D'oh (in my best Homer voice)

I did something really stupid. I bought a book on Ebay. Of course this in itself is not a bad thing, I buy things on eBay all the time - the stupid thing is, I bought a book I already own!

Again!

Yes, you guessed it - this is not the first time I've done it either!

This particular book was published by the Embroiderers' Guild (Jane Greenoff, Brenda Keyes and Jo Verso) and is a lovely book that covers a range of areas on sampler history and symbolism as well as some hints on designing and stitching your own samplers.

The book also has sections on crazy patchwork, wessex embroidery, and map samplers.

So, one of my lucky friends will get a parcel in the mail this week or next...I already know where it is going.... :)

Opps - missed an important date...

I didn't realise that 23 June was my blog anniversary!

Time flies when you're having fun....

Happy blog day to me!
Happy blog day to me!
Happy blog day to me-ee!
Happy blog day to me!

M Designs in glorious red!

This is the M Designs piece I mentioned earlier. I have completed one heart and started another in the diaonally opposite corner. (sorry for the skewed piccie). I'm using Needle Necessities 510 on white linen. The other two corners will have initials but I'm not sure whose yet :)

One down...one more to go.

I sat one of my two exams today...I think I did ok, but you never can tell, can you? One thing I have found with post graduate study is...it's bloody hard work and takes up a lot of valuable time I could be doing the things I love more, like stitching and singing! Oh well only another 4 semesters to go although I might stretch it out a little and have a semester off somewhere in the middle...

Liam is with his dad at the moment (in Sydney) so I had a quick trip to Canberra to meet his dad who drove down from Sydney. Consequently it made me very tired for my exam today. I guess sitting up until midnight last night doing last minute study didn't help!

Tomorrow night I am taking mum and dad to see my friend Andy sing with the swing band - absolutely my favourite place to be on a Tuesday night. I have tomorrow off to study for my economics exam on Wednesday afternoon, so the disruption of some great music will be welcome.

Tonight I am resting and I will try and finish my June goal on An Open Heart and perhaps stitch a little on the M Designs piece :)

There has been progress!

Finally! Here is the latest progress pic of An Open Heart. This is one project for which the colours look so much nicer in 'real life' than on the chart picture....

*eek* time...need more of it!

I haven't stitched hardly at all this week, although I must admit I was STRESSED when I got home from work the other day so I did a little to calm down....AOH got some of area 3 stitched so I'm on target for that June goal :)

I have exams in just over a week, Economics (26th), and Management Science (28th) so I probably wont post much, but will try and read al ittle in my forced study breaks. I've been finding study very hard - it's been a long time since I studied anything and its been a real challenge. Hopefully I will do ok! I think next semester I will just do one unit rather than two.

It's also school holidays, my parents arrive tomorrow for a three week visit and I have to go to Canberra next weekend (the weekend BEFORE my exams) to take LHM to see his dad!

There's always something! Why does it all seem to come at once!

For the Movie Lover

Stumbled across this blog that has movie reviews for just about anything you can think of! Great! They're quite detailed so if you don't want to be put off....probably best not to read them till after you've seen a movie! (Just to see if you agree)!

Move along...nothing to see here...

It has been a long weekend here in Melbourne and although I had nights out on Friday and Sunday, I've spent all the days studying...so no stitching.

However, I am all studied out right now, so today I am going to relax with some chocolate, chick flicks and some stitching. I'm not sure what I will stitch on - perhaps the M Designs piece that I have started...it's four sections, two Celtic Heart designs in each corner and will be two initials. I had first thought this would be for a friend, but she has gone and changed her colour scheme, so the beautiful Needle Necessities variegated red just wont do for her now...might keep this one myself...I will try and post a picture later.

I might also get the never-ending "Dad's Sampler" out of the WIP roll and do one or two letters to appease my guilt over not finishing it yet (started in 2000 while I was in hospital and my parents were here looking after me and Liam). These over one letters will be the death of me! I really must finish this....it's beautiful but the over one stitching is really hard on my eyes. I will try and post a progress picture of this one too.

An Open Heart will definitely get a look in as it is out and ready to be tackled!

All in all should be a good day...now to choose movies!

How to make a me!

I saw this on Mel's blog and just HAD to have a go!

Accurate description of me don't you think???

How to make a Tannia

Ingredients: 1 part mercy 5 parts self-sufficiency 5 parts empathy

Method: Layer ingredientes in a shot glass. Add a little caring if desired!

Username:

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

My Exciting Saturday Night!

