Elfin Stitches

WIPocalypse February Report

2012-02-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

I'm late with this report - because of my computer troubles.

I am so very pleased with my progress on my HAED Jolly Old Fellow. It's the only project I have worked on this year. I have now finished page 20, which was my target for 2012. I am quite astounded at reaching this target so early - I expected (based on how long it took me to stitch each page of this design in previous years) that it would take me till May or June to stitch pages 14-20.

So, here's where I am now:

I'll continue stitching on Jolly old Fellow through till the end of March. If I manage to stitch pages 21-24 in that time (and I now expect that I will) I will probably keep working on it, with a view to actually finishing it this year.

Dust - 1, Computer - 0

2012-02-12T22:04:00.000-08:00

Reluctant as I am to admit it, my computer hard drive has died - because the fan got too dusty, causing the capacitator to fail and the hard drive to get into strife. Who would have thought it? Certainly not me! My dear sister has saved my sanity by lending me her laptop, which I am currently using. I've been computerless for the past 9 days, and I must admit it has distressed me way more than I would have anticipated! It's much like the time my microwave died. For years I had believed that I rarely used the microwave, so when it died I thought it wouldn't make much difference. I soon discovered that part of just about every meal I prepared was cooked in the microwave. I was off to the shops pronto to replace the microwave. It's much the saame with the computer - I'm in the habit of accessing info on it frequently each day.

My computer is at the computer repairman's workshop waiting for a new capacitator (apparantly the one my computer uses is different to the usual one available) which is somewhere on the high seas in a container en route to Melbourne. It's expected to arrive sometime in the next 2-3 weeks. Then the computer angels are going to do their magic with stitching the capacitator into a new hard drive, and transferring all my data across. Hopefully I'll have an upgraded computer (dust free) returned to me in early March. I'll be SO pleased to see it home!
Having no computer has allowed me extra stitching time, so I guess that's the silver lining in my computer cloud! I've made great progress on Jolly old Fellow! I'll be back with pics of JOF just as soon as I work out how to load pics onto this laptop.

Happiness is ...

2012-01-29T07:40:00.000-08:00

seeing my Santa grow! I have just put the final stitches into pages 17 & 18. That fnishes the third row of chart pages. The pic looks a bit wonky, but that's because of the way I had it thrown over the sofa back when I took the pic. It really does have straight edges in real life. Now that Santa has a face, I am feeling the compulsion to keep on stitching on this project, with a view to fnishing it this year, I had originally planned to stitch pages 14-20 this year, but I certainly didn't expect to finish 5 pages in January. In previous years, I was lucky to get one page finished each three to four weeks. My current plan is to keep stitching for February and March, with the aim of finishing Row 4 (pages 19 to 24) in that time. If I manage to do that, I will then probably keep stitching on Santa to try to get him finished and framed for Christmas this year.

On a more serious note, happiness is really being finished with chemotherapy and brachytherapy (radiation therapy), and having a clear result (no cancer cells) on the PET scan. I wasn't having the treatments myself, but when one member of the household is fighting cancer, it really does seem as if everyone in the household is fighting cancer. It is a major relief to have moved on from that phase of our lives.

Half-way there!

2012-01-23T07:44:00.000-08:00

Page 16 of Jolly Old Fellow is now finished. So now just over half of the design is stitched - yay!!

I am really happy with my progress. Santa now has personality showing through. I now want to finish this row before the end of January. That's just two more pages to go. Page 17 is a full page (7315 stitches) but page 18 has only 1140 stitches.

Santa is starting to look jolly!

2012-01-15T17:51:00.000-08:00

Page 15 is now finished -yay!

I'll be working hard now to finish page 16 so Santa has a whole face not half of one! Also, when I finish Page 16 I'll have just over half the chart stitched - now that will be a day of celebration for me!

This page was the fastest I have stitched. I did work on it at least 8 hours each day, but that's not unusual for me when I have a large project underway. I finally feel that I have come to terms with working on a huge project like this HAED. It only took three years to work out a system that suits me - obviously I'm slow learner! I have never gridded or marked charts as I worked, but I soon discovered that when working on the HAED chart this wasn't working for me - I spent as many hours counting stitches and finding my place as I did actually stitching. I tried gridding (several times using different sized grids), carrying threads at the back, stitching in 10 stitch squares (not for me - this one drove me almost to abandoning the project), marking the chart with highlighter, and eveything else anyone suggested.

I found that this is what works for me:

I break down each page chart into two halves, and enlarge them slightly. This gives me a manageable size chart to work with, and I attach it to my fabric using magnets, so it's always in sight.
I keep the next page handy as I work at the edges of the page, and check any isolated stitches to see if they continue onto the next page - if they do I stitch them. This saves having to start a fresh thread for one or two stitches.
I attach a dark lead pencil to my frame, and before I end off a thread I mark on the chart the stitches I have just put in, checking as I do that they are correct (this saves frogging later, and I often discover another stitch charted in the same floss just a few stitches away from what I've done).
When I'm stitching an area, I first stitch any isolated stitches or small groups - I find that easier than going back to do them later, and if I carry threads across the back for a few stitches the threads get covered up later when I stitch the adjacent stitches. In any case, I don't move on to another stitching area till all those pesky confetti stitches are done.
I laminate the floss list, and attach it with a long colourful ribbon to my scissors - that way it's easier to find both when I need them.

Sounds so obvious - but you'd be surprised just how much of a difference these little steps have made to my stitching pleasure!

WIPocalypse - January 9

2012-01-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

It's January 9 here, so I'm making a start with my WIPocalypse report.
My current project is HAED Jolly Old Fellow. I started it in 2009, and have worked on it for block of time (several months) each year since then . I have now finished 14 of the 36 pages.

This is what it looked like when I started stitching this year (on Jan 2):

Here it is with Page 14 completed yesterday (I took it off the frame for this pic):

and this is what it looks like when I finished stitching tonight:

I hope to finish page 15 and make a good start on page 16 in the coming month.

A finish of sorts ...

2012-01-07T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have just put in the last few stitches in Page 14 of Jolly Old Fellow. It feels like a finish, so I'm counting it as a finish.

Now onto Page 15 ...

WIPocalypse

2012-01-05T03:38:00.000-08:00

I've joined the 2012 WIPocalypse on Measi's blog. It sounds like it might be fun. The first step is making a stitching list for 2012, so here goes:

HAED Jolly Old Fellow - This is my current WIP and I started stitching it in 2009. My target for 2012 is to finish at least pages 14 to 20.
Personalised Christmas ornaments for the children in my life - I will be stitching at least 16 (for Brittany, Jackson, Matthew, Daniel, Thomas, Emma, Grace, Dylan, Chloe, Amelia, Niamh, Ciara, Kate, Matthew, David, and Megan), and I may add more names to the list as the year progresses.
A Santa ornament for myself. I haven't yet chosen it, but it's likely to be a Vermillion design.
A Christmas design for my sisters Wendy and Gayle.

It doesn't look like much - but I'm sure it will keep me busy in 2012!

Progress pic - Jolly Old Fellow

2012-01-05T02:40:00.000-08:00

I am very pleased with how much I have been able to stitch in the past 3 days. I estimate that I have stitched well over half of page 14 now, and I am hopeful to finish page 14 by this time next week.

HAED Jolly Old Fellow is now back in play ...

2012-01-02T02:13:00.000-08:00

He's on the floor-frame, I've checked all my threads, and I've made the first few stitches for 2012.

I have to make an emergency trip to my lns tomorrow to replace all the threads I've 'borrowed' from JOF in the latter half of 2011, while JOF was 'resting'. But I do have enough threads to go on with, so I'm settling down now for an evening of getting re-acquainted with JOF while watching the tennis on TV. Since I am normally a one-project-at-a-time stitcher, and I tend to stitch obsessively until the one project is finished, it's a unusual for me to be having to get back into a project. I can hardly believe that this is the fourth year I will have stitched on JOF, and I won't be finishing him this year - or next - and that is way out of my comfort zone.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

My wish for 2012 is that it brings a year of better health, peace of mind, and contentment for all my loved ones. And for me as well. And also for you.

