Life, the Universe and Stitching

The 5 Sided Box So Far...

2009-07-04T11:02:00.003-03:00

Here's my progress on Blessed with Happiness after one month.

3 sides completely cross stitched and 2 complete with lettering. The fabric is (bright) white Jubliee but it's been cloudy and rainy here for the past 2-3 weeks, so taking a picture with the true colours was impossible.

And I've put in a couple of more days on Rosemarkie. A few more days next month and I should be done.

Another New Project Begins Its Siren Call

2009-06-27T09:04:00.002-03:00

Laura J. Perin has come out with a new Butterfly pattern - it's blue (my favourite colour) and uses Sante Fe Green which I have leftover from Reflecting Pools.

I wonder if DH wants to get me my birthday present really early? Maybe I won't tell him?

The Missing Temari Post

2009-06-02T10:40:00.004-03:00

I discovered something when I was adding labels to my posts the other day. I never did show off the temari I made for Melissa. Time to correct that.

This one is called Circle of Diamonds (Square within a Square) from "The Temari Book" by Anne Diamond.

Progress on Alhambra

2009-06-01T11:40:00.008-03:00

First off, thank you for all the good wishes. The wave of craziness has mostly past. But I'll admit, this surgery scares me more that the first (which didn't scare me at all!). I know what I'm in for this time around and somehow the risks seem greater (all in my head).

And now Alhambra:Cheryl had asked when I'm going to start he Peacock and it's something I've been giving a lot of thought. For now, my new start list looks list this:

0. Chatelaine's Rainforest Quilt (will take Alhambra Garden's slot when finished)
1. Cat Whisker's Blessed with Happiness (aka BWH - starting tomorrow)
2. TW's Fruit Quartet (starting in July)
3. Jill Gordon's Peacock (after BWH is complete)
2. TW's Flower Quartet (after Fruit Quartet is complete)

I'd like to start the Peacock sooner but the others are pulling at my heart strings more strongly right now. And BWH shouldn't take too long and being on sick leave to recover from surgery will give me lots of stitching time.

And the TW Quartet's are going to be pillows for our chocolate brown leather sofas. The colours are perfect.

The other part of my plan is to stitch on Rosemarkie at least one day a month. I really like how it's turning out but I seem to burn out if I work on it for more than a week at a time. Today is Rosemarkie day.

It's also the first day of Hurricane Season. Whee!

Pardon Me While I Vent a Bit

2009-05-28T12:32:00.004-03:00

Damn damn damn damn stupid bleeping bleepity bleep.

I'll be having back surgery. Again. As soon as possible.

The problems that led to my first surgery are starting to redevelop and my surgeon (who, btw, is totally awesome) sees no point in putting it off until things get as bad as they were 3 years ago. He also intends to fix this problem once and for all. But it will be a more invasive surgery and I will likely be off work for 6 months (at least) instead of 3 like last time.

Arghh!

Good News for Peacock Project

2009-05-19T13:50:00.002-03:00

Small confession: I've had Jill Gordon's Peacock kitted up for the past 3 years (or more but who's counting). In addition to other projects screaming more loudly, the one thing that's stumped me about the project is how to finish it. I don't want it framed and I've had no luck finding a suitable foot stool - until now.

I happened to be a the mall Sunday afternoon during the weekly craft fair and I met a gentleman who does custom woodworking, including footstools. It's not something he gets many requests for (which may be one the reasons I never see footstools at craft fairs) but he does make them.

Now, I just have to stitch it.

What's in a Name?

2009-05-16T12:44:00.005-03:00

Melissa's name meme got me thinking about my own last name.

My maiden name was Wright but for sanity and professional reasons (a weather forecaster called Wright, cue the bad jokes), I took DH's name after we got married. His name (and mine) is Saulnier. After almost 18 years of marriage, I still can't say it correctly. I can speak some French but I will never be mistaken for a native French speaker. On the upside, I'm told I speak French with an Acadian accent. That would be DH's influence.

