Chef!

Received my Lavender Diamonds Reflections fabric from Silkweaver this morning to start stitching the Stitching Bloggers RR. I'll probably start this on Saturday. I don't have any plans during the day on Saturday, but in the evening I'm playing "Chef", by helping out in my boss's restaurant because they are short-staffed.

I went in there last night as well to be shown the ropes while they were quiet during the week. It was fun actually. Nearly sliced my thumb open chopping up the carrots, (didn't draw blood, fortunately lol), burnt some garlic bread and actually enjoyed cleaning down the kitchen and mopping the floor. I was revelling in domestic bliss! lol

I'm actually looking forward to Saturday night. It will be busier so it should be more interesting. Who'd have thought that working for my Twat of a Boss would give me this opportunity to try out one of my ambitions?

I like the idea of playing at "chef" because I wanted to have a go at this after watching Jamie Oliver's "Fifteen" on Channel 4. I really wish that I'd been given that kind of opportunity when I was younger, but when I was in my teens and early twenties, I couldn't cook at all! It was only when I had my own kitchen that I had the freedom to make a mess without being moaned at by my Mother that I actually started to enjoy cooking, and learned to experiment and actually became not a bad cook in my own right.

By the end of 8 years living living with Sean, I was a far better cook than him - the memory of his plastic roast potatoes still haunts me to this day - while I learned the knack of getting them perfect every time.

Other stash I acquired this week was a small package from Dawn, my Stitching and Stash Buddy! I sent Dawn a chart of the new Mirabilia Mermaid last month and this month she reciprocated by sending me a kit of the new Anchor cat "Solo" [pictured left] which I fell in love with when he was in Cross Stitcher a few months ago, some Silkweaver Reflections Material (which I also love, and I don't seem to stitch on anything else at the moment!) and a couple of Ozark Sampler threads.

Thanks Dawn

S.E.X. with a Mermaid

I haven't been able to post about this until today, as part of the S.E.X. experience involved a friend who's birthday was last week while I was away in Lanzarote, so I didn't want to spoil her surprise!

I know there are several non-stitchers who read this blog, or even newbie stitchers who have not yet come across the acronym. Maybe I should actually define what S.E.X. stands for before I go any further and they automatically start thinking Splash and Darryl Hannah!

S. E. X. stands for Stash Enhancement Experience.

The need to buy stash and the pleasure derived from it is something that non-stitcher's probably can't appreciate. We love cross stitching, but we also love buying new cross stitching things. It starts like this:

• You buy your first project - this is usually a kit - or maybe a magazine freebie, you start to stitch it (usually making a few mistakes along the way), and then.... whilst your finishing off your first project, something new catches your eye.
• You are immediately thrust into a quandary: do you finish what you started - or buy the new project and promise yourself that it will sit there until you've finished the first?
• This is the start of the downward slope.
• Of course you buy the new project.... but then it sits there... and you know that you can't start it until you've finished the first, but it starts to call to you.... to lure you.... do you have the strength of resolve to ignore it?
• I guess this all depends on how much resolve you have and how far away you are from finishing the first project. People with little resolve (and this includes the majority of stitchers) cave in at this point and start stitching on their new project. What usually happens at this point is that project no. 1 is abandoned in favour of project no. 2 and then becomes [shame] a U. F. O. an UnFinished Object.
• Invariably the above scenario happens again with project no.3 and project no.4. Yes you do get pleasure from finishing pieces, but the need to shop for new things gives you pleasure as well.
• The pleasure that you receive from shopping for cross stitching materials increases immensley when you start buying specialist fabrics and materials. You end up getting a small stash of charts and then start pre-planning by buying this piece of material to stitch project A on, this metallic thread for project B and these beads and embelishments for project C.
• What do you with all these "to be stitched" items? You "STASH" them away, in drawers, in cupboards, in storage boxes, in the back of your wardrobe. Hence the word: Stash.
• Beware: you are on the slippery slope to stash addiction at this point.
• Large amounts of stash usually mean large amounts of UFOs too. I've encountered online stitchers with over 30 UFOs.
• I guess I should confess at this point that I've got quite a few UFOs myself - but I taunt myself by displaying them all here in public (in the side bar on the right) as a reminder that I really must get around to finishing them.

So my latest Stash Enhancing Experience was:

I've now bought the new Enchanted Mermaid chart! I actually ordered two copies, the first for Dawn, my Stash Buddy from the Stitching and Stash Group. Dawn stitched Miriabilia's Shimmering Mermaid chart last year so I hope she will enjoy the experience of stitching this one up too... and whilst I was buying I got another copy of it for myself.

