, i read in the NYTimes just today that 20 minutes of walking can mean a big difference to your fitness..and i am so un-fit right now!  i don't walk up on the deck anymore and i don't know how to operate our new tv.. i don't know how i can admit that  LOL

anyway, several people - you know who you are - were nice enough to send me their good wishes and hopes that this 'funk' wouldn't last.  thank you!  and bless you!  your comments always welcome...

watch this space, my needle will be back in action!   i was going to say 'smokin' but that's never happened, ever  LOL  i did some stitching this week, maybe i will post it (or maybe i'll be too ashamed to show how little i did LOL)

ok, enough of the LOLing.... have a great day!!!

Aiyoh (ayayay, hay naku, and all that jazz)

thank you for all the kind comments even though i know i haven't been stitching near enough to show you the extravaganzas i wanted.. i really appreciate all the encouraging comments!

the weather's been way too hot for stitching, or indeed, doing much of anything.. i'm not a huge user of air conditioning (except at work, where it's a relief, and by default it's on) except where the weather has become unbearable.. it's getting close to that, at 36c!

and speaking of work, there's some unknowns and uncertainty going on with new management (A) in.. plus some health concerns (B) this weekend (B is probably a result of A), so with that in mind i'd like to request some good thoughts and prayers from my friends reading this..

anyway, something to make you smile (read on Peggy's blog "Never Enough Stash"):

Children Are Smarter Than We Give Them Credit For 

by Peggy H.

Last Sunday my son overheard two young boys outside the bishop's office.  (Minister, chaplain, etc.)  One of them said to the other, "If you call me 'stupid' and then say you are sorry he will give you a piece of candy."  ......Priceless....

Priceless indeed!

.. and i'm back!

Oh, is this the new Blogger format?  I'm not getting it, I think!  How is it supposed to be an improvement over the old?


Anywhooo..I've been promising to post and I haven't, but this time I cross my heart promise that I will post, what little I've done, visual evidence of my lack of progress :(  


Lots of things going on at work and at home.  6 days of no internet (real cause - renovation!), changes at work, changes I've been trying to implement on self (exercise, speed up dressing time.. difficult!), stash enhancement (I've been lured into spending, even with so much to stitch at home).


So anyway, here goes...   AARGH!  here we go again.. the last time I tried to post (a week ago) the pic came out like this...  when I view it in Picasa it's perfectly fine, it's vertical.. and here, when I post, horizontal.  ACCCCK!

I swear, this is so  discouraging!  I'll have to take another pic and re-post.  Well anyway, you can see that I'm 99% done. Just have to sew the yellow stamens in the middle of the blue flowers, and that's it.


And in other news... the Maria Winkler peaches WIP

You can see more of the peach, but my objective is actually to do more of the stitching to the right of it.. I want to see if I'll have enough fabric for the border. Yes.. I've done the unspeakable.. left only 1.5 inches of border!  That's because the only Aida I have that matches the finished "Plums" sampler is this one!  My one and only piece of white Aida 14ct.  so I'm hurrying to the border (sounds like I'm doing it for real lol) to see if it'll be enough.  I did use a calculator, thank you.  


I would like to start on the MBT "Peace" ornament from JCS Christmas 2008, and the heart from the Workbasket.  Hopeful that I get to start both today.  I'd also like to do some stitching on my UFO/BAP Whimsey and Wit Advent Alphabet.. but honestly I have not touched that since March!  If I do I may skip the (evergreen) tree and go straight to F for "Fireplace".


For now I have to run some errands (conveniently in the middle of the day so that I can cool off at the mall, ha ha).. and for some reason I can't remember what the errands are.  I think maybe buy some lightbulbs (it's Earth Day, so maybe LED) to replace some bulbs here, facepowder, comfy slides, a v-neck blouse cause it's SO hot.  And that's it for now... until later, when I post my progress.


Happy Sunday, everyone!  And a warm welcome to my newest friends !


Okay, now how do I post this?  LOL

Sunday fun-day

If you love to browse around the blogs (as I do, and I waste a lot of valuable stitching time roaming round and being inspired  lol) , I have a new blog I'm "reading"- I say "reading" because it's all in Japanese characters, I just let my eyes admire the stitching: it's Nami's Stitch Note.  She has done a lot of the charts and samplers I'd like to do, including the Tsunami Sampler and the Blackbird Designs mystery sampler -- which I almost had in my hands, except the flood of mail in my inbox got in the way and I missed replying to the seller :(

I also (by way of Daffycat's blog) discovered this designer's site:

http://www.redhousecrafts.com/redhouse_003.htm

Check it out, she has some very nice designs and lovely samples!

I hope no one's upset yet at not seeing any of my handiwork which I've been promising to post: I have decided to finish that Burda wreath today by hook or by crook!  By hook probably as there's no crook willing to do the sewing for me, haha!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday and although she wasn't home most of the day I spent it babysitting my niece Bean - what a kid!  She spent part of the time setting out my high heels (all the 3" up ones) and running around in them.. then she started making phone calls (I had to stop her when I noticed the  calls she was making were to cellphone numbers! And she made it easy to notice because she would read out the numbers lol..), then commandeered the tablet (all the while asking me to spell out the sites she wanted to visit), then finally this desktop..  later we had a family dinner and after that my mom's guests arrived - we didn't think they would anymore as the rains that afternoon flooded some streets!

It is Sunday here and overcast today, but inspite of that I'm going to have a great day and I wish the same for you -- Have a beautiful day!

A Walk in the Park

Wow! I see I have gained 5 new friends... hi, and welcome!  I'm very glad to see you all.. it's so very encouraging to my stitching!  I know dear Lesli of "The Fabulous Frogger" was behind all this!  :)  I'm honored.. and I will just have to read what the Leibster is all about again!

Officially it's the first day of spring in some places (not here, where it's either just dry or wet season), so I'm posting some pictures of a walk in Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.  This was last year's visit to DB and his wife, in March, no less!  Talk about weather shock!  The temperature the whole time we were there never went above 14c!  And I thought it was spring!    lol

Here below are some daffodils (jonquils?) I know they come out in spring.  We went into a supermarket in Seattle and they were selling huge ones in bouquets!  Bright and cheerful!   These were small, like 2 inches wide I think, if that.

 Some crocuses (I think!):

A random area of the park

Some snowdrops:

Leaves (random leaves?)

More crocuses

Cabbages and hens  (or maybe I'm inventing a plant name!)  I just thought the whorls were cute.

A panoramic view of part of the park:

I don't know what these are...maybe they're clovers?  Or could they be some form of parsley?? Ha haha

Rose leaves, with not a bloom in sight!

Hm, these I honestly don't know what they are called ;)

I know you want to see my stitchy progress of at least my Burda flower wreath.. but alas, I haven't taken any photos!..  I'm a bit further along now and I will post a finish (YES!) this weekend, I promise!

Happy Day!

"Pick yourself up.... start all over again!"

There I was yesterday, picking up my needle and determined to stitch at least 30 stitches per project.... and like Jo from Little Women - or was it Amy - discovering what I thought was, was not!  Remember when one of the sisters decided to prepare a meal for Laurie Laurence.. and what happened to dessert?  Laurie manfully ate the concoction.. but the girls were wondering at his facial expressions before they tasted the dessert themselves.. turns out they put salt instead of sugar, and the cream was sour!

Well, that's kind of like how I felt after stitching a whole motif and discovering that the blue I picked up to continue the flowers of my little Burda wreath was the wrong shade of blue!! That's what you get when you stitch in the wrong light!  Anyway, never daunted, I chased the frog away and have continued. Nothing else to do but pick yourself up!  Dust yourself off!  Start all over again...  :)

Anyway, here is a photo of my dearest nephew and niece.. missing them very much!

Have a lovely day! May you all be blessed!