*Yawn*

Here it is Sunday morning, 7.15am - and I've had a shower, had breakfast ... and been awake for a good hour, of course DH is still in bed snoring - I wish I had the ability that once one of the kids woke up I could go straight back to sleep .... grrrrrrrrr. Of course, I have to leave at 8.00am to drive to Wanganui anyway, but I could have done with even half an hour more snoozing *whine, whine, whine* ... enough of the grumping.

Happy Birthday to my big boy - he turned 14yo yesterday :)



Hard to believe I've been doing this motherhood lark for 14 years! ... and of course one of the biggest milestones of 14yo is that he is now legally old enough to babysit - he's a good responsible boy and I've been leaving him at home with the other kids while I go for a bike ride, or pop out to the shops etc for a while - but it's a relief that it is now "legal"!

... and other news ... I officially accepted the role of Secretary/Treasurer for our cricket association (Horowhenua/Kapiti) yesterday. It is a paid position that they have funding for, so I will be invoicing them monthly for a 12th of the total amount, so it's a regular payment and I don't have to worry about counting hours. They have said that they definitely want me to keep a rough track so after a year they can up (or down I suppose) the funding so it meets what I should be being paid. Unlike soccer that I've had to set up from scratch, and where I have to deal with 700 whinging members (okay, they don't all whinge, but sometimes it feels like it!), and I'm forever battling for a few simple admin things - because this is the Assn, it is beyond the itsy bitsy club level, and the position has been held by someone else for quite a few years so is already established. I'm still thinking "oh heck, do I need to cram anything else in my life" - but if it is too much I now have the option of dropping soccer ... still thinking about that one. The nice, but scary too, thing is that all of sudden with two "clients" I really do have a small business going :)

... and to stitching ... what this blog is suppose to be about! I've finally got down to one RR square left - I was going to stitch it tonight, but just checked and mailing date isn't until 22nd August, so I'm going to leave it for at least a week and have a break from the obligation stitching. I need to take pictures of a couple of things, but will do that tomorrow. I just finished an exchange piece for the PS Board - I need to actually put it together into a needlebook now, hopefully I'll find time to do that in the next few days and send it off in plenty of time before the August 10th mailing time. Fingers crossed I can do a nice job of it - I'm still learning when it comes to this finishing lark!

After skipping a week of my new rotation - making the RR's last two weeks rather than one, I've got to decide whether to just skip the Silver Lining week and go back to the start and work a week on a Mirabilia again - or start a Rose ... I'll probably go with the new start :)

and in latest Beck Family sporting accomplishments - Cameron's soccer team won their league, they are the top KCU 10th grade team and played the Promotional Wellington Region league this season, the top eight teams go on to play Junior Premier League next year, so they well and truly secured their place for that AND yesterday they had a "fun" match against our 11th Grade JPL team (Wellington Soccer was cancelled because of wet grounds), and they WON! They are such an amazing team. Of course I can't forget me either - I've made the North Island Ladies team this year, we shoot the North vs South matches the weekend of 20th August - four years ago before I stopped shooting for a few years, I was making the Ladies and Open teams ... but I haven't been shooting well enough to do that this year - maybe next year! It will actually be quite nice to shoot just the one match, rather than two ... which involves shooting nearly all day!

That must be enough rambling for another day - think good driving vibes for me today, I'm driving to Wanganui for a rep match and the roads will be awful, it's been raining heavily all night - I like to drive, but not in dangeous road conditions :(

Oh, and a quick edit to add - Virginia! Thank you for your comment :) I don't shoot at Trentham, but at Levin - I shoot "smallbore", 25m, indoors - Trentham is mostly fullbore (bigger bangs, further away from the target LOL). Anyway - I can't work out how to reply to you via the comments - but a coffee sounds nice - email me at kcu@paradise.net.nz :)

I'm drowning in RR's!

Last week was "small things" in my rotation, meaning I planned on stitching RR's, exchange pieces etc. Well, it's had to carry on to this week. Normally I tend to stitch RR's as soon as I get them - but decided to wait until their week this time ... gosh - suddenly I had five! RR squares, and an exchange piece to do!

Anyway - I'm finally feeling on top of it again, I have one more RR square to do plus an exchange for the Prairie Schooler board.

Here are three squares, I've just about finished the ornament for the ornament RR and will pick out my PS piece later today, and probably start stitching it tomorrow, and then have just one quickish RR square left to do.

PS Santa for a mini RR-


Bent Creek Snowman Arch for RR57 - this is the last square for this RR!


