Can you understand me?

I thought that it would be remiss of me to let this day, February 29^th, pass without blogging. After all, it will be another four years until I can do so again.  So what exactly is there for me to talk about…well, honestly I’m not too sure…I am always reading that the best thing to write about is something you know, and all I know is that I don’t know too much. But that makes for a boring blog so lets talk about accents.

Where are you from? Do you think you have a strong accent? Do people tell you that you do? If you could sound like anyone, w ho would it be? Obviously we are all perfectly happy sounding as completely fabulous as we do as ourselves, we would be us otherwise but if you had to pick? Is there an accent that for one reason or another you find annoying? Are you good at accents?

I was recently given a book on ‘How to talk southern’ from another blogger and friend (who is southern). It is referring to talking with an accent like those from the southern states of America.  Now, I have never been to America(something that will change in April! Only 43 days to go J), but I am a fan of other peoples accents. I have hashed together this little cartoon of two people with my accent having a chat. I don't always sound like this but a lot of the time I do (and i'm not from London, maybe it is because we are quite close and my parents are from there). Please feel free to add in the comments any particular expressions you like to use.

I am one of those people who spends their time worrying that if I talk to someone with a strong accent for too long – I may start talking with an accent, it will be bad and is always a little embarrassing – I think it comes from the need to make yourself understood by whoever you are speaking too. I remember when friends and family visited me in Africathat they noticed I had an accent, I didn’t realise I had it, but it had grown from my need to talk in a manner that would make me understood to my students.  I also think another reason for my fascination is because I have a very generic English accent. The town in which I live was developed as an overspill town for London (so my parents, who were both born in London) moved here along with many other people from other large cities. When I was young everyone had a different accent but now when I hear someone talk I can tell if they are from here.

I guess you could say I have accent envy! I wish I could speak with an accent too but impressions aren’t really my forte. So tonight me and a friend are going to the Cinema to see ‘The Skin I Live In’, have a few cocktails and then practice talking “southern”.

How are you going to spend today? - its your last chance for another 4 years, so make the most of it.

Drum roll please....

YES!! The time has come :D

I have finished the Geisha :)

I cant believe it, I started it so long ago (as in about 8 years) and it has been a WIP that I occasionally pick up and add a few stitches to. But with a deadline I have managed to get my mojo back and get on and finish it.

So without further ado...again here is the before...

...and here is the after! The finished article, measuring about 12"x18"....

I would just like to thank everyone for all their lovely comments and support, it was especially appreciated when I lost my mojo for a whole month and kept whinging about it! :D

Now what to stitch next...

Kate x

Suddenly Seeking Blogs

In October I started a blog (see link to the right for Momuboocrea Island). The purpose of which was to share the things that I had made and also to learn new crafty skills and to find inspiration in other peoples work. It's focus is on things that I have stitched or knitted and it doesn't cover anything else. I don't plan posts or put any great effort into writing them as they tend to consist of photographs of what I have made.

Update...only the back stitch to go!

Phew!
Only the back stitch left, what a relief that is. Well, it was until I realised I need gold thread!!!!! I have some thankfully.
As much as I love the effect of back stitch, I really am not to crazy about doing it.

I was too tempted and back stitched the face!

So very very close to a finish!

Morning!

I hermitted away this past weekend due to my deadline looming.  Thanks to Joysze for hosting it once again :D

I had hoped to have finished all the stitching and have only the backstitch left and I was sooooo close. However, my eyes refused to stay open and my head was missing my pillow, and I had to stop. I have about 40 stitches left! Yes, that's right....40! I am still not sure that you can see a difference, lol!


I am surprised that it has been taking me so long but the combination of the confetti and working round the mistakes have dragged it out.  I like how it looks and I know the backstitch will make it all better even though that is not going to be an easy task.  You cant see the errors and I think you would only notice them if you had the pattern and went through with a fine tooth comb, but seriously, I must have gone wrong and decided not to frog, then gone wrong again and still not frogged and so on. I wont draw attention to all the mistakes changes that have been made but suffice to say flowers were moved!!

I will cease gabbling and post some pics.....

BEFORE

AFTER

Here's to a finish tonight and the start of the backstitch! I'm off to check out everyone elses :D

Kate

Getting there :)

Ok, so I did offer a possible prize for any of my followers who guessed all the differences on my last post..only Melissa attempted this and never guessed them all. :(  I guess if I had wanted more answers I should have put giveaway in the title, but that's not my style! lol

I did stitch a lot of yesterday and am slowly making some more progress, which should definitely be obvious! lets have a look...

BEFORE

AFTER

I am hoping that all the mistakes are not too obvious. It would seem that when I started this about 8 years ago that I was unable to count! When I do the backstitch, that is when it will be the most tricky.

On a theme - my sister, nieces and I went to a Chinese restaurant near us to try out the food. It had been a long time since we were last there and we had booked it for my mums 60th. The arrangements of which are well under way. We now have the venue booked, the cake design sorted (my sister will be make it), we bought the bits for the birthday favours that we wanted to do (chocolate, yum!), the invites are supposed to go out today, my sister and I decided we would cover the cost of the meal (so I better start saving) and hopefully there will be about 25 of us there.

After spending the day with my nieces, the youngest one seemed very happy!!

How cute, and what great teeth! no? When I got home I noticed the Lily we have in our kitchen was starting to open...

The weather has warmed up but the paths were like an ice rink still, but walking in to work this morning I took this pic....the start of a new day!

I hope you all had a great weekend, I am off to stalk! lol

Kate

OMG..I did it! and Spot the Difference

That is not entirely true! lol

But I did start stitching again, first those 80 stitches at the weekend which Di was so kind about, and then a little more on Tuesday when I realised my deadline was looming and then some more last night! Can I keep this up! I hope so as I want to have finished by next week.

Oddly, it doesn't actually look like I have made any progress at all, so its a bit of a game of Spot the Difference.



The Before....

After...

It looks like I have only stitched in one general area but actually have stitched in 5!!

I hope everyone is having a good week - I am so glad its nearly Friday and the weekend. Need to stitch!

EDIT: I wish I had a prize to offer for the person who can guess the most! Maybe I do ;) Sorry about the poor quality pics :(

Waffley Versatile...or not!

Its February!

Ok, so I haven't been stitching - which isn't entirely true - I stitched about 80 stitches on my Geisha WIP and I hope to do some everyday (the deadline is looming) and I..erm...didn't stitch on anything else.

I feel like I should be blogging about the wonderful progress that I have made, and how only a few more hours of stitching and the Geisha will be finished, I can then send it to the framers and it will all be plain sailing from there..but I cant because I haven't done any of that. I don't know why I haven't as I haven't been doing anything else either and I am finding it really frustrating. I do think that I probably spend more time thinking that I should be doing something at the moment that I do actually doing it. I am going to blame the weather! Its snuggle weather :)


I laugh in the face of those people who ridicule the British for letting everything come to a standstill when it snows - even just a little bit! Why? Because I don't think it has anything to do with not coping, or not being able to deal with it, I think its because when it snows we would rather be at home snuggling or in the snow spending time with family than going to work...and as it goes, its a pretty good excuse! lol!

So this is a blog post to tell you that I hope to have a 'proper semi-decent' blog post next week - and with pictures! I hope it will be enough to make up for all this waffle :)