I found something that might help me ....

I found the 2012 WIPocalypse in the last week, while browsing some of the blogs I like to visit and it turned out that the deadline for being an "actual" participant was the 15 January. So, with 5 days to spare and absolutely no time to think I decided that I would participate.  Woohoo!!! If you would still like to be a part of the Stitch-A-Long you can visit here and all the details are outlined by Measi.

Joining this SAL meant that I had to evaluate the vast amount of projects that I currently have in progress and decide which of them I wanted to make the most progress on.

I am going to focus on my Heaven and Earth design projects, because I have so many patterns and I just love them so much. Which is why I had to come up with a short list and when those are done I can add new goals or extend the goals on the projects that I already have on the go.

Sounds good to me!!! If you would like to see what I decided on I have made a special page for the 2012 WIPocalypse to keep track of progress etc.

On with stitchy stuff. I have completed half of page 2 on QS Curl up with a good book. YAY ME! I have been struggling with a rotation for a while now, but I discovered towards the end of November last year that because I print out my chart pages in quarters;

• a) so that I can see them properly (blind as a bat), and
• b) I like things to be uniform, 

that it was easier to just complete a quarter page at a time. That way I made blocks of progress on all my projects and I have been really enjoying it.

Until next time, happy stitching

It's a new year, time to re-evaluate ....

I think I need to start the year off small. So, I really want to finish SK Masquerade, so that will stay in my rotation. Now, I have come to the hard part, what other projects are a real priority for me. Eldar? QS Curl Up? QS Crabby Crush? Ok!! lets work with these and the new 2012 SaL project from HAED "QS Teddy Bear Tree".

I know that this will keep on morphing over the next 12 months because something is going to take my interest away, but I have to get on to stitching and stop pondering over what hasn't even come to light yet.

 As promised here is another update, this is for the 2011 SaL QS Curl Up with a Good Book. I really love the colors and want to finish this project. Maybe this will be "it's" lucky year. I have finally moved on to page 2. Next up in rotation is QS Crabby Crush.

Until next time, happy stitching

Happy New Year!!!

I would like to take this opportunity to say Happy New Year and I hope that your Christmas was full of wonderful blessings for you all.

I have a couple of updates to share and I will add those over the next few posts. In the meantime I have managed to complete 3/4 of page 7 on Eldar and here is a before and after shot.

I get so caught up in working on my projects that I forget to update you all on my progress. Since I got my new smartphone though I have been so much more proactive about taking the update photos, but I haven't been present to do my show and tell for you all.

But there is no time like the present to make a start.

 Until next time, happy stitching

Making progress

I really have missed not having a set schedule for stitching. I really didn’t think rotations could be that necessary but it is comforting to have structure back. I haven’t posted anything in a while for the 2011 QS Stitch-A-Long. I really love this piece, so I have a progress picture for October and here is another for my November rotation.

I was really excited about completing the first page, but once I got started again on page 2, I couldn’t believe how much I really had missed working on this. The last time it had been in my rotation was way back in July. Goodness!!! I really did need a kick in the pants to get on with it.

I think I was a bit put off at first because the decanter had so much confetti in it, and then I had to restart on 18ct because 28ct was doing my head in for this project.

Just to make my life even more exciting, I added another project to my ever growing pile of WiP's. I will post a photo of my progress on this next time. Oh and I thought I would make a couple of changes to my blog title. As it is Spring here in New Zealand I thought that is was time for a freshen up.

Until next time, happy stitching

Every stitch is worth it ....

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with my stitching goals for 2011. So, I think I need to prioritize, but before I do that, here are a couple more updates.

I have always loved Dragon Luck since I saw it as a Storykeep, but I wasn't head over heels in love with Heaven and Earth designs when that freebie was available, so, when I found the Quick Stitch that the Storykeep had been cropped from I couldn't get it started soon enough for my new grandson, (he is growing so fast where did the last 5 months go???). I have just managed to get half of page 2 done and this little guy is looking so cute, now I only have to finish page 2 & 3 on this to complete one of my 2011 goals.

I also have an update of another dragon Eldar and I am close to finishing half of page 7 which will mean that the first five columns of this are finished, yipee I can't wait. I really like working on this, but because I love all my other projects the same nothing is getting the TLC it "truly" deserves.

So this week, I want to get 600 stitches completed on QS Curl Up, so I need to go to get a more on.

