Yep, I've done it again :)

I've gone and changed the look of my blog once again. I'd really like a desert type theme (with camels!) but until I can get that organised this one will do nicely, I think :)

I haven't done a lot of stitching over the last few days as we've been quite busy. Liam had a friend sleep over on Wednesday night. Thursday night he slept over at another friend's so after we dropped him off Ken, Caitlin and I took the opportunity to head down to the Mall of the Emirates to do a spot of retail therapy. Ken needed some new work shoes and Caitlin had a couple of weeks pocket money burning a hole in her pocket so a visit to the toy store was in order :) I was half-heartedly searching for a new top to wear to a corporate function we had coming up (have I mentioned how I hate clothes shopping?!!) but gave up after I received a phone call from the book store to say that the book I'd requested had come in. I had been in the day before looking for Book 3 in Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series - they had a couple of copies of every book in the series except this one! Anyway, when I enquired about it they kindly rang their other store to see if they had it which they did, and got it sent over. By this stage we'd had enough shopping anyway so on the way back to the car we dropped into the book store, collected my book and headed home.

Friday morning was spent spring cleaning the house, then later that afternoon we took some friends down to the nearby Golf Club for a meal. It won't be much longer and we won't be able to bear to sit outside at all in the evenings - bleh!

Yesterday after dropping the kids at school I came home, took the dog for a walk, hung out some washing and then headed down to the other nearby mall, Ibn Battuta, in search for a new top. The corporate function was last night so nothing like leaving it to the last minute - lol! I did have a back-up outfit in case I didn't find something. As luck would have it I found two very nice tops quite quickly and not being able to decide which one I liked best I bought them both!! I also dropped in to the storage shop and picked up another plastic storage container for Caitlin's ever increasing collection of Bratz dolls and their assorted bits and pieces!! It was then back home to pick up the kids from school, wait for Caitlin while she had her piano lesson, go home, get homework, feed the kids an early dinner, and then get ready for the evening's function! In the midst of all this I received a phone call from Ken who could barely talk as he'd lost his voice! It appears that he has finally succumbed to this cold that seems to be doing the rounds!

The function was at a nearby hotel and the kids were coming with us and bunking down with some friends' older children in their room as they were staying there. They'd come over from Abu Dhabi for the weekend and in order to attend this company function. Sadly our regular babysitter and back-up babysitter (they are sisters) have both gone home to Sri Lanka as their father passed away a week ago :(

The function wasn't a late one and we were home by 10pm but of course both kids were very tired. Liam was still asleep when I got up this morning (he is usually the first up!) so I made an executive decision to keep everyone home from school/work today. We've had a nice quiet day and everyone except me of course has gone to bed early. Hopefully tomorrow they will be back to their bright-eyed and bushy tailed selves again :)

Speaking of being bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow I'd better head off to bed myself!

Until next time!

As promised ... pictures :)

First up, LD's St Georges ...



Next, DT's An Open Heart ...



Lastly (for now anyway), DD's The Dreaming ...



Sorry the photos are a little blurry!

I've frogged all the Charteuse from Southern Jewel and am currently pondering what to use in it's place. I've been through all my threads again and I don't really have anything else that will work ... well, that I'll have enough of anyway! Looks like I might be paying my favourite ONS a visit in the near future :)

Thank you for the get well wishes too. I was feeling a little better this morning but I think I overdid it by going shopping as I'm feeling a little washed out right now. I think I'll order in pizza tonight :)

Bah!