Which brings me to German. I took German for a year in university but it never took to me. My 4 days in Potsdam (suburb of Berlin) were extremely interesting. But Germany is very user friendly. Many restaurants have menus with pictures and most of the people I encountered spoke English fluently. For the ones who didn't speak English, pointing and hand signals worked perfectly fine when my German was insufficient.

The group I was with for the workshop, they corrected me alot. But they were also very helpful and were nice enough to not speak German all the time during social and break times. BTW, the main workshop presenter was Danish and the workshop was conducted in English.

One of the attendee's was from the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. I could have listened to him speak all day! German has never sounded so beautiful.

I took alot of pictures in Potsdam with our new Canon Powershot and this is one of my favourite. I love the symmetry.

Time for a Change

2009-04-25T08:04:00.002-03:00

I finally updated my blog to use the new features. I knew I would have to find a new template and it turned out to be less painful that I thought.

Quickie Update

2009-04-18T17:44:00.003-03:00

Here's a quick update on Rosemarkie (picture taken on Tuesday, then migraine on Wednesday):

Now, I'm off to work. Another sunny day for Faith Ann tomorrow.

Romantic Gazebo HD!

2009-04-10T14:12:00.006-03:00

It's done! It's done! It's done! And it's so pretty!

Actually it's been done since Tuesday evening but things have been a little busy getting ready for BIL's birthday party that we had here last night. It was an almost spur of the moment thing.

Edit to add: Sorry about forgetting such basic information. The chart is called Romantic Gazebo/Secret Garden by Patricia Andrle (the mother of Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Designs) and can be found in the July/August 1995 issue of BHG's CS&CC.

Now, onto Rosemarkie for a few days more days until the monotony gets to me.

Today's Random Thought

2009-03-31T16:33:00.002-03:00

Why am I not worried that DD#2 (Grade 2) is improving her English reading skills by playing WOW?

BTW, both DDs go to a French school and start English as a subject in Grade 4.

All Over But the Cutting...

2009-03-26T15:00:00.004-03:00

and the hemstitching. And the needleweaving.

So here's where I am on Romantic Gazebo. If I've done this correctly, the picture should be clickable to a larger image. Time to buck up my courage and start cutting.

Back From Mexico

2009-03-21T10:22:00.005-03:00

For those of you on Facebook, you can see the rest of my pictures. If you can't, send me a friend request.

Here's one that not on Facebook - me (in the white shirt) sitting on the steps half way up the pyramid. I was supposed to wave to DH but started talking the the lady next to me.

There is a rope from the top all the way down. Going up is fairly safe but the steps are steep and a few are worn and slippy so coming down is much more challenging.

For the rest of the trip: we ate too much, we drank too much, we went snorkeling along the reef, we went out on the catamaran, swimming in the ocean and had lots of fun without children (who stayed home with Grandma).

We're already planning a return trip in about 2 years as a family vacation.

More Rainforest

2009-03-02T11:23:00.005-04:00

Well, here's my last quilt block for a while. The body of butterfly in done with Petite Treasure Braid in black with a line of gold beads to be added later. I may outline the whole body in gold (to match the antenni) after that.

All together. The colours are a little washed out.

Now, it's back to Romantic Gazebo until it's done.

My New Favourite Soup Hmmm

2009-02-18T19:09:00.003-04:00

I tried a new recipe earlier this week and it was amazing (and easy to boot!)

Sweet Potato, White Bean and Orzo Soup

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cups diced sweet potato
1 cup diced carrot
3-4 cups chicken stock
1 cup cooked white kidney beans, drained
1/3 cup orzo (or other small pasta)
1 cup 2% milk (which I left out)
Chopped parsley.

In a non-stick saucepan, heat oil; saute garlic, onion and celery until tender, about 4 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots and stock. Cover and simmer on medium for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Puree in food processor until smooth (yeah, I skipped that part too). Back in the pot; add kidney beans and pasta. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Add milk and heat until warm. Serve garnish the chopped parsley

FYI - I doubled everything except maybe the sweet potato. Two large ones looked about right.

