I've been tagged

This is a first for me but I have been tagged by Lynn and so here are the rules

Post the rules on your blog
Write 6 random things about yourself
Tag 6 people at the end of your post
Let each person they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
Let the tagger know that your entry is posted on your blog

So here we go!

1. I hated foreign languages at school but I am fluent in Japanese!
2. I think Roger Moore was the best James Bond - I've seen all the movies and tomorrow I go to see Quantum of Solace.
3. I have an American made cardiac pacemaker implanted- does that mean I can get a Green Card?
4. My favourite childhood book was Anne of Green Gables - followed closely by Little Women.
5. Given a choice of tea or coffee I usually ask for water.
6. My first love in music is Country and Western, but I love Mozart, Bach and Handel. How bizarre is that?


I am tagging

Olenka Her needlework is fantastic and I want to know more about her

Carol R Carol's photography is brilliant - maybe I will learn how she got to be so good

Tammie Tammie is so busy with her family and yet she still has time for stitching and knitting How does she do it?

Cheryl Cheryl's baby is almost due and so before she gets busy I'd like to hear more about her

Staci I know Staci is an angel but is there anything else she can tell me?

Hola If you haven't visited her blog you should!! And Google Translate will help you with the language. Her photographed work is inspiring!!

Good luck to all I've tagged.

Christmas Ornament received

Saturday the mail man brought me a fat package from Nicky - my partner in the HOE Exchange

Inside were Christmas goodies, some threads and fabric for my stash cupboard, a very tempting "spa" pack and a beautifully stitched, fat, needle roll. It is done in rich Christmas colours and several speciality stitches so took a close up shot to show you.

Isn't it great.

As I was decorating my Christmas Tree on Saturday I had to place my new needle roll prominently and here it is in pride of place with a Kiwi Santa!

Quaker Ornament finished

This is stitched on Dublin linen over one thread with DMC 115 and it has turned out small as I wanted for my tree this year. Although from JCS Ornament Issue of 2002 (thanks Staci!!) I have changed the date of course.

Last night's stitching was on an exchange so no snaps yet. I hope to do the finishing tonight as I have everything I need in the stash cupboard. Then there will be the happy happy dance as I have only three WIPs in the box.

It will officially be Summer next week!!

December 1st it will officially be summer but the weather man hasn't found out yet! It is still cold and stormy at times and the mountains still have plenty of snow. I took this photo on my recent quick trip to Wellington. This is Mt Ruapehu which is in the middle of our North Island.

I thought you might like to see the little Christmas Box I made for Taija in the Crazy Exchange. She lives in Finland and I stupidly thought the parcel of goodies might not get there till nearer December 25. But as always, the Post Office are not predictable and Taija received her box of goodies this week. Included with the usual chocolates, candy etc etc there was this little box. It originated as a Louis Vuitton box (from which my boss had extracted a wallet) - Yes! My box fetish is known even at work! But some cross stitching, some felt and a little time turned it into a sneaky peeky Christmas Box filled with bath items. You can see the other pictures on Taija's blog here. Like me you might not be able to read Finnish but now you know the story you can guess the rest from the snaps and see yet another box I scored from a colleague!

A few steps past a floss toss

Here's a shot of a WIP - destined to become an exchange so it must remain a mystery. I do like the colours and it is fun while stitching to think of what goodies I will put with it.
There has been no stitching for the past couple of days. I have driven to Wellington and back (8 hours each way) for the funeral of a family friend so there hasn't been time or energy. Tonight I plan to return to this - which will be a really cheerful thing to do after a dismal few days.

A surprise from Japan

I told you the mailman left a card to tell me to collect a package at the Post Office. Well, Saturday morning I walked across to find it was a PIF from Yuko. What a lovely surprise - inside was a beautiful stitched biscornu, a card of ribbon, a DMC variegated thread I had not seen before, two cherry blossoms to perfume my drawers and a small notepad. Thank you so much Yuko - I am really pleased to have some of your beautiful stitching. I love the colour and especially the beaded edging.

Progress reports

I'm making good progress on my current piece but it is secret so can't be shown completely yet. I'm enjoying all the different stitches and textures although this photo shows I need to redo the satin stitch - it's not exactly flat is it? Perhaps a good steam press will work wonders? Do you like the colour scheme -I followed what the chart said although I suspect that my "Dirty Linen" is slightly darker than what was recommended. However on the enjoyment scale this is up the top.

Thanks for all your comments about Lisa's reindeer ornament. Denise if you email me I can give you the details you wanted. Just click on the email button on the left hand side in my profile.