Two Chatelaine updates

I've got two pictures this time!

One is my Japanese Octagon Box which I am SAL-ing with Tash on, and this is my progress over the weekend - my first tree, with all its branches:




And here is Mystery X, almost half done, except for the beading. I will do that at the end - I just did one section to see what it will look like! I couldnt get a good close-up picture though, sorry about that. They just turn up blurry due to the amount of glitz. The beaded flowers look like butterscotch - its all a bit easter egg coloured isn't it!



I'm thoroughly enjoying it, and happily adding flowers. Now to get it done before the 1st so I'm up to date!

Having fun with part 3

No photos, though they might be fun - maybe tomorrow.

Because part 2 ended up being so monotonous near the end, I've been having fun with the largely detail-stitched part 3. Its basically an overlay over what I've already stitched, with some detail on the corners and little rectangles of beads as borders around this central swirly design. Finally it's starting to look properly victorian, and it's gorgeous! Martina is so clever.

So far I have:

• two of the corners done (a little tiny bit more green - 3 stitches per corner, six silver algerian eyelets and some purple on the outside)
• one of the four purple boxes done - the top one, and the second one started
  
• six beads in the purple box just to see how they looks - the two coloured beads arent the same size and it creates an interesting effect
• the pink tulips in the top right hand corner complete with stems and leaves
  
• the stems and leaves for most of the inner section in the TR corner done (3 big and 3 small to do)
• 3 tiny tiny Jessica stitch flowers in the same section

Generally, I'm just playing. But its fun. Its a quick part to stitch up, I give it a week at most to get done.

...next time I take this in to school, I am going to blow my craft teacher's socks off. FUN!

Part 2 Finally Finished!

It's DONE! That neverending green is DONE!

See?



The photo doesnt in any way do it justice though, it's so sparkly and beautiful, but it gives you some idea. The holes in the green create a lacy effect, and they'll all get filled in with beads to make flowers this part. Four kinds of flowers this time: jessica stitches, beads, satin stitch-type things and ones done in backstitch. Sounds like fun!

I'm so glad to get this done, it's beautiful but it's been hanging over my head and getting in the way of my doing any other stitching, pretty much. Now it's done and I can get part 3 done (much smaller part) and I'll be up to date and stitching on something else!

Muffins!

The weather today looks something like this:

And I had no meds last night, so had to pick some up today and didnt think it safe to go to school given that.

So, I made these:

Kiwi, lime and coconut muffins.

...actually that's only half. The other six vanished hot out of the oven!

Im keeping these 6 for dessert tonight, but they taste too good to leave alone.

Not stitching related, but mm...good.

Now back to my regularly scheduled Chatelaine!

Mystery X WIP again

Here we are, almost 3 weeks since the last update. I love, love, love update photos - this green is driving me NUTS! Its so good to see that I've actually made progress.

When I get this bit of green on the left done, I'll be 3/4 done as far as the green is concerned, yay yay yay! All the colours are done except the green, and the beading for part 1 is done (all the pearl coloured beading in the centre) and I'm using the gold beads as incentive - I get to bead 10 beads for every length of thread that I use. My beading needle is bent though - what does everyone reccomend for beading needles? I'm just using a 28 petite at the moment, but its a bit short.

Anyway, I love it but it's frustrating. Can't wait to do part 3, with all the specialty stitches and beads - and what's more, NO MORE GREEN!

From the Ashes after Challenge SAL #3

I did a few stitches on periwinkle yesterday, but my mood was very very down and it was hard to focus on anything. Mostly yesterday I read, which was the only thing I could focus to do. I'm much better today though - not 100%, but better.

Helped Troy out with iambic pentameter for a creative writing lecture he has today last night - that stuff is confusing! Finally we sorted it out and he wrote his prescribed piece of 2 stanzas, 8 lines. His was about an eagle.

Anyway, I realised that I hadn't posted a picture of my weekend's progress on From the Ashes. I tried a cross country method this time, except for the wing in which I used my usual method - it's confetti so it made sense. Basically, I filled in all the secondary colours - all the random dots that there weren't much of any colour of, and then started filling in the background. I didn't get to finish filling in the background this time, but at least that will be an easy bit to start with next time I pick her up. I think I'm going to learn to hate that one colour of browny-yellow...there's so much of it!

So here she is:


From The Ashes - (c) HAED and Teri Rosario
Stats:
Started: 12th January 2007
Total Stitches: 166,600
Stitches Done:

• 12/3/07 - 2613
  

2 Dresses in Potentia...

Okay, so I went to spotlight.

