Feather Stitching

My blog is flying the coop!!!

2007-01-13T18:14:00.000+11:00

Just to let you know, after being enabled by KarenV, I've decided to try out WordPress for hosting my blog. It seems there are a number of you who still can't post comments to this one since the introduction of (non)Beta-Blogger, and I'm sick to death of trying to following the upgrade links only to be told I can't ugprade (so why keep telling me my blog is ready to be moved ... you morons??!!!)

So far I'm quite impressed at how easy it is to edit stuff, but I'm only just in the initial stages of getting my blog the way I want it. I haven't decided yet whether to move the RAK Registry one over as well, but it's quite likely that'll follow suit in due course. The only thing I don't like is not being able to have a swish template, and I'll miss my lovely blue paua shell and ducks ... but eventually I may be able to update my WordPress one to something snazzy when I work it all out ... one day! ;)

So, you'll need to amend your bookmarks, as my new blog address will be as follows (I'll start posting to the WordPress blog from now on, but this old blog will stay put for a while longer yet):

http://shakatak66.wordpress.com/

"It's good to be back ..."

2007-01-12T16:16:00.000+11:00

A HUGE "g'day" from Elwood!!! Yep, this is actually me sitting in front of my very own PC in my very own little flat - no, Houston, we no longer have a problem - we have a phone line!!! :D The phone technician called this morning to see if I was home, and if he could come round ... his job today still went ahead, but he finished it sooner than expected, and was able to fit me in woohoo!!! :D Unfortunately the phone jack is now right in front of the front window where the Christmas tree usually sits, so I've had to spend just under $40 for a 12 metre extension cable and double adaptor, seeing as my computer is miles away, and the double adaptor I had already got was for the geriatric phone connection originally in place - now we have a snazzy new one.

I've already made one call home on it, and exercised the phone line for almost 2 hours chatting to Mum ... and here are some photos expressly for her - the latest on my wall cracks. The first one also includes a great shot of the newly finished phone connection (I still have to vacuum up the mess and move the furniture back), as well as the lovely new crack I have along the middle of the wall, just nicely in line with the height of the sofa.

Next up is the top corner of the same wall - the window is now so out of plumb I can't actually close it at all, and the phone technician reckons the floor in the corner is actually on a bit of a slope now hmmm.

Next is the corner behind my bookcase which divides the lounge and dining rooms.

And lucky last is above the balcony door frame. Some of them actually look worse in real life than they do in the photo ... yep, definitely a good time to be looking for somewhere new, before I end up making an unexpected visit to the downstairs neighbours by landing on their heads!!

As for stitching, not as much to report as expected ... here's the latest progress photo of Bordeaux Sampler - I stayed up last night to finish of the over-one parts, and it's been put away again until next week. You can see by the groups of grapes down the left hand side of the border where the halfway mark is, so I'm now very very close to it :) Don't worry Carol about not being in the same place - I know you've been very busy doing gift stitching ... it's still nice knowing you and Leslie are stitching it as well, even though we don't have a designated night for it :)

Lastly I can show the latest UFO I've finished - this Cream Button Bag by Shelley Warner was from a Guild weekend Retreat in Auckland ... it just has to be made into a bag now, but that will happen on one of my 'finishing' slots in my rotation. It's pitiful how long this has been sitting around, as it only had four leaves left to be completed and the buttons added - it only took about 1-1/2 hours to finish!

This week I also started a SAL with Carina on the Ross Originals Macaw - it's hardly worth showing a progress piccie, as there's only a few stitches to show for it ... but by next Wednesday there should be something worth showing, as that's our new SAL night :)

Rightio, now it's time to get the icing ready for a chocolate cake I made this morning ... I'm not a baker by any stretch of the imagination, but I figure my skills will never improve if I don't give it a go, so I'm stretching myself a bit. And the guys from work are going to be my guinea pigs to help save my waistline :)

I also made Honey Coconut Biscuits which are quite yummy ... and a case of 2nd time lucky! I was making them on Wednesday morning to take into work, but the final ingredient was self raising flour, and when I was sifting it I found a big clump of insect eggs ... everything ended up in the bin. Then I finally made them again last night, and managed to have an accident with the oven tray - while taking it out of the oven the heat started coming through my right hand, so I tried to jiggle it a bit in my hand, only to have the whole thing start slipping ... I automatically grabbed it with my left hand, only to remember I didn't have an oven mitt on it - let's say I remembered bloody quickly!! Luckily I have a heap of ice cubes ready made in the freezer, and I ran a 1/4 sink of cold water and dumped every single cube into it - the throbbing pain was insane, and it's no wonder people sometimes don't survive major burns due to the shock from the pain! Anyway, it seems the ice bath really helped, as today it's only slightly tender and the blistering is thankfully in places that is letting me have full use of my hand ... phew!! I even managed a bit more stitching on Bordeaux after the accident, I think more to take my mind off it than anything else ;)

I still can't switch to (non)Beta Blogger, and I'm getting sick to death of clicking on the "we are ready for you, switch now" blurbs ... this kept happening for a while before losing my phone access, and it's still happening. It's getting a bit annoying, but perhaps I should just ignore the prompts until it changes into something nasty, like a final demand letter ;) Either that, or start looking at alternatives, as I understand a few people haven't been able to comment on my blog for quite some time :(

Well, no more chatting for me - time to get moving, as I have an early shift at work tomorrow (a mix of 8am and 5am shifts for 7 days), and I still have some housework to finish ... as well as organising some rental alerts on a few suburbs, and to get that icing done.

Oh boy, it's good to have the 'net at home again!!! :D Mind you, with 1160 unread feeds, I'm sorry but I really do have to mark all as read and start from scratch - it's just too much to handle. I hope I won't miss too much by doing that :( Hope to catch up with you all again soon :D

Just a quick post

2007-01-11T13:06:00.000+11:00

I'm at an internet cafe in St Kilda at the moment, as the library doesn't open until 2pm today, and I needed to do some bill paying.

The phone update is that if the phone technician has a job cancelled for tomorrow, he can fit me in tomorrow to install a 'temporary line' - if not, he's then on holidays for 11 days and the real estate agent will have to try to find someone else to do it instead ... I'm trying not to stress out about it, but if it keeps on for much longer I'll give the Body Corporate/real estate agent a bill for my phone and internet connection for the month I haven't been able to access it! hmmm ...

The cracks in the walls are also now getting worse, and the building movement thanks to the drought has now changed the position of the windows at the front, and I can't close them anymore. I also now have a crack appearing horizontally across the middle of one of the walls ... not happy, Jan!

Which brings me to my next news ... the girl I considered moving in with last year has handed her notice in at her flat, and is looking to move again - and we've agreed to move in together. That means flat-hunting again as we'll need a 3-bedroom place this time ... it also means extra outlay for the move, but a better financial position in the long run. I'm extremely sad about moving from my current area, but it's a small sacrifice to make for a longer-term benefit, I guess. It just means I'll be walking round the beach every day until I move now! In fact, I'm having brunch here in St Kilda to start the ball rolling. That also means not having internet access for a while after I move ... although I'll start checking out options for wireless internet in the meantime as well, as that might be a better option in case I end up moving again in a year or two - who knows what the future will bring?

Stitchingwise I can't say I've done too much - I've almost finished the next band of Bordeaux, and I've finished one surface embroidery UFO, but that's pretty much it ... my time will now be spent househunting again, which doesn't lend much time for stitching. Oh well ...

Anyway, I'd better head off ... not sure when I'll be back online again. I miss you guys!!

Back at the library again ...

2007-01-04T15:13:00.000+11:00

Sorry about the rushed post last night - I visited Fraze last night and met his girlfriend Megan for the first time ... pretty bad considering they've been going out together for about a year now! Anyway, it was a lovely time had by all - Megan cooked an awesome lasagne, and we chilled out with a glass of wine and good conversation ... so good I didn't end up leaving until 1am yikes! It was really nice to finally meet Megan after all this time. I'm usually really shy meeting new people, but I felt comfortable right from the start. I also intend catching up with "Bah Humbug" himself this week some time, aka Fraze's Dad, but that's another day and I have to psych myself up for it haha.

Still no word from the phone man - the real estate agent has left messages on his phone to call either her or me on my mobile to organise a date to come and fix the phone line. Considering the last time he came he stated if there were more problems they'd have to knock a hole in the wall and rewire the whole thing, it's going to be a big job, me thinks. I'd actually bought a new cheap phone before Christmas, so that Mum could phone me (when I thought it was the phone that was dead) ... and when I read the receipt last week I noticed they have a 14-day 'cooling off period' when you can return the goods for a refund ... no questions asked, so I rushed in with the phone and I have the money back in my bank account again yippee! The great thing about the phone line issue is that the landlord pays for it, not me woohoo! :D

Anyway, I popped into the library to check my emails, as I was expecting one, so I thought I'd make better use of the trip and upload some progress piccies as well. I'm not sure how often I'll be popping to the library to check in, as their hours don't really match up well with my shifts a lot of the time ... by the time I get hooked up again, I may have set a new world record for unread feeds - I'd just started reading blogs again when my phone line crashed, and I'd managed to get it down to 690-ish ... I'm aiming for the new record of four figures! LOL. By the time I get connected again I just may have to "mark all as read" and start from scratch, as I think it's going to be way too much to try to catch up on.

Anyway, here's the progress to date of my two WIP's (I copied the piccies to disk) - I managed to finish off 4 hours on Flight of the Bumble Bees, and almost got the darning band completed ... but seeing as I wasn't really enjoying it, I decided to save the last bit until the next time I come to that rotation slot. Here is where I left them ... (yet another crappy photo sorry)

Now I just have one hour left on Egyptian Garden, before I get back to work on an old UFO - it's likely that with one rotation slot I'll get that finished, but then again I'm not very productive when I'm on 6pm shifts as I'm usually way too tired, so time will tell. Here's how I left EG at the end of the last 10 hours, and how it looks now ... I've started the over-one area in the centre - seeing as I'd already unpicked this once on different fabric and started over again, I wasn't in a hurry to start that part again, but I figure it has to be done at some stage, and if I just do 1-2 hours in every rotation slot, it will eventually all get filled in. My apologies, too - I'd meant to hunt down which fabric I'm using for this, as a couple of you have questioned it ... I know it was a Silkweaver opalescent fabric, but I can't remember which one - when I get up and running again at home, I'll find out for you :)

Before:

After:

And to finish off, here's another quote for you ... I just found this one on the 'net, as I forgot to bring it with me, but it's one of my all-time favourites ... I chose this to add to my Wessex Sampler, as I had started to embrace learning new things where my embroidery was concerned, and taking risks in the new challenges that brought. I suppose it's also partly responsible for why I'm here in Aussie now, as I ran with what life had to offer at the time ... life is too short ... :D

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. - Mark Twain"

Missing in Action

2007-01-03T23:06:00.000+11:00

Just a really really quick note as I'm out having dinner with Fraze and Megan, and hijacking their internet connection quickly ... my phone line has totally died on me, and I haven't had any phone or internet access for the last 48 hours. I probably won't get to an internet cafe for a while now, so I'm going to be missing in action for a while. I'm still stitching, though, so I might have some progress piccies when I get back :D

If you need to get hold of me regarding the RAK Registry etc, try contacting Nicki (Plush), Carol (Garden of Stitches) or Jenna (Tale of a Shooting Star) for my work email address (except I'm not back there until Saturday ...).

See ya when I get back online ... whenever that is ...

A New Year - A New Start

2007-01-02T10:05:00.000+11:00

OK, I fibbed ... yesterday I decided seeing as it was the first day of a New Year, and I hadn't finished my canvaswork rotation slot yet (I still had 4 hours of it left), I thought I'd drag out a new start ... I've had this piece kitted up for many many years, and thought it would be good to finally get it stitched up. This is definitely a challenging piece for me, as it's using stitches, materials and techniques never tried before. It's called "Flight of the Bumble Bees" by Ruth Schmuff Designs. This is the finished product:

I've already had to frog-stitch part of it last night, and can't say I'm particularly enjoying the darning of this band of bumble bees in Kreinik #8 braid ... you should see the rat's nest of threads hanging from the bottom of the canvas to be threaded back in afterwards hmmm. Sorry for the bad photo - I'll take a better one after the next rotation round, as there won't be much more progress on this one before I really DO get back to Egyptian Garden :) I might just do the last hour on the bees before I switch over, though, as I think I still have an hour of that rotation left to go ... I think I could manage another hour before I pull my hair out ;)

I just may be throwing a few quotes into my posts this year as well ... I saved a heap of quotes that interested me or touched me in some way, that I thought may be useful one day ... and I think I'll share a few of them every now and then. Here's the first one - and considering how I've been spending my days off so far, I think I can truthfully say I'm living! ;)

"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live." - Lin Yutang

First finish for 2007!

2007-01-01T16:05:00.000+11:00

Here goes my first finish for 2007 ... this is "Spring Basket" by Beverley McNully from an Inspirations magazine. I started it last night, but didn't get very far before I hit the hay for the night. To say I detest doing French knots is an understatement, but they were pretty simple this time using perle cotton on canvas. It just has to be turned into a pincushion during a future 'finishing session'. Seeing as I don't have any 18" stretcher bars yet, I can't start my Laura J Perin canvaswork design, so this fit in nicely into the canvaswork slot in my rotation in the meantime :D

Now I'm off to put a few more stitches into my focus piece, Egyptian Garden. I had a shock earlier, though, when my phone line died again ... this time it was just offline for about an hour, but if I go missing all of a sudden, that's why!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T07:01:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year everyone!
Wishing you all a healthy, happy and prosperous year in 2007.
I look forward to continuing the wonderful friendships I've made throughout the coming year :)

Bordeaux Sampler

2006-12-30T18:30:00.000+11:00

Just a really really quick post, as I'm pretty shattered - just wanted to show Carol and Leslie that I haven't forgotten about this SAL we're doing ... I just haven't had much progress to show. Anyway, seeing as I'm supposed to post a piccie each Friday, I figure I might as well show where I'm up to so far - I think Carol might be catching me up quickly, and at the rate I'm going will be overtaking me very soon! ;) I'm really not enjoying this band at all, so it's slowed my enthusiasm and my stitching speed down - perhaps the sooner I finish it the better, so I can move on to a more fun band. (Sorry for the poor photo quality.)

We had a couple of people off sick at work today, so I ended up with 3 1/2 hours overtime which will be absolutely awesome in the pay packet (Mr Taxman may just see his money at the start of the year!) ... but on day 6 of work, doing an 11 1/2 hour shift has wiped me out and I'm pretty exhausted ... it's my last day tomorrow, with another 6am start, so no more stitching for me, I don't think!

I was also supposed to post a Photo Hunt piccie, but I'm too exhausted to go hunting ... I had a quick look through my online piccies, but nothing jumped out at me, so I'm going to flag the exercise this week - instead I'm going to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet in the 1 1/2 hours I have between getting home and having to get to bed again ;)

My mailbox runneth over!

2006-12-29T15:23:00.000+11:00

Imagine my surprise when I went to my PO Box to clear my mail yesterday morning before work, and the mailman came out with a HUGE box of goodies for me - he even laughed at the look on my face, bless him! Cindy went crazy and put together the most incredible selection of stitching goodies for me ... I'm still in awe of everything, and feel like one of those plastic dogs that sits in the back of the car with it's head shaking with every bump, except mine's just shaking in the sheer amazement at Cindy's generosity. Thank you again, Cindy, I'm still totally blown away and don't know what I've done to deserve it! I love it all ... and you may have noticed the Kahlua choccies didn't even survive 24 hours - I was kind and shared them at work yesterday with my closest colleagues, and they were totally delicious! And the notebook is already in use for some stitching lists I've been wanting to do for a few weeks now, and the page sizes and lines are just perfect for it. I'm always running out of Floss-away bags, and all the charts are awesome, and the fabric, and the threads, and oh my my head is spinning again! :D Thanks so much for making my day! :D

On a down note I finally cracked it with a certain ONS (SB&B to be exact) ... after waiting since August (!) for some backordered items for Mum and me, I finally got the advice they were ready to ship ... I quickly sent off an email asking if they could add two skeins of WDW for Katrina to save postage, plus 2 Kreinik braids, and no answer ... when I went to the library to check emails (my phone line was down at this stage), I'd received a refund notice from PayPal - not even SB&B themselves - for an amount for the Aida Mum had had on backorder ... no explanation or anything, and no answers to the previous emails I'd sent re the extra threads. I finally sent an email from work cracking it about their lack of communication and demanding they tell me what the hell was going on ... a very quick response then, stating they'd apparently sent me emails etc, but then just shipped the parcel "as is". I wouldn't mind, but we've been waiting 4 months for the fabric, that was then refunded (and for a totally different amount that I'd been invoiced for too!) ... 4 months for Floss-away bags and WDW threads for Needle Nick (which of course is now too late to stitch for this Christmas anyway). It's amazing how invoices have no problem reaching my email addy, but answers to queries have a major issue ... sorry about the vent, but it makes my blood boil! I don't usually like to bad-mouth a specific company on here, and the last time I vented I didn't name names, but this time I've reached my limits ... mutter mutter mutter. I've been signed up for the Monthly Bits for a while now, but I'm starting to reconsider that option as well.

In this instance Karen at Dragonfly Dreams came to the rescue, as I've ordered the other threads through Karen now - from one extreme to the other, the service is exceptionally quick and communication first rate ... it's a shame we have to pay so much more 'down under', but I'm starting to think it's perhaps a better option when taking service levels into consideration. Food for thought for me for the New Year ... not that I'll be buying much for a while yet anyway, as my finances are still in tight check for a while longer hmmm.

Rightio, that's my venting out of my system ... phew! Now I'm off to think about what to stitch next - I think perhaps it's time to start on a birthday gift I want to stitch ... either that or maybe start that canvaswork pincushion from the Inspirations magazine and try to knock off another goal before year end haha. I'm actually quite excited, as I only have 2 more working days left (from a total of 7), then I'm on a 5-day break yippee ... gee whiz, I wonder what I'll be doing next week?? LOL ... although it'll take me 1-2 days just to catch up on blogs from the last couple of weeks!

2006 Finishes & 2007 Goals

2006-12-28T07:51:00.000+11:00

Yes, it's that time of the year again when we look back and see what we accomplished during the past year, and set our goals for the next one. I have to admit, I had a fantastic year for stitching finishes, even though most of them were 'small' projects. Here's the entire list:

1. Love needleroll ornament (Jeannette Douglas Designs)
2. Spring needleroll kit (Lorri Birmingham)
3. And Many More needlecase (Just Nan)
4. Merry Yule ornament (Erica Michaels Designs)
5. Becky’s Bees mirror
6. Oriental flowers 1 – charity quilt block (design by Sue Page)
7. Oriental flowers 2 – charity quilt block (design by Sue Page)
8. Thistle Treasure Bag (M Designs)
9. Shooting star scissors fob for Jenna (DMC freebie with modifications)
10. Home for Christmas ornament (Brightneedle)
11. World Trade Center charity quilt square
12. Star of Wonder ornament (With My Needle)
13. Herald Angels ornament (The Prairie Schooler)
14. Peace*Joy*Love ornament (Lizzie*Kate)
15. Echidna charity quilt block
16. Golden Garland ornament (Paw Printings)
17. Pinkeep (Indigo Rose freebie with modifications)
18. Melanie’s Exchange needleroll (mix of many designs - SBEBB)
19. Batman logo charity quilt block
20. Biscornu Exchange (Indigo Rose freebie with modifications – SBEBB)
21. Strawberry needleroll (The Sweetheart Tree)
22. Santa’s Stash ornament (Full Circle Designs)
23. Scissor fob exchange (Hardanger – StitchNZ group)
24. Redheads ducks square for round robin (Wings of the Wild Afghan, Stoney Creek)
25. Racing Cars charity quilt block (internet freebie)
26. Peace needleroll ornament (Jeannette Douglas Designs)
27. Blue needleroll for Isabelle (own mix of many designs)
28. Christmas Tree ornament (Elizabeth’s Designs)
29. Teddy Bear Santa Stocking (Lorri Birmingham)
30. White Christmas ornament – Beyond XS kit (The Victoria Sampler)
31. Fire Breathing Dragon charity quilt square (Pegasus Publications)
32. Summer at the Ocean needleroll (Jeannette Douglas Designs)
33. Parula Warbler for Vash’s RR (Vermillion Designs freebie)
34. Needleroll in redwork for Nicki (own design mix – Robin’s Nest BB)
35. Redwork exchange for Nancy (online freebie with changes - SBEBB)
36. Thisbe’s Needleroll (Shepherd’s Bush)
37. A Stitcher’s Needleroll (Lorri Birmingham)
38. Mail Art for Zohrah
39. Bumble the Bee: Waxer Pocket (Moss Creek Designs)
40. Cherry Blossoms Fob for Katrina (The Sweetheart Tree)
41. Winter Sampler Snippet for Lynn’s RR (Lizzie*Kate)
42. Dolphins Domain for Vicki & John (Cross My Heart)
43. Scented Keepsake lavender sachet for Jenna (Classic Stitches freebie)
44. Just Jack freebie (Just Nan)
45. Silken Roses Fob for Su (Sweetheart Tree – Robin’s Nest BB)
46. Winter (Country Seasons) by Prairie Schooler (Lynn’s RR)
47. Starry Starry Night ornament (JBW Designs)
48. Summer Solstice needleroll by Eventide Designs
49. Coffee Menu by Little House Needleworks
50. Winter’s Eve ornament by Country Cottage Needleworks
51. Christmas Tree ornament by Elizabeth’s Designs
52. Merry Yule ornament by Erica Michaels Designs
53. Pacific Pohutukawa by Jen’s Jems
54. Christmas Eve ornie by Elizabeth’s Designs
55. Bunnies in my Garden by With My Needle
56. Snow Fall needleroll by Shepherd's Bush

My 2006 goals didn't seem too bad at the time, but life got in the way and my accomplishments were quite poor. Here's how I went:

Completed:
▪ ~~Dolphins Domain UFO~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~One more UFO~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Participate in 2 exchanges on SBEBB~~ (yes - completed 3)
▪ ~~Christmas Ornie exchange RR~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Learn to make flat-fold~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Learn to make a biscornu~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Stitch a needleroll~~ (yes - a couple completed)
▪ ~~Stitch a scissors fob~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Summer Into Autumn by Drawn Thread~~ (yes - completed)
▪ ~~Bunnies in my Garden SAL by With My Needle~~ (yes - stitching completed)

Started but not finished:
▪ Apricot Elegance SAL by Cindy Valentine ... started, but not finished
▪ Nature's Rest UFO ... did a few hours, but not completed
▪ Continue with my rotation ... um sort of, off and on
▪ Continue stitching from my stash ... again sort of, off and on

Not touched:
▪ Secret Garden SAL by FMNIS ... still waiting for the SAL to start
▪ Folding Cross Needlbook SAL by Indigo Rose ... um, no
▪ Lavender Thistle Collection SAL by Twisted Oaks ... um, no
▪ Strawberries So Faire SAL by With My Needle ... SAL didn't happen, unless I missed it!
▪ A December Box SAL by Cherished Stitches ... um, no
▪ Stitch a pincushion ... um, no but still hopeful!
▪ Start Angel of Love by L&L ... there are still a couple of days left yet!
▪ One project from Inspirations magazines ... um, no but still hopeful! (a canvaswork pincushion is kitted up to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!)

Seeing as I did so badly with my 2006 goals, my goals for 2007 are quite simple -

▪ Participate in Needleroll SAL weekends
▪ Participate in Christmas Ornament SAL weekends
▪ Participate in Quaker Friendship RR
▪ Complete my 50 Project Challenge
▪ Build my confidence by actually 'finish-finishing' a few things (eg And Many More needlecase, Bumble the Bee Waxer Pocket)
▪ Enjoy my stitching and not set too many goals!

SBQ - Finishing Links

2006-12-27T08:55:00.000+11:00

(Edited to add a few more links I tracked down, as the original pages had been moved...)

Today's SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

"Do you have any good internet links to tutorials for your favorite finishing techniques that you would like to share?"

