Nosey/Curious people only!

Ok, this post is for the nosey curious people only ;)

I have added a new page - Expert waffling - it is a bit about me I guess, but not relevant for the about me page. So for those amongst you who are a little bit "curious" like me - its there.

P.S.................................ITS NEARLY THE WEEKEND!!!

WARNING: Its quite long

Juggling...

I am currently trying to juggle my trip planning - see link to Off the Island - and my Sticth St Nick exchange.  I have everything ready to be sewn and am going to do this over the weekend. I love autumn colours and walked home through trees that were a changin'.

Just wanted to say Hi! :)

Guess where?

Last week I ordered two books and they arrived today! I have been inspired too of what to stitch for the Stitch St Nick exchange I am doing with Tiki.  I wanted to check out her blog to see if I thought it is something that she would like......but she is a newbie like me and there is not much to see to give me any clues!  So I am going to have to just go for it and get stitching :)  It will be a long time until I will be able to post a picture of it as our deadline is December 1st.

Also check out this wonderful womans blog and her amazing giveaway; http://herachronicles.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/halloween-cross-stitch-giveaway

On a non-stitchy note, my travel plans hit a brick wall yesterday and then I found a route around it and then **BANG!** another brick wall appeared so I found another route around and now this evening the first wall is starting to crumble and I now have two routes! Which way do I go? I have a new blog dedicated to the conundrum of my non stitchy life at: leavingmomuboocrea.blogspot.com or check out the side bar on the right for Off the Island.  Also I will take something to sew on my travels so if anyone has a suggestion of something that works in parts and  could be done in 8 weeks - greatly appreciate it.

So because I haven't stitched or knitted this past week, here are some pics from a previous trip....

Anyone know where it is?

And we are off...

Yesterday was the deadline to join the stitch St nick exchange and it is going to be me and Tiki taking part. It is a shame that there aren't more of us but having read everyone's blogs I can see that we are all busy busy.

I am really looking forward to doing it, I just need to decide on something that Tiki will like. My thinking cap is well and truly on.

I am also busy thinking about travelling - I have for a long time wanted to go to Southeast Asia and the USA (having never been to either) and I now have a chance to go! I am even thinking of a round-the-world trip. Ideally I would leave in November but it is more likely to be January. It is exciting all the same but needs a lot of planning! and concentration, so I need to get on an sort it all out so I can start stitching for the exchange.  I will be going alone and that is what is the biggest hurdle to going...I just have to remember to breathe...and to just do it..but it doesn't stop me from being nervous.  I will let you know now that between stitchy updates there might be a few travel questions thrown in -and I hope you don't mind me asking them.

I better start looking for a chart for the exchange.....and I have some to post off to people who were wanting some charts that I have gathering dust! lol

I hope you all had a great weekend!

kate x

My prizes and princesses!

I just pressed buy now on my computer! It appears that I have just bought two more books!

Scandinavian needlework and Made in France....


I really really really really really must have needed them :)

On another note the prize that I won in Donna's giveaway arrived.  Luckily it didn't have to come too far :)

I have spent most of today at my nieces christening and have arrived home to a lovely package.  My sister expresses her craftiness in cake making and she made her daughters christening cake....

Each smoke cloud coming from the train has a letter of her name in silver, she is called Ebony and here she is..

She has two older sisters, Layla (5) and Naomi (2) and here they are...

And here are some pics of my giveaway prizes...

I am a very happy bunny today :), and don't forget to put your name down for the stitch St nick exchange (deadline Sunday!)

Stitch St Nick Exchange

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good week, I really do have to put my knitting needles down and read some blogs - but whilst I am motivated I need to seize the opportunity.

On a cross stitch related note...I mentioned amongst other things that I hoped to do a Christmas exchange after enjoying my first exchange (with Sara) so much.  I hope some of you will join us! I am happy to just have an exchange with one other person, but the more the merrier. At the moment, it is me and Tiki :) It is Tiki's first exchange and she has suggested Santa themed items. Which is fine with me.  So who else is going to join us....come on...you know you want to!

I have never organised one before and I am not sure what the usual rules are but my only rules are:

1. You must post your item by the 1st December (that way there is a chance we will all get ours in time for Christmas).
2. It must be Santa themed.
3. You mustn't post photo's of it until the person has received it.
4. If for some reason you have to drop out then you must let me know at least a week before the deadline (so I can let your exchange partner know and get stitching a replacement item).

You can join even if you don't have a blog - just email me at knyaaba@gmail.com and I will add your name to the list. I will close the list for the exchange midnight GMT on Sunday 23rd October 2011.