I've got a cold, and I'm feeling flat - blah! I don't like being sick. It's 40+ degrees Celsius outside but I have a cold ... go figure! The upside however is that Ken worked from home today, did the school run, turned the phones down and made me stay in bed for most of the morning. I have a wonderful husband :)

Our internet has been painfully slow lately which is a frustration in itself, particularly when you use web based email .... grrrr! So much for having a hi-speed connection - ha! Unfortunately we don't have the option to change. Anyway, I went on a major Sims 2 playing spree instead :)

I haven't stitched on a lot this past week and no new projects have been started either - lol! I did work a little on An Open Heart this afternoon however. Last weekend was busy so my plans to resurrect an old WIP (Snowflake QS) didn't happen but St Georges did see some minor action. One colour projects are much easier when you only have a few minutes to spare here and there :)

No stitching pics today - I'll try for tomorrow :)

Unfortunately it looks like I'm going to have to find another colour to replace the Charteuse on my Southern Jewel. I have tried to email the Dye is Cast using the address at their website twice and both times my message has bounced back *sigh*. I'll set to finding something else over the weekend when hopefully my head will be a lot less fuzzy :)

Okay ...

so I didn't quite get back here on Tuesday with a stitching update - sorry 'bout that! I kind of got caught up playing Sims 2 :sheepish grin:! I bought the latest expansion pack for it (Family Fun Stuff) a couple of weeks ago but really haven't spent much time checking out all the new things. I still really haven't checked them all out yet as I kept nodding off!! Ah well, I'm sure I'll get the chance eventually :)


Thank you to Leonie, Jenny and Von for your advice/comments on Southern Jewel - much appreciated :) As you can see, I have now fully completed one corner motif (except for the Rhodes stitches) and a little more of the centre design. The Charteuse looks okay except for one problem. I don't think I'm going to have enough thread to complete all four corners!! I've probably just over half a skein left and given that I also have Rhodes stitches to do in these corners there isn't any way that I will get another three corners out of what I have left! Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem because I could just go and order another skein or two, right? Wrong! I went to The Dye Is Cast website to do just that and find that the colour I'm using isn't listed. I'm wondering if the colour I have is a special one-off that perhaps came with one of the Dyer Collaboration Packs? I have sent off an email to the Dye is Cast to see if they can help me locate another skein. If not, then I guess I am going to have to find something else and pull out what I've done *sigh*. In the meantime, I'll just continue on with the centre :)


I also did a little stitching on St Georges while down at the pool yesterday - I am so loving the 40 count linen. So much so that I ordered some more - lol!

I need to go and get ready as Ken and I are off to a house-warming party tonight :) I'll leave you with a pic of Tikki. She often lays under my desk when I'm at the computer but she is also camera shy - she is in the process of getting up and running away in this shot - lol!

One of those blog things :)

You Are a Peacemaker Soul

You strive to please others and compromise anyway you can. War or conflict bothers you, and you would do anything to keep the peace. You are a good mediator and a true negotiator. Sometimes you do too much, trying so hard to make people happy. While you keep the peace, you tend to be secretly judgmental. You lose respect for people who don't like to both give and take. On the flip side, you've got a great sense of humor and wit. You're always dimplomatic and able to give good advice. Souls you are most compatible with: Warrior Soul, Hunter Soul and Visionary Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Be back later with a stitching update :)

Southern Jewel

Told ya I'd be back - lol!

Anyway, here is my progress on Southern Jewel. I'm using Caron Waterlilies "Royal Jewels" for the centre and The Dye Is Cast "Charteuse" for the four corners on 28 count antique white Annabelle. At this stage I'm not sure about the Charteuse? I think I need to finish that corner motif off and then work some more of the centre to get a better picture. What do you think ... honestly?

Someone asked in the comments section the other day about how much I pay for a skein of DMC stranded cotton. Well, I pay 2 Dirhams a skein which in Aussie currency is about $0.75, depending upon the exchange rate. About $0.25 (at least) cheaper than what I would be paying at home. There are places that sell it for around 1.50 Dirhams here but they don't have the newer colours, which I seem to use more of :)

Thank you again to those of you who stop by my blog and say hello. I've found some tennis to watch on the telly so I'm off to make myself a cuppa, indulge in some of my favourite television sport and finish that corner motif :)

My Theme Song :)

Snagged from Ali B's blog - thanks, Ali :)

Your Theme Song is Back in Black by AC/DC

"Back in black, I hit the sack, I've been too long, I'm glad to be back" Things sometimes get really crazy for you, and sometimes you have to get away from all the chaos. But each time you stage your comeback, it's even better than the last!

