Totally Useless SAL - New Moon 17 August 2012 Update

Goodness another month gone by!  Where does time go?  I know that each day is the same length as the day before but I am positive that some go way quicker than others!

Before I show you my TUSAL pic for this month I need to do a shameless promotion of Hubby's giveaway :o)

Hubby has put together a lovely package of 3 different types of fabric, a pattern for a little girl's dress (un-used), a new pair of scissors, a wheel of lovely white pearl pins, a handmade pin cushion (made by hubby) with 8 reels of cotton, a Chinese people pin cushion and 2 small coin purses from Hong Kong.  To enter the giveaway you just need to be a follower of hubby's blog and leave a comment on the giveaway post.  If you're not a current follower - no problem, become a follower and then leave a comment to enter.  Giveaway closes 2 September, so hurry on over and sign up now!

Hubby's giveaway - closes 2nd September 2012

Ok, so onto the ORT Report.  Do you know I can't even remember what I have stitched over the last month - I know it wasn't very much though....

I did finish a couple of little stitches that I can't show you just yet as I need to finish them off and then send them to some lovely pixies.  I have been very slow at getting myself sorted out lately with regards to my stitching..... I do hope that this malaise ends soon so that I can get back to normal.  Do you know the feeling where you want to do something but you just can't seem to get the creative juices flowing - that's been me for the last few weeks.

So here they are:  ORT's and the dragon for the August update

ORT's and Dragon - August 2012

This past weekend was also the IHSW for August - but I didn't get around to signing up..... oops!  Time got away from me again.  Funny thing is I didn't sign up but I did manage to do some stitching.  I have to do a card for the Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties birthday exchange so on Friday afternoon I started a new kitty card.  The design was in the latest issue of Cross Stitch Crazy (Issue 168) and was designed by Durene Jones.  The designs are all crafty animals and there is a kitty knitting - perfect for a birthday card for a crafty lady.

As of last night this is where I am up to...

Crazy Kitty designed by Durene Jones
Cross Stitch Crazy, Issue 168

Well dear readers, that's it for another ORT report.  See you all again same time next month... Pop on over to Daffycat's blog if you are interested in signing up or keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2012 TUSAL.

Til the next new moon on 16 September 2012, happy stitching and may your collection of ORT's keep growing!

New Moons - 2012

16 September

15 October

13 November

13 December

Hi-de-Hi!!

Hi-de-Hi!
How are you all... long time no post for little ole me... but now I'm back.

It is so long since I have done a post that I can't even remember what I haven't told you and have told you all.....

So what have we been doing.. not a lot!
But we did go to Hong Kong for a nice week's holiday at the beginning of August.  How nice was that?!  We had a wonderful time and managed to not get lost on the MTR!  Didn't even spend too much money for a change!  And guess what - I managed to find some crafty stuff in a wedding shop.  No stitching stash, only card making stash - but stash is stash!  Especially as I was able to locate the really long corsage pins that I have been looking for!  These ones have lovely beads on top in red, purple and green.  All ready for me to add my extra little touch!

Corsage pins (lots of corsage pins), iPad covers, small paper flowers,
pin cushions, coin purses and beaded flowers

We found the great Chinese people pin cushions in the Stanley Street markets and bought some - but I never saw them again the whole time we were wandering around!  So next trip to Hong Kong it will be back to Stanley Street to buy some more - I love them and they make such great pressies!

And happy dance - I even managed to stitch on board the plane!  Yes, Security allowed me to take my embroidery needle on the plane, no questions asked... so I stitched all the way there while watching movies and most of the way back home again.  I decided to use the flight as an opportunity to start my Winter "Cool Cat" for the MS Lovers Blog SAL that I am miserably behind in....

MS Cool Cat - Winter
Started and stitched on flight to Hong Kong and return to Perth

The ORT's had their own little bag to travel in, and I even managed to work out how to use the thread cutter that I have had in my sewing basket for many a year.... me being a scissor person just never got the hang of the thread cutter, but out of necessity I have now learnt how to use it properly!

