A small happy dance :)

I put the last stitch in page 1 of Small Things this morning - woo hoo! Now I can move on to Fire this afternoon :)



I was up at 6.10am this morning. Nothing unusual for a Friday morning for the majority of the world except for us here getting up at 6.10am on a Friday morning is like getting up at 6.10am on a Sunday morning!!

What made me get up at the crack of dawn on a weekend? Well, I woke suddenly thinking I heard a noise downstairs. We had a few sprinkles of rain last night so I thought it might have been the dog scratching at the door because it decided to rain properly. Peeked out the window and thought yep, it's raining, got dressed, put my glasses on, bolted on downstairs only to look out the window and see that in fact it isn't raining at all - lol! That will teach me to look out the window without my glasses on!! The dog was quite happily curled up in her bed asleep so I got all excited about nothing it seems!

Anyway, I decided it wasn't worth going back to bed so I decided to take advantage of the peace and quiet and stitch. Hopefully I'll get some quiet time this afternoon as well and manage to make some good progress on Fire ... we shall see :)

A productive couple of days :)

Monday and Tuesday were good days! In between a few minor chores like laundry and taking the dog for walks, I managed to get to the 2400 stitches mark with Shimmer, and almost got close to finishing page 1 of Small Things :)



Yesterday I planned to stitch on Fire and possibly Snowflake but as usual other things took up my time and I only managed a few stitches in Small Things half an hour or so before picking the kids up from school. Well, actually it was only one child as the other was going to a friend's house for a sleepover :) We then had plans for dinner so no stitching for me last night. Hopefully tonight I'll manage a few stitches in Fire and then tomorrow maybe a few in Snowflake!

I actually pulled all my HAED wips out of their various hiding spots yesterday (I have six!!) and I am quite keen to get back to a couple of them. Maybe I should do that with some of my non-HAED wips as well - lol!

Right, well I'm being called for dinner (hubby cooked tonight - yay!) so I shall take my leave for now :)

Not quite the day I was planning on having!!

So much for having a peaceful day at home stitching away - ha!

Spent longer than usual chatting to another mum at school this morning which meant I didn't get home till 9am instead of 8am!! On arrival home Ken decides that my truck should go in for its 10,000 kms service (it's actually overdue). Fine but that means I have to follow him in his car and then drop him off at work. No problems.

Got home to be greeted by a maniac dog who was making it pretty clear that she hadn't been for her usual morning walk so I grab the lead and my iPod and off we go.

By the time we get back it is after 11am and I am starving as I hadn't had any breakfast! Decided to have an early lunch while in front of the computer catching up with emails, blogs, BBs etc.

Spent too much time on the computer and it had gone 12 noon when I remembered that my maid was coming in this afternoon and I hadn't finished sorting the laundry I'd done yesterday. Folded and put away what needed to be and then put the rest in the ironing basket. Then went around the house picking up and putting things away and generally tidying up. I'd pretty much given up the idea of getting any stitching done and it was almost time to go and collect the kids from school anyway!

Oh well, I should get some stitching time in tonight and since there's nothing on telly I may even get to watch Serenity!!

I did stitch last night but only on Shimmer - not much to show for my efforts though. I just couldn't get comfortable! That may have been because I was using my 11 inch Q-snaps instead of my smaller 8 inch ones. I'll switch them out tonight as I will more than likely end up stitching on her again, and see how I go about making more progress. I'll post an updated pic next time.

There was an upside to spending more time on the computer than I should have today. Made some minor improvements to my sidebar like adding links to the images I've added etc, and they actually work - lol! I have also updated my works in progress pics too :)

One last thing before I go - a big thank you to all of you who leave comments :) I really appreciate them!

Stitchy update :)

I finally managed to take a pic of my progress on Small Things this afternoon - haven't quite got the first page finished but am not far off. Didn't get a lot of stitching time in this weekend. I've been out and about today doing errands which means I can have a quiet stitching day at home tomorrow (once I've taken the kids to school and walked the dog!).

I managed to put some time in on Fire last night as well as a few stitches this morning before I headed out. She looks a bit skew-whiff in the pic but it's because I haven't loosened my Q-snaps :) I am not sure whether I will continue on her tonight though or pick up Shimmer. The latter has been neglected this week and I really want to get back to her but I am really keen to get the first page of Fire done too *sigh* ... decisions, decisions.

Tonight is NCIS night on telly so maybe I should work on Shimmer which has larger blocks of one colour (well, where I am on the chart at the moment there is!) while that's on and then go back to Fire where I am working on the detail stitches. Yes, I think that's what I will do :)

I tucked the fabric for Sea of Roses out of sight this afternoon so hopefully that will keep another start at bay ... for now - lol!! I need to get some stitches in on Medieval Town Mandala too - maybe I could devote the morning to Small Things and then put a few threads in on MTM in the afternoon?

My fabric for An Open Heart still hasn't arrived :( Last I checked it was on backorder waiting on shipment from supplier. I will check the status again tomorrow and if it hasn't changed I will send SB&B a quick email.