Santa for RR57 (Santa RR) - I didn't need to stitch both squares this month, but it's nice to be one RR less :)


It sounds like RR55 (these are international Yahoo group RR's) has been held up somewhere, which is a bit sad - one is in postal land somewhere, mine is with one of the stitchers, but there seems to be a hold up - this is the same stitcher who sent the one that seems to be lost in the Postal "lala" land. I hope there isn't a problem. On the other hand, unless I am very sure about the people I am involved with I don't use expensive fabric and try not to let too much heart into it, so far I've never lost a RR and have a wonderful track record - but I know these things do happen.

and talking of RR's there is a RR board on ezboard I'd never heard of until someone posted that there was going to be a Mirabilia RR happening via the RR board - will of course I had to check it out LOL ... so I'm signing on for that - it will start as the other two international ones are finishing so it should work out well - that or I'm a sucker! LOL

In other parts of life - family is well, back at school after two weeks of school holidays, so back to the normal rushing and juggling.

I had my eyes tested yesterday - they've been feeling "tired", not so much blurry or not being able to see, but I could tell they weren't quite right - for a "normal" person I knew they were probably fine, but because I do so much close-work, computer work, and shooting I think I'm more aware of how well mine are working. Anyway - I am slightly long-sighted (probably age creeping up on me) and could wear glasses, but the optician and I agreed that I didn't really need them quite yet - if I was really struggling, yes, but I'm not really. If I go back to serious competitive shooting I will think about getting some shooting frames and a lens though - with a few tests we did, I could definitely see better with a lens in for the distance between my eye and the sight - but not enough difference to fork out the money quite yet.

I'm back on track with WW this week - I've lost and gained the same 2kg a few times in the last couple of months - time to get serious again and lose the last 10kg. So far so good!

I'm sure I could ramble on a lot longer ... but I'd probably bore you silly - must be time to get a couple of soccer jobs done and then on to starting to sort out the boys' bedroom. What an exciting life I lead!

Poncho and Round Robin

Two finishes! yay!

Charlotte's poncho -



of course, now the big green eyed monster sister wants one too, so I have to knit another ... it was a pretty quick knit though - I've only knitted at work and in spare moments, like at gym. The neck is already stretched though - any ideas on how to keep it from doing that? (Besides tying down Charlotte so she doesn't pull and tug at it?)

and RR57 - this is an International RR Group I joined up through Yahoo - it was a nine person one, so has taken about a year. I've got the last two squares that I'm stitching at the moment and then I will be finished the stitching side too. I'm VERY impressed that mine has returned so quickly - my next square is due to be sent the first week of August, so I'm not behind - everyone else was QUICK.

Anyway - here it is - it is a Linda Myers pattern - Quilt Sampler VIII - Classic Quilt Squares, I stitched the border and the other eight people all stitched two squares each - if you look close the names are at the top and bottom of the border.



Last day of the school holidays - not sure if I'm delighted or not. I love the casual mornings and being able to sleep in, but hate that my never perfect house is even harder to keep remotely picked up ... I know it shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things ... but it is frustrating. My sister has a perfect house all the time and on a bad day (like today) I can't understand why mine can't be like that - on a good day I know that I have a very full life and am trying to teach my children to pick up after themselves, that it doesn't happen magically ... rather than "only" spending time tidying and cleaning and following the kids picking up after them so they have no clues.

*sigh* can you tell it's a BAD day ;)

Couple of Updates

Rose Arbour - after Tuesday, I finished off another couple of roses and did a tiny bit of the urn on the other side.



and Setting Sail after yesterday - hardly any change really, but a BIG accomplishment - I stitched the purple shading right over to the right-hand side where it finishes ... now I can "just" start filling in all the gaps :)

(Taken out to fix side-bar)

and a close up of that half - more for me so I can see how I'm progressing week to week



... and a photo of the lovely Charlotte after crashing *finally* at about 10.30pm Tuesday night - I was at work and my niece was babysitting ... along with nearly 14yo David and his two friends ... this is Charlotte on the couch with her heroes William and Michael either side ;)



The teenage babysitting is great, but not so much fun when the Miss 3.5yo won't listen to anyone and stay in bed!

I just received one of my many RR's back in the mail ... it was a quilt pattern, and looks great! I'll take a picture next time I have the camera out :)

I also finished knitting Charlotte's poncho yesterday - just need to sew it up. I think I'll knit the beanie to go with it as well - then I'll take piccies :)

Righty-oh ... off to feed the troups, four of mine plus two nephews.

Okay, Drawn Thread confession ...

Just for Katrina ... here are The Drawn Thread charts I purchased from Stitching Bits and Bobs, and received last week - I'm almost embarrassed to admit how many I bought ... but I do plan on stitching all of them, really truly!

Christmas Cheer
Warm Hearts
Little Spot Sampler
Joyous Christmas
A House in the Country
Winter Welcome
Autumn Arbour
Winter Arbour
Summer Arbour
Spring Arbour
The Brown Ranch Sampler
North Country Sampler

They should keep me going for a while! Most of them are slightly older ones, I do like the later ones and plan on getting them, but DT's seem to disappear a bit and become harder to find, so I did a wee stock up (that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!).

Of course ... now I can't wait to start them ... but I must, I must, I must, finish off some WIP's first!

Okay - 9.40am here and I'm still in my PJ's ... time to go shower and get some work done so I can stitch this afternoon!

Another Monday gone, already ...

