Vampire Stitchers

The Crafty Princess and I have been musing about becoming vampires.....the advantages being live for ever and could stitch all night....and maybe get something finished.....and then there are vampires like Aidan Turner............

Christchurch you are in our thoughts!

Just thought I would post these pictures of Christchurch which were taken a couple of years ago.  I have seen the damage to the cathedral on the news, but I know they will rebuild and it will be beautiful again.  So our hearts go out to all the people who have lost family and friends and have had their lives ripped apart.

All the natural disasters that have come upon us in the recent past just show how little control over our world we really have, and maybe we have to accept that we can't control everything.....But the media really plays on people's apparent need to wallow in other people's misery......wall to wall coverage......Reporter to woman whose house had just crashed to the ground crushing her granny inside......"How are you coping?"......stupid and thoughtless (My rant has now finished....sorry)

Is Insomnia Catching - if so where do you get it!!!

I have so many things I want to do and get finished I need to become an insomniac.....I have about 6 quilt tops waiting to be quilted.....one from a NUMBER of years ago. I have 97 projects queued on Ravelry.....and a heap of wool stashed away.   I have Golden Wood and the Sampler, and now thanks to my lack of any semblance of self control I have several more charts waiting to be started, and at some stage, finished.  I have also got a plan in my head to do a birth sampler for each of my three kids.....I even have a place picked out on the wall up the stairs where they (notice the plural!!) will all hang when they are finished.  "If wishes were horses all men would ride"

But I have been working on Golden Wood during this block of days at work and have finished 4 pages.....I just love that tearing up of the chart photocopy, all covered with highlighter, and then chucking it in the bin......and all the lovely straight edges on the work in front of you

I have counted and there are only 11 Elvish ladies to go!!!!

I changed the hair colour so it is close to my blondish hair - do you notice that the hands on the hips make me look like I am nagging even on my wedding day - Ah well start as you mean to continue I say!!!!

Here is Bear - a lovely Labrador who loves everyone in the world and want to chew to pieces every other dog in the world - not a very restful dog to take for a walk I have to say....but as charming as he can be with people.  He has the temperament of a lap dog and would love to be able to snuggle up on the lounge in the evenings.......

Search the Collections - Victoria and Albert Museum

 Here is a link to some wonderful samplers that are kept at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London..........inspirational............if you get a chance to go to the V&A grab it with both hands....the most wonderous place for anyone who loves crafted things....collected from all over the world...........rooms full of silver, rooms full of lace, rooms full of samplers.....


Search the Collections - Victoria and Albert Museum

Dreams...........................

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams......

Dreams...............

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,I would spread the cloths under your feet:But I, being poor, have only my dreams;I have spread my dreams under your feet;Tread softly because you tread on my dreams......

You are a fine role model Crafty Princess/Serial Starter

Having such fine role models as I do (and finding more on the net each day!!) - and also being able to resist anything BUT temptation, I have started another cross stitch before I have done more than 3 pages of Golden Wood.  Yes, I know, it was on the cards, but I have found that there are several advantages of having about 5 craft projects going at once.  With luck, and as long as you ensure that you do a little of each of them regularly, you actually FINISH several things at once.  I draw your attention to the Dane Shawl, and the Wrong Pink Cardi and the Assymetrical Wrap thingy (picture later)....they are either completely finished or up to the sewing in the ends stage.  May put the Wrong Pink Cardi in the Castle Hill Show...may wait to see how it looks when I block it.....but, as you can see it looks good close up.....maybe lace knitting should be a crafters answer to Sudoku, for warding off alzheimers....got to think A LOT!!!!

Lots of lace but that pink has to go - purple maybe!!

So I can now show you the Anniversary Sampler that I have started..........

I have realised that our names are about 3 stitches off centre.....damn and blast.....I will leave it to the end and see how obvious it looks...I have an aversion to reversing stitching and avoid it at all costs. (I know in my heart that it is going to look  BLEEDIN' OBVIOUS) You really have to be very precise with these samplers.....one stitch out and a huge row of stitches does not meet up with another huge row of stitches....not so easy to fudge as it is with the larger all over things like Golden Wood.  So concentrate....concentrate!!!!