I run Konfabulator widgets on my desktop. (I’m not giving them free advertising via linkage – I’m sure you all know how to use Google if you’re interested ๐ ) Anyway, I mention this only because my What To Do widget has been empty of tasks since I started keeping my To Do lists on my PDA. So the following has been sitting around for a while, and it makes me giggle.
:giggle: :giggle: :giggle:
And btw, doncha just love my faux-leather wallpaper?!
I was planning to show you our first pic of BabeMkII. But decided I shouldn’t, because frankly, I wouldn’t want to scare you. You might think I was planning to give birth to Alien Child!
Seriously. We got a tragic picture of Finn at the first scan, too. Why are the ultrasound techs (or in this case, the doctor) so uninterested in getting us a good picture? Sigh.
But. We saw fingers (5, on at least the hand we saw. Good sign, right?!), and a heartbeat, and what little else you can see at 11 weeks. It was all rather cute. Apart from the Alien-Child-ness of it all :giggle:
So, instead of showing you a work in progress, let me present a HD instead. Ta Da! Blackberry Jam is done, done, done. It was a lot of fun… mostly. Perhaps with the exception of all that backstitching. Which made me stall for a while, but yesterday I finally decided to buckle down and finish. So click through for the whole kaboodle, and enjoy!
Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Family, Finished, Pregnancy
Tagged Blackberry Jam, cross-stitch, Pregnancy, The Sweetheart Tree, ultrasound
I came home yesterday to a package from Terri. Yay! Here is the lovely little drawstring bag and red scissors she sent me as part of the Redwork exchange. Yes, it’s true… I am no longer a sole-pair-of-scissors stitcher :giggle: On the opposite side she’s stitched a monogram for me. You can see that here. Thanks Terri for such a lovely gift, I really appreciate it ๐
Also as promised, here’s a pic of the ornament Annette stitched for me – also red! And if you look here, you can see the whole bunch o’stuff! The little reindeer fellow is for Finn, who adores all things stuffed and furry, and also adores Annette, who spoils him ๐
Well, I’ve pretty much given up trying to stay on time with these questions, but fear not they will eventually be answered. I have two for you today:
How do you feel about staying totally true to a pattern? Do you feel that you have to rip out stitches to fix a mistake or do you feel itโs acceptable to incorporate a mistake into the design?
Some stitchers answered this question as two questions, and I kind of interpreted it the same way. As far as the first part goes – I am reasonably comfortable making colour changes or small design changes to a chart, though I’ve done nothing major yet. However, I don’t think that’s the major question here. I think the question is actually about fudging. If I make a mistake, usually I rip it out and fix it. If it’s only tiny, like a missed stitch or two, I might fill the stitches in with a similar colour when I’m in the area. But if it’s a real error, usually a counting error (which is why I grid), I’ve learned that it’s best to bite the bullet and go back, no matter how long it takes. I am bad at fudging. Bad, bad, bad!
Do you always sign your projects? If not, why? If so, do you use your first name, initials or what?
I’ve only signed two projects. One, the ornament I stitched for Danielle, has our initials on the back, but it’s more as part of the design, like a sampler, than a ‘signature’. I have no problem with that type of ‘signing’. The other is a piece I stitched for my Dad. He likes to sign books when he gives them as gifts, so I knew he would appreciate me putting my name to my stitching. He did. But I didn’t really like it – I just backstitched my initials and the year in small-type, in a pale colour found in the design, but to me, whenever I look at that piece on the wall, my eye is drawn immediately to the signature, and it’s not really a part of the design. I do like some people’s stitched signatures though, and perhaps one day I’ll change my mind, and design something I like better.
Comments Off on SBQ – Behind Again
Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Memes
Tagged cross-stitch, meme, SBQ
I started my day with a wonderful package from Annette this morning. Poor girl must be quite sick of me – not only was I her partner for a whole year in the Seasonal Exchange, but then by chance she drew my name in the SBEBB Christmas Ornament Exchange as well :giggle: Anyway, the ornament she’s stitched for me is quite lovely, but will have to wait for another day (maybe tomorrow?) when I un-lazy myself for long enough to find the digital camera.
But.
It did remind me that I have been remiss in posting my own Exchange happy dances. So here we are. First up, here is the cushion I made for Annemiek in the Redwork Exchange. While I adore the design and the effect, I’m not sure I love stitching in one colour, there’s little to relieve the tedium. The fact that I stitched it in silk helped a little though ๐
Nextly, we have the ornament I stitched for Danielle. This is the Prairie Schooler ornament from the 2005 JCS Ornament Issue (thanks again Cathy ๐ ) I really love the colours in this, and despite some curse words being muttered as I did the finishing (I cut the matboard insert a little bit too large, and a little bit skewiff), it turned out very nicely, if I do say so myself!
See… I do stitch! ๐
Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Finished
Tagged cross-stitch, exchange stitching, ornament, redwork
Some of you know that a young life was lost in my family this week. To the on- and off-line friends who have given me your condolences and lent me your ears, I thank you sincerely.
With more knowledge of what happened, I have more understanding, but along with that has come blame and anger which, though futile, I feel unable to quash. It is going to be extremely difficult to attend this funeral.
I hope you understand that I cannot discuss this here, but what I do want to say is this:
No matter who or what your children become, love and support them without limit. Always.
Posted in General Ramblings
Loved this quiz – found it on Jo’s blog, but it originally came from Anna. The questions must be answered with cross-stitch charts. This is a dangerous exercise though – I think my wishlist grew by half as I looked for all my answers :giggle:
1. Are you male or female? New Graduate Girl (Pinn Stitch Kits)
โwell… almost :giggle:
2. Describe yourself: Child of Spring (Victoria Sampler)
3. How do some people feel about you? Gotta Love a Stitcher (Bask Designs)
4. How do you feel about yourself? I Know All About Stressed (Twisted Threads)
5. Describe your love interest: Tech Support (Calico Crossroads)
6. Where would you rather be? Fly Me to the Moon (4 My Boys)
7. Describe what you want to be: The Fortunate Traveler (TW Designworks)
8. Describe how you live: Plain and Fancy (Barrick Samplers)
9. Describe how you love: Straight From the Heart (Annalee Waite Designs)
10. Share a few words of wisdom: Clean Your Ears (Calico Crossroads)
Morsel 1
So apparently by the time I posted last night, the ‘incompetents’ had actually won the match on a penalty shoot out and “we’re” going to the World Cup. Yay us. Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. There. No one can accuse me of being un-Australian now ๐ The most amusing thing for me is that OtherHalf fell asleep and missed the excitement. Ha!
Morsel 2
We have a washing machine! The guy who installed it raved on about the brand as he ran me through the workings of this new model. I rolled my eyes. I must say though, I am honestly happy with the larger size, despite what we’ve been through to get it. It seems the company will only honour the original warranty, which expires in August ’06. That’s what I expected, but it would have been nice to have a few months added to the warranty in compensation, if not an entirely new warranty for the new machine. But hey.
Morsel 3
Last week’s SBQ. I can’t really flesh it out enough to be a post of it’s own, so:
When comparing large projects versus small projects, which do you get more excited about finishing?
Without a question, it’s large projects for me. I like finishing small projects, for sure, and they certainly make the numbers add up faster. But for me, nearing the end of a large project (and I’ve only finished two) brings a tangible excitement, and once I’ve actually finished, I find I can’t tear my eyes away from it for at least a week!
Morsel 4
Want to know what made my day today? I retrieved a man’s walking cane for him as I waited in a checkout line… and he responded with “Thank you, my lady”. My lady! That is 500% better than ma’am. Which I hear all too often… and it’s been far too long since I heard a ‘Miss’. I say we return to ‘milady’, and to hand kissing and jousting for favours, too! What fun :giggle:
Morsel 5
What didn’t make my day today was a $50 parking fine. OK, my own fault, I deserve it. I thought I looked at the parking sign, but I somehow saw only the time restriction, and not the fact it was paid parking. D’uh! I was at a perfectly wonderful toyshop while unwittingly parking illegally, but somehow my toy shopping expedition feels a little tarnished now ๐
Morsel 6
Lastly and leastly, though I answered her already, the answer to Cathy’s question of a few posts ago is that I am due June 20th. Just reached the 9 week mark this week. I would put a countdown over on the side bar there, but I don’t want to be tempting fate just yet, no no no.
Comments Off on Morsels
Posted in Counted Stitchwork, Family, General Ramblings, Memes, Pregnancy
Tagged pregnant, SBQ, soccer, washing machine
Have been in a bit of a funk lately. I seem to have developed a case of the baby-blues – only about 7 or 8 months too early. Having been sick (non-pregnancy related, I’m lucky enough not to get morning sickness), not to mention all of the stresses of last month, has caused me to slip into my own private doldrums. But the good news is, I am clawing my way back out, I have a bit more energy this week, and in the meanwhile, I’m stitching, which is a capital-G Good Thing.
I also received a most lovely RAK from Tami Lynne on The Wagon yesterday – Legends of the Dragons, which just cheered up my day no end. And today I bought myself and the babe-to-be this stunning book (this is the US cover art – as is so often the case, it has a much nicer cover over here :giggle: ). This book is just lovely. Everyone should go and buy a copy – kids or no kids – buy it for yourself as a meditation aid or something. The artwork is gorgeous, and I am in love with the beautiful simplicity of the book. Yes, it is ‘just’ a kids’ ABC book, but trust me on this!
In further good news, after much grinding of teeth and waiting on hold, I got through to someone with half a clue on the washing machine issue today, and it would appear that we are getting a new machine at 8am tomorrow! Stay tuned… hopefully a happy dance and much laundry will happen in the very near future.
Oh… and look out for a retrospective post sometime in the next few days – dated November 11, which was our 5th wedding anniversary (no, we won’t ever forget ๐ ). I thought I’d pull out a couple of photographs and a recap of ‘the day’ for you.
But now… must go to bed. OtherHalf (usually completely uninterested in Sport apart from that involving cars), is swearing at the incompetence of the Australian Soccer Team. Fer crying out loud – am I the only person in Australia who hasn’t got on this bandwagon?!
PS. I just noticed my blog is not adjusted for Daylight Savings time. How interesting! Will do something about that when I get a chance…
We live in a suburb with no laundromat.
I find it incredibly odd that we have no laundromat in our suburb. Or in the next suburb. Or the next! I had to drive 3 suburbs over just to do my washing tonight.
From that, you may also deduce that the problems with our washing machine are ongoing… after two months :grr: I’ve been sparing you the endless spleen-venting over that, and you should be thankful. Today, however, we finally received news that the company will now replace the machine – with a newer and larger model, what’s more. Hoo-bloody-ray, at last. I expect it will take them another week or ten to deliver it though.
Anyway, back to the laundromat. With the help of a phone call from OtherHalf, who unlike me had the presence of mind to look it up in the yellow pages, I found our ‘nearest’ laundromat, and threw a week’s worth of washing in the biggest machine they had. Super-duper-hooper machine, that one. I want one!
Then I made a hasty retreat as there were two weird guys in there that I did not wish to be near. There are always creepy guys in laundromats. Why is that? Anyway, I sat in my car and stitched a little on my Christmas exchange (it’s nearly done, hooray!) When daylight grew scarce, I sat in my car and ate stale BBQ shapes.
I ate BBQ shapes because I’m pregnant and I crave junk food. The fact that they were stale had nothing to do with laundromats or pregnancy, but it did serve to make me want never ever to eat another BBQ shape :ill:
…
…
And that, my friends, is the most roundabout way for anyone to anounce a pregnancy to the world. Don’t you think?!