Where do the days go! I feel like I've hardly stitched at all for about a week, tomorrow is definitely going to be an "at home" day ... after I've sent off the soccer cheques for the month, typed minutes, given the house a vaccum and dust ... I plan to stitch! I took the kids to the shops today and they were horrors, well the two girls were in particular, so I swore we're not going anywhere near them again this week. Actually, we've been busy, and I think they are tired and need a couple of days just to vege as well.

My family went out to dinner on Saturday night - it was Dad's birthday (66) and his twin and another sister were here from further up the Island so he booked a family restaurant and off we went. I have five sisters and two brothers and we ALL managed to get there - plus various partners and some children - here is a link to some photos - I tried to get one of each of us ... you can pick out the family resemblances! LOL

Shooting on Saturday - I managed a 99, then 96, then another 99, which makes a 98 average - yay! ... onward and upward :) I've booked in to get my eyes tested next week, I've always had perfect eyesight, but lately am noticing that after a few hours of stitching in the evening I'm continuously rubbing the right one, its more "glassy" than unfocussed, but I think it is first signs of the eye muscles getting tired (*shhhhhh* and old!), I think it's affecting my shooting too though, once I'm finished that eye feels "tired". For a "normal" person my eyesight is probably still really good - but because I use them for such precision stuff, I'm probably seeing the changes earlier than some people would notice *sigh*.

On to stitching - here is a picture of my progress on Chatelaines Christmas Mystery II after last week's stitching - not a lot really, I didn't even finish one part, so much for trying to catch up!



This week it's on to "little" things - I have about 4 RR's to stitch up, so I will probably do an extra week to finish them all off ... it's my rotation and I can do what I want! LOL

Time for sweet dreams for me ...

Apologies to Bobbie!

For all the *almost* evil thoughts I was thinking (I'll say almost, because I was only sort of thinking them LOL). I put through an order with Stitching Bits and Bobs about a month ago, check the order status religiously, got all excited when it was sent over a week ago and have been checking my Post Box everyday since ... and was starting to get worried because it hadn't arrived yet. Now, I got caught up in the very slow, disorganised orders that happened last year and have since got over it and like the new being able to check to see where orders are at, and am happy to give anyone a second chance and realise that sh** happens, and the important thing is improving and fixing. So when my order wasn't arriving I'll admit to thinking, oh no, not again ... BUT!

This morning when I checked and it STILL wasn't there I figured I'd check at the counter just in case they had a parcel and had forgotten to put the little "parcel waiting" card in the mail box, or I'd lost it, or whatever, and turns out it was a good call ... the parcel was there - yipppeeeee ... and apologies for all evil thoughts!

I did a big order of lots of Drawn Thread patterns, a lot of them the older ones - hence the longer wait which I was fine with, knowing they probably wouldn't be in stock ones, thank you Open Polytechnic for the extra payment to DH and being able to pay for them ;) ... now, I desperately need to sit on the Wagon and stitch up what I've got ... and a thank you to Bobbie for another great order.

Stitching wise ... I haven't touched any for TWO days, that's almost unheard of for me! Work was really busy last night, and another late one - I got home about 1.30am, and being school holidays then slept until 8.00am this morning and of course made the rest of the day a rush before coming into work again now. I've got my knitting with me if it gets quiet, and hopefully I'll be home early enough to put at least a few stitches in ... I might start getting shaky withdrawals otherwise.

Tomorrow is Saturday and I've got a shooting championship in the morning, then home to get some haircuts for the kids done, and then out to dinner - which my parents have booked for 5.30pm - why so early I have no idea! Although it might mean I'm home early enough to do some stitching (am I desperate or what? LOL).

I'm off to drool over my new DT charts now while I'll wait for some more work to come in :)

Quickly editing to add - Carol asked me what fabric I'm stitching Rose Arbour on - it is a piece of the "old" Blended Needle Hand-dyed, I can't remember what it was called, but it was supposed to be a creamy antiquey look, but is actually quite yellowish. It is pretty, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it, I think all the white roses are going to get lost in it - a darker colour would have been better.

Rose Arbour update ... etc ...

Here is Rose Arbour after Tuesday - I added her hair and hair piece and a couple of roses and the attached greenery -



I'm loving this one day a week thing - after a couple more weeks I'll probably work a week on her and get her all finished up, I can actually see the end now!

Yesterday was Wednesday and Setting Sail day but I didn't touch my stitching at all ... now I'm not sure whether to forget it for week and carry on with the Christmas Mystery today like I should be, or pick up the kit. I know stitching time is going to be short and I'd really like to finish at least one part of the Xmas Mystery, but on the other hand my guilt complex makes me think I should work on the kit. It's work tonight so it will depend whether I have time to stitch there or not, work tomorrow, then a busy day Saturday - I don't see a good stitching session in my future until at least Sunday when it will be time to change to my "small things" slot ... oh, the decisions! LOL

On a good note - I didn't touch my stitching last night because I had interclub, where I shot two 99's yay me! ... it's a little mental accomplishment, I have a lot of trouble shooting well at that particular range, I always feel twisted for some reason and can't quite work out how to fix it ... which would be fine, but we have our North Island vs South Island matches there in August and as I'm in the North Island Womens team, I really need to work it out, so it was nice to shoot okay ... hopefully that will help the mental block, if nothing else!

