29 Sept 2011

So easily distracted.

So, I had it in my head that I would stitch some more of the Ed Hardy skull before I started any new projects BUT..yes, that inevitable BUT..I got distracted (who me?) and thought I would stitch a pumpkin for Halloween.

The pattern suggested Black or White 14 ct aida and 3 shades of orange, 2 shades of green and a black.  I didn't have black or white aida and the only colour I had from the list was black! Did I let that stop me? Noooooo!

I found some dark green aida that I had and decided that would be instead of black. I didn't have any orange DMC but I did have a random bunch of unknown make threads. A bright orange was waving at me and even a lighter orange, a dark green and a black.  I used a rust colour which I inherited from somewhere (ANC 1004) and selected at random two greens I did have. The light green is DMC 164.

Once I started I couldn't stop (even when I went a bit wrong, I just made it up) and am pleased with how it looks. What do you think? The colours are much brighter in reality. I have ideas as to what I will do with it and I will put it in my 'finishing off pile'.



28 Sept 2011

Halloween is coming....

This is what I saw around me on my way to work this morning...it was a bit creepy...end result was 26C by the afternoon.


...time to dig out a halloween design :)

My tuppence worth!



I just wanted to quickly add my tuppence worth regarding this hoo-ha with Heather from Stitch in Thyme and the criticisms she had.

I too was shocked to find that she had been given this feedback! I have always been a stitcher but it has only been in the last two weeks that I have connected with people online and started my blog. I can honestly say that the people whose blogs I have read and who have commented on mine are THE nicest people and I have been surprised at how positive, nice, supportive and friendly they have been. I have joined a yahoo group and a forum and am now recognising peoples names and starting to feel part of it.

I have for the first-time (last week) stitched a design for an exchange. It is a small design and I just need to do the finishing before I post it..I was excited..but now I am not so sure!

As all of us stitchers know it takes a lot of time and dedication to stitch and finish something and I know that I would appreciate that more than the finishing. I also saw someone elses comments about this and they said that 'as long as all the stitches go the same way' but honestly, I have scrutinized pictures in magazines and they don't always do this. Stitching is a creative endeavour and is subject to your own artistic license - stitch how you want and because it makes you happy!

IF the finishing was that bad (which I doubt) then the group leader should have posted a piece on 'the best way to finish projects for exchanges' and not isolated one person and made them feel unworthy. It is UNACCEPTABLE to do this and it isn't supportive at all, and it is on that note that I ask for suggestions on how to finish my exchange piece ;)! (It is about 15cm squared)

**UPDATE**


Since posting this I have seen posts by moderators of the group and they are saying that they are closing their blogs and pleading victimisation.  I haven't read all of peoples comments, but the ones I have read have not called the moderators any names. I do say above that the behaviour is unacceptable, and it is, but its not unforgivable. 


I think they are wrong to stop their blogs and their exchanges - they should use the comments made since the situation occurred as feedback and learn from it. Maybe they need more specific rules of the exchange; not just a theme but to say that it must be made into this and link that to one of their tutorials. The reactions of these moderators is extreme and hasty - and they may have been hurt, but they have many followers who are hurt by their departure and although they want to pass the blame onto anyone who has been supportive of Heather, their actions are their own and theirs alone.



Breast Cancer Care Mandala


I decided yesterday that whilst I was waiting for some linen to turn up and for October to start that I would start on the Breast Cancer Care Mandala.

       
I have done it on 18ct white aida and it is quite small and hopefully I will get it finished before next weekend.  It is also only 4 colours! I have also tried drawing on the squares (a new technique for me) and this will maybe make me less likely to go wrong.
I picked the colours at random and as you can see from my picture below I have chosen to use quite a dark pink variegated thread. This is DMC# 99 . The pale pink of the bow is DMC# 225. and I am going to use DMC #962 for the darker outline. This thread will also be the colour of the other bows and the will have a dark outline in DMC# 3731.
I am going to use it in a box lid and give it to my mum as she is a breast cancer survivor.