And spent way too much money.

I don't use spotlight usually, except for dress fabric - I like to support LNS's but where on earth do you buy dress fabric other than spotlight!?!

So, I bought that black flannel. And it looks like this:
(a little washed out, thanks to the flash)

And after much calculation, we got 3 metres of it, and measured it so I can cut the sleeves with the edge of the detail for the cuffs. Going to look gorgeous. Here's the detail:
(a little blurry - no flash!)

And I also bought another dress...inspired by the photo I posted in the last entry. Here are my colour choices - this one was much cheaper! 2m-ish total between the two fabrics, but the fabric is much wider, and it's a heavy calico. The pale colour is for the hem and cuffs.


I also bought zips, flannelette for a petticoat (pale purple) and thread, but it's the boring kind of thread so I'm not taking photos of all that. You can see it when I post pictures of the in progress - or finished! dresses.

My grandmother's coming over soon, so fingers crossed I get my pattern soon, and can make them!

Wheee stitching!

Okay, I did a lot today.

Basically, I've had a basket in the corner of our living room with in progress projects that aren't cross stitch in it for years. This has included clothes that need altering, most of a quilt that just needs the blocks sewn up and borders added, varying small cross stitch projects/pre-discovering linen projects, doll clothes, etc etc.

We're getting a floating floor to replace the carpet that the mould ate. It's going to look beautiful. But we had to take the skirting boards off so that they can put the floating floor in, because they wouldn't do it for us. So that's what dad did today, while Troy knocked the nails out of them once he'd prised them off. And I organised this 'basket' - really a basket, a large box, and the surrounding floor.

Here's what I got done today:

• Put cloak (made, needs hem stitched - on panne velvet (both sides) so will take a while) away in room to be done later
• Decided that beautiful full white skirt with gold leaf design on it that rats got to is not ruined, even though i thought it was 12 months ago when i first put it in the basket. Hung it back in wardrobe, to be worn soon - I LOVE this skirt! It has a few holes, a bit moth eaten, but it's *so* full that you can't see them unless you look.
  
• Ripped a ragged hem on blue dress that got eaten by the rats about 5cm from the bottom because mum moved my rat cage over near the wardrobe - I'd never worn the dress, and she was so apologetic that she went out and bought me a new one - different though. Ripped a ragged hem on the underskirt too, to match. It looks great over jeans (a little short for me to wear it otherwise, comfortably) and I will take photos.
• Finally gave up on altering the bodice on a white tiered dress with bands of crochered lace between the tiers with drawstring at neck and waist. Basically, it looked like a nice skirt that fit my waist well, and a sack up top. Pinned and pinned and pinned and finally decided there was no way of altering it, so cut the bodice off and am now wearing it as a beautiful white skirt. Will also take photos.
  
• Dug up a beautiful Australian sampler that I stitched on 14ct aida back a couple years ago - beautiful, but I never finished stitching the backstitched border. It's 3/4 done! However, I can't find the thread so I'll go to cherubs tomorrow and pick up a skein of 988 to finish it with, then wash it and show it as a happy dance *grin* It really is gorgeous, even if I *did* have to unpick and restitch those parrots and trees a thousand times...
• Folded and repacked large amounts of fabric that I've collected - silly things, like a large rectangle of bright blue panne velvet that I was given but have no use for, and a huge (like 3m) piece of sheer mottled blue fabric - originally curtain fabric, that I bought at spotlight a couple years ago for $1/m and I always meant to use it as overlay on a dress but never got around to it.
• Fit everything left over into my basket and threw out the extra box!

So now what is left in my basket is:

• The aforementioned fabric
• All the pieces cut for a victorian dress for a doll I made forever ago *except* the bodice and a sleeve, which are currently somewhere - location unknown. Last I knew it had been washed because someone got pie on it - dont ask, but after that I havent seen it in a while. It will turn up. Or I will buy new fabric. One of the above.
• The blocks, and a few rows sewn up of a quilt called Moonshadow that I started two and a bit years ago, all grey and black fabric but with jewel tones that leap out. Looks stunning, just needs some dedicated space to lay it out in and a couple spare days to sew it together in. Maybe in the holidays after easter? Might be able to ring in a few family members to help me!
• Random felt that is there for goodness knows what reason
• Stencils of bugs that I bought a couple years ago for a specific project and am keeping, for reasons unknown - I guess in the off chance that I might want to use them again.
  
• A pair of harem pants that are missing the bells that tied one of the cords - mum found them when washing but they've since disappeared and I'm not throwing them out until it's been a year since they were lost.

