SFS - April

Stitch From Stash April Report

Month:  April
Carryover from previous months:  $125
Allowed spending:  $25
Spent:  $0
Earned:  $11.50
Balance:  $161.50


Finishes for April, yes there are 2!

First, here is my finished Fall Mandala.

I did less than half this before January, so I'm going to claim half the stitching credit.
Stitch count: 101 x 101 100% coverage - $15  x 0.5 = $7.50

I also started and finished a small LHN - Silent Night this month.  I used the recommended fabric and threads.

Stitch count 49 x 49 = $4

Total for the month: $11.50


Not sure what I'm stitching on next.  I have another small LHN ornament kitted up and ready to stitch.  I've also pulled out my Romantic Rose Garden Mandala UFO.
I have some tax paperwork to do before I can stitch again.
We have a severe weather warning here for the next few days and are expecting flooding rain if an east coast low forms.  It won't be as bad as the system that hit New South Wales last week.  I hope it clears by Saturday for DD's tennis semi-finals.

We had a relaxing week away just after Easter.  DH and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on April 16.  It is DD's 14th birthday this Friday - May 1st.  We are going to see Cirque du Soleil - Totem on Sunday to celebrate both events.

SFS - March

Stitch From Stash March Report

Month:  March
Carryover from previous months:  $100
Allowed spending  $25
Spent:  $0
Earned:  $0
Balance:  $125


Fall Mandala is nearly finished!

I was going to stitch on this today but I've ended up working most of the day while keeping one eye on the cricket final on TV.  We have a short week coming up before the Easter break as Friday is a public holiday.  DD has 2 weeks holidays after this week and we are going to Mooloolaba for 5 nights from Easter Monday.  If I take some stitching I also need to take a portable light and some magnifying glasses as I can't see to stitch with using a magnifier.  It might be easier to just take a few books.

SFS - February

Stitch From Stash February Report

Month:  February
Carryover from January:   $75
Allowed Spending:  $25
Spent:   $0
Earned:   $0
Balance:   $100


I've done a bit more stitching on Fall Mandala

I've got itchy fingers!  I'm torn between continuing this or starting something small so I can have a finish.  I think I'll do another 10 hours and see how I feel after that.

The aussie dollar is shocking at the moment and postage is very expensive from my favourite US online store so I'm making sure I really want something (or several somethings) before I make a purchase.
On the other hand, I brought lots of patterns, fabrics and threads a few years ago when the dollar was very high so I have lots of choice from my stash.

Grow Your Blog Giveaway and stitching update

First, thank you to everyone who visited and commented during the Grow Your Blog party.
I have drawn the name of the winner out of the giveaway bowl.

Debbie, you have won a gift voucher to 123stitch.


Thank you to everyone for the lovely comments about Fall Mandala.
I sat down a few weeks ago and very carefully frogged out the thread that didn't match.

Then, I very carefully restitched it and frogged out the thread that I had run out of!

I must remember to double check my colours before I do any frogging in future!


Once I got past that hurdle I managed to fill in the top quarter.

Now, I am working my way down the right side doing the black outlines.


DH has been home for the last week and has been very busy getting his new race car ready for racing next weekend.  He and DS are leaving on Friday morning and getting back on Sunday afternoon.  DH flies to the US the following morning for another week away.  He has been struggling a bit with jet lag.  This is his timetable since late January - 2 weeks away, 2 weeks home, 1 week away - it's no fun flying to the other side of the world so often.  He is back in Australia a bit in March, but looks like he has a trip to Germany before Easter.  He was talking about ducking over to Singapore in March but I don't think he can fit that in.

DD is busy at school.  She has joined a tennis team at school and is playing against other schools on Saturday mornings. Her lesson and team training is early Monday and Tuesday mornings at school.  She is in 2 choirs at school, rehearsals are Wednesday morning and afternoons.  One is the auditioned choir which she was asked to join at the end of last year - there are only about 15 members taken from the whole school.  She also has singing lessons Wednesday lunchtime at school.  She didn't get her singing ability from me!

She is still playing club netball, her team finished 2nd on the ladder after the summer season and is into the semi-finals starting this Wednesday night.   Grading for the winter netball season is this Saturday.    She has early starts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at school, and netball on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  She also has Scouts on Friday night.  We have to leave at 6.30am on Saturday morning for tennis.
I'm exhausted and she wants to add a second tennis lesson every week!  Maybe next term.

My tailbone is still not great, the worst is when I'm driving or sitting on a hard seat for a while. Getting up from a chair can by quite painful.  The doctor said 6-8 weeks, but we've been told by a few friends that it can take up to 2 years.  Luckily, stitching doesn't seem to be too painful.

The heat and humidity have gone and the weather here is back to perfect again.

Thank you for visiting.

A Finish and another WIP

Stitching

Last weekend I finished Pear Tree.

Pear Tree by LHN using recommended threads.

This was the last of my small wips.


My next wip is Fall Mandala by Ink Circles.
The center section was where I stopped ages ago.  Now I've done the black outline along the top and started filling in the colours.  I'm loving using the silk HDF threads.

Goodbye 2011

Well, it's the last day of 2011. 2012 CJC starts tomorrow and I'm all ready. I've changed my list because I've signed up for the Sweet Flowers SAL so I've removed the larger charts and replaced them with small ornaments. Hopefully this will give me enough time to finish Sweet Flowers and the HAED next year and do some more on my WIPS.

December was busy. Our holiday was lovely and relaxing.
The weather was not good, but it didn't matter. We parked our car in the hotel carpark the day we arrived and didn't drive it again until we left for home a week later. We had a few wet and windy days, but managed to make it to the beach several times. The worst day was a record cold day for December and of course we didn't have any warm clothes with us. Here are some pictures.



view from our balcony



A friend on the beach

The Traveller (DH) had to make a quick 4 day trip to Singapore and Malaysia 2 days after we got home from our holiday. I've decided not to plan too far ahead in the future in relation to his being at home!  He is home until the end of next week, then away again.

Before I went on holiday I saw my Dr about a suspicious spot on my neck.  It looked like skin cancer so after I got back he removed it. The week before Christmas I went back to get the stitch out and the lab results came back negative so that was a relief.

DH had had some health issues since he was in hospital in August but we thought they were side effects from the medication he was on but the GP thinks not and has referred him to a specialist for tests to rule out the big C. He is still waiting for an appointment but I hope it is soon.

I sold my old car in mid December. We started advertising it online in November and dropped the price every week because there was no-one interested in it.  Then, I went to morning tea at a friends house and mentioned in passing to another friend that we were finally trying to sell the old car and she said she was interested, her and her DH came around that night and brought it! Not sure I wanted to sell to a good friend but we dropped a bit more off the price so they got a good car for a good price.

Christmas was good.  My dad came for a week and left 2 days ago.  I did lots of cooking before the big day. Christmas Eve I made a roast leg of lamb then we had Christmas lunch at DH's parents house - I made a pavlova and we had cold ham and prawns with salad followed by cheesecake, pavlova and fruit.

I have done a bit of stitching but mostly have been busy getting fabric and threads kitted up for CJC. I'm still preparing fabric for Sweet Flowers.

I started Fall Mandala ages ago then had problems with needing thread and having to frog, then busy with family, etc so here is my progress. 



Fall Mandala designed by Tracy Horner (Ink Circles)
fabric - 28ct Wintered Marble linen from Stitches and Spice
thread - HDF silk

Welcome to my new followers, thank you for all your comments. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.