Oh, and I managed to find Serenity on DVD today while out doing my errands. Yay!! I found it in the DVD section in the little supermarket, of all places, where I do the bulk of my shopping!! Snapped it up in an heartbeat and I'll be watching it tomorrow for sure :) Guess I won't need to haunt Virgin every week now waiting for it to come in - lol! I bought Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire this week too - had to go in to Carrefours to get some dog treats via the DVD section (of course!) and there it was - lol!

Now all I need to do is wait patiently for the Inspector Lynley Mysteries to come out on DVD and hope they find their way out here too :) Should think they will as there are a lot of BBC series on DVD available here.

Better go and get dinner happening!

I've been bad :)

Well, not as bad as I can be, but bad nonetheless - hee hee!

I started another project! I'm not quite sure how it happened as I was happy stitching along on Fire but it must have been the lure of the sparkley fabric, because next thing I knew I had started Small Things!! I started in the top left corner and have almost finished a wing tip. I will try and upload a pic later today.

I am also very tempted to start Sea of Roses as well - I can see the fabric I have chosen for it staring at me right now and it is making it difficult - lol! Perhaps I should put it out of sight for a while?!!

I survived shoe shopping for the kids last Friday - lol! We found something for Liam at the second store we tried but Caitlin took a bit longer because apparently it is off school shoe season here now and there wasn't much of a range. Oh, and then when we did find something she liked they didn't have her size *sigh*! Anyway, I think we hit pay dirt around the fourth or fifth store we went into so now all is well!

Caitlin has a friend coming over this afternoon and I'm taking them down to the pool. I'd better go and see which project I should take with me ... it's not as if I don't have a wide selection to choose from - lol!!

Ha! What was I thinking?!!

I did not get a chance to do any stitching on Wednesday! I was pretty much on the go all day and when I did sit down in the evening to work on Fire I nodded off before I even managed one stitch!!

Yesterday I fared no better but I did manage a few stitches this morning and hopefully some more tonight ... it depends on how tired I am! We're off shopping now - both kids need new shoes!

Awwww .... :)

aren't they cute? Looks like a certain dog has settled in to this household quite well - lol!

(Blogger is not cooperating tonight with the upload of photos so I've had to use Photobucket).

Pretty quiet day for me today ... same as most days really :) Took the kids to school, came home, filled the washer reservoir in the truck, hosed the vehicle down as well as it was really dusty, walked the dog, had breakfast and then that was about it. I did zap down to the nearest mall to go green clothes shopping for the kids before lunch though. They are having their St Patrick's Day tomorrow since Friday is part of the weekend here. As usual I bought a whole outfit for Caitlin and just a t-shirt for Liam - lol ... but then there wasn't a whole lot of choice :) Oh, and I also bought some face paint so I can paint shamrocks on their faces tomorrow morning!!

I did make a little more progress on Shimmer today as well. This is my progress after Days 5 & 6. She will be getting a little rest tomorrow as Wednesday is Quick Stitch SAL day on the HAED BB and Fire will be making an appearance instead :)


It will be interesting to see if I get any stitching done at all tomorrow though! I need to go and get my UAE driver's licence renewed which hopefully won't take long but you can never tell here!

I am then meeting a friend for coffee afterwards as I won't get to see her for a bit as she is heading back to Australia for a few weeks in a day or two. I also need to price laser printers for Ken to use when he works from home, and do a little grocery shopping. If I can get all that done and get home before lunch then I should be able to get one or two hours of stitching time in before school pick up.

Because it's the start of the weekend the kids usually on a Wednesday afternoon after school, go off and play with their friends who live down the street and I can sometimes get an hour's stitching in before starting on dinner. Not tomorrow unfortunately as Caitlin has a farewell party to go to after school and Liam has a doctor's appointment. Thankfully Ken will be home in time to take Liam as his appointment time clashes with Caitlin's party. I also don't know if I am expected to stay at the party with Caitlin either?

Guess I will find out tomorrow afternoon!

Got bored :)

Hence the new look for my blog :) It has been causing me some grief today though - not sure if it is a Blogger issue or an operator issue - lol! Anyway, I may change the look again if I still have problems!

Coffee Cup & Coaster Challenge :)

I came across this challenge on AnneS's blog this afternoon and apparently it is a popular challenge at the moment - I've seen it on a few other blogs this afternoon too. I thought I'd join in on the fun :) My challenge is a little different though in that I don't generally drink coffee - I'm more of a tea person ... English Breakfast or Green Tea with Lemon usually :)

Anyway, here are my mugs! The one on the left I use mostly for my green tea or if I don't have much time (which is usually in the mornings before the school run!). The coaster it is sitting on is from Ikea - there wasn't much of a choice when we purchased those! The mug on the right is from a set of six. The design is called "Kelim Camel" by a Dubai-based artist called Susan Walpole. I quite like camels and given that we are living in the Middle East thought these were rather appropriate :) The red coaster is again from Ikea :) They had a bit more of a choice this time! They went well with the other groovy desk accessories I'd bought ! They all went perfectly with my red office chair :) You see, when I set up my corner of the study the only chair that I liked was red so I just used that the theme for my accessorising!