I took the kids to Palmerston North yesterday and we met DH and had lunch at his new work (Massey University for those NZ'ers that read and know where I'm talking about! - he is Student Liasion something or rather ... basically the marketing/admin side of promoting the university to market the enrolment side) - we then stopped at his Uncle and Aunty's place in Levin ... and that was the whole day gone.

Today is shopping day, I've done that. Also had to sort out a few things for soccer, still need to do this month's accounts - it might be a last minute job on Sunday, I can't see a clear two hours to get it done any other time. I have my two nephews here right now while Steph is at work ... I have trouble with their loudness - I know I have five children and should be used to it, but I dunno, they just seem to talk so loud and be so loud ... I think mine must be relatively quiet (DH and I both are so I suppose that makes sense ;)). But in a fair swap mode ... I'm going to have my nails done when she's finished work and she'll stay with mine for an hour or so, so it works.

Now I need to go clean up lunch after seven hungry children and work out what I'm going to stitch and maybe get half an hour or so in before I rush out again.

Yay! School Holidays ... and a Sampler Gameboard Update

School holidays start today! Yay! ... I slept until 7.30am (an hour later than usual) ... had a semi-leisurely breakfast, once I finish here I need to do a quick tidy of the house and then Cameron and I are going for a bike ride, I just dropped off Charlotte at daycare - no holiday for her, I can't risk breaking the routine and the rest of us need a holiday from her ;)

Happy Birthday to Josh! - he had his 11th Birthday yesterday ... and a happy birthday to his cousin Robert (also 11) today - they were born about 5hrs apart in the same hospital :)


(sorry, it's sideways ... I forgot to turn it when I uploaded it, now I can't work out how to do it later).

and on to stitching ... here are two pictures of Sampler Gameboard (by The Drawn Thread).

Before I started stitching on it last Sunday -


and after I'd finished with it Saturday night -


I'm pretty pleased with the amount I got done - not quite quarter of it, but close. Considering I stitched on my Tuesday and Wednesday pieces AND knitted half a poncho - I'm feeling pretty accomplished LOL

Okay ... off to put a wash on, pick up after everyone ... and then on my bike!

I've been knitting!

I bought some of the fun "Ostrich" wool from the "$2 Shop" of all places, finally found the "perfect" poncho pattern and started it at work on Thursday night - between a quiet Thursday night and a quiet night last night I've managed to stitch the whole front - I'm so pleased with the way it looks - it was a pretty plain pattern with garter stitch "stripes" - I used plain wool for the plain parts and the Ostrich wool for the stripes ... it looks much better than the pattern (well, I think so anyway!). You'll have to wait until I'm finished for a picture though.

Of course, because I was knitting, Sampler Gameboard got a wee bit neglected, but I'm still hoping to have quarter of it finished by the end of the evening which is when I will finish this weeks rotation.

Rhiannon has a gym competition in Palmerston North today, so I'm taking Charlotte too and we'll stay there the night, it's not that far away at all - but it gives them a treat, and gives the boys a break from the whining girls as well. DH will be able to enjoy the boys' soccer without watching to see where Charlotte is. Of course, I might question my sanity after a few hours of watching the competition and keeping Charlotte happy - she is definitely not a child who likes sitting still for more than five minutes - she'd rather be doing the competition as well!

and on a sad note - I can't not say anything about the tragic happenings in London, my thoughts are definitely with all of those people, it must be a scary place to be right now. From the media coverage we are seeing they seem to be handiling the logistics of it all very well - but the emotions that you can't see must be awful right now. I don't understand how people can hurt other innocent people and think there is any good reason whatsoever to do so.

Have a happy and safe weekend everyone :)

Lots of white ...

that is what I stitched on Setting Sail yesterday - which makes it hard to see the progress. I actually feel like I achieved quite a lot on it - you just can't see it!

Here is a piccie -



Back to Sampler Gameboard today - which I'm thoroughly enjoying, it will be hard to put away when I change to the Christmas Mystery next week! (at least that's what I think is next week, I'll have to check).

This rotation is working for me really well so far - I actually feel like I'm beginning to achieve something and working on older nearly UFO pieces is pretty satisfying, it will be even more satisfying when I actually finish some of them!

I do have a drawer full of RR's waiting for me - well, two plus an ornament RR - but I'm being strong until it is "little projects" week.

I'm also thinking of starting a poncho (knitting) ... I've got the wool, got the pattern ... just got work up the enthusasim, I'm really good at starting knitting and never finishing it ...