What's Your Theme Song?

I'll be back a bit later with a pic of my latest start, Southern Jewel. Not sure if I'm liking my colour choices or whether it's because I'm stitching over two on 28 count. It looks HUGE after working over two on 40 count :) Anyway, I'll do a little more then post a pic and see what you all think :)

Another new start and Happy Mother's Day!!

Yep, I've started another one :) I put the first stitches into my first Long Dog design yesterday. I'm loving it and I think it will stitch up fast!


Long Dog Samplers "St Georges" - Stitched on ivory 40 count linen over two with one strand of Gloriana "Red Clay" silk.

I will just finish off the motif I'm working on now and then I am off to celebrate Mother's Day with another start, Southern Jewels by Sweetblossoms Designs :)

Mums or not, I hope you all had a wonderful day!

Another new start!

I joined a new Yahoo group this week :) It's called Start A New Project A Week or SAPAW for short. Every Tuesday we start a new project. We don't have to if we don't wish too; but we are encouraged if we do :) Now I can finally cave in to those voices inside my head that have been telling me to start everything in sight for weeks - lol!!!

So, we come to my new WIP ...


"The Dreaming" by Dinky Dyes - Stitched on 32 count "Oyster" lugana from CountryStitch with Dinky Dyes silks "Desert Sands" and "Red Dust".

I haven't forgotten AOH though ...



Area 2 is complete and I am almost done with the dividing band and ready to move onto Area 3.

On Wednesday my order from Karen at Dragonfly Dreams arrived. It contained five packets of Size 28 Piecemaker needles (I love these needles!) and the Gloriana silks I want for Long Dog's St Georges. Oh, and some more Thread Heaven and a chart from Sweetblossoms Designs, Southern Jewel. I won't be using the same colours as the model though :)

So, there are at least another two new starts on the horizon - lol!

Heather, you wanted to know what I got in the DMC department? 121 skeins of stranded cotton to kit up some future projects!! Thankfully DMC is cheap here ... well, much cheaper than what I was paying per skein back in Australia anyway! I tend to stock up big when I go to this store as it isn't somewhere I go very often. I have to go through the city to get to it and well, the driving and traffic is the pits so I try to avoid going into the city as much as possible! This store does have branches in the shopping centres closest to me but neither one of them stocks the threads *sigh*. Maybe I need to go into one of these branches and rattle someone's chain - lol!

Better get to bed ... it's 1am and I have to be up in 5.5 hours to get the kids off to school! (Yes, Von, I do have an early start to the day!).

Before I go, thank you to everyone who has stopped by and made a comment, especially about AOH :)

A quick AOH update ...

Didn't get as far on Area 2 as I planned :) I've been out with friends today to Wafi Shopping Mall to do a Marks & Spencers run but more importantly for me, a DMC run!! I'm sure the shop girls love to see me walk in because they know I'm going to spend up big :)

Anyway, I haven't had a chance to stitch today yet but I do plan to put a few stitches in as soon as I've posted this. I'm not sure how much stitching time I'll get tomorrow as I've got grocery shopping to do (blah!). Thankfully the supermarket opens at 7am so if I head straight there after I've dropped the kids at school at 7.30am I should be home and putting it away by 8.30am. I can then take the dog for a quick walk, shower, do a quick tidy up and maybe get a couple of hours stitching in before picking the kids up from school. We are going out to dinner tomorrow night so there's probably little chance of getting any done then.

Cuppa and stitching time!

Go-Karting!

I discovered our son is a bit of a daredevil maniac go-kart driver yesterday afternoon - lol!

After they were kitted up and in their karts, and given very brief instructions on which pedal was what, they were allowed to enter the small track. What does my son do, but turn to the left and head off onto the big track!! You should have seen one of the engineers running off after him - lol! He eventually got back on the right track but he was clearly out of control, going too fast and taking the corners at speed, and spinning out into the gravel. Within five minutes he was stopped and sent off for dangerous driving!!