Until next time, happy stitching

Curling up to keep warm ....

It's winter here in New Zealand and all I have wanted to do is curl up in front of the fire. But, alas that was not to be. I did get a fair bit of stitching in though. I have made progress on page 1 of QS Curl up with a good book, just looking at this little guy warms the soul. Maybe I will get page 1 completed in my August rotation.

I have added a few more stitches to my little fairy "Roses Friend", but as it is all background I decided that I would wait until the page was finished before adding another update photo and Masquerade SK finally has her face completed, I will take a picture of the whole project when I take it off the QSnaps. This project has become my nemesis, it is just sitting there constantly taunting me, but I figure that any stitches that I can get completed on this are a bonus. I hope to get back with another update over the next week so here's hoping.

Until next time, happy stitching

I survived, and made a new start ....

I've reached the end of the month. Woohoo!! I survived the NO BUY challenge that I set myself. It was really difficult, so many beautiful new releases came out and my fingers were itching to make them a part of my stash.

This is my latest new start. It's called Roses Friend by Molly Harrison and charted by Heaven and Earth designs. I saw this and immediately thought of my Aunt. She was also my Godmother and I was her "Namesake". She passed away 17 years ago and this is the first time I have come across a design that reminded me of her so much.  So I am making this in her honor, much missed and loved by me and my family. This is my progress on her so far. I am stitching the background, and finding it really therapeutic, because not as much concentration is required.

I'm ending this month by working on QS Curl Up with a Good Book. It had been a nightmare for me until I restarted on 18ct and it seems to be working out for me.

Okay, so, from what I achieved last month, I am really glad that I did do a rethink on my rotation. I feel so much happier about the progress that I have made with all my projects and I've been able to decide which projects are a priority and give them the time that is needed to get them finished quicker. Last but definitely not the least I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my musings. I appreciate all your comments.

Until next time, happy stitching

A few technical difficulties, but onward we go ....

Blogger seems to have decided that I am not allowed to post the normal way so I am trying something else and reverting back to the old editor. Weird though, because I am able to post from my laptop, but not able to, from my desktop.

My previous post was definitely not an April fools day joke, but I am beginning to feel a bit of a fool for making the decision. But here we are at day 3 and so far so good. Mind you it has been difficult especially when HAED are having a 25% off sale until April 17. I will not look, I will not look ...

Anyway, on to much better things like stitching and progress made. March was not the most productive month. But, every stitch counts right? I managed to do work a "little" on QS Curl Up. See what I meant about "little". Never mind.

I also got almost 1/4 of a page completed on Eldar. I was really enjoying this and then I got a migraine and it has managed to knock me around a bit, so I haven't been wanting to do too much "thinking", but I hope to get back to it soon.

Oh! I almost forgot, here is an update of SK Masquerade. I completed a 1/4 of page 2.

Until next time, happy stitching

Lots of goings on ...

I am so sorry for being so absent. I have had my daughter staying with me for the past 6 weeks because of her difficult pregnancy. We've had a few scares, so she was basically put on bed rest at seven months. So we have been preparing for our new additions eminent arrival.

I was able to do a little bit of stitching though. I was getting frustrated with all the confetti on my HAED SAL project "Curl up with a good book". Originally it had been worked on 28ct White Lugana, what a nightmare. So, I decided I would like it in a bigger format, so I changed to 18ct White Aida, and it has been a lot easier to work. So I managed to complete a quarter of page 1.

I even managed to work on last years SAL project "SK Masquerade", I really would like to get this completed this year, because I have my eye on so many other projects.

So at this point in time "she" has half a face. I really have to force myself to work on this though, and actually now that I take another look at this photo, I've noticed that I have actually gone on a bit further. But I will post an updated picture next time. So I haven't been able to get back to "Eldar" yet either, I was more focused on restarting "Curl Up", but I hope to get a bit of work in on "Eldar" before the end of the month. With all that has been going on I didn't even get around to setting goals for myself this month.


The wonderful news, my daughter had her baby last weekend. A beautiful little baby boy "Caleb Jonathan", named after our eldest son (Jonathan). He came into the world in a bit of a rush because he had foetal distress, so we had every possible midwife, nurse, and registrar available to help, in case of complications. When his head had delivered it was discovered that his umbilical cord was wrapped once around his neck and again around his body. SCAREY!!! I was finding it very difficult to keep it together, because my daughter kept saying "Mum is he okay?" That was the longest hour, that I have had to go through.