26 Sept 2011

Village location

It has been 3 days since I changed over to wordpress from blogger and I feel like I have moved into a village from a town. I have finally worked out how to put an RSS feed onto this blog from my new one and of course I still stop by here to see what everyone is up to on my blogroll.

So I just wanted to give everyone a big wave!!

Apologies for the quality of the wave! lol

23 Sept 2011

I am switching...

I have decided to switch back to wordpress.com (it has less glitches i.e.none) and I hope those who follow me will still do so there??  I have a big job ahead of me now and will work on getting it all sorted out tonight - ready for a  launch tomorrow. If you do decide to then click on the link above this post (My wordpress blog)

I am feeling positive as I have finished my Lizzie Kate Friends SAL exchange - yeah, I went a bit crazy with that one :) I am just waiting for Xeihua address to send it to her and then when she gets it, I will post a picture.

Also, this Saturday is girls night and I am giving the Mabel Lucie Attwell piece to my friend (I will post a picture of it framed soon) and I am nervous that she won't like it. Fingers crossed that she will though. It will also mean a night of laughing and talking about the hottest blokes on TV. They are supernatural fans and reckon that Dean  is much hotter this season (as opposed to Sam last season). I only started watching it this season and...its ok and yes Jensen Ackles is a pretty pouty boy :) but its not my favourite of shows.

I have to go to Hobbycraft today to get a frame.....I don't 'expect' to come out with anything else...but seeing people blogs and the gorgeous designs they have done has definitely inspired me...oh, and it is payday!

21 Sept 2011

How-to comment (updated)

Morning!

I just wanted to say thank you to Sara for replying to all my questions in a previous comment, if you are like me and obliviously unaware then check out her responses that are in the comments to my post entitled: Is it just me

Subsequently, I have joined a Lizzie Kate Friend SAL -so watch out for progress. All I need is a Lizzie Kate chart, lol! I do like the designs as they are quite simple and not swamped with confetti (check me out using stitching terms!).

I hope you all have a good day :)

P.S I have brought my Ed Hardy stitching to work...to do some in my lunch hour..in the church park!

I have just found a free chart for a lizzie kate design called Friendship grows at: http://www.lizziekate.com/free.html

and as it is small and sweet I will stitch that for the SAL, I may also try rail-roading it with traditional stitches! I might even change some of the flower colours - ;) If someone wants to join me, we can always make it an exchange?

20 Sept 2011

Phew!

Thank you Missy and Melissa for reassuring me that its not the end of the world if I use a different colour, refuse to unpick and just adapt a design and continue with my messy stitching.

I did feel quite guilty though and feel it is my 'duty' to at least try some rail roading (just to see how tedious it is - or therapeutic?) and maybe try traditional cross stitches only. I will continue with random designs though ;)

I haven't picked up my IHSW piece since Sunday afternoon and I feel that I need to get on and get it finished (otherwise it will end up a UFO and I don't want that!). UFOs only come about when we lose our stitching mojo half way through a project. It is usually a new project that gets us back into it again. I am vaguely aware of a naughty sprite in my head telling...no begging me to start something new! Seriously! Where exactly has common sense ran off to? the little blighter! I wont succumb though until I have finished the skeleton. I really wont (ahem).

So, I didn't watch everything on my sky + whilst stitching and have some shows waiting for me now. But I am really not enticed at the moment and should probably see that as a sign to sew. My problem is that I have just started a new job and am really tired (ridiculous as it is only day two). I am not sure that I like the job but I cant pin point exactly why not - something probably to do with having absolutely no idea what I am doing! I am not even joking. I am sure it will all work out in the end.

So, I am going to get stitching and see how much I can do before bed, which is in about half an hour the way i feel! lol

19 Sept 2011

Is it just me? (please say no)

I have just finished looking at everybodys projects for IHSW and I am in shock and awe.

Awe at the amazing projects people are working on and the brilliant results of a stitching weekend and shock at what a real stitching hermit I am!