Maybe we can stitch it together? Stitch-a-longs are fun and a great motivating factor for finishing a project.

Holiday Prep and Sexy New Stash

I fly out to Lanzarote tomorrow, so today I've got the day off work - packing, buying a couple of last minute things and trying to leave things here as tidy as I can before I go.

My new purchases consist of:

Tote Bag
I've been looking out for a stitching/beach tote bag for a few months now - I'm sick of my Tesco's "Bag for Life" lol. And would you believe it, the day before I'm due to go on holiday I find the exact one I want - with sequins too.

I came home from shopping to find a delivery from Jaynes Attic, consisting of two items:

My new chart holder

It's just the bottom attachment that allows me to anchor the magnetic chart board (which I already had) to the lowery stand.

And finally.....
Sexy Cheetah Scissors

These are Gingher Designer Scissors. I've already got a pair of the floral ones that I got as a special stash pressie during my stitching getaway in March. I've been really impressed by these scissors, they are very precise and sharp, and because they are so special they never leave the house. After I saw this Limited Edition Cheetah design at the weekend I knew I just had to have them too. Before you all jump up and down and want a pair, Jayne only had 3 pairs left last week, make that 2 now! AND THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!

Stash Alert!

Been doing loads of extra hours at work this week, trying to bing the accounts up to date as April 30 is the end of our financial year. Starting work at 7:30 in the morning and not leaving till 6:30 severely curtails into your stitching time, but before I left the office this evening, I did an online order with Sew and So.

Goods purchased and order totals
****************************************************
Code Name Quantity Price/Ea. Total
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9213 014 Very Fine (#4) Braid 1.00 £2.60 £2.60
12898 085 Very Fine (#4) Braid 2.00 £2.60 £5.20
9241 102 Very Fine (#4) Braid 1.00 £2.60 £2.60
6221 00150 - Grey 1.00 £0.98 £0.98
6213 02001 - Pearl 1.00 £0.98 £0.98
6278 03022 - Royal Tea 1.00 £1.06 £1.06
6245 03034 - Royal Amethyst 1.00 £1.06 £1.06
6225 03041 - White Opal 1.00 £1.06 £1.06
9779 MH13002 - Margarita Amethyst 1.00 £1.69 £1.69
9829 MH13052 - Very Small Teardrop Amethyst 3.00 £1.69 £5.07
9830 MH13053 - Very Small Teardrop Emerald 3.00 £1.69 £5.07

So far..... that's a total of nearly £30 and that's just the stuff I need for the Mermaid Queen....

16847 Standard Bulb: 75 Watt: Edison Screw 1.00 £2.29 £2.29
10050 14" x 14" Plastic Snap Frame 1.00 £11.02 £11.02
35097 Bee My Friend 1.00 £11.11
14388 Size 28 Gold Cross Stitch Needles(3) 1.00 £1.41 £1.41
19688 Beading Sizes 10 - 13 1.00 £0.64 £0.64
Sales Tax: £9.42
Shipping: First Class Recorded Post: £2.24
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: £65.50

Whoops!

But still no choice - have to buy all those Kreiniks and Mill Hill things online, I don't even know if there is a supplier for them anywhere in Cornwall. I've got to go to St Ives as it is just to buy and odd strand of DMC... and I can just imagine the look on the proprieter's face of Cornish Stitch Designs if I asked him about buying Mill Hill Treasures - evenweave is a new and big deal to them!

The Bee My Friend kit is a Margaret Sherry design. It's the one that AngelSan stitched recently. I just loved it so much that I couldn't resist any longer - got to keep my Margaret Sherry Cat Stitch collection complete - haven't I?

Interestingly enough, I had a bit of trouble finding Bee My Friend on the Heritage website, he's not listed under "Margaret Sherry Cats" - but under Millie, the little girl instead. Do you see Millie on this chart? He's clearly a cattitude!

Lowery Stand

Here's a picture of my new Lowery Stand which I got from Jayne's Attic. Jayne was very helpful in helping me to choose which one I wanted, and didn't pressurise me into getting any attachments for it, even though I wanted one - her advice was, try it out first.

It was very easy to fit together, almost instinctual even, and it is so easy to use. It is great being able to flip your work over at to get at the back to fasten off a thread at the turn of a screw.

