Da Da Dahhhhhhh !!!!!!

The impossible project is FINISHED !!!!!!!

Mel's Sunday Update

Well what a week - eye infections, job applications, adverse reactions to the antibiotics for my eyes.  My Director and the University Librarian being very kind to me.

Very little stitching got done.  However I did make a lot of progress yesterday last night and this morning.

I have finished Part 5 of BoInk.  I have finished Part 6 too but pics in a couple of weeks.  It is a very fun part - my favourite so far.

I also finished off Something in Red.  Pics in my finished folder here.  And in its own folder here.  I've decided that I will re-start Black Beauty completely and have already ordered another skein of GAST Black Crow and cut more fabric.

Only other stitching news is that I got all excited about my eyesight returning so I started Lyne's RR last night.  This morning I discover I'm off by one one row so three hours of stitching will need to be frogged and redone ......

Finally I received a wonderful RAK this week.  Gail sent me this chart which she so nicely named after me.  Actually she included two versions.  The original and a variegated

I'm partial to the variegated version but I'm not sure - any thoughts on which version I should stitch first?  Variegated on the left and original on the right.

Hope everyone else has had a happy and productive week - I'm off to frog Lyne's RR.

Mel's Sunday Update

Again with the stresses of work, the commute and internet mod duties I haven't done any stitching at home this week.

I did however do quite a bit of stitching on the train - an extraordinary amount when you consider I cat nap on most trips.  Friday was the worst  I had to be woken when the train was pulling into my stop in the morning and I woke myself just as it was pulling into my stop Friday night. First time  I ever almost missed my stop on the way home. Even more extraordinary when there were monster children screaming in my carriage and I could hear drunks further down in other carriages.  I was just exhausted Friday.

The weirdest part was after I came home and started chatting on the email and then watching Eerie Indiana I stayed up until 1am !!!   Eerie Indiana is a kids show I watched nearly 15 years ago now.  You know those times when you are so sick that for nearly a week you just lie on the lounge and don't move and nap and doze and eventually get up the energy to go and make another cup of tea?  I was home sick for one of those for about a week a while ago. Can't even remember where or when.  Anyway this show came on and I really liked it.  Watched a couple of episodes over the week and then went back to work.

I've never found it since although I have looked and looked for it.  Finally found it (and at a reasonable price) at http://www.fishpond.co.nz/  last week.  It arrived Friday and I watch 4 of the 40min long episodes that night.  I love this show !!!  Pity they only made 19 episodes.

At the same time I also finally got myself a copy of the TV miniseries Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.  I have read at least three different novelisations of this and again have been looking for a copy of the original TV version.  I will watch this later - its one of those you have to concentrate a bit on ....

Oh and of course as soon as I rung Stephen to let him know my good news, I discovered he had obtained a copy himself the day before and was planning on lending it to me.  (The amount of times this happens between the two of us alternately amuses and terrifies me).

Anyway stitching.

Jasper. 
All the cross stitching is now done. All that remains is the backstitching. I cannot backstitch over already stitched work on 16ct Aida on a train - so this one will go into the "wait till I get time at home pile". Goodness knows when I will actually get to it - there is a fair amount of backstitching on this one and I haven't stitched at home in weeks.

Something in Red.
Still don't know what I'm going to do with Black Beauty - probably order a new skein of GAST Black Crow and start again. I *think* I have more of this Ivory linen. Its not good quality linen but I do want these two to match - so on the same exact piece of fabric would be good. This is again train stitching with just a wee bit on Friday night ... No mistakes so far and I have finished the bottom half of the dress.

In other news, lots of chatting with my support network and dinner with my best friend last night has really cheered me up and lifted the malaise my emotion's have been under over the last couple of weeks so I am back to being happy.

Now just to force myself to work through the blue on black problem on BoInk and to write a job application.  I detest writing job applications. I wasted all day yesterday because of the procrastination.  I didn't want to write the application, but the guilt wouldn't let me do anything else until the app was written so I cleaned house a little, bought unnecessary items for the dinner party etc etc until 5pm when I finally forced myself to sit down and start the blasted thing - whereupon I realised I need more information.  I need more info on the software packages the organisation uses and the layout of the hierarchy etc etc.  So I will talk to the official contact person for the job on Monday and I will also find out any goss from people at work.  The University Library sector is so small that surely someone knows someone who works there ...

