Showing posts with label Wee Santa 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wee Santa 2016. Show all posts

Saturday, 7 January 2017

FNwF and Friday Frolics....

My first Friday Night with Friends and Friday Frolics ... was a bit like Schrodinger's Cat - neither successful nor unsuccessful!  For those of you who are wondering who Schrodinger and his cat were and why I am referencing them - Sheldon from The Big Bang explains it best (or click on the link above).



(TraderVic and I are huge fans of The Big Bang Theory and are quite addicted to the show - it is on repeats here in Oz every night, so we are able to feed our addiction regularly - lol!)

Anyway, I digress - onto the stitching.....

Now, the successful part was me completing a FFO from last year - Wee Santa 2016....


Design: Wee Santa 2016
Fabric: 28 ct Mocha linen
Floss: My own choice of specialty threads
Framing: By me in a Mill Hill frame

My dear friend, Wendy, from my LNS, taught me a neat trick for getting the design to sit nicely when you sew it over the cardboard - you have two lengths of thread and weave them like shoelaces.  It worked like a dream, the stitching is sitting really flat and looks perfect - thank you so much, Wendy. xxxx

Now for the unsuccessful part... in true Friday Frolicking fashion, I chose a WIP at random from my ever growing pile of WIPs, UFOs and BAPs ....

Morning Song by Just Nan, I last posted about it on this post.

So, here is where I was up to before yesterday....


... and after, looking rather more crumpled and not much progress at all!


Design:Morning Song
Fabric: 28 ct Cream or Antique White linen
Floss: Suggested DMC threads

Okay, do you want to hear my excuses?

1. Plait stitch is really tricky to do, especially in a light green - I found it really hard to get a rhythm - there was a lot of frogging happening.

2. It was really, really hot yesterday, so the house was shut up tight with the air conditioner on, the outdoor sun blinds down and the plantation shutters shut - so the lighting was poorer than usual which affected 1. above.

3. Frantic morning video chats with DS2 in Sydney. DS2 video chats me on my mobile:  

DS2: Dad, where's Dad? I need Dad!  (Note: no greeting)
Me:  Why do you need Dad, is everything all right?
DS2: No, our ceiling has fallen down and I don't know what to do! (Note: DS2 is 24 and lives in a sharehouse in Sydney and there were terrible storms in Sydney overnight)






Me (and TraderVic):  Oh, my goodness, was anyone hurt? - Ring the SES (State Emergency Service) and ring the agent.
DS2: No, no one was hurt, we were all in bed (it was 9am), I tried the agent, the office is still shut for the Christmas/New Year break. What is the number for the SES?
Me: Does the agent have a head office or a mobile number?
DS2: No.
Me: (On the computer in Melbourne, remember DS2 lives in Sydney) The SES number is xxxx and the real estate agent's mobile number is xxxx. Ring both of them now. You may be told by the SES that you can't stay.
DS2: We have a back up plan if we have to move out, I'll ring the SES now but I can't bother the agent on his mobile.
Me: Yes, you can, he needs to know, so he can let the landlord know!!!!!
DS2: Okay. Talk again soon.
Me: (later that morning). How is it going?
DS2: Ses came
And said it will be fine
So land lord is getting people to come fix it
Me:You got onto the agent, then? Do you have to move out?
No we can stay
Yep glen is sorting it out
Me: Great, aren't you glad that I found his mobile number for you - just saying! lol! 

DS2: Thx mummy (Remember he has just turned 24!)

(Later that morning I get another call)
DS2: it is still raining and now the living room is flooding.
Me: Have you shifted the furniture? (couch, dining table and chairs, TV, etc.)
DS2:Nah! It is only a millimetre or two.
Me: What if it keeps raining and you don't have contents insurance?
DS2: Nah, she'll be right (very typical Aussie attitude), it's only a little bit of water and rain.
Me: I give up!