AND here is the purple scarf all finished :)

Quick update and link to give-away!

Last night I finished the grey scarf and am half way through the purple.  The other two colours that I plan to do are Teal and Cream and I want to get these done by the weekend. Finished off and pressed and ready for wrapping. That will be one thing off of my list. It will be happy days if I can commit to doing this and get it done.  Especially as I have just entered a give-away to win a Halloween chart - if you love Halloween too then enter here and try your luck!

Wool takeover bid!

I had a great weekend but it wasn't a very successful IHSW for me. I stitched absolutely nothing! So no update :( I must do better in November! So from from Friday to Monday it was a craft free life for me - until yesterday afternoon that is.

I had bought some wool with the vouchers I had been given for hobbycraft and was practising different patterns.  I wanted to knit a scarf for a friend (something nice and simple) and I found something I liked.  I haven't yet finished but as I have used chunky wool it should be finished in a couple of hours.  I do really like the effect and might make  a couple more in different colours. What do you think?

I have also wanted to learn how to crochet, which is something I have never done.  I may be slightly crazy but I have joined a CAL (crochet-a-long) on Stitchy McFloss blog and it starts mid-November. I am not entirely sure if it is for beginners but I thought it would be a fun challenge. So please whether you have crocheted before or are a beginner like me - come and join us!



Fear not though I will have to resume stitching at some point this week as I haven't even started on Christmas cards - and the lovely people who helped me celebrate my birthday surely deserve one, right? I am hoping that they only take an evening to make (4hours) and am going to stitch the Margaret Sherry designs that were free with World of Cross Stitching last month (or was it this month?).  I might try one tonight to see how long it will take. I think I will definitely be kept busy :)

Oh! and I nearly forgot - is anyone up for a Christmas exchange? Probably with the intention of posting your finished piece to your exchange partner on 1st December? I know you are all busy but it would be fun. Let  me know in the comments and if you have any ideas? maybe you think it should be a snowman exchange or traditional Christmas then let me know.  I am always open to ideas.

So my stitching/knitting/crochet schedule for now until the end of the year is:

• 11 Margaret Sherry Christmas cards
• 6 other Christmas cards
• 4 felt ornaments
• 4 chunky knit scarf's
• 1 Crochet penguin (CAL)
• A Christmas exchange
• Geisha Finish

....and hopefully no more distractions (I mean, should I go to the Crafts for Christmas exhibition at the Birmingham NEC in a couple of weeks? Anyone else going?).

I must stop babbling now and read some blogs :)

Okay..a quick update .....the grey scarf is finished and the purple has begum...

What a birthday!

Hi!

Today was my birthday :) and I have had a good week and a great day.  I am very happy.  I met up with different friends through the week and was so lucky that by yesterday I had 10 cards waiting for me :), then today I had some more too.  Here is a pic....

I also had some craft themed gifts...one was a cross stitch kit..

and some HobbyCraft vouchers (guess where I am going tomorrow?).

I spent today in Oxford (I had never been before) and we had a great time, the town is nice and the weather was so mild.  But the company was definitely the best! One of my friends also gave me this book...I was smiling a lot today.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything-Alice-Wonderland-Book-Makes/dp/1844009726/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318712678&sr=1-1

Two of my fave designs in this book are....the white rabbit...

and the envelope cushion case...

I cant stop flicking through the pages.  As I have spent all day out it means I have to have my yummy thorntons chocolate cake tomorrow!

Sadly, I haven't done any stitching but I did by some cushion covers that I can sew on at a bargain price and will try and get stitching tomorrow (between cake and shopping of course). I hope everyone else has been having a lovely weekend and has gotten more stitching done than me.

IHSW October 2011

Hey,

Was I the only one who was shocked to discover that IHSW is this coming weekend? That came around so fast.  Sadly, I wont be getting much stitching done this weekend - something to do with it being my birthday on Saturday! Wahoo! Actually not wahoo! I need to start going in reverse.  Me and some friends have decided to go to Oxford, there is plenty to do there that will please all of us, places of interest, museums, shops, pubs etc. Hopefully the weather will be dry and not too windy.

I will try and get some stitching done on Friday and Sunday and I have decided that I will stitch an existing WIP - The geisha is calling to me.  If you havent signed up already then do so at: http://joysze.blogspot.com/p/international-hermit-and-stitch-weekend.html

Happy Stitching!

10 things you might like to know about me

I thought I would do this, its a bit of fun! I saw it on Serendipitous Stitching blog who had taken it from Jans thread garden,

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?
This is really hard - I always opt for comedies and things that aren't so heavy - but one of my favourite films and one which always moves me and makes me cry is Life as a House with Kevin Kline. Its a beautiful film.