There was a lot more before the picture was taken.

Rainforest Update and Facebook Childishness

2009-02-05T10:29:00.007-04:00

Here's my latest block on Rainforest Quilt. And I admit, I've been lax about getting out the camera to take a picture. I'm just over half done the outside of the next block.

And the childishness.

Well, on a lark a searched to see if a rather well known person in my profession had a facebook account. He did and I sent him a friend request with a note about how and where we met. I have no idea if he actually remembers me but he accepted my friend request. I'm sort of hoping this (that I friended him first) cheeses off co-worker with a PhD and an ego the size of a small country (and who interacts with this person much more than I do).

I'll be a grown-up tomorrow. Promise (pinky swear and everything).

2008 was a Very Good Year

2009-01-10T12:14:00.007-04:00

Here's my year end wrap up of the Stitching Goals of 2008:

Work on Alhambra Garden (I'm aiming for a 2009 finish) - worked on but won't be finished in 2009
Finish Le Jardin Silk Sampler - Done!
Finish Reflecting Pools (should only take about two more weeks after I find another skein of Watercolours) - Done!
Finish VS's Heirloom Christmas - Done!
Complete Elegant Ironwork (Graceful Lily) - my first blackwork - Done!
Work on Rosemarkie (I have no delusions about finishing) - done (only two days but it did get worked on)
2 new starts - Just Nan's 4 Wishes and Jill Gordon's Peacock
Well, 4 Wishes became a RAK (as much as I liked it, I didn't like it enough to stitch and found somebody to adopt it) and Peacock got bumped by Rainforest Quilt
3 temari balls - I finished 2.

Yeah me! And now the Stitching Goals for 2009:

Work on Rainforest Quilt until the class is complete in February (it will then be put on hold until I finish Alhambra Garden)
Work on Alhambra Garden
Finish Romantic Gazebo
Work on Rosemarkie (even if only for a couple of days)
2 new starts - TW's Flower or Fruit Quartet and Cat Whiskers' Blessed with Happiness Embroidered Box (if I don't change my mind again - the poor Peacock is going to have to wait another year)
4 Christmas ornaments (from the Cross Stitch Gold magazine my girls bought me for Christmas)

And Christmas was good. DH bought me the leather purse I really wanted - a Roots Village Bag in Vintage Tribe Leather and as a family gift, we bought a Playstation 3 and I'm now a HUGE fan of Lego Batman (Lego Star Wars was sold out).

In stitching news, I should have another picture in about 2 weeks. I finished the outer frame yesterday and am now working on the pink and lavender orchid block.

Missy had mentioned that she would go cross-eyed stitching on black. I was nervous when I started, but now it's not a problem. The right holes kind of pop out at me and I notice right away when the X's aren't square - frogging so far as been minimal and only a little more than usual.

Progress on Rainforest Quilt

2008-12-02T20:29:00.007-04:00

Another month and another WIP picture. Two actually. I finished the frame around block 2 and then filled in the middle. Ta da!

And all together because it looks better that way and but mostly because I am incapable of using the digital zoom on my camera.

And Christine tagged me last week, so here goes.

Rule #1 ~ Link to the person that tagged you.
Rule #2 ~ Post the rules on your Blog.
Rule #3 ~ Write 6 random things about yourself.
Rule #4 ~ Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
Rule #5 ~ Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. Rule #6 ~ Let the tagger know your entry is up.

1. DH and I have own 4 cars over the past 18 years. They have all been VW Jettas (silver, blue, red and midnight blue).

2. I broke my right leg when I was 8 and still have a slight limp but only going down stairs.

3. I remember my first phone number from when I was about 2 until 10 (when we moved to another province).

4. I know how to properly pronounce Quispamsis and Musquodoboit but always get tongue-tied trying to say Kouchibouguac.

5. I cannot parallel park. I also cannot backup into parking spaces. Something about the whole going backwards thing freaks me out.