So today I am free from the guilt paralysation and I am determined (Oh I can't used that word without thinking of the Gruen Transfer now!  One of our banks has adopted the new slogan "determined to be different".  Wil Anderson asks "what would the bank say if I went in there and said yes I'm determined to pay of my mortgage".)

Anyway I'm determined to make progress son BoInk today.  and watch a little more Eerie Indiana ....

Oh and finally - my backyard is "finished".  I've uploaded pics into here.

Mel's Sunday Update

The only stitching I seem to do lately is either during the train commute  (which I am certain is frog infested) and at home on the weekends.

However after coming home ill on Thursday afternoon I managed to get some stitching in on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. I had *two* finishes !!!!!!!

And aren't they just the antithesis of each other LOL !!!  One I cannot show as it is a gift for a non-stitching friend.  The other is How Do I Love Thee by Designs by Lisa.

The whole frog-infested saga can be seen HERE.

Finished album is HERE.

I sent an email to  Kathy at DesignsbyLisa showing her my finish and commenting on the hassles I had because of not knowing I needed a second skein ...

Her response:

I realize I didn't note the amount of threads needed.  This is the only design I have only used two colors, and I guess it would have made sense to list how many skeins needed.And a model stitcher stitched it for me, and I thought I had only sent her one skein.  Regardless.....an easy fix, and I can put it on my site for additional people to see.  Thanks for pointing this out!

So that is good news.  Thank you sooo much for RAking me this chart and threads Chele - it has indeed brought some Romance into my life which I was completely *not* expecting.  So time to RAK this chart off to someone else who needs some romance - the only catch is that I think it only works if you stitch it up right away - so know anyone who fits that criteria ????

Now I'm off to stitch on Claire's RR piece.  It is supposed to be posted out on Friday (Good Friday) - gee did I stuff up the timetable :)  I will attempt to get this out to Laura on Wednesday before I go - but if I don't then I will post it next week when I return.  I will not be taking it to Melbourne with me :) :)

I still have about 8 hours of stitching left to do on it - hopefully getting a good chunk in this afternoon ....

Off now to write up my Rare Book Summer School presentation and then tidy up a bit (as I look around at my bombshell of a home) and then stitch on Claire's RR piece.

Caught the culprit

This week' I've been working on "How do I Love Thee by Designs by Lisa.

WIP pics here.

Chele RAKed me with this one with the comments "I think you should stitch this pattern for YOU! ... For every stitch, think of another person who loves you just the way you are right now!"

Well, with such a kind message how could I do anything but start it immediately - after all Chele RAKed me the threads as well as the chart.  So I did a floss toss that night and started it on the train the next day.

All was going well until the morning of the third day - the train was just pulling into the station when I put the finishing touches on the main heart motif and was admiring it before I put it away when I thought the heart was looking a little squashed .....

I had missed out an entire row in the middle of it.  I had to frog the entire top of the heart.

Well no pun intended but I didn't have the heart for it .... so I left it alone until the cricket started this afternoon. I frogged and restitched large sections of the heart and continued on.

I was interrupted by Trubs about a half hour ago - she was being too athletic - that meant she had live prey.  She was playing with a frog.  My cat, my friend, my sleeping partner brought a frog into my house !!!!!

I took a pic of the little feller before I put him back outside.  Trubs is now scratching at the back door because I've got her locked in until the frog makes his safe escape .......

I figured it was as good a time as any to show an update of today's stitching. There is very little of the red thread left.  Its CUPID by Crescent Colours.   I suspect even if I hadn't made a stupid mistake, I still would not have had enough thread to finish the entire design.

Nowhere on the chart does it mention that you need more than one skein ...... {sigh}

Well after chatting with two LNS stores I finally found a second skein of CUPID today .... mum has one !!!  She's posting it to me sometime this coming week.