It's been a hectic week in my house. We have done our annual "get the house back to normal before New Year" thing. Over the years I have discovered that this is one thing that does not get easier with practice! I am slower, less patient, and way less limber than I used to be, and each year my Christmas items grow in size and number. Nevertheless, we succeeded, and here are the pics to prove it!

This is what my dining room table looks like now.

And just one week ago, it looked like this:

This is how the lounge room corner now looks:

And one week ago it looked like this:

Another part of the lounge-room now (note Maddie looking so cute and healthy on the lounge!):

and last week:

Now that 2012 has actually arrived, I'll be getting my HAED Jolly Old Fellow back in the floor frame for a few months solid work. I hope to get at least another 6 pages done in 2012. He's been packed away since mid 2011, so it's about time he saw the light of day again.

My Santa Tree

2011-12-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

This dowelling tree has only Santas on its branches. It stands at the top of the stairs, and it's the first thing you would see if you opened my front door and looked upwards. On the door in the back (linen press door) I have hung my Santa ornaments and some special ornaments made for me by children over the years. On the tin trunk under the tree, and on the floor you can see a few of my Christmaa tins, The large Santa in the small table at rear is a particular favourite. I've has him for 17 years, and carried him home from USA.

My Angel tree

2011-12-21T03:29:00.000-08:00

The picture above shows my Angel tree (made from dowelling, and hanging from a picture hook on the wall), and a collection of standing angels on the box below it. You can also see my L&L Angel of Hope on the wall. Below, there is a pic taken from a slightly different angle.

My "Angel Room" aka (when it's not decorated for Christmas) the Sitting Room

2011-12-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

My doll-angels are in the pic above. Not all of them started life as angels, but they all have their wings now. They sit by the 1970s Christmas tree. If you stand looking at the doll angels and look to the left, you'll see my L&L Angel of Grace hanging in the stairwell, and catch a glimpse of my much-loved Christmas fridge magnets (picture below).

Just to the left of the stairwell is my Angel Corner, which houses an assortment of angels (candle-holder angels, bell angels, glass angels, brass angels, musical angels etc) over-looked by my L&L Angel of Love hanging on the wall.

There'll be more of the Angel Room in the next post.

My 1970s Christmas Tree

2011-12-08T11:58:00.001-08:00

This pphoto really doesn't do the tree justice - it really is much prettier than it llooks here. At the back of the tree (on the right) you can see one of my rescued angels (I call this one Angelica, and she's the largest of my angels).

Moving on into the kitchen ...

2011-12-07T20:17:00.000-08:00

A collection of cups plates and dishes (above) and my much-loved salt and pepper pots on the window-sill(below).

Updated Christmas pics

2011-12-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

The photo above is an updated pic of my lounge room corner with the 1950s tree, now with its full complement of wrapped Christmas gifts.

The next picture is of the dining room , showing my two framed cross stitched Marilyn Gandre works - Santa's Great Book and Santa's Workshop.

and the final pic is also from the Dining Room, showing my Advent Calendar on December 7, Seven of the starts have been turned to show Santas. I've also replaced the table runner with a new market purchase - a lovely patchwork Christmas runner I bought from the lady who made it.

Just before we leave the dining room ...

2011-12-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

This is the fat terracotta Santa that greets my visitors - he is standing near my front door. My dear niece Aislinn gave him to me for my birthday a few years ago.

More of the Dining Room Christmas display

2011-12-04T02:19:00.000-08:00

This is my Dining Room table, which has some of my nesting Santa sets. You can just see the corner display unnit which has my vintage colection. On the wall are L&L's Oh Christmas Tree and Santa of the Forest (the top is undfortunately cut from this pic.

Two more little finishes

2011-12-04T02:13:00.000-08:00

These ornaments are Christmas gifts for two youngsters, a brother and sister.

A little finish

2011-12-02T02:35:00.000-08:00

I was asked to make this ornament which is to be a Christmas gift.

My vintage Christmas items (still in the dining room)

2011-11-30T05:21:00.000-08:00

I've accidentally cut the top off this pic, but there's another one below showing the lovely Santas on top of the display case. This display case has my older angels (top shelf) and on the other shelves my older Santas and assorted vintage Christmas ornaments. Sitting at the dining room table you can see my lovely old straw-filled Santa, who is having his first Christmas in my house (though he must have seen around 6o Christmases in his lifetime). I have to admit that this corner of my house is one of my all-time favourite areas - I do love my vintage Christmas items, particularly the Santas.

This little display case houses some of my smaller vintage Christmas decorations, and is on the dining room wall near the display case shown above.

and here are some of my absolute favorites - my vintage Santas. They're standing on top of the corner display cupboard that houses (at this tme of the year only) my vintage Angels and smaller vintage Santas.

More pics from the Dining Room

2011-11-29T13:43:00.000-08:00

Above, you can see my little collection of Nativities. mostly vintage, and mostly rescued from garage sales. Below is a more detailed pic of my two favourites - the one on the left (behind) is an old Italian set, the one on the right is an African terracotta set I bought new over 20 years ago. My tiniest Nativity is on the botton left corner of the clock - I bought it home with me from Italy this year. It's only about 3cm wide. The Santa sleigh on the clock is a vintage piece.

Back home again

2011-11-26T20:28:00.000-08:00

after a very wet 12 days in the van at lovely Port Stephens, just an hours drive from my home. It rained all day and night for the first 11 days, but I am so very pleased that the rain stopped yesterday afternoon, and we managed a dry pack up today. My laundry floor is currently covered knee deep in wet items waiting their turn in the washing machine.

So, to cheer myself up I'm putting in a few more pics of my Christmas house - it was so nice to open the door and see Christmas again.

We've moved up to the dining room now. The first pic is the top of my cedar chest, and it has my gourd Santas, a few nwsting Santas and some particular favourites of mine. I stitched the cross stitched Santa many years ago, from one of the Leisure Arts Christmas Cross stitch hardcover books.

and this pic shows the top of my buffet. It houses my Advent tree, and my very small collection of Jim Shore Santas. This picture was taken before December 1 - had it been taken after December 1 the appropriate number of stars would have turned into Santas. The small cross stitched Santa on the wall is teh Santa that took me the longest to stitch. I started him in 1992, and didn't finish him till 1997 - it has the fiddliest back-stitching round everything, and the face is full of fractional confetti stitches. Being fairly new to cross stitch when I started him, I stitched him on 18 count Rustico Aida - not the best choice of fabric for a design with so any fractionals!

Sorry if you've been having trouble making comments on my blog. I know some people have. I have changed the setting, hope that helps.

... more Christmas in the lounge room ...

2011-11-13T03:12:00.000-08:00

Moving along from the 50's tree, we see a collection of smll Santas in the white CD cabinet, and next to that is a desk with my Christmas trinket box collection on the two open lower shelves. On top of the desk is an assortment of Santas collected over the past 20 years. On the wall above the TV, the framed cross stitch is Santa Reunion (LA I think). Here's a close-up of the stereo cabinet, which is temporarily housing more Santas.

and here is a close-up of my most treasured Santa badges.

Christmas trees on the stairwell

2011-11-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

These pics are of my stairs leading down from the front door entry to the lounge room. In this first pic you can see my little trees, collected or made over the past 20 years. The two Santa faces on the wall are cardboard face masks that I bought at a craft show in 1996.

moving down a little, here's a clearer pic of the two Santa masks, and you can just see in far right the white trolley with my musical Santas.

and in this final pic you have an overview of the whole wall. To the right of the Santa mask is an advent tree - no gifts in the pockets yet, but they'll be there come December 1. Further right is this year's Christmas cross stitched project - Santa and his sleigh. On the white trolley is my small collection of musical Christmas ornaments. In front, you can see some of my reindeers.

There'll be more pics from the lounge room soon.

My 1950s Christmas tree

2011-11-11T03:18:00.000-08:00

I have quite a few Christmas trees of various materials and sizes, but this one is my absolute favourite. When I was a child (in the 1950s) my family had a very similar tree, and I recall disliking it intensely at that time, as I really liked the 'real' trees (branches cut from pine trees) we used to have in the house prior to the arrival of the artificial tree. I found this treasure in a country charity sale, and it has been part of my Christmas celebrations for the past 12 years. This tree is in my lounge room, and it's around this tree that I place my Christmas gifts. I decorate this tree with Christmas baubles (many of which are old and have been rescued from charity shops or garage sales, others given to me as gifts), and other treasures.