The sampler that I did ages ago (the year on it says 2005) is hanging up to try and hang the creases out, and I'll wash it with orvus very carefully when I've finished the border. It's white, but it got carted around a fair amount and so it's grubby. I nicknamed it my teatowel while I was working on it, since the dimensions are about the same! It's actually part of a pair of samplers - they were supposed to be stitched on the same piece of fabric but it would have looked horrible, and I started the matching one but never finished it. I dug it out too. I might try and finish it - make it a requirement to work on it for five hours every time I finish a milestone on one of my other projects maybe or something. I'm getting the first one framed anyway, since it looks fine on its own, and when I finish the other one it will be framed to match. It's all cross and back stitch, but the charting is magnificent - especially in this one section that has four trees in it, all different kinds - one looks like red autumn lace! Beautiful, even on aida.

I went to spotlight the other day looking for fabric for a dress pattern that I ordered - I wanted to make a simple, old style dress - long skirt, fitted waist with ties at the back, button/zip down the back, square neckline and long sleeves but moderned-ed up a bit. But do you know how hard it is to find dress fabric these days? Out of everything in that store, there was *one* bolt of fabric that would be warm enough for a dress, that wasn't hideous or obviously designed to be mens pants fabric. And it was on a rack that said $7.70/m which isn't too bad. Black flannel, with an embroidered detail around the hem about 30-40cm wide in autumn variegated colours, and plenty more in the plain black above where I'd have to cut it for the skirt to make the bodice and sleeves out of.

...get to the counter and ask for 3m of it, which should be plenty, and the assistant said 'you do realise that this is $27/m' don't you?

$27/m!!!!

*dies*

needless to say, I didnt buy the fabric.

*but* on the radio I heard that they have a sale on on tuesday, so I might go back if they still have the fabric. They should. I hope anyway...

It still ends up being $64.8 for the fabric, but I guess I could live with that. I've bought dresses for that amount before, and they were summer, cotton ones. It's just so frustrating that there is no decent dressmaking fabric around anymore, and when you find it it's so expensive.

Here's one version of the dress, though I won't have the contrasting colours on cuffs and hem:




I plan to make it with the black fabric, and ask Troy's mum to dye me some ribbon to match the colours in the embroidery to use on the cuffs and waistband, and maybe the collar if it needs it, to break up the black.

Seeing it done in the calico makes me want to do one in a lighter fabric too, with a flannelette petticoat underneath to keep warm with or something. It's gorgeous!
I just realised that this post was enormous, so I should probably shut up now.

Periwinkle Fae - week 1

Look! Periwinkle :) She's back. And now on a hand-dyed 32ct jobelan which I *love* from silkweavers, thanks to Anna.

I love her eyes - that one eye took me 3 straight hours of stitching and has about 20 colours but it's worth it.



Periwinkle Fae QS (no background) - (c) HAED and Nadia Tate
Stats:
Started: 1st March 2007
Total Stitches: 20872
Stitches Done:

• 8/3/07 - 1078
  

Look at this!

I have a lovely pile of floss...


and here's a side view:


that's everything I need for Sara Butcher's Truth, Temptation and Autumn. And now my fingers are itching to start them, but I'm going to have to be good - at least I don't have fabric, or I might have!

EDIT: silly me, I forgot to say - that's thanks to the lovely Nicole, who picked it all up for me :) Floss fairies are wonderful. Thankyou Nicole!

In other fun news, Tash and I are starting a Japanese Octagon Box SAL on Mondays as soon as I get my kit. Can't wait - more silks! Mmmmmm....

Goals review and new goals

March's goals:

Stitching:

• keep up with Mystery X (even with that enormous part - eek!) - didn't happen. still working on it now, though getting close - just a bit of the dark blue&green, and the pale green to stitch - and the beads
  
• stitch beads for part 1 - this didn't happen either, though i'm starting to stitch the beads now along with the threads I'm working with (I rotate through the colours, a length at a time so I don't get in a rut)
  
• stick to rotation - sacrificed this one to try and keep the other two. I'll try to do better this month.
  

Life:

• get all homework done, on time - yes! For the first time in my life, it's week 5 and i'm completely up to date. Week 6 actually, and I haven't missed any assignments.
  
• not miss meds AT ALL - yep. Not having a repeat of what happened to make me make this a goal last month!
  
• start taking my lunch to school - no, not this time. Which is frustrating, but it will happen, eventually. Eventually being the operative...
  
