Robot ABC #16

Being at Aireys means I'm stitching the Robot ABC. I finally got to the craft store before Christmas to get the colours I'd run out of so I can now complete the letters that I couldn't before. Last night I finished off the space ship and the letter W...

Today, I'll outline the N and K and maybe start on the next letter. I love the difference the back-stitching makes.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie 

Santa's Journey #6 & Robot ABC #15

This weekend we were at Aireys Inlet so I got another letter on the Robot ABC done - K.

Still haven't got to the shops to get some of the threads I've run out of (hence no back stitching on several letters), but that is on the list of things to do next week when I start my Christmas holidays! I also hope to take at least one thing to the framers. There are a few finished designs hanging in the wardrobe waiting for frames.

Then on Sunday when we got home, I stitched some more on Santa's Journey stocking. I'm very pleased with how it is coming along. Despite only small sections in each colour, it is easy to stitch one colour and move on to another to fill in the blocks quite easily. I hadn't noticed the effect when stitching, but when I post these photos, it stands out much more and I'm very pleased with it.

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

 

Holiday Update #1

So I have decided I will take some stitching with me on our big trip and I got it together on the weekend. I'm going to take (you guessed it!) an alphabet design - nautical in theme - that I will stitch on dark blue Aida. I wanted to use pale blue, but the craft store didn't have any so I had to go with dark blue. The bright colours should still pop on the dark background, so that is OK. 

I packed my bag on the weekend and I still have a fair bit of room which is good. I think we're just about ready to go with all our arrangements in place. Less than 1 week to go now...

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Robot ABC #11 & Finish

We had a very nice time at Aireys Inlet (seaside Victorian town on the Great Ocean Road) over the weekend. Didn't do a great deal at all which was just what I needed. I made a start on the V of the Robot ABC but didn't get to finishing the back-stitching...

 

Then, when we got home, I stitched the name and birth date of my friend's baby onto the Walk This Way Pooh Bear design I did for her. I hope to get some time to take it to the framers this Friday.

So, it was a pretty slow stitching weekend, but you need one of those every now and then. I've decided I'm not going to do all the Christmas ornaments and I'm going to start something else tonight and just do the ornaments in-between other projects. There was nothing in the latest Fox Collection catalogue that screamed BUY ME NOW, so I'll just have to pick something else out of the stash in the back room. I think you'll like the one I'm pretty sure to select...

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Robot ABC #7 & Enchanted Ornament #23

Thanks to my friend Judith, I got most of the colours I needed to be able to complete the unfinished letters - and then of course, I ran out of others... arrgghhh - back to the craft shop!

When we got home, I did some more Enchanted Ornament Stocking.  On Friday, my workmate Andrew's wife had their baby, so now I have a name to stitch across the top of it - Scarlett.

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Cross Stitch in the Library

For those regular readers, you'll know my drama about getting permission to hang the 8 Heartfelt Series designs in my library at work. Well, still no progress on that decision yet - the drama is about putting holes in walls for hooks. I know there are those stick on hooks, but the framer warned against using those as the weight of the pictures can get too much and if they come unstuck, they'll be destroyed. So I want proper in the wall hooks to hang them on...

But in the meantime, I CAN hang pictures on the ends of the rows of shelving - I have authority over those! So today I hung 3 designs that I used to have hanging in our old library before we moved. Two of them I can see from my desk, the third is down the back of the library but I'll put them on rotation so I don't get bored!

O Holy Night (completed 2014) and Inspirational ABC (2008) next to 23rd Psalm (2011).
Please ignore the junk in front of the second picture - I have a number of donations to sort through! My library is not usually so untidy.

Last night's new show on TV was 'Forever' which I really liked. Will definitely be watching it weekly. It seems to be the season for all the new shows (new to Australia, anyway) starting, so there's something good on every night.

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Robot ABC #6

I was so tired last night that I didn't get a lot of stitching done. The heat is taking its toll on me. All the squares started merging into one so I knew it was time to put it down and go to bed! I made a start on the E...

