Silent Night - Finished !!!!!

Who's idea was it to put beads on this piece ???????

Meh! Anyway it is now done! DONE DONE DONE !!!!!!!

Off in the mail tomorrow! Am working Sat, Sun and Mon and then I'm off for four weeks !!!!

YAYYYY!!!!!

Doing the biggest Snoopy Dance right now !!!!!!

Shhhh! Sneak Peek !!!!

A while ago Tracy (Inkcircles designs) posted the following in her blog:


"... My new Ink Circles pattern
being sent off to the model stitcher. There seems to be a resurgence
of stitching on black. With my penchants for folk designs, symmetry,
and geometric designs, I recalled one of the loveliest arts that
traditionally is done on a black ground. This will be a
sampler, titled Hanky Pysanky. For those of you have no idea what
pysanky is, or maybe have seen it and just don't recognize the word,
pysanky is the traditional Ukrainian Easter egg dying process. You can
see some eggs here,
but you can't see my design until Helen posts a progress shot. Dawn
Sky is the second floss from the left. In addition to the pink pysanky
color scheme,
I've mapped out the colors for the equally traditional
red/orange/yellow colorway. (I know not everyone is a "pink" person -
that's why Carrie makes so many different colors!)"





Well I was lucky enough to be selected to do a couple of motifs in the
red/orange/yellow colourway. Here's a couple of pics of two motifs to
whet your appetite for the whole sampler .....

And Silent Night continues ....

Another few hours tonight got all the cross stitching done. Heading to bed now.

Tomorrow night is adding the Mill Hill beads and then washing, ironing, the final pic and then wrapping up to post Friday.

Silent Night - yet again

Yep, I'm still working on this one.  Deadline has past so I'm just working on each night and will post progress pics each night until it is done.

You can't tell really but I've just changed from white to pale yellow in the thread I'm working on .... its 11:50pm at night and the cricket has just started Aust vs West Indies and I can't keep my eyes open enough to see the holes to put the needle .... going off to bed !!!

Will try next week, while I'm off work to stay up all night to watch a cricket game - just to prove to myself that I can do it - the games are usually 11:30pm until 6:00am here ....

Mel's Monday Update

I managed to get a couple of hours stitching in tonight - so I got a bit more done on this one.  Its definitely going to be late - but well its the thought that counts right ??

That's IT! Decision made!

I'm moving to the UK !!!!

LINK

Fire Wing Friday

Well I have three other projects that are a higher priority and have deadlines looming, not to mention finishing off FireFlower ..... but well it *is* Friday and this is a little easier than the 32ct black most of my other current projects are being stitched on.

I have a bit bigger blob there now. That is the dragon's head, not that you can tell :) First time using Needlepaint threads - very very nice !!!! I need tog et more of these - they have a good feel to them!

Another hot and probably sleepless night looming - fourth in a row - I can't wait - Sunday night we are finally supposed to get a cool change through ..... sleeep! I'd trade stash for sleep!

Present !!!!

Hi Guys,



I'm stitching a birthday present for a friend on BAPXS (but she is not a contact here) so shhhhhh! Mum's the word!



Pics of the project here - I spent an hour and a half on it tonight - but to be honest I'm too tired and too hot to do anything further.



I'm off for a cold shower and then to crawl into bed to give me eyes a
rest even if I don't get much sleep. We've been having tropical
weather here lately - so lots of humidity, heat and mozzies! Really
not happy! Sick of hot, humid still weather - send another storm
please - or just a cool breeze!

WIP - Singularity

My project for FireWing Friday for the PTP group.

Fire Wing Friday

Well my supplies for Fire Wing's Singularity that I ordered during Nashville finally arrived yesterday. (dyeing time plus international post causing the delays). Marilyn and Shari from PTP were wonderful - they supplied everything needed for this design except the needle and DMC 310.

I've joined the FireWing Friday SAL on the PTP group and this is the piece I'm doing. Everybody in the SAL works on a FireWing design of their choice on Fridays.

Well let's see, Friday morning I woke at 4am (goodness only knows why) so I got up and spent some time on my model stitch job, then became a librarian from 8am until 6pm, then went shopping then finally home and dinner. Picked up this kit with great enthusiasm and got maybe 20 stitches in it before I fell asleep with the needle in my hand.....

I'm such an energetic party animal !!!!!

Oh just so you know, the bit I did was the silvery strip just under the dragon's head, leading from her chin and back up to the right.