The design I'm working on that is attached to the stand is "Sparkling Waters" a Sheila Hudson design of the Venice canals.

I'm amazed that so many people have already commented on this post, before I even managed to come back and edit the original photo post myself. Thank you for all your lovely comments. If you are thinking about buying a lowery yourself, don't hesitate, they really help you with your stitching.

Naughty Naughty!

What started out as a browse through my stash this morning resulted in a new start. Oooops....

I decided to have a look though my Silkweaver stuff for a piece of fabric big enough to stitch the Queen Mermaid on.... I did have a large piece of pale blue reflections which I put to one side, then I discovered a piece of Ocean (Reflections). Which is absolutely perfect for a Mermaid... wouldn't you agree?

The piece is only just big enough though 13" x 18" and the Mermaid's stitching area is 11.5" x 15" on 32 count, so it's going to be a little tight, but as the material is already serged at the edges they'll be no fraying to worry about.

Anyway after finding this piece, I had a dig under my sofa and found my two disassembled stitching frames - only to discover that one frame has a bar missing. I don't know what happened to it - I think it may be lurking around somewhere, I'm not sure - moving can be really chaotic to your stitching supplies, so be warned.

The next thing I know I'm reassembling the first frame with an allen key and tacking the "Ocean" fabric to it. Then without any conscious thought I started working on the Queen Mermaid.... the hands just did it all on their own! I swear!

I've only done about an hour and a half's stitching on the Queen so far as I was in St Ives most of the day and bought a nice windcharm to hang in the window.

I feel really guilty now about starting this piece as I still have so many other WIPs to finish off first, Venice, the Embroidery and Hardanger pieces and so many other things, not to mention that I'm due to start stitching the next Cattitude for the RR about now too.

Craftaholics Anonymous

Craftaholics Anonymous
12 Step Program
Newly Revised to 13 Steps

1. I will not stuff craft supplies in every corner of my house.
2. I will not keep nine projects going at one time.
3. I will not pick up more buttons, lace or fabric when I have a ton at home.
4. I will not let my crafting area look like a condemned area.
5. I will not relegate the kitchen table to crafts.
6. I will not attend craft shows just to pick up more ideas.
7. I will not stock up on more craft supplies just because they are on sale.
8. I will not go off on a tangent when anyone mentions that little word "import ".
9. I will not let my crafting distract me from fixing dinner.
10. I will not stay up all night crafting.
11. I will not save dryer lint, empty cereal boxes, detergent scoops, etc.
12. I will not buy every craft magazine I see.
13. I will not make promises I cannot keep. See you at the craft show.

Don't think it's gonna work though - do you?

Margaret Sherry Cross Stitcher Subscription Offer

Got the February issue of Cross Stitcher today. There's a really nice oriental design in it that I must stitch. When I started reading the article associated with it I realised why - it's another Sheila Hudson design (Mt Fuji, Amalfi Coast) and that's probably why I like it as it reminds me of the others. Definitely going on my "to be stitched" list.

Cross Stitcher are also offering a decent free gift if you subscribe now - I've been wanting to sub to this magazine for years - but have been waiting for a decent free gift for the subscription, and now there's one I want: a kit of Margaret Sherry's Catterflies, or her Hedgehog in a plant pot.

Problem is, to get the kits you have to subscribe by DD - but I don't want to sub by DD. I just really hate giving my bank DD authority over the account. I hate the toy shop bank! So what I did was splice two subscription application forms together. I stapled the credit card section from one leaflet to the Margaret Sherry subscription sheet. I wonder if that is going to work? We'll see. I've opted for the Hedgehog design because I already have a chart of Catterflies in my stash.

Stash from the Attic

Still not quite finished the beading on the Mirabilia Angel - the blue beads seem to be quite a bit smaller than the silver ones I've stitched on already and more are being rejected by my size 26 needle. This size 26 needle isn't ideal for beading - you should really do it with a size 28 which is smaller, and I can't find my 28's at the moment.

I ordered some beading needles from Jayne's Attic yesterday via a IM chat window with Jayne and they arrived today. I might actually be able to get the Angel Finished tomorrow afternoon now during my half day off!

Jayne is talking about arranging and indulgent stitching weekend in Milton Keynes in March. It would be great to be able to go, and to meet some of the ladies I've known from the groups over the last couple of years.

I need to check to see if Sam will look after Jade for the weekend - but all he really needs is a few extra biscuits put in his bowls once a day, and the odd cuddle - if only children were so easy to take care of!