Funnily enough, I've been thinking for a while now to have a page set up on my blog dedicated to my finishing links! Here goes my list of finishing links and tutorials - there are loads here that others have no doubt already listed, but there may be some other unknown ones (I thought I had some others too, but I can't find them at the moment):

Different Techniques:

Si le point m'etait compte - a few different techniques, including biscornu, cube, heart box, stitchers envelope - in french, but very clear pictures.
Anne D's blog - includes a stitcher's bourse, scissor fob, needlebook and more - in french, but very clear pictures.
Just A Thought (Judy Odell) - cording and tassels, tin finishing instructions, and embellishment ideas.
PCB Dijon - Covered book, tote bag, concertina folder - again in french, found under the section "Ateliers".
Treasured Tapestries - Quilted wallhanging, fringed stuffed pillow etc.
Cyberstitchers.com - cording, filled pillow, bookmark, etc.
CameoRoze - bellpull hardware, needleroll, ornaments etc
ABC cross stitch - loads of project ideas
JeBrode.com - loads of finishing ideas and projects
Dani...Black Belt Stitching Wizard - a few different finishing techniques
Aiguilles & Passion - some different finishing ideas (in french)
Atelier le Fil en Scene - in french, with clickable piccies

Biscornu/Pincushions/Pinkeeps:

Annette's Acre - biscornu
Les Bonheurs de Sylvie - mattress-style pincushion
The Finishing School - biscornu
Tale of a Shooting Star (Jenna) - biscornu
Si le point m'etait compte - biscornu
Autour de la Broderie - heart-shaped pinkeep
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - pinkeep
Cote Passions (Vero) - pinkeep
Cote Passions (Vero) - mattress pincushion/pinkeep
Cote Passions (Vero) - pyramid pincushion

Needleroll instructions:

Wallhangings/Bellpulls:

TKDchick (Dani) - layered bellpull
Tale of a Shooting Star (Jenna) - bellpull
Treasured Tapestries - braided bellpull
Treasured Tapestries - quilted wallhanging
Kitty Couture (Isabelle) - quilted wallhanging

Needlebook/Needlecase:

Rissa's 6-pocket needlebook
Pansy Fan needlebook - SRE but can be used for other techniques
JeBrode.com - needlecase
Quilters Cache - needlecase for quilting, but can be adapted for XS
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - needlecase
Creative Needle mag - needlecase

Scissor case:

Aux Fils Fous - in french, but very clear pictures
Becky Bee
Aiguilles & Passion - in french
Aiguilles & Passion - another one
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - cartonnage etui

Scissor fobs:

Annette's Acre
Aiguilles & Passion - strawberry (for emery)
Martha Stewart - strawberry (for emery)
Aiguilles & Passion - beaded fob

Pillows:

Advanced Embroidery Designs - flange pillows
Cyberstitchers.com - tuck pillow
TKDchick (Dani) - pillow tutorial
Si le point m'etait compte - small pillow
Treasured Tapestries - quilted stuffed pillows (flange)
JeBrode.com - large pillow
JeBrode.com

Bookmarks:

Annette's Acre
CyberStitchers.com - bookmark with frayed edge
CameoRoze - suede bookmark

Fabric Book Covers:

eHow
Craft at Home
JeBrode.com - making an actual book
Aiguilles & Passion
Les Broderies de Yayie
Autour de la Broderie - fold-out album
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - covered photo frame

Flat-fold/Cube-it:

Sachets/Bags:

Stitched with Love & Cat Hair - stitched sachet
Craft & Fabric Links - tote bag
TKDchick (Dani) - lined fabric bag
Si le point m'etait compte - tote bag
JeBrode.com - treat bag
JeBrode.com - satchel
JeBrode.com - origami-style ort bag
Aiguilles & Passion - folding ort bag
Aiguilles & Passion - tote bag with 'gusset'
Aiguilles & Passion - lined sachet bag
Aiguilles & Passion - tiny Aida banding sachet
My Little Mochi - origami pocket pouch
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - tissue holder
Bella Dia - travel tissue holder
Con estas manitas - armchair ort bag (Spanish, all photos)
La Maison Danael - drawstring bag
How Original - purse/handbag
Kitty Couture (Isabelle) - drawstring bag
Kitty Couture (Isabelle) - bag/purse

Ornaments:

TKDchick (Dani)
AngelSan - round ornament
CameoRoze - basic padded ornament
CameoRoze - banner on a hanger ornament
CameoRoze - felt frame ornament
CameoRoze - foam core base ornament
CameoRoze - oval tuck ornament
Treasured Tapestries - felt-backed decoration
Treasured Tapestries - fringed stuffed pillow
Treasured Tapestries - stuffed decoration
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - Humbug
La Maison Danael - polystyrene heart ornie
Les broderies de Yayie - Pendibulle

Nametag:

TKDchick (Dani)

Cording, Tassels, & Miscellaneous:

Just A Thought (Judy Odell)
Tale of a Shooting Star (Jenna) - basic cording
Martha Beth Lewis - basic cording
Rose Rushbrooke - ruched ribbon
Cote Passions (Vero) - tin brooch
Tomoneko's Works - tape measure cover (in Japanese, with photos)
Swappons - tape measure cover
Au Fils Fous - tape measure cover
Atelier Le Fil en Scene - heart-shaped tape measure cover

Christmas Gifties

2006-12-26T08:02:00.000+11:00

As promised, here are piccies of the beautiful gifts received from my stitching pals - I apologise for the poor quality of the photos, as the light is almost as bad this morning as it was last night ... and I ended up taking them on top of my clothes that are drying (or in this case a bedsheet ... guess who will be ironing again soon? LOL). Piccies are not in any particular order :)

First up is a beautiful biscornu from Jenna - I have to admit, I knew what this one was, but it was still a wonderful surprise to see it first-hand and hold it :) And Jenna's stitching and finishing is perfection in itself - I just love it! :D It's going straight on display in my basket!

Next up is my gift from Katrina - how cool is this?? I adore the frangipani memo board, and it's really going to brighten up my fridge ... it's just perfect! And that would have been plenty enough, but I also received a gorgeous needlework roll ... funnily enough I have the chart bought all ready to make one for myself, but I just haven't pulled my finger out to give it a try yet ... and now there's no hurry! I just adore it!! And how perfect is it going to be for all my unfinished ornies to keep them in one place before they get finished? Thanks Katrina - I love everything! :D

Next up is a beautiful wallhanging from Sylvie - how did you ladies know I love blue so much? LOLOL. How gorgeous is this? I've never had a wallhanging before, and it's taking pride of place hanging up on the side of my computer desk so I can admire it every day - I just love it! Thank you so much Sylie, I adore it! :D

And last, but not least, here's another stunner - this time from Nicki. What a stunning ornie, and not one I'd attempt myself (mainly due to the finishing) - once again perfect finishing and stitching, and the colours are just beautiful. I've got two photos this time so you can see more of the stitching. Thanks Nicki, I truly love it!

And finally my gift to myself - bought just before my finances went bust ... I can finally drool all over my Gingher's Alyssa scissors - they're just so beautiful! Thanks to Jenna's ingenuity, I had to wait until now before I could see my little purchase ... and they were definitely worth waiting for!

Thanks again ladies for making my Christmas Day so special - I love all my gifts, and I'll treasure everything always {{hugs}}.

Ooh, I almost forgot ... this gave me a giggle ... how appropriate!! I obviously love the tree so much I turn myself into one!!! LOLOLOL.

You Are a Tree

You love every part of the holidays, down to the candy canes and stockings. And you're goofy enough to put a Christmas tree ornament on your tree!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Now it's off to work again - it's freezing outside (I'm sat here in my winter PJ's and dressing gown, go figure!), so I'll be bundling up in my jeans and polar fleece for the day ... what happened to those 43C days? LOL.

Have a wonderful day everyone! :D

Christmas Stitching

2006-12-25T19:28:00.000+11:00

I had a wonderful Christmas Day today - even though I worked all day, we made it a special event. We were allowed 1 hour for lunch (instead of the usual 1/2 hour) and we were treated to a meal of ham off the bone, chicken, smoked salmon, pasta salad, pumpkin and coriander salad, potato salad and Greek salad, followed by chocolate ripple cake for dessert ... we could hardly walk back to our desks afterwards! It was a wonderful way to spend the day - the phones were also pretty quiet, so I'm glad I went in prepared and took some stitching. Usually the only shift I can stitch on is the overnight shift, but today was special ;)

Yesterday I put the final stitches into Bunnies in my Garden - but I won't be finishing it for a while yet, as I need to buy some wool batting and decide on the lining fabric and ribbon for ruching. For Chelle, I have to admit I had the same thought as you, and put aside some Flax linen to use instead of the Summer Khaki, but when I put the threads against both, the Summer Khaki was much better for my skeins as it made the colour stand out more - the Flax was too pale, and the paleness of the threads just looked bland. I surprised myself and ended up using the Summer Khaki, and it looks OK.

Main body of the sewing case (most accurate colour)

Scissor fob - front (on the left) and back (on the right)
Then today I put the final stitches in my Snowfall Needleroll by Shepherd's Bush ... finally! So I guess that's two more items off my 50 Project Challenge yippee :)

I was going to post my list of finishes for 2006, but perhaps I'd better hold off haha. Mind you, I'm now on 7 days straight at work, so not as much stitching will be taking place between now and the end of the year ... but there might just be one more small finish yet … maybe ;)

It's bizarre, but in the middle of summer we've had a weather change - they had snow in the hills not that far from us and the coldest Christmas Day on record ... yep, a white Christmas in Australia, whatever next!!?

This morning I cranked up the stereo with Christmas carols, then called home and had a chat to Mum and Dad while opening my gifts. I have received some beautiful gifts from Sylvie, Nicki, Jenna and Katrina - and I'll post some piccies of everything tomorrow ... the light's disappearing quite quickly tonight, and it's hard to get a nice photo :( It's worth waiting for, though, as they're really lovely and everything will be treasured :D

Rightio, time to crack open the stocking (ie the Asti that's hiding within it), and settle in for a quiet night - I hope you're all enjoying your day, in whatever way you celebrate! :D

Merry Christmas to All!

2006-12-24T09:10:00.000+11:00

Just a short post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and the best of wishes to you and your families for the festive season - I hope 2007 sees all of your hopes and dreams come true!

It's been a pleasure knowing you throughout 2006, and I look forward to continuing the association in 2007!

Now, on to the WIP piccies I promised yesterday - this is my progress to date on the Chatelaine Leporello, but it's now on hold until I touch base with Jenna to work out our SAL schedule.

Next is my latest WIP, Bunnies in my Garden by With My Needle - Chelle, I was supposed to do this with the StitchingSmalls SAL too, but didn't find the time to fit it in ... it's actually quite a fun stitch :) I switched the nun's stitch thread from the horrible dusky pink, and replaced it with the light blue used in the bird, but in hindsight after stitching the bird I should have used a darker blue for the nun's stitch, never mind. With the bird you're supposed to use the light part of the skein for the belly, and the darker part for the top/main part of the bird, but my skein barely shows any difference in the colour variegation at all - in the end I pulled out my Needle Necessities threads and stitched the main part of the bird in 101 (Desdemona's Violets), and I think it looks OK. I now just have the main piece to stitch and the scissor fob - with any luck I just might get this one finished before the end of the year :)

Needlepages

Pinkeep - front (left) and back (right)

PSH - Lines

2006-12-23T13:32:00.000+11:00

This week's theme is "Lines" ... I just love the lines of the bamboo in the rooftops of this temple. Short and simple this week, as time is short - and Blogger has taken forever just to load up this one shot!

Spoilt rotten ... piccies galore

2006-12-23T09:15:00.000+11:00

I have so much to show and tell from the last week or so, I just don't know where to start! I do want to say, though, a huge thanks to everyone for their friendship and support, especially during recent times - you've all helped me to stay positive and keep my head up above the water line, and I'm extremely grateful :D Thanks also to all the ladies who have spoilt me rotten lately ... and here are the spoils ... (to try and placate Blogger I decided to use the 'small' photo settings - just click on each one for the bigger piccie)

Dearest Carol, who sent me the beads for AoL I needed ... as well as a most exquisite fob with a beautiful wee blue bird on it - on Christmas Day they will be sitting on my Alyssa Gingher's in prime position :) I'm also considering using the darker DMC variegated thread for a Quaker RR I'm about to start with some wonderful blogging pals :D I love everything, thank you Carol :D

Thanks also to Christine, who sent me the most gorgeous Santa ornament - and look, he's in blue!!! :D I just love him to death, and he went straight onto the tree as soon as he arrived :) Thank you so much for your caring thought, it's awesome and he'll be treasured every year when he graces my tree! :D

Thanks also to Nicole (aka Elanor) for this wonderful parcel of goodies ... how awesome is that fabric??? I think I'm going to try and make a quilted wall hanging out of the duckie squares ... I just love it! And another exquisite ornie that's now gracing my tree - a beautiful quaker in my favourite colours that will be hanging from my computer desk year-round until next Christmas. But if that wasn't enough, which it was, there was also some scrummy threads and beads, and {{drool}} choccies (although please note the numbers in that bag have seriously dwindled since taking the piccie haha). Thanks again Nicole!

And last, but certainly not least, I was gobsmacked by a parcel from KarenV yesterday - I have to admit I knew this one was coming (although it still surprised me when it did), and I knew there was something off my wishlist in it ... but I was floored when I opened the envelope and found a HUGE selection off my wishlist. LHN's Winter Wonderland was pretty much at the top of my wishlist when I saw it recently, and I may just have to start that one as my 1st project for 2007 - and the Beehive NR has been on my wishlist for quite some time now. And the threads are almost all for a specific ornie both Mum and I wanted to stitch, so Mum and I will have to do a SAL when she arrives in February. Once again, I'm gobsmacked, and I really love everything thanks Karen! {{hugs}}

Seeing as there are so many goodies to share, I thought I'd have a separate post for them - tomorrow I'll do the stitching updates (not that there's much to show haha). The other gifties I received were wrapped up, so they're sitting under the tree until Christmas Day ... although the temptation is getting harder and harder to resist LOL.

Thanks again to everyone for their gifts - I feel a bit bad that I couldn't reciprocate this year, but I am very grateful for your friendship and support and I just adore everything! {{hugs}}.

I'm Baaaaaack!!!!!

2006-12-22T18:45:00.000+11:00

Just in the nick of time before Christmas ... the phone technician very kindly came in to visit me on his day off, just so he can try to rectify my problems before Santa's visitations, and because it could be quite some time before my shifts allow him to come see me inbetween public holidays. Anyway, we thought we were up for a major rewriting job, then at the last moment he managed to access a line, and I have phone access again. Woohoo :D

This is just a really quick post to let you know I'm back online again, but it will take me a while to catch up on the 460+ unread feeds, and 200+ new emails, so please bear with me :) I'll post properly when I'm a bit better organised ... I don't have much stitching to show for my 'spare time' - what is that about "the best laid plans..."? haha. I did do a tiny bit on the Leporello, but didn't want to do too much as that would spoil the SAL with Jenna ... but I just couldn't resist making a tiny start ;) So instead I put a few stitches into Bunnies in my Garden ...

Anyway, I'll post more tomorrow with piccies, as well as piccies of all the lovely gifties I've been receiving this week. I've been grinning from ear to ear all week from all the lovely items that have been appearing, and my spirits are positively soaring! :D More details to follow tomorrow ...

Now I'm off to kick back with some egg nog (first time I've tried it, and I think I'm hooked!! - but this is the Aussie version, on loads of ice! :D), and an old DVD (as an aside, oh what a blessing, I can access the TV Guide online again now woohoo), and my stitching ... life is good! Especially as I now have two days off, the supervisor on duty also let us Hotliners go home 1/2 hour early tonight, and I got two more Luv Ya Work awards today ... life really IS good :D

Great news for a change!

2006-12-20T15:58:00.000+11:00

Sorry about the really rushed post yesterday - I've managed to book a spot at the library today, and have a whole 30 minutes to play with woohoo ;)

First up a big thank you for Christine D ... sorry, but I forgot to bring your email addy with me to the library ... I wanted to say thanks so much for your beautiful ornie - I love it! It's look stunning on my little ornie tree ... I'll post a piccie as soon as I get up and running properly again. Just wanted to let you know it arrived safe and sound, and it's awesome :D

The way I'm going my first post after Christmas is gonna be laden with piccies haha.

Now, on to the GREAT news ... I couldn't wait until later to announce it to the world haha. Today I was told I was one of the nominees for an "Excel Award" - which is basically when people think you've gone 'above and beyond the call of duty' and given excellence in service ... and I won it! I don't know who nominated me yet, but apparently that also gets me nominated for the overall yearly award (I doubt I'll get that though) ... and the best thing of all, I get a $150 gift voucher from David Jones to spend, as well as a certificate of excellence. How cool is that? Can you tell I'm rapt?? LOL. After struggling so much financially these last two months, it's going to be wonderful going shopping for something totally non-essential yippee ... and I think I may have already spent it in my mind. I've been dying to get an iPod for ages, and they've come down in price recently, so I think that's what I'll get ... I'm grinning from ear to ear! :D

I also heard from the phone technician today - he wanted to come and visit this morning, but of course I was at work - he's going to 'try' to get to my place late tomorrow afternoon, but no guarantees. That'll pretty much be the last chance he'll get before Christmas, so my fingers are seriously crossed he can make it ... that would be just awesome!

Aside from that I got a whole hour of stitching done last night on the Leporello ... it took me two nights gridding the fabric (not helped by Silkweaver cutting the edges on an angle, so I had difficulty getting everything in OK) ... so right now I just have a tiny blue blob on the fabric - by the time I'm internet-ready again, I might have something worth seeing ;)

Rightio, better run - I still need to do some internet banking and email reading, and my minutes are counting down rapidly ... (PS: Ally, I might have to check into your options of McD's - will have to check the yellow pages to see if any of them here have internet access ... I'm sure I could survive buying something to surf for a while LOL.)

Out of Action

2006-12-19T11:50:00.000+11:00

Unfortunately my phone line at home is as dead as a dodo ... so I can't access emails or the internet/blogs ... fingers crossed it will be fixed before Christmas, but I'm not holding my breath :(

If this doesn't work, and doesn't post, I'll try to access the internet from a library or something somewhere ... what am I going to do at home now?? I guess I'll have lots of stitching piccies to show and tell by the time I get back! LOL.

Updated:

My apologies to those of you who read the previous post and got all the info about my work :( Obviously that's something I won't be repeating ... but at least I know it works!!

It turns out it's unlikely I can get the phone line checked before Christmas, which means I won't be able to access blogs etc very easily without going to an internet cafe or library (which is where I am now). If you need to contact me urgently regarding the RAK Registry or anything else, please try contacting Nicki (Plush) or Carol (Garden of Stitches) and they could let you know my work email address. Otherwise I'll try to pop into a cafe or library once a week to check incoming emails.

Apologies for the quick post, but I only have 15 minutes of access allowed here, and need to pop into my ISP website to see if I can access my emails. If I don't get chance to say so beforehand, all the very best to all of you and your families for a wonderful festive season!

I'll quickly close saying I have received a wonderful giftie today from Carol (Garden of Stitches) ... and I adore it! I'll post properly when I get chance, but Carol will no doubt give you a taste of the contents on her blog :D I'm sorry this isn't a proper thanks, but I'll write more when I have more time :D (Luv ya Carol!)

Back to a Rotation

2006-12-17T20:48:00.000+11:00

Well, so much for my plans to grid up the Leporello last night ... it was quite late, so I thought I'd just stitch on an 'existing' project for the rest of the night, and start the Leporello today ... um, well, that was the "plan" ...

In reality, I started stitching Chatelaine's Egyptian Garden, and I couldn't put it down ... so I ended up putting an entire 10 hours into it, and thus starting back into my rotation, which is well overdue :) Here's my progress to date.

And now I may have a partner in ~~crime~~ stitching with the Leporello - I'd love to do a SAL with you, Jenna ... I'll drop you an email shortly and we can work out how we want to do that.

Which also reminds me, I also have to get my Macaw or Rainbow Lorikeets kitted up for a SAL with Carina ... as well as the Bordeaux Sampler with Leslie and Carol, it's gonna be a busy time coming up :) But what a wonderful group of projects :D

I've actually been getting over a small dose of a virus since Thursday (I had to come home from work early on Friday), so it's been a perfect weekend just blobbing out and stitching ... heavenly :) But tomorrow I'm on 6am shifts, and there's a loud party going off next door ... not quite so heavenly :/ But then I look back at my Egyptian Garden, and that heavenly feeling comes back :D

I am thankful for stitching - and all the sheer pleasure, peace and joy that comes from it.

Another ornie stitched

2006-12-16T20:00:00.000+11:00

I can't believe it's been a full week since I've done any stitching, but today I was lazy and sat and stitched up another ornament ... I don't have the Mill Hill Treasures, but I figure it looks OK without them :) That means project 18 crossed off the list - down to 32 left woohoo :D I also washed and ironed my cream Belfast linen ready to start the Chatelaine Leporello, now I just need to grid it up and start stitching ...

Christmas Eve by Elizabeth's Designs
from JCS 10th Anniversary Collection
stitched on 28ct lambswool linen
with recommended threads and beads

PSH - Annoying (& Silly)

2006-12-16T10:07:00.000+11:00

This week's theme is "Annoying" ... there wasn't much I could think about this week for annoying that I could actually take a photo of, so this is the best I could come up with ... it was incredibly "annoying" finding this great big bolt head sticking up out of my tyre driving home from work after night shift - and even more "annoying" having to buy two brand new tyres out of it (although admittedly I'd been thinking the tread was getting low on them anyway). Sorry for the poor shot, but my camera battery died and I couldn't take a clearer one.

And an archival one just in time for the festive season - here's my Dad, the Christmas fairy ... my choice for the "Silly" theme. It's amazing what a party at the local RSA will make you do!

Take THAT Beta Blogger!

2006-12-15T09:07:00.000+11:00

Aha, I think I've finally worked out the very simple solution to be able to post on Beta blogs ... after giving up trying to post on many blogs (some would allow anonymous comments, some wouldn't etc) ... I finally opened up a Google account, which was super simple, and it's allowed me to comment everywhere so far ... although I have to admit I've only made a few comments so far this morning before work. Anyway, anyone who's still having problems commenting might want to try doing that.

After seeing Nicki's blogs copy across just fine, I decided to bite the bullet last night and migrate mine ... but apparently one of my blogs can't be migrated yet, so I have to wait in line for longer - I don't mind at all ;P

Nothing else to post today, really ...

Except to say today I'm thankful for fresh clean sheets and bedding ... how lovely is it to slip into bed when you've just changed all the linen? Ah, heaven :)

Ornies and RAK

2006-12-13T23:31:00.000+11:00

I was thinking what a great mix of nationalities we have so far in the RAK Registry database, and just in case you were interested I thought I'd share ... so far we have a total of 38 stitching bloggers taking part, and they're from the following nations:

15 - USA
4 - Canada
4 - United Kingdom
4 - The Netherlands
3 - New Zealand
3 - France
2 - Australia
1 - South Africa
1 - Switzerland
1 - Finland

A couple of quick replies for Nicki and Lisa ... the dress isn't that 'light' to wear, I have to admit - it has a separate skirt underneath with curtain wire hoops. Mind you, I said yesterday if I keep filling out my body any more than it currently is, I soon won't be needing the hoops! ROFL. The dress itself was made from some plain green homespun cotton fabric by Mum, then I added all the decorations onto it - in fact the tinsel needs to be replaced now, I think. The tinsel and string of balls are pinned on from the inside with safety pins, so it can be removed for washing - next year, though, I'm going to superglue the caps to the balls, as a couple of the new ornaments I put on this year to replace missing ones aren't as robust. I do love it, though, and I have another stupid idea in the back of my brain as well ... making some felt 'boots' that have a flat inner section up my calf, with the outside part pushing out, so when I stand with my feet together, it looks like a plant pot ... or hanging some presents from the hoops ... yup, gotta love that festive season, it really does bring out the child in me! ;P

Now on to really FUN stuff ... I was given the OK by Katrina to open one of my little gifties from under the tree - and now I understand why ... I am now the proud owner of the most gorgeous ornie with beautiful stitching and finishing, and I'm absolutely thrilled with it! Thank you so much Katrina, I truly do adore it! And it's on my little 'ornie tree' already! :D Doesn't that sad little tree look so much better now? Mind you I still have to make up the two ornies Mum gave me (she did the stitching, and I'm doing the finishing), and then that'll possibly be it for the year ... depends how keen I get between now and Christmas hmmm.

The next two days are going to be quite social - we have a team meeting for all us 'Hotliners' (Seniors), and we're doing it over breakfast for our Christmas get-together. Brekky is at 8am and I don't start work until noon, but I thought I'd potter around in the neighbourhood until then, as there's no point coming all the way home again. Then on Saturday I've been invited to a friend's place for a party (J), and I'm driving to B's house first then we're going there together, then I'm staying at B's house for the night - which means we can let our hair down for the night ... it'll do me good, I think :D

Today I'm thankful for my best friend's Mum Doreen - her apricot slice went down a treat yesterday, with a few people coming up to me especially to say how yummy it was (most people brought in supermarket cakes, so I guess the home-made stuff really stood out LOL) ... I'm also thankful that I made a double batch and that I still have some sitting in my fridge (my hips won't be thankful though) ... but not just that, I'm thankful for Doreen for giving me so many wonderful childhood (and adult) memories, and being one of the people that has helped shape me into the person I am today - I love you loads, Doreen!! :D

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

2006-12-13T10:01:00.000+11:00

Updated to add an apology to many bloggers - I'm trying to catch up with blogs, but for some reason the last two nights I've been unable to leave comments on beta blogs ... it just keeps rejecting my blogger ID. Anyway, I've opted to leave it for a day or two then I'll try to catch up again - I don't want to just 'read and run' ... hopefully I'll be able to get back to commenting again soon :) I was doing so well, too - I'd managed to catch up at the weekend after getting through over 650 unread feeds! :D

For Carina and Cindy, and anyone else who's wondering what Babycham actually is ... here's the Wikipedia info ... and the official website :D I was reading the History section last night, and found it very interesting, and I love the 'product lines' ... when you run your mouse over the sparkling bottle, the cork pops out haha - I didn't realise quite how old Babycham is, but then again I have been drinking it since I was very young hmmmm ;)

Well, it's been an interesting day today - not anything to do with my 'personal' situation, but rather one for Melbourne city on the whole. As the Yahoo news team puts it ... "Melbourne was shrouded in a thick blanket of smoke throughout today with levels in the city reaching 10 times the acceptable limit. Some city workers found the air difficult to breath in with others more concerned about the cause of the ominous sky." That kinda sums it all up, really!