On the wall to the left of the tree is a display of some of my treasured vintage Santa brooches in a recycled set of frames.

... and more trees ...

2011-11-09T03:55:00.000-08:00

Six more tiny bead decorated trees finished tonight. These will also go into my 'take home' gift basket for Christmas visitors.

A batch of Christmas trees finished

2011-11-08T14:40:00.001-08:00

Twelve tiny bead decorated trees, and two just slightly larger ones. These arer destined for my 'take home' gift basket for adult Christmas visitors (visiting children have their own basket of gifts to choose from).

moving round the lounge room ...

2011-11-03T19:10:00.001-07:00

Miss Maddie on the lounge with one of her Christmas toys (she likes toys that ta;k or sing to her when she presses their tummies). On the wall above the lounge aretwo stitched Lavender & Lace designs (Gift of Peace and Christmas Joy if my memory is correct) and Donna Vermillion Giampa's Santa's Portrait.

and hewre's a close-up of Miss Maddie. I'm sure her eyes are as sore as they look, but she is having treatment for them, and it does seem to be helping.

This pic is of the part of the lounge room where I spend most of my time. My stitching chair is on the right. Santa is an old friend - he's been part of my Christmas for 18 years now. The cross stitch on the wall is Vermillion's 9 Santa Sampler. I stitched it over 2 on 18 count Aida in 1996, and it was absolutely my favourite project to stitch. Everytime I finished a Santa I felt as if I had finished a project.

... and on into the lounge room ...

2011-11-02T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today I'm showing one wallof my lounge room. Here are my Santa candle-holders and candles, and my four Christmas candle-snuffers. They're sitting on one of the many trunks that store my Christmas things throughout the year (and currently house the items that decorate the house in the non-Christmas period). This is the 'white Santa' group.

and here is my collection of Santa bells. The Christmas tree tile at the back was brought home from Kunanurra in Western Australia in 2010.

More of my Christmas house ... the study

2011-11-01T00:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to continue with the study (the least decorated of my living areas). The first pic is what I have to my left as I sit at the computer. The cross stitched Baltimore Album Quilt was a round robin project witht he Life's a Stitch group in 2004, and it's one of my favourite non-Santa pieces. The other cross stitched pieces in this photo were stitched for me by my niece Aislinn, and her sister Ciara painted the framed Santa many years ago. In the Santa mug are my Santa pens and pencils, collected over the past 20 years.
This next pictture shows what is behind me and to the right as I sit here. You can just see Miss Maddie stretched out on her cushion on the left, and on the ottoman next to her are the children's Christmas books. Next to that are the children's play things, on top of a black metal trunk. You can just see (far right) some of my recycled Santa cards hanging on the door that leads into the lounge room.

And in this pic is the Children's corner, where I store the soft Santas and other larger things that visiting children can play with.

Next time we'll venture into the lounge room - where I have much more interesting Christmas things about me.

Welcome to my Christmas house

2011-10-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

I know - way too early in the year to be decorated for Christmas, but that's how it is in my house this year. It's a particularly stressful time for my household health-wise this year, and my stress reduction mechanism was transforming the house for Christmas. I think I did a good job, considering the circumstances. This first pic is my Santa tree. It's on the top landing, and it's what you see if you look up when entering my front door. This tree is totally decorated with Santas (over 300), collected over mamy years and from all over the world. The large standing Santa on the left came from Los Angeles in 1994, and the Santa mask on the wall was a birthday gift many years ago. My cross stitched Santa ornaments hang on the linen press door on the far left. Some of my small Christmas tins are under the tree.

The second pic is what I am looking at now on my right as I sit at my computer. It is my small collection of snowpeople, and it is on my computer desk. I collected these treasures accidentally over the last couple of years, and now I am quite fond of them.

I'll be putting in more pics as Christmas approaches. In case you haven't guesssed, Christmas is a big deal in my house!

Recycled angel

2011-10-16T05:03:00.000-07:00

I adopted this Angel at a local church sale. She was in a sorry state, dirty, and with just one wing. It looks as though she had been strung up as a flying angel, as she had all sorts of cords attached to her body. I removed the cords, cleaned her up, made her a new set of wings, and added some 'jewellery', and de-knotted her hair. Now she is ready to join my other angels when I decorate the house for Christmas 2011. She is my largest angel, at about 1 metre tall.

Two tiny ornaments finished last night

2011-10-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was hoping for four, but sometimes my life interferes with my stitching plans! These are quite small - the larger one measures (excluding hanger) just a tad over 4 cm long and 3 cm wide (that's approx 1.75" x 1.25").

A batch of tiny angels

2011-10-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

I spent this evening making up this group of 43 tiny angels - 21 pairs of earrings and one single hanging angel. When I was tidying up my bead box today I found the clear plastic angel wings I had bought years ago and never used, so I decided to put them to use. I don't think I'll buy more - they're not my favourite beading accessory, though I am pleased not to have wasted them.

While I'm talking of angels - here's an update on Miss Maddie. She is back to her usual self, cheeky and bossy as ever. There have been no medical set-backs, and she is active and behaving quite normally. I am a very happy camper!

I've been playing with the hot glue gun ...

2011-09-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

and made up this batch of 14 angels. Not stitched - these little angels with their button limbs and wire-edged ribbon dresses are glued together, and seemed to take forever to make this year. I threaded the button limbs a few weeks ago when I was holidaying in the van, did the face painting last week, made the 'dresses' this week, and finally got them all finished tonight.

Another finish

2011-09-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

No stitching at all involved in these little wreaths. There are 21 in this batch, The wreaths are about 6cm (2.5") in diameter.

A batch of Angels finished

2011-09-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

Sixteen little Christmas angels. They're resting now but come Chrstmas they'll be hanging from their fishing-line cords, and hopefully bringing Christmas spirit into the homes where they will be living.

More little Chrstmas trees

2011-09-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Six more tiny button and bead decorated Christmas trees finished and framed in tiny gold frames (just 4cm wide and 4.5 cm tall).

Three little finishes

2011-09-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

Christmas gifts for three little sisters. This is one of my favourite designs to stitch, adapted from LA's Christmas Caboodle leaflet published in 1986. I have stitched nine ornments with this design in various colours this year alone, and I hate to think how many I have stitched over the last 20+ years, but I do know there wouldn't have been a year that I didn't stitch at least one.

September already ...

2011-09-02T07:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist the impulse to take this pic of Miss Maddie making herself comfortable on the lounge chair. This is her subtle signal to me that it's tme for us to go up to bed. It's such a pleasure to see her back to normal, when just 2 months ago it really did look as though she was on her last legs. Even the Vet is mystified by her recovery.

Here are my latest finishes - six little framed bead and button decorated Christmas trees.

I just framed the last of them a few minutes ago. There's no designer to credit - they just grew as I stitched - and they;re stitched on scraps of linen.

Another finish

2011-08-31T03:05:00.001-07:00

A Christmas ornament for my 3 year old great-nephew Dylan. The designis by Kooler Design Studios, from the I Love Santa series in LA's Christmas Ornament book #3428 (2003).

Four tiny stockings ...

2011-08-18T04:22:00.001-07:00

for four special children. I adapted this design from a chart in the Littlest Stocking series of Kooler Design Studio's LA book #3428, Christmas Ornaments (2003). It was charted to be stitched on plastic canvas, but I stitched this batch on 18 count Aida, tweaked the design a little and changed some of the floss colours, and I added the cuffs and the back, and made them into real little stockings. They are just over 2.5 cm (1") in width at the top, and just under 5cm (2") long.

I've lost count of the number of these stockings that I have stitched over the past 5 years or so. At a rough guess I would say 28 at least. These are my first for this year, and I doubt that I will stitch any more of these in 2011. But I already have two on my list for 2012, so I haven't finished with them yet!