Last night my dad was visiting from Tasmania!

"Why don't you go out dear?" he said, "I'll look after Liam."

After getting through to about W on my mobile phone with no takers, I decided to stay home and stitch!

I worked on An Open Heart and am now down to the dividing band under the second row of text and I started the area underneath that....all in all a good night AND I got to have a good gasbagging session with my dad! Love him to bits!

Sometimes those nights are just the best!

June Goals

During June (and remembering that I have exams on the 28/29th June, I would like to accomplish the following:

• Finish something.....anything.....ornament, fob, bookmark.....anything at all!
• Stitch down to at least dividing band 6 on An Open Heart.

And for two goals not stitching related:

• Complete the two economics assignments I am behind in.
• Complete the 1 Management Science assignment that is late!

Faring well in my exams is a goal I really don't need to list here ....is it?

The other side of me.....

I've started another totally un-craft related blog.....

Some of you may know I fancy myself as a bit of a rock star (in my dreams) but I have done quite a bit of singing around the traps, in bands and musicals over the years and more recently in church.

( I like singing in church because I figure everyone there is so nice they all love you even when you sound like cr@p!!!)

Anyway I thought I would start a blog about my music making adventures and also listing a few gigs and bands and things...you may or may not find it interesting...I do!

Here is the link to "Musically Speaking".

They're here!!

Woohooo I am so spoilt! Three parcels in three days!

My ebay purchase was a modern reproduction of "The Praise of the Needle" which was written by John Taylor in 1631.

And my parcels from Dragonflydreams and Colours Downunder arrived as well so all in all I'm a happy little stitcher!

I just love Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly! I only get it for the pictures you know.... :)

Australia Post Service...or Not!

I got cards for two parcels today...nothing unusual about that...was expecting them.

However...one card directed me to the local post office which incidentally is just across the road from my house...but it closes early...it NEVER stays open until the times it says on the door - never!
The other card directs me to the Area Post office about ten minutes away from my house. So I wander across there hoping that the Dragonflydreams parcel is the one I can pick up tonight. I am really looking forward to catching up on SANQ!

No such luck...it's my ebay purchase.

So, now I have to telephone the local PO (across the road from my house) tomorrow, ask them to send my parcel to the area PO so I can pick it up after I finish work. This means it will be another two days before I get it!

Now I am also expecting a parcel from Colours Downunder, so I bet what will happen with that one, I will have the DFD parcel redirected to the area PO and on the same day I will get a card saying my CDU parcel is at the local PO and I will have to go through it all again!

Waaaah I am being stalled in all directions!

An Open Heart 29 May 2006

I did some more on An Open Heart tonight...it's been cathartic - this is a lovely piece to start stitching again after so long.

I might start something new tomorrow, SAPAW says I can. I am not sure what - perhaps one of the Long Dog's waiting for me at the post office.....perhaps something little that I can finish fast....will post my decision tomorrow!

More stash.....

I am so bad...last night I made an order for three samplers - it was very late, I am sleep deprived - I didn't know what I was doing. I've been a bit naughty with stash this week, first a nice order on it's way from Dragonflydreams, and some stash from Alison of course, and now some lovely charts from Colours Down Under.

I ordered:

• With My Needle - Adorn Thy Heart
• The Sampler House - Band of Many Colours
• The Needle's Prayse - The Garnet Sampler

I've wanted the first two for a very long time....and the third, well I had to make the postage worthwhile didn't I?

Now I am VERY impatient for the postman!

Very Victorian - Shamrock Sampler

This is a really old finish. I did this for a girlfriend's birthday a couple of years ago but have never posted a picture of it on my blog, so here you go. It's "Very Victorian - Shamrock Sampler" by Eileen Bennet and it uses some over one, some pulled thread stitches and ribbon weaving too :) I really enjoyed stitching this one from memory - it was an 'easy' but interesting project.

Stashy Mail

How exciting - my first stash mail in what seems like forever.

I got from Alison C. Drawn Threads "Generosity" chart (which is really cute) and Victoria Sampler's Pansy Sampler and Accessory Pack...lovely! I had only seen the VS one on the web and the chart photo is lovely...I ove the box top, my bedroom is lavender and green and white so that might make a nice pillow for my bed :)

I must admit though I have been off work with the flu for two days and I've been rather impatiently waiting for a parcel from Dragonflydreams with 3 issues of Sampler and Antique needlework Quarterly....I was so hoping it would be here before the weekend! Just to make it all worthwhile posting, I also ordered two long dog charts too!