I have managed to get a bit more done on Winter Kitty in the week since being back home, but not a real lot... I came back from holidays with a touch of the flu which has upset my joints and my hands so most evenings I have vegged out on the couch in front of the Olympics!  I did manage to get a card made yesterday but I will leave that creation to the next post.

Now I realised early this week that I didn't do a IHSW report before going away - but I guess when you don't stitch anything you don't have anything to report!  But fingers crossed it will be a different story this weekend...

Before I go I have to leave you with a couple of photos... the first is a photo of one of the "28" parrots that come into our backyard every day.  They used to come and visit our apple trees when we had fruit, but now that the fruit has all finished we have started leaving them apples to eat in a couple of tubs.  The cats love watching the parrots fly down and eat the apples.  A couple of the birds take the apple back up into the tree, others eat them on the lawn or perch in the strawberry bed tank... and this one decided to perch on "Phil's" butt!

"28" enjoying a nice fresh piece of apple

The photo isn't the best as I took it through the kitchen window and hence through the cat netting... but I think you can get the gist of what you are looking at!  Do you see those nasturtiums - they have spread all over the raised area of the backyard - which is great as they are keeping the weeds down!

And finally, what I know you have been waiting for - a new puppy photo.  These photo's were taken the weekend before we went away.  We will be bringing our new little girl home on 1st September at this stage. The final contender for the name this week is "Mitzi".

Isn't she just adorable, and so tiny!

Well me lovelies, it is time for me to sign off and go to bed....
So til next time when I will have a TUSAL update, and hopefully an IHSW update, for you as well, happy stitching!

Totally Useless SAL - New Moon 19 July 2012 Update

Hello again.... it's me here again!

I am typing this as we watch the last leg of the Tour de France.  While our Cadel Evans has not been able to repeat last year's win, Hubby is happy as there will be a British winner instead!  Congrats to Bradley Wiggins.  A wonderful ride by a fantastic sportsman - and well done to all the riders that took part.  It has been fabulous to watch every night over the last few weeks, even if we couldn't stay up and watch it to the end every night.

So on to the ORT report..
Yep, I know - late again....  The ORT report was due on 19th July, but unfortunately the weekend has just flown by and got away from me.  But as they say - better later than never!!

So here it is in all it's glory - my lovely jar of ORT's with it's dragon protector.

ORT's Dragon and Miss Mouse

This month's ORT's and dragon are joined by Miss Mouse and her special beaded pins.  I have been making some beaded pins on and off for a couple of months now and the ones in Miss Mouse are the ones that I haven't as yet attached to a card or pin cushion.  I love doing these beaded pins - so simple to do but so effective when done.

So what craft things have I done over the last couple of months that I can show you.... let me see now...

Completed card for Catdragon (Alison)
Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties Birthday Exchange 2012

The first one is the finished card that I made for Alison as part of the Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties Birthday Exchange.  The card was about 2 weeks late....  The design was from a Cross Stitch Crazy magazine and the designer of the kitty alphabet is Maria Diaz.  A very quick stitch this one.  The paper, flowers, ribbons etc came out of the stash boxes and the pin was one that I made.  I love the beads that I used on this pin - the picture doesn't really show the pin off in all it's sparkle.

Butterfly & Buddleia - designed by Debbie Cripps
Needlecraft magazine issue May 1997

I stitched this card for Valerie from Fee le point as a thank you for the little snow globes that she had sent me  and also to say thank for the pixie gift that she sent me when my MS Lovers Blog spring exchange package didn't happen.  Valerie loves butterflies and I thought this card was just the ticket!  I also sent her a tinkling wind chime with a butterfly.  The design was a free cover kit that was in amongst my stash and as you can see from the date of the magazine I have had it for a long time just waiting for the perfect occasion to stitch it!!  The papers and flowers were all in my card making stash and the pins I made from the beads in my stash.