It really is quite eerie, and I've been tasting smoke all day - I had to shut off the air vents in my car on the way to work, and then by the afternoon it was so bad it was circulating through the air conditioning at work and we've all been complaining of headaches and sore throats. We did do a very pitiful rendition of 'Smoke gets in your eyes' at one stage ;) I bet the respiratory departments are run off their feet today, as it really is dreadful - even in bad weather I usually have a lovely view of the skyline on the drive home, but tonight it's just blanketed in a thickish fog of smoke. I feel very sorry for those who are closer to the 'action' and have lost their homes during this disaster.

So today, I'm thankful that I'm not in the path of that fiery destruction - I really hope they get it under control soon so no more property (or worse) is lost. But I'm also truly thankful that today was the first day of an entire month (13 Dec-14 Jan) where we're allowed to wear casual clothes to work ... jeans and trainers for an entire month - I'm in heaven! ;)

Today was also dress-up today at work ... apart from a few Santa hats, as usual I was the only one to be fully decked-out in my Christmas tree outfit, and we have some great ideas for my outfit for next year - including getting a load of cheap 'flashing' brooches/earrings to attach like lights hahaha ... too funny! Two of the Supervisors tonight came and gave me a Luv Ya Work Award before I went home "for bringing some festive cheer and joy into the office" ... I have to admit it is a great morale booster, and brings a smile to everyone when they see it ... and that's what it's all about! :D I didn't take a new photo this year, as I had my hands full with my plate of food etc walking from my car, so couldn't juggle my camera as well, so last year's photo will have to suffice ;)

I am thankful for ...

2006-12-12T23:54:00.000+11:00

That heading is what I'm going to be focusing on for a while ... I'm sick of being full of misery on this blog, and I'm sure you're sick of reading it. Anyway, after my emotional meltdown last night, I think it had a bit of a cleansing effect on me - my fighting spirit is back again, and I'm going to try to focus on the positive things in my life. There are many people worse off than me ... while it may be stressful and depressing at times, I need to keep looking ahead :)

So today I'm thankful for all my online friends - your cheering on comments both here and in personal emails has given me a lot of strength to deal with the issues I'm facing. As the old adage goes, "a friend in need is a friend indeed" ... and I really and truly appreciate you all hanging in with me while I've been struggling and less than positive on here.

This morning I spent some time checking out house sitting sites and self storage etc, but I've been thinking of leaving any major decisions until the New Year. I have Mum visiting for six weeks in February, and I'd rather have everything 'as usual' during that time at least ... and it will give me plenty of time to get my head together.

Tonight was a different task ... I've been sending emails to the UK, to the manufacturers of Babycham! I don't know why, but since this morning I've got it in my head that I want to make up my own stocking. Why?? Because my stocking is the one Christmas tradition Mum did for me every year until I was 'too old' for it (I repeat for you again, Mum, I'm never ever too old for it hahaha). Such a simple thing - a stocking was waiting under the tree every year ... nothing glamorous and expensive, but filled with love - Christmas just wasn't Christmas without my stocking! What was in my stocking that made it so special? ... There was always a handful of nuts in their shells (brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts etc), maybe an apple and an orange, and a couple of chocolate bars and sweeties, and the piece de resistance ... a small bottle of Babycham! When I was in my teens there would be some additional treats in there too, like a pair of 'fashion' earrings or something similar. I don't know why, but that stocking tradition has remained in my heart as something very very special about Christmas.

When I moved to Australia the first 8 months here sharing were abysmal for many reasons (a couple of you know those stories from personal emails, but I'm not going into it now) - when Fraze and I moved out to our own place in Box Hill, it was going be our first Christmas 'on our own' ... by the time Christmas came, we also had Andrew living with us too - and I decided to do the Christmas stocking ritual for them ... although instead of Babycham they got cans of beer haha - they also got a few 'silly things' like car polish and DVD cases and things. While I didn't have my own stocking, watching the two boys unwrap everything in their own stockings was wonderful, and I really loved it. Andrew said that that was the most special Christmas he'd had, and even though he spent the rest of the day with his family, the morning with us was the most magical. I do have to admit I did feel the same way too at the time (shame the rest of our living arrangements with him weren't quite so magical in the long run haha).

Anyway, being the first Christmas on my own, I'm making my own stocking ... and I'm trying to track down whether Babycham is available for sale locally somewhere, as I'll be treating myself as my big Christmas Day treat. We used to be able to buy it in New Zealand, so I presume you can buy it here somewhere too, and it's pretty cheap to buy even though it's imported. If not, then I'll substitute with a $3.99 mini bottle of Asti Riccadonna instead ... woohoo, big spender LOL. Add to that my fave Christmas song playing loudly on the stereo (ie Snoopy's Christmas - it gets me singing at the top of my lungs every time!), and I'll be all set! ;)

I'm actually working on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which will be a financial boost thank goodness - and someone at work actually cooks up a Christmas dinner for us all, which will be a lovely treat :) I can't believe how close it is to the 'big day' already ...

Ooh, I didn't realise how close midnight was either - better run and hit the hay for the night, as I need to be up early tomorrow. The Christmas tree dress is back out again ready for dress-up day tomorrow, but I have to get up early to get a 'plate of food' to share with everyone ... so I'm making Doreen's Apricot Slice again (cheap ingredients, and so very comforting for me, as it brings back all those wonderful happy childhood memories again - the perfect blessing for my day!).

Will it never end?

2006-12-12T12:42:00.000+11:00

For goodness' sake, GIVE IT A REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I finally open what I considered to be 'junk mail' ... one from the NZ Inland Revenue Department - seeing as I don't live in NZ anymore, I didn't bother rushing to open it ... today I did ... and today I found a bill for NZ$50 for a late filing penalty ... for the non-filing of a tax return in NZ when I reside in Australia, and have done for 3 1/2 years now - I haven't earned taxable earnings in NZ since 2003, for goodness sake!!! ... payment due 07Feb07 ... With any luck I'll get this one reversed just for stupidity's sake, but then again it's a Government department, after all, so anything is possible!

It's a good job I'm a relatively strong person, or I would've sunk into the murky mire of serious depression ages ago ... but I am definitely reaching my limits now, that's for sure!! If nothing else, though, it's stopped the tears and brought that fighting spirit back again :/ (mutter mutter mutter) I must say, though, it's starting to feel like I'm starring in some sort of comedy farce ... except the sense of humour's a bit warped and not all that funny!

Sorry, no stitching piccies - I'm just not in the stitching mood right now (plus these shifts aren't very conducive to it).

I am, however, very grateful to see the beautiful blue sunny sky outside my windows today, followed by the cooling breeze coming through the windows (as opposed to the fiery heat pouring through on Sunday at 42C!).

Feel free to skip this post ...

2006-12-11T22:56:00.000+11:00

This post may be exceptionally boring and draining, so you may want to skip it today! Don't say I didn't warn ya!!

First off, though, this piccie is for Wendy ... I keep forgetting to answer your question about where my stitching spot is (from the lounge Christmas photos) - in fact I don't sit on any of the lounge suite at all, but rather in my recliner which is facing the TV and the rest of the lounge ... I have a special stitching corner which is permanently made up all the time, just ready to plop down into - and my 2nd most critical corner of the flat is off to the right of my stitching chair in this photo - my computer desk :D

Well, today was an interesting day, and I've had some very interesting discussions. I finally pulled my head out of the sand today before work to get my tyre replaced (I was on a 2pm start, so plenty of time) ... lucky me, though, ended up having to get not just one, but TWO tyres replaced!!! Yup, it seems the right-hand front tyre was getting rather bald and needed to be replaced ... what can I say, but life just keeps on getting better and better! LOL. I had to get on my mobile to transfer over the $100 Mum had paid me back from a credit card charge I did for her as my emergency food money if I ever got totally desperate (thanks Mum, love ya!) ... I had refused to touch it, as I may need it down the track ... well that day was today. The rest of Mr Taxman's money I'd put to one side plus the emergency money has totally wiped out my bank balance yet again - woohoo!! I had to warn the sales guy I'd just had to transfer the funds across, so hopefully it will go through ... leaving me $5-10 in the account double woohoo! So now Mr Taxman has to wait longer, and I'm back to square one again trying to find $500+ ... and in my rebellious mood today I say "b*gger you Mr Taxman, I'm going shopping for veges this payday, and I don't care less what you think about it!" {{big raspberry}} Thank goodness Payday is overnight tonight!!!

I've also come to the realisation that I just can't get ahead living on my own, and I've started putting out some feelers about options. Sheree from work, who was looking for a flatmate months ago, is apparently looking at moving out yet again, as her new male flatmate is really inconsiderate with her being on shift work (at least we have that in common, so there's a basic understanding there between us). The only problem is that she's really fussy and wants a really 'flash' place to live, so it wouldn't necessarily be a 'huge' saving overall (she's paying $200 per week for rent at the moment in a sharing situation as opposed to my $245 on my own yikes!!). Anyway, I've set the seed for her today and I guess we'll chat about it more at some stage after Christmas.

The 2nd alternative is to pack up all my stuff into storage and go house-sitting for a while. One of the girls from work is doing it (she's the one who used to flat with Sheree before), and the outgoings are very minimal, but the downside is that you're constantly on the move to different places. Still, there's no rent to pay, and unless it's a 'longer term' sitting job there are no other bills (apparently most people if its 1-2 weeks sitting don't charge you for electricity usage etc, but she's in one now where she's there until February and the charge is $30 a week to cover bills ... that's pretty minimal considering there's no rent to pay as well!). I used to do house sitting for my boss back in Auckland every now and then when I was younger, so that's not a major issue for me - the big downside would be not having internet access regularly, and I'd have to go to a library or somewhere to get online ... and a major part of what's kept me from going insane here is the support and friendship of you guys online!

Then again, if I'm saving that much I could look at buying a laptop and signing up with "Unwired" which is wireless internet - and my internet connection would travel with me ... while it may be incredibly inconvenient for a while, it would also give me a better chance of getting ahead financially for the longer term, and I'd definitely have to take that into consideration, I guess. I'd have to cost up putting my things into storage etc too ... anyway, it's all food for thought I need to mull over ... 'cos at the moment I'm just going backwards every month. This option would still give me the sense of freedom in that I'd have 'my own space', but there would be the odd day where I wouldn't have a roof over my head (although Ali at work has said I'd be more than welcome to stay with her in Seaford during those times - that's incredibly sweet of her!).

One thing that almost brought me to tears today was the generosity of a fellow blogger ... I have some extra Christmas prezzies now sitting under the tree - and after the shock of having to buy two brand new tyres this morning, opening my mailbox afterwards was a huge morale lifter. I'm being good, though, and not opening anything until Christmas Day - then the contents will be revealed both to me and you :D But I have to say, Katrina, you really really made my day today - you're just gorgeous, and it couldn't have come at a better time! {{hugs}}

In fact, I'm now sitting here in tears writing this. So much for that fighting spirit, huh? I think I'm finally reacting to the stress I've been feeling just lately, but repressing ... and just writing about Katrina's generous gifts has sent me over the edge emotionally ... but in a nice way haha.

Anyway, sorry for the waffling - just the thoughts running through my head today ... as is typical of me, I don't hide anything, and you get the full story with everything - putting things in writing is a great method of 'purging' for me, so this all helps. I'm so sorry I'm not as full of life as I usually am ... and I was hoping to get over all this negative stuff a lot more quickly than I have - I think I'm coping really well, then something else happens to knock me sideways ... hopefully I'll get the fighting spirit back again tomorrow, 'cos tomorrow's another day!

Thanks for all of your comments, and hanging in there with me through all this 'cr*ppy stuff' - it has really helped! {{hugs}}

It never rains, it pours ... & I'm flooding!

2006-12-10T16:14:00.000+11:00

Edited to add this positive news:

Tonight I decided to start a new project, being Sapphire Star canvaswork by Laura J Perin ... after getting everything out, and making a working copy of the chart, I realised I'd goofed ... I thought I had everything aside from the one thread that's still on back order from months ago, only to find I don't have any 18" stretcher bars ... doh! Oh well, it's not as if I don't have any other projects to choose from ...

Instead I frogged the bottom band on my A Stitcher's Needleroll by Lorri Birmingham ... actually I ended up frogging part of it twice! Firstly to fix the error in the chart by removing the extra space between the body of the design and the bottom band (it was bugging me, and I couldn't just leave it in) ... then because I'd thrown all the kit threads out, thinking it was finished at the start of September, I re-kitted using the colour key ... the second bit of frogging was due to misprint in the colour key (geez, I love Lorri Birmingham designs, but I seriously HATE all the chart errors!!!) - I ended up dragging my 500 series of threads out and colour matching with the rest of the finished stitching. I also subbed the bright pink ribbon, thinking a nice purple one would blend nicely, and it's finally finished into an actual needleroll - which means I can finally add it to my 50 Projects tally ... the stitching was done just prior to signing up, but it was within the official starting date of the rules - my compromise was that I wouldn't add it to my tally until it was finish-finished ... and now I can woohoo :D

A Stitcher's Needleroll by Lorri Birmingham
stitched from the kit contents
Photo compliments of Photobucket ... bah humbug Blogger!
*********************************
Well, the good times just keep on rollin' in my neck of the woods! Today I was worried I hadn't heard from Mum and she said she'd phone today ... so I thought I'd give her a quick call, only to find the home phone not working. The phone line is fine, as my PC is working with the internet with no problems ... but I can't get a true dial tone and use my home phone. A quick test using my mobile phone and it's ringing on my mobile, but not ringing on the home phone ... which means it's likely my home phone needs to be replaced! I just cancelled my 'messaging' service on my home phone to save money, so the next phone will have it's own answerphone ... I guess my new phone will be my next 'essential' purchase. I could actually do without a home phone if it wasn't for keeping up to date with Mum, and that's critically important for me.

Anyway all I can say is "bring it on!!!!" ... perhaps you can think of something else to add to the ever-increasing list of crappy events before the holiday season is over ... well I'm not caving in!!! OK, that's my rant for the night ... now I'm off to sulk in my stitching corner to focus on all the positive things in my life right now ... I refuse to let this latest event get me down! Mind you, with the way my financial situation is going, my 50 Projects Challenge may end up as a 100 Projects Challenge haha ... although I'm likely to run out of DMC by then LOL. Right, I'm off to start something new to cheer myself up!

And on another negative note, I can't believe it, but some thieving scumbag has stolen quilts from Amitie Textiles in Bentleigh ... I'm absolutely gobsmacked that someone could do this. Here's the link to the announcement on their blog ... I thought I'd mention it in case any of my Melbourne readers are interested. I'm still shaking my head in disgust!

Now I also have a request from you - do any of you have any wonderful tried-and-tested bread recipes for a breadmaking machine, that don't use a million different ingredients (or even those that do)? I have used a couple of recipes from the machine's instruction manual that are good, but I also have a cookbook especially for bread machines, and the three loaves I've made so far have been dismal, and the book's going out in the bin! I'd love to find some good recipes out there for trialling :D And another apology to Mum - if you don't hurry up and get over here for a holiday, there'll be no beer left ... I have another loaf of Wholemeal beer and mustard bread baking ... my fave recipe so far - guess who's having cheese and pickle sandwiches for lunches next week again? haha.

Happy Dancing!!

2006-12-10T11:35:00.000+11:00

And a great big happy dance it is too! Today I put the final stitches into Pacific Pohutukawa ... and seeing as the Pohutukawa is the New Zealand Christmas tree, it's finished at an appropriately festive time of year :D I have to say, though, my right thumb is quite tender after dragging the thread through those corner Pohutukawa flowers ... and if I don't see another skein of DMC Rayon or Metallic thread over the next 12 months, it'll be too soon!! LOL. Actually the scan doesn't do the colours justice - they're extremely vibrant! :D

Pacific Pohutukawa by Jen's Jems
stitched as charted
with recommended fabric and threads

It also means my stretcher bars are now freed up ready to start my Laura J Perin piece woohoo :) And seeing as Blogger photo uploading is playing nicely today, here are the next two ornies I put the finishing touches into yesterday.

Merry Yule by Erica Michaels Designs
2005 JCS Christmas ornament magazine
stitched on 32ct natural Belfast linen
with recommended threads and embellishments

Christmas Tree by Elizabeth's Designs
2005 JCS Christmas ornament magazine
stitched on 32ct white Belfast linen
with recommended threads and beads

That means another 3 projects off my 50 Project Challenge ... leaving me with 34 left to go, I think - woohoo! :D

RAK Registry & Ornies

2006-12-09T12:12:00.000+11:00

Thanks to everyone who has supported the RAK Registry database (for stitching bloggers) to date - this has been a really fun project to coordinate. For those who have asked, there is no deadline to sign up for this, as it's an ongoing project - you just need to send me an email with your details, and I'll enter you into the blog database immediately. You can either send me an email requesting the questions, or just copy and paste the following and email your answers straightaway to mailto:shakatak@iinet.net.au :). Then if you want to send someone a RAK just drop me a line and I'll send you their full contact details. Likewise if there's someone you'd like to send to, and they're not in the database, drop me a line with their blog details, and I'll approach them with a request to sign up, or to get their contact details ... then they still don't know who it's coming from so there's still a surprise element attached :)

A link to the RAK Registry blog is in my sidebar, if you want to check it out. Thanks again for the support, my fellow stitching pals.

First/screen name:
Blog name/URL:
Fave colour(s):
Fave designer(s):
Fave styles of designs/stitching styles:
Fave thread types/brands:
Fave fabric(s) (eg count/colour/type):
Any dislikes (eg colours, design styles etc):
Pets/children:
Birthday:
Withlist URL:
Any small RAK's that would be enjoyed (eg tea sachets, stationery, chocolate, fridge magnets, postcards etc):
Favourite holiday(s):
Holiday(s) not celebrated/liked:
Full name and mailing address:

As for me, while I was in ostrich mode with my head in the sand yesterday it left my hands (and mind) free to stitch ... I managed to put the finishing touches into an ornie I started during the night shifts (the only reason to love that shift is that I get chance to pick up a needle very now and then inbetween calls 'cos there's no management around haha) - I didn't have the right overdyed threads, so I substituted the WDW Kudzu for NN Grecian Olive, and Crescent Colors Blue Moon with NN Blue is Blue - I also swapped 28ct fabric for 32ct to make it slightly smaller ... I think it still turned out OK.

Winter's Eve by Country Cottage Needleworks
from JCS 2006 Christmas Ornament magazine
stitched on 32ct natural Belfast
with thread substitutions
I also managed to put the final stitches into two more ornies as well that have been sitting here just waiting for the embellishments to be added. I haven't taken any piccies/scans yet, though, so they'll have to wait until later and I'll add them in. Hopefully by then Blogger will be playing ball with photos again, as I've been having to use Photobucket for the last two posts :( Perhaps they're giving me the un-subtle hint to hurry up and move to Beta haha.

All these ornies are destined for a home elsewhere ... unfortunately they won't be gracing someone else's tree for this Christmas due to financial constraints, but they will be sent out some time in the New Year ready for next Christmas ...

And talking of ornies, Nicki and I are discussing having a Christmas ornie SAL on the 4th weekend of every month, and wonder if you'd be interested in joining us? I've cheated and copied most of Nicki's post to save me being witty and thinking something up ... and Nicki's is perfect already

From the words of Nicki:

"Christmas is nearly here and I've realised that trying to do all my Christmas stitching in two weeks isn't a great idea! So Anne and I are thinking of organising a monthly Christmas ornament SAL for next year.

The idea is to stitch one ornament each month, so at the end of the year we'll have lots of pretties to give as gifts or put on trees. We'll stitch on the fourth weekend of each month. (That seems to be what works best for everyone who's answered so far).

If you'd be interested, let one of us know. You wouldn't have to stitch each month of course. It'd just be a fun way of getting some Christmas ornaments stitched through the year and relieving the pre-Christmas rush!"

I've really missed doing an ornie SAL for the latter half of this year, and hopefully this will motivate me again into stitching every month ... I'm actually thinking of making my own personal goal to stitch two every month so I get to keep an odd one or two as well as give them away, but I'll still be happy with getting one done

PSH - Red (& Old)

2006-12-09T00:34:00.000+11:00

This week's theme is "RED" ... going by the current festive season, I'm sure there will be a few Santa suits on the blogs, but I opted for something different. This is a friend 'Sha' at her wedding not long before I moved from Auckland - my first Indian wedding, it was a wonderful cultural experience and this photo in no way does her stunning outfit justice! :)

My second choice for this week's theme is a scene from outside the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tsai Temple in Hong Kong ... I took this photo just because of all the red colour that was predominant :)

And lucky last, here's another archive theme - this one is "OLD" ... again I had a few choices for this theme, but I opted to use this one, which is one of my all-time favourite photos I've taken ... "keeping OLD traditions alive" - starting a fire in Fiji :)

L&L conversions

2006-12-08T15:48:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post ... for those of you who are lovers of the colour blue, and also of Lavender & Lace designs, check out some of the conversions for the Celtic Ladies ... oh la la!!! Hmmm, I see another couple of additions to my stitching wishlist now ... those charts sitting in my stash are offering a whole new dimension to me again!!

Celtic Noel
Celtic Winter
Celtic Winter (work in progress - page down for the latest piccie)
Celtic Autumn

Celtic Summer (edited to add this one - wow!)

And a link to the actual conversion process by Nathalie (from the WIP link above) - Celtic Winter.

As you can see, I'm wasting time today - I managed nearly 6 hours sleep, which is awesome, and now I'm pretending I'm an ostrich and burying my head in the sand for the rest of the day ... my car issues can wait until tomorrow ... I just don't want to think about it any more today - there's plenty of time to stress out tomorrow ;)

Alas today I also logged into Blogger, only to get the Dashboard notice saying my new 'beta' blogger is ready for me to move over ... considering all the problems people still seem to be having, I think I might wait until they drag me by the hair kicking and screaming into the new blogger dimension ... even though they say "all my layouts and contents will stay the same" ... yeah, right! Time will tell ... but that time's not right now! ;)

Downright fed up!

2006-12-08T05:45:00.000+11:00

The heading of this post really sums it up today ... I was feeling quite good after completing my overnight shifts, and coming home for my days off work - even after only having 4 hours quality sleep each night (or 'day' to be more precise), I feel OK, and happy ... then driving home that wonderful feeling disappeared.

After driving for a while with a slight knocking sound coming from the passenger side of the car, I drove to an open gas station that's about halfway home and checked around the car, only to find a bloody great bolt head sticking out of the passenger side front tyre ... here I was thinking my financial woes are finally going to be put to rest on Tuesday, my bills are all going to be paid, and I'm going to live it up with fresh veges on the dinner table and my stress levels will return to normal ... well, so much for that idea! Now it's likely I'm up for a brand new tyre on top of everything else ... fed up? Too bloody right I am!! :(

I did have an extra bit of excitement on the drive home, though ... I saw black smoke billowing on the horizon, and thought it looked like fire smoke ... sure enough, I drove past an art supply store that was billowing flames out the front - it was like being on the movie set of Ladder 49 or something, especially at 5.30am with the sky only just lightening up, the colour was quite vivid and very spectacular - I only wish I had my camera, as watching the fireman dealing with it with the flames pouring out the front was incredible!

Then to top it all off a stupid driver started reversing out really fast from his driveway, into the main road, right in front of me ... I had to haul on the brakes to miss driving straight into him - between the tyre, the fire, and that moron my heartrate was definitely up by the time I got home ... I was grateful just to pull into my driveway! Anyway, the bolt is still sitting in my tyre ... I figured I'd drive home slowly and change the tyre etc when I can see it in daylight - and here I was thinking I'd have a relaxing day stitching on my day off ... mutter mutter mutter.

Anyway, I have to say I've pretty much reached my limits ... and can't take much more testing of my inner strength ... whoever's doing the testing, could you just give me a passing grade, and let me get on with 'life as I know it' ... enough already!!!!!

Sorry for the rant ... it's now 6am and I just wanted to get it off my chest before trying to get to sleep ... 'cos at the moment I can't decide whether to laugh or cry, but I feel too tired to do either!

Picture heavy post!

2006-12-05T13:41:00.000+11:00

I remembered to take a piccie of my wee Christmas tree during the daylight yesterday - even though it's only tiny (121cm/4ft tall), it really makes my place feel festive :) My dream is to get a bigger tree, though, so perhaps next year I'll be able to treat myself :D I love the LED lights I have on this tree, they really pack a punch at night!

This piccie is very very sad ;) I bought this half tree last year in the sales when I decided to start making Christmas ornies myself ... last year I just made the one, and it looks so lonely on there all by itself! LOL.

I figured the little half tree would be good just especially for my home made ornies, until I can get a bigger tree later (and I figured it would take me quite a while to stitch enough for a bigger tree). But because it looks so sad, I just HAD to put a couple of my ornies together yesterday to give that poor orphan ornie some family to play with! ;) Not entirely thrilled with my choices of finishing, but they'll do (I'm going to replace the white cording on the pinkeep one to a dark blue cording instead next year - hence the reason they're just pinned instead of permanently attached, although I like the pinkeep look!). I'm stitching one each year for myself with the date on it, and this year that's my Elizabeth's Designs Christmas tree one.

Actually, these photos make it look like they're all taken on different furniture! In fact the left one is hanging off my stitching recliner, but the other two are hanging off my lounge suite ... the true colour of the suite is midway between the two piccies - I can't get a true life piccie of that any time I try!