Our daughter had a really bad tear and she was rushed off to theatre, so she asked my husband and I, if we could go with the baby to the NICU, because she said "He would be okay if we were with him". That was not what I wanted to hear. All I could see, was this tiny little baby with an oxygen mask on, struggling his little heart out to just breathe. The nurses in NICU, managed to get him to breathe comfortably, and then eventually without a mask, the joy I felt when I was allowed to see him again, was so overwhelming, all I could do was cry.

When both my husband and I had managed to calm ourselves down, I asked him to go and find out how much longer our daughter was going to be in "Recovery". He wasn't allowed to see her but the nurses said that they would ring when she was being brought out. I had just left my husband with our little baby so that I could call both my parents and my inlaws, and my daughter was wheeled around the corner. She was so relieved when she saw me standing there. I told her all about what had gone on and then took her into NICU to see her beautiful baby boy. WOW, what a rush!! He arrived at 5.29pm on 6 March 2011 and weighed 3.225kg (7lb 10oz) I think.

March - plan of attack

• Stitch on "Curl Up" (HAED SAL) project
• Stitch on "Eldar" - 1000 stitches
• Stitch on "SK Masquerade" - complete 1/4 of page 2 - (done)

Until next time, happy stitching

New starts and catch ups ....

I'm finally going to get around to showing you my most recent new start. It's the new HAED BB SaL for 2011. This time around we will be working on this over the year and I have been really looking forward to making a start on this. I got everything ready, found fabric, gathered floss in one place, and began gridding my fabric and this is how far I have gone with it. It's worked on 28ct white jobelan, using 1 thread over 1.

But, I have found that with all the confetti in this piece I am not a happy little stitcher and I feel that things might be easier if I change my fabric. So, I have made a restart and will update next month with that.

I have also been busily trying to sort out my rotation so that I can get some of my other projects moving, therefore completing them so I can have more new starts. I have had some success here though.

I had made a fairly loose plan of attack

• Finish page 1 of QS Dragon Luck (done)
• Work 300 stitches on Masquerade SK (done)
• Complete page 1 of Eldar (done)
• Complete 1/4 page of QS Curl Up (restarting on different fabric)

Until next time, happy stitching

A new year, a new start ...

I really couldn't help myself. This chart has been "yelling" at me so what could I do, but start it. I was going to wait until mid January, but at the end of November out it came.

So here it is, this is my first page completed on "Eldar" by Randal Spangler. I am making this as a special request from my daughter for the baby's room. (I think it will look really great in there).

I began on the 20 November 2010 and completed the page on 2 January 2011, it is stitched on 28ct Cream Lugana and is stitched in full cross stitch with 1 thread over 1.

I didn't work on it every day because some days were much better than others healthwise. I really wanted to get page 1 completed before I moved on to this years SAL project.

I also received and began the 2011 SAL from the HAED BB. It is a year long project and I was so overwhelmed with the choices that were offered, but I think I chose well. I picked another Randal Spangler chart "QS Curl up with a good book". I will post a picture next update because I haven't done very much on it, so I would rather wait. You will all have to wait in suspenders (oops, I meant suspense).

Until next time, happy stitching

Still no joy ....

Well, I haven't had any joy in the allergy department, but the medications that I have been taking are helping a lot and my cough is sooooo much better. Yipee!!! Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts for my recovery they have been much appreciated.


Now on to fun things, I have completed some more on Dragon Luck. I am full steam ahead on this and I am thinking that I really would like to finish this by Christmas of this year (thought that it might be a good idea to say a year, that way it has a finish date. Hehe). He is going to be a present for a special little someone.

When I reach the half way point with this project, I am going to treat myself and add another HAED into my rotation, (I think you can only call it a rotation, if you actually "rotate" your projects - oh well), my daughter and I have been considering two projects - either "Train of Dreams" or "Eldar" by Randal Spangler, I so looove his dragons. Any input you can offer would be appreciated, I do realise that I will probably have to do both charts eventually.


I have to invest in another set of Q'Snaps because I can't bring myself to remove the set that I already have on Dragon Luck, so that I am able to work on my Masquerade Storykeep, I still have my half year goals to achieve and I am feeling the pressure. I was hoping to give my storykeep as a gift to my Mum for Christmas, now I'm convinced that a visit to my favourite ONS is required.

Until next time, happy stitching