Weekend Stitchy List - 2

My weekend list of things to do.......

Well after a couple of the comments about last week's photos....I do have proof that my tidyup did occur.... I did have a photo midway through - showing the pile of magazines and charts...but sorry...was too blurry (and embarrassing to post)
Not quite visible in this pic are the 3 piles of magazines I need to sort through - they are piled on the table to the left - what needs to be clear to display Christmas...

I still need to :
- put some effort into my course homework
- get a start on some sewn christmas gifts - the machine is back out on the dining room table - I'm hoping it will co-operate - I found new needles in the cleanup
- I found some more WIP's (not going to call them UFO's) - need to sort out that priority too.. (Note to self - DO NOT start anything new before finishing at least one WIP....christmas ornaments are not part of this arrangement - I can start those anytime i want!)
- I found my stash of graph paper so I can put some more effort into charting 'Martha'
- List some more charts and glassware on ebay
- unpack some more boxes of glassware for the sale in a fortnight
- Make a start on my Christmas Tablecloth - the section representing 2008 Christmas...hmmmm still not decided on a pattern.

Oh yes...I put a clump of things in a box and will work out a reason for a giveaway this week....nothing exciting, but somebody may love it!!!!


Well - If I get my A into G.. I should be able to get my weekend stitching underway before it gets too hot to be at the sewing machine....

Happy stitching !!

Weekend Stitchy List

My weekend list of things to do.......

have this idea that this weekend I will;
- tidy up my 'sewing room' explosion in the lounge and dining rooms.
- put some effort into my course homework
- organise my stitching and crafting projects into some sort of priority system
- investigate my sewing machine and try to work out it's issues
- put some more effort into charting 'Martha'

oh and the occasional domestic stuff.

WIP's / Projects that come immediately to mind are:
- finish halloween ornie (ok - so it will be ready for next year - it's over 1 and I've not been stitching much during the week)
- Bent Creek's Bluebird Sampler
- Poppy Picture - which WAS going to be a christms in july present for my brother's SO (she's too nice to be a SIL)
- My english floral sampler has been in my mind for a few days - must pull that back out
- A sampler SAL that I initiated back in 2007
- My christmas tablecloth square - need to find a suitable chart for that - HAS to be finished before Christmas

I'm not going to think too hard - there are also a couple of stitchery projects that like flotsam, rise to the surface. I'm sure this list will grow as I clear up my stitchy area!

BONUS ! ! ! - In my fit of tidy - I located the 2nd missing roller cutter - still in it's packet!!!!! I knew that I really didn't have to purchase the third cheapie - because - as it Murphy's law wins out again - I found the first missing cutter within a fortnight of buying the replacement 3rd cutter - now I know where all 3 cutters are ! ! ! WOO HOO!!!! (I STILL HAVE TO PUT ALL THE STUFF BACK AWAY - POSSIBLY RE-ARRANGE ALL THE FURNITURE!!! - here is what I'm left to work with...all I have to do now is figure out where it's all going back....this does not show the dining room table contents....lol ..

What's in a name - Mary is Martha !!!

I keep referring to my sampler as Mary. I've been her custodian for a whole 3 days. I've looked at the name again - just charted the ship this afternoon.... It's M A R T H A ! ! ! !
The research I did a few months ago was all based on Martha, not Mary - so why do I have the name Mary in my brain????
Could it be a subconscious link to Mary Wigham? After all - her sampler is so everywhere at the moment....

Note to self - remember to call your sampler by her right name.....

and to buy some more graph paper
(You wouldn't believe the 2 hour cleanup I did, just to get to the filing cabinet that turns out not to have sufficient graph paper in it - yes I know I can download graph paper on the interweb, but it's not the same as schoolbook blue graph paper......)

There's something about Mary - More sampler & a first of the month finish

This picture is a bit greener than the sampler actually is, but it gives you a bit more feel of the layout of the body of the sampler......I love the ship. The 'N' in the upper alphabet has been darned over a hole before framing. I'm going to have fun charting this one. Some of it is charted over two - some over one! I couldn't get a clear photo of the itty bitty birds in one section - they are stitched over one, with a dainty little french knot eye. Thank you all for sharing my journey with Mary.




My latest finish - quite a while since I've had one too... An adapted Lizzie Kate design - I just picked colours out of one box of DMC, not using any prescribed colours.... It was originally intended as a gift for somebody else, but I wasn't quite happy with the design for her - something else will leap into hand when it is the right time for her - so halfway through stitching this, the recipient changed. Another workmate - who will appreciate the slightly subversive reverse....

I thought of quite a few things to stitch - along the lines of : "Prune out the weeds" - "Only display the pretty ones" - but that might be a bit much for most.

The fabric is really pretty - a sort of tie-dye - I cannot remember where I got it from, but I've got several fat quarters - some shot with gold too.

Thank you for your comments about Mary - I'm still really excited

My vintage sampler is in my hands at last - Introducing Mary!

Here is a sneak peek at my vintage sampler. After 3 months of careful saving - I was able to pick her up this morning - I am so stoked! She is mine!
I will be contacting the National Gallery for advice on conserving her - I am not concerned at all about the frame - a typical Victorian Mourning style - the dealer believed her to be stitched about 1880, but the name combination exists only once in the past 200 years in the UK - Martha was born in 1831. The sampler states 'Aged 9 Years' - which means it was stitched in 1840 - 169 years ago.
Can you understand why I am so excited?????
I'm not going to post a full picture until I have this charted - it is my intention to do a bit more research, then release a chart to interested parties.
Yes there is some research to do, but she is in my hands now and will be loved. Hubby has already suggested that I stitch a reproduction and hang it side-by-side. We'll see.
There are small holes and tears, some that were clearly darned before it was framed, some newer ones as the linen is disintegrating - which is why I'll be quickly looking into the conservation of this piece. Some of the little motifs are stitched over 1 - hard to show the detail - but here is the ship - most of the colours have faded, but it is still clear to see the blue and the green. More research needed there too....

Join me in a happy dance?

happy happy happy !!!!!

Week o' Halloween - Saturday - BOO !!!

I think we had our spooky night last night - as I went to bed the sky was full of sheet lightning - no crack! - just gentle rumblings. I slept through any storms that passed overhead. Judging by the puddles of water along the pathway this morning, there was a lot of rain overnight. The air was very, very warm, so I guess it's going to be a stinker of an afternoon - just heard the forcast - showers and 30. Certainly in for a muggy day
I'm always going on about the dog - here he is - my personal dog-alarm. Should we ever have a blackout during the night - I've no worries about waking up on time for work - this dog has a built-in clock! I'm the only one who hears him at 5:45am !!!! This is Milo - he is a Kelpie cross and the only dog we've ever had who brings back things you throw to him. If it lasts that long, a tennis ball is his favourite toy - we can play for hours on end!!! (I get tired long before he does!)

Halloween - Here is my Halloween Table. I haven't put out the Candy Corn yet - that will come out this evening. Please excuse the mess behind the table - that's my stitching room exploding. Left to right: Cackling Witch, some gooey tarantulas that will be eaten tonight, a resin trio of dragons (not halloweenish, but decorative), you can't see her well but there is a little resin witch just pokeing her nose over the top of the dragon (with a broken nose - the witch not the dragon), My ornament tree, with marbles on the top of the soil for sparkle, There are a few witches and spiders as well as ornaments in my tree, to the right of the table is my basket with my cushions, a couple of hand-towels with embroidered ghosts, my 'Boo!' socks, and a little witch received last year - oh and some Jolly Roger coasters. Another view, basket end - you can see the embroidered towel really well - it is more orange, but it's showing as mandarin here. Oh there's the clock at the end - not really old, but hubby likes it - yes it was 6:50am when I took the photo!! Here is a squiz at the back of the ornament tree, as the flash really picks up all that fake cobweb. I've got my ornies hanging from it, really for viewing through the cobwebs... I've got black and orange and glow in the dark spiders in amongst the cobwebs too. Hey this really shows of fthe fabric I've used on my ornies and cushions!!!! lol. I'll try to get a good photo during the day of the front of the tree, when it's light enough NOT to need a flash! (see that bookcover in the bottom right corner??? - THAT is my inspiration for a quilt that exists only at this moment in my head. 2010 may be the year that it actually comes into being!!!)

Week o' Halloween - friday

Trick or Treat !!!! two for one today....(tomorrow pictures of the full display - I promise!)

Missy is still going on her 13 days of Halloween - have you caught up with it yet? Quick ! nearly over.

Week o' Halloween - thursday

Yes there is a stitched ornament.....or three. I just love Ultraviolet on that hat... will have to find me some more.

Don't forget Missy will be up to day 10 by now. Have you eaten all your candycorn yet???

Week o' Halloween - wednesday

Trick or Treat...... my snippet of decorations for today.

And don't forget Missy - up to day 9 today.....

(foggy morning walk today)

Week o' Halloween - tuesday

Sneak peek of my halloween display - another little bit.

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Giveaways: don't forget Missy's 13 days of Halloween - what day are we up to now? 8 already not far to go - good luck!

and

Daffycat is celebrating her 2nd blogaversary with a Simon's Cat Giveaway - check it out!!!
I've been making the effort at a morning walk - the only time of day to get that bit of extra effort - come along with my walk this morning.......
Nothing fancy - there is a gravel road alongside a creek at the end of our street. It's about 1/2 km to the end, then a turnaround and head home. It's quite restful, listening to the frogs call 'BOK-BOK' and the birds singing. No photo of the magpies this morning - I think they are camera shy. I call this tree the 'Smiley Face' Tree.... see what I mean? Nearly at the turnaround point - and still the sun rises. This is 'Patterson's Curse' - very pretty purple, but a noxious weed - it can kill horses and other animals that eat it. Not that horses or livestock use this pathway......The sun is now warming the hillside at the back of our house - just behind the powerlines is National Park - our one concern in bushfire season.

I hope you enjoyed my morning walk - the dog and I did. Thanks for keeping us company!