No buying of charts for one whole month ....

Hi, my name is Helene and I have a HAED (Heaven and Earth Designs) addiction and I have become a Serial Starter. I started this blog with a plan to get a few of my WIPs completed. But all that is happened is I have become enthralled by these beautiful designs and all I want to do is start a new one. I need to get a grip on myself otherwise I will have so many projects that have one page completed and no way of getting any of them completed.

I really do think that these designs deserve to be completed and I need to make a conscious effort to do so. Otherwise, what good are all these started projects going to be! I've decided that I have to be vigilant about not buying anymore charts for the next month. I know that doesn't seem long, but it is in my world. Especially with new charts coming out almost daily. So that's NO BUYING NEW HAED CHARTS until May 1, 2011 and then I can decide then if I am able to continue for another month.

I will keep you all informed of how I am doing, so instead of reaching for my wallet I will be threading my needle and getting stuck into my goals that I have set myself for this year. Fingers crossed I can do this, any support that anyone cares to offer will be gratefully accepted and appreciated.

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

Famous last words ...

I got caught up in the fun and decided that I just "had to" set some project goals for the year. I have tried to be realistic about what I want to achieve, so here goes ....

• 2011 SAL - QS Curl up with a good book (pages 1, 2 & 3)
• Eldar - (pages 1, 2, 7 & 8)
• 2010 SAL - SK Masquerade (pages 2 & 3)
• QS Dragon Luck (pages 1, 2 & 3)

All things going well I may be able to add to this list before the year ends.

Until next time, happy stitching

Wow! Another year gone ...

I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. But I am sooooooo glad it's over. I think as far as I'm concerned the lows were definitely more prominent than the highs. From my Dad almost dying back in January to both my husband and I losing our incomes within six months of one another. But the highlights were our daughter turning 21, getting engaged and then finding out six months later that she was pregnant. We did have some bright spots on the horizon. But I know that someone else has probably had a more difficult year than us. We are all thankful that tomorrow we can all still spend Christmas together and as a rapidly growing family (22 members as of the new arrival in November, my parents, my brother, sister and our families), these times are much appreciated. So to all my readers out there in blogland, from my family to you and yours we wish you all a Merry Christmas filled with love from all those that you cherish and hold most dear.

Until next time, happy stitching

No more goal setting ....

So it seems I'm not very good at completing goals. So reality check, if I have to set them they are going to be small otherwise I don't think I should touch them with a ten foot pole. We are just not meant to be.

I've been so caught up in my knitting that my stitching has suffered and ultimately I have too. I am so glad that I have completed the baby shawl I was making for my nephew's new daughter. Now I can move on and do my own stuff, which includes stitching and lots of it. This was going to be just a short note, next week I plan to have a few pictures of my progress on Masquerade SK and I've been considering a new start for 2011.

Until next time, happy stitching

Stitching along ....

I finished page 1 of MSK. YAY!!!! That is another item checked off my half year challenge. I have come to the realisation that I am probably not going to be able to complete my half year challenge but if I do some of the things on the list that will be ok.

I wasn't too good with my goals for October (I made an executive decision not to do my hand quilting goal), but I will persist and set a goal for November, even though we are almost half way through the month.

• Finish page 1 of QS Dragon Luck

I think that will be enough for this month. I probably should have started out small in the first place and then made the list longer as I made progress. See, that is the thing with being in charge you can may changes when you feel like it.

I haven't quite finished the baby shawl for my nephew's new baby. She arrived before I could finish it, but that's ok. I have about half a ball of wool left and it will be complete.

My daughter is now into her 5th month of her pregnancy and everybody keeps asking if she is sure that she is going to have a baby, I keep saying, "SHE IS" I was at her last two ultra-sound scans. The excitement is growing, we have all begun buying things, my husbands parents are really excited because it will be the first great-grandchild, and my wonderful mother-in-law is so over the moon, she couldn't wait to tell her older sister, who has just become a great grandmother at 90, my MIL is only 69. How funny I'm saying "only 69" like she isn't ageing at all.

Anyway, I can't be sitting here all day, I need to get a wriggle on. I want to get page 1 of QS Dragon Luck completed before the end of the month.
Until next time, happy stitching

Whats happening ....

I brought my Masquerade SK out to make some sort of progress on it and I have managed some. Every little bit helps. I will probably carry on working on this so that I complete page 1, this will help with my half year challenge. I need to get a move on with that, I haven't looked at PBF for a while now. That will have to move up in priority.

I have also been madly making lists because it will be my birthday shortly and I would prefer that my family brought me "stitchy" things, so I have all these little lists stuck on the fridge, so when DH or one of the kids asks, I can just refer them there. Sounds logical, will let you know if it actually works though.

I am one third of the way through the baby shawl I am knitting for my nephew's partner. She had her baby shower last weekend, and when she saw the rabbit I made she was so happy because nobody had given her a toy, but mine was that much better because it was made with love. I had also given her a knitted jacket with a hood for baby and a baby book (sorry, forgot to take pictures). So, hopefully I get the shawl finished for baby's arrival at the beginning of November.

In other news, I am going to be a Nana!!!! YAY!! My daughter is four months along and yesterday we had a visit to the Midwife and heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. This is going to be such fun preparing for this new little addition to our family. My daughter doesn't realise it but Dragon Luck is for her little one and when we were discussing Train of Dreams and Eldar last week that was also going to be for the little one. Oh Wow!!! So many things I want to do, but only so much time in which to do it.


Until next time, happy stitching

October Goals ....

It's time to get some order in my life, or I'm just going to be overwhelmed by all my WIP's

• Complete page 1 of Masquerade SK (this is one of my half year challenges) done
• Put 1000 stitches into page 8 of Polar Bear Fun
• Quilt two blocks on Heart Quilt Made an executive decision not to do this
• Prepare block 5 of Baltimore Reminiscence Quilt done
• BONUS - kit up "Train of Dreams" or "Eldar" Eldar is kitted up ready to go

Until next time, happy stitching