Some Things to Play With

I told you I'd be back soon!

Today is a pyjama day for Pelle and me. He had trouble breathing yesterday and throughout the night. He seems to be a little better today and maybe he could have gone to school, but I wouldn't want to have the teachers make him take his asthma medication. It's difficult enough for me to get it in there, but he can forgive me. Not so sure he would be willing to forgive people he has only known for a couple of weeks :o) So, as the title of this post suggests I will be blogging about things to play with. Apart from playing with Pelle, I've been playing with something else today. Behold, my new floor stand:

Purchased at the craft fair in Rotterdam last Friday, which I visited with Harmien. Thankfully, my parents remembered my visit there was a birthday gift from them to me, so I actually had some cash to spend, which makes shopping at a craft fair SO much more enjoyable. I specifically went to look for a floor stand, and just when I had given up hope of finding anything stitch-related at the fair (it was mostly knitting and quilt shops), I found this marvellous wooden floor stand. Girls, guys, dudes, honeybuns, this floor stand is just what the doctor ordered!!! I've gone from being a devout in-hand stitcher to an even more devout floor stand stitcher in a nano second. It's perfect. I can use both hands to stitch, without my fabric flopping all around my arms and without having to find ways to hold yards of fabric in one hand whilst trying to steer my needle in the direction of a tiny hole. Bliss, bliss, bliss. I love it. I'm in love. As you can see, Fruitful Clusters was still in the Q-snap at the time of picture taking, but you will be pleased to know, no doubt, that I finished that little sampler last evening. Pictures in my next post.

Of course, with a new floor stand comes a new frame to hold my larger pieces. I only possess this one, small Q-snap, so I thought a scroll frame would be in order to make my happiness complete. And here it is:

As you can see, the next project that needs to be finished (apart from Katrina's RR) is my gift for my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. I've given myself until the end of this year to finish it. It should have been finished in May, but... Well. You know me. And so do my parents. Their hopes aren't high.

Here's a pic of some of the things I got at the fair.

Notice the oversized pincushion (aka 'make do'), which I love. And please allow me to introduce you to another furry creature you haven't met before: Mr. Bean. He's been my loyal, warm and comforting companion for about eighteen years and he's called Mr. Bean because of his slouchy posture, reminiscent of the goofy character played by Rowan Atkinson. Plus, his tummy is filled with beans. I think he makes a very nice pincushion model.

Another thing I've been playing with is my ideas for my Me, Myself & I Neighbourhood. My original plan was to build a woodsy neighbourhood, but lately I've come across so many fabulous, non-woodsy (and, perhaps more worryingly, non-neighbourhoodly) charts, that my woodland fantasy has been replaced by dreams of a La-La-Land neighbourhood, featuring a lot of happy words, lots of big flowers and smiling people, and a pancake restaurant in the shape of a windmill. That's pretty much as far as I got, or will ever get until I actually put needle to fabric somewhere around December 31st. I can hardly wait!

My next post will feature some stitchy finishes, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope you find plenty of time to stitch and read and laugh and enjoy your families. In short, I hope you find yourself in La-La-Land.

Digression

Even though I have ZERO inspiration to write, I thought I'd spoil you with a little blog post. Of course I couldn't let another day go by without thanking you for all the positive vibes and good thoughts I felt hurtling my way during the whole of last week. I think they may have helped me enormously, though I can't be sure until the judge makes her decision on November 5th. So keep these good vibes coming.
I have three people to thank specifically in this post. That's the reason why I'm posting in the first place. I have so much to show and tell you that you may want to reserve some time in the next couple of days to spend with me, because I have at least two more blog posts planned. But I digress. In the last month or so I decided to try my luck and participate in some blog pressie give-aways. I have never won anything in my entire life (except for a photo shoot at the most horrendously old-fashioned photographer's studio you can imagine. I only entered the drawing because I pitied the poor photographer, thinking that he would surely not find any names to draw. His photos were that awful. Indeed, as I suspected, there must have been only one name to draw because I WON). But I digress. Again. Okay, I never win anything... except these blog pressie give-aways! Four of them! I think I know how this came about. You all felt sorry for me, didn't you, with me being ill and Pelle having the sneezles too, and then you ran your list of entries through the online randomizer and clicked the 'randomize again' button until my name was at the top of the list. That's how I did my list of 'Things to stitch in 2009', until I had an order of charts I could work with. Anyway, I digress. Randomized or not, I won 4 blog prizes, one of which (Rachel's) has not arrived yet, but the others have and so here is a list of my three favourite people at the moment:

1.) Anna, aka the Stitch Bitch (who is actually surprisingly un-bitchy, if you ask me. Sorry girlfriend!), sent me this to die for pumpkin fob for her monthly blogaversary give-away. Isn't it the niftiest? I love the green fabric Anna used for the backing. She must have skinned Kermit the Frog alive in order to achieve this look, and it was worth it. It totally rocks, Anna, thank you!

2.) KarenV, who gave away Ann Grimshaw on her blog a couple of weeks ago. She says she likes this chart, but it's so huge she can't see herself stitching it. Now that I've seen it, Karen, I'm not so sure I could start and finish this one myself in this lifetime, but once Beatrix Potter is finished (after I've started, obviously), this will be my next Quaker. Apparently Karen memorized my wish list, because she remembered that I coveted The Glory Sampler by La-D-Da, so she threw that one in as well. Thanks, Karen!

3.) Nancy, who sent La-D-Da's Zippity Do Da and included four fabulous Vikki Clayton silks. I love the chart (that's why I entered the drawing) and I'm in love with the silks, which I have never used, beheld or sniffed before. Thank you, Nancy! I'm thinking of a way to use Zippity for my Me, Myself & I Neighbourhood. The chart is surprisingly big, but I could stitch it over one...

But I digress, because that's a subject for one of my next blog posts. Until then, I hope you stay warm, dry and healthy.

All critters great and small

Ah! I hear you shout. A blog post by Annemarie. That means she either has a finish to share, or some serious procrastinating to do. Well, you're right. I'm procrastinating. Isn't it wonderful, how predictable some people are :o)
I have no finish to share but an 'oooooooh, if I could just sit my butt down for one hour together, I would have a finish' to share. Fruitful Clusters by the Goode Huswife in a nearly finished state:

Whilst trying to improve my skills in the art of procrastination (and believe me, any more skilled and I could turn professional), I ran my 'to stitch list' through an online randomizer, and the result can be found in my sidebar. It's a bit of an ambitious list, seeing as I intend to spend the year 2009 finishing it...

...that's right, have a laugh. Are you okay there? Take care not to choke on your coffee!

...but this is the list that was put together by Rational Me. The list La-La Me made had 81items on it, and even I (er... I'm sorry, I don't know which Me that is. La-La Me, I think) thought that was probably a bit unrealistic. Still, I intend to stick to this Selfish Stitching thing in the year(s) to come, because nothing works as well for my stitching mojo as stitching for myself does, so who knows? Maybe I will be able to cross a couple of these projects off my list in the near future!

I will leave you with some family pics. The furry critters are my step doggies. My parents are on a mini break and I'm looking after them. It's so much fun having them around!

Pelle, patiently waiting for his pancake to arrive!

Lodewijk, basking in the sun after a long walk in the woods.

Poor Christoffel had some gnashers pulled, that's why his tongue sticks out.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with a real finish, and with some new plans to divulge re. my Me, Myself and I RR. In the meantime, could I trouble you for some positive thoughts and vibes? I'm seeing someone in court on Wednesday and to say that I'm nervous and scared would be the understatement of the year. Thanks!

Some long sentences

Usually when I sit down to write a blog post, I don't sit down to write a blog post. Most of the time I sit down to work, but being the procrastinator that I am I search for better ways to entertain myself than writing something that has already been written (which is, of course, what translating basically is). Today though, I specifically sat down to write this post and you know what? My mind just went blank. I have pictures to share, and I'm sure I have news to share, but the inspiration is momentarily absent. Well, let's hope it's momentary, because I have to work tonight. Pelle is home today. His cold (which just goes on and on and ON) (like mine) (I have lost my voice) (I have no voice) is wearing him out, and frankly, yesterday his teachers gave me to understand that it's wearing them out as well, so I'm spending the day with the critter, trying to keep him busy and quiet at the same time, which is no mean feat. Especially when all you want to do is sleep. Or stitch. Or work. Anyway. I'm writing this blog post NOW, because I need something to distract me from my work tonight. So while I work, I can keep one eye on the text and one eye on my G-Mail inbox, to see the comments pouring (or more likely, trickling) in.

Errrrrrr, what is it I wanted to share with you? Oh yes! Pictures! Remember the Halloween floss tag ring tag ring ring exchange I did with Harmien? Remember she was dead on time with hers and I ... wasn't with mine? And that I managed to finish it sometime in the wee hours before I went to visit her, so that I it was too dark to take a decent picture of my part of the exchange and had to wait for her Royal Absentness to crawl out of her hole and take a picture for me (which, of course I did with the greatest patience, because, you know, I have absolutely no right to complain about anyone's absence from Blogland or the stitching world or anyone's lack of mojo)? Well. I have pictures.

I was totally inspired by some charts I bought, designed by the brilliant Stacy Nash. The witch is from A Haunting We Will go, as are the graveyard and the words on the fob. The other side of the floss ring tag shows an interpretation of a design by Ms Nash I saw on the internet. I studied the picture and this is what I came up with. I loved the idea of using words that were definitely Halloween, but didn't literally say 'Halloween'. The rest of the motifs were taken from Drawn Thread's It's Halloween: the broom and the batty border surrounding the witch. I was tickled pink because I managed to mix designs from two such different designers (Stacy's primitive look and DT's rather more elegant, classic look) and make them into a convincing whole. Well, I thought it was convincing. I'm pleased with the result and I hope Harmien is as well. Despite having to wait forever to behold it in its finished form.

This is, obviously, is a progress pic. Not much to look at yet, but I just want you to know that I'm loving this design, Fruitful Clusters by The Goode Huswife.

Now before I forget (and I forgot to mention this in my last four blog posts or so. La La Me is everywhere, ladies and gents): I have an open invitation for you. We had such a great time with our past Stitch 'n' Bitches -

Okay, as per Heidi's suggestion, I'm not going to call them Stitch 'n' Bitches anymore, but instead speak of Sip 'n' Stitches. You see, we never do any bitching, but we do do a lot of sipping. Mostly coffee, sometimes tea, and in Rachael's case, gallons of water :o)

- that we need one every month. Or so Harmien and I decided. As it so happens, November 2nd is my birthday, and I would really love it if I could make a sippy stitchy day of it. I wouldn't have mentioned it if Harmien hadn't convinced me that it is normal to invite people to your birthday (I always think it is rather rude to invite people to your birthday, thereby inviting them to give you presents, but it seems I am alone in that notion). So, what I'm trying to say, in my usual roundabout way, is that everyone is invited. Well, provided they come armed with needle and thread. Or have the intention to learn how to use needle and thread (for instance, if you have known me for, say, thirty years and would really like to learn how to stitch a Christmas ornie for your son or your new hubby).

Despite my frightening lack of inspiration to write, I seem to have outdone myself with the length of this here update. Surely I can't find anything else to write about in the next couple of days? Well, perhaps a new finish? Anything is possible...

Fidishes

Due to the fact that I'm suffering from a severe case of sneezles, wheezles and freezles, I will keep this post short and hopefully sweet. But I couldn't let another day go by without showing you my most recent finishes:

The Harvesters, by Little House Needleworks. The pumpkins were stitched using part of my Halloween Floss Tag Ring Tag Ring* Exchange from Harmien, i.e. Belle Soie Pumpkin Carriage.

And second, the Fremme Pincushion.

I don't know why I felt the urge to add that knotted stringy thingy to the upper right corner, but once it was finished, I discovered it was rather useful, because now I can use this pincushion as a floss tag ring tag ring tag tag. In fact, it's already in use, because after two finishes comes - you've guessed it - a start. I've chosen Fruitful Clusters by the Goode Huswife as part of my plan to adorn my future house's walls with samplers of all shapes and sizes. Pictures? Next time.
I will now only add Aaaaaaaaaatcheeeeoooooooo.

*) I never really know what these thing are called, floss tag rings or ring tag flosses or floss ring tags, but you know the sort of things I'm talking about.