Miss Maddie is doing fine, and getting away with some very naughty behaviour these days. I am just so happy to have her still, that I don't have the heart to discipline her. I'm going to have to pick up my act, I know - maybe next month! The vet was amazed at her improvement, and all but accused me of bringing along a healthy substitute dog for the visit (just joking - but she did ask twice if the medical record she had on the computer really belonged to Maddie). So, here's hoping the normal behaviour continues. All I have to do is feed her a low fat diet (which she is tolerating nicely) and keep her off the prednisone tablets she was on for her allergies, and withhold the cyclosporin eye drops for the time being. Not difficult tasks, for such a happy outcome!

Happy days ...

2011-08-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Things are back to normal at my house. Despite the warnings from the Vet, my little Madalyn has fought back to health, and is now behaving quite normally, and eating well. I am so very grateful. The Vet is still cautious about her prognosis, and keeps muttering about enlarged liver and spleen, but I'm just taking it one day at a time, and enjoying each day I have with her.

To celebrate her recovery, I have been making some beaded angels. Here are just a sample - in all I have made 84 in the past week. They're not as ethereal as they appear in the pic. Some of the angels will find their way into my 2011 Christmas decorating, others will be Christmas gifts or take-home gifts for Christmas guests.

Things are looking up ...

2011-07-21T06:02:00.000-07:00

Maddie is much improved. Last Thursday the Vet was very cautious about her prognosis, and when the test results came back on Monday they showed liver failure, which the Vet thought may be caused by a tumour. The poor little baby was so lethargic and floppy that you could have mistaken her for a child's stuffed dog - except that she was warmer (she was febrile). The Vet pretty much said there was no hope for her, but he gave me some pain medication and food to mix with water and syringe feed to her. Within 24 hrs she started to improve, for which I am exceedingly grateful. She is more alert and responsive, tolerating her syringe feeds, drinking water from her bowl, walking a few steps, and has started to show some attitude - all good signs that she's on the mend, though she is still a sick little babe.

While I've been sitting around nursing her, I've managed to make one Christmas ornament (above). It's stitched on white 25 count linen (bought in France). The bear design is a freebie from DMC, and I added my own borders.

Sad news

2011-07-14T07:56:00.001-07:00

I had an emergency trip to the vet today with my Maddie (12 year old Maltese). She just wasn't herself, very drowsy and floppy, and not eating. It doesn't seem that she's in pain, but there's obviously something major going on. I'm waiting for blood test results (which may or may not help in the problem identification), and not much the wiser about what's amiss. The vet suspects there's some intracranial problem, given that she did have a couple of grand mal fits earlier in the year, and there are some abnormalities with some of her spinal nerve tests. She's still drinking water, but has taken hardly any food yesterday or today. She has a bit of a temp, but the vet thinks that could be caused by the physiological changes in her brain rather than an infection. She may be having petit mal fits, but I've seen no sign of that today. I am so worried about the poor little pet. I am grateful that she appears not to be in pain, and also that she is not agitated, but appears very peaceful. I hope that tomorrow I can get her to eat some of the special food the vet has given me. She is still drinking water from the bowl, and I am also very grateful for that.

I just assumed that Maddie would be with me for another 4 or 5 years, and I don't like the thought that I may be going to lose her soon. The vet says that they simply can offer no treatment if she has a brain tumour or haemorrage causing the problem.

and more trees ...

2011-07-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

Three trees made up as fridge magnets (bottom row) and one in a little standing frame.

Five ornaments finished

2011-07-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Five little finishes - Christmas ornaments for a family of 4 siblings and their young cousin.

June ornament finished

2011-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

This is the Christmas tree ornament I started on my trip. I added the beads and finished it tonight.

Back home again

2011-06-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

Physically home - but in my mind I am still enjoying the sights of Europe, and my body clock is still set to European time, which is somewhat inconvenient, given the number of pressing items that are requiring immediate action! I haven't yet loaded my photos onto the computer, but I do intend to get them up as soon as possible (hopefully before my failing memory has a chance to forget what the pics represent). I had a temporary panic when I couldn't locate my three SD cards after unpacking my suitcases. I did eventually find them safely tucked away in the study desk drawer where I keep the camera, but not before several hours of searching the rubbish and recycling, the suitcases and everything I had unpacked from them. Clearly my memory is not as reliable as it once was!

In the six weeks I was away, I did almost no stitching. Not surprising, as I took no stitching supplies with me. By week 3 I was regretting that decision, and started looking for cross stitch supplies to buy, but they weren't easy to find, and it wasn't till the third last day of week 6 that I actually found some fabric, DMC thread and needles. It was nice to have a needle in my hand again, and I did manage to stitch up one ornament - I just have to add some beads and finish it up. The shop was in Bordeaux, France and I expected to pay less there for DMC thread than I do here in OZ, but was amazed to see they cost 1.5 Euros (about $1.90) each. I can often buy them here for $1, and the most I've ever paid (in a country shop) was $1.60. Live and learn.

Jolly Old Fellow is packed away and resting in the craft room again. It's unlikely I'll get him out before early 2012. I'll be stitching some Christmas ornaments in July, and then I'll be starting a birth sampler for Amelia. I hope to have it finished and framed for her first birthday in November this year.

Another page completed

2011-05-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

Page 13 is now stitched, and I have made start on page 14. Yay!

A happy night for me

2011-04-26T05:02:00.001-07:00

I have just finished pages 11 and 12, so I am very happy tonight! I now have two complete rows of pages stitched. Now that Santa has a face it's going to be very hard to pack him away, but I do need to do that so I can stitch other projects - like a baby birth sampler for our new little girl in the family, and Christmas ornaments for a number of children (Dylan, Georgia, Lucia, Harper, Thomas, Jackson, Brittany, Matthew, Daniel, Amelia, Kate, Matthew, Megan, and David, and there may well be more names added to this list). SO - I have two more weeks to stitch on Jolly Old Fellow, and then he will be packed away until the beginning of 2012. I'm hoping to get page 13 finished before he goes away.

Small HD tonight - come celebrate with me!

2011-04-12T04:56:00.000-07:00

Page 10 of HAED Jolly Old Fellow is now finished, and I've made a tiny start on pages 11/12. I'm a third of the way through JOF now - yay! I'll be continuing to stitch on JOF till the end of this month, and for the first 2 weeks in May. I'm now hoping to finish pages 11 & 12 (a tiny page - just 12 stitches wide) by the end of April, and in May I hope to stitch page 13, which is the start of the third row of pages. I am so pleased to be able to say that Maddie has had no further fits and is behaving quite normally, except that she's sleeping a lot more than she used to . But then, she's 12 years old, so I guess she;s entitled to sleep more. And when she's awake, she's quite active and just as bossy as she ever was. Great news! I'd like to be able to say that my Dad was progressing well too - but no such luck. He's very labile in his mood, and once again thinks that we (his children and in particular me - as I have the power of attorney and enduring guardianship, and manage all his affairs) have stolen all his money and placed him in prison. The poor old soul never did have any money in his whole life - he was a hard worker, but raised 6 children and did it a bit tough at times. He's very unpredictable - sometimes as sweet as pie, othertimes he's aggressive and very unpleasant. I have heard more colourful language from my father in the past 18 months than I ever did in all the years before that. Until the dementia started I never once heard him swear in front of a female - now it's another story! I feel so sad for him. It's not the life he would prefer to be living, I'm sure. Old age is not something to look forward to, if Dad's experience is any indication. I keep trying to forget that I'm just 25 years behind him on the age scale!

Santa has a face!

2011-04-05T07:10:00.001-07:00

Well, at least he has two eyes now - he's starting to look like a real Santa. It's not a good pic - he's actually nicer when you're looking at the fabric (not so washed out). I'm pleased with my progress - page 10 is about half-done now. I'm now quietly confident that I'll finish the second 'row' (the rest of page 10, and pages 11 and 12) in the next six weeks. I need to pack JOF away in mid May, and it's extremely unlikely I'll find any more stitching time for him until December, if then. I want to get as far ahead as I can before he's packed away,because I would really love to have him framed for Christmas 2013, and there's still a lot of stitching left to finish!

Five little finishes

2011-03-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

Christmas gifts for five little Irish-Aussie girls. The stocking design is a favourite of mine - it's adapted from LA's Christmas Caboodle leaflet (1986). I first stitched it in 1986, and I have stitched it every year since, for different children. My best guess is that I have stitched this design at least 80 times. There are five more of these ornaments on my stitching list for 2011 - but the colours will be different for the next batch.