Lifestyle change

As most of you would know - I'm having a very difficult time at work. After speaking with the rostering librarian today, I've put in a request for time off work.

Combining annual leave, flex days, rostered days off and public holidays I would effectively be taking four weeks off (Tue 3rd April until Monday 30 April).

This still has to be approved - but four weeks !!!!! Oh bliss!

I don't have much in the way of savings or disposable income after not having any overtime since mid-December so I wont be going away or having a spending splurge. Instead I will spending four weeks finishing sorting my house, going to the gym, getting myself back into shape mentally emotionally and physically. Most importantly, I will use the time to search for another job. I plan on seeing some temp agencies in Sydney and hopefully having some job interviews during this time.

Possibly take a weekend (maybe Easter) and visit mum - oh and of course do some major stitching !!!!!

Just working through this today has made me feel so much better - the situation at my work is affecting my health, both physically (migraines) and mentally (depression). Knowing that it may be only for a few more weeks will make the rest of this month go sooo much easier.

Knowing I am about to start three weeks of overtime Saturday work will help the finances in April too !!

Fabric suggestions please?

OK all for The One SAL on BAPXS I've decided to do Archway to Avalon by Marie Barber (well I didn't have much choice really). Cover pic here.

I wonder what
fabric to use, I don't want to do plain antique white. I was
considering a mottled blue or green but then I thought - what about a
mottled grey to simulate stonework? The entirety of what can be seen
through the window is completely stitched, so there's no need to match
the fabric to that. So I thought what about a mottled grey to simulate
a castle wall that this can be a window inside of .... or will that
blend in with the doves too much??



Then again going with this idea - I could leave out the doves and the
entire bottom row of motifs altogether and have it as just a window
inside a stone wall ....



Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?? Anyone ???????

WIP - Archway to Avalon

Designed by Marie Barber for Just Cross Stitch (1995).
Stitching this for the BAPXSOne Sitchalong.

Fire flower mistake

OK this is the only way I can show where I made my mistake that necessitated removing the entire bottom left diagonal motif set and redoing it. The image on the left is the wrong one, the image on the right is the fixed correct one ...

I've been RAKed !!!!!! Twice !!!!!

The first time was earlier this week when I received a lovely piece of 28ct Ivory Wichelt linen from Claire !!!!! Its so yum and I'm hoping its large enough to do Di Jourdan's Thriller on it. This is a SAL Claire and I plan on doing later in the year.

The second RAK came in a package from Tracy. In amongst the expected contents of the package was a copy of her latest chart "This Heart of Mine". A post-it note attached says:

"Hi Mel, This is a RAK gift from someone who wanted to remain nameless, but none-the-less wanted you to have a great day."

WOW!!! I'm blown away !!!! Whoever you are, please own up so I know who to thank! I suspect this RAK was from a multiply blogster or a member of BAPXS - or both! This whole group of people is truly wonderful!

I LOVE YOU ALL !!!!

'Cause I'm a frog - yeah yeah yeah

'Cause I'm a frog - yeah yeah yeah ...

I'm a F R O .... I'm a frog yeah yeah yeah !!!!!

Had to frog the entire left bottom triangular bit tonight. Frogged it all and got some of the stitching re-done .....

First time I've picked up a needle in over a week .......

International Woman's Day

Today is International Woman's Day.

I've done my bit - I gave another woman chocolate before 8am this morning !!!

Its a work friend's birthday and with the situation here at NP and the useless excuse for a piece of excrement that I need to babysit (ie my staff) there's no way I can leave the building long enough to attend my friend's luncheon in another part of the city.

So I stopped in at her office before work and dropped off her present - three blocks of organic dark chocolate - mayan orange, decadent mint and one with cocoa nibs in it.

That's my good deed for International Women's Day.  I not only made her very happy - but all those who work in her office!

Ideal Career quiz

Your Career Type: Investigative

You are precise, scientific, and intellectual. Your talents lie in understanding and solving math and science problems. You would make an excellent: Architect - Biologist - Chemist Dentist - Electrical Technician - Mathematician Medical Technician - Meteorologist - Pharmacist Physician - Surveyor - Veterinarian The worst career options for your are enterprising careers, like lawyer or real estate agent.

What's Your Ideal Career?

Not sure about veterinarian - Biology was never my strong point .....