As you can imagine, Liam was beside himself and very upset. A couple of the engineers felt bad for him so they got him back in the kart and gave him some instruction on how to use the brake and accelerator. He got the hang of it and they were going to let him back on the track with the promise that he take it slowly. However the controller said no, he was too dangerous and didn't know what he was doing! Well duh! He hasn't done it before and they only got a briefing about what the flags meant and the pedals. Anyway, between the mum of the birthday boy and myself we managed to convince the controller to give him another go - thank goodness! Liam was much improved and if anything was probably going a little too slow, but he didn't want to take the chance of getting kicked off the track again. Especially in front of his friends. They had been before so he was only trying to keep up with them.

Thankfully, it all worked out in the end and everyone had a great time. I even think Liam made it to legend status with some of the boys because he'd gone onto the big track :)

Caitlin went out on the track as well. She and the sister of the birthday boy were very keen when they were getting kitted up but once they were in the karts they started to get a bit nervous. However, they did really well on the track, took it steady and came off saying what great fun it was and can they do it for their birthdays?!!




On the stitching front I have been working on AOH and am about halfway through Area 2. It is well after midnight here so I will take a picture and upload it tomorrow :)

More AOH Progress ...

Sick of it yet - lol? Surprisingly, I'm not :) Which is good because I have a long way to go to catch up to Carol! Anyway, I put the last stitches in the first dividing band last night and am now about to start on the first line of the verse. It's just back stitch so hopefully it will go quick and I can then make a good start on Area 2.

It would be nice to think that I'll be able to finish it tonight but Liam has a birthday party this afternoon after school and Ken and I have been invited back by the boy's parents for a drink afterwards :) It shouldn't be a late night as it's a school/work night so I may get a few stitches in afterwards ... we shall see! The kids are going go-karting at the Dubai Autodrome so that should be fun :)

Speaking of birthdays ... many happy returns for your birthday yesterday, Karen!! No doubt you have been busy with your move to the new shop but I hope you had a nice day anyway :)

Some of you may have noticed that the title of my blog is different - just wanted a change :)

It is really starting to heat up here so I guess summer is just around the corner. When Tikki (our dog) starts to feel it you know it's getting hotter :) We got back from our usual morning walk about 45mins ago and she is now crashed out on the cool tiles in the entrance hall - lol. It will be too hot to walk her in the mornings soon. We usually go about 8am after I've dropped the kids at school but I may have to start getting up at 6am instead of 6.30am and taking her then. Mmmm, I struggle getting up at 6.30am so not sure about that - lol! I'm not a good morning person :)

Heather and Kim, thanks for stopping by my blog, and yes, Kim, we do have several things in common :)

I'm off to start on that verse - have a great day!

AOH Progress

Firstly, I want to thank you all for your comments on AOH - they are a real confidence boost :)



Anyway, here's my progress so far. I think I was being slightly over-ambitious the other day when I said I hoped to get Area 1 finished that night! Getting those Queen Stitches right wasted so much valuable stitching time and had me pulling my hair out! DT's stitch diagrams are fantastic but my brain was just not coping with the QS diagram so I ended up going online to find something that it could cope with - lol! I came across this step by step diagram and managed the final result you see in the pic above. I'm not completely happy with them but I'm not ripping them out again!! Very unusual for me as I am a bit of a perfectionist - I will rip out even the minutest of mistakes simply because I know it is there :)

My order from Stitches & Spice arrived yesterday - such yummy fabrics! I had to put them out of sight so I would not be tempted to start one of the charts!

Another short post today - I told Caitlin that I would play Bratz with her last night and she's been waiting patiently all morning for me :)

The Drawn Thread's "An Open Heart"

My progress so far ... started this a couple of days ago. Blogger photos is being a right royal pain in the butt so I've used Photobucket to upload this image.





Stitched on 34 count "Cafe Au Lait" Legacy Linen with Needlepoint Inc silks

I'm enjoying this project and with a bit of luck I just may be able to finish Area 1 tonight.

Just a quick post tonight ... my stitching is calling me :)