Card - Butterfly card designer unknown
Cross Stitcher magazine issue 70 (June 1998)
Scissor keep - Summer Strawberries designed by Debbie Cripps
Cross Stitcher magazine issue 110 (June 2001)

The card and scissor keep above I stitched as a thank you for Claire from Dulcinella's chaos.  Claire was also a pixie who sent me a lovely exchange replacement gift, and also as a pick me up as she hasn't been too well of late.  I read awhile ago on Claire's blog that she likes strawberries so when I saw this design in my free gift stash I knew that I just had to stitch it for Claire.  But, instead of turning it into a card I decided to try my hand at making my very first scissor keep.  I even made the red and black cording from some DMC thread.  The papers and flowers for the card came from the stash box... and the pins I made.  I was really pleased with the finished scissor keep.  The strawberries design is so lovely and I think is much nicer finished this way than as a card.  I even had the perfect backing fabric in the fabric stash that I share with hubby....

Back of scissor keep for Claire

I have 3 other little things that I have stitched this month, but I don't want to show them to you just yet as I have to finish and mail them before I can reveal their magic.  They will all be going to the other 3 pixies from the MS Lover Blog.

I will later this week do a post to show you the fantastic parcel I received in the mail from Olga (Ollie) in the Netherlands as part of the MS Lovers Blog Summer Exchange, and I can also show you what I stitched and sent to Olimpin in Mexico as that has also arrived safe and sound.  Oh yes, I was spolit again!!

Before I go I must show you what else I have recently received in the mail....

Chatelaine's fabric, thread and bead kits....
Can't wait to rip these open and start!

As you know I recently stitched my first ever Chatelaine designs - the Rose Garden Freebie.  I absolutely loved stitching Rose Garden and decided that I wanted to do another one.  I actually had a Chatelaine sitting in my stash that I have been a bit nervous about starting, but now I am going to start it.  I have been onto the European Cross Stitch website and purchased the thread and bead kits for the two designs that I have - Mini  Mandala II and Alhambra Gardens.  I decided that if I am going to do these I might as well do them properly with the proper silks etc.  And with the Aussie dollar being at parity or above the US dollar it makes heaps of sense to get these kits while I can.....

However, don't get too excited dear readers - I have to finish off a couple of things before I can start the Mini Mandala.... namely a birthday card for August & September Craftbubble exchange, 2 cool cats for the MS Lovers Blog SAL, and a Christmas Card for the MS Yahoo Group Christmas Exchange.  Once I have made a good start and finish on these things I will then allow myself to start the Mini Mandala.... that will be my reward!!

Well dear readers, that's it for another ORT report.  See you all again same time next month... Pop on over to Daffycat's blog if you are interested in signing up or keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2012 TUSAL.

Til the next new moon on 17 August 2012, happy stitching and may your collection of ORT's keep growing!

New Moons - 2012

17 August

16 September

15 October

13 November

13 December

Normal Service will be resumed shortly

Web image

I am really sorry that I haven't been around for awhile... in fact it appears that I have been missing in action for nearly a month....  How do I know that - well, next weekend is IHSW and my last post was my TUSAL and IHSW from last month!

I'm not really sure why I haven't been blogging lately.... my motivation for most things seems to have waned a bit over the last few weeks since we lost Daisy dog.  I have been trying to keep up with everyone's blogs but even that has been a wee bit slow as well!  Apologies though as I haven't been commenting as much as normal and there are an awful lot more posts on Byline on my iPhone that I still haven't managed to read yet!  But I will get caught up soon....

And to top it all off Hubby and I have been doing a lot soul searching as to whether we should move closer to the city.  This is the second time this year that we have thought about moving and both times we have come to the conclusion that we should just stay where we are and save the money we would have spent on moving.  In this economic climate I think that saving money is probably the best solution all round....  And the other thing is every house we looked at just didn't cut it in one very important area - no decent sized room for a craft room!!  After all when you have 2 crafters in one house who both love collecting stash you need a decent sized room to store it all in!!! ;o)

So with all the emotion of losing Daisy, and then with all the stress of thinking about moving house, plus work has been very busy for both of us, by the end of the day I just don't seem to have the energy to do much else...  so that's why I haven't been around very much.

Hopefully things will start to pick up soon especially now that the Doctor has decided that I need a weekly shot of iron in the rear end!!  So fingers crossed my motivation will come out of hiding and then slowly everything else will fall back into place....