I have to admit, I really really miss our Christmas ornie SAL on the FGBB - it was a great motivator to get something stitched every month. As soon as the BB stopped, so did my ornie stitching :( Maybe I need to set myself a weekend every month and get back into it again next year! Hmmm ...

The rest of the photos are for Mum's sake ... my little flat is coming apart at the seams - literally! The landlord is aware of the surface cracking, and he reported it to the Body Corporate months ago, but it's got a lot worse recently, so a call to the landlord is in order again, me thinks. Apparently all those beautiful avenue of elm trees out the window are what's causing the subsidence ... thanks to their far-reaching and huge roots! Mum reckons I'm going to wake up one morning with the roof on my head LOL.

Rightio, back to it ... I'm not sure what, but I know I should be doing 'something' - I had a shocking nights sleep last night, so I'm feeling a bit aimless today ... fingers crossed I'll be able to nap for an hour or so later on before work :)

I don't feel well ;)

2006-12-05T05:53:00.000+11:00

I really really can't be feeling well ... it's now 6am and I've just walked in from work, after being up for almost 24 hours straight (the first night on doggo's is a killer!) ... anyway I'm driving home and thinking about a couple of XS charts I'd like to stitch. OK, so there's nothing really unusual about that ... BUT I'm envisaging how they'd be all stitched over-one ... what the? I HATE over-one stitching - and only do it when I really really have to, so what on earth is possessing me to think I'd actually enjoy doing some of these BAP's over-one?? If my head starts spinning around on my shoulders and spewing obscenities, at least I'll then know I'm obviously and clearly possessed ... right now I just think perhaps sleep deprivation has made me temporarily potty!

And what projects do I think would look great ... I've already pretty much decided to stitch Graham Ross' Rainbow Lorikeets that way, but on the way home I started thinking about By the Bay Needleart charts (such as this one), plus another Greek scene from an old magazine, and then a L&L design ... crikey, I'd better get myself to bed quick smart and get some quality sleep before I do something really rash and actually start one of these things over-one!!! Someone bring me a cold compress and some Panadol, I'm obviously running a fever!!!

Christmas in Elwood

2006-12-04T01:16:00.000+11:00

I've had a very lazy day today ... but tonight I put a bit of effort into getting my Christmas decorating almost finished - I just have to stuff a Christmas tree Mum made for me, which will sit in the middle of my dining table, plus finish of a couple of Christmas ornies I stitched during the year for myself ... the following photos are mainly for Isabelle who wanted to see my decorations once they were up :)

First of all my little flat's lounge in all it's glory ... and the Christmas tree with it's animal guardians - I couldn't get a good photo tonight with the lights on (well, it's actually just after 1am), so I'll try to get a better photo tomorrow.

As you can see there are little bits of Christmas all over my small space - and here are some of the pieces in detail (this isn't all of them, but I'm starting to get tired, and think I should hit the hay soon - I may put some more piccies up during the week).

And now "something I prepared earlier" ...

Since stitching Coffee Menu I haven't picked up a needle in this whole time - I've been having way too much fun getting the RAK Registry together. I spent 2 hours chatting to Mum today on the phone, and was telling her about it, and she rightly said it sounds "right up my alley" ... any excuse to organise something and make lists haha.

Actually, Mum also told me I should share this little story with you as well ... as you know I've been struggling a lot financially over the last 1-2 months, and haven't been buying any groceries except for milk and the occasional few onions etc, but living out of my pantry and freezer. Well, the main contents of my freezer have been chicken breasts ... about 3-4kg of chicken breasts, to be exact! Mum said to me a few weeks ago, "you must be sick to death of chicken by now!" ... "you're not kidding", is my reply. Well, here my sick sense of humour kicks in ...

My bathroom is a combined laundry/bathroom (typical apartment), and I have my cat basket and supplies sitting in the laundry tub while waiting to get a real life kitty to take up residence ... anyway, as I'm climbing out of the shower a week or so ago, I look over at the pile of kitty stuff, and think to myself, smirking, "oh well, if I ever get desperate enough for food, there's always that big bag of Hills Science kitty biscuits" (not that I would ever actually do that!!) ... and I grinned a bit ... then I read the label, and totally cracked myself up and howled with laughter ... the flavour just HAD to be "Chicken and Rice"!!!!! You probably had to be there, but Mum and I shared yet another chuckle about it today - it's true that things have to be really really bad for me to lose my sense of humour! I get that from my Mum, we can usually find something funny in most things ;) And yes, my sense of humour is definitely starting to return, and things are brightening up :)

I must say though, a week on Tuesday I get paid, and I'm going to go mental shopping!! After finally paying Mr Tax-Man, I'm going to go crazy buying fruit and vegetables!!! That's the one thing I've really REALLY missed - I've pretty much been living on protein and carbs for the last 1-2 months, with the occasional frozen vege and tinned tomatoes thrown in, and I am seriously craving salads! I could quite easily sit down right now with a whole head of lettuce and scoff the lot in one sitting!! I'll still be frugal for quite some time, if not right throughout 2007, but I will definitely be having one huge salad for dinner a week on Tuesday! :D

Anyway, I guess I'd better hit the hay and get some shut-eye ... I've tried to keep myself awake really late tonight, to try and get myself into the right frame of mind for tomorrow, as I'm back on overnight shifts again - oh yippee :/ I start work at 9pm and finish at 5am for 4 nights ... that should keep me out of mischief this week, and I might actually get caught up on those 600+ blog posts I'm still trying to read hmmm ;) In the meantime I hope life is treating everyone well :D

SBQ & RAK photo

2006-12-03T09:59:00.000+11:00

I didn't want to lose Isabelle's gorgeous RAK photo among all the other photos yesterday, so waited until today to give it it's own wee place - finally here is my RAK in all its glory ... complete with open box on the choccie haha. Thanks again Isabelle, it's so so sweet of you {{hugs}}.

And for this week's SBQ, here goes ...

"How do you secure your thread when you begin a new one? Specifically,do you or have you ever used a waste knot?"

Yes, I use waste knots quite regularly when doing specialty stitches, as a lot of times there's not much to anchor it on the back until you've worked a few stitches. Have to say I hate doing it, as it wastes thread and I hate having to cut off the knots and reweave the ends through at the end :( Unfortunately, though, it's sometimes a necessary evil! If I'm using overdyed threads, and I have a solid line to stitch, I'll put a small knot in the end of the thread, take the needle down into the fabric in the middle of the line, about an inch away from where I'm going to stitch, then back up at the beginning to start stitching - that way I'm stitching over the line and catching the 'tail' under my stitching as I go, and I cut the knot off at the back as I get closer and the tail is well anchored. If I'm using plain ol' DMC I do a 'loop start' usually.

The RAK Registry is almost finished (just tidying up of the sidebars etc), and I've made a little 'blinkie' in my Links sidebar here which takes you straight to the RAK blog. Hopefully more people will join in and fill in those spaces in the alphabet, and this will be a good resource for the days to come. If you think you'd like to see someone's details on there, either let them know about it, or drop me a line with their blog details and I'll send them an email saying I've had a request to have them join in the fun :) I've really enjoyed setting this up for us! :D

Photo Hunt - Lights (& Round)

2006-12-02T20:26:00.000+11:00

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll.

This week's theme was a definite challenge for me while hunting through my minimal photo library (oh boy, I miss my huge pile of photos back in Auckland) ... but I managed to find something that would fit the theme of "Lights".

This photo is of a row of street lights illuminating the way down St Kilda Pier in Melbourne (well, they would be illuminating the way if it was dark LOL).

Next up are some lights illuminating the room at the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong (and a very difficult shot for me to get trying to reach up behind the barrier, and around a stone 'dragon', as well as missing the guard on duty ;) Under the circumstances, it came out OK :)

Lucky last, here's an archival theme - this one is "Round" ... I had a few choices to use, but opted to do use this one - definitely not a great photographic shot, but I like it for the 'round theme'. Any LOTR fans will recognise this character - chasing the ring over the rooftop of Wellington Airport in New Zealand! :D

More RAK's

2006-12-01T23:51:00.000+11:00

This time I was on the receiving end of a gorgeous RAK from sweet Auntie Isabelle, and what a wonderful pick-me-up it was after being so 'down'! It was supposedly a "wee" treat, but I think it's way bigger than "wee" ;) I'm too lazy to get the camera out tonight, but I promise a piccie tomorrow - but I'll try to describe my actual reaction to receiving this yesterday ...

I opened up my PO Box to find Isabelle's parcel hiding inside - I walked outside and saw the contents, and decided straightaway to treat myself ... As you know I've been very VERY frugal over the last month or two, and haven't been buying any coffees or non-essentials ... well, I popped straight into the cafe next door and ordered a large cappuccino takeaway, propped myself on the brick wall/seating outside and broke off two pieces of the chocolate Isabelle had sent me ... while reading the gorgeous words in the card, and drooling over the chart that was also in the parcel - one off my wishlist, a wonderful French design by Coleurs Croisees (there's a link here to the chart, if you can't wait until tomorrow's piccie haha). What a wonderfully decadent and heavenly way to start the day (and in this case my working week) - thanks so much again, Isabelle, you're a sweetheart and a wonderful friend ... I feel very blessed to have 'met' you and it really did raise my spirits {{hugs}}.

And talking of RAK's, as for the RAK Registry, it's slowly getting underway. I've spent a fair bit of time starting up a new blog, and playing with the template layouts etc, and I'm now slowly entering in the data that I've received. If you want a sample look while it's in the creating process, feel free to have a peek here. This is definitely a 'work in progress' at the moment, and it will take me some time to enter everything into it. In the meantime if you think there's something else you'd like to see, or any improvements you can suggest, feel free to let me know. This is something to be used by all of us, so I want it to be as user-friendly as possible :)

A couple of people have also mentioned that they want my address details as well, so they don't have to ask me for it and spoil any possible surprises down the track ... oops, I hadn't honestly thought about that side of it, I was too eager to get everybody else joined up. Not sure how I should tackle this one - either send my address to everyone that signs up (which feels a bit presumptuous), or I could list a couple of people that know my address details, along with their email addresses ... not quite sure about that one! :)

Anyway, keep those emails coming in if you want to sign up - this is a continuing process, so there's no deadline to joining up ... it's merely a 'sharing of information' among our caring stitching community :D

RAK Registry

2006-11-30T09:22:00.000+11:00

Thanks again for your support in the creation of our little list - hopefully it will be a useful tool when we want to send a small something to our fellow stitching bloggers ... and a way I can give something back to my stitching pals :)

At this stage I have questionnaires filled out by Cindy, Wendy, Nicki, and Su ... and emails have gone out today to those who are definitely keen to sign up, ie Melissa, CathyB, Cathy (mamacruz), Carina, Margaret, Carol, Christine and Isabelle. More emails have gone to those of you who think it's a good idea, ie Von, Barbara, CathyMK, Karen, Judith, and Katrina.

Others who registered an interest, but I can't locate your emails are Vonna, Annemiek, Sylvie, Meari, Tracy Baby, Coral and Michelle ... if you could drop me a quick line to shakatak@iinet.net.au I'll get the email questionnaire sent off to you to fill in :)

Now a couple of answers to recent questions:

For Whyme - the photo of the roses were taken in Hong Kong itself on a recent holiday there (in the flowers markets, not far from the bird market).

For Julie - the Pacific Pohutukawa is by a New Zealand designer, and can be bought through Nancy's Embroidery in Wellington, New Zealand. They also sell the black canvas for it too, and they do mail order. Their website isn't the best, but they're great to deal with :)

Just a quick post this morning before I head off to work. Dinner was great last night, and very uplifting ... it was nice to discuss 'general stuff' and have a moan about work issues and just generally hang out. That was followed by a phone call from Fraze wanting to catch up for dinner - the first date that was possible in the evenings during the week was 22 December! haha, the joys of shift work! ;)

Coffee Menu & RAK's

2006-11-29T09:41:00.000+11:00

My feet were tapping in a small happy dance late last night ... I managed to put the final stitches into Coffee Menu, which is not bad going seeing as I didn't start until Sunday (not Friday as I mentioned yesterday - it was Friday to me, as it was the last day of 'my' weekend so that was a bit of a Freudian slip haha). I really enjoyed stitching this one.

Coffee Menu by Little House Needleworks
Stitched on hand-dyed 32ct Pipi Belfast linen by Country Stitch
using recommended threads

Next up will hopefully be Sapphire Star canvaswork by Laura J Perin, although I'm not sure it's worth starting it yet, as the one thread I have on back order seems to be the main thread in both the outside border and the inside ... I'll make a decision later, though, as today is going to be spent tidying the place up and getting more Christmas decorations out to cheer up my little flat.

I got paid this week and just have enough for Mr Taxman if I don't spend a single cent for the next fornight, but seeing as I have petrol to pay plus a couple of extra essentials for shopping (think female monthly items), he's going to have to wait an extra fortnight now until next payday. At least I now know I will definitely be able to pay him then, which is a big weight off my shoulders. I'm also spending non-essential money tonight by going out to dinner ... this has been planned for at least 3-4 months with girls from work, so I really want to go - I've turned down over 4 dinners and social occasions recently, including the big Christmas party next weekend, due to lack of money, but I think I really need this ... I just have to choose something cheaper on the menu, and by driving I won't be drinking - the night out will do me good, I think! :)

Thanks for all the positive comments about the 'RAK Registry' ... if you like, for all those who comment they think it's a good idea, I'll pop an email out to you with all the questions, then if you want to have your preferences added you can email it all back to me and I'll start loading them up next week some time.

Until the next time, enjoy your week :D

Just a Thought ... and Selfish Stitching

2006-11-28T11:01:00.000+11:00

This is something I've been thinking about for a number of weeks, and wondered what you all think about it. There are times during the year when some of my fellow bloggers are down and I'd love to pop a small RAK (random act of kindness) or pick-me-up in the mail, or even a 'just because' small gift, but they don't have a wishlist etc on their blog, or I don't have their address details etc. And trying to wade through past posts in the archives to work out what their favourite colours and designers are is time-consuming and sometimes not fruitful. Well, I started wondering about having a 'central register' of those small details.

A lot of times when you join up with a new online group, especially for exchanges, you'd complete a small questionnaire, with your likes and dislikes etc - and other BB's such as The Wagon have a wishlist section, and things for 'small RAKs' that you'd enjoy receiving. Anyway, if people are happy to join in, I'm happy to set up a post on my blog where everything will be listed in one place with all the information for my fellow bloggers. The only thing that wouldn't be listed would be the full name and address details ... but I'd keep a central register personally and you can email me for those details if you want to send a RAK to someone. This is just in the early planning stages right now, but what do you think?

The sort of information I'm thinking of collating at this stage are: (updated with Cindy's suggestion)

First/screen name:
Blog name/URL:
Fave colour:
Fave designers:
Fave styles of designs/stitching styles:
Fave thread types/brands:
Fave fabrics:
Any dislikes (eg colours, design styles etc):
Pets/children:
Birthday:
Wishlist URL:
Any small RAK's that would be enjoyed (eg tea sachets, stationery, chocolate, etc):
Fave Holidays:
Holidays not liked/celebrated:

Anyway, like I said, it's just a thought I've been having recently. If you
don't think it would be useful, let me know - likewise if you think it's a good idea and you'd like to join in, also let me know (and if you think there should be any questions removed/added). If you'd like to go ahead and sign up for it straightaway, just drop me an email to shakatak at iinet dot net dot au, and I'll start loading them up (don't forget to include your full name and mailing address for my records). I'll pop a hyperlink in my sidebar to where the list will be located permanently for easy access :D Eventually I'd like to build a website with the info, but that's a wee way away just yet, seeing as I need to work out just how to do that :)

Now onto the selfish stitching part of the post - on Friday afternoon I started stitching Coffee Menu by LHN, and making pretty good progress so far. After stitching on and off all day yesterday (I had a 3-hour 'nana-nap' in the afternoon), I'm just over halfway now - I just want to change the wording of "Hazelnut" to "Macchiato" ... I don't know why, but Hazelnut coffee just never sat well with me, so Nicki gave me the idea to change it to something else - one of the guys at work always drinks Macchiatos, so I thought that would be a good choice, and it would be similar in word size too. Hopefully I'll get this finished on my days off (today and tomorrow), then I'm picking up Sapphire Star to start on.

I must say I feel a lot brighter these days - still not quite firing on all cylinders, but a lot better than I did. The thing that sent me 'over the top' misery-wise last weekend was that was the weekend my best friend was in Australia, and I was absolutely miserable that I couldn't see her. She had brought her new baby Jayden with her who I haven't had chance to meet yet, so all-in-all I was super depressed about it all. It just means I have to make an extra effort to try to get to Nelson next time I go home to visit - which will mean flying to Christchurch and hiring a car, so I'll have to save up big time for that!

Anyway, that's all I have for today - hopefully the next post will be to show Coffee Menu all finished! :)

Photo Hunt - Time (& Wet)

2006-11-25T15:33:00.000+11:00

Grab the photo hunt code or join the blogroll.

This week's theme is "TIME" ... I was originally going to pop up the road and take a photo of a local building with clock face and flag flying, but the weather has been awful today, so it wasn't worth going (and during the week I didn't have shifts that were conducive to being home in daylight hours either). So instead I came up with the following ...

Very wise words said many many years ago ... "Take time to smell the roses" (Russian Proverb) - over the years I've come to realise how important it is to take time to enjoy the simple things in life, and everything that each day brings ... These roses were from the flower markets in Hong Kong - I just adore how every single bud has it's own protective packing!

Then just for fun, here's my Dad dressed up as "Old Father Time" ;)

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you." Carl Sandburg

Now here is one from the archives again ... this time the subject is "WET". I didn't realise I'd brought this photo with me when I moved to Aussie, but sure enough I just found this during the week ... a very VERY old ph0to of me when I was about 17 - on Christmas Day in NZ, wearing my brand new dress I'd bought for the occasion (I was working full time back then as a typist) - my cousin who was visiting from the UK very kindly threw me into the swimming pool, then to add insult to injury made Mum throw a bucket of water over me while he took photos ... have to admit, it's a great action shot! ;)

The next photo is me being stupid - sitting waiting for a bus at Nadi bus depot ... in the middle of Nadi being flooded! I think I was in for a looooong wait! :P

What a day ...

2006-11-23T20:49:00.000+11:00

It's been an emotional rollercoaster today - I spent the morning getting quite teary-eyed from all the gorgeous comments and personal emails I've been receiving (love you all!) ... then at work I had a stressful 6 hours, which ended up turning my entire mood into almost fits of giggles!

I've been involved with a big issue at work that I initially dealt with two nights ago - that was a huge involvement and ended up with me and another girl off the phones for a number of hours trying to fix something. I emailed a spreadsheet of all those bookings that were affected etc to our Head Office before I went home at 11pm ... then they continued to work on the problem overnight. The next day the problem was still not resolved, so they asked the morning shift to continue the same way that I had the previous night, and to send new spreadsheets every 4 hours so they could continue to deal with them. I was called at home at 8.30am yesterday morning, after only getting to bed at 2am (not impressed), then again at 10.30am, just before I was getting ready to come into work (and I still can't work out why the phoned me, 'cos we didn't discuss any of the procedures etc) ... anyway, when I get to work I find out they'd found my original spreadsheet, and added all the new problem bookings to the list (rather than making a new spreadsheet which had been requested) ... to add insult to injury they then put the entire list in alphabetical order ... and saved the files ... so when I came in I had to spend almost 4 hours comparing the old file in my email, to pull out all the new bookings - and because they hadn't processed the 'fixes' properly, I had to go into each and every new booking and fix them up as well. Another office then topped it off yesterday by not ignoring these particular bookings on the queues, and queue-delaying them until today, which means we had to wait until this morning for them to pop up again, then start going back through the queues to find them all and starting again today.

Well, the final straw when I came in at lunchtime today for work to see if they'd managed to find them ... I'd ended up having to stay an extra hour at work last night fixing the problems before emailing the entire corrected list to our Head Office - then left an email plus a printout of a spreadsheet, with lines wide enough for someone to write on them, asking for someone to write up any new bookings (the queue-delayed ones) onto the forms, then to fax them to head office for the final tally. What do they decide to do? They said among themselves, "that's really silly, when we have this great spreadsheet already set up, let's just do the same as yesterday, and add them all into the old spreadsheet, then sort them alphabetically again!" ... My face when I came in today to be told that was a total picture!!!

So, today I spent another 4 1/2 hours cross-referencing through the same lists yet AGAIN (of over 300 bookings), and having to go into every single new booking yet AGAIN to fix them up ... only to get a call from Head Office from an extremely apologetic manager saying not to worry, as the company we're dealing with had finally managed to pull their own report from their own system, so they'd just use their own data ...... aaaaaarghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry for the loooooong version ... anyway, the upshot of all this, is that I've had a shitty few days at work just because of sheer incompetence of other staff members, and tonight's call just sent me over the top - I couldn't do anything else but crack up laughing and got the giggles. Two of my work colleagues have given me "Luv Ya Work" awards 'cos of everything I've been doing for the last 3 days ... here's hoping the smile will be here to stay for a while longer ;) If nothing else I got some great compliments from the manager in head office I've been dealing with for 3 days :)

I had a good talk to Mum on the phone before work too, and she agrees with me that I should basically forget Christmas (stitching-wise particularly) until after Christmas, and just treat myself to some selfish stitching "just for me" - so that's the plan ... I've listed three projects that I'd really love to stitch, even if it's just making a start on them (I'm still missing a couple of threads/beads), and that's what I'm going to focus on until after Christmas ... then I'll get back on track and get stitching ornaments again ready for 'whenever' and back to my rotation. As Mum says, that way it takes my mind's focus off the negatives of what I can't do for Christmas, and puts it back onto something more positive :D Thanks to everyone's suggestions on that score - they've all been taken on board :D

This weekend I'll be doing a list of the entire contents of the freezers - which won't take very long going by what I saw yesterday LOL - and a bit more menu planning to get me through the next three weeks at least. I've just cooked up the 1kg mince I had into spaghetti bolognese sauce, so that'll last about 6 main meals - and I made beef stroganoff in the crockpot yesterday (I only had half the meat required but I still made the full recipe), so that'll go into the freezer for another 3-4 meals (I just have to add a bit of sour cream after it's been reheated). There are still 3 chicken breasts in filo pastry left ... so that's pretty much covered two weeks of meals ... I'm just not sure what else is in the freezer.

Anyway, I just wanted to share a more positive post for a change - thanks again for all your lovely comments and support, and thanks for hanging in there while I'm going through my less than positive phase :D {{hugs}}

Now I'm off to start kitting up one of my projects ... the four at the top of my list for starting are (in order of preference):

Coffee Menu - Little House Needleworks (I have everything, just have to choose which fabric to use)
Sapphire Star - canvaswork by Laura J Perin (I still have one thread on backorder from Dragonfly Dreams, but otherwise ready to go)
Fire sampler - The Victoria Sampler (pretty sure I have everything)
Angel of Love - L&L (have everything, I think, except I only have one packet of each of the beads, and from memory there are about 3 colours that need more than one packet ... if I get time to start this one I'll just stitch as far as I can until I run out ... by the time I get to that stage I should be well and truly over my 'poverty line days' and should be able to pick the last few beads up from Spotlight or somewhere)

Thanks for the comments

2006-11-22T22:09:00.000+11:00

Seriously, thanks for all the support - it's very unusual for me to get so down for this long ... it's just a case of riding the storm until the weather calms, which will hopefully be by Christmas ... hopefully. I'm very lucky in that Mum's taught me to be a packrat where food's concerned, and I have a tall chest freezer for bulk meat etc, so at least I haven't gone hungry so far, even if my menu has had to be substantially altered for a while.

For Alison - I don't have a monthly budget, in that I automatically pay bills as soon as they come in, and know what's normally due to come out ... so whatever is left at the end of the month is technically 'free', and things are not usually this bad. Unfortunately, though, I had $1000 sitting in the bank and blew it on our Hong Kong trip, so I don't have a 'back up' for emergencies any more. Even that would have been fine as there should be sufficient to pay the bills, but having my car keep breaking down and costing about $300 overall, plus a very unexpected $500+ tax bill all of a sudden due (not to mention the $120+ parking fine - and extra money spent on a dinner party), and "I'm screwed" to put it very bluntly. Normally paying bills are fine - some pays I have a small bit left over, other pays I have some extra spending money ... but all this lot came totally out of left field, and I was unprepared for it.

It also means I'm gonna be frugal for a while longer even when things do even out a bit again, so I can get some emergency money behind me again, then next time I won't be so desperate :( So when I can get back to decent grocery shopping, I'll still be eating cheaply for a while longer.

For Maria S., KarenV & Nicki - I have to admit I probably will continue to make my ornies for those special people, but I may now wait until after Christmas and continue stitching them again ... and I might take on the suggestion of a "cheer me up" new project. I've been seriously itching to pick up LHN's Coffee House Menu, so perhaps that's what I should do - and take my mind off ornaments and my rotation for the time being. My ornies will eventually be posted, just not in time for Christmas this year. Maria, your comment about not eating while stitching gave me a smile this morning :)

Nela - Thanks so much for your beautiful words, they are so much appreciated :)

I've even been looking at other areas to cut back this year - I've thought for a few years now that I don't know why I bother sending Christmas cards etc to most of my UK rellies, as I never hear anything from them in return - I'd rather spend the postage on people who actually give a damn about staying in contact ... that'll be a decent saving in itself over time. So this year is the last year I send to 'everyone' (in fact I might make two lists of rellies, and may not send to everyone this year either), and no longer will they get the colour family newsletter on photo paper that I take care to publish and send every year - those with email will be getting it as a .pdf file this year, and any of my UK rellies that don't send me a card this year will be removed from the future mailing lists ... Mum's doing the same thing too. With the cost of the cards, photo paper, colour ink cartridges, and postage it costs $100-$200 each year to send them out, which is just ludicrous, and I'd rather spend the money on those that I want to.