Home again ...

2011-03-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

refreshed and relaxed after a lovely week camping with friends in beautiful Bonny Hills, on the coast just a three hours drive north for me. It's a lovely area, and I always enjoy my time there. This time was a little sad, as my friend who lives there has just recently been diagnosed with lung and spinal secondaries to the breast cancer she was treated for a couple of years ago. She also had a brain tumour removed last November and had radiation therapy afterwards. Now she has just started chemo for the lung and spinal secondaries. It was good to see her, and also to see how positive (but realistic) her attitude is. I hope that if I was faced with the same situation that I would be able to handle it in the same way that she is.

I did manage to get some stitching time while I was away. I stitched up five little Christmas ornaments - for five little Irish-Aussie girls (from 3 families) who will, I hope, pay me a Christmas visit again this year. I still have to add some beads and make up the ornaments. I hope to have a picture to post by the end of this month.

Midnight Journey is home from the framer

2011-03-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased with the framing, and relieved to have Midnight Journey home safely. The mount is a red flock - I think it looks very pretty, I think that this is the earliest I have ever had my annual Christmas project finished.

I've started stitching on page 10 of JOF - just a tiny part stitched, but at least it's a start! It's gone away now till the beginning of April. If I get the chance in the next week or so I'll make a few Christmas ornaments for visiting children.

Little HD at my house

2011-03-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have just put in the final stitches in page 9 of JOF. Yay! This page stitched up much quicker than I anticipated. It did have a fair amount of solid colour blocks, which I notice the next page has little of. I'll have very little chance of stitching on JOF for the rest of this month, but I'll get back to it in April. I have now revised my target, and I now hope to finish pages 10, 11, and 12 (which is a very small page) before mid-May.I am very pleased to report that Maddie has had no further fits, and seems to be pretty much back to her usual self. I am so happy about that.

Progress pic - Jolly Old Fellow

2011-03-10T04:46:00.000-08:00

Page 9 is now half-stitched. I hope the second half of the page stitches up as easily as the frst half did - I've really enjoyed seeing it grow. I suspect I've sent way more time stitching in the past week than I have spent sleeping. It's always just 'one more little section before I finish stitching for the night'. I do wish I could be more relaxed with my larger projects, but the desire to see them finished takes over and I become slightly obsessed. For this page, I split the page in half and enlarged the graph, and as I stitched each thread I used a lead pencil to mark off the chart. This has worked for me, and yet I got so frustrated last time I was stitching JOF when I tried to mark the chart with highlighter, and ended up in a fine mess. I've never been one to mark charts, but my memory's not as good as it used to be and I was getting sick of counting threads to find my place in the chart.

My little Maddie gave me a fright last week. I was just about ready to head for bed at 2am, and as I pushed my floor-frame away I saw Maddie was fitting on the lounge. Just half an hour before she had asked to go out, and when she came in she jumped upp on the 3 seater lounge and made herself a nest out of the scatter cushions, as she often does at night. She was perfectly fine then. By the time I got to her she had stopped fitting and was conscious but she was very unresponsive and floppy, and became absolutely white and so cold (usually she has a very pink skin - it looked like someone had emptied a tin of baby powder over her, she was so white). The vet later said she went into cardiogenic shock, and we still don't know why she fitted, and why the fit was followed by cardiogenic shock - according to the vet, it's not what usually happens after a fit. I wrapped her up to keep her warm, and held her close, and it was 4am before she started warming up, and 4.30am before her behaviour became more normal. I was so scared that she was going to die. The fact that it was the day before her 12th birthday seemed to make it sadder for me. I got no sleep at all that night, but Maddie slept from 4.30am till 8am and when she woke it was business as usual - her behaviour was absolutely normal, and has been since, though she is sleeping more than she used to during the day. But when she's awake, she's as active as she ever was. We don't know why she had the fit - we're keeping a close eye on her, and she's had no more to date. I hope I can keep saying that! It doesn't look as if she's developed diabetes (which the vet said is one of the things that can precipitate fitting), and she's not on any drugs which would induce fitting. I'm hoping she has no more fits, and I certainly hope she doesnt go into shock again - that was way too scary.

My Dad is doing it tough right now, too He suffers from dementia, and right now he's very troubled. I've had a number of phone calls from him in the past week, very distressed, thinking he's destitute and about to be evicted, and worrying about where he parked the car (he's not had one since 1985, and gave up his licence in 2002), and thinking the police are looking for him. Sometimes he thinks he's in jail, othertimes he thinks he's in a motel or in someone else's home. I wish he wasn't so distressed. I visit him three or four times a week, and always take him out for coffee or an ice-cream, and he always seems to enjoy the outing, and is happy enough to go back inside when we get back to the hostel. He happily heads for the dining room each time a meal or snack is announced over the loudspeaker, but he won't join in any of the scheduled activities. He's always packing up his belongings in most creative ways (eg turning singlets into carry bags by tying up the ends, and stuffing them full of 'treasures'). I am amazed by what he can pack in his walking frame - tied on by belts and braces, it's truly a work of art. I hope he cycles out of this distressed state soon and returns to a more settled one.

Jolly Old Fellow is back ...

2011-03-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

This is where I finished when I packed him away last year: I've all but finished page 8 of 36. Last year I managed to stitch just the one page, and I stitched on JOF for only a bit over one month. In 2009 I stitched on it for 7 straight months, and got 7 pages finished. This project has been a steep learning curve for me. I know know that finishing projects is what I like to do - I'm not that keen on working away on the one project for years and not feeling as if I'm making much headway. Still - I started it, and I love the design, so I will finish it - eventually (God willing). I'm unlikely to ever attempt another project of this size - I'll stick to L&L in future. My current goal is to stitch page 9, and I'd like to have that finished by mid-May. Here's hoping!

Five little finishes

2011-03-01T05:14:00.000-08:00

Four button and/or bead decorated trees, and one Christmas wreath - all finished in small frames. I'm packing away the beads and buttons now - and bringing out Jolly Old Fellow to see if I can make some headway on it over the next few weeks.

First Christmas ornament

2011-02-27T21:53:00.000-08:00

I just finished making this little ornament up. It's for a new little Kiwi, the first grand-daughter of an old friend. On the back I have stitched baby's full name and date of birth.

Moving on ...

2011-02-17T00:16:00.000-08:00

Midnight Journey is at the framers. That starts an anxious period for me. I find it so stressful to leave my project for framing. I keep envisioning all the things that may happen while it's out of my care. I used to be able to tell myself sternly that I was being unreasonable, and that my treasure was perfectly safe - and then several years ago my niece put her first-ever large cross stitch in for framing a few days before we had a major weather event that resulted in severe flash flooding, and the framer's shop was underwater, and destroyed. Luckily, she got her cross stitch back, as the framer had taken it to his home for some reason, but the unfortunate experience reinforced my fears. So right now, I'm thinking positive thoughts and trying to not worry about my project. I should have it home in about three weeks.

I've chosen a lovely not too wide gold coloured carved wooden frame, and two mounts - a gold underneath and a bright red flock on top. It looks nicer than it sounds! I decided against including the verses in the frame - it would have made the framed piece too long for the space where it is to hang at Christmas.

Good news from the vet - Maddie is responding to her cyclosporin eye drops and has now dropped down to having them just once daily. She still has the other drops 4 times a day. Her eyes look so much better now.

Happy Dance with me!

2011-02-15T07:48:00.000-08:00

Midnight Journey is finished. I just have my initials and the year to add. They will probably go in the bottom left corner. The "Merry Christmas" message is adapted from Santa and Angels chart by Sandy Orton. The stitched piece is 38 cm (15 inches) wide and 12 cm (5 inches) high. It's just what I need for the space I have in mind. I am very pleased with how it has turned out.

I am so glad I decided to add the extra pair of reindeer. I am almost certain I will print out two verses of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (the one with the reindeer names, and the final verse) and have them mounted in the frame, one at each end of the stitched piece.