What I mean by this is that, when is comes to cross stitching, I have realised I have pretty much been keeping myself to myself and hermitting away under a rock somwhere.

Why do I think this?

Well - I have been stitching since forever (about 30 years!!!!!) and it has never occurred to me in all that time (and I mean EVER) to mark the fabric with gridlines! Seriously, I saw some peoples work with the lines on and at first I was thinking it was waste canvas (that sometimes has blue lines on) and then I realised that the lines were there to guide the stitcher and make it less likely that they will go wrong. It makes sense, and is such a logical thing and yet it has never occurred to me - why not?  It does explain why I always have to unpick some part of every design and why there are always parts in it that I have made work (that arent exactly true to the original). I like to call this artistic license but I guess it could also be fraud! lol

It also occurred to me that I am a messy stitcher - I saw bloggers who work page by page on large designs, and dont veer from it, some also have lots of threads threaded? I know it is a technique but am not completely sure how its done maybe Sara (xeihua) (my first ever follower) can enlighten me as to how its done.

WARNING: Pefectionist stitchers may feel slightly nauseous when reading the following. Do so at your peril.


This is my process:

Step 1: Get the fabric cut to size
Step 2: Sort out the threads and see which ones you have and which colours you can use instead and which you really cant and need to buy.
Step 3: Keep the work in a separate container to everything else (I am not consistent either, I have a variety of WIP holders)
Step 4: Find the centre of the picture and the fabric. For some reason I always start in the middle.
Step 5: Start stitching. Stitch with this colour until all parts that colour are stitched or until I get bored and fancy using a different colour.
Step 6: Choose a different colour and stitch. Repeat as above.
Step 7: Fill in all the gaps!!
Step 8: Do the backstitch.

I feel slightly ashamed and should seriously change the blog name to something more suitable, such as 'how the hell this womans stitching doesnt come out looking like an inkblot, squashed bug or something, I do not know! Island'.

I would love to know your methods! Maybe I could pick up some new habits, you never know I could have untapped potential! lol

I feel so bad - 30 years of messy stitching - there are many perfectionists out there who praise the joys of cross-stitch because it is so neat and counted and .......I feel so bad :(

I nearly forgot to mention - I dont properly or even understand a stitch-a-long, what are the rules? Also, what is an exchange? and are some like or similar to round robins? Like I said, I have been stitching under a rock. Please help me understand this strange new world :)

IHSW As far as I got

Im didnt quite manage to finish but hoprfully I will by next weekend.  Here is a picture of where I am up to:

18 Sept 2011

IHSW - still going

Just thought I would check in and let you know that the stitching is going well - in a previous post I mentioned that I had changed my mind about what I would stitch and have deided to stitch a traditional tattoo design from Ed Hardys book. 


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Kills-Slowly-Cross-Stitch-Hardy/dp/0740797611/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316338858&sr=1-2

The tattoo I have chosen to stitch is..



You can see how far I am by checking out the slideshow in the sidebar. I am about half way and hope to finish it today providing I dont get distracted. I dont have all the colours that I need but I will substitute them with ones I do have and hopefully it will work out ok.

I hope that everyone else is enjoying their stitching and hermitting away :)

If you are unable to view my slideshow then plese see here: IHSW September 2011

16 Sept 2011

A follower?..Me!

Well in celebration of my first and only follower I have added a picture to my profile! Shocking.  I have also just followed all the people who are stitching this weekend as part of IHSW!! Yes! All 55 of them :)

I would just like to say that there are so many talented stitchers out there who have already produced such beautiful work that it makes me proud to be a stitcher.

And so it begins..

This weekend is IHSW and I have been looking forward to it :) It is a great excuse to sew all weekend and when I tell people I am taking part in something they feel it is a more acceptable excuse.

So as my previous post says, I have decided to work on St Nick. Admittedly I have not yet started or today but about to (first day at a new job!) but I am just checking on my sky plus to see what TV shows I have recorded or will that will be keeping me entertained over the weekend whilst I sew...if youre interested in comparing them to your own.....