Only 2 more nights in Perth... the heat is expected to continue. This morning there is a super thunderstorm and the first rain in Perth in 60 days!

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Robot ABC #5

It looks like I've made heaps of progress, and I have (M and J done last night), but I didn't stitch any longer than normal last night. It just all came together quite quickly. I suppose when you can only do half a letter (due to missing colours), they get done much quicker. I've now run out of other colours as well so there'll be a lot of half done letters before I get home and get to the shops.

Another very hot day is expected in Perth today. All I can say is ''Thanks goodness for air conditioning!"

Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Elephant ABC #15

OMG - my husband made bacon jam and it is our new favourite thing! It is amazing. It goes perfectly with corn fritters, and with some sour cream, looks just like jam and cream on pancakes. He got the recipe from a Matt Preston cookbook and it is just amazing - if you haven't tried it before, I can highly recommend it.

We are back home again now so I'll be back to the Enchanted Ornament stocking soon, but yesterday, I did the B and J on the Elephant ABC. Only C, D and E to go now!

It's a pity I couldn't get this finished this time, but it should only take me 2-3 days to get it done so I need to think about what I can take down for my next holiday project.

Book Review: Eden / Candice Fox - I almost didn't bother to finish this one. There's dog fighting (which puts me off straight away, even though it's only for 1 little bit) and the 'good' guys who kill 'bad' guys like serial killers - not my idea of fun. I got through it but did skip quite a bit.
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Elephant ABC #14

I only got the 'I' done yesterday - too busy reading. I finished my second book and today I've started "Eden' by Candice Fox. Who doesn't love summer holidays where there's nothing to do but read and stitch! The weather's looking a little better here today - yesterday was rain and clouds all day. 

Book Review: Hunter Killer / Chris Ryan - the story line and action wasn't too bad, but I didn't like the ending, no real conclusion and lots left hanging unfinished. Plus it was set in Britain mostly, and the language used by some of the characters was a bit off-putting at times (most of the action books I read are from America).

Book Review: Burn / James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge - this was a good one and this is demonstrated in that I couldn't put it down and finished it within about 7 hours. It is another of the series featuring Detective Michael Bennett and was action-packed, and even got a few laughs out of me at times. This series is worth reading if you like action-packed police drama.

Tonight my husband is making something we've never had before for dinner - bacon jam. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it's going with some corn fritters and other stuff so it sounds yummy. The satay he made last night was not bad, but it could have been a bit more peanutty. Just means he has to make it again and again until he gets it right - and I have to taste test of course!

Have a great day,
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Elephant ABC #11

Well, we're on holidays now so it's my holiday house stitching for the next few days. Last night I completed the P on the Elephant ABC.

Well, all the rushing around and preparing for Christmas is over and it's Summer Holiday time!
I love Summer time (but not the extreme heat) - listening to the cricket and not doing much else! I'm not really a beach person, so besides taking Clarence for a walk on the beach each day, I don't fancy sitting there baking all day. My husband and I both love the cricket, and this year's Boxing Day Test has got off to a great start. Who cannot love a game that goes for 5 days! Anyway, I might take Clarence for a walk this morning, the weather is looking great, and then I'll be stitching by the TV for as long as I can stay awake - yesterday I had a 4 hour nap, I was just exhausted from the year! I have to remind myself not to get into the habit of having naps every day otherwise, when I go back to work, I'll be in trouble. Hopefully I can get another letter on the Elephant ABC completed today. That's my aim anyway...
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie

Elephant ABC #10 & Clarence Escapes!