I'm coming down with a dose of tonsilitis (not sure how to spell it) ... trying to decide whether I need to see the Dr or not - it's something I get fairly regularly, usually when I'm a bit run down and can usually shake it off without antibiotics ... but it's Thursday, the girls and I are away Saturday and I'm beginning to think maybe I should make an appointment for tomorrow, just in case. I hate doctors :(

Otherwise - I've just come back from walking with a friend, need to go pick up Charlotte from day-care, might get half an hour or so stitching in, then it's off to the school's open day to watch Rhiannon dance, and poke my nose in the boys' classes. Then home to get ready for work etc etc this evening ... the excitement never ends! LOL

Miss Rose Arbour has some skin now

I'm a bit disappointed that that is all I got done yesterday (the skin parts, and a some of the dress backstitch that I had to wait for the skin to be done before I could finish it off) - I had planned on a good long evenings worth with DH being away for the night, but by the time I'd picked up, dropped off, fed etc my kids plus their friends and bathed the girls and put them to bed it was after 8pm before I got to sit down and relax!

Away it goes again for another week, it's the Setting Sail kit tonight ... I'm home alone again tonight ... well me plus five children, not really alone! LOL ... couple of soccer trainings and gym training this afternoon though so lots of in and out before I'll get to sit for any length of time.

I finally finished a skirt for Rhiannon yesterday - I cut three out ages ago, two for Rhiannon, one for Charlotte. The first one I made for Rhiannon was too big (it should fit her next year), I made this one a bit smaller, now just Charlotte's to go - then I need to make them both a couple of leotards for gym.

Here is the skirt I finished yesterday (on wild pre-brushed ready for school Rhiannon) -



btw - looking at the photo, it looks very plain ... but it has darts and zips ... all very scary stuff for me, hence being so proud of it! LOL

Well. I've written this in two parts, started it before 8.00am, I've got the kids to school, gone for a quick walk and now it's 10.00am and time to go hang out washing and go do the weekly grocery shop - then back home to the 2nd load of washing, lunch ... and then hopefully some stitchy time!

The Kiss Update

Here is a picture after a week ... bit disappointing really! I did a bit more of the pink, some of her hands and most of the urn - not all that much for a weeks stitching, although I didn't work on it Tuesday or Wednesday which are often my bigger stitchy days.



It's quite hard to put it away knowing I probably won't pick it up for another four weeks ... if I stick to my rotation! This week it is DT's Sampler Gameboard, I'm looking forward to it, I haven't worked on it for ... well, a long long time LOL

Another hopeless shoot yesterday - 97, 96 and 98 ... a lot more inners (.1's which means the shot goes right through the dot in the middle) ... which is a sure sign my position and general shooting is improving ... I just need to do the same for every. single. shot.!

My Dad just rang to ask if we wanted to go to dinner on the 16th of July ... his birthday (66th), but mostly because two of his sisters (Jill and Marion) are coming down for a holiday so it's a chance to get the whole family together ... and um "whole" for us is my 7 siblings, plus partners, plus 20 or so nieces/nephews, some of their partners, one great niece ... which = lots of people! ... and I should add the funny name story here ... my Dad is a twin, his twin is Jill ... and ... guess? yeah - his name is Jack LOL - it should be a fun night, I think I will get a sitter for Charlotte, but we'll take the other four kids - he is booking a family restaurant expecting kids to come too.

I love Jo's new template ... so much so that I'm thinking of paying out the money to get my own done ... I'll have to have a think about it though.

Four soccer games yesterday - three losses, one win. Cameron's "star" team (playing in the Wellington Junior Premier League) is top of the table, with one (hard!) game to go ... I think no matter what happens next week they will at least come first equal - WTG boys!

Rhiannon has another gym competition in Palmerston North next week, it's not *that* far, but I'm thinking of taking Charlotte too and staying away the night with the two girls ... the boys can have a boys weekend (without whining little sisters) at home, and we can have a wee girls weekend ... if Charlotte is in the right mood it will be a good weekend, if she's being difficult I'll come home exhausted! LOL ... I'm hoping the thought of having a "big" girls weekend away will be enough to make her act grown up too ;)

Anyway ... Sunday today - it's nearly 10.00am and I'm still in my jammies ... time to go have a shower, then some soccer accounts to do, baking for lunches ... then a nice long bike ride - then (if I have time left) I'll finish sewing Rhiannon's skirt and maybe start on Charlotte's ... I'm planning a sewy week next week, with my cross-stitch in the evenings, DH is away for a couple of nights so I will have some quiet evenings :)

Rose Arbour and Setting Sail Updates

So far so good, I'm sticking to my rotation plans ... okay, okay, it's only been about 4-5 days, but that is GOOD for me! LOL

I'll update with a Kiss piccie after Saturday night when I finish the weeks stitching on it.