6. I am Canadian (truly, eh) but I don't like beer or hockey (unless Sidney Crosby happens to be around).

More on Romantic Gazebo

2008-11-04T10:56:00.003-04:00

This is the top layer for Romantic Gazebo. I've changed the fabric colour from Moss Green to Spring Meadow Green. It's very gray and dreary here today so the lighting is not the best. After all the eyelets (104) in the border, I'm ready to switch back to Rainforest Quilt (there are about 90 more eyelets in the gazebo walls!).

Framing and Hanging HD

2008-10-28T11:09:00.005-03:00

Happy, Happy Happy!

My Three Gifts of the Magi are framed and hanging on the wall where they belong.

BTW, Peacock Tapestry is also hanging in this room on the wall to the left.

On the Stitching Front

2008-10-27T09:46:00.005-03:00

October 27 - Where did the month go?

Here is my completed Block 1 for Rainforest Quilt:

I finished this block in the middle of September and started work on the "frame" for block 2.

For this month, I started another new project - Romantic Gazebo by Patricia Andrle. This is the underlay part:
The overlay is a gazebo with one large main "window" that is completely open and two smaller "windows" with needleweaving. I'm nearly done with the cross stitch portion and then it will be a tonne of Algerian eyelets and lots of other fun specialty stitches.

Today's PSA

2008-10-08T21:00:00.002-03:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Since I know you've all day that annoying exam, treat yourself to a new bra.

Because a better bra = happy boobs and isn't that everybody's goal in life?

A Very Late August Update

2008-09-15T08:25:00.006-03:00

Here I am, late again. Although, the last few days of August and the first week and a half of Spetember were a whirlwind of activity.

BIL was married on August 30th, so that was 3 days used up (rehearsal on Friday, wedding on Saturday and then the post-wedding brunch and present opening on Sunday).

Since then, school as started and I've worked 6 12-hours shifts including the weekend of Hanna. Very busy but also very satisfying. I totally nailed Hanna's final speed and track.

And now here is my newest project - Chatelaine's Rainforest Quilt.

This is block 1. The whole project will be a 4 by 4 layout with frogs, butterflies, orchids and birds filling the frames. The colours are so vibrant against the black.

For September, I was originally planning to start another new project (Romantic Gazebo by Patricia Andrle) but I've kep going on Rainforest Quilt instead. The blue froggie is almost done.

And DH still hasn't uploaded our vacation pictures to the computer so I can't post the view from the top of Mount Desert Rock yet.

Thank You Laura!!!

2008-08-01T18:31:00.006-03:00

Laura (who happens to be my favourite needlepoint designer) tagged me with the Brillante Weblog Award. Woo whoo!

Here are the rules:

1. The winner can display this award on their blog.
2. Display a link to the person you have got the award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs that you like.
4. Set the links to the blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a comment on the blogs you have chosen.

Decisions, decisions. I would love to nominate all my favourite blogs so picking 7 is going to be difficult.

Erin Expounds (a fellow temai junkie)

Karin and her Sparklie Things

Paula, the Celtic Stitcher and Sock Knitter

Belinda's Alternate Dementia

Arthemise's (Mostly) Stitching Blog (who stitches faster than I thought was humanly possible)

Stitch and Stuff

Woozle Madness (because she can always make me laugh or cry)

Next up: pictures from our New England vacation after they are rescued from DH's computer (long story) and Annette as tagged me with the "I Love Your Blog" award so I get the chance to tag 10 more of my favourite blogs. But really, you're all my favourites!

Elegant HD

2008-07-30T14:17:00.004-03:00

And now it's done - Elegant Ironwork (Graceful Lily). What can I say? Blackwork is fast.

And now a small confession. I actually used the good ole backstitch because my running backstitch looks terrible. Straight lines always like crooked to me, sort of like _-_-_-_-_ but closer together. But backstitching, I can do a nice clean and straight line (although sometimes it takes a little fiddling).

Now, it's time for pre-start preparations on Rainforest Quilt. Fun, fun, fun!