I even said to Mum perhaps I should go back to dial-up, as well, to cut the costs - but that will be an absolute last resort, as my computer access is my life-blood at the moment ;) It's a shame I can't do it without a home phone, as I barely use that at all, and that'd be a $40 saving every month - I could survive on just my mobile hmmm.

What hasn't helped is the news saying the lack of rental properties in Melbourne is likely to see up to a 40% increase in rental fees next year, which really cheers me up no end ... and I would be well and truly beggared then! It's been depressing me thinking I may also have to consider moving into shared accommodation if this happens ... for those of you who know some of my past experiences here with flatting with Fraze's mates, you know how much that scares and depresses the pants off of me. Add to that the news reports mentioning a possible takeover bid for our company, and that doesn't fill me with positivity about job security either ... admittedly that's very very new, and it may not have any initial impacts even if it did go ahead, but in our industry nothing is ever safe and speculations have already commenced ... perhaps you could have waited until after Christmas to drop that little bombshell on us all, management team :(

Anyway, even with this loooong post tonight, it's still likely that I won't be posting quite so often for a short while - I'm very aware that my blog isn't full of the joys of spring at the moment, and I don't want to come on here and moan about everything every day ... I hate being so down in the dumps in my posts, and I'd rather put those thoughts to one side for now. Aside from that, I've had stress headaches every single day for the last couple of weeks, and sitting at the computer screen all day, then again at night, doesn't really help matters much.

Thanks again for your words of support ... I promise to be perkier before Christmas, honest! :)

Christmas apologies

2006-11-22T09:45:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post to apologise that I won't be able to send any Christmas ornies in time for Christmas this year - I had high hopes of getting 6-10 to some very special online people, but I just can't afford to do it post-wise. After paying my bills this month there still isn't enough left over for the tax-man, and next payday is a smaller one with no weekend allowances with the month's rent taking almost all of it ... which means 12 Dec pay will be used for paying the tax-man now. It also means I still can't have a good shopping day food-wise until then, and I'm starting to get to the bottom of my frozen foods etc and need to keep every cent I can at the moment to put some semblance of food on the table. This truly breaks my heart, and it's put me in a bit of a stitching slump too - my whole month was planned around stitching these ornies, and it's put a real damper on the month knowing now that I just can't do it.

Sorry if I haven't been online too much - just don't have too much to say at the moment ... to be honest it's taking me all my energy just to get up and go to work - I'm trying to catch up on a bit of blog reading every now and then, but I won't be posting much unless there's any stitching or photography to share for a while.

Bordeaux Update

2006-11-20T14:48:00.000+11:00

Carol and I have both been working on Bordeaux this weekend - here's my latest update piccie. I've managed to get all of the grape borders done for band #2, and I'm ready to start stitching band #3 next time round. Sorry about the crappy photo quality yet again :(

SBQ & Photo Hunts

2006-11-18T11:54:00.000+11:00

I'm not really in the blogging mood of late - too much going on in my head, I think. I have a tendency to internally smother my emotions, especially with stress etc ... and have been known to make myself physically ill due to it - apparently this has happened ever since I was a child. I've been trying to repress all the financial stress, and I've been managing OK, but it's also put me a bit in 'zombie mode' because of it this last week. Yesterday, though, my car was looked at and nothing major is wrong, which is a huge relief. Now all I have to do is sit down today and pay all my month's major bills (including Mr Tax Man hopefully), then I think I'll settle down a bit emotionally again. I ended up working again last night due to a stuff-up in the roster, and they were desperate for someone to cover "my" shift (I'd taken the day off to go to Sydney), so I offered to help them out again and work. I hate the 6pm-2am shifts, and that probably hasn't helped my mood over the last few days, as it really affects my sleep patterns. Oh well, I'm sure I'll perk up in a couple of days time.

"Do you stitch Christmas ornaments? If so, how many do you stitch each year and for whom? If not, why not?"

Actually, it's only been through blogging that I've learnt how beautiful home stitched ornies are - and I made my first ones just in the nick of time for last Christmas. This year it was my hope to make some for gifts, but I'm not doing too well hmmm (plus my financial situation is putting a damper on my plans too, and that's probably part of the reason I haven't stitched as many as I'd planned to yet). Perhaps next year I'll be more organised! I did make and finish one for Mum this year, which will be an ongoing tradition for us now. I still don't feel very confident at finishing them, so I need to make a few more to get more confident, I think.Now on to this week's Photo Scavenger Hunt ...

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code. Photo Theme.
Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Today's theme is "Plush" ... this photo taken months ago fits the bill for me this week :)

An archival theme was "Cold" ... I couldn't choose between two photos, so here they both are - first J & V (my very best friend in NZ) learning how to snowboard, and second the snowy mountain ranges are compliments of the South Island of New Zealand, I just love that photo! :D

Photo Scavenger Hunt

2006-11-15T10:58:00.000+11:00

Just for a change, I've decided to jump on the bandwagon of the weekly Photo Scavenger Hunt. I first saw this on Vash's blog, and it sounds like fun. Unfortunately almost all of my photos are still in Auckland, but I've rummaged through the few I do have here, and have been coming up with photos that match the themes (at least in my eyes haha). I've decided to select the current theme's photo each week from now on, but I'm also going to add one photo from the oldest themes each week as well until I'm all caught up :) You may already have seen some of the photos, but there will definitely be some new ones coming up ;)

This week's theme is GROWTH. I chose this photo because it means from a 'personal growth' perspective for me - every now and then I push myself to do something that thrills me but scares me a bit as well, and is something that I've never done before ... hang-gliding pretty much tops the events to date!

The first theme of the Hunt was WHITE ... there were a few different photos for me to choose from, but I ultimately decided on my frangipani flowers - I just love those creamy white petals, not to mention their fragrance ... they will always evoke strong memories of my many visits to Fiji, and the friends I made over there, not to mention the many new life experiences.

As you can tell, there are no stitching piccies today ... it'll probably be like that for a few days now - back to work again tonight for two nights of 6pm to 2am shifts. I'll pack a small project in a bag as well 'just in case', but it's quite likely I won't end up taking it out of the bag ... but better to be prepared :D

2006-11-14T13:12:00.000+11:00

Toyota Commercial

We were just talking at work the other day about our all-time favourite commercials ... this has got to be mine! I still crack up each time I see it ... and it's changed my vocabulary for ever! ;)

No stitching today

2006-11-14T12:10:00.000+11:00

No stitching being done today, as it's finally time to clean up a bit and do some housework. I'm off into the city later this afternoon for a small treat to have dinner with Fraze - we had to put it off a couple of weeks ago due to the fact I couldn't even afford the train ticket to go in, let alone dinner. This week I'm still sitting on an unused train ticket that I didn't end up needing last week, and dinner is dirt cheap at about $7 each where we're going, so I can justify this one as a little cheap splurge. While I'm in there I'm also going to pick up a couple of fresh veges from the Queen Victoria Markets for some upcoming recipes (mainly mushrooms, but also capsicum and courgettes). My car won't now be going into the garage until Friday morning, so I'm still limiting myself to almost zero spending until I know how much that's going to set me back ... then I'll know what spare money I have (if any) from this pay for a bit extra food etc.

Last night I did a bit more stitching - and I now have two half-finished ornies ... the Just Nan one I need to the over-one stitching, but after doing all the grapes yesterday morning, I couldn't face it last night. Then I just have to add the beads and Kreinik braid to the Elizabeth's Designs tree and that's finished too. No more ornie stitching now until I get my gift piece finished ... plus I really want to make up a couple of pieces into their 'finished' items ... these last few days have been really uplifting with all this stitching and creativity - definitely just what the doctor ordered!

SBQ and a bit of Bordeaux

2006-11-13T12:03:00.000+11:00

Thanks for all your wonderful comments about Su's scissor fob - I'm still blushing from all the lovely words of praise :)

Last night I decided I still wasn't happy to put the needles down for the night, so did a couple of hours on Bordeaux Sampler - seeing as I didn't do my stitching on it before Friday, I figured a couple of days late would be OK ;) For the life of me I can never get a good photo of this one - but I just have the bottom band left and the two sides, all of which are a combination of backstitched leaves/vines and Rhodes stitch grapes, then band number two is completely finished. I've been looking ahead to the upcoming bands and my heart is sinking already at the sight of all the over-one grapes coming up {heavy sigh} LOL. I'd really like to get this piece finished by the end of 2007, if possible.

It's finally time to answer the week's SBQ before the next one comes out! Today's SBQ was suggested by Jan and is:

"How many different brands of "complete" embroidery floss sets do you own? How do you keep track of it? (ie, spread sheet program, indexcards, palm pilot, etc)"

That's very easy to answer - the only "complete" collection I have is of DMC. I'm slowly adding to my over-dyed collections as I come across colours I need for projects, but I'll never bother getting the entire collections, as I simply won't use them all. I used to keep an up-to-date inventory on my Cross Magic database of my DMC, but since I gave about 80+ skeins to Mum as a gift to start up her own collection, I haven't updated things ... maybe I'll get around to that again ... one day ;) Other than that all my other threads are catalogued in Cross Magic - it makes it very very handy when kitting up new projects, as I can see at a glance what I have/don't have.

On a positive front, today is finally pay-day, and I'm sooooo grateful! I've only spent $15 on groceries over the last fortnight (and that was only recently seeing as it was close to payday and no more working days left, so I knew I could go without any further spending), and I'm looking forward to getting my car checked out tomorrow, and my tax bill paid, so I know what money (if any) I have left over for the next fortnight. I'm no longer stressing over it - I figure if the tax bill has to be paid in two hits, so be it ... it would be really nice to get some fresh food this week, though :)

2nd post today ...

2006-11-12T20:05:00.000+11:00

I've been on a stitching roll (no pun intended), and managed to both start and finish the stitching of my needleroll for this weekend's SAL. I stitched Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs. I changed the wording, though, to cover the summer months 'down under' - instead of stitching June, July, August, I recharted the wording to be Dec - Jan - Feb (after checking out the Winter Solstice chart online) :D I wasn't too sure what else to put in place of the 'American' flag on the top band, and I quite like it anyway, so left it as it was designed. I've been really keen to stitch this ever since I bought the chart, so I'm thrilled to finally have it completed. I'll wait to do the actual finishing when I have a few needlerolls to make up. Anyway, here's the stitching piccie:

Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs
Stitched on 28ct hand-dyed dried thyme Jobelan
with the recommended threads

That also means finish number 11 off my 50 projects challenge list - only 39 left to go woohoo :D

Next up is to get a few more stitches into a birthday gift - now my Kreinik braid is here I need to get cracking and get it finished. Then I need to get a few more Christmas ornies stitched. Housework? ... What housework??? LOL.

Scissor Fob Exchange

2006-11-12T08:23:00.000+11:00

Phew, Su has received her scissor fob exchange from me, so I can post a piccie. For a beautiful close-up of the stitching you'll have to pop over to Su's blog, as mine is just done on the scanner and much less artistic ;) I was majorly stressed over this exchange, as Su's stitching and finishing is so awesome, and I had the huge delays with SB&B with the 'extra goodies' arriving. Anyway, it's finally reached it's destination safe and sound, and I'm very happy! This is my last exchange for a little while, though - and putting the stress factor aside LOL, I've enjoyed each and every one :D

Silken Roses Scissor Fob by The Sweetheart Tree
stitched on 32ct Lavender Mist Belfast linen
with the recommended threads
but omitting the eyelets on the back and personalising
with our initials and the year

Rightio, time to have brekkie then it's back to my stitching corner ... I've decided to stitch Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs for my needleroll SAL, and if I have time I'll also try and finish my Snow Fall needleroll from last month too ... oh dear, I guess that means no housework again today, that's too bad hahahaha :D

RR and Turbo Needles

2006-11-11T22:00:00.000+11:00

It's been a very busy day in my household ... for my needles! Absolutely nothing else has been done, but my needles have been flying since 8am until 10pm and I totally finished Wendy's RR piece woohoo!! :D It means I should be able to get it in the post next week, well and truly before the Christmas rush. Here's a scan of my winter block, as well as a very poor photo of the whole thing finished :)

I should have been stitching a needleroll for this weekend's SAL, but I just couldn't put the RR down until I'd got it all finished. Now I have to decide which needleroll to stitch tomorrow ... it's a choice between Summer Solstice by Eventide Designs, or a freebie on Classic Stitches website - ooh, decisions decisions.

The Blue Collection

2006-11-10T08:12:00.000+11:00

All the blue fabric from yesterday's post is actually for all the applique parts of the Blue Collection quilt - I've had this sitting in a cupboard for about 10 years (all kitted up, as I bought a block of the month with all the fabrics as well), and in my current phase of stitching from stash decided it was time I finally pulled it out and learnt how to do applique and stitch it up. All the washing yesterday was for the two big bags of yellow background fabrics - but now they're all washed and ironed and ready to go. I've decided I can't really wash the applique fabrics as some of them are only a couple of inches square - hopefully they'll be OK if I don't. I have to admit it probably is a bit daft to do this as my first quilt - it does seem quite complex, not to mention huge, but I keep telling myself I just have to take one block at a time, and once I've got the technique learned it's just taking it slowly and working through each packet of blocks ...

Last night I managed to pick up my needle finally, and put a few stitches into Wendy's RR piece while watching the new series of The Amazing Race (which is already finished in the US, I think) - I'll do a bit more on my days off, and hopefully have it finished within the next couple of weeks so it can be posted off to Canada well before Christmas :)

Quilting and 'stuff'

2006-11-09T16:44:00.000+11:00

Are things looking up for me or what today?? This morning I found $10 hiding in my rain jacket pocket that I didn't realise was there ... woohoo!! And what did I do with that $10?? I was very very naughty and went shopping and blew the lot! Not grocery shopping, though (I actually already spent most of my last $20 in my wallet at lunchtime on essential items) ...

I called in on the way home to pick up my car dashboard cover that was ordered (and thankfully paid for) a few weeks ago, and while I was there called into Spotlight to see if they had any freezer paper. They didn't, so I called into Amitie in Bentleigh, who had also just sold out ... Never fear, though, they made a quick phone call for me to this little place, and they had rolls of it in stock:

I couldn't believe my eyes - and I'll definitely be returning there when I have some free cash ... all-American goods, including some of the 'weird' items that I'd never heard of in my recipe books. Aha, now I'm going to look back into some of those American cookbooks and check it out ... plus if there's anything else in those books that I've never heard of, at least they'll be able to tell me what the local equivalent is, if there is one :D Here's the website if anyone's interested, as they also do mail order it seems ... AND they have ALTOID TINS woohoo!!!!! And I have to say they had those Halloween candy corn lollies I've never ever seen before - and Lipton iced tea in cans etc ... I'm in heaven! ;) (I LOVE trying new stuff where food's concerned ... it's a whole new treasure trove to explore!)

Oh yeah, back to what I splurged my new-found wealth on ... a roll of freezer paper :D So that means I'm now all set to start thinking more seriously about my applique quilt. I'm about to go and soak all the yellow background fabrics and the blue fabric from the first block ready to start sometime soon. It will be really nice to have a light quilt on the bed for during the summer months ... of course, I'm not saying exactly WHICH summer this will get finished, but hopefully some time before I retire - so I've got about 25 years to get it done LOL.

Other than that, I've got a real pep in my step today - I love the 6am starts (strangely enough, 'cos I'm not a morning person), 'cos I can still do a few chores such as shopping straight from work and still have plenty of time to do a bit more when I get home in daylight ... LOVE it! Back to a 10am start tomorrow, though, which is not so good ... BUT it's day 7 of work tomorrow, which means the last one, which means I then have a 4 1/2 day break YIPPEE!!!!!!!! Haha, you can tell I'm definitely more like my 'old self' today can't you? LOL.

And on that note I'm dragging myself off to the bathroom-cum-laundry to get these fabrics washed :D Here's the whole kit and caboodle laid out on my bed ... that's if you can see them on the blue of the duvet cover already on the bed LOL. Seeing as I literally have everything to start this thing, it's criminal to leave it festering in a box.

A bit of allsorts

2006-11-08T19:44:00.000+11:00

A few days ago, during my crisis days, I started to finally start scanning chart covers in readiness for posting on Ebay - however KarenV has a great idea, to start selling via blogging first, and I think I'll steal that one soon. Even if only a few sell via this method, the rest will get dumped on Ebay for 'open slather'. Anyway, it might still be a few days away before I get around to scanning them all, as it's a HUGE task - there's a lot of rubbish in that pile, but someone may find something they like ... and if not, there's nothing lost.

It's been an interesting few days recently, that's for sure - surprisingly enough now that I don't have spare money to buy groceries etc (only one week left to payday thankfully) I'm actually eating healthier ... go figure! Admittedly I'm not eating fresh fruit etc at the moment, but that's just an interim thing until my funds are OK again, but I'm actually being really conscious of what it is I'm putting in my mouth! I'm planning meals again, and not eating junk because it's quicker and easier ... oh boy, it feels really good :D I used the timer on the breadmaker last night for the first time, and woke up to the smell of fresh baked bread this morning - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven! :D

I'm not really stitching at the moment ... I'm halfway through a Christmas ornament that I started at work on Sunday (to try to take my mind off things), but don't have the motivation to finish it yet - I'll snap back into stitching mode again this weekend, though, I'm sure. I'm slowly starting to get my energy levels back again ... earlier in the week it was taking all my energy just to get up and go to work :( Now I'm on day 5 of working days, with only 2 left to go, and starting to get my 'pep' back. I spent a lot of the day today like my old self laughing my head off with Lucien - it felt really good to be back to normal at work, that's for sure!

The other thing I did was to look at re-doing my 101 Things list ... I've gone through and removed all the pricey items, as it's just not feasible and realistic - it'll take me the full 18 months to pay off my new lounge suite, and there's not much left of the challenge time then, so I've found challenging items that are within closer grasp - I have a number of embroidery classes that I've signed up for (correspondence classes) that will challenge me as a stitcher that I have all the items for, so it makes more sense to include those as items to complete. While it makes the other items no less worthy, it's just a simple case of being realistic and getting back to the basics :D

I'm hitting the hay earlier tonight, though, as I'm now on a 6am shift tomorrow to cover someone who's off sick, so I only have an hour before I have to be fast asleep. Dinner was some fresh soup from the freezer (Pumpkin and Potato) with fresh baked bread ... yummo. So now it's time to get into 'unwind mode' ready to drop off to sleep quickly hopefully.

Yet again I'm far behind on reading blogs, but I hope to remedy that this weekend too ... it's a good job I have 4 days off LOL.

Seeing as there are no stitching piccies to post today, here's something totally different ... if you're ever in the Adelaide region, and want to visit a good vineyard, I can honestly recommend Hugh Hamilton Wines in the McLaren Vale wine region - they're a small boutique winery that only sell from the cellar door, but their wines are wonderful (especially the reds - love the Sangiovese mmmmm) ... they're a bit on the pricey side, but oh so worth it.

Back to being normal again

2006-11-07T17:41:00.000+11:00

Thanks again for all your love and support over the last few days ... I must say today is the first time I've laughed properly in a good week at least, and I feel much much better. I was telling my colleague Lucien at work today why I was so upset on Saturday, and said after my car breaking down yet again and with all the stress I had a major headache on Saturday ... well I had to take some Nurofen and didn't have any food to line my stomach with, so I spent part of that last $10 I had before payday on the vending machine ($1.70) after much to-ing and fro-ing with should I, shouldn't I? ... Only to put the money in and have the darned muesli bar stick on the bottom shelf ...

Well, today I got the tummy rumbles (probably a good sign too, because my appetite's been so-so this last week too), and couldn't sit at my desk with my rice and tuna salad lunch ... so seeing as my horse got scratched this morning (typical! but I get my $2 back) I opted to head back to the vending machine and spend another $1.70 for another muesli bar ... only to have the same thing happen ... it's stuck in the machine!! Well, I had to drag Lucien out to witness this little phenomenon as I'd just finished telling him the story, and he absolutely killed himself laughing for about 10 minutes!!! I just thought it so ridiculous and unbelievable that I couldn't help but start laughing as well ... let's just say I WON'T be buying a Lotto ticket this week! ;)

I have to admit, the pressure is off a tiny bit too as I'm now halfway through to the next payday, and my car has been behaving itself which is a major relief. I've been leaving the car alarm off, and just locking the door manually with the key, and it's been starting fine. I've just been granted Mon/Tue off work next week, so I'll take it in to an auto electrician and get them to disconnect the alarm ... I just have to find the old Nissan remote, and I'll be all set to go again just using the built-in disabler etc.

Anyway, all-in-all I'm feeling relieved a bit financially - the car shouldn't cost much to disconnect (I hope), and with the extra money coming in for working today (plus I've also worked two Sundays in a row as well in the same pay week), fingers crossed I'll be able to survive the next payday OK and get that tax paid etc. It'll still be tight for a few weeks, but I'm in a better frame of mind to handle it again now, and the horizon doesn't look as bleak as it previously did :)

I've got a few long weekends coming up which I'm going to fill with selfish stitching ... I have a 4-day weekend this weekend due to getting my car fixed, then a 6pm start on Wed, so that makes it almost a 5-day break - then I'm at work for two nights (Wed/Thu) before having another 4-day weekend, as I'd taken two days off work to fly up to Sydney to see Vicki and Brenda for their birthdays (but of course I can't go now) ... then the following week I get a 3-day break due to my actual roster - gotta be loving that! :D

Geesh, I can tell I'm back to normal again ... I can't stop waffling!! ;) I'd better sign off and put this new-found energy to good use and get some dinner cracking ... Thanks again for putting up with me, and offering those shoulders and comments of support, the last few days - it's meant a lot, and helped me to keep my head above water :D {{hugs}}

RR & Exchanges ... and stuff

2006-11-06T18:56:00.000+11:00

Thanks for all your comments and emails of support - I'm still feeling a bit 'blue' (which I would normally be happy about haha), but I'm getting there slowly. Anyway, I won't dwell on my current issues now, as I'm trying hard to keep them from my mind and not brood on things. I just wanted to post a few piccies of the fantastic exchange I just received today.

I received my scissor fob exchange from Cari, and I'm seriously blown away by her generosity ... not only did I receive the most exquisite fob in my fave colours, but also a pair of "Julia" Gingher's scissors, no less, and a VC silk in the most glorious blue ... I've been shaking my head like a stunned mullet (there's an Aussie saying for you) ever since I opened the envelope at lunchtime - and 6 hours later still feel gobsmacked by it all. The fob is absolutely gorgeous, and Cari's stitching and finishing is awesome ... I definitely don't feel worthy ... I just LOVE everything, and it will all be treasured for years to come - thanks again so much Cari!! :D I've taken piccies of the whole kit and caboodle, as well as trying to take a close-up shot of the front and back of the fob, so here goes:

On top of that I remembered to take a photo of the recent RR's I've been participating in ... this one is Lynn's RR so far, with just one more stitcher left to go (I stitched the Winter square earlier - sorry for the out of focus photo).

And this one is the latest RR I've received - this is Wendy's ... and I just have to stitch the Winter square on this one before it gets returned home to Canada. I'm hoping to get some quality stitching time over the next weekend, so I'll concentrate on getting some of this stitched up then (as well as finishing a gift piece now my missing Kreinik braid has arrived). Anyway, I thought Wendy might like to see how it's looking so far - hopefully I can whip through the stitching quickly so it can be posted back before hitting the pre-Christmas rush.

Tomorrow is a public holiday here in Melbourne - the only city I know where the entire city has a holiday for a horse race! I loved the description I just found on this website (actually the rest of the page is quite a fun read - and some of the Aussie slang is great):

"Melbourne is famous for Australia's premier horse race "The Melbourne Cup" held the first Tuesday in November at approximately 3pm at Flemington Racecourse. It is a public holiday in Melbourne, and in the rest of Australia and now in many parts of the world people stop work just to listen to this race. Horses from all over the world come here to participate.
The Queen entered a horse in this race a few years ago - it did not win. Generally it will be won by a horse that has been bred in New Zealand."

Personally I won't be having the day off, as I'm working (and I'll be very grateful for it when payday comes, as it's a double-time day which will be exceptionally handy this coming payday!!). I do have to admit to spending $2 on a non-essential item yesterday, which in 7 days isn't bad going :) It's pretty compulsory that you get involved with this infamous horserace and I joined the throng for the work sweepstake ... very high roller this betting chick ;) Apparently the horse that got put against my name is a relatively good one, not that that will make much difference - but it's all a bit of fun and the entire office gets behind it. My horse is called "Efficient".

Anyway, that's all from me tonight - just wanted to post those couple of piccies ... and say thanks for all the support - it has really helped to keep my spirits up :) {{hugs}}

Going offline for a few days

2006-11-04T18:45:00.000+11:00

I've finally reached the end of my 'emotional rope' today, and decided that I just want to go away for a few days and act like an ostrich, stick my head in the sand, and let the world go by. I'm OK, really, but just feel emotionally drained from all the stress I'm under at the moment.

