Some more M's

Last night was a busy one - I went to the supermarket at around 9:30pm and after I got home was determined to do some stitching so was rather late to bed. The dandelion clock now has all the tufts so there are only the numbers to stitch and it will be done. But I forgot to take a picture so instead will show you some more of my M's. The bottom one of these three was a kit and the top two are from one of my many Alphabet Books. Tonight I plan on finishing the Dandelion Clock and baking some Christmas Cookies - not necessarily in that order!

M M M and more M

Last night I went to hear the Messiah - this is the 153rd time that the Auckland Choral Society have sung this. It was an excellent night out.

And in the theme of M I thought I would show you some of my collection of M's. At one point I was quite obsessed about these but have since, with the help of so many blogging friends, moved on to other obsessions like Quaker, Biscornus, samplers, exchanges, stash acquisiton etc etc etc

First the Solo M. This came in a kit so the fancy printed linen was supplied as well as the threads. I remember having a terrible time with the gold thread in this one but the finished effect was worth the effort.

Next these two which were the products of long haul flights to and from Japan. Of course that was in the days when scissors and needles weren't thought to be weapons of war. I remember that the picture framer persuaded me in to an expensive framing for the bottom one - that shiny part is genuine gold leaf! But as it is only a tiny M the cost wasn't prohibitive.

And finally for today this is my Reward M. I bought this for myself as a reward for dropping 10 kilos in weight when I first joined the gym. It is handmade from New Zealand Kauri and I love it still.

Dandelion Clock Progress Report #2

Good progress on the Dandelion Clock. I finished the bottom left corner. Progress has been faster than I thought but the rush of Christmas preparations is on