Birthday cake

My work colleagues surprised me with two beautiful cupcakes which the HD3QBEM and I have shared.  

So full of chocolate and passionfruit and an amazing episode of Downton Abbey I am off to bed.   Work is so busy and I am so tired, I certainly feel a year older!

2+2=1

Today,  two metres of fabric + two hours of labour = one happy HD3QBEM
And the proof? Look at this!

The colour suits her doesn't it.   QED

Bits and pieces

Life is getting in the way of stitching at the moment but I am making slow progress on crossing things off the list.
Today I packed up an unusual 'Advent Calendar' that will have to be in the post by 1 November if it is to reach its destination by 1 December.   Looks tempting doesn't it?

Then I am trying to use up the linen around the angels and have the outside of a needlebook completed.

I laced the first panel for the Sampler Casket and hope to do another tonight while watching Grand Designs.

The HD3QBEM and I are going up north for a long weekend in early November so I kitted up this cross stitch piece - all from stash which makes me really happy.  The linen is a 28 count fairly open weave so I expect that even hotel lighting should make stitching on this one possible.   I plan on making the purse only as I feel that I don't need any more needlebooks, pin holders, scissor fobs etc

Today was a beautiful warm Spring day so we went out for a drive to a local park and on the way called at The Ribbon Rose, my local needlework store.   But guess what?   The owner has decided recently to branch out into wool and has given over about one fifth of his store to the HD3QBEM's drug of choice.   And today, despite the vision impairment she spied a basket of bargains and we came home with this:-)

And the very best news?   Tomorrow is Labour Day in New Zealand and we have a public holiday to celebrate the 40 hour working week.   Strange feeling really, as despite working for the Government that in 1840 enacted that law, I have averaged 44.25 hours per week since commencing this job!!   However I will enjoy the day off and plan to stitch a new summer top for the HD3QBEM.   we are promised fine weather so I will also go for a walk, and cook the meals for the coming week.   But I don't need to do any cleaning as on Saturday I managed the usual basic house work as well as a full Spring Clean of the bathroom and the Linen Cupboard.  
I'm off to have a good week.

I'm feeling a little angelic!

Despite this post being later than planned, I am feeling very pleased with myself.

Seven little angels all done.   The last time I attempted this bookmark the angels defeated me and I settled for a very ordinary Dove's Eye instead.  

So for this effort I read the instructions two or three times and worked very methodically and yay!
I'm not sure that the pink linen is quite appropriate but it is what I had in stash that matched the DMC perle in my tin.   Now I'm wondering what to stitch on the 'spare' linen of this piece.  I think there's room for another bookmark but I'm not sure about another 'angelic effort' straightaway.
There have been several nights of waking and gazing myopically at my alarm clock to read 6am and jumping out of bed only to find it was actually 3am or some other ungodly hour!   After the latest episode I decided to cash in one of my gift vouchers and get a clock that glowed in the dark and had clear numbers to read.  

I can't work out how to get the alarm to cooperate so the bell rings on the old clock but I tell the time on the new one.  And it works so well that I woke at 3am this morning so it has been a long day.

Now, I do have a very interesting book so will sign off and go back to that.   Has anyone else read "My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me" by Jennifer Teege.    A German-Nigerian woman happens to pluck a library book from the shelf and recognises photos of her mother and grandmother in the book.  She also discovers the horrifying fact that her grandfather was Amon Goeth, the vicious Nazi commandant of Schindlers List.  This book is her journey to comprehend her family's haunted history.   Not a book to be devoured in one speed reading marathon, nor perhaps too late at night.   However I am finding this a gripping read and recommend it after only 25 pages!

Good night all.

Cherry blossoms, shopping and stitching

Today I took the HD3QBEM to see some of the beautiful flowering cherries.   We don't have any on our section but there are may trees in the area and one or two streets nearby are avenues of pink cloud.   Very pretty.

We also went to the fabric store and the HD3QBEM chose three pieces of fabric for me to sew into summer tops for her.   We have a public holiday later this month and if I can get the fabric cut one evening beforehand I will go into assembly line production that weekend and then hopefully voila!

Yesterday was a regional embroidery day and it was fun to spend time with others and be stimulated by the projects they have done and are doing.   I persuaded one lady to let me photograph her cylindrical hussif and I plan on copying that next year.
One of our speakers Priscilla Lowry, is both a textile artist specialising in silk (fabric and yarn) and a university lecturer in medieval history.   She gave an illustrated talk on women and embroidery in medieval art.   It was fascinating and makes me wonder if I could somehow find the time to attend a few lectures before my longed for trip to the UK as it would certainly make visits to art galleries more interesting.   After her lecture she showed us many of the garments she has designed - wearable art in the true sense of the word.  

I did manage to find time last week to stitch some more on the Hardanger Jewelry Roll.   However I have now put this to sleep while I finish off a Christmas gift which is destined for overseas and needs to be posted at the beginning of November.   The hardanger is needed for March so can wait.   It is pretty though and I am really enjoying this project.

At Regional Day I needed something a little less all-consuming so did the foundation for an Angel Bookmark.   Yes!   This one will go to sleep for a while too but then I will stitch angels and hope that it will reduce my ever growing stress and put me in an angelic frame of mind:-)
Meanwhile I am off to finish the housework and cook the dinner.