Geek Quiz

<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#DDDDDD" align=center>
<font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'>
<strong>Your Geek Profile:</strong>
</font></td></tr>
<tr><td bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
<center><img src="http://images.blogthings.com/howgeekyareyouquiz/geek.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center>
<font color="#000000">
Academic Geekiness: Highest<br />
Geekiness in Love: Highest<br />
Movie Geekiness: Highest<br />
Internet Geekiness: High<br />
SciFi Geekiness: High<br />
Music Geekiness: Moderate<br />
Fashion Geekiness: Low<br />
Gamer Geekiness: Low<br />
General Geekiness: Low
</font></td></tr></table>
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/howgeekyareyouquiz/">How Geeky Are You?</a></div>

Very simplistic ...... but fun ......

Like this is a surprise to anyone ......

You Are: 0% Dog, 100% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat. You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way. And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Fire Flower - one skein finished

First complete skein of Carrie's "Almost Autumn" limited edition thread all used up. Pic here. I did this so others can see how much one skein of Carrie's floss will typically cover on this design.

Oh and the entire vertical row on the left side of the bottom round motif .... well although it doesn't look like it, the entire column needs to be moved diagonally left and down one stitch ......

Will start that tomorrow - off to bed now - just finished watching Love Actually yet again!!!!

Off to bed with Harry Dresden (half way through Fools Moon).

Hollywood movie factory ....

It’s been said that allegedly if you’ve seen over 85 movies you
have no life. Mark the ones you’ve seen. There are 239 films on this
list. Copy this list, go to your own blog, paste it in and put x’s by
the ones that you have seen. Add them up, change the header adding your
number, and post it.

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show

(X) Grease

(X) Pirates of the Caribbean

(X) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest

( ) Boondock Saints

(X) Fight Club

( ) Starsky and Hutch

(X) Neverending Story

( ) Blazing Saddles

( ) Airplane

(X) The Princess Bride

( ) AnchorMan

( ) Napoleon Dynamite

(X) Labyrinth

( ) Saw

( ) Saw II

( ) White Noise

( ) White Oleander

(X) Anger Management

( ) 50 First Dates

(X) The Princess Diaries

(X) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement

Total so far: 11 out of 22.

( ) Scream

( ) Scream 2

( ) Scream 3

( ) Scary Movie

( ) Scary Movie 2

( ) Scary Movie 3

( ) Scary Movie 4

( ) American Pie

( ) American Pie 2

( ) American Wedding

( ) American Pie Band Camp

(X) Harry Potter 1

(X) Harry Potter 2

(X) Harry Potter 3

(X) Harry Potter 4

( ) Resident Evil 1

( ) Resident Evil 2

(X) The Wedding Singer

( ) Little Black Book

(X) The Village

(X) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 18 out of 43. Wasn't impressed by the titles in this category ....

(X) Finding Nemo

( ) Finding Neverland

(X) Signs

(X) The Grinch (both versions!)

( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre

( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

( ) White Chicks

( ) Butterfly Effect

( ) 13 Going on 30

(X) I, Robot

( ) Robots

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

( ) Universal Soldier

( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events

( ) Along Came Polly

(X) Deep Impact

( ) KingPin

( ) Never Been Kissed

(X) Meet The Parents

( ) Meet the Fockers

( ) Eight Crazy Nights

( ) Joe Dirt

(X) King Kong

Total so far: 25 out of 66.

( ) A Cinderella Story

( ) The Terminal

( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie

( ) Passport to Paris

( ) Dumb & Dumber

( ) Dumber & Dumberer

( ) Final Destination

( ) Final Destination 2

( ) Final Destination 3

( ) Halloween

( ) The Ring

( ) The Ring 2

( ) Surviving Christmas

(X) Flubber

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle

(X) Practical Magic

( ) Chicago

(X) Ghost Ship

( ) From Hell

( ) Hellboy

( ) Secret Window

( ) I Am Sam

( ) The Whole Nine Yards

( ) The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 28 out of 90.

(X) The Day After Tomorrow

(X) Child’s Play

( ) Seed of Chucky

( ) Bride of Chucky

( ) Ten Things I Hate About You

( ) Just Married

(X) Gothika

(X) Nightmare on Elm Street

(X) Sixteen Candles

( ) Remember the Titans

( ) Coach Carter

( ) The Grudge

( ) The Grudge 2

(X) The Mask

( ) Son Of The Mask

( ) Bad Boys

( ) Bad Boys 2

( ) Joy Ride

( ) Lucky Number Sleven

(X) Ocean’s Eleven

(X) Ocean’s Twelve

(X) Bourne Identity

(X) Bourne Supremecy

( ) Lone Star

(X) Bedazzled

(X) Predator I

(X) Predator II

( ) The Fog

(X) Ice Age

(X) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

( ) Curious George

Total so far: 43 out of 121.