I may have been a bit slack on the blogging front but I have managed to do some stitching - albeit very small things.  Stitching bug is still here but not enough to focus on a big project.  I have been doing some thank you stitching for the little MS Lovers Blog pixies that sent me pressies for the spring exchange.  I haven't quite finished them all yet but I will show you some in my next post - which I promise won't be in a month's time!!

Hubby and I do have a bit of good news to look forward to.... besides our holiday to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks!

About a month ago we met by pure chance a lovely lady who lives down the road with a gorgeous Cavalier King Charles who just happened to be pregnant!  The three beautiful puppies were born just over 2 weeks ago and the last two weekends we have been visiting and falling in love....  We hadn't planned to get another puppy so soon after Daisy going but sometimes fate deals a hand that you just have to play with.... and that is what we are going to do.  We are going to take one of these gorgeous little puppies - a cute little Blenheim girl.

Our new baby - 2 weeks old

Now we just need to think of a name for her??

I also must do a post on the 11 Questions thingie that is going around.  I have been tagged by two lovely bloggers (Kaye - Kitten Stitching and Anne - Doll's Musing) and I still haven't managed to answer their questions....  So a bit of thinking to do and then I will do a post to reveal all!!

So that it from me for now.  I just wanted to pop in and let you know that I am still alive!!

Oh, and if you get a chance keep an eye on Hubby's blog as he is planning a giveaway and he is looking for hints as to what makes a good giveaway.  He is slowly collecting bits and pieces so pop on over and give him some clues!

See you all again very soon for some pure energy stitching... or something like that anyway!

Keep safe, and happy stitching...

Double Bubble! TUSAL & IHSW Update June 2012

Hello again!  Long time no post....  I do seem to be a bit behind in everything this month for some reason.  Not sure if it's the weather or just getting over the stress of losing Miss Dinky Dog....

Things are getting back on track now... so July should be a better month for stitching and blogging (I hope).

This post is a bit of a double bubble for you - a TUSAL update as well as an update on the IHSW that was last weekend... or wasn't as is the case for me.

My ORT's jar is full of lovely thread this month but as all my stitching was secret stuff I can't show you any pretty pictures.  Sorry.... pictures will come once the packages arrive at their destinations around the world.

ORT's and Dragon - June 2012

Now for my IHSW report - well there is not a lot to report here.  All I managed to do was a bit of stitching on Sunday as we were out most of Saturday.  My little bit of stitching is to be turned into a card for the Craftbubble Crazy for Kitties birthday exchange... a card that is late!!

Cat Alphabet - Designer Maria Diaz
Cross Stitch Crazy

I can't remember the issue of Cross Stitch Crazy this design came from but the designer of the kitty alphabet is Maria Diaz.  Such cute kitties!  I should get this made into a card over the weekend and then in the mail on Monday to the UK.

If you want to see what everyone else has done over the weekend, drop in on Joyce's post for this month's IHSW and click on the list of links!  There is lots of visiting to be had and no doubt a lot more stitching to see than I have to show you this month!!


Before I go I have to show you the gorgeous package that arrived for me last week on a day of rain and fog and cold winter winds!  Nia from Caixinha de Pirlimpimpim sent me a lovely box that she painted and then added this delightful Margaret Sherry hedgehog to the top.  And look what is inside!  Nia made these gorgeous flowers and filled the box!!  Thank you Nia :o)

Cute little hedgehog

A box of sunshine from Nia

This lovely little gift from Nia was a replacement gift from when the Spring Exchange didn't work for me..... I think I have been well and truly spoilt by the ladies on the MS Lovers Blog!  Thank you all so much :o)

Well dear readers, that's it for another ORT report and an update on last weekend dismal stitching weekend.  See you all again same time next month.... Pop on over to Daffycat's blog if you are interested in signing up or keeping in touch with what is going on with the 2012 TUSAL.

Til the next new moon on 19 July 2012, happy stitching and may your collection of ORT's keep growing!

New Moons - 2012

19 July

17 August

16 September

15 October

13 November

13 December