Okay, now onto to stitching :) I haven't had as much time on Shimmer as I'd like the past couple of days - life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes! Tonight holds promise though and of course tomorrow also promises to be a quiet day so I should get a heap more done then :)

That's all from me for now ... need to do the taxi-mum thing and drop Caitlin's friend home!

Shimmer - Day 2

Not much else from me today - I'm in Shimmer mode - lol!

A stitchy Fire update and a new start!

It seems I caused Keryn a bit of concern with my last post title - lol! So sorry, Keryn, and thanks for dropping by!

Speaking of Fire, here's my latest progress pic. I have been working on her pretty much all week and am really pleased with how she is coming along. Fire will be getting relegated back to once a week now as I started a new project very late on Tuesday night!

Heaven & Earth released Shimmer a couple of days ago. I love this piece and I am a big fan of Selina's artwork - check out her site if you get the chance.

Needless to say, I snapped this chart up in an instant and had it printed off in a matter of minutes after receiving it in my inbox - lol! Threads and fabric were chosen, the first page outline gridded and the initial stitches were made at around 11pm on Tuesday.

It is not much but this is my progress so far. I've chosen to stitch it on Morning Mist 28 count lugana from Country Stitch. It is from their Kiwi Sparkles range. Most of the fabric will be covered so you won't see much of the underlying sparkle from the fabric but my plan is to frame it with just a peep of the fabric showing between the stitching and the mat. Of course, it is a long way off from being framed - lol!

That's about all from me this afternoon. I'm off upstairs to put in a few more stitches before Ken gets home from the office :)

A bit of fun before I go - lol!

What Your Underwear Says About You

Your underwear is probably really, really old. You're comfortable in your own skin - and don't care to impress anyone.

The Underwear Oracle

Another Fire update :)

Wednesday night I continued working on Fire mostly filling in some of the empty holes and working on the outline of her hair. I'm pleased with how she is coming along. I'm hoping to have a quiet afternoon in front of the telly and stitch on her some more :) Hopefully something good will be on as I've finished the Firefly series. It's a real shame that the tv networks didn't keep it on as there were so many more avenues to be explored. I think I may need to go and hound Virgin tomorrow to find out when the Serenity DVD is going to be released here! It was on in the cinemas here last year so logic dictates that it should come out on DVD here soon too. The other option is to order it from EzyDVD back in Oz and get it shipped to my in-laws so they can bring it with them when they come out in April :)

I planned to start The Drawn Thread's An Open Heart yesterday so I could join Carol in SAL but discovered that the fabric I'd chosen from my stash wasn't going to be big enough! I rummaged a bit more through my fabric collection (took me a while - lol!) with no luck so I have had to go online fabric shopping!! Shame, and I'd been so good with my lack of online shopping lately too - lol! Anyway, Stitching Bits & Bobs have a sale on at the moment so I ordered a piece of 34 count "Cafe Au Lait" Legacy Linen which is what the design calls for :) This is my first time ordering with Stitching Bits & Bobs but I have heard good things about them so I'm sure I will have my order soon! Until that arrives I shall continue working on Fire ... perhaps !

Whilst I was rummaging through my stash I came across a couple of Long Dog Sampler charts that I'd ordered a while back - Rosemarkie and St Georges. I think I'm going to have to start one of these this year which will probably involve more "online research" into threads and fabric - lol! I've not stitched with them before but I've been looking at Victoria Clayton silks and am quite partial to Fire Dragon for St Georges and Plumage for Rosemarkie ... decisions, decisions!

Last night we went to Global Village with some friends. It is a huge entertainment area with pavilions showcasing wares from different countries, food courts, and rides and sideshow alley for kids of all ages :) It is somewhere I've been meaning to go and have a look at for ages but it just never happened! Global Village is only open from the end of October through to March each year so last night probably wasn't the best night to go! It is extremely popular and last night it was VERY busy! The traffic getting there was horrendous (even more than usual!!) although parking wasn't too bad when we eventually arrived. That was only because we were prepared to walk a little ways to the main entrance though, I think :)

Between us we had five children (one of Caitlin's friends came along as well) - as soon as we walked in the gate and saw how busy it was, they all had our mobile phone numbers written on their arms and a meeting spot to go to in case they got separated from us! It was a good night but I think next year we will make a point of going earlier in the season and perhaps without the children so we can have a good wander around the pavilions.

The kids managed to have a few rides and consume some fairy floss so they were happy although tired by the time we got back to our cars. Then came the fun bit of getting back home! As it is in getting to most places in Dubai you are required to travel a bit in the opposite direction in order to get to the direction you want! I was glad Ken was driving last night as we could see the huge build up of traffic in the direction we wanted to go, and as it was already quite late, he decided to go a different route. Longer but less traffic and we probably made it home half an hour or so before our friends who would have went the other way!!

Well, it looks like I'm not going to get that quiet afternoon stitching after all as the dog is scratching at the back door which means she wants to go for a walk! Guess I'd better go and get my exercise for the day :)