It's been a while!

Not sure why I haven't blogged - just a combination of busyiness and losing my blogging mojo I think.

Lots of pictures today - two weeks of catching up!

Firstly - Charlotte started school last week, hard to believe my baby is five! ... so, last weekend was a busy one. We had her birthday party Saturday afternoon, then a BBQ in the evening - family and a few close friends ... but with my family that = LOTS of people in our not so huge house ... and of course the weather wasn't that great. But it went really really well, I think everyone had a great time. We'd hired a bouncy castle for Charlotte's party and it just fit, very snuggly, into our garage - that thing was wonderful! It kept them amused at the party, and then the little kids amused later on :)

Here's some photos ...

Charlotte and her friends -



and this next photo is what DH took, got framed and surprised me with at the BBQ, along with a lovely little speech thanking me for the last 15yrs that I've put into our family *sniff sniff* He did really well, firstly I had absolutely NO idea he'd got all the kids together (he did it the Friday afternoon while I was at work), secondly he actually got ALL the kids together and co-operating for a photo, thirdly he took a GREAT photo (he's usually pretty useless LOL) AND he got it printed, framed and everything ... I'll keep him a while longer ;)



I'd hoped for a quiet week this week, but I should know by now that that just isn't going to happen for me - I've realised that I've been saying that for the entire year - that next week will be quieter, I think I've just got to face the fact that I'm a busy lady. I did finally sit down on Friday and stitch during the day, but even then I got a few phone calls from the Cricket Assn asking various questions. Maybe, just maybe, this week I'll get a chance to get my sewing machine out and make lots of ornaments up!

... and of course, I do have a few stitching pictures - not a whole lot though! I've also stitched most of my next Mirabilia square, but haven't got a couple of the Kreinks I need to finish it off - I need to order them from overseas somewhere, but need to work out what else I need, that isn't going to break the bank - cuz we are poor at the moment! But there is no way I'm just going to order two Kreinks and pay the postage for them ;)

Righty, righty ... stitching pictures ... ahhhhh I lied, I have NO stitching photos - I just checked and the couple of ornaments I was going to show you, I already posted about! I did finish one other, but I have sent it off for an exchange, so it's secret :)

Here is a picture of the wall-hanging I made for Charlotte's Daycare though -



I've also made quite a few Christmas cards - I went to a class called "Five Quick Christmas Cards" and got some ideas and spent an afternoon last week making a few more, I'll take a photo of some of them at some stage.

I guess I've answered my own question about no blogging ... I haven't got any stitching to share! LOL

Thank you everyone who answered my Pay it Forward - I think I have four people - still need one more! I will get back to you all for addresses etc, I just haven't quite thought about it properly yet :D

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

Stitch it Forward

I've been reading about this fun and generous idea on lots of blogs ... and saw it on Leah's blog this morning so dived right in - I've always admired Leah's handiwork so will be honoured to receive something from her ... and even better I get to play - I love stitching/making things for other people! So ... the first five people to respond to this post in the comments section will receive, within the next 6 months, a craft item made by me - not necessarily cross stitch. The second part to this is posting on your own blog and paying it forward to another five people. Now, I get the feeling that perhaps most people are already involved? So, I'm not to worried if people who are already busy making up five different things still leave a comment in my blog, but have already started a Pay it Forward before now (did that rambling make sense?).

I'll have a couple of non-cross-stitch crafty photos later ... I love creating and am loving that I'm getting the time to try lots of different things! Life is GOOD :)

Stitch it Forward

Stitch it Forward

*shhhhhh* this post is a secret ...

Secret? Well, I took this photo of Josh and Cameron yesterday and Cameron said "don't you dare put it on your blog or anything, I know you will ..." ... and I promised him I wouldn't - so you didn't see this! I'm doing a scrapping class this afternoon - something about a photo and canvas, which sounded interesting - but I needed a photo to take with me. The girls are always prancing in front of the camera - so I forced the two boys to let me take their photo - and this was the result - it's such a nice shot! I'll show you what we do with it - should be interesting :)


... and not so secret, Charlotte did an "Introductory" Gym Competition yesterday - they basically just had them do circuits, and then judged them for one element of each circuit. They didn't give out firsts, seconds or thirds - but they all got a participation certificate with marks on it - Charlotte got a couple 0f 9's and the rest were late 8's. But what I'm most proud of is the way she went out on the floor, listened to all the instructions AND when one of the coaches got her to repeat something about 3x and took her hand to show her something - she didn't freak and come running to me, something that she would have done only a few months ago - she has grown up so much and got so much more self-confident, it's amazing - and wonderful! This is her on the beam (it is SO hard to get good photos at the gym! - the audience sits too far away and there is too much movement).

and warming up - the little girl in the black is her best friend - they are at kindy together and her mother is head coach at the gym (also Rhiannon's coach) - so they see each other at kindy and also usually get 10-15min play together at the gym three times a week when I drop Rhiannon off for her coaching sessions. Her friend has just started the after-school gym class with her too.

... and lastly ... another secret ... this is the photo David Jnr took of his room yesterday - I've been at him for a while to tidy up in there ... and finally resorted to the "nobody comes to stay until it is DONE" threat yesterday - so he finally got in there and tidied it. This is the photo that he took - that pile of "stuff"? is JUST from under his bed - he'd cleared out a lot more from the floor before he dragged that stuff out. Ignore the yucky tacky curtains - I really really want to change them to blinds or something, but he is such a messy little so and so, they will just get wrecked, so I'm still trying to think about what to do to cover the windows and not have them wrecked (his window faces out to the road).

Now, it's 9.00am and definitely time I was in the shower and ready to do some work and then finish off the wall-hanging!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend :)

Lots of photos! - Stitching First ...

"Noel"

JBW Designs

I'll probably use this for an ornament exchange, I'm not sure really - I just stitched it because I liked it! ... and then, just as I was finishing it realised this is the ornament that Lara sent as an exchange to me last year - I couldn't believe it took me that long to remember LOL ... that's what happens when all the Christmas things have been put away for nearly a year.

As usual, my stitching stuff is at the othe end of the house, and I can't remember the designer for this one! It is our last month's NZ SAL though, from last year's JCS Ornament magazine.

and as promised last week - a picture of Pink Carnations (designed by Sweetheart Tree). I bought this as a kit from a LNS (Nancys) in Wellington - I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it - I love pink, and love pink carnations - when DH sends me roses (*cough splutter* hasn't happened for a while!) he will have them put a pink carnation amongst them because he knows I like them. I'm planning on using it as a box top, somehow ... need to think about it more - probably the same way I made a couple of Christmas gifts last year.

I haven't stitched a lot at all this week - I've been working on an ornament for a 12 Days exchange that needs to go out at the end of this week, I'm hoping to have all the stitching finished and then get the 12 gifts together tomorrow, including making up the ornament. I love this exchange - my cross stitch buddies on Cross Stitch Crazy do it ... we make up a package of 12 small gifts and then open one a day for 12 days - I LOVE putting together the 12 gifts - that's even more fun that opening of them!

I've also been trying to get a wall hanging finished as a gift for Charlotte's kindy. She finishes on Tuesday! I finished putting the top all together yesterday, and will quilt it together today/tomorrow - I should get it done in time, I'm definitely not as paniked about it as I was a few days ago when I just couldn't make time to get my sewing machine out. I've done lots of work for soccer AND cricket last week - but the good news is that it's almost done, soccer just about ready to hand over and cricket - the annual handbook is ready to print, and website all updated with this years draws and results - now it's just a quick weekly job to update results after each weekend.

Enough rambling ... I will do a separate post for some other photos!

October into November

Another month gone ... we're nearly at the end of the year!

October was a pretty good stitching month for me :)

1. Finish the finishing of my smalls exchange - yes!
2. 1st Mirabilia RR piece - yes!
3. Ornament - Yes!
4. 2nd Mirabilia RR piece - No
5. Ebay item - Yes (need to put together though)
6. 5hrs HAED - Yes, plus some, and finished!
7. NZ SAL Ornament - Yes!
8. 10hrs Stargazer - no
9. Ebay piece - no
10. 5hrs The Kiss - no
11. Finish piecing quilt together - yes and finished!

Also started and finished Sweetheart Tree's Pink Carnations (picture to come)

November Goals

My most exciting goal this month? To get Charlotte off to school - woohooo!

Oh - and stitching, this is going to be an ignore my big pieces, Christmassy month - lots of exchanges, lots of ornaments to make up and lots of gifts to sort out.

1. NZ SAL Ornament
2. 2nd Mirabilia RR piece
3. Wall-hanging thank you for Charlotte's kindy
4. Finish (as in put together finishing) the ornaments I've stitched this year.
5. SBEB Ornament exchange finished and sent off.
6. Cross Stitch Crazy Ornament exchange finished and sent off.
7. Cross Stitch Crazy 12 Day gifts to send off.
8. Couple of "mummy" board gifts, including an ornament, to send off.
9. NZ Ornament exchange to finish.
10. Teachers gifts to make/organise (Kruser, Ross, Trim and McDonald)
11. Gym coach gifts to make/organise (Sandy, Helen and Gill)
12. Bags to make for Christmas Gifts - Mum, Betty, Deb

I'm hoping to get most of things done in November - and have written them down, mainly so I don't forget anything! I also plan to have a huge sewing week the week that Charlotte starts school - I also should finish my soccer job that week (BIG yeeehaaaaa!), so am planning a "ME" week - I can't wait!!!