• get a bedtime, and stick to it - heh. well, bedtime I got. sticking to it is the hard part. Stitching gets in the way especially.
  
• clean my room - nope, though Mel's said she'll do it for me when she comes up Tuesday.
  

This Month:

Stitching:

• catch up the Mystery, with part 3 done
• stick to the new rotation
• stitch along with Tash when I get my JOB stuff
• not start anything new except JOB
• stitch in the HAED QS SAL with periwinkle at least twice this month
• stitch in the 2nd weekend SAL with From the Ashes
• experiment with cross country on From the Ashes
• think about getting new fabric for frogs...anna and waychie (who have actually seen them), do you think they're worth starting over on jobelan with white silk? Or should I just stick with them as they are?
• not buy ANYTHING else!
  

Life:

• keep my room relatively clean
  
• actually pray my rosary at least once each week
• get fabric together for quilt for school (find it all!)
• get fabric for quilt that's still needed (solid colour fabrics)
• keep up to date with school
• try to get to bed at a reasonable hour each night
  

Mystery X Part 2 update

Here's an update - still not done, but quite a radical improvement from the last one!

All the purple and metallic blue is done, and only two more of the silver things more to do. Otherwise, lots of the dark and light blue&green combinations, and so much honeydew (pale green fill) that I think Im going to go mad, lol. But I'll keep plugging along.

Anna - the cloudy mottled blue 32ct jobelan from silkweavers that you gave me looks like it is going to be perfect from my un-backgrounded periwinkle fae, and I've got her marked out on it so now I'm just waiting on the chart from Bob.

Otherwise, just the same old same old. I got the charts for JOB and CHG yesterday from Martina, and they are wonderful - I've printed out all of CHG, but JOB is giving me major headaches as far as trying to print is is concerned. I gave up last night, might have another go tonight or tomorrow sometime.

I want to get the chart and everything ready for next wednesday - Ive been wanting to get back into periwinkle, and she's the perfect thing to have for the QS SAL - see if I can get her done nice and quick this time. She's so pretty, can't wait to see her start to grow again.

Uh...oh...

I was bad. I was very bad. But I did have Troy's consent, so that's okay - right? *looks around worriedly*

I just bought a chatelaine. Actually, two.
...and the kits.

Japanese Octagon Box has been screaming at me for months seeing other's WIPs and so finally I caved. Paypal is being retarded, so I'll pay properly tomorrow for it all, but it's as good as done.

I've also always loved Convents Herbal Garden, so I got it as well. Neither of these are going into my rotation anytime soon, much as I'd love to, unless...anyway I'll get to that later. I just want to stash them, they're so beautiful.

I'm getting the cream fabric for the box, and thinking maybe antique white for the garden. Not completely sold on that one yet. I'm stashing lots, and I think maybe it's partly a stress thing and partly a wanting to buy things now so I have pretties to work on when we can't afford them later - stitch from my stash. Especially the silk-involving things. DMC I could probably justify and afford - not silks. So, yeah.

I am going to seriously need to organise my room so I can find a place for all of this now....

SBQ and trying to finish part 2!

well, first things first:

What is the smallest count fabric you have ever used? Did you stitch
over one? Conversely, what is the largest count fabric you have ever used?

32ct linen and jobelan - 32ct linen over 2, and the jobelan over 1.
I like small counts best, and my chatelaine over 2 is coming along beautifully.

As to large count...I have no idea, probably something in a kit. The largest I go for anything is 25ct over 1, so I guess that's the best answer I can give.

I've been slogging away at part 2 of Mystery X. I have finished the first corner completely, and everything but the pale green on the second. I've sorted out the colours into a rotation, and I work through it so I get some of every colour done - less easy to get bored this way.

This month seems to have gone as follows:
I have a rotation. I am going to follow it. I AM... ooh new Mystery part. Good, I can start that, its that part of the rotation. GAK IT'S HUGE! *stitch stitch stitch* oh...stuff it, rotation can start again next month. *stitch stitch stitch stitch stitch stitch....* Am I going to get this done in time? Argh... *whimper* *stitch stitch stitch...*

so, I'll get back to that. Wish me luck! I might post a picture later, when my hands get sore.

Photos and things like that

Here's a photo post, given I haven't posted photos in a while.

First, first day of school:

this is one version of school uniform - basically, that tshirt (or a white otherwise identical one) and pants, or the school skirt, or my school dress (which I don't have photos of yet) or a combination of the aforementioned. Yes, people wear tshirts over dresses - and dresses over pants ocassionally, but you don't often see that. We do have jumpers (sweatshirts) too, but it's mostly been too hot to wear them. They're green. The white long sleeved shirt technically isn't school uniform, but they don't really care - I was warm that way! Mornings are cold, but they warm up quickly, and long shirts under tshirts works well - I can always just take the undershirt off later in the day.