2.If you could be given ANY gift what would it be?
I am not sure if this is a material gift or any gift - I would love to be able to play a musical instrument. 

3.What's your favourite way to wake up and what's the first thing you do?
I love to wake up slowly and the first thing I do (other than empty my bladder) is look at the clock and work out if I can stay in bed a bit longer. 
4. What crafts have you done?Cross stitch, knitting, ceramics, lace making, and iris folding. Possibly more but nothing that springs to mind.

5.  What were you doing before you started this?
Catching up with everyones blog entrys.

6. When was the last time you cried laughing? 
When with a certain group of friends we always laugh and very loudly, I never leave them without a headache from laughing. But I cannot remember a time when I have cried laughing EVER!

7.What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be a paediatric nurse when I was 10, and that changed to teacher and pretty much stayed that way until a year before I was going to start teacher training. Now I don't know what I want to be. 

8. What is your current favourite TV programme?
I probably watch too much TV and don't have a single favourite. Although I have been enjoying Strike back project dawn (which is not my normal thing).
9. What would you name yourself?
I have never liked my name but I have never thought of anything better. 
10. What characteristics do you hate about yourself?
So many,.....erm....okay..my inability to make decisions! :)

If you enjoyed this post and want to join in then copy and paste to your blog, let me know in the comments section.  If you're too busy then pick one question and answer it in my comments section


I did kinda enjoy this and what looked like simple questions turned out not to be for me (see Q10), thanks Jan and Jo.

Finish and new book

I have finished my quote...

I have also succumbed and bought a book that I have been wanting for a while..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elliotts-Native-American-Cross-Stitch/dp/0715320718/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318270627&sr=8-1

No doubt I will be stitching something from this book next :)

I've got POST!!!

This morning my little parcel arrived from Sara with her Lizzie Kate exchange piece inside!  What can I say?  Its absolutely gorgeous and I love it.  It is so tiny too - mine is massive in comparison - and very delicate and lush.  She  also sent me a postcard that she made (and posted about on her blog) and two skeins of variegated thread! And such beautiful colour choices too.

I wasn't going to post until I had finished a little piece I started yesterday evening but I just couldn't wait to let you all see how lovely our exchange has been :), thank you Sara for making it a wonderful experience.

So all this week I have hardly picked up my needle due to the realisation of an oversized pile of WIPs.  I have spent the week however with two needles (knitting). I have only made one very small thing (a Christmas tree and pot) which needs finishing but I am all out of stuffing. I really just practiced casting on and adding stitches etc.  As after all, practice makes perfect!

Then last night I was still mulling over my mini-mid-week-rant and decided to stitch a quotation that I like and then add some decoration around it.  I didn't have any lettering pattern so I have stitched it free-hand.  I know people usually only use one strand but I have opted for two in a very dark blue. I also wanted to add some small motif and searched through some books I have. I found a nice butterfly design in a book called Cross Stitch Art Nouveau by Barbara Hammett which is based on the art of Emile Galle.  I also decided to change the colours of the butterfly too - this is definitely becoming a habit :) - and I intend to backstitch an outline that is not in the original.  This is my progress up to last night.........

The pictures aren't that great - Oops! - but the writing says (I haven't added the dots to the 'i's yet) .....

"In my heart, I think a woman has two options: she is either a feminist or a masochist." 

It is a quote by Gloria Steinem.

I hope to get it all finished this weekend in between life of course! :)

Lizzie Kate Exchange - what I sent

I have just seen that Sara has said she has post!! on her blog.  I am assuming that it is my exchange item :)

Here are the pictures I took of it before I posted it to her.  When I finished I made it into a pomander (lavendar scented air freshener).  I cant wait for mine to arrive!

Can you help me prepare for Christmas :)

If anyone has had the chance and has seen my Crafty-to-do list page and been interested enough to read any of it - admittedly it is quite long! There is an item on the list about updating the 'hotter or notter' game. One part of this is updating the pictures of hot actors. We have our usual suspects who will always make an appearance, but we are always on the lookout for hot new talent. So I am asking you to help me by recommending the top 3 hotties you would have!

PLEASE NOTE: I am COMPLETELY aware of how shallow this is but its got to be done, its not ME its my friends! ;) and you really would be helping.

My first exchange.