Today was the final straw when I went out to a dead car before work - another $67 that I don't have later, I reinstated my RACV membership and got my car kickstarted again, but obviously things are more serious and I have to take it to a true mechanic and get it looked at. It's possibly either the starter motor or, hopefully, just the car alarm system playing up and draining the car's resources. Today at work I just used the key to lock up and it's been starting up fine ... fingers crossed that's all it is. Anyway, I'm not taking any chances and I'm taking public transport to work for the next week. Luckily I'm on 'normal' shifts for the next 8 working days, so that's an option.

I burst into tears this morning before the RACV man came ... then every time someone asked what was wrong this morning at work I got all teary again - all highly unusual for me. The financial stress has finally worn me down. So, if I'm not online for a few days don't worry - I just don't feel like blogging right now, and I hate being miserable online ... I'll be back again when I've perked up a bit.

See you again soon :)

SBQ with Chicken

2006-11-03T13:39:00.000+11:00

Today I'm cooking a roast chicken for dinner ... shhhh, don't tell Fraze, or he'll be round on the double ... this is by far the easiest roast chicken recipe ever, and without a doubt the most delicious I've ever tasted. Called, funnily enough, "Easy Roast Chicken", we nicknamed it to be "Salt and Pepper Chicken". Here's the recipe:

SALT AND PEPPER ROAST CHICKEN

1 small fryer or broiler chicken (basically just any frozen chicken - I prefer Inghams)
Fresh ground black pepper
Fresh ground Sea salt

Preheat oven to 425F (210C). Rub chicken inside and out with sea salt and pepper. Roast in oven 45-55 minutes, basting frequently with its drippings. Chicken will be golden brown and very juicy, and leg will move easily when it is ready.

See what I mean when I say it's easy? And it's divinely yummy!! And the great thing about it is that this will do me for about 3 days of eating, both lunches and dinners ... woohoo!! I've also made up a big pan of brown rice today to go into the freezer ready for lunches - one of my fave meals is rice salad with Tuna Tempters with a few chopped veges like celery, corn etc. There's no excuse not to take lunch to work when it's already half made up! :)

No stitching piccies today, so here's the last two SBQ's:

Today's SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

"If you were to come across a sampler chart that caught your eye and appealed to you, would you or would you not stitch it if it had a morbid or "creepy" saying on it? If not, why?"

That's pretty easy, if I still love the design, I'd just remove the saying. If we're thinking about HOHRH that whole design doesn't tempt me to stitch it and has nothing to do with the saying. In fact, I'm not really into 'historical' style samplers etc and that's where you'd find most of the morbid stuff, so there's no chance I'd ever have to worry about it ;)

Today's SBQ was suggested by Lee and is:

"How did you decide on the title of your stitching blog? Was it random, or does it have a special meaning to you or about you?"

Initially I started off struggling with a blog name, and just came up with "Stitching Shack" just because Shack is part of my surname and often a nickname at work ... when I sat down and started thinking about it more a few months down the track, I wanted something that would include my love of ducks ... ideas that got tossed around was "On the Pond", "Shack by the Sea" (due to my new location here) ... in the end I came up with "Feather Stitching", as well as being an actual stitch itself, it refers to the duckie side of me ... and I think I still like it as it's quite simple, a bit like me ...

A quick finish

2006-11-02T21:10:00.000+11:00

My decision to start something new was a good one ... although I didn't end up starting the actual stitching last night, just kitting up two things - a Christmas ornie for me, and Wendy's seasonal round robin. Today I spent a short time stitching, after a bit of clearing out with the boxes in the spare bedroom. That poor room now looks like a war zone, but I did manage to finish my ornie while watching Jamie's Kitchen-Melbourne. I'm loving that show, especially knowing it's right on my doorstep. Perhaps my treat to myself once I get out of this financial tight spot will be to have lunch out there at Fifteen Restaurant ... hmmm food for thought.

Anyway, just a short post, as I'm not really in blogging mood ... here's the ornie I stitched - it's Starry Starry Night by JBW Designs, from the 1998 JCS ornie issue. Complete with the Mill Hill treasures I bought earlier in the year, this is one expensive little ornie ;) It's stitched on a mystery hand-dyed 28-count linen that I think came from Silkweaver in last year's Halloween trick or treat bag. That also means one more project crossed off the 50 Project Challenge, yippee - 9 down, 41 to go :D

Where does the time fly?

2006-11-01T18:35:00.000+11:00

I can't believe it's November already!! I've been looking at all my planned stitching goals for 2006 and realised I've hardly touched them ... oops. Can't say I'm in a major hurry to complete many of them before year end, and will just push them into 2007 for stitching 'whenever'. They'll get placed into my rotation at some stage, I'm sure ...

Well, today was the first day of the new pastime of packed lunches - I used to take a home-made lunch every day, but got out of the habit months ago. Last night I made a loaf of bread in my breadmaker (Wholemeal Beer and Mustard Loaf ... yummo), and had a bit of a 'ploughmans' thing going today - I slapped some crumbly cheddar cheese and piccalilli between a couple of slices, and it was scrummy. I'd forgotten how satisfying it is to eat something that you've totally made from scratch (ie the bread, not the rest of it) ... it's quite a good feeling :)

When I parked my car this morning it made a funny noise again ... and I noticed my dashboard clock was out of synch - I'm pretty sure I readjusted the clock yesterday before driving home, but can't be 100% positive. If I did, then it means my problem still isn't resolved, and it could be something to do with the wiring or alarm that's draining my battery ... I'll have to check it again over the next couple of days. Mind you, if there's anywhere I need to go to before Saturday I'll be doing it on foot to save on the petrol! I'll be acting quite the miser before month-end ;) Anyway, this photo is especially for Mum - it seems the breadmaker is working just fine, and the last disasters were obviously related to the recipe itself ... this one turned out gloriously!

As for my stitching, I managed to get the final stitches put into my Halloween freebie before bed, but was too tired to make it into an ornie ... oh well, there's always next year ;) Now I'm off to scour the recipe books for something that uses tinned tomatoes (I have about 8 cans in the cupboard from a cheap sale months ago, so it's finally time to find a good use for them) with either chicken breasts or tinned tuna. Then I'm settling in with a glass of wine straight from the fridge, with my stitching, to watch ER ... a bit of personal pampering is in order (and hey, it's all free!). I might even do something very very decadent and start a new project!! Rotation? ... WHAT rotation??? LOL.

Happy Halloween!!

2006-10-31T14:50:00.000+11:00

What can I say today? If it doesn't rain, it pours ... on the way to work today my car battery seemed to be failing - no problems starting the car up, and it drove fine into work, but the dashboard clock was out of sync etc, with the alarm making a really strange sound when trying to use it. When I tried to lock the car manually when I arrived at work (seeing as the alarm locking system had failed), it locked the door and wouldn't unlock again. Luckily I could open the passenger side manually and lock all the other doors that way. Anyway, I was feeling so shattered at work I cashed in my final 2 Luv Ya Work awards to leave an hour early to get my car fixed ... only to find my car now wouldn't start at all ... I had a flat battery. Well, after being told the battery guys would be there within the hour, two hours later they finally turned up ... $125 later and I could drive home again. I just hope like heck that's fixed it, as when I parked my car at home, the alarm was still making a strange sound (I'll be sleeping with my fingers and toes crossed tonight, that's for sure!!).

I called and chatted to Mum for half an hour while waiting (I have a price cap on my mobile phone and this is covered thank goodness) - it was great to just have a moan about how fed up I felt ... she's the best listener in the world. We even had time to put our heads together and come up with some meal options out of what's in my cupboards, as thanks to this little saga for the day, I may not be going grocery shopping for at least a fortnight now ... especially when I walked into the flat to find yet another little gift, the gas bill {heavy sigh}. I'm trying to keep a smile on my face, but I do have to admit as soon as I walked in the door, I sat down and burst into tears for a few minutes ... just a brief reaction to the stress, I think, as well as being exhausted from lack of sleep and trying to fight off a migraine. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be fine, and there are plenty of people worse off than me, so I can't complain too much! Hopefully after another two paydays I'll be back on my feet again ... especially with a public holiday coming up that I'm working.

It just means that I'm going to have to not go anywhere or do anything special for at least the next 2-4 weeks until everything is paid off. That also means not using my car unless absolutely essential, and making sure I make a packed lunch every day or going without etc. No coffee shop coffees, and no fast food ... everything that passes my lips has to come out of my current pantry and freezer - if nothing else, it'll get some old stuff used up and make some room, so perhaps that's a good thing! ;)

Thanks again for your emails and comments of support - I really really appreciate it. All the lovely comments are helping to keep my spirits up. Hopefully I'll be back to regular scheduled programming and my positive self very soon in a blog near you ... {{hugs}}

Actually, I almost forgot about my stitching news - in the spirit of Halloween, and the fact that I own absolutely no Halloween items whatsoever, I really wanted to stitch myself something this year, but haven't been in the mood ... I was just sitting around like a zombie after work yesterday, so I forced myself to put a few stitches into a new start to try and cheer myself up, and came up with this ... I just have to add three more words (2 x eeks and a boo) and the spider eyes, and it's ready to be finished into an ornie. It's Just Nan's freebie "Just Jack", stitched on 28ct light mocha Quaker cloth, using the recommended DMC threads. These are the only arachnids that will ever be allowed on my threshold without getting the Mortein treatment ;P

Feeling a bit perkier

2006-10-30T16:04:00.000+11:00

Well, I don't feel quite as haggard today ... I felt absolutely disgusting this morning, but it was a good day at work, with some fun people on the Hotline, so it made for a more fun day. I also got my recent call evaluation done, and was told by the Quality Evaluator that I was an extremely valued member of the Hotline, and being made permanent was one of the best decisions management have ever made ... awww, that's so sweet! :)

Financially, things are better today 'cos it's payday haha ... I still don't have spare cash sitting around, and I am on a very VERY tight rein for the next fortnight, which means Sydney is most definitely not happening. One of the reasons I've been panicking is due to my tax return ... this is the first time I've ever had to pay money back, and it's just over $500 (I wasn't too phased about doing my return because I've always had money refunded to me ... then freaked out three weeks ago when I did my tax online, and haven't lodged it officially until today when I went through and re-checked all my figures before hitting "send" ... sure enough I have to pay boohoo). Anyway, I just assumed (stupidly) that you had to pay it before the end of the next financial year ... nope, you actually have to pay it by 21 November 2006 ... bl**dy hell!!! So, if I had any possible doubts about getting to see my best friend in Sydney, that sealed it! It's a shame, 'cos Vicki's never in Aussie, and it's a real hassle to visit her in New Zealand as the flights to Nelson aren't great. Oh well, I'll just have to save up and make a side trip the next time I'm home in Auckland ... whenever that will be.

Still no stitching news ... I've been stalking the mailbox today and there's no parcel in there from SB&B, so no scissor fob exchange being posted yet (my final exchange) ... it's early days yet, though, so hopefully it'll be here over the next couple of days. I've been feeling too flat to do any actual stitching, so no new progress to report either hmmm. Never mind, hopefully I'll make up for it on my days off this Thu/Fri.

Thanks again for all the supportive comments recently ... it means a lot :)

Quilting and 'stuff'

2006-10-29T17:18:00.000+11:00

I managed to pick out a couple of quilt designs that I like, to show you - there are quite a few more, but they're in actual quilting books and I don't think I'm allowed to post piccies due to copyright ... these ones came from old quilting magazines that I've ripped the pages out of, so goodness knows where/what the original source is. Also, one day I might just re-create the other book quilts in my software program and show those piccies, 'cos then I'm not technically breaking copyright ... I think ... I was serious enough to try quilting years ago and bought designing software ready for it, but I still haven't been brave enough to give it a go :/ Whatever design I eventually go with will be, as Isabelle puts it, blue blue blue ;P I'm envisaging deeper blues with turquoise, as opposed to pastels, but who knows what it will end up being? Anyway, here are some designs that I like - the 3rd one is a cot quilt, but the design could be repeated to make a larger quilt, I think.

I especially love the last two!!

Thanks for your comments and emails of support after yesterday's post. Today I still feel a bit blue, and have pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it's likely I won't be going to Sydney - Mum and I had a good talk on the phone last night and as she put it, I seem to be taking one step forward and two steps back at the moment, and there's no point going just because I 'really want to', if it's possible it will put me in greater financial difficulty in the end, which is absolutely right.

Actually the reason for the phone call from Mum last night was to let me know some bad news from the family in the UK (I knew it had to be something, 'cos I'd only spoken to her the day before) ... one of my cousins had walked into the house to find her husband had committed suicide, which is a really really awful thing to experience I'm sure, and something I could never entirely imagine to its full extent and horror. To be honest I don't feel really upset about it, as I didn't know David that well - I don't have any memory of my childhood prior to the age of 10 (when we emigrated finally to New Zealand), and I'd only met him once in my early 20's when I visited/lived there for 6 months. I do, however, feel very sorry for my cousin for the situation she's now in and she's been in my thoughts a fair bit today. Even though we're not close, and we hardly know each other as adults, she's one of the very few family members who ever keeps in touch with birthday and Christmas cards, and by the sounds of it she hasn't had an easy life. My UK family aren't aware of my blog (and the majority don't have computers anyway to my knowledge), but {{hugs}} to you anyway Carole, may peace and inner strength find you in the trying and difficult days ahead.

Well, that's me for today - I'm feeling very very revolting and haggard after my early morning start thanks to daylight saving ... it's been the slowest shift in history, and I just can't wait for this day to end so I can get to bed and have a bit of sleep. Only two more 5am's left, hip-hip-hooray :D

I forgot ...

2006-10-28T14:17:00.000+10:00

I forgot to post a progress piccie after my stitching yesterday on Bordeaux Sampler ... here goes :)

Feeling a bit blue ...

2006-10-28T13:40:00.000+10:00

Perhaps I just feel tired after being up so early today, I don't know ... but I have to say the last week has been a struggle financially - I think having the dinner party etc recently has been an extra drain on the finances, not to mention that stupid parking fine, and I thought I was doing OK, but then the electricity bill came in, and my bank account basically went down to having $10 spending money for the next 5 days ... hmmm. Fraze asked me to come into the city to have dinner with him last night, and I had to turn him down, as I simply couldn't afford it. I said to Mum on the phone I don't even have bread or milk in at the moment oops. That's not to say I don't have any food in the house ... thankfully I have some frozen pumpkin soup and chicken breasts/meat etc in, and plenty of pantry items to get a meal thrown together, but it's been an interesting few days. Today I went out and bought milk and yogurt for my breakfast muesli, and emptied out the bank account in its entirety. I got creative last night and made my own bread in the breadmaker, as I have plenty of flour etc on hand, which made a lovely accompaniment to the pumpkin soup :D

All-in-all, it wouldn't be too bad ... I do occasionally have a month where I'll struggle financially, then the next one makes up for it and it all evens out. I'd managed to save up a wee bit of money behind me as a backup, but of course that ended up being spent on our Hong Kong trip. Anyway, what tripped me out is that I just received a letter from my real estate agent saying the landlord had requested a rent increase, and basically I have 60 days notice before it takes effect. I'm a bit peeved because when I talked about getting a cat he asked if I would be staying long-term, I'd said as long as he didn't increase the rent, I'd be staying ... he replied not to worry he definitely wouldn't be doing that :( OK, admittedly, he's only asking for an extra $5 a week, which is only $20-25 a month, but it's all still an extra expense, particularly with weeks like this one when I'm down to my last $10 until pay day!! That's the main reason for the title of this post ... hmmm.

The way I'm going, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get the money together to see my best friend in Sydney ... I might end up having to make a snap decision during that final week, to see if there's enough money in the kitty left over for it. It will be really disappointing, that's for sure, but then again there's no point getting myself into more financial ruin by going if I really can't afford it.

It also means I've been considering other areas where I'm just going to have to cut back. Like a few of my fellow bloggers, I'd dearly love to send Christmas and birthday gifts to my fave online pals, and I'd already been planning a few things, but I'm realising I just can't realistically do it financially ... my gifts this next year are going to have to be quite meagre, as every time I make a financial cutback I'm offsetting any benefits by spending extra money on gifts and postage, and I just seem to be running in circles and not getting anywhere in the case of reducing debt. As much as I adore buying for gifts (and I really have loved doing it this year for my online pals), I have to be realistic about it and make some changes ... and it breaks my heart to have to think that way. I guess having that small rent increase arrive has given me food for thought ... and that food is giving me indigestion!!

Sorry this is such a depressing post ...

On a more positive note, thanks for all your comments - I knew that little sneak preview would make you think my latest gift stitching was Sweetheart Tree ... it's actually a Calico Crossroads sampler :)

Gift stitching ... piccies

2006-10-27T13:55:00.000+10:00

That's the only thing I hate about secret stitching ... I can't share piccies until after it's been received, darn it! Seeing as it won't give the game away, I've decided to show you a sneak preview of my current gift stitching, though. It's about 2/3 finished now, but I can't complete it until I get a spool of Kreinik braid ... fingers crossed that'll be in my first parcel from SB&B that's on its way and should be here within a week's time ... if not, that's the time to start panicking ;)

Actually, I just heard from Jenna that her birthday gifts have arrived safely, so I can also add an extra piccie to this post ... I didn't take photos of the extra goodies I sent, but I did take one of the lavender sachet I stitched. I haven't done any hardanger really since I took a beginner's class about 5-6 years ago, and haven't tried wrapped bars before (ie just wrapping all 4 threads together), but it worked out OK - it was strange using such large count fabric and pearl cotton (#3 and #5), but the finished product is really pretty. I chose it because lavender is a natural therapy for headaches, and poor Jenna is regularly plagued with them - thankfully USA Customs restrictions aren't as strict as here, and you can send lavender into the country, yay. The design is a freebie from the Classic Stitches website. I'm so happy it arrived safe and sound, and that Jenna likes her goodies :D

Other than that, not much has been happening in this neck of the woods - after my appalling night's sleep yesterday, I managed to get tuckered out and went back to bed at midday for another 3 hours - I felt much more human after that ... but at least it got my kitted up projects entered into a spreadsheet, which has proved helpful already as I searched for a DMC thread for my gift stitching yesterday - I had a quick look at the spreadsheet then went straight to the right project to grab the skein out ... awesome!

Tonight it's back to early nights for sleeping, I need to be in bed by 7.30pm to try and get 8 hours before being up at 4am for work ... 4 days of 5am's this week, finished with one 9am shift at the end - only 5 days straight again, oh boy am I loving that!!

Thanks to a conversation Isabelle and I have been having, I've been contemplating making a patchwork quilt next year ... I've been dreaming about it for a number of years now, but never started one for myself, and I'm thinking 2007 might be the year to try it out. I've been looking through my quilting books and choosing some possible designs ... once I've narrowed my choices down I'll share some piccies.

Rightio, back to listening to the last part of Jeffrey Deaver's Cold Moon novel (I'm really enjoying this one) and Bordeaux Sampler (I'm giving it some well-deserved stitching time, seeing as it's been neglected for a few weeks) ... it's OK, though, Carol, I'm not motoring too far along with it today, just enough to show some difference ;)

Apricot Slice

2006-10-26T05:50:00.000+10:00

At Alison's request, here is the recipe for the very unhealthy apricot slice :)

DOREEN'S APRICOT SLICE

125g butter
1/2 can condensed milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
250g packet round wine biscuits, crushed (plain biscuits)
1 cup dried apricots, chopped (NOT Turkish, just cheapo brands - chuck them in the food processor)
Coconut or chocolate hail for topping

Heat the butter, condensed milk and brown sugar until melted - don't boil. Add apricots and biscuits and mix well. Push into a sponge roll tin and sprinkle with coconut or chocolate hail. Set in the fridge, then cut into slices.

Easy huh? Then the hardest part is trying to just eat one slice ;) LOL.

Well, today I'm up an around after only 4 1/2 hours sleep, at 5.30am ... considering I haven't even started the early shifts yet, that's a most disgusting thing to happen on my first day off!! I just couldn't get back to sleep again, so I'm going to potter around then have a bit of a kip again this arvo, I think. My job while I'm pottering is to make up a spreadsheet of the 'envelopes' I've got kitted up, and the DMC and specialty threads etc that are in them, so if I need them for something else I actually know where to find them! There have been a few things of late I've been hunting for, and I'm sure that's where they're hiding ... in one of my kitted-up projects. Anyway, that'll keep me out of mischief while I'm waking up or until I'm ready for a kip again ...

T.G.I.W/F.

2006-10-25T10:35:00.000+10:00

It's Wednesday (aka Friday in my little world today), and I'm ever so happy ;)

Haven't touched a needle in a few days now, and I'm itching to get a bit done, as well do a bit more housekeeping with my stitching stash - I've got so many charts not sorted into subjects in my folders etc, that it's getting totally out of control, and I need some sort of order back again. The other day I bought some plastic 'envelope' folders, and put all of my rotation WIP's into them, in order of stitching in a plastic tub, so every time I finish one rotation it goes to the back of the pile and I'm ready to just pick up the next one. In each of the folders I have my stitched piece if it's small, my chart and working copy, and all the threads in flossaway bags in numerical order on metal rings ... hence the reason I haven't done any stitching recently haha. Typical of me, though, I can always find something else to fill my time rather than those things I really should be doing LOL.

In my semi-cranky mood yesterday, I decided to cheer myself up with a taste of my childhood ... literally. For the first time I finally made myself a double batch of Doreen's Apricot Slice - Doreen is my best friend's Mum, and my adopted second Mum, and at many outings with the family Doreen would make this apricot slice ... it always reminds me of those wonderful fun times of my youth. In fact Doreen's kitchen was always filled with yummy home-baked goodies when you visited. I asked Vicki to send me the recipe a little while ago, and gave it a go. It's not quite the same, as we don't have Round Wine biscuits here, so I tried using Marie biscuits and they seem to have a bit more crunch to it ... next time I think I'll try plain Arrowroot biscuits, either that or get Mum to bring some in her red cross parcel/suitcase when she comes over haha. The guys at work will love me forever for making a double batch, as that means I'm taking a pile of it into work for them to munch on today too :D Here's a small sampling of the pile ...

I'm happy to say my order that I was moaning about yesterday has been shipped, even though there is apparently a glitch with PayPal and I still haven't got an invoice, but I feel very grateful it has finally been resolved. It's unusual for me to fly off the handle, and to blog about it, but perhaps we can put it down to hormones as 'that time of the month' is about to hit any day now, and I'm feeling a mix of emotions this week hmmm.

Anyway, time to get ready for work - I have a normal shift of 12noon to 8pm today, then two days off woohoo (I'm trying not to think about the shifts next week, it's too depressing LOL). I'm hoping to have something stitching-related to show you by the end of the weekend :)

It's Friday tomorrow

2006-10-24T10:27:00.000+10:00

OK, OK, for everyone else it's Wednesday tomorrow ... but for me it's Friday in that it's the last day of this week's working week - I have Thu/Fri off before going back into work on Saturday ... and a very very bad weekend to be working 5am shifts - why? I hear you ask (I wondered what those voices in my head were!!) ... this weekend the clocks go forward (yay, I love daylight saving), but it means instead of having to wake up at my normal 4am, it will actually be 3am (not yay, in fact a BIG boooooo!). I think I'm going to be totally wrecked ... ooh, ooh, I just had a brainwave as I was typing this - I still have a couple of 'luv your work' awards that I could cash in, then I could come home an hour early and just have a 7-hour day ... hmmm, food for thought ...

Can I just take a brief moment to have a mini rant ... you might want to skip this bit ... I've just sent a grumpy email of complaint to a certain online store in the US, one who's infamous for having things on backorder for months (say no more). Anyway, I'd pre-ordered the JCS Xmas ornie issue through them, as I can never find it in Melbourne (although now I know Dragonfly Dreams carries it, it's likely I'll pay the imported price and buy locally from now on) - we added a number of items to the list that Mum needed, and asked for it to be held until the JCS issue comes in to combine postage (that was on 1Sep) ... of course it's still got items on back order even now ... anyway on speaking to Mum we decided to add a couple more items to the list (namely Flossaway bags), which meant we'd have to have two shipment parcels ... not a problem. At the time I also requested an additional one or two items be added to the first shipment for the scissor fob exchange I'm sending ... gave a list of items that would be options, and just asked for something that was in stock to be sent. Well, on 10Oct I was asked if I'd like to receive shipment on the first parcel, to which I replied yes, and could I make sure the exchange goodies were in there too, and please send the invoice so I can pay it immediately ... today is 24Oct and to date I still have not received a single response, and certainly no invoice - I've sent two other chaser emails, as I was worried about the mailing dates, and still heard nothing. I very very rarely complain in writing ... but today I finally put my fingers to the keyboard. I don't even mind greatly if the goods couldn't be shipped in time to meet my deadline, but I would have liked an acknowledgement and advice to that extent so I could have made other arrangements. As it is, it is now too late, and I'll likely have to send two parcels over the oceans, but it's left a rather bitter taste in my mouth that's for sure! They were quick enough to send my monthly bits invoice (but I presume that's automated), but I have to admit it's still sitting unactioned in my inbox while I decide what to do with that. OK, my rant is now officially over ... phew! ;)

That feels better getting that off my chest ... now I can move on and go back to my happy existence and regular scheduled programming haha ... BTW, did I tell you it's Friday tomorrow??? See, that put a smile back on my face again hahaha.

