Today we had another household appliance decide to play up - our washing machine got stuck on fill and overflowed, flooding the laundry, hallway, into the dining room and even through the walls into the main bedroom wardrobe!
We often go out after we put the washing machine on, but we won't be doing that again. If we hadn't been home when it happened, the whole house would be under water! We stopped it as soon as we could but unfortunately, we have floating floorboards in the hallway and dining room so it looks as though they will need to be replaced. We've got big, loud industrial driers on the carpet in the wardrobe and in the dining room trying to dry it and the walls out. Our insurance company has been pretty good with the whole situation so far, hopefully that continues.
Isn't it said that these sort of things happen in threes - I hate to think what's going to die next.
Clarence survived with his socks throughout the weekend but I will definitely need to put some gaffa tape inside the sock where his nails are. They need a trim as well. The 2 socks we've gone through both have huge holes at the tips of his foot so he obviously needs some extra protection on that part of his foot. Hopefully that will help it not to wear through so quickly. Luckily, he seems to have gotten used to the idea that he has to wear the sock.
We're both home again tomorrow for the Australia Day public holiday which will be nice - gotta love an extra long weekend. We might go looking for a new washing machine - the one we have has lasted over 17 years so it's done pretty well.
Oh, I almost forgot - I picked up the framing that I put in before Christmas and I'm very happy with the results. Sorry about the reflections in the photos...
The elephant ABC has a dark grey and dark purple matt with a plain white frame. This matches all the other ABCs I have framed in one of my spare bedrooms. This one will join them.
The Stitching ABC is very pretty. It has a distressed dark brown wood frame that looks really good with the browns in the design. I am very pleased with it and it will most likely go on the wall in my other spare bedroom.
The final frame I picked up was for Footprints and I think this is my favourite of the three. It has a pale, sandy wood frame with pale cream and blue matts. I am very happy with this one. This will most likely go on the end of one of the rows of books in my theological library. I might put it right across from my desk so I can look at it every day. I can't believe this has been sitting waiting to be framed since 2014! I think it was worth the wait.
They were all framed by Framing to a T in Hallam, VIC.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
The cat now has a face! And I am fully finished - YAY!
Here is the second ornament I made. The third is also done but I had already put my camera away before I finished it late last night.
I got the new issue of 'Cross-Stitch and Needlework' yesterday so I spent some time going through that. Not sure if anything really jumps out at me just yet. Tonight I might have another look through my stash and see what grabs me - who knows what it might be!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
On Thursday night last week, I finished off the Stitching ABC design - very happy with the result. Now it just needs an iron and a frame to be selected. I'm not sure if I'll get time to do that before we go away...
Above is the close-up of the C-Calico block and below is the full piece - Yay for me!
Ooh - not so yay - I've just realised I haven't done the back-stitching on the cat's face so I haven't quite finished after all... oops
Over the weekend, I stitched more on the Robot ABC, but as usual, forgot to take a photo. I'll try to remember to do that tonight. I also did 2 more ornament things (like what I did at the craft weekend 2 weekends ago) so now I have 3. They are so quick to do which is great.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I did about half of the C-Calico block. Woo hoo - the finish is in sight...
Another night or two and it should be done - yay!
But I won't get any done tonight because we're going to see Mission Impossible at the movies so I'm looking forward to that. We'll hopefully get a nice dinner too beforehand.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I finished off the B-Buttons block. Only C to go now...
On Wednesday night, we're going to see Mission Impossible at the movies - quite excited about that!
I'll have to get into my stash and see what's there to stitch next... I still haven't decided if I'm going to take something with me to New York. I'm not sure I'll have time to stitch, plus I really want to get some stitching stuff while I'm away. I've found a stitching shop in Quebec I'd like to visit when we stop there.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
I only managed to get one more button done last night. Prison Break has got me hooked all over again. I finished off series 1 (I only started watching it again last Saturday!).
Tomorrow (Saturday), I'm going on a craft retreat with my friend Judith to Warburton in country Victoria (it's about an hours drive away). There's a craft weekend there, but we're just going for the day. It will be great to catch up with her again and get some more stitching done too. Hopefully the weather stays nice.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Here is Tuesday night's work. I didn't get anything done last night as we went to my parent's place for dinner. When we got home, I was a bit tired so I just watched TV for a little while. I'm watching the Prison Break DVDs again from the start. I really enjoyed them when they were on TV a few years ago and watching again is just as enjoyable. I've also heard they're making another season so that will be very interesting if it comes off.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Yesterday, I ran out of time to post the photo of Monday night's work and then I forgot to take my camera home to photograph Tuesday night's work... my head's not in it this week!
Here is my progress up to Monday night...
Last night I got a couple of buttons done, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see those.
Have a great day!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Dog-sitting success! My sister's family ably succeeded in looking after Clarence for the weekend. They said they had fun, and Clarence was tired at the end of it so I think he enjoyed himself too! Best thing about it is that we don't have to worry about him now when we're away as we know they will look after him just like we do - so that is a big relief!
It's funny - the kids were so excited to have him, but terrified of him when he went near them! Hopefully when he goes back in a few weeks time, they will get used to him and overcome their fears. They had to be told that saying 'sit' and running away does not encourage Clarence to actually sit and wait - running means playtime! I'm sure they'll work it out when they look after him for a bit longer next time.