I'll be having a little break from stitching over the next week or so. I'm planning a trip to London in a few months, and it's time to do some work on the itinerary. When I do get back to stitching I have one little Baby's First Christmas ornament to finish, then it's back to HAED Jolly Old fellow for a couple of months.

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

2011-02-13T05:33:00.000-08:00

The reindeer are now all finished. Just few stars, a smaller than charted moon (without the facial features), and the Merry Christmas message to stitch. Yay! Tomorrow I'll get my charts out to decide on an alphabet for the message. Then the next decision will be the finishing. I had originally planned to mount it on a padded board (like a very large ornament), but now I'm drawn towards having it custom framed, as I usually do with my annual Christmas projects. Time will tell ... I'll be trying to make a decision tomorrow when I'm walking up and down the pool. It's good to have something to focus my mind on when I'm walking in the pool - it helps to make the hour go faster.

Beautiful visitors

2011-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

When I opened my lounge room door this morning, this is what greeted me: two beautiful crimson rosellas having a drink from my bird bath. They obligingly stayed for long enough for me to find my camera and take a pic. We are so very lucky here - we get lots of native birds in our garden.

It was obviously my day for bird encounters. Later in the morning we were out on a garage sale run, and I saw over 50 black swans, all adults, together swimming and feeding on the lake. I've never seen that number of black swans in a group over here - the last time I saw a group that size was 25 years ago in Perth WA.

It doesn't take much to brighten my day - those two brushes with nature did it for me today!

Midnight Musings

2011-02-10T04:34:00.000-08:00

Well, we all survived the denture clinic visit, though the dental mechanic was a bit shaken a couple of times - like when Dad assured him that he'd actually swallowed his bottom plate in his sleep. That's my Dad - if he doesn't recall what happened he's quick to provide some explanation that more or less suits the circumstances. Usually it's more plausible than "I swallowed my teeth in my sleep". I've known people to have long conversations with him, and never suspect that he has no short-term memory, and very disordered thought processes. Most people don't suspect he has dementia till they ask him the same question twice and receive two very different but equally believable responses. He often has me wondering. I just have myself convinced that he's quite lucid, then he does something like give me a very convincing description of his lovely baked lamb lunch, when I am still sitting at the lunch table where I witnessed him eating grilled fish, chips and salad. Poor old thing. I keep trying to banish the thought that I'm just 25 years behind him ...

The weather was much better here today - still hot but not sweltering. I was pleased to see Miss Maddie brightened up considerably, and even took herself out for her usual 10 minutes in the sun this afternoon. She politely but firmly requested her tea at 4pm, so it looks like her appetite is improving. Tomorrow will be an exciting day for Maddie. We're going to the lake for lunch with a large-ish group of friends and their dogs, and that's something she usually really enjoys. I hope the weather is kind to us tomorrow! I've given up reading the weather forecasts, as they're always promising rain that doesn't arrive. There I go - I promised myself I wasn't going to whinge about our weather while half of eastern Australia is flooding, and part of Western Australia is burning. I have nothing to complain about!

I've had to re-think my text plan for Midnight Journey. When I actually checked the words of "'twas the night before Christmas" I found that the last line is "Happy Christmas to all ..." not "Merry Christmas to all ...". Silly me! I really do want a "Merry Christmas" message, so my revised plan is to stitch some sort of fancy-ish "Merry Christmas" under the reindeer, and have the entire text of the poem framed with Midnight Journey. I'm thinking of dividing the poem in half, printing it out on a nice parchment-style paper, then placing one piece at each end of Midnight Journey (horizontally). I'm not sure that what I wrote sounds as nice as what I'm envisioning, but I think it will work well. It will also make the framed piece wider, which will suit the spot where it will hang. I need to have the framed piece very wide and as small in height as I can make it. I still have a few days to make a final decision, so I may change my mind again. And again.

I have to be up and walking in the pool in less than 7 hours, so I'm off to bed - soon. I may just finish stitching the reindeer's leg first ...

On the home stretch now ...

2011-02-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

Another pair of reindeer stitched - just one more pair to go now, and then the message to stitch. I've decided to stitch the final line of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. It will go under the reindeer, perhaps in three lines of text:

Merry Christmas

to all

and to all a good night

(if those are the actual words - I haven't yet checked to see how accurate my memory is on this one). Looks like I'll have my alphabet charts out soon, to work out the text details.

I'm starting to feel confident that I may finish this project by the end of February. If I do, that will be the earliest I've finished a Christmas project in the 19 years I have been stitching myself an annual Christmas cross-stitch. As soon as Midnight Journey is off my floor-frame I am going to put my HAED Jolly Old Fellow back on. I will work on it all March and April, and see if I can get at least another page stitched. It really is such a beautiful Santa, and it does deserve to get some attention soon.

Enough about stitching - on to more important news. here's Miss Maddie in her favourite position these days:

She has spent the past week in her basket, except when I take her out for food or eye drops. She's not coping at all well with the heatwave we've been experiencing in the past week or so. Most of the time she's been inside, in an airconditioned room, but even so she's been off her food and very lethargic. I'm not too concerned, though - she livens up considerably when she hears the lid come off the treat container. I lift the lid so carefully, but she'll hear it even though she appears to be asleep in her basket downstairs in the loungeroom. By the time I get to the top of the stairs, she's dancing round in circles at the foot of the stairs waiting for her treat. We clipped her coat before her bath this week to try to cool her down a little. Her hair is now so short that her pink skin shines through - that pinkish glow in the photo isn't an artefact - that's really the colour she is. Her ear infection has cleared up, and those drops have now been stopped, so that's some progress. She is such a little angel with her eye drops. I am so lucky! I'm hoping for good news when we go for the vet review on Tuesday - I'm hoping her cyclosporin drops can be reduced to daily.

It's almost 1am, and I have an early start tomorrow, so I'd better start thinking of bed. Tomorrow I'm taking my Dad for the first of five visits to the denture clinic, and that may be an interesting experience for all concerned. He is suffering from dementia, and has almost no short-term memory. He lives in a secure aged care hostel, but seems to think he's in prison. He is usually quite delightful, but if the mood takes him he can really spit the dummy - not tomorrow, I hope!

Two more reindeer have joined the team ...

2011-02-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

and I'm putting my needle down now till after the weekend. I've started thinking about the message I'll add to this project. It has to have "Merry Christmas" in it - that's the only definite decision I have so far. I'm thinking maybe two lines from The Night Before Christmas - the line with all the reindeer names, and the final line - goes something like "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night". If I go that way, I'll stitch the reindeer line in smaller font at the top, above the sleigh, and the other line in larger font (possibly graduated) under the reindeer. Maybe. I've got another week at least to work it out and come up with a plan.

Maddie's news

2011-02-01T04:36:00.000-08:00

I took this pic of Maddie tonight, in one of the very few moments she was alert and not receiving drops of some sort - she slept most of the day and evening after we got home from the vet visit. Not that I blame her - it was uncomfortably hot today, all day - even sitting in the airconditioned lounge-room. We have another week of this stifling heat to look forward to - though given that Queenslanders are expecting a severe cyclone to arrive soon, I'm not going to complain too much about the heat here.It was odd at the vet surgery today. When we arrived, there were already 3 Maltese Terriers in the waiting room, and another arrived right after us. I've never seen that before. It looked like a Maltese Terrier convention was taking place.

Maddie got a good-ish report from the vet. Although her eyes are no longer discharging, and quite clean, her tear production hasn't improved at all. So, she has to continue with the daily prednisone tabets, the twice daily cyclosporin eye-drops, and the 4 times daily liquid tear drops. She also now has to have ear drops twice a day to clear up this ear infection she's developed. Poor little babe, she is so very good with all her treatments. We have to go back for another review in 2 weeks. I'm hoping the tear production will be back to the normal range by then.

It's time for more drops, and Maddie is stirring, so I'm off to play doggie-nurse.

Santa is with reindeer ...

2011-01-31T07:34:00.000-08:00

well, at least two of them. The other six are yet to put in an appearance. I've just finished backstitching the reindeer, and I'm feeling quite pleased with my progress. I'm well on track to have this finished and at the framer by early May.