Update to my rant ... I've just heard back from the infamous ONS - apparently an invoice was sent 11Oct, which I never received, and due to personal reasons no-one has been actioning emails in the office ... it's been sitting waiting to be shipped upon payment since 11Oct - geesh, I wish I'd known about this two weeks ago!! As I just replied, I've always always paid immediately on receipt of any invoices, perhaps that should have rung alarm bells, and if someone could have just scanned through emails for those that are relevant ... OK, I'm just going to stop ranting now and try to let it slide ... maybe I need to drag out my old yoga tape LOL.

Blogging has changed my life

2006-10-23T00:21:00.000+10:00

I was just sat here reflecting how life has changed since I began blogging ... all in a positive way, of course! I feel so much more confident in my stitching, and within myself, and it's been wonderful sharing the trials and tribulations of my newfound online pals, and sharing those of my own with people who think the same way.

When planning holidays and breaks away, I immediately wonder if there are any bloggers in the area I could meet up with and put a face to the name ... the world has become a much smaller and friendlier place to live in :)

Having the blogging outlet has helped give me relief from a bad day, and I often sit here at home feeling a sense of peace with life itself. I thank those of you who have become part of my new smaller world, and am very grateful to have met you {{hugs}}.

I recently looked at my counter here and saw it hit the 20,000 mark, and marvel at how many of you come back for more to read my drivel every week, but feel grateful that you do come back and provide such wonderful support and friendship.

That's all I wanted to post about tonight ... I was just sitting here thinking how 'at one with the world' I feel, even though I had a tough start to the working day today, and wanted to say a heartfelt thanks :D

To my online pals ... I salute you!! :D

I tagged myself & SBQ

2006-10-22T00:25:00.000+10:00

In an effort to wind down after work (it wasn't a good night, but I won't go into that right now, or I'll go back to focusing on it again), here's another series of questions/answers I grabbed from Annette's blog. I think I may have answered something similar when I first started blogging, but here goes anyway ...

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Anne
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Not as far as I know
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? About 3 weeks ago after Mum had gone home - a combination of being hormonal, sleep deprived and missing my Mum
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I always gets compliments on it, but I don't think it's anything special - depends what mood I'm in as to how tidy it is!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Ham
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes, I'd say so, except I'd avoid being around myself on 5am shifts
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This blog is it for now
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope - got them taken out in my early 30's
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Only if I was pushed ... basically no!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Depends on my mood - Frosties when being 'bad', muesli when being healthy, and Weet-Bix for simplicity
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Mentally and spiritually yes
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Orange chocolate chip or coffee
14. SHOE SIZE? 8
15. RED OR PINK? Definitely red - basically anything BUT pink ... yuk!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I am a procrastinator
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Mum when she's not here
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not really relevant
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans, denim-blue T-shirt, two-tone purple polar fleece jacket, and powder blue Skechers (I love weekend dress code at work!)
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Scone with jam an cream (someone at work made them and dished them out just before 11pm)
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Traffic noise outside
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue - that's a no-brainer!
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Depends on my mood ... frangipani flowers or vanilla
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Some moron telemarketing for ING before work ... and a travel agent on the phone at work
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Yes
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Jim Beam bourbon and L&P ... sheer nectar!
28. FAVORITE SPORT? None, I hate them all equally ... OK, if I HAVE to choose I'd have to say Rugby Union (but I usually only watch NZ vs Aussie matches anymore)
29. EYE COLOR? Blue
30. HAT SIZE? Large - I have a big skull!
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, not anymore - had my eyes lasered
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Depends on my mood ... love lemon meringue pie, smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers on bagels, and king prawns ... I just love food generally
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Mainly happy endings - but enjoy a scary movie every now and then
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Lemon meringue pie or pavlova
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not really applicable
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? As per 38
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Closers by Michael Connelly (audiobook)
41. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Penguins - from a painting by a NZ artist
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing - didn't switch the TV on ... the night before was Jamie Oliver's 'Fifteen in Melbourne'
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The final beep from my headset when I'm signing out at work ;)
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME? Depends which home you're referring to ... the Greek Islands from NZ will be my choice for now
46. WHAT’S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Don't think any are particularly 'special'
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Doncaster, South Yorkshire, UK
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I took it from Annette

And now for the SBQ ...

Today's SBQ was suggested by Vash and is:
"Which way do you stitch, i.e. do you stitch /// followed by \\\ on top, or the other way around \\\ followed by ///? Are you left-or right-handed and do you think that this affects the way that you stitch?"

I stitch /// then \\\ ... probably because when I was teaching myself the little kit showed it done that way in the instructions, and I continued the same way ever since. I can't say it has anything to do with being right-handed at all, just that I didn't know any other way back then ...

Tagged ...

2006-10-21T12:53:00.000+10:00

Over the last few days I've been tagged, and thought it's about time I sat down and answered them, so here goes ...

I've Been Tagged by Andie for this one.

The rules:
List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

I've been going back through my 'old' CD collection recently, so those oldies are probably in my head more than the new stuff at the moment, but here goes:

1) Superman - Five For Fighting (loved this one for years and still love it!)
2) Beautiful - James Blunt
3) Big Yellow Taxi - Counting Crows
4) Without Me - Eminem
5) Shiny Happy People - REM
6) Babylon - David Gray
7) Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meatloaf

Haha, definitely an eclectic mix in there! I have a very varied taste in music ... the only things you won't find in my music collection will be country music (with the exception of John Denver and Willie Nelson!) and opera (no exceptions ... ever ... haha - Phantom of the Opera doesn't count!). Not a huge fan of rap, but don't mind a couple of songs.

Rightio, on to the next one ... for this one I was tagged by Margaret. I have to say 5 things that are weird about myself or my pets ... hmmm ...

1) I eat what's on my plate generally in order ... ie I'll usually eat the things I don't enjoy so much first, followed by the yummier things - perhaps that's part of why I'm the size I am, if I left the yucky stuff to last, I won't be obliged to stuff it into me even though I'm already full, 'cos I don't want to waste the yummy stuff ;) Actually I think I'm breaking this habit, but I have always worked my way round the plate finishing each type of food before starting on the next.

2) I can spot a duck at a 1000 paces ... that probably doesn't surprise anyone! I just love to see ducks out in the wild, and I've always been drawn to them since I was a 'wee nipper'. Amazingly enough, I still have an affinity to them, as my stuffed toy collection will prove :) A girl can never have too many ducks!!

3) Our cat Rio used to go absolutely crazy over freshly ground coffee - more so than cat nip. One day I brought a bag of ground coffee home, and it was sitting on the lounge floor inside the plastic carry bag. Rio started rolling all over it, smooching his cheeks all over it and salivating like there was no tomorrow - I've never seen anything like it in my life ... definitely weird!

4) I like sitting on the floor ... you can tell I feel really comfortable in your home if I jump down to the carpet and park myself there - dunno why, but I love sprawling on the floor.

5) I have a bit of an aversion to the phone ringing at home ... I really hate it. Perhaps 'cos I spend all day on the phones, I dunno, but heaven help those telemarketers who phone me after hours at home invading my peace and quiet ;)

As far as tagging other people, I think most people have done both of these now ... if you haven't and feel like joining, consider yourself tagged! :D

Now, for my finale, stolen from Judith's blog ... this has been around for a while and I've never bothered doing it before, but I'm just in the mood for it now ... ;)

What I have done is in "bold".

1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid
6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
8. Said "I love you" and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an expert
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Eaten fugu (pufferfish)
89. Had a one-night stand
90. Gone to Thailand
91. Bought a house
92. Been in a combat zone
93. Buried one/both of your parents
94. Been on a cruise ship
95. Spoken more than one language fluently
96. Performed in Rocky Horror Picture Show
97. Raised children
98. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111.Ridden a bike
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one important author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life

Last day of freedom

2006-10-20T17:53:00.000+10:00

It's back to work again tomorrow, but it's only a 5-day week for a change, which is just wonderful - this week's shifts are reasonable, with a mix of 3pm and 12 noon starts. Next week it's back to 5am starts again hmmm, which means I should get loads of stitching done just to keep me awake in the afternoons!

Yesterday I promised piccies of my great mail day, and here they are - the first piccie is of course Jenna teasing me with my scissors ... I'm still laughing my head off today over this little trick - I love it! As well as the beautiful wrapping, it also has a gift tag already made up on it ... "To Anne, From Anne" - what a crack up!

The other goodies I received were my back-ordered threads from Karen at Dragonfly Dreams - this means Sapphire Star will be joining my rotation as the next project on my list for the canvaswork slot ... although my rotation is a bit out the window at the moment to fit in some commitment and gift stitching. Here in the piccie is the latest issue of JCS (only bought for the ornies in it, and I have to admit there are probably only 2 of them I'd consider stitching up, oh well), some 16ct Bay Leaf Aida for Mum, my Rainbow Gallery back orderered threads, a packet of 40557 Mill Hill beads (seeing as I still can't find my other ones, and I need one to finish Lynn's RR, plus this colour always comes in handy), 2 WDW threads I needed for upcoming projects, and finally some little buttons and charms for Christmas ornies coming up.

As far as my gift stitching is concerned, I have one entirely finished and it's winging its way across the Pacific as we speak, as I managed to get to the Post Office late this arvo. I'd offer a sneak preview, but it might give it away ;) We'll just have to wait a week or so until it arrives at its destination, then all can be unveiled :D

Not entirely sure what I'll sit and do tonight - possibly some kitting up of some Christmas ornies, or perhaps starting my next bit of gift stitching ... I dunno yet, but no doubt whatever I do it will be stitching-related :D

Ouch, my feet hurt!

2006-10-19T15:19:00.000+10:00

Not much of a stitchy post today, but I thought I'd take a few minutes to sit down and rest before picking up my needle for the afternoon ... I've been tagged by Margaret, but I need to think about my anwers yet before I write them up, but watch this space ;)

Yesterday I enjoyed my walk a little 'too much', and came home with whopping great blisters under both feet oops - it made it a very uncomfortable trip into the city to catch up with Fraze for dinner, but it was lovely to catch up again after not seeing each other for a couple of months. We were going to the Rose Garden in Elizabeth Street, but opted instead to go to the Shanghai Dumpling & Noodle House in Chinatown, and I loved every single mouthful ... we had prawn and chicken steamed dumplings, pork fried dumplings, spicy chicken noodle soup, Shanghai fried noodles and green vegetables with oyster sauce, and could barely walk afterwards ... yummo :) I was finally able to give to give him the potato crisps we bought him from Marks & Spencers in Hong Kong ;)

Then today popped in to clear my PO Box on the way to my hairdressers appointment (which is about 3/4 hour drive away from home), and found some wonderful things hiding in there - my order from Dragonfly Dreams, and Christmas came early with my parcel arriving from Jenna too. As I'd already said I was wrapping my scissors up for myself to go under the Christmas tree, the cheeky little monkey has already done it for me, so there's no peeking allowed and it will be a REAL surprise on Christmas Day - you're a real crack-up! My American twin also sent my Christmas prezzie from her at the same time too, so that means I have two prezzies under the tree this year woohoo :D Thanks again, sweetie, for getting my scissors for me, and thanks heaps in advance for my Christmas gift :D {{hugs}}

Aside from that, no stitching piccies to show - seeing as my stitching mojo had returned, and I got home so late from dinner last night, I decided to put the snowmen to one side and get cracking on my gift stitching ... I was originally hoping to get these finished earlier, but I didn't have the fabric for one, and I'm still awaiting the thread for the other with a back order from SB&B (which I'm also getting a bit antsy about, as there are items I need for the scissor fob exchange hmmm). Now it's back to my stitching again - I managed to get 8 whole eyelets done at the hairdressers today (I had a bit of blonde put back in again, sorry Mum, but it's pretty subtle!) so I really need to get the needle cracking again tonight! I'll take piccies of my postal arrivals later ... I can't be bothered getting the camera out of my bag from yesterday, lazy sod that I am ;) LOL.

Today will finish with Tom Yum soup I bought from my fave Vietnamese (and Thai) restaurant in Box Hill today ... I love getting my hair done, if just for the fact it gives me an excuse to pick up some of my fave food ;) And today there was an extra highlight to the day - I called in to say "howdy" to my fave Melbourne stitcher and friend, Sharon, and managed to catch up for a few minutes while she was at work. Unfortunately it wasn't long enough, but still wonderful to catch up briefly and share a hug - she's such good company :D

"I feel good! na-na na-na na-na na"

2006-10-18T11:39:00.000+10:00

Yep, the title is me singing that song ... today is the first day I've felt 'normal' in a whole week, and I have a bit of energy back again woohoo!! For the first time in days I've got my stitching mojo back again, and look forward to a happy dance tonight with my needleroll. I only got as far as finishing the top band of smyrna crosses and seeing half the top row of snowflakes done last night, as my eyes were really really heavy. I was in bed by 10pm, and still kept waking up every 1-2 hours as seems to be the norm after night shifts for me, but for the first time I actually woke up feeling quite refreshed this morning yippee!

I've caught up on a few blogs ... only 196 unread feeds left (it had got up to over 400 again from the other day yikes), done the dishes, and even started getting the urge to bake (and that NEVER happens LOL). For now, though, I'm going to don the walking shoes and get outside in the sunshine and go for a walk round the bays for an hour, then it's off into the city to meet up with Fraze for dinner. Seeing as I'm going in by train (I never drive into the city 'cos I have no idea where I'm going) I want to head in a bit early and do a spot of shopping at a discount store for some plastic folders for my WIPs - and at $2 a packet of 5 they're just wonderful :D If the weather stays fine, I just might head up the Rialto tower as well for a spot of sightseeing and cross that off my 101 things list ... although the weather forecast doesn't sound too good.

And seeing as there's no stitching update today (yet anyway), here's a photo of me the midget (only compared to Fraze, though, as I'm actually an average size of 5'6") and Fraze the 6'4" giant from a couple of years ago (me less quite a few pounds from now, with a lot more blonde - probably one of my fave photos ever of me, which is why it's on my profile haha ... and Fraze will probably kill me for posting this one of him LOL).

Happy as a pig in mud :)

2006-10-17T16:36:00.000+10:00

It was an interesting night last night, in that I was very sleepy very early, so hit the hay just before 11pm, only to wake up again at 2am with my body thinking "that was a nice nap, time to get up now" hmmm. I got up and wandered around for half an hour before going back to bed - took me a while to get back to sleep, but eventually I dozed off and didn't get up until 9am woohoo :)

Last night I managed to do some of the slowest stitching in history (for me), and still haven't managed to get that Snowman Needleroll finished yet ... but I guess it's a bit closer to finishing than it was before, so that's all good :)

Today has been a very productive day for me, although no stitching done as yet. I popped out and filled the car up with petrol (how wonderful to see it at $1.13 a litre woohoo), then went on a stitching adventure ... I finally went to Centre Road in East Bentleigh to visit Amitie (downstairs - quilting) and Broderie (upstairs - embroidery), and really enjoyed it. The quilting part is quite large, with a reasonable selection of fabrics ... and I've asked about classes there to teach me how to do applique and learn the quilting basics so I can complete my block of the month quilt I have sitting here doing nothing (complete with all the fabrics for it). Because of my shift work hours it's really difficult to commit to a lot of classes because they're usually spread over say 4 weeks, and I'd only end up being able to attend 2-3 of the classes. At Amitie, though, they have 'casual' classes each week, and you just pay for the class you attend and the instructors just help you with your queries ... I'd definitely keen to do that, and it's only 15-20 minutes drive from where I live yippee :D I can't remember if I've posted info on my quilt yet, but this is the design I have sitting here (and yes, for a change, it's blue!! LOL). Sorry but Blogger is being a dog again, and won't upload piccies, so no clickable links again ... if anyone knows how to make Photobucket piccies clickable, I'd love to know how! Actually, if you click here, you can see a clearer picture of it on the designer's website :)

Upstairs from Amitie is Broderie - I have to admit the space is quite small (just one medium room really), but Elizabeth has a decent range of threads etc in there, and she can order in most things they don't have. The owner is the Elizabeth that used to be at Bustle & Bows Malvern - I really liked her, and glad she's managed to set up her own business. It was really lovely to get out there and see a new LNS, as well as picking up a couple of items I needed to finish kitting up two new gift projects. I also managed to pick up a copy of the 2005 JCS ornie issue for Mum at half price, which was fantastic ... and I was very very good and didn't walk out with anything extra, only those items I specifically needed (pearl cottons and fabric), so I'm still working within the 50 Project Challenge guidelines. Unfortunately Broderie didn't have everything I needed, so I had to call into The Embroidery Den in Brighton on the way home, where I managed to find everything else ... even the 3mm satin ribbon in the perfect shade yippee :D

My last trip on the way home was to Officeworks where I did some photocopying I needed to do for some working copies of charts etc, and picked up a 2007 filler for my diary. And my final purchase (yes, I FINALLY bought one, Mum) was from Autobarn ... a dashboard cover for my car!! I have a Nissan Pulsar sedan, and the dashboard is the most horrendous thing I've ever had in a car, as it reflects the sun badly onto the window and makes it hard to see. When I first bought it I bought a piece of black felt and sat that on the dashboard to block out the reflections, but three years later the felt is well as truly dead (and brown!), and with summer here I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet ... I'm so happy!!! :D (Actually I'll be even happier when it arrives, 'cos I've had to order it in haha.)

Tomorrow I'm heading into the city to meet my pal Fraze for dinner, so I might go in earlier and have a look around. Then Thursday I'm off to Box Hill to get my hair cut/coloured ... I have to decide whether to have a dark colour put back in again (I had a semi-permanent put in before Katrina came here to visit), or whether to get the blonde back again until after summer ... oh decisions decisions haha. I might just have to buy some dinner to take home from there, too, from my fave Vietnamese eating place yummo :D

And with no further ado, I'm off to sort out my working copies to settle in for the evening ... I may even get that needleroll finished tonight ... maybe ;)

It's all Greek to me ...

2006-10-16T17:47:00.000+10:00

I can finally say I've picked up one of my exemptions from the 50 Project Challenge - at last my local newsagent near work had the World of XSing magazine in stock with the Michael Powell Greek scene in it ... I absolutely ADORE all things Greek with those beautiful blues in them, so this design is most definitely on the "must stitch" list. It will go well with the Greek paintings I bought in Greece that I have framed up (with some more still to be framed yet).

On the stitching front, I didn't manage to get much done on my Snowman needleroll over the last two nights ... on my 2nd night of doggoes it was a bit busier, so I only managed to get a tiny bit done - and I realised on adding the backstitching that the right-hand snowman is one stitch too far over on the right ... seeing as I'd already had to frog-stitch that one twice already, and I'd already completed it, I've decided to just leave it where it is, and just have to adjust the lettering by one stitch above it. I bet if I didn't say anything, no-one would notice ;) Last night would have been a good stitching night again, but I was just too tired to concentrate on it, so gave stitching a miss. I've only been getting 5-6 hours sleep each time during the day (and waking up every 1-2 hours), so last night that caught up with me. Of course, as is always the case, today I manage to sleep a full 8 hours and didn't get out of bed until 3pm, which means it'll be hard to get back into the routine for sleeping tonight ... that's the only thing I hate about night shift, recovering after it - otherwise I could do that shift permanently, I really enjoy it :D (very sad, I know! LOL)

I think tonight I'll try to get this little needleroll finished off, then tomorrow I need to pop out and buy some pearl cottons ready to start my gifts this week, before coming home to settle in and stitch up my scissor fob exchange piece. I'm a bit worried that the 'extra' I've ordered from SB&B isn't going to arrive in time for posting, but I guess there's still just over a week left (fingers crossed).

On the good note, though, Karen has shipped most of the threads I've been wanting for a canvaswork piece, so that'll slot straight into my rotation as soon as Pacific Pohutukawa is finished woohoo :D These threads have been on order for quite some time now, as they had to be ordered in through the distributor - but as soon as I've finished that piece, the chart can head it's way over to Tannia for her to stitch it :D

And on that note I'll sign off for the night and settle in with the Snowman needleroll for a few hours while listening to a new audiobook I've got - A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly. The reason I have this is Cathy's fault ... she mentioned Audible on her blog, and the price seemed very reasonable, so yesterday I thought I'd give it a trial run. They just so happened to have a 50% sale off Michael Connelly books, so I bought two (for the same it'd cost just for one normal paperback these days), as well as The Cold Moon by Jeffrey Deaver as my 'free' gift for joining up. That'll keep me out of trouble this week on my days off ;) It'll be a nice change from DVD watching, and they have a wonderful selection of audiobooks to download (even for us Aussies) compared to what's available at my local library :D

Better Dratteds piccie

2006-10-14T14:55:00.000+10:00

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments about my Dolphins Domain ... I have to admit, I really out-did myself with the amount of stitching I crammed into the final couple of days - it's amazing what sheer determination and bloody-mindedness can make you do! ;) Mind you, the pile of dishes in the sink and general mess around here shows I really did do nothing else but stitch for every waking moment for a couple of days - and on my day off sick I literally sat down with needle in hand at about 9am and didn't put it down again until almost midnight, and did the same thing yesterday until it was finished. And for those of you who've asked for it, here's a much better photo of the Dratteds (and it's clickable) - I think the colours are a bit more accurate too, as it was taken in front of the window with no flash this time (and with my good SLR camera).

I'd just downloaded an anti-phishing software that came with my renewal for SpyNet, and it was playing havoc with my PC, especially blogger ... so today I uninstalled it and voila I have Blogger piccies again without crashing the entire system yippee!! :D

Last night was my first night shift (affectionately known as the Doggoes - apparently this came from the old days when night shifts were known as the 'dogwatch'), and I really loved it - I was wide awake all night, in that I didn't feel tired once ... although tonight may be a different story, as I never sleep properly during the day (and of course yesterday I was awake almost 24 hours by the time I got to bed). Anyway, the calls were a bit quiet for a few hours, so I managed to put in a few stitches for the Needleroll SAL with Katrina et al inbetween answering queries/calls - this month I've chosen the Snowman Needleroll by Shepherd's Bush, and here's my progress to date.

As for "what now?" after the Dratteds are finished ... I'm debating between a couple of choices for my newly opened focus piece slot in my rotation - high up the list is Egyptian Garden Mandala by Chatelaine, or possibly one of my TW UFO's (English Garden Sampler or Noah's Ark). I have to say, due to the sheer size of it, that Egyptian Garden is likely to win out. Originally I was holding off doing this so I could SAL with Carol, but we agree that she's pretty much Chatelained-out with her stitching in that area this year, so I've opted to pick it back up again and get cracking on it. In fact there you go, my decision has been made ... EGM is my new focus piece! :D Seeing as I coughed up all that money for the kit, I really should get that beauty finished!

Next up, though, is my scissor fob exchange, as the deadline is drawing ever nearer - then a small gift for someone, and a couple of Christmas ornies ... if nothing else, there's always something in the pipelines waiting to be stitched, so I'll never have a problem running out of a project! ;P

Have a great weekend everyone :D

Farewell to the Dratteds!

2006-10-13T17:54:00.000+10:00

Yup, you read the title right ... I haven't been much online over the last couple of days, but rather I've been spending almost every waking moment with my needle in hand sat in front of the Dratteds. And compliments of having a day off work sick yesterday (with a splitting headache and the chills - just a cold thankfully), I managed to put the final stitches into them tonight (just in time for going to work on the overnight shift). After all these years, they're finally done! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!

I feel very relieved to have them finished finally ... but in some ways a bit sad that they'll be leaving 'home' soon - even if I say it myself, they're gorgeous in real life :D Hope you like them, John and Vicki, 'cos your wedding present is finally stitched up for you. Now all I have to do is save up for the framing :D

So, here they are in all their glory :D (Sorry, but the photo is from Photobucket as Blogger photos kept crashing my system, so you can't click for a bigger piccie)

Dolphins Domain by Cross My Heart
(from Orcas and Dolphins leaflet)
Started in August 1999 - Completed 13 October 2006

A small giggle

2006-10-10T09:48:00.000+10:00

The sad thing is that I could probably add a few to this list as well from personal experience ... haha. Nothing stitching-related to chat about, so you get some call centre enquiries (joke) that I got in an email ... gave me a giggle! :D

Thomas Cook Travel
Customer: "I've been ringing 0700 2300 for two days and can't get through to enquiries, can you help?".
Operator: "Where did you get that number from, sir?".
Customer: "It was on the door to the Travel Centre".
Operator: "Sir, they are our opening hours".

Samsung Electronics
Caller: "Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?"
Operator: "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about".
Caller: "On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?"
Operator: "I think you mean the telephone point on the wall".

Royal Automobile Club Motoring Services
Caller: "Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia?"
Operator: " Doesn't the product give you a clue?"

Directory Enquiries 1
Caller: "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please".
Operator: "I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?"
Caller: "Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off".

Directory Enquiries 2
Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven.
Operator: "Woven? Are you sure?"
Caller: "Yes. That's what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland ".

Technical support.... England
Caller: "I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?".

The Dratteds are back

2006-10-08T22:57:00.000+10:00

I've managed to do about 15 hours work on The Dratteds since I last took a progress piccie, and I'm starting to see the final deadline a lot closer now ... I chopped off all of my highlighted parts of my working copy, and I'm surprised how little is now left. I think I'll meet my self-imposed deadline and see this finished within the next two months :) Here's the progress to date, with a before and after piccie from when I last took a photo:
Before:

After:

When Sharon saw this piece in real life, she was surprised how big it was - it's 234 stitches wide x 150 stitches high ... I have to admit, though, it looks pretty gorgeous stitched up, even though it's a nightmare to stitch with all those greys. I'll be quite sad to eventually see these Dratteds leave home.