Next, Tumbles (fat cat) finding a comfortable bed...me:

He was heavy though, so I had to shove him off after a while. I was not popular, but my back didn't hurt.

And the stitchy photos.

From The Ashes after the challenge SAL:

I've beens struggling with this one - I don't feel that I'm achieving much, mostly because the stitches are so small. I think I need to set stitch count goals, and achieve them, and then I'll feel better. It's mostly confetti background at the moment, and slow going, but the effect is worth it.

And Mystery X -Part 2 WIP. This is a big part, and is taking me FOREVER, but Martina's promised us a smaller part next month *phew*

I'll catch up on the rotation next month!

SBQ

Do you like to buy "chartpacks" that include charms, buttons, and/or beads or do you prefer to gather all materials yourself?
I like to get all the materials myself. I have heard horror stories about kits and whatnot with fabric not cut to the right size, floss not the right colors, et cetera.

Unless it's something where the charms etc specifically match the chart, or a Chatelaine (where I order from ECC) I like to kit things myself.

I ask floss fairies to get my floss for me for my HAEDs though - the price of DMC in Australia is 4x (at least) the price in the states! Ouch.

Challenge #2

Well, weekend's over. I did get quite a bit done on her, though not nearly as much as I would have liked *sigh* everyone always seems to get more than me done!

I've also got about 1/4 done on my mystery. It's so big this month that it's taken me ages to do, and I might have to fudge my rotation this time. My goals were about the mystery and about the rotation and it seems that i'll have to sacrifice one to do the other! I think it will be the rotation that gets sacrificed, just until I catch up. Hopefully next month is a small part, so I can catch up the space that it would have taken up next month.

I'll post pics when bindi gets home and I can steal her camera :)

Goals for February

Stitching:

• keep up with Mystery X (even with that enormous part - eek!)
• stitch beads for part 1
• stick to rotation

Life:

• get all homework done, on time
• not miss meds AT ALL
• start taking my lunch to school
• get a bedtime, and stick to it
• clean my room
  

Rotation #3932489

Okay, this is how I'm going to try and work things.

Beginning of month to end of week 2 - Mystery X
if that's finished early, work on Hope or Noon Basking
2nd weekend - From the Ashes
Week 3 - continue
Week 4 - Frogs
Week 5 - catch up mystery, Noon Basking or Hope

Week 3 being From The Ashes may change - I might slot Hope in there for a guarenteed half a week. I'm not sure, it will all depend on how long the Mystery parts take me.

Photos and stuff

Lets see if blogger doesn't eat my photos this time?

I'm working on Mystery X at the moment, which I'm thoroughly enjoying - this part is all swirly! No photos of it as yet, I don't want to take one until I've finished the part. I've decided that I'm going to stitch the beads a part behind (so they don't get in the way) but add the crystals last, I don't want to lose any. There are these sort of flower shaped holes in this part, as well as some square ones and some odd shaped ones, and we haven't got any instructions for them - I guess we'll get them in the next part. I think they'll be flowers in beads and crystals, but I'm not sure yet - it'll be nice to find out! They look a bit weird at the moment though, big holes in my work.

Anyway, here's some pictures for you all - old ones, but blogger kept eating them.

Mystery X part 1 (without beads or crystals)


2x2 on 32ct Antique White linen, with recommended silks and metallics

Hope Angel Virtue:

2x1 on 25 ct Days Gone By linen, DMC and Kreinik #4 braid

Isn't she pretty? I've got a bit more done now, but she's been put down until I finish this part of my chatelaine, or until she comes up in my rotation, whichever comes first.

And finally my phoenix - From the Ashes


1x1 on 32ct white jobelan
I'm loving the shading, but it seems like it takes forever to get anywhere. It's beautiful, anyway. I'm still waiting on the threads for Georgie - she posted them but the post seems to have eaten them. I'll get them eventually, I know, just a bit irritating at the moment. I've got enough to do this month's SAL at least, and maybe a bit more if I keep going after the SAL. I thought about just stitching on it during the SAL, but I'd like to see more done on her, so I'll work on her other times too I think.

The pictures of the part 2 WIPs are beautiful, I can't wait to see this one finished! I'm liking how mine's stitching up too - of course! Especially the 'honeydew' silk - it's a new colour this part, and such a pretty green.