Meanwhile - here is Rose Arbour, my UFO Tuesday slot - this week I stitched the bits sticking out of the greenery in the pot (I can't think of the right name for it!) ... funny enough once I'd stitched that all of sudden it doesn't look to onerous to getting this one finished. It's an experience stitching her though - firstly I picked out the colour of the fabric from my then very small stash (probably about 4-5 years ago), so the colour isn't quite what I'd pick now, and also I know the white roses are going to get lost on it. I also started this before I discovered (or understood!) about starting on a vertical thread - so it's stitched on the horizontal - which feels very strange and I find the thread slips under the thread of the fabric, not only that but the crosses just don't look as nice, they leave holes, or look tight, or something ... but I will slowly perservere and finish it, eventually!



and here is my Setting Sail kit - I'm hoping to finish this by about October so Deb has time to frame it for her DH, Jim, for his birthday in the middle of November - she said take my time, and when it's finished she'll give it to him for whatever is coming up next, birthday, Christmas, anniversary, whatever - she isn't worried about how long it takes ... but I just want it out of the way!

I stitched the fleshy coloured part of the sail, bit of the blue in the sea and started coming down the sail last night ... I was watching the exciting NZ vs Australia netball game at the same time, so I wasn't stitching very fast!



... and while that piccie is just up above, I'll answer the Stitchers Blogger Question -

Q. When starting a new project, do you start in the middle? If you do,once you've worked down to the bottom, do you turn your chart andfabric around so that you are stitching the top section downwardsagain or do you just stitch upwards from the middle?

I usually start in the middle, but then try to climb upwards so I can stitch downwards, which I prefer. I often start smaller things or samplers from the top left-hand corner though. I often stitch upside down, usually when I'm stitching big blocks that are working upwards, I usually use the sewing method for the bottom leg for big blocks of colour, and for some reason I can't do that going upwards - my hands just don't work right. I only just came across the wonderous revelation of stitching upside down a year or so ago - I love it! In the picture above, I stitched most of the pinky part of the sail (yes, that is going to be a sail ...) with it upside down, but now I've got to a point at the top of my work, I'll start working downwards, the right way up - which I prefer.

Right now it's 8.15pm and I'm at work ... and there isn't any, so I'm going to stitch on The Kiss - I didn't get my usual hour or so this afternoon because Charlotte did something to the TV and I spent an hour trying to fix it, finally deciding that the cable connection was broken, spent a good half an hour on the phone organising someone to come and fix it tomorrow morning ... only to find just before I left for work that it was magically working again ... no idea why, except maybe I was trying the wrong channel on the TV *blush* ... I have to ring tomorrow and admit I was being blonde, at least I don't have to spend the whole morning waiting for a repairman though!

In family updates -

- DH started his new job last week and he is loving it, the people are so much more positive and friendly - a much nicer atmosophere to work in.

- my sister ran her first marathon on Sunday and ran it in 3.34hr, 2nd woman, 1st in her Master age group (40-44yo) - yay Dianna! (... I really missed those genes LOL).

- Charlotte is all better ... but the bad tempernessed seems to have lingered, I watched a programme called "Little Angels" last night that sorts out toddler bad behaviour ... I'm embarrassed to admit that a lot of "Emily" reminded me of Charlotte ... but on the good side, a lot of what they were doing to handle her and try to make changes, I already do *phew* ... pretty automatically ... you learn a wee bit after four children, before the fifth ... even if the fifth is a lot harder work!

- Said sister above, told me her nearly 15yo daughter is smoking pot ... she is 10mths older, and very close to my nearly 14yo son, so I asked him about it ... he doesn't know anything (they don't tend to hang out together at school or with the same friends) ... but did say he could quite easily get hold of the stuff if he wanted to - eeeeekkkkk! This is when I really hope the good sense we've tried to teach him (and he seems to have) is going to come through ... maybe Miss Controlling 3.5yo isn't so bad afterall - at least I can put her in her room for time-out if she is naughty. David is taller and bigger than me now, I'm not sure what I'd do if he suddenly decided not to listen to me - pass it on to bigger and taller DH, I suppose!

Can't think of anything else - that's probably enough rambling for a day anyway!

Couple of pictures

I've joined one of the ornament RR's - first mailing date is tomorrow, and of course in my usual meeting deadlines fashion, I finished stitching my ornament tonight. I can't send the supplies etc tomorrow unless my Bits and Bobs order arrives, I originally ordered the Crescent Colours from there, then realised they were going to take a while (she was waiting on a back order), so ordered them from somewhere else ... but I still need two cards of two of of the colours so need that order to arrive before I send off the RR - I'm hoping it will be in the mailbox tomorrow!

Anyway - here is Topiary Tree by Brown House Studio - stitched with Crescent Colours and on 32ct "Mocha" - a hand-dyed from Silkweavers.



and also a picture of The Kiss, before I started stitching on it tonight - I plan this to be this weeks stitching (except Tuesday and Wednesday), so will take another updated picture at the end of the week.



... and now it's time for sweet dreams ...