I should be asleep in my bed - it's after 2.30am, and I need to be up early to take Maddie to her vet appointment at 9.30am for a review of her eye regime. The poor little love has also developed an ear infection - unusual for her - so that will need treatment as well. This year isn't starting well for Miss Maddie, health-wise. I hope the trend is reversed soon. She is snoring away on her cushion by my chair - at least one of us will be well-rested for our big day tomorrow!

Santa's in his sleigh ...

2011-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

Before I move on to Santa, I couldn't resist showing this pic of Miss Maddie, resting on a pile of cushions she rustled up on the lounge chair. Her eyes look sore, and I'm sure they are, but they are so much better than they were, so I think the treatment is working. We're back to the vet early next week for a progress check, so here's hoping!
and now, here's Santa:

I am just loving this project! Though I think maybe I should have used three strands of floss instead of two - particularly for the darkest red. I may just go back and add another strand of floss to the sleigh - I'll think about it. I decided to backstitch as I finish each section, rather than leave it all to the end. Hopefully the sleigh will be finished tonight, and I'll start on the first pair of reindeer.

Midnight Journey - progress pic

2011-01-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

Two evenings of stitching, and the presents in Santa's sleigh are almost all there. This fabric is such a pleasure to stitch on - I am really enjoying this project. Which is a good thing, as I have bad feelings associated with this floor frame. For most of the past 2 years the floor frame (with my HAED Jolly Old Fellow on it) has sat staring reproachfully at me each time I entered my craft room. I only managed to stitch on it for one month in 2010, just got one more page finished in that time. When I was sorting out my craft room for the New Year, I decided I could take the guilt no more, and promised myself a break from JOF this year. I took JOF off the floor frame and packed the frame up. I'm pleased I did that, as it broke the pattern of avoidance I was developing. Now that I have the frame up again with my new project, I found myself yesterday planning to stitch for a couple of months on JOF when I finish Midnight Journey. It's early days yet, but I'm feeling quite excited at the prospect right now.

I'm just back from a morning walk round the Lake foreshore. I was amazed when we got there today to find the place packed already, at 8am. We had trouble finding a car parking spot, which is not usually a problem at that hour on a weekday. But then, it is Australia Day - and there's no doubt that we Aussies enjoy our public holidays to the max! There were eskies, tables and chairs, sunshades, tents, and pergolas popping up everywhere, and so many boats out on the lake. We shared our walk with so many people and dogs today. Miss Maddie got tired before the walk was over (walking never was her best thing, and now that she's almost 12, she's very definite when she says she's had enough), but luckily I had thought to take her carrying pouch, so I was able to finish my walk wearing Maddie. She loves her carry pouch, and so do I - it's much easier than picking her up and carrying her in my arms.

We're heading out for a BBQ with friends for lunch - I've got my lamb chops packed ready to go!

Happy Australia Day. Welcome to all today's New Australians.

Midnight Journey - started

2011-01-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

This is my new Christmas project - Midnight Journey from Leisure Arts' 1996 book, Santa's Great Book (LA 2840). The needlework adaptation was done by Jane Chandler from original artwork by Peggy Jo Ackley for Family Line Greetings, Inc. and, because I'm not fond of stitching on dark coloured fabrics, this is the fabric I'm using: a beautiful piece of Australian hand-dyed Jobelan 28 count, colour Arabian Nights, by Stitches and Spice . The fabric is just a little darker (and prettier) than the pic.

My floor-frame is assembled, fabric on the rods, and the first stitches are in. Guess what I'll be doing for the rest of this evening ...

As I browsed through my LA Santa's Great Book I said yet another silent 'thank you' to Mary, an on-line friend who sent me this book several years ago. It has been well-used, and is well loved. I have already stitched four designs from this book - Carol Emmer's 'You Better Not Pout', Marilyn Gandre's Santa's Great Book and Santa's Workshop, and Heartprint's Santa Reunion. And I'm not promising to stop at five - there are lots of designs in the book that are just begging me to stitch them!

Just one little whinge at The Universe before I retire to my floor-frame - was it really necessary for my little Maltese to develop an auto-immune disease - we already have four auto-immune diseases in this household! Madalyn is just about to celebrate her 12th birthday, and is my little shadow. Her eyes have been discharging and looking sore in the past few weeks, so I took her along to the vet, who diagnosed an auto-immune disorder that interferes with tear production. So the poor little love now has to have an immuno-suppressant eye drop in each eye twice a day, and lubricating drops in each eye as frequently as every hour. She is so good - sits still and lets me pop the drops into her eyes, like it's been happening every day of her life. Her eyes have improved markedly in just a few days, so I am extremely happy about that - and Maddie appears much more comfortable and happier too.

Well, whingeing time is over - I'm off to my stitching chair...

Decisions ,,,

2011-01-23T15:28:00.000-08:00

I've decided on my 2011 Christmas project - after many hours of deliberation. I wanted something I could hang in my stairwell, to replace a treasured bread-dough 'Merry Christmas' banner that my youngest sister made for me 25 years ago. It's been part of my Christmas each year since then, and for the past 22 Christmases it has hung in my stairwell at this house. It's the red 'Merry Christmas' banner you can see in the midle of the pic above. It was the first thing you would see as you open my front door. I was very distressed in November when I got it out of its wrapping, and the bread dough letters had all crumbled away. There's no chance my sister is going to replace it for me - she's well and truly moved on from there! - so I decided to make something special to hang there next Christmas and in future years. I needed a design that was a lot wider than it was long, and at first I thought I would make a "Merry Christmas" design, but after a lot of thought and chart searching, I've decided on a lovely Santa in his sleigh in the night sky (Midnight Journey from LA's Santa's Great Book). The chart I selected has just 6 reindeer pulling the sleigh, so I've adjusted it by adding another two reindeer, so that it's more 'realistic' and also longer, which suits my need. I'll add a "Merry Christmas" message to the bottom of the stitched design.

I've made a trip to my lns and returned with the floss, and a gorgeous piece of hand-dyed darkish blue Sugar & Spice 28 count Jobelan, so I'm almost set to go! I'll get pics of the chart and fabric and put them up soon. I think this will be one for the floorframe, as the fabric will be wider than my lap-frame. As soon as I've made a couple of urgent phone calls and done as little housework as I can get away with today, I'll be getting out that floor-frame and assembling it so I should be ready to start Midnight Journey tonight. Yay!

Two small finishes

2011-01-21T22:35:00.000-08:00

The initial Santas are adapted from Vermillion's Sudberry House leaflet "Alphabet Soup" (2005) - the 'E' Santa is as charted (except for the floss colours), but I changed the 'G' Santa to make it the same as the 'E' one (the two little girls I stitched them for are sisters, and right now they do like to have exactly the same as each other).

Ten little trees finished

2011-01-15T05:31:00.000-08:00

Six bead and button decorated trees finished in little gold coloured frames: and four bead and button decorated trees finished as fridge magnets:

These will be my last trees for a while. I've picked a design for ornaments for two little sisters, and I'll start them tomorrow.

A little heart ornament

2011-01-11T05:41:00.000-08:00

I've stitched this for my great-niece for Christmas 2011. It's also my entry in a valentine competition on the Stitching under the Southern Cross board (the challenge was to produce a heart-shaped project, or one containing hearts).

For the angels, I adapted one of the angel charts from Pat Waters' A Christmas Collection leaflet (1986)

Two Christmas ornaments

2011-01-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

The little angel chart is adapted from Pat Waters Country Crafts leaflet Christmas Miniatures II (1979), but the border is my addition. The wreath is adapted from JBW Designs Noel ornament from The Ornament Collection chart (1991).

More little finishes

2011-01-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Two more beaded Christmas trees finished as fridge magnets: and three beaded wreaths in little frames.

Some little finishes in the New Year

2011-01-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

Three little framed bead and button decorated trees: Three more bead and button decorated trees finished as fridge magnets:

and Santa in his sleigh, finished in a 10cm (4") round wooden frame (Santa designed by Darla J Fanton, A Cross Stitch Christmas 1989):

The last of my Christmas pics (I promise!)

2011-01-04T21:30:00.001-08:00

This is my dining room (on left) and entry foyer (on right). The bags at the door were a temporary addition to the decor - I mus have taken this pic just before we left for a Christmas visit. and this is a close-up of my Angel Tree. Not a very clear pic, but the best I could get.