Anyway much to my disgust of Australia Post - it hasn't arrived and it's making me stash-cranky!

TW Intermediate Ornament

Finally I can post a picture of the ornament that I stitched for Mel as it arrived for her today. I'm glad you like it Mel. I used Needle Necessities overdye floss in I can't recall which colour (the tag came off) and I think but am not entirely certain that the fabbie is white (or antique white) linen....I may be wrong about that! The ornament is lined in burgundy felt that shows through the cutwork areas. It's not a really good picture. I've been seeing a lot of those nifty eight-sided pincushions (biscornu?) on blogs all over the place and I think I might try and give one of those a go :)

I'm not the only one...

It would seem that even space heros have laundry dramas...stumbled across this on Jean-Luc Picard's blog on blogspot.com....I've never been a Star Trek fan - but the blog is funny.

Progress on "1663"

Here is the progress on my Permin 1663 Sampler.

The bands at the side are half of what is on the chart and the amount shown in the picture is around 25-30 cms so you can see just how big the sampler is....it's around 80cms wide I think....BIG!

I've done quite a bit more across the top than what shows in this picture - it's a very large sampler. I am using a combination of Madeira Silk and Needlepoint Inc silks for this one... sorry about the photo, the colours are just gorgeous, really much more vibrant than what shows here. I do enjoy stitching this. I had forgotten how much.

An Open Heart - 21 May 2006

Here is An Open Heart taken on Sunday. I stitched on it on Monday evening too so have done a little more - will post another picture soon.

Bad luck in threes? I have proof!

This week has been a nightmare as far as appliances go!

My washing machine, my dryer AND my vacuum cleaner all needed 'repairs'. Well I manged to get my dryer and vacuum fixed ($160 later) but my poor washing machine has died (R.I.P Hoov...) So out I went yesterday and bought a new one. I got a nice Fisher and Paykel 7.5 kilo beauty ($900) ! My old one was only 5 kg so this one should be better...and I am hoping it wont sound like a 747 taking off in my laundry when it spins also!

It's a factory second which means it had a little dent in the side (so what??) and the retailer can't sell it as 'new' any more because of the little dent and the fact it doesn't have a box....again I say....so what? You don't do the laundry in the box....do you?

So today, while LIam and I are both off wiht the flu, I am going to do laundry as my new machine should be here very soon! I do feel a bit sick though.....really....sick of the sight of dirty clothes!

Besides, I can't go to work....I've got nothing clean to wear! (The bonus being I can stay home and wait fo rmy DFD parcel to arrive!)

Day 1 of the 'next ten days' down....9 to go.

I did a good two hours on DT's An Open Heart this evening...I am now down to the the area below the dividing bands after the first line of the verse....not very far I know but further than I was yesterday...

I also have some new things coming in the mail, the past three issues of SANQ and 2 Long Dog's Rosemarkie and St George from Dragonflydreams (the best INS on the web) - I think I will do those at work in my lunch breaks...the one colour stitching will help alleviate stress I think. I also am waiting on a book from ebay, a Victoria Sampler chart and accessory pack and DT's Generosity Sampler chart from Alison C . I have assisted her in de-stashing by taking these unwanted items off her hands. How helpful of me. : )

After stitching a while, it is funny how much more relaxed and open to my economics textbook I was....still doesn't make any sense but at least I am doing it!

Goal for the rest of May

Now I've been in a bit of a stitching slump, so slowly, slowly I need to get myself back into the swing of things... For the remaining 10 or so days in May, I have decided that my goal will be to stitch for at least an hour each evening....on any project....EVEN a new start if that is what I so desire.

In a week or so I will post goals for June (which will probably encompass some of those old ones I didn't achive last year!)

Wish me luck!

Eek I had no idea

I really had no idea it had been so long since I had posted.

Oops....perhaps it is because I haven't done any stitching in ages...my stitching mojo has been gone...gone...gone.!!!

Anyhow my last post had been that I started Drawn Thread's An Open Heart, well I am sorry to say I hadn't actually done that much more on it since then... but today I picked it up for a few hours and I will post a picture next week.

I have found in the past if I post regularly I seem to get more done, so on that note I will endeavour to post my progress on all things (stitching, study, work etc) to see if I can make some good progress in those areas. I will also post some goals and maybe that will assist in me achieving them.

43 things might get a look in too!

Happy 2006 and a half.......to get myself going i stitched TW's Intermediate Whitework Ornament as an ornament for an exchange - will post a picture of that too - when the recipient gets it.