97-98-97

Some secret code? Number of stitches I've stitched today? no! it's my shooting scores from the Wairarapa Champs today ... it is the start of our provincial championship run ... last week was Southern Hawkes Bay, but I missed it because Rhiannon had her gym competition. Next week is Wanganui - then a rep shoot - then on to Hutt Valley, Wellington, Horowhenua, Manawatu ... it's a busy few weeks. Those scores are out of 100 - I should be (and usually do) shoot a 98 average, so they're not great - but I've been struggling all year and actually feel like I'm beginning to work things out - I just need to remember what I've worked out ... for every single shot. All gooble-de-goop? yep, thought so ... but it helps to get it out of my head LOL

I've finally done it ... worked out some sort of rotation - that will hopefully last this month, and maybe longer ... I think I've got to forget what I haven't stitched for a couple of months, what I've started and should be working on ... and just slowly get through things, and still stitch things I enjoy :)

So here goes -

Week One - Recently started Mirabilia - Petal Fairy/The Kiss/Sleeping Beauty.
Week Two - DT Sampler Gameboard, then a new DT/Elizabeth Designs/Bent Creek (I have lots of these kitted and should stitch them).
Week Three - Chatelaine Christmas Mystery - I'm about 3 parts behind.
Week Four - Small stuff - RR's, ornaments etc
Week Five - Silver Lining - I've had the single roses ready to go for a while.

AND, Tuesday will be UFO day - Mirabilia's Rose Arbour to start with. Wednesday will be Lighthouse kit day. I usually manage to do a fair bit of stitching those days, so hopefully I'll start getting through those dreaded "must finish" things.

We'll see how it goes ...

Today I've stitched on my Ornament RR - I should have a finished picture tomorrow :)

It's after 11pm here now, and I've got to have Rhiannon at the gym for another competition at 7.45am tomorrow *yawn* so much for a Sunday sleep-in ...

Lots of pictures!

Now, if I updated more often, I'd put up pictures more often! I was all organised to do this at work last night, plus think of a good rotation for the month of July - but darn it, we were BUSY - unbelieveable really, it has been quiet for weeks and weeks ... I pack my stitching, packed some letters and minutes I need to type up for soccer last night, and I didn't touch any of it - in fact I didn't finish until 1.00am (instead of 11.30pm) ... and wasn't home until nearly 2.00am ... so I'm feeling rather jaded today.

Anyway - on to the pictures!

Bent Creek - Bee True


Bent Creek - Snowman* (I love this one!)


Lizzie*Kate - Daughters


Lizzie*Kate - Sons


I stitched the above ones for ebay - I've stitched the Lizzie*Kate ones a few times for gifts, ebay etc - they are always popular and fun quick stitch.

... and a couple of RR's

Candle theme -


and Fall theme -


... so I've been stitching, but nothing big, I really need to get on with some of my WIP's.

We did a wee bit of furniture shopping a couple of days ago and our lounge looks so much nicer - still not magazine showy kind of thing, that won't happen for many many years I imagine LOL, but -



doesn't it look so much nicer than it did a few days ago? Oh, that's right - you never saw it, I wonder why! ... we still desperately need a new lounge suite, but that will have to wait a while. The chest of drawers have lots of my cross-stitch "stuff" in them. I used to have a chest that acted like a coffee table next to the couch where I stitch, that always ended up a big mess because it was such a hassle to open and close it to get anything out. Now everything is in the drawers - a drawer for threads and beads and such, one for WIPs, one for magazines, one for junk ... can't remember what the other one has in it. But it's so nice to pack up my stitching off the couch and put it away and have the lounge actually looking tidy, and I don't know, if feels so much nicer sitting in there stitching when it feels comfy and "nice". We used to have a entertainment unit where the drawers are that dominated the whole room, it's nice to have the TV tucked in the corner out of the way. Also nice to have a real "grown up" coffee table, for years and years we've had little children that were always possibly going to run into corners etc ... our household must finally be getting older :)

That will do with the rambling for now ... if it's quiet this afternoon at work I'll work on some goals and rotation ideas.

When I grow up ...

I want to be like Carol ... I love checking her blog everyday and seeing her daily update of her stitching, I love the way she sticks to her goals and finishes things! LOL ... so, if I try really hard, do you think I could stick to some goals AND update with pictures everyday? I can only try ... having said that, I don't have time this morning to upload the photos I've taken of recent finishes - all small things (sheesh ... great start, right?).

... and here is my updates on life and stitching -

Stitching
I've been working on small things - I can't seem to focus on anything big right now. I've finished a couple of Lizzie*Kate's and Bent Creek Snowman*. I'm now stitching a couple of RR's that need to go out this week. I also signed up for one of the Ornament RR's and am really looking forward to that. I received my specialty (Crescent Colours) threads the other day for my ornament, so I will be stitching that next and organising it to be all packaged and sent out by the 27th. Then I need to sit down and think about what I want/need to stitch over the next month and make some real goals - I work much better if I have goals to drive myself towards.