So, that's the end of the Christmas pics for this year. A sad day for me!

I've stitched a small Santa and four bead-decorated Christmas trees, and hope to have them framed this evening, so I hope to be back with pics soon.

More Christmas pics

2011-01-04T05:24:00.001-08:00

This is the wall of my stairwell (from entry level up to the bedroom level). The framed Santas are by Lorri Birmingham, and was a RR project many years ago. On the door of my linen press I hung my collcetion of Santa ornaments (I usually stitch myself at least one new one each year). The large Santa is one I bought back from Los Angeles in 1995. The Santa mask is one of my favourites - I got him as a birthday gift 10 years ago.

The pic above is of my 1950s Christmas tree (another favourite of mine). At the left you can see soem of my Santa bells.

This si my Santa tree - another dowelling tree. It's on the top floor landing. Beneath the tree I have my collection of Santa tins. At the bottom of the pic is my set of Aussie 12 Days of Christmas ornamenst (adapted from Di Noyce's design in Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch magazine). At bottom right are some of my soft Santas.

All my Santas. Angels, and Christmas things are safely packed away now, and won't come out again till November 2011. My house is cleaned and re-arranged into its usual configuration. Christmas 2010 is over. Sadly. My thought are already flitting ahead to Christmas 2011!

To mark the New Year, I did my annual craft room clean-out and reorganisation. My work basket is now filled with fabric scraps, Christmas coloured floss, and beads. To start 2011, I'll be stitching some tiny Christmas designs to frame and/or turn into fridge magnets or ornaments. I haven't yet decided on my 2011 Christmas project, but I have made one difficult decision. HAED Jolly Old Fellow has been removed from the floor frame and will be rested this year. So it is now officially a UFO (my one and only - ever!). I have now spent 8 months stitching JOF over the past 2 years (it's not unusual for me to stitch in excess of 60 hours per week, every week), and I have stitched just 8 of the 36 pages. I'm not giving up on JOF for ever - but I have given him up for 2011. He's safely packed away, with all his floss and the chart. But still in sight - just so I don't forget him altogether!

New start for a New Year

2011-01-04T04:42:00.001-08:00

A little late, but (perhaps?) better late than never. Here are a few of my favourite Christmas 2010 pics. The first one is of my most precious Santas - my oldies. Most are from the 1950s, but a couple are relative youngsters - the musical Santa in the orange-red outfit at front right was given to me by my late mother in the mid 1980s. They're sitting atop a display cabinet where I had my 1950s and 1960 Christmas ornaments displayed. Below is my "Angel Room". The tree on the wall is made from dowelling, and hangs from a picture hook. The framed Angel is L&L's Angel of Hope, which I stitched in 2009. I had two other L&L Angels hanging in the room (Angels of Love and Grace), but they were out of camera range in this shot.

And here are my fridge magnets - more favourites of mine.

My house is now 'de-Christmassed', and returned to its normal state, but I'm going to put in a few more Christmas pics in my next post. I had such a lovely Christmas, I just want to extend it a little.

Two little Christmas ornaments

2010-10-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

I finished these two Christmas ornaments tonight. They're Christmas gifts for friends. The designs are both favourites of mine. The stocking is adapted from LA's Christmas Caboodle leaflet, and stitched over 1 on hardanger. The candycane chart is from the Designs with Scissors Calendar chart in the Feb 1989 issue of Leisure Arts magazine.

More tiny cushions

2010-10-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

Front: Back:

Here are two more little 1:12 scale dollhouse cushions I stitched today. Once again the designs are adapted from the 1982 LA leaflet Sachets and Pincushions. These cushions measure 2.5cm square, and are stitched oer 1 on 28 count linen and finished as diamond puffs.

Two tiny finishes

2010-10-04T05:27:00.001-07:00

These little floral cushions are just 2.5cm (1 inch) square, and are stitched over 1 on 28 count linen, using 1 thread of DMC floss. I finished them using the diamond puff method. I made them to fit a 1:12 scale dollhouse. The designs are from an oldie but a goodie - LA's Leaflet 225, Sachets and Pincushions, designs by Anne Van Wagner Young, published in 1982. This photo shows the fronts: and this photo shows the cushion backs:

I'll be making another of these little floral dollhouse cushions in the next few days.

Deja vu

2010-09-25T05:51:00.001-07:00

Yes - it looks almost the same as the one I posted yesterday, but it there are a few tiny differences. The baby I stitched this one for isn't due until January, but I wasn't game to stitch in 'Baby's Prenatal Christmas ' yet - just in case baby decides to make an early appearance. I'll finish this one up closer to Christmas.

Another ornament waiting for a name ...

2010-09-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the same stocking design as the last one I posted, but this one is stitched over 1 on 22 count using 1 strand of floss, and the last one was stitched over 2 on 28 count using 2 strands of floss. This one is for a friend's first grandchild, due in October. I am stitching an identical ornament for my friend's other daughter, whose baby is due in January.

Almost a finish

2010-09-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

I just need to stitch in Baby's name and then stitch this ornie up, but I won't be doing that for a while. baby's not expected to arrive till November, and I have to wait for the name. When I do stitch it up, I'll use green floss and the white beads to lace the back and front together.

The stocking design is from LA's 1986 Christmas Caboodle leaflet. I changed the stocking and cuff width, all the floss colours, the stocking pattern, all stocking contents except the candy cane, and I substituted beads for some of the charted cross stitches.

One last little Christmas tree

2010-09-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the last one for September anyway. This one is my favourite. I love the little (9cm x 6cm) vintage wooden frame I found in a local op shop. I have had such fun making these little trees in the past week. I just love the tiny little star buttons I've used on them.

Another Christmas tree

2010-09-15T06:04:00.000-07:00

Another Christmas tree ornament finished tonight.

A batch of beaded trees

2010-09-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

I
I've just fnished this batch of little trees, which I have made up into little gold frames. The picture really doesn't do them justice, I'm afraid.

Another ornament finish

2010-09-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

This is the second "Santa's Key" ornament I've stitched recently, to make use of a couple of lttle jewelled keys I found in a local discount variety shop. This one will als go to a child living in a chimney-free house.

Another little finish

2010-09-05T06:32:00.000-07:00

I finished making up this ornament tonight. The design is adapted from LA's 1996

leaflet Christmas Caboodle. It is one of my favourite little designs, and I have stitched it for so many children. Often, I stitch the child's name on the cuff, but this time I stitched JOY as charted. This ornament is stitched on 22 count white hardanger.

Over the top?

2010-09-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe just a tiny bit ...

In cleaning out my craft cupboard yesterday, I found a stash of pre-loved Christmas items (extra-large cane wreath, artificial foliage, assorted ornaments and bells), so decided to combine them all into a wreath, which I may (or may not!) have the courage to display this Christmas.

A little finsh

2010-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

I've just finished making up this Santa ornament. The designer is Donna Vermillion Giampa, and it's my favourite of the Santas in her Nine Santa Sampler. I really enjoyed stitching this one - and it broght back memories of stitching the Nine Santa Sampler in 1996. When I stitched the Sampler, I used 18 count Aida, and stitched it over 2, so my Sampler Santas are so much larger than this one.

A few more angels ...

2010-08-27T18:45:00.001-07:00

Not the best pic, I know. The scanner just wouldn't play nice today. The smallest (blue) one is 3 inches (7.5cm) tall. The beads are definitely going away now, and I'll be spending the next hour or so deciding on my next cross stitch project. I feel an ornament coming on ...

Playing with beads ...

2010-08-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've had some fun with my beads in the last couple of days. Here's a batch of wineglass charms - most will be Christmas gifts or take-home gifts for my Christmas visitors. And here is a batch of handbag or zip 'dangles'. They will also be Christmas gifts.

And just because you can never have too many angles, I made another 6 beaded angels - the large wooden ones at the bottom (and maybe the two brown/gold angels as well) will go on my Angel Christmas tree this year, the others will go nto my take-home gift basket for Christmas visitors.

I've packed the beads away now. Back to the stitching next week - after I finish the book I've been trying to read for ages.