Over the weekend, I got a fair amount done on the Stitching ABC - it just seemed to come together quite quickly so now I only have a couple more blocks to do.
E for Embroidery hoop and F for French knot are done, and A for Applique is almost done too! That just leaves B and C to go! Woo hoo!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
The K block is now finished - yay! Next is E for Embroidery hoop.
Tonight will be filled with preparing for Clarence to have a sleepover at my sister's place. They are having a trial run at looking after him as they will probably take him when we go on our big 4 week trip in a few weeks time. They havn't had a dog before so it will be a bit of a learning curve for the family. The kids are excited though so that is great. Jacob (8yrs old) has already asked his teacher at school if he can bring in Clarence for show and tell! We told him that might just be a bit too much excitement for Clarence so maybe a photo will have to do! It is nice they are excited. Hopefully the trial weekend will go smoothly and they won't be put off having him for the 4 week block...
I think he is contemplating what mischief he can get up to over the weekend...!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I finished most of the design in the K - Knitting block. Should get the rest of it finished off tonight.Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
I had a relaxing time over the weekend at Aireys but it was just Clarence and me - my husband thought he was coming down with something and since he would be away for work all week, he thought it better if he stayed home. Clarence and I had fun with some nice walks.
I got 1.5 letters finished on the Robot ABC but forgot to take a photo... When I got home, I continued with Stitching ABC and finished off the M - Sewing Machine block.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I did most of the back-stitching on the machine but I realised I forgot to stitch the roll of thread on the top so I couldn't finish it completely.
Today we're going back to Aireys for the first time in ages so it will be nice to get down there and just relax for the weekend. That means I'll be picking up the Robots ABC again for a couple of nights.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Didn't quite get the M block finished last night but it's now ready for the back-stitching. We're having dinner at my parent's place tonight with my sister's family so that should be a nice catch-up after my week away last week.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I started on the M block. I was watching the Master Chef grand final while stitching - it was a good comeback for the winning contestant - the food they were asked to cook was amazing.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Last night I did the back-stitching on the O block and finished it off.
And I FINALLY got permission to hang my Heartfelt pictures that I purchased and stitched specifically for my library. Originally, I had proposed to hang them above the computers and the study desks across 3 separate areas, but I only got permission to hang them in a cluster, and I actually think that is much better! They are on the ground floor and EVERYONE will see them every time they walk into the library so they are much more on display than I had originally planned. YAY! Besides the ugly fire hydrant next to them, I think they look great and I am very pleased with them. It's only taken about a year to finally get them into place... but I think it was worth the wait!
And YAY, it's Friday. I'm going to the movies tonight with my friend to see 'Self/less'. I'm not sure what it is about but it looks like a bit of a suspense movie so it should be OK. I'd like to go and see Mission Impossible after it is released next week too.
For the weekend, I think my sister and her family are coming over for dinner and to watch the footy on Foxtel on Saturday night, and on Sunday, we have the footy ourselves - hopefully it will remain dry!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Now I've finished the organza and can do the back-stitching to define it tonight.
And now that my NZ trip is done, I can start to get all excited about our New York trip which is fast approaching - only about 6 weeks to go before it's here! Today I organised visas and checked-in to our cruise. I've already got a pile of stuff in the corner for packing. Yippee!!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
I'm back! I had a fantastic time in NZ meeting up with theological library colleagues and finding out about all sorts of new stuff to try out back at home.
I did pick up my stitching while I was away, but only once and I didn't get much done, so no Robot ABC photo... Last night I got out the Stitching ABC and made a start on the O block.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
We had an arctic blast in Melbourne over the weekend, and it's supposed to last a few more days as well. Very cold and wet - perfect stitching weather... although I didn't get a great deal done over the weekend. I finished off the G block and finished the back-stitching around the H block. I'm all packed and looking forward to New Zealand - I leave early tomorrow morning and don't get back until Saturday night. I'm taking my Robot ABC with me so hopefully I'll get some free time to progress on that. Wifi availability will determine my posting so until next time...
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
Some may say, 'why admit to making a mistake?' but I think that's what makes my designs unique! It's highly unlikely that anyone else will ever make the exact same mistake so that means my stitching is totally unique. I'm also not one to pull out stuff, unless I've just noticed it to be wrong. Now that I've done so many blocks, I'll just work around the mistake and camouflage it as well as possible.
In smaller designs, it's usually fairly hard to cover a mistake, but in bigger ones like this, there's plenty of room for fudging. I don't think I've ever done a design, especially a larger one, without at least 1 mistake. Luckily, they're usually fairly small mistakes but they're still there and I'm usually the only one who knows about them so it's not a big deal.
I'm not afraid to admit I make mistakes. Just means I have to do another project and try to get it mistake-free, and if I fail at that, try another one and another one... and on it goes.
Last night I did a bit down the left side of the centre block and finished the Handcrafted text. Clarence has his monthly arthritis injection appointment at the Vet so I didn't get as much stitching time as usual. Tonight we are having friends over for dinner so I probably won't get any stitching time at all. And I think we're going to Aireys Inlet for the weekend and then next week I'm going to New Zealand (Auckland) for a theological library conference which I'm really looking forward to - it's the only conference I can go to that is all about exactly what I do every day. Looking forward to it very much.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie
