Winter Queen finally started...

I've been trying to start this project as a SAL with the StitchNZ yahoo group for a while now, but kept putting it off for different reasons - firstly I thought I wanted to use a hand-dyed fabric instead, but then opted for the plain white again, then I pulled the floss together to start kitting up, and realised I didn't have enough skeins of some of the colours, or 3 colours of the MH beads. Well, I finally popped into Spotlight yesterday and picked up the skeins and beads I needed, and made a small inroad into starting her last night. She was just what I needed yesterday, but there's not much progress to show just yet ...

Sunday started off well, and saw me reorganising my threads while trying to work out what to use for my Apricot Elegance SAL in January - I had a slight headache, but nothing more ... by the afternoon it had developed into a full-blown migraine that was so bad I ended up throwing up with it, and sleeping for about 14 hours all-up yuk!! I know what triggered this one - the messy shifts, jumping from one timeframe to another, and not getting a proper 8 hours sleep on any of them ... Anyway, by late yesterday afternoon I finally started feeling a bit more 'human' - I wandered around the shopping mall for a couple of hours, getting a few things I needed (like painkiller tablets!), and it was really nice to just 'potter' with no timeframe or deadlines. By 7pm I was ready to start thinking of getting a bit of stitching done. And last night I had the best night's sleep I've had all week - I feel so much better today. Luckily this week's shifts are all relatively similar, with only 1 x 3pm-11pm today, followed by 4 x 1pm-9pm ... hallelujah!!!

While I was out shopping yesterday I also finally picked up some scrapbooking paper to make an album page in honour of my best friend's Mum who's turning 70 in January. She lost her husband, Ross, just over a year ago, and it's hit her hard, and she's starting to lose her confidence and been starting to ask questions like "was I a good mother?" etc ... anyway Vicki thought it would be lovely to put an album together with everyone donating one page of 'memories' - things about Doreen that you love and happy occasions with her etc ... I think it's the most wonderful idea! So, never having scrapbooked in my life, I'm going to put a page together - with possibly another one for my Mum, as she has some memories of her own to include - in fact, I'd better get cracking, as they need to be posted at the start of December. It's a bit hard in that almost all my photos are back in NZ, but I think I've managed to find a couple that I can use, as well as some stickers etc. Hopefully it will cheer Doreen up, and help to give her a sense of purpose again :) She's been like my adopted second Mum, and the whole family has had such a huge influence in my life - part of who I am today is in direct tribute to Doreen and her family ... love you Doreen, you've impacted on my life more than you could ever know! :))

And seeing as I didn't get my finishing done on my pansy pin pillow, I thought I'd better post a piccie now - I certainly wasn't in the mood to finish it this weekend, so I'll put it to one side until my 'finishing' spot in my rotation, which isn't too far away ...

Also thanks for all your kind comments about the new look blog, everyone - your comments are always greatly appreciated :)

And last, but certainly far from least (!), a HUGE thanks go to Jenna, the computer guru herself, for creating my progress bars so you can actually see them again ... your blood is worth bottling, and while I may not be able to name my first-born after you, I'm extremely grateful to you {{hugs}} :)))