(X) Independence Day

(X) Cujo

( ) A Bronx Tale

( ) Darkness Falls

(X) Christine

(X) E.T.

(X) Children of the Corn

( ) My Bosses Daughter

(X) Maid in Manhattan

(X) War of the Worlds Both versions !!!!!

(X) Rush Hour

(X) Rush Hour 2

( ) Best Bet

( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

( ) She’s All That

( ) Calendar Girls

( ) Sideways

(X) Mars Attacks

(X) Event Horizon

(X) Ever After

(X) Wizard of Oz

(X) Forrest Gump

(X) Big Trouble in Little China

(X) The Terminator

(X) The Terminator 2

( ) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 60 out of 147.

(X) X-Men

(X) X-2

(X) X3

(X) Spider-Man

(X) Spider-Man 2

( ) Sky High

( ) Jeepers Creepers

( ) Jeepers Creepers 2

(X) Catch Me If You Can

(X) The Little Mermaid

(X) Freaky Friday

( ) Reign of Fire

( ) The Skulls

( ) Cruel Intentions

( ) Cruel Intentions 2

( ) The Hot Chick

(X) Shrek

(X) Shrek 2

Total so far: 70 out of 165.

( ) Swimfan

( ) Miracle on 34th street*

( ) Old School

( ) The Notebook

( ) K-Pax

( ) Krippendorf’s Tribe

( ) A Walk to Remember

( ) Ice Castles

( ) Boogeyman

( ) The 40-year-old Virgin

(X) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

(X) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

(X) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King

(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 76 out of 181.

( ) Base-ketball

( ) Hostel

( ) Waiting for Guffman

( ) House of 1000 Corpses

( ) Devils Rejects

( ) Elf

(X) Highlander

( ) Mothman Prophecies

( ) American History X

( ) Three

( ) The Jacket

( ) Kung Fu Hustle

( ) Shaolin Soccer

(X) Night Watch

(X) Monsters Inc.

(X) Titanic (and I've wanted to kill myself ever since!)

(X) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

( ) Shaun Of the Dead

( ) Willard

Total so far: 81 out of 200.

( ) High Tension

( ) Club Dread

(X) Hulk

( ) Dawn Of the Dead

(X) Hook

(X) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

( ) 28 days later

( ) Orgazmo

( ) Phantasm

(X) Waterworld

(X) Kill Bill Vol. 1

( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2

( ) Mortal Kombat

( ) Wolf Creek

( ) Kingdom of Heaven

( ) the Hills Have Eyes

( ) I Spit on Your Grave

( ) The Last House on the Left

(X) Re-Animator

( ) Army of Darkness

Total so far: 87 out of 220. Well there I've passed the magic 85 mark!

(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace

(X) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones

(X) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith

(X) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope

(X) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back

(X) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi

( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage

( ) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor

(X) The Matrix

(X) The Matrix: Reloaded

(X) The Matrix: Revolutions

(X) Animatrix

( ) Evil Dead

( ) Evil Dead 2

(X) Team America: World Police

( ) Red Dragon

(X) Silence of the Lambs

(X) Hannibal

100 out of 239 - dead on 100 !!

And I'll even go more controversial and say SO WHAT!!!! The rest of the movies listed here were crap - and I ignored them out of choice! Where are the good movies?? The intellectual movies? The old classics ??????? All this shows is how much crap Hollywood has been spewing out in the last couple of years! I didn't see a single indie movie listed here! Not one!

What Colour is your Brain?

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

True - very true!

What Colour Heart do you have ????

Your Heart Is Orange

Love equals unbridled happiness for you. You enjoy the wild ride of falling in love. And while the ride is fun for a while, you always get off once the thrill is gone. Your flirting style: Hyper Your lucky first date: Anything you need your passport for! Your dream lover: Is both daring and well grounded What you bring to relationships: Energy

What Color Heart Do You Have?

I had a couple of questions I could have answered a couple of ways, but every combination of answer kept bringing up orange - so it must be true !!!!