  • Rhod Gilbert & the cat that looked like Nicholas Lyndhurst (UK Stand-up Comedy)
  • Vantage Point (Film)
  • Trollied (UK TV Comedy - last in series)
  • Law & Order: Los Angeles (US TV Season 1, episode 4 & 5)
  • Happy Endings (US TV - Season 1, episode 2 - the pilot was a bit blah but I thought I would give it a chance)
  • The Killing (US TV - Finale, but apparently the killer isnt revealed in this season)
  • Criminal Minds (US TV - Season 6, episode 17)
  • House (US TV - Season 7, episode 4)
  • Would I lie to you? (UK Comedy quiz show)
  • Chase (US TV Season 1, episode 4)
  • Treme (US TV Season 2, episode 3)
  • My Big Friggin Wedding (US TV reality type show - my guilty pleasure)
  • Strike Back Project Dawn (UK TV Series 1, episode 5 - action/drama/army thingy)
  • Lost Girl (US TV Season 1, episode 3 - not convinced)
  • He's just not that iinto you (Film)  - I know everyone hates this film but I quite like it :)

I think this list should keep me going for a while.

15 Sept 2011

I made a decision and then I changed my mind again!

I have decided that for the IHSW this weekend I am going to work on one of my UFO's - most likely the St Nick one.

As a reminder and to save you having to go to my WIP page, this is where I am up to...




**STOP PRESS**

I have changed my mind - I know that I SHOULD work on this but just over a week ago I bought a cross stitch book called 30 cross-stitch patterns from Ed Hardy. They are cross stitch patterns for traditional tattoo designs. Admittedly there is nothing exciting but I am itching to stitch one of them! I have a weird fascination with tattoos and shows like Miami Ink, London Ink, LA Ink, NY ink and there is a vegas one too starting soon - ironically I dont have a tattoo, but I really wanna stitch one.  So it could be progress on the above of a tattoon :)

   



I havent had any luck in finding a snowman design that I like and I have begun to think that my only option is going to be to design my own. This idea works in theory but I am not the best at drawing so it will be hit and miss to how it turns out. I found a leaflet earlier today that came free with Cross Stitcher magazine at some time in 2005. It gives some basics of making your own designs, which is brief is as follows:
  • You only need a pencil, a rubber, some coloured pencils and a shade card.
  • Decide on your finished design size plot these onto your graph paper (it is probably a good idea to mark lines on the grid that represent the count of the fabric that you are going to use. If there are multiple motifs in the design it might be an idea to do them on separate pieces of paper and then lay them out in the design area.
  • When you have finished your design colour it in, but make sure that you use colours that represent the colours on the shade card. Also keep a record of which pencil is which thread colour.
So, I better get my act together and go about drawing the design that I want.


14 Sept 2011

Good mid-morning!

So I saw a blog that mentioned IHSW (hosted by joysze) and I thought it would be a great way of getting me to focus on finishing some UFO's. I thought I might join with the intention to get something finished by christmas (I mean, I definitely have enough of them). I also have about 30 free kits from magazines that I could also do...so now to just choose!



I just need to sign up.........and then pick from something on my soon to be created work in progress page!

Oh dear - the link on the IHSW image in my sidebar doesnt seem to work, so please go to: joysze.blogspot.com and checkout all the details there (whilst I try and work out why it doesnt work :) )

13 Sept 2011

Mabel Lucie Attwell Cross stitch Finished!!

I have finished the cross stitch project that I started last Thursday and I think that it has turned out ok.  I did make some changed to it - the biggest being the removal of the dots (I didnt like the fractional stitches that they used for them)  and it still looks ok.   I started it as a gift for a friend but then someone else made a comment and she might have it instead  - who knows.


Now I need to start looking for a good snowman design or commit to making the snowman hardanger. I also need to update the christmas house advent calendar and work out what to put in it this year and to improve the hotter or notter game I made for the girls last year.

Here is a pic of my finished picture - what do you think? Not bad eh?