I've now finished off 99% of the Q and L as well. Last night certainly didn't go to plan - we had a rather stressful evening...
We went to the Greek restaurant as I mentioned yesterday. Just after we arrived, there was a big thunderstorm with heavy rain and very loud thunder. Then, just after we had ordered our meals, I got a phone call to say that Clarence (our 13yr old Golden Retriever) had escaped and narrowly missed being hit by 3 cars! The Great Ocean Road is a very busy road most of the time so animals are often hit and injured or killed. Anyway, my husband left quickly to collect him from the General Store where the lady who rescued him was trying to calm him down. Clarence doesn't like thunder, but he is usually OK if he knows we're not home. He usually only kicks up a fuss if he knows we're home - his way of being let inside earlier than usual. He has certainly never escaped from Aireys before. It looks like he jumped on the side gate and it gave way so he ran outside and then he didn't know where to go and was frantically running all over the place. We are so lucky the lady across the road rescued him - she said he was so freaked out that she had to carry him across the road which is no mean feat - he weighs 30kg! My husband took him home and put him inside before rejoining me for dinner. Dinner was delicious but we didn't need that stress!
Then, when we got home later and it was time for bed, Clarence freaked again and didn't want to go outside. He has always been an outside dog, only coming in for a few hours each night before sleeping outside. Last night he didn't want to sleep outside. Perhaps he was still freaked from the thunder although it had ended several hours before. Anyway, he was jumping over the other gate and somehow got through a gap that is no more than 10cm wide! We don't know how he did it, but he got out again at 1am. Luckily we were there to grab him straight away. So we let/made him sleep inside all night. I thought I'd get up to a mess, but there was no evidence he had slept inside except him being there when I came out in the morning, which is a relief.
So, it looks like we need to strengthen one gate and somehow narrow the gap on the other before we come back next time in a few weeks. So much unneeded drama, that's why I didn't get a lot of stitching done last night...
Thank God Clarence survived OK and doesn't know the stress he has caused, and Thank You to Vicki who rescued him and contacted us. We don't know what we would have done if he had been hit by a car.

So I hope everyone else's weekends haven't been that stressful and that you've got lots more stitching in than I did...

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Elephant ABC #8

I've got a few more letters done but I ran out of a few more colours as well... We're heading home tomorrow so I'm going to make a list and get to the craft store to stock up...

We went to Freestone's Roadhaven for lunch today and we are so full! We both had burgers that came with fries and a milkshake and it was so filling. Delicious, just too much! We had a small bowl of soup for dinner as that was all we could fit in. 

We also plodded along the beach afterwards with Clarence. Now he is sleepy too. It was slightly warmer here today, but only slightly. Hopefully this will be the last of the winter weather.

It has been nice to be here for a little longer than we normally can be. I'm looking forward to coming back again in 3 weeks time. We've got a few things to bring back with us - tools to put up a wall bracket for the TV, screw drivers to tighten the new curtain rods and a planer to fix the windows so they can close properly.

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Elephant ABC #7

So, I finished off the W and Q and started on V (or done as much as I could), but I've run out of the mid-grey... I'll definitely have to make a trip to the shops when we get home on Monday or Tuesday.

On Thursday night I started to get out the bits and pieces I'll need for the Winnie the Pooh design I'm hoping to start next week. What I didn't realise was that the design uses Anchor threads so I had to get a conversion chart to DMC and I'll see what others I need to buy when we get home.

Today was very different to yesterday - yesterday was 33 degrees - today was 17 and wet and windy. Unfortunately, the school fair was on here at Aireys Inlet. We made it over for a look in between the showers but I am sure they would have been disappointed with the weather. There wasn't a lot of good stuff there - I only bought a pack of caramel slices so I'll have them for morning tea over the next few days.

We took Clarence for a nice walk on the beach in between the rain showers and we were lucky that the sun even came out. Hopefully the weather improves over the next few days.

Tomorrow we are going to Freestone's Roadhaven which is a diner straight out of Happy Days! We've been there once before and it was great so we are looking forward to going again.

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Sing to the Lord #13 & Elephant ABC #6

We had a great time at Aireys Inlet over the weekend. Since it had been so long since we'd been there, there were a lot of jobs to do. We hung new curtains, mowed the lawns which were very long, and a few other bits and pieces. Now, when we go back again for the long weekend next week, we will be able to relax!

Thankfully, Clarence stayed out of the water. But last night there was a HUGE thunder and lightning storm and heaps of rain so he got wet then. Oh well, not much you can do about it.

I only got a little stitching done on the Elephant ABC because on Saturday night we got distracted watching old James Bond movies...

 

I only got 2 balloons and the W started...

