So Close to Finishing I Can SMELL IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When the Crafty Princess (God Bless Her) got me back into cross stitching and I started Golden Wood could not realistically imagine finishing anything (least of all Golden Wood) - Golden Wood has been on hold as I wanted to finish the Wedding Sampler and BLOW ME DOWN - I can actually see the end.  All the detailed stuff in the middle is finished and the border is pretty nearly there.....a big bit of fudging had to be done as I had to dodgey up the border when I made my original mistake....have had to add some stitches.....and as my head is not one that easily gets itself around mathematical numerical things there was also a bit of unpicking.....but I am hoping that all the border lines and all the flowery vines will meet up at the bottom right hand corner.....stay tuned should meet up sometime today....if I can drag myself away from the computer....then all I have to do is finish all the flowers along the vine, and they are quite quick.

I had a bad day a couple of weeks ago, where I had a horrible thought that because I had stitched the date on the sampler something fatal would happen to my husband and the sampler would be a tragic and ironic waste of time.  Roll on 12 October - anything can happen after that.....OH AM I A BAD WIFE OR WHAT.....having said that now, a plane will drop on me when I am out walking or something.....should this happen Crafty Princess I would like you to update this blog with a final post - thanks lovie

Look at that vine creeping around the bottom - cannot decide if the big birds are peacocks or turkeys??



HAPPY MAY DAY EVERYONE

Crafty day with the Crafty Princess

 
Needed a craft day....so invited the Crafty Princess for the day.  Had intended so do some quilting with her but the pattern she bought did not fit with the fabric she brought with her.....so.......we had a fall back position of course....which was cross stitch.  I did virtually finish two quilt tops that have been sitting about for a while....they have progressed to the binding machined on.....but not sewn down by hand.......may finish them in front of the TV this evening....provided I do not drink too much Cab Sav.....time will tell.

As you can see MIRACLES DO HAPPEN.....so overcome by finishing two quilts basically at once....I have not been able to rotate the pictures so that the lights do not appear to be on my walls and the Crafty Princess is not hanging sideways in midair....but thankfully they are small fairly square quilts so you get the general idea.  The top one was supposed to have a pointy edge, but could not face the prospect of binding a serrated edge so squared off the red and white spotty blocks.  Not very happy with the straight machine quilting I did on the rosy one but just wanted to finish it.....so TA DA !!!!!!!!!!!

Only two large quilts and one medium quilt to quilt.....and then two half finished kits to finish and then three kits purchased but not started......and then there is the cross stitch....but we will not speak of this, except in hushed tones, in dark of night........

Happy stitching and happy easter egging

Slow Stroll through the Woods of Gold

Have to say that stitching keeps me sane.....home life does weigh heavy upon me on occasions....(only occasions).....too many things to do and to think and to organise, and not enough time to do them.....but when it gets too much I escape upstairs to the very small sewing room that I made out of the walk-in wardrobe....turn on the ipod and have an audiobook read to me and sew.....and it is good for recharging.

Have not done as much as I intended last month...but then never do....but the sampler is looking good, and I will really have to get it finished this year because I have stitched in the date (2011) - not to mention our anniversary date.  I am reasonably confident it will be done before 12 Oct.

And the stroll through the Woods has slowed....mainly because I left my thread box at work for 6 days....I was a bit concerned at one point that one of the loons at work would throw it out in disgust at someone who does craft rather than the mindless computer games they play endlessly for 12 hours....but it was safe in my pigeon hole and I could stop worrying about replacing about $100 worth of thread.....nearly up to starting the sixth page....wahooooooooo!!!only a gazillion to go.

 

Hope everyone has a great April and you all enjoy Easter in your own ways...rabbits, eggs, peace and quiet, public holidays.....whatever.....and that you all get a chance to do a lot of quiet stitching, and maybe some of us will finish something.   I have a quilt that just needs the binding handsewn...so there is a chance that that will get done...all those chocolate eggs will energise me!!!

New Year - the leaves of Golden Wood are thinning - SLIGHTLY

Happy New Year all web crafters who may stumble upon this blog....best wishes to you all.

Golden Wood is going along reasonably well....have been at work a fair bit recently so have progressed fairly quickly.  Have finished both pages 1 & 2 - it is a great feeling tearing up the photocopied version of the pages - all covered in highlighter pen - and chucking it ceremoniously in the bin.  Ta Dah and then do a little dance!!!!!  I have got a little sick of fluro yellow highlighter - have just decided to change to pink (sorry Princess) for 2011 - or maybe multicoloured

Wahoooooo can almost see The Wood for the Trees

Wahoooooo the trees are starting to appear!!

UFO's from before the Dawn of Time

I have been blaming the Crafty Princess for getting me started on Golden Wood - as if somehow it is all her fault - so I say here publicly that I had a cross stitch problem from an early age.  I offer you photographic evidence. (see above)  The ABC was for the child of a friend started about 23 years ago when Lynn became pregnant.....child is now 22 and I have got up to E for Echidna.....pitiful effort.  The other the cross stitch runner on linen was started even further back into the mists of time.....when I was in my early 20's - which makes it at least 30 years ago.  At least I still have the pattern for the ABC and the threads that came in the kit.....as for the linen runner.....no pattern and no thread....so basically NO CHANCE of ever finishing it.....but it is interesting like some strange artifact dug up in an archaeological site and displayed in the British Museum.....can you image my partially completed runner sitting next to the Rosetta Stone ...... ??

Slowly getting out of the Trees of Golden Wood

Well it is as close to December as you can get so here is the picture of my progress for this month.  Thank God I go to work wouldn't get anything done other wise.  After much effort I have completely finished the first page and took great delight in ripping up the chart for page one - all coloured out in fluro highlighter.  Tore it into a million pieces and tossed it in the bin at work.  EXCELLENT feeling it was....only 18 pages to go.  I am being more organised about how I stitch from now on...no matter how carefully you count you still make mistakes and when you come to fill in other colours they are never in the same places as they were before.  Also I have noticed no matter how carefully you check each 10x10 block of stitches for individual symbols, and no matter how sure you are that you have done all of that symbol in each square, when you thread a new colour and stitch a few stitches.....SURE ENOUGH.....there is another of the last bloody symbols you were doing.....I'm sure the chart changes itself when you are not looking.  Anyway as I am approaching one of the fairies have to be more careful now with correct stitch and colour placement, otherwise the fairies will have eyes where there noses are and ears on their chins.....not a good look.