12 Sept 2011

I love photographing flowers and to prove it..

I went to Devon in June and visited Torre Abbey, I really enjoyed the gardens ( I am an old woman trapped in a pre-early/middle aged womans head) and loved taking photos of the flowers.  Some of which I would like to make into a collage and stitch. Here is a collection of my favourites..









Another old fave post..

I like this post - not because it has an profound or groundbreaking observations but because it was funny to discuss a film with someone who hadnt seen it yet they managed to make me reassess my first impressions of it.

Michael Cera, canadian actor (MACBA, Barcelona).
Image via Wikipedia
I just had a conversation via messenger with my friend about the film Nick and Norah's infinite playlist and it went like this:
It's not the best movie ever, and maybe doesn't even make a good rating. but its ok, not a lot happens and it's not that funny either. am i selling it?
haha you're so selling it!
there is a hideous sick in the mouth moment - but it is quite sweet. in an odd way.
haha
not that sick in the mouth moment tho - other moments
but it is the most pointless movie title ever.
I think i started watching online a couple of years ago late at night and fell asleep
it has an indie kinda feel and quite arty teeny. the more i think about it the less real meaning it has, the story doesn't flow particularly well and it has typical stereotypes that grasp to make it more than it was feel. BUT even having said that - I would watch it again.
haha you really haven't sold my friend tee hee
why would I sell your friend???
haha I can't type
I may not have sold it as a must see movie, or an iconic movie of the time, or as oscar winning performances from all involved BUT....if theres nothing on television and you fancy watching something then it will fill the void - or better still have it on in the background whilst online and occasionally peer over your laptop - just not at the sick in the mouth bit
i get you! yeah films like that are useful for background wallpaper
haha - i have just looked it up on idmb and it scores a 6.8/10
6.8 is n't bad
I know!! I possibly underrated it. As if I would - I was probably more honest, and i think some of that is cos of Michael Cera being in it
And then I came across a blog that was posted today about Nick and Norah's infinite playlist at: http://henmania.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/nick-and-norahs-infinite-playlist/
and I felt a little guilty.
Who are you going to believe? Why not just watch it and decide for yourself, if you havent already. It is watchable though.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I have a wordpress blog but I dont really use it - as I have intentions of using this one (ahem) prolifically?! - I have decided to move over some of my favourite posts of 2011. Fear not, I have probably only posted about 3 times so its not that big a deal.  I did read this book (see post header) earlier in the year and the more I think about it the more I realise how good a book it was and how much it has stayed in my mind.  At the time I was also reading another book called Love in the time of cholera which is set in a similar country and the themes relate to one another in the book. I also watched the film Frida (about Frida Kahlo) as that is a foucs in the Lacuna. So at the time it was confusing to say the least. The text that follows is

 the blog post that I made at the time.