**Images Coming Soon!**

So on Saturday I posted off my finished Lizzie Kate Friendship Grows piece to Sara and I am hoping that it gets there safely. I couldn't find an image of the how the original design looked (if you use the proper fabric, colours, embellishments) but here are some links to people on blogger who have it in the correct colours etc. and posted on their blog;

• http://hookedonstitches.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html
• http://caixinhadepirlimpimpim.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

..as both Sara and I decided almost instantly to change the colours etc. ours will look different. Here are some links to people who also did this, and made it with personal colour changes etc. (once you click on the link you will have to scroll down to see the picture!)

• http://freebiegallery.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html
• http://xstitchandcrafts.blogspot.com/2009_02_01_archive.html
• http://cadurst.blogspot.com/2009/05/friendship-grows.html
• http://theworldslargestcollectionofsmallstoo.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html

Sara has let me know that she posted it off to me today. Its coming from Ireland so fingers crossed it gets here by Saturday as I really want to post my finished picture.

Underneath my header....

Ok, so my blog header has underneath it a small statement regarding my love of flowers and my occasional compulsion for feminist rants.  I have a confession to make about this. Actually I have two. 
But before I make them I should say to any of my followers that this isn't about cross stitch.
The first is that the rants aren't exclusively feminist rants and they often digress into rants about society and the media's treatment, representation, manipulation and expectation of young girls and women. Is that feminism?
I suppose it is. But growing up I was under the impression that if you were a feminist then you were a shaven haired dungaree wearing lesbian man bashing political harpee! How many stereotypes are in that? And it was always something that you were made to feel embarrassed about. Suffice to say none of my friends ever outed themselves as feminists. If you are wondering, I am not a shaven haired dungaree wearing lesbian man bashing political harpee and I would go as far to say that neither are most feminists. I hate to say this but could this image have been  created by men (not all men)? 
The second thing is that it was only about 6 months ago that I was able to say out loud (via an email) that I considered myself to be a feminist. When I said this I did feel a great deal of relief and was surprised when my friends said that they too were feminists and one even subscribed to a particular feminist blog.  Why were we so embarrassed to say that as women we supported equal rights for women? I don't hate men.  I just believe that everyone should be treated equally. 
A few months ago I was reading an article about a woman in California who had advocated for the women's vote, Susan B Anthony. She had tirelessly campaigned for it and believed strongly in equality. When women were given the vote she was so disappointed....why? because women voted for who their husbands told them to vote for.   I think she was right to be disappointed, women had laid down their lives, gone on hunger strike, been arrested and ostracised and all so that women could have a voice and stand up and be counted and we blew it. I think I can forgive us for doing that, after all it was all so new and we had never had to make decisions before, everything was consulted with the Mr.for generations. 
But here we are in the 21st century (over 100 years since the Suffragette movement) and we still do not have equality. It seems crazy that women are responsible for populating the earth but often don't realise how influential they could be in bringing about change.  If you are brave enough and your blood pressure can handle it, enter the search term feminist/feminism into google/YouTube and see how your views compare to others.  What do you think is acceptable sexism? Are women making a big deal about nothing? Do you think we are equal...enough?
I apologise if this is all a bit too serious and honestly, my rants tend to veer towards the treatment of women and female characters in TV shows, usually TV shows that I love and hate in equal measure. But I do believe in gender equality and it all starts with how we treat ourselves and expect to be treated. 
p.s Sorry if this isn't a post you wanted to read, If you want to avoid posts like this in the future then remember that any rants at all will have this font :)   
p.p.s I don't know what I am apologising for!

Oh the shame!

What can I say really but I am currently feeling a little embarrassed. Today started off quite well. I was at the local craft shop at opening time and picked up some wool and some 28ct light blue evenweave. My mum came along as she needed a few bits and she also bought me some new embroidery scissors - I think she was fed up with me borrowing hers. So with the sun shining brightly outside, I decided to stay in and sort out some of my sewing stuff as it was taking over my room. I am back living with my mum after separating from my husband (amicably) a year ago and although the room is large - I just cant seem to find any space.

Over the last year my husband has been bringing my things over, I sort them out and de-clutter and squeeze them into the room,  he came over today with some more stuff.......some sewing stuff.....?!

Its like Christmas - lots of gifts and a trip down memory lane.

I didn't realise I had any AWOL UFO/WIPS. But as it turns out I do. I am quite ashamed at how many things I have started and not finished in the past. It seems to have been a lifelong pattern. On the bright side though I am motivated again and I have lots of projects to swap between to stop me getting bored. I think I am going to try and get them closer to being finished and leave starting anything new until the new year.

I have added some more images to the Cover Kits page - how did I get so many? I also have a few more images on my WIPs page. All I need to do now is decide on a rotation.  Has anyone else lived in ignorant bliss of long lost UFOs?