This week it isn't a great stitching roster, so not much will be done until possibly next week, when I need to concentrate on my scissor fob exchange.

A small finish

2006-10-07T20:31:00.000+10:00

By the following piccie you can no doubt guess what I did today on my first day off ... stitched my little heart out! In fact, I stayed in my PJ's all day too ... such decadence! ;) But it means Lynn's RR block is all finished except for the one little Mill Hill bead that I can't find right now (and after my last experience, I'm not in a major hurry to rush out just to buy one little packet LOL), and my name - other than that it's all finished yippee :) I'm not sure whether this counts towards my 50 Projects Challenge, as this wasn't technically from my stash (apart from the DMC) ...

Now I'm off to do a tiny bit of stitching on the Dratteds while watching Two Weeks Notice on TV, before heading off to bed for the night.

T.G.I.F. ... & a bit of snow

2006-10-06T13:59:00.000+10:00

The snow has been falling on my little Winter RR block, and the trees have blossomed up out of the ground, despite the drop in wintry temperature ;) As you can see, I've managed to get a few more stitches done on this piece before I head off to work (I'm about to leave any minute now). Today is Friday, and for me it actually IS Friday, which means my weekend off is a real weekend again for two weeks in a row yippee :) My plans this weekend are to do absolutely nothing but relax with a needle in hand ... I hope to get this Winter RR block finished, and anything other than that is a bonus.

Next week is a tough week for me, with a mix of shifts ... starting with 11am-7pm for two days, I then move to 1pm-9pm for one day, then a 3pm-11pm for 1 day, finishing with 3 days of 9pm-5am ... yep, another week of 7 days straight. I then have 4 days off, but I'm usually a zombie after my night shifts and don't anticipate much happening those days except perhaps a bit of stitching ... maybe ;)

And on that note, off to work I go :D

I almost forgot ... for Barbara - that red is just DMC 304 ... it's pretty scrummy :D

A few stitches

2006-10-05T13:11:00.000+10:00

I've decided to be a responsible stitcher, and not touch The Dratteds until I've finished one of my stitching commitments for this month - instead for the last two days I've been putting a few stitches into Lynn's RR block before going to work. I've chosen the Winter block as I just love wintry/Christmas scenes, and love the richness of the red in the house. I probably should have stitched the Spring block, seeing as that's the season we're currently in down here, but the Winter one appealed to me more stitching-wise. I'm hoping to get the final stitches put into this one by the end of the weekend, ready for posting at the end of the month.

After that I just have my scissor fob exchange commitment (and I still haven't decided on a design yet), then I'm free to stitch what I feel like ... namely the Dratteds, along with an ornament or two and the monthly needleroll SAL. The poor Dratteds have been severely neglected for the last month or so - can't wait to get moving on them again ... 'cos when they're all finished I'm moving Egyptian Garden Mandala into their position as my focus piece, and I really can't wait to get that back into my rotation.

Not much to chat on about today, so it's just a short post - time to jump in the shower and start getting ready for work ... geez it feels good to just have a 5-day week for a change, yippee!! :D

Curry Recipes

2006-10-04T10:39:00.000+10:00

This one's for 'anonymous' ... I can't be bothered hunting through my archives to find the last curry recipe, so I'm posting it anew here for you. Rogan Josh is a new recipe I found last year and LOVE it, the flavours are divine - it became my new favourite curry. Dragon's Curry is my Mum's recipe that we've been cooking for years, and still adore it ... Enjoy! :D Now I'm off to pick up a needle for the first time in almost a week! :D

ROGAN JOSH

1kg diced lamb
1 cup (250ml) yogurt
1 tablespoon malt vinegar
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons ghee
4 cardamom pods, bruised
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 medium (300g) onions, finely chopped
3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
3/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 cup (125ml) chicken stock
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves

1) Combine lamb, yogurt, vinegar, half the garlic and half the ginger in large bowl; mix well. Cover, refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. (I do mine first thing in the morning, and leave it all day.)
2) Heat ghee in large pan, add whole spices; cook, stirring, until fragrant.
3) Add onions and remaining garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until onions are browned slightly.
4) Add ground spices; cook, stirring, until fragrant. Add lamb mixture, stir to coat in spice mixture.
5) Add stock; simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Remove cover; simmer about 30 minutes or until lamb is tender. Just before serving, stir in garam masala and fresh herbs; heat through.
Serves 6 to 8

DRAGON'S CURRY

1.5kg chicken (we use chicken breast diced)
3 tablepoons oil or ghee
12 curry leaves
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3-4 teaspoons chilli powder
3 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 large ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
1 small stick cinnamon
2 cups coconut cream

Cut chicken into small pieces. Heat oil, fry curry leaves, onions, garlic and ginger until soft. Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin and fry for 2 minutes. Add salt and tomato. Stir well, cover and cook until tomato is pulpy. Add chicken and cinnamon stick and stir well until chicken is coated with the spice mixture. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Stir in the coconut cream and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes longer.

$50 really well spent!!

2006-10-03T23:45:00.000+10:00

And not a single cent of it was on stash! :) Today I went for an appointment to a nerve manipulator, and was only in there for what felt like 2 minutes before I was all fixed up and paying my $50 on the way out! And boy, oh boy, does it feel sooooo good :D I have the full movement back in my right shoulder blade/arm again ... there's just a slight tenderness from the pummeling it got from Joy, but it feels exquisite! She reckons I'd done a really good job of trapping my nerve under the shoulder blade, and glad I hadn't left it much longer, as it could have led to serious problems phew! So all-in-all money very well spent woohoo!!! :D

Just a quick post today 'cos I don't really have anything else to say ... feel quite shattered after a long day at work (very intense brain-wise today), and heading off for an early night - it'll be so nice to get a full night's sleep for a change {insert contented sigh here...}.

A little bit certifiable!

2006-10-02T09:00:00.000+10:00

Don't ask me why, but last night I ended up staying up until 3.30am last night ... reading blogs!!! That's one reason I don't have a sleep in the afternoons when I'm tired (especially on early shifts), as I can't usually sleep in the evening, and I was just plain wide awake after 11pm. It's strange too, that once I'd made the decision to wipe out all the unread feeds and start from scratch, that it felt like a burden had been taken off my shoulders ... and I felt more relaxed and in the mood to tackle 'a few', which ended up being a few hundred!! I actually read through just over 650 unread feeds last night/this morning and pretty stunned I managed it. I'm left with just 89 left to go today (I'm not going into the archives), and it feels pretty darned good! That also means no stitching was done last night ... oops ...

Now it's time to do the last two SBQ's ... I finally managed to do an approx count-up of finished pieces from over the years, so I can answer the questions ...

Today's SBQ was suggested by Elisabeth and is:

"How many pieces have you stitched? Out of these, how many have been for you? How many have had specialty stitches or other techniques besides cross stitch?"

According to my photo albums I've done about 142 pieces in total (finished ones, that is - and I might have missed a few earlier ones). Of these 89 have been either for me, or have yet to be allocated a recipient, and 53 have been gifts for others and already given away. Out of these about 70 have been pure XS, and the rest have included specialty stitches or are specific techniques such as stumpwork (4), canvaswork (8), silk ribbon embroidery (2), hardanger (6), blackwork (3), and almost entirely beaded (7).

Today's SBQ was suggested by Sharon and is:

"When you find yourself making a lot of mistakes in various stitching projects do you find it better to muddle your way through or do you take a brief break from stitching? If you do take a break, how long do you take?"

That depends on how bad the errors are - if it's something quick to fix, I'll usually do it straightaway ... if I keep doing it on the same piece time after time I'll put it away for the rest of that day and come back to it the next day ... if I'm still having a difficult time with it, and there's no deadline, it gets thrown in a corner never to see light of day again. And that's one great way UFO's are born! haha. Actually my Waiting for Ships was one of those great examples ... I'd frog-stitched the metallics on the tail a few times when I finally threw it in the corner and had a hissy fit with it ... picked it up about 3-4 months alter, and fixed it in 10 minutes, then finished it off without any further mishaps :) I have to admit, I've never taken an entire break from stitching for longer than a month, and always have oodles of projects on the go (also thanks to those dreaded UFO's).

And for those of you who are curry hounds, I'll share my new recipe with you from the weekend (and it's not really hot, unlike normal vindaloos):

BEEF VINDALOO

1kg (2lb) chuck, blade or skirt steak (I used blade)
2 tablespoons ghee or oil
3 onions, sliced (but I ended up thinking it was too much, and halved it)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 cinnamon stick
3 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup (80ml/2 3/4 fl oz) brown vinegar
1/2 cup (125ml/4 fl oz) beef stock
1 teaspoon sugar

1) Cut the steak into bite-sized cubes. Heat the ghee or oil in a large pan and brown the meat in two batches. Transfer to a plate.
2) Add the onion to the pan; cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until very soft and lightly golden. Add the spices, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 more minute. Return the meat to the pan and stir until well coated in the spices.
3) Add the vinegar, stock, sugar, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring just to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Discard the cinnamon stick. Serve with plain or basmati rice. Garnish with a little finely grated fresh ginger.
Serves 4

Survived the weekend ... phew!

2006-10-01T19:29:00.000+10:00

This arvo I did something I only ever do when I'm on the point of exhaustion - had an afternoon kip ... and that 'little' kip went on for 3 1/2 hours oops! I obviously needed it!!

Friday after work I was absolutely shattered at my 7 days straight, especially doing the 5ams, but I then came home and didn't sit down once as I did all the housework ready for visitors on Saturday - then went out with the girls from work for dinner then dancing. We didn't get home until 1.30am so I'd almost been up for 24 hrs at that stage hmmm. Up again at 7.30am and I spent the entire day in the kitchen aside from 1 hour when I had to pop out to the shops for something I'd forgotten to buy for my dinner party menu.

All-in-all last night's dinner banquet was a great success ... I had a few bowls of antipasto items like caperberries, bellpeppers stuffed with mascarpone, olives, etc to pick on while chatting before dinner - then dinner was an Indian banquet of all home-made curries (Beef Vindaloo, Rogan Josh and 'Dragon curry' - that's Mum's recipe haha), Basmati rice, poppadoms and naan bread, with accompaniments of yogurt raita, tomato/onion/mint and banana/coconut/Thai sweet red chilli sauce ... with dessert of a cheeseboard and French Fruit Flan (homemade too). Swilled down with a couple of bottles of wine, the company and conversation was wonderful, and it was a really enjoyable evening (but another 1am finish oops). One of the girls stayed overnight and we walked down to have brekky at St Kilda with a couple of coffees, after which she headed off home, and I spent 2 hours chatting to Mum on the phone ... then a quick lay down saw me sleeping for 3 1/2 hours.

With any luck I'll lose that seedy feeling I've had all day (probably more from lack of sleep than an overdose of alcohol, I think) and I can pick up a needle for a couple of Dratteds stitches ... then this week is a wonderful 5-day week, a lovely treat for a change ;) Late shifts this week of 3-11pm, which is great, as I get to sleep in each day woohoo :D

Sorry to hear the previous post about my wonderful visit with Katrina seemed to be a bit corrupted, but it looks like comments are coming through on it now, so I guess the bug has been fixed. It really was lovely to meet her, and my pinkeep is now sitting on my stitching corner bookcase on a little stand so I can see it every day :)

I must apologise in advance, too, but my unread blog list is really starting to get to me ... every time I get the number of unread posts under 600 I can't seem to get them to stay there ... today it's back up to 726 unread feeds, and it's really overwhelming to see that figure every day and think 'where do I start', and never seem to see any real progress. So, tonight I've made the decision to start from afresh tomorrow ... I'm wiping the slate clean for want of a better word. I'm marking all threads as read, and I'm starting afresh. I feel terrible I haven't got around to catching up with everyone's blogs, but I think for me it will be the best thing to do at the moment.

Rightio, off to reheat some curry for dinner - I think I'll be living on it for the next 3 weeks, as I over-catered as usual haha.

#3 of 50 and a Special Visit

2006-09-28T17:48:00.000+10:00

Two reasons to celebrate today (3 if you include the fact I only have one more 5am shift left this week woohoo) ... I can cross off project #3 from my 50 Projects Challenge - and the final product (with those very very expensive beads LOL) went to the lovely Katrina today :D Yes, it's true, we got to meet each other face to face today, and she's even lovelier in person than on her blog, if that's possible! :D It was awesome that we got to meet up and spend some time together before she flies home - and she says a big "hi" to everyone!! She sneaked in a quick blog reading session while visiting family at the weekend, but no doubt will be catching up properly when she gets home again :)

I had originally planned to stitch Katrina a self-designed needleroll, but my creative juices just didn't come together in the end with my health issues etc, and the final design still needs a bit of tweaking ... a quick glance over Katrina's wishlist and I found the Cherry Blossoms Fob by The Sweetheart Tree hiding in there, which I had in my stash all kitted up for myself ... it became the perfect solution. I'm still disappointed my needleroll didn't come to fruition, but I liked how the little fob turned out, and will definitely stitch it again for myself (even with the pinks LOL).

Unfortunately dopey me forgot to pack my camera to take with me today (my brain doesn't really function at 4am - it's even slower than it normally is, and that's saying something), so I couldn't take a photo myself, but Katrina had hers, as did her Mum, so you can look forward to one down the track when Katrina gets home hopefully :)

I couldn't bring a photo home with me, but I did get spoilt rotten and given a beautiful gift from Katrina too ... this is a design I've been ogling for a while now, but haven't gotten around to stitching it for myself yet, and now I don't need to - I now have a gorgeous pinkeep to have on display, and it will always remind me of our first meeting, so it will always be treasured ... I just love it!! But that's not all, I also got a needleroll chart by Forever In My Heart, who I'd never heard of before ... this chart is so versatile as you could use just about any colour combination, and I'll definitely be stitching one of these soon (in fact my mind was ticking over with the thread possibilities as soon as I had it in my grubby little hands). I just love everything, thank you so much, my friend - and it was such a wonderful treat to meet you! {{hugs}}

Unfortunately it's now onto very mundane stuff, after all that excitement, as I have to get all the housework done tonight ready for a workmate arriving tomorrow evening, then tomorrow a lot of the prep needs to be done ready for Saturday night's dinner banquet here ... can't say I'll be even looking at a needle, never mind using one, before Sunday (if that). When I do, though, I'm thinking of throwing my rotation out the window until I get the Dratteds done completely ... I would dearly love to get the Dolphins stitched by year end, and my new idea is to stitch 10 hours on them, then stitch a Christmas ornie or needleroll (just something small and quick) or do a spot of finishing, then back to 10 hours of the Dratteds and so on, until they're finished. If I do that, I'm hoping to have them finished by the end of October, especially if I can really put some serious work into them on my days off ... well, that's the plan anyway ... but you know what they say about the plans of mice and men ... ;) LOL.

So in the words of Looney Tunes' Porky Pig ... for now, "th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks!" ;)

Handy tool

2006-09-27T15:04:00.000+10:00

I remembered when I was using it last night, that Mum said I should post a piccie on my blog of one of my favourite tools ... Mum thinks it's awesome! This is my 'cording weight' ... and it was very very expensive ... not ;) Basically it's just a metal paperclip that I unbent, and added some fishing sinkers onto it ... and now I have the perfect weight with a little hook to hang onto the middle of my cord when cording - works a treat! :D I'll think I'll hold off patenting the design (haha), but I thought I'd fulfil Mum's wishes and post a piccie ... especially as I have nothing else to post about today. (Excuse the shadows from the glorious afternoon sun.)

Today was my first 5am shift, and we usually have some 'down time' to catch up on emails etc at the start of the shift ... but today it was one call immediately after another for the first hour and a half - in fact I made a coffee before I started work at 4.50am, and it was 6.20am before I was able to pick it up and take a sip ... yikes! I'm not complaining, either, as I love it like that ... makes the day go so much faster when you're busy :D Hope the rest of the week goes as well as today woohoo!

And I heard from Jenna today that my scissors have been ordered, so in the infamous words of the Pointer Sisters, I'm running around singing "I'm so excited ... and I just can't hide it ..." la la la la la :D Yeah, I know, that's really sad, but I'm a bit loopy after the early morning start ... I'm sure I'll be hitting the wall of the zombie zone in about 1 hour and be struggling to stay awake, but for now I'm wired! ;) I might even get really keen and put an hour into the Dratteds to keep awake!

A mixed bag of all sorts

2006-09-26T17:51:00.000+10:00

First of all, I have to say "yippee" to Zohrah, that the mail art arrived this time around ... and relatively quickly too!! I'm very glad you like it :) And I shouldn't take it for granted that someone doesn't read my blog just 'cos they've not commented before haha ... I'm just very pleased you finally managed to get your exchange in return after stitching such a lovely one for Aniza :D

As for the Gingher scissors - for anyone who's interested, JoAnn's (in the US) have a 40% sale off Ginghers, including the designer series, so it's a great time to stock up ... I just got outbid 24 hours before the bidding closed on the pair I put on my blog yesterday, and I've opted not to stress any more over it, as I can buy it directly from JoAnn's for an extra US$5 over my maximum bid. So thanks to my wonderful northern twin, Jenna, I'll be ordering mine directly from JoAnn's instead of continuing with the bidding ... at least I know they're going to be shipped officially, I think there's always a slight worry with Ebay about goods not being sent. Now I have to stitch an extra special fob for the 4" ones when they eventually arrive, as those two pairs will be treasured forever! If you're really nice, Mum, I'll let you touch them when you come over ... only once though! hahaha.

As for my finances, things have looked up since yesterday ... when I got a bank balance last week I got a nasty shock, as there wasn't as much in there as I expected, but today I got a phone balance and everything's OK - my loan repayment had been taken out last week, but wasn't showing on the statement ... phew! I also forgot I had a carton of ciggies from duty free I bought for a workmate that he hadn't paid for yet, so that's another $50 coming tomorrow, and to top it all off I also had 2 hours overtime last Sunday, which will almost pay the whole thing off (it comes in next week's pay) ... so today I'm MUCH more relaxed about the parking fine thing - I wouldn't say I'm happy about it still, but not stressed about the payment side at least :)

Then driving home I had a SUPER surprise ... I went to fill my car up as it was sitting seriously on empty (I was running late this morning, so had to leave it until the way home ... which is a good thing!), and the gas cost (ie petrol) had dropped another 7c a litre since this morning ... to a record breaking 110c a litre ... considering I was paying 137c a litre a fortnight ago, I was doing cartwheels past the gas pumps!! :D Yippee!!!!! Approx $45 to fill my car instead of almost $60 {skippety skip skip skip}. A nice extra silver lining after yesterday :D

Tomorrow arvo I'm hoping to catch up with Katrina, which will be an great highlight for the week - it will be lovely to meet her in person and catch up over a coffee or bite to eat :D I promise not to fall asleep in my coffee after my 5am start ;)

I'm now on 5am shifts for the next 3 days, so that'll be interesting with my dizzy turns, but fingers crossed I'll manage to survive everything ... I HAVE to, as this weekend is also my dinner party on Saturday night - and I now have one of my work colleagues staying on Friday night as well, so we can go out for another colleague's 39th birthday ... I'm so out of practice in going out partying, I'll need another week to recover! LOL.

Anyway, enough gas-bagging ... I'd better get this little bit of finishing done, then into bed for me for 7pm ;) Hopefully if I can get it finished, it means I can actually post a stitching piccie tomorrow :D

Mail Art Exchange

2006-09-25T18:14:00.000+10:00

I know Zohrah hasn't received this yet, seeing as it only got sent out last week, but as far as I know she doesn't read my blog, and I've decided to post a piccie of it anyway while I'm waiting for my dinner to reheat. Here was my 2nd attempt at the same design thanks to Mr Postman ... I made a pretty crappy attempt at the buttonhole closures, and definitely need a lot more practice, but it looks OK, I think. The buttons were bought in Auckland while I was visiting in May ... funnily enough, I bought 4 of them at the time ... perhaps I knew something way back then!!! The names have been taken out for privacy reasons. The design was from one of the XS magazines that I can't put my hands on right at this minute (mainly 'cos I can't be bothered to go looking - if anyone is desperate to know leave me a comment and I'll track it down for you later).

(the front)

(the back)

Bloody expensive beads!!

2006-09-25T17:30:00.000+10:00

I just managed to spend $110.50 for one packet of Mill Hill petite beads ... woohoo, cheap huh? In my ultimate wisdom I decide to call into my semi-LNS on the way home 'cos I can't find my 40123 beads for love nor money, as the LNS is on the way home and it would save money on petrol rather than me driving out of my way to a Spotlight store ... or so I thought! I parked in a 1-hour parking zone, right outside the store, and I swear the parking attendant must have been walking right up behind me ... I was in there for no longer than 10 minutes (had to wait while another customer was served), and walked out to a parking ticket ... for $107 - I hadn't seen the "Clearway between 4-6pm" sign ... bloody hell, I feel sick ... think of all the stash I could have bought in there for that money!!! Oh well, it means the next month will be a lot tighter financially ... I had a good pay week last week, 'cos I had an extra Sunday shift than I should have normally, so feeling great I socked $200 away towards my sofa bed repayments while I had some 'free cash' ... now I'm kicking myself for being so bloody organised for a change ... especially because I've been bidding on a scissors set on the Bay of Evil that I am totally in love with, which of course if I win will be another outlay ... that was expected and was still OK, but not with the new unexpected expense!! {heavy sigh}

Even though I'm on a stash diet until my 50 projects are over, that doesn't affect these as they're "tools" ... how could I resist these?? I accidentally came across a piccie somewhere, and fell head over heels in love ... just look at the colour of these!!! Gingher Alyssa designer series scissors ... they'd keep me happy for the rest of my stitching days!!! :D I was moaning to Mum while she was here that my Fiskars dress-making shears just don't cut all along the length of the blade, and it's really annoying, so when I found out Ginghers do "big" scissors too, I was reeled in, hook, line and sinker ;)

I've been here 3 years and I'm STILL learning about the parking rules ... I've only ever had one other parking ticket here, while flat-hunting in this area, as I didn't realise there was such a thing as "permit parking" in residential areas ... I soon found out $50 later that in fact yes there are ... filed that one way for the future too ...

Stitching-wise I've been trying to stitch a small gift for a friend, and had been creating something myself, but I decided the creative process just isn't coming together for me right now, and I was best to just use an existing chart ... hence the reason I needed the beads (perhaps if I'd stuck with my creative idea I'd be $100 better off right now ... bugger!). I didn't have one of the threads, so substituted with a Caron Collection Waterlilies silk instead, and I just have the centre bit of one side left, which is just tiny, and the beading, then it has to be put together ... fingers crossed I manage to get most of that done tonight, as I'm on 5am shifts tomorrow and need an early night, but I really want to get this finished.

Aside from that nothing much else to report - I'm still having back/neck pain, and finally decided today to get an appointment (yay, more money going out!) with a sort of physio who specialises in muscular troubles like mine ... she's a nerve manipulator or something, but hopefully she'll be able to provide some relief, or be able to recommend a physio or someone, as this pain is really getting me down.

Geez, I'm just a bundle of joviality tonight, aren't I? Oh well, I'll get over it I'm sure, and be back to normal by tomorrow hopefully. In the meantime I'm heading off to the fridge to make myself a nice long Jim Beam and L&P (I still have a small collection of L&P cans left ... they only come out for special occasions, and I've just decided tonight is one of them as a cheer me up!).

Project #2 out of 50 totally finished

2006-09-23T16:44:00.000+10:00

This one is a bit of a cheat ... the actual challenge started on 1 September, so I get to include my two needlerolls that I finished the stitching of last week. My personal criteria, though, is that I'm not allowed to include them as part of the 50 Project Challenge until they're "finished" into needlerolls (seeing as I'd already done the stitching before I personally accepted the challenge) ... and I'm pleased to say "1 down, 1 to go". I just couldn't get motivated in the afternoon to stitch, but rather my finishing pile screamed to me louder! I popped into Spotlight on the way back from the PO, and picked up some Christmas fabric for ornie backings - I might even get organised enough to get some finished off during the next two months ;)

I did my finishing while watching another DVD rental - Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School ... it was a pretty good 'chick flick', and perfect for my equivalent of a Sunday afternoon (yeah, I know it's only Friday, but it was the end of my personal weekend as I'm back to work again, hence my Sunday). Today was an interesting day, as I just wasn't in the mood to be back there again - not helped by the fact that Sandra that I work with told me I looked awfully pale this morning hmmm :( Oh well, at least I survived the day in one piece ;)

Not sure what I'll do tonight - I managed to get a couple of hours stitching into Dolphins Domain (aka The Dratteds) last night, which I have to admit I really enjoyed, even though it took me much longer to stitch than normal. I won't bother posting a progress piccie until I've stitched a bit more on them. Once I've finished my 10 hours rotation I'll get my current RR piece stitched, then I need to work on my final exchange for a while - the scissor fob exchange on the Robin's Nest BB. Then in the New Year I'm committed to another Quaker RR with some close online buddies, so I won't be taking on any other stitching commitments while that's underway.

Rightio, off to get dinner cracking, then the dishes, then kitting up a new small project for a gift ... the Dratteds can wait a day or so ;)