When we got home on Sunday night, I continued with Sing to the Lord. Only a couple more bunches of flowers to go now so I can see that the end is in sight! But I have run out of the dark grey used for back stitching so I'll need to get to the craft shop when I get a chance.

Then, once this is done, I have a Winnie the Pooh picture to do as a birth sampler for a friend who is due in April next year. Then after that another baby item - a Christmas stocking which doesn't need to be ready until Christmas next year so there's no rush on that just yet.

Then after those, there's one more of these Heartfelt designs. Since they are pretty quick, I might slip it in between the Pooh and stocking designs but I really need to get started on the Pooh design as it is reasonably big and will take a while to get through.

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Elephant ABC #4; Be Joyful #6; Promises of God #1

We headed off to Aireys Inlet again this weekend and I got heaps more done on the Elephant ABC... the letters are so quick to do.

When we got home, I realised I'd run out of black again so I couldn't finish off Be Joyful - back to the craft store again. I'm sure I bought several skeins of black last time I ran out but I don't know where I've put them... I've just got the top branch to do and then the beading. The beads that come with this pack are quite big and I think they will be too big for this design. Luckily, I have plenty of smaller black ones left from the previous designs in this set and will probably use those instead.

So I couldn't stitch Be Joyful, which meant I had to start the final one I have in this Heartfelt Series - Promises of God. This looks involved, but it only has 9 colours!

 

I can't wait to get all these finished and framed in matching frames - they will look amazing!

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Elephant ABC #3

Last night, I finished off the balloons on the N and the O. The colours in this design, as in the Dinosaur ABC, are bright and vibrant; and the elephants are just so cute!

It was very windy last night, and is again today as well. Everything was banging and clattering all night long so I didn't get a great night's sleep. Hopefully tonight will be better.

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Elephant ABC #2

Hello folks, I'm back at Aireys Inlet for a couple of days relaxation and recovery before returning to work and getting back into the swing of things now that the library move is completed and the library conference is over. Yesterday, I made great progress getting 2 letters done. This one seems a bit quicker to stitch than the Dinosaur ABC from the same designer.

This morning, I had a 90 minute relaxation massage and now I feel amazing! It was so wonderful. We should all treat ourselves to massages more often than we do... Then Clarence (our Golden Retriever) and I went for a long walk on the beach - it was lovely when the sun was out, rather chilly when it went behind a cloud. It's just the two of us at the house again tonight and then we'll head home tomorrow. At least now I can get back into the habit of posting regular updates. You've all been very understanding during the past 2 months while all the moving and conference organising has been going on. Hopefully no more of that now for quite some time!

Also, I notice I've got a few more followers - WELCOME! It's great to have you along for the journey. I hope you enjoy my project updates as much as I enjoy bringing them to you.

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Dinosaur ABC & New Start

On the weekend, I finished the Dinosaur ABC...

I am very pleased with the result - love the bright colours. I was going to stitch a border but one of my letters is slightly out which would be quite obvious with a border, so I left it off. I'll just get a mat when i get it framed. The spots in the picture are water drops from the iron - they're not there now!

I also started on the next project from the Heartfelt Series - Be Joyful. This is where I'm up to after a couple of nights stitching:

 

I plan to alter it slightly and back-stitch the word "be" so it matches the "have's" from the other designs.

Well, that's it for today. Have a great day!

Happy Stitching,

Kerrie

Dinosaur ABC #7

Oh, I just hate it when I don't have all the colours needed to complete a design. I can't wait to get back to Melbourne and get the missing threads so I can finish this off. It's only 3 colours I don't have, but it seems almost every letter uses at least one of them. Only 4 of the above letters are completely done. Oh well, just another reason why I MUST get to the craft shop when we get home!
Back to much cooler weather today which will be nice. I do so love being down here at the beach house, and being able to stay more than the weekend, which is all we can manage during the year, is so relaxing. I think we are planning to actually do something (like go for a drive to a nearby town) today which is way more than we've managed to do so far - that's what holidays are for - doing nothing... but stitching of course!
Happy Stitching,
Kerrie