It has been ages….long overdue update. 

/ ladyofthemanse / 2 Comments

I’ve gotten out of the habit of blogging.  Last summer’s forced computer’s hiatus, due to dying computer, was a big part of things.  I got used to checking email,  blogs,  weather,  news, and just about anything else on my phone. 

In our new home, the computer is not as near to hand as it was , and that is another excuse for not blogging.  I don’t spend nearly as much time sitting at it. One hopes that this means more time to cross stitch,  and I believe it does.  It may also mean feeling chronicly behind on lesson planning and recording,  but that is beside the point. 

So, on to the “important” stuff!  Cross stitch updates. (And I am blogging on my phone. ☺)

I am strongly motivated to finish the kingfisher, because I have another smaller project ready to start.

Here is the latest photo :

It is scrolled up to where I am currently working on it.  The kingfisher is sitting beside me waiting until I finish my post.

The Westie beside the tartan chair is my first HAED. And I am hooked!  On page two of 26 pages,  stitching two over one thread.  I can hardly wait to start page three!  

Here’s the progress photo:

Now I shall post this so I can get stitching. 

The Simple Woman’s Daybook

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For Today
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Looking out my window…I see a faint pink and purple of the sky as the sun sets.
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I am thinking…that it has been a long time since I’ve done a daybook post.

I am thankful…for my new house, and green grass, and time to cross-stitch.

One of my favorite things….a collection of my dear Mother-in-Law’s china.wp-image-1410445908jpg.jpg

I am creating…well, working on a new and challenging cross-stitch piece (which the children hope I manage to finish before I’m eighty)
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I am wearing…jeans and a t-shirt.  Comfortable clothes for staying at home in, after a busy week of going places.
I am watching….old Poirot movies.
 
I am hoping…that our old home sells soon.
I am learning….that my timing isn’t often God’s timing, but His timing is so much better.
In my kitchen…my daughter is busy making a treat for the baby shower she is hosting tomorrow.
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In the school room…the kids are becoming more and more independent.  I find that I have a harder time keeping track of their lessons these days.
Shared Quote: There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. ~Jane Austen
A moment from my day:  The ever-present laundry.
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Closing Notes: If you wish to take part in The Simple Woman’s Daybook, please go here.

Better late than never? IHSW update.

/ ladyofthemanse / 3 Comments

Talk about a crazy summer.  First, three months of being without a computer due to trouble under warranty…I am happy to say that has been resolved, finally.  Then the busyness of getting settled in a new home, while ferrying both kids back and forth to work…while work is slowing down, it hasn’t stopped yet.

Despite all that, I have been stitching when I can.  And last week was the first week in a while that I was able to take part in the IHSW for this month.

Here are the photos:  The first one was taken in June, at the beginning of the project.  I’m posting it so you can see that I did make progress.

 

This next one I took over the weekend,  but I don’t think it was exactly at the beginning of the evening’s stitching:

And I haven’t done any stitching since the weekend,  so this is what it looks like now.

You will have to look closely to see the difference.

I’m looking forward to finishing my first page.

That is all for now.  I am going to try to get another hour or two in on it tonight.

IHSW goes on every month.  It is easy to sign up for.  Just go here.

IHSW June and Stitching Update

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I realize that it has been a long time since I blogged last.  And until recently,  I have done little in the way of cross- stitching.

Add a house move, and a trip to the U.S.,  and  you’ll have the reasons why. We are still in the process of unpacking and cleaning out the old house,  but I am finding a few hours free of the occasional evening to stitch. What may be helping that is the fact that my computer is not working.  Certainly no distraction there, unless you count getting up to reboot again.

But I have been watching for the next IHSW, and did manage to get in a solid 3 1/2 hours this weekend. It was a good start on my first HAED. Well…I managed 100 stitches while parking threads for the first time.

Without further ado,  here is my photo:

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I believe there are 19 different colours in that square,  and I parked 16 of them.

It doesn’t look like much,  I will admit, and when I looked at the picture and saw how much is left,  I was somewhat daunted. But hopefully as I go on,  I will get a bit faster.

On a more positive note,  here is the past couple of month’s progress on the Kingfisher. I didn’t do anything on it this weekend.

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In case you didn’t grab the link earlier,  the IHSW is open to anyone, and you can find it here.

IHSW Stitching Update

/ ladyofthemanse / 5 Comments

I   kind  of  slipped  in under the  wire to  the  IHSW  this  month .  With  my  dear sister  in law  visiting  over the  past  two  weeks ,  I completely  forgot  about  it .  But  I  did  manage  to  get   couple  of  hours  in before  the  weekend  ended.

Here’s  the  progress  since  last  month .  All  I got  done  over the  weekend  is the  beginning  of  the  leaf.

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The  rest  of  the  progress  was made during  the  month .  I   am   pleased  with  how  fast  this  is  going  as I have  a  couple  more  big projects  waiting  in the  wings  —well  actually  mostly  waiting  until  we move  and  I  can  set up  the  floor  stand  again .

And  because  I  can’t  wait , I  will  say  that  one  of  the  waiting  projects  is my  very  first  HAED!  Getting  new glasses  and  being  able  to  see  the  threads  again  has given  me  the  confidence  to  try. Granted ,  I  had to  talk  my dear husband  into yet another  big  project  that  may  someday  hang on  our already  full  walls, but  when  he saw the  one  I was looking  at, it wasn’t  difficult  to  convince  him. It is  a picture  of a Westie beside  a tartan  chair ,  and the tartan  is the  Douglas  tartan . I  would  love  to  post  a  link to  the  picture ,  but  I  think  the  chart  has been  discontinued .

For  my friends  who  don’t  know ,  a HAED is a Heaven  and  Earth  Design  company’s completely  stitched, and  highly  detailed  project  with  many  colours .  I think  this  one  has 89 different  shades of  colour, and   in the  range  of 169,650 stitches on twenty  some  pages  of  chart.  It will  be  a  challenge  for  sure .  But  I  hope  I can  do  it.

I  am  linking to  IHSW  here .

IHSW Stitching Update

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Well  I  did  manage  to  get  some  stitching  done this  past weekend ,  in spite  of  the  fact  that  I  hadn’t  been  feeling  great .

I   also  realize  that  I  haven’t  been  keeping  track  of  stitching  time on this  project .  I rather  wish  I  had  been  as it may  look  like  I have  done  more .

Right  now  I’m  only  working  on  one  project ,  as we are  expecting  to  move  in the  near  future  –just  a  change  of  house, not  a  change  of  place–and  I  didn’t  want  to  put  another  project  on my  floor  stand.  However ,  the  move  has been  pushed  out  another  month ,  so  I  am  rethinking  that  idea.

All that  being  said ,  here’s  my  beginning  of  the  weekend  photo:

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And  here’s  my end  of  the  weekend  photo:

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So I  got  a  bit  done.

I’m  posting  my link on IHSW here.

Long overdue stitching update

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The  last  time  I  posted  about  cross  stitch I was  considering  putting  aside  a project .  I   did .  And  then  I   tried  to  start  another  one .  I   found  that I  could  only  see  the  threads with  a  pair  of  reading  glasses  over  my  regular  glasses .

So then I  put  it  aside  again ….and   when  I  next  picked  it  up ,  I  got  my  frame  upside-down  and  couldn’t  find  my  place .  So I  took  it all out  and  started  over .

And  then…life  changed !  I  got  new  glasses !  Wow !  What  a  difference  they made !  My fabric  had individual  threads ,  with  space  between  them .  And  I  could  see which  end was up .

I  thought  my stitching  would  take  on new  life ,  and  it did  for  about  one  evening  .  Now it is  sitting  again ,  waiting  for  the  time  and  desire  to  stitch  to  coincide .  Maybe  blogging  about  it  will  help .

Without further ado, here is the new project.

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The Simple Woman’s Daybook

/ ladyofthemanse / 5 Comments

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For Today…
Outside my window…it is above freezing and threatening rain. But spring is coming and hopefully soon the flowers will bloom.
I am thinking…about changes coming up.
I am thankful…for friends and all of God’s blessings.
I am wearing…blue jeans, an olive green top and a scarf of brown and gold colouring.
I am creating…cookies  and biscuits to go with dinner.
I went…with my daughter to the dentist. Not a fun way to spend a morning, but at least it was done early.
I am wondering…when we will be able to move to our new house.
I am reading…The End of Memory by Jay Ingram…actually I checked it out of the library weeks ago, read a bit, renewed it, and it is waiting by my chair to be read again…and possibly renewed again.  In the meantime, I was taking a course on Palliative Care, and the reading for that took all my free time and energy.
I am hoping…that we can move before April.
I am learning…patience. It is one of those things one never seems to have enough of.
In my garden…tired snow abounds.  I don’t think we will have a garden this year.  With the move coming up, and landscaping needing to be done, there likely won’t be time or place for a  vegetable garden.  I would like to have lots of flowers though.  We will get our vegetables from farmer’s markets.
In my kitchen…cookies are chilling in the fridge.  I think I have finally found a recipe that we used to make in Africa before leaving for boarding school.  I’ve spent the afternoon reminiscing about carefully dividing up batches of cookies for our “chow” boxes at school. We are having leftovers and biscuits for dinner.
In the homeschool room…we are struggling to keep full days going.  Life is busy.  But did get school done this afternoon, and am hoping for a full day at home tomorrow.  Hard but exciting to think that Belle is winding down with her schoolwork–one more year.
A favorite quote for today…”Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”  Bejamin Franklin
A peek into one of my days…

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One of my favorite things…smooth and productive days.  (They don’t happen often, but when they do, they are very nice!)
If you wish to take part in The Simple Woman’s Daybook, please go here.

A Question

/ ladyofthemanse / 7 Comments

For the cross stitching friends who read this blog:

Have you ever started a project that you liked initially, but then lost interest because it didn’t match your decor or style of stitching,  and /or you didn’t have anyone in mind to give it to?

Stitching Update (and possible moan)

/ ladyofthemanse / 4 Comments

Well, like every one of the stitching groups and SALs I joined last year, my stitching has somewhat fizzled.  And I’m having trouble getting motivated.  I keep trying to tell myself that I have cross-stitched for nearly thirty years without a group to keep me motivated, so why shouldn’t I be able to continue that way?  Well I miss the groups!  Even though they were just online, they still felt like a group and I found them very encouraging.

Admittedly I’ve been distracted.  A house in process of being built will do that to you.  Add to that the fact that with moving in the near future, I haven’t been able to follow up my last big finish with a new big start.  And a new start is often what gets me going when I’m in a stitching slump.

So we muddle on, doing a little bit here and there.  I haven’t had a page finish since October…but I’ve made a little progress.

Here is the photo from October:

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And here is my little bit of progress:

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I am hoping that posting regular (if I can get there) updates will help me to keep going.