Family
Are all well, except Charlotte who has had a bad run. She picked up school sores (a bacteria skin disease, I can't remember the proper name right now) and has been on antibiotics to get rid of those for a week, they looked like they were getting better but then just weren't healing and over the weekend she was quite feverish and not a well little girl at all ... so another weekend trip to the afterhours later and she has new antibiotics and some skin cream, plus a yucky cold virus in her nose/throat/glands ... she's a lot better today, but still whiny and grumpy (oh yay!).

The other kids are all well - all doing well. Rhiannon had another gym competition in the weekend - they all look so cute :)

DH's Job
He accepted a new job with Massey University last week and resigned from his old one, there was a bit of tension and excrement flying ... but after much of that, he left pretty much straight away and got paid some extra to keep his mouth shut, which was an unexpected bonus ... means we've paid off a loan, a couple of bills that we've been putting off and stocked up with firewood ... plus other bits and pieces. He's actually taken a slight pay cut so I'm trying to be sensible and set us up a bit so we hopefully avoid struggle mode for a while (I hate being grown-up, I'd much rather go spend it all on stash! ... oh, okay okay ... I did spend a little bit on stash ... but not as much as I'd like ;) LOL).

Weight Loss
After doing so well for about five months, I've really struggled this past couple of weeks - last week was terrible, I ate everything within sight and handreach and didn't go to my weigh in on Friday. I'm struggling to come right this week and WILL go to weigh in, no matter what. I don't want to slip and put on a whole lot of weight that I've lost ... and know I can in a heart-beat, very easily.

That's all I can think of for now ... stay tuned for more regular up-dates (hopefully!).

Oh, BTW - where have the colour options gone? For the text? ... or am I just being blind?

I'm home again :)

After a lovely relaxing weekend away ... I stitched, read, walked, biked ... all as I planned. I hate to admit it, but I was quite pleased to get home too LOL, I probably would have got bored if it had been much longer, but it was soooo nice to be commitment free for a few days/night. I had a pretty freaky drive there, they closed the Desert Road due to snow, and I think I slipped in a little tiny pocket of time that they had the alternative route open, but it was a very very slow drive over that part of the road, lots of snow and lots of ice ... the trip took an extra 2.5hrs and I was pretty tired by the time I got to the motel.

Went shopping Saturday morning and was very very excited to try on a pair of size 16 (NORMAL size!) trousers and find that they fitted! I still can't quite believe it :)

... and of course on to important things - here is what I stitched (finished last night after I'd got home ... but I can count that as the weekend, right?)

The Drawn Thread - Welcome, stitched on a Silkweavers Hand-dyed Linen called Primitive.



Also stitched a little bit of Petal Fairy ... just because I wanted to start it while I was away! LOL I finally decided to stitch this on Jobelyn Waterlily, I did get a hand-dyed Pipi just for it from Countrystitch, but after much debating in my head decided I liked the greenier colour, the pipi is quite brownish.



And while I'm uploading pictures - here is Peace and Plenty that I finished about a week ago -



Oh my gosh, my fingers are freezing - it has definitely turned into winter here, and my hands always seem to feel it more than anywhere else, typing is an adventure!

Righty oh ... it's off to work I go, I need to sort out the continous soccer stuff that never goes away. I'm thinking about finishing with the paid side (read - Senior side) of it at the end of the year, I'm getting really tired of battling with the same old things ... trying to get them to pay their fines (for bad behaviour, yellow and sometimes red card offences), trying to get them to pay their subs and record them properly for me etc etc, I've been doing it for three years and nothing is changing - topped off my DH telling me that when he was down at the clubrooms on Saturday night he saw them hand out the fine invoices and the players just swore, screwed them up and threw them away, and the manager just smirked. Life is too short to put up with that crap. I'll happily carry on with the junior stuff on a voluntary basis ... but I'm really tired of the other stuff.

Anyway - I really do need to go do some boring filing!

Some blurry gymnastic photos -

Rhiannon (6yo) had her first competition for the year today ... they look soooo cute in their uniforms!

Here she is with her team-mates - she is in the middle with the shorter, blonder plaits.



... and a couple of blurry ones from her beam routine, I just can't get good photos of their gymnastics!





... and one of Charlotte, just because she is cute, playing soccer in the back-yard -



Rhiannon did really well today - well down from the top ones (but not at the bottom!) ... but what really makes me proud is she really enjoys it ... some of the kids (and parents!) are so intense and nervous ... she just goes down and does her stuff and loves every minute. She got really consistent scores right through too, all 7.5ish - the starting value is 9.0 - meaning they aren't the hardest routines (which would start from 10.0), so the points taken off, come from 9.0 - make sense? I am very slowly making sense of it all! LOL

Stitching wise ... I finished Peace and Plenty a couple of nights ago AND finally finished the first HALF of the kit I am doing for friends ... I will take photos of them tomorrow sometime.

Monday again tomorrow ... boy it rolls around fast - we've had a busy weekend with the kids' sport this weekend, so it has just flown by, not to mention having to be out of the house by 8.00am both mornings ... did I mention I'm looking forward to next weekend and sleeping?