April IHSW

Hi everyone, well today is a public holiday for both New Zealand and Australia to remember those who served their country in war and the blessings that we have today because of their service.  It is usually a quiet day of reflection for me as I have many ancestors who served in both world wars, some who were killed in action, and it gives me a chance to pause and remember them.  My husband works a half day as all the stores are closed till 1pm and then open half a day.  So he has just left for work, the little man has just gone to bed for a sleep due to being tired and grumpy and I actually plan to spend some time this afternoon while he sleeps doing some genealogy.....I know, shocking....no stitching!!!!  Genealogy is my other passion, and I find that I dont spend enough time on it with all of the other things that get in the way. 

So onto my weekend stitching for the IHSW.  I managed to get some done on ladybird, I did not get to stitch as much as I planned to as we had lots of visitors and other things got in the way.  But I did manage to get the wings done on the left side and all the hair done.  She is coming along nicely, just the skin and a few ladybirds to do and she is half finished.  That is my plan for this week, to get her half finished.

Confession time, I havent done any more work on my SAL this week, I only have a couple of star bursts and then the beading to do.  I think I have been putting it off a bit because I have never done beading before on a cross stitch design so I am worried about it.  I SHALL work on it this week and post my progress next week on here :)

So that is me all updated.  I hope everyones IHSW went well and that you got lots of stitching done.  I thought I would share this photo with you, look what just caught my attention in the lounge.  She spent the night locked in the garage so I think she is staying close to home now.  And I guess she has figured if Jacob is no longer using it she might as well.

Right, off to find those ancestors of mine....happy stitching :)

I think I have a problem!!!

OK, so confession time, I took a look at my kitting up of one of my current WIPS this week after I caught hubby giggling to himself watching me stitching.  I couldnt work out what he thought was so funny till be pointed out that my stitching is just as organised and OCD as the rest of my life!!!!  I have to admit after stepping back and looking at it, that he is right, and it amuses me no end!!!  Ok so I am about to share with you the routine that is my stitching.

So here is the floss box for my kitted Ladybird fairy that I am doing.  I will share a pic with you then explain why it is set up the way it is :)

Ok so the DMC floss are organised numerically so they are easy to find in the box.  When I take a floss out to use it I turn the one before it on its side so I can find where I need to put the one I am using when I am finished (not too scary so far huh).  The highlighter and scissors sit below on the left (it's the only place they will fit).  I do stitch in an armchair though with my feet up so when I am stitching I put the highlighter between my leg and the chair leg since I use it all the time.  My scissors sit point down in the top right square of my box so that they are easy to grab as well.  In this picture I have put all my kreinik in one square since they all fit but if they didnt I would put them into more than one, numerically of course (is it getting scary yet???)  The beads go into their own square, I cut the top off them so they will fit in and I put my thread heaven into whatever square is not being used (what I hear you ask...no set square for the thread heaven!!!!!!).    My cut off threads go in the bottom square next to my scissors and highlighter and my rubbish goes into the bottom right square.....to keep them apart....SIGH.  So there we have it, an explanation of how I kit up.  Hehehe.  Oh, and I must mention my final little quirk, when I pack up my stitching for the day my chart, my floss box and my WIP all go into a zip lock bag (in that order) but the WIP gets folded nicely and put on the top so I can see it next time I pick it up and get excited/frustrated over how much/little I have done.

So, confession over, do any of you get all super organised about your stitching.  I think I do it because with having a 2 year old my stitching time is precious to me, so I dont want to waste valuable time that could be used on stitching trying to find my scissors or floss. 

Onto what I have managed to get done in the last week.  Ladybird fairy is looking good, she has a bodice now and the top half of her skirt is finished as well.  My plan this week and over the upcoming IHSW is to give her a face and some hair.  The V8 racing cars are on this weekend here in Hamilton so I am looking forward to settling down in front of TV with my stitching for the weekend watching the racing.  I would love to be there but will just have to settle with having to hear it from my house.  Anyway, I digress, here she is as of today

My plan this week is also to get the next part of my dream SAL done so I will post my progress on this and Ladybird after my IHSW.

Ok, that should have everyone filled in for now, I hope you are not too shocked by my stitching OCD.....please tell me I am not the only one!!!!

Goodbye summer....

Well, what there was of it!!!  I actually cant remember a worse summer than the one that we just had and now I know it is over as the extra blankets go on the bed and I head out today to get my winter PJs for the year.  We did have a glorious easter though, absolutely beautiful weather.  I had a lovely easter with my family, we pottered around the house on friday, hubby went to work on saturday, we had a family day together on sunday and on monday hubby and I had a date in the afternoon at the movies seeing Titanic in 3D.  I totally love that movie, have seen it more times than I can remember.  Oh, and I did manage to get some stitching done over the easter break too which was great.  This week I started Ladybird Fairy by Joan Elliott that I mentioned in my last blog.  Here is where she is up to today after a week of stitching, I started her last tuesday.

I just love the colours on this design, so bright and firey, she is coming along nicely.  I have just put my little man to bed so plan to do some work on her this afternoon while he is napping.  I havent touched my dream SAL this week as the last week has been a catch up week and I am up to date with it right now. 

Well that catches you up with my stitching for the week.  I hope you have all had a lovely stitchy week and got lots done over easter.  I look forward to seeing everyones progress.

SAL week 2, some slow progress and a new start

Hi everyone, it has been a little while since I updated this, it has been one rough week.  All 3 of us had a nasty tummy bug last week which resulted in us all being home and me having no energy to do anything....including stitching.  So there is not a lot to show for my week, I did a bit of stitching to share with you though.

Firstly I have finished the second week of the SAL tonight.  It was only a few hours work but I love the effect of it.  Here's an update.

So as well as getting my SAL done tonight I did manage to get a small amount of stitching done on Jacobs stocking, there is a bit more red to it now!!!  Still a long way to go but I shall push on with it. 

So that was the week that was.  I have also kitted up my next project which I am ready to start tomorrow, another Joan Elliott design from Cross Stitch Collection, the first of her garden fairies, Ladybird.  I totally fell in love with it when I picked up my magazine this week so am really looking forward to starting her tomorrow. 

I hope everyone else has had a lovely stitching week.  I am so looking forward to getting into more stitching this week now that I am over my bugs and yuckies......more to follow next week.