I am not sure what else has happened as DS2's mobile phone has now broken down - so I have to Message him via his best friend's phone who is staying with him for a few days before heading back to Melbourne and DS2 starts a new job on Monday. It never ends with your children, does it? lol!


4. Daytime naps needed to be had due to 2. and 3. above and the fact that it has been really hot overnight so little sleep has been had.


5. TraderVic, DS1 and DDIL and I all played a lively game of Monopoly_Melbourne Edition in the evening, which severely cut into my stitching time.

So, there you go, all sound like reasonable excuses to me! lol!

Just to finish off, the cats are feeling the effects of the hot weather, too. Milo and Nobu are engaged in a Mexican Standoff ....


... and Furio has just given up!


Poor furbabies, mind you, they could sleep in the cool, air conditioned rooms but no!

So, that was my first Friday Frolic for the year. Rather an eventful one, now that I think about it!

If you want to see what everyone else got up to for these Stitching events, click on either or both of the links below:



hugs, 


P.S. Please don't forget to check out my first little giveaway for 2017.

Friday, 6 January 2017

I'm on a Roll ...

FFO #2.... Wee Santa 2016 by Heart in Hand Designs (finished in October last year) is now framed! Yay!

However, I do have a question, I have used a Mill Hill frame which has a holly design on it but I cannot make up my mind which way to place the holly.  I haven't closed the back yet with felt so I am asking you all for your opinion.


Which way looks best?


#1 

#2




#3

#4


Looking forward to reading what everyone thinks.

hugs, 


P.S. Please don't forget to check out my first little giveaway for 2017


Monday, 3 October 2016

Smalls SAL.... September Update...

A few Smalls to show you this month, as I am finally getting my act together early and starting writing this post on the 14th of the month (lol - no way that plan worked!).  I have not posted a Smalls SAL post since May - that means that I missed June, July and August.  Now, I know that I have stitched a number of Smalls since then - so here we go, let's play Smalls Catch Up!


Christmas Smalls finishes (mostly stitched as part of the Christmas Ornie SAL).... but let's start with my most recent Christmas finish, one that I stitched just because .... Wee Santa 2016 by Heart in Hand









Now onto the belated Christmas Ornie SAL Smalls finishes:

June: Love Letters

"Love Letters"
from "Joyeux Noel"
Blackbird Designs
28 ct Mocha Linen
My own choice of overdyed threads (as I had none of the suggested ones  - lol)

I am so very pleased with how this turned out.


July: Prairie Schooler Book #150 (snippet)

I am not overly thrilled with how it has turned out - not the design's fault but mine!  I made an error somewhere near the start, didn't pick it up until it was way too late, so had to ditch the idea of a border and create this snow "hill" instead - now it is a bit of an odd shape - may have to make it a bell-shaped ornie, I think, when I Finish Finish it.  Although, some other interesting shapes have been suggested to me, as well.


Prairie Schooler Book #150
December
28 ct Ivory linen
Suggested DMC floss

August: Believe in Christmas

"Believe in Christmas"
Samplers not forgotten
Fabric: Unknown 28ct
Floss: various from my stash



This design is from the JCS Christmas Ornie mag 2015.

September: Xmas Tea.... 



Xmas Tea
Designer: Primitive Acorns
Source: JCS Christmas Ornie Mag 2016
28 ct linen
Assorted floss from stash

It was a very sweet stitch.


Also, way back when, for my June Ornie for the Halloween Ornie SAL, I finished this piece....




"Crow on a Pumpkin"
Samplers Not Forgotten
JCS Halloween 2015 magazine
Using a mixture of my own choice of GAST, CC and WDW floss

I love the fact that the pumpkin is not orange!  And I am thrilled with my use of CC Queen Bee for the border on the right instead of GAST Gold Leaf - it looks quite unusual.

Happy, Happy Happy!

So, I think that I may leave my Smalls SAL post there, as it is now the 3rd of October and despite my very best intentions, this Smalls SAL post is now late - lol!

You can find the check in for the Smalls SAL here, so please go see what everyone else got up to this month.

hugs, 


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