Lagoon in Santo
Image via Wikipedia
I can't remember when I read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I have looked up the release date and it was sold as a paperback in 2000. I think I must have read it soon after it came out but that confuses me. I was at the time living in Ghana in West Africa, and I didn't come home until 2001. By this time I was engaged to a Ghanaian and my memory wants to tell me that I wasn't with him when I read the book. I must have been. It is strange, if I read the book after in 2002 or there about, then I may have noticed more or related more to the book. I didn't. I enjoyed the book immensely and have since recommended it, it was a difficult start but once submerged I had to read it to its completion. I should re-read it, I think I will.
Why am I writing about The Poisonwood Bible? because it was because I read this that I read The Lacuna. I did read another Barbara Kingsolver book called Prodigal Summer. To be honest, I can't remember it off the top of my head. I am sure if I attempted to re-read it then it would come back to me (that's how my memory works, forgets everything as if it was never there, then flash it a little bit and it bounces back - like when the power goes out and there's a pause till the generator kicks in, yes, my memory is only prepared to work when all else fails). I was in the local supermarket and thought I would buy myself a book, I always wonder down there and sadly I am a book buyer who is swayed by the front cover. I glanced up and saw a swathe of blue and the name Barbara Kingsolver. Decision made. I left the shop feeling happy that I finally had something to read and hopeful that it would be good.
I started reading the book and was instantly drawn in, but as I progressed through it I wanted to know more about Frida and Diego. I don't know if it was purely because of them or related to my interest in communism and Russian history.
I really liked that it was a mixture of fiction and fiction based on true events. It was totally believable. I did watch the film Frida when I was half way through the book and was half looking out for Harrison. It made him seem invisible. Harrison seemed so sensitive and delicate to me and I felt protective towards him. I think that is why I was so angry about the treatment of people who were thought to be a party to communist intentions and the treatment of Harrison (who had become this even more timid and fragile bird to me) was upsetting. I am a great believer in what happens in the past stays in the past. I think that it may have been a sign of the times that he could be so quickly ostracised by 'friends'. I guess that is why I love the ending so much - his freedom and his sacrifice.
I was reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez book Love in the time of cholera at the same time. Which ended with them merging into one almost. They were set in similar time periods and were similar geographically. It did become confusing and I really want to re-read this book and I will and you should read it too.
By the way..I had some good intentions to write some real literary discussion and I went so far as to get the discussion questions from this great site: Lit Lovers, but I just haven't been able to. But if you need some questions or want some prompts then see below:
Questions from Lit Lovers
Discussion Questions
1. What does Shepherd mean when he says, "The most important part of the story is the piece of it you don't know." And how does this oft stated remark relate to the book's title?
2. What is the significance of the book's title? What does it mean within the context of the novel?
3. Do Shepherd's diaries feel realistic to you? Does he sound like a 12-year old at the beginning...and later a mature man?
4. What prompts Harrison to begin his journals? Why does he write? What does he mean by referring to his notebook as "prisoner's plan for escape"?
5. Describe Shepherd, first as a 12-year-old and, later, as a mature adult. What kind of character is he? How does he change over the course of the novel?
6. How about Shepherd's mother? In what way does her profligate life affect how Shepherd decides to lead his own life?
7. Describe the Riviera/Kahlo household. How does Shepherd see Riviera's influence over Kahlo? Have you seen the movie Frieda? If so, does that film influence your reading of The Lacuana?
8. How does Kingsolver portray Leon Trotsky in this work? Were you aware of his background and the history of the Russian Revolution before you read the novel? If so, did your prior knowledge color your reading—or did your reading affect your knowledge?
9. Do you find the second-half of the novel, in the US, evocative of a time and place that no longer exists? If so, is that a good or bad thing? If not, what has remained the same? How does Kingsolver present those years?
10. What is Shepherd's relationship with his secretary, Violet Brown? What kind of character is she? Why does she want to preserve Shepherd's memory?
11. What role do the media play in this novel? Is it a fair or realistic portrait? What are the benefits of fame...and what are its costs?
12. Does this book enlighten you about the era of the Red Scare and the McCarthy hearings? Or do you feel this ground has been well tread by many others?

**end**
I never answered the questions that I found - fear probably of getting the answers wrong. I studied english literature at A'level and I distinctly remember out teacher saying that there was no right or wrong answer in english literature. Yet somehow I managed to get the answer more wrong than right. It was misleading of him to say that as it was a total lie. But it does mean that I question the validity of my own interpretations and constantly compare my opinions with others. Which is quite restrictive when I want to share my views.

Latest Project - Mabel Lucie Attwell Cross-Stitch

I started this last Thursday and had hoped to finish it today - that was very ambitious of me but I might get it done by the end of the week as I dont start work until Friday :)

 Image 1




Image 2

Image 3

I cant work out why they are not the right way up - sorry - but the finished article should look like this....

Fingers crossed I can get it done. I also want to update my game 'Hotter or Notter' that I made for christmas last year. Look out for my next post and tell me what you think.

Challenge 39: Watch 50 stand up shows (DVD or LIVE)

So I have been keeping notes on all my challenges and updating as and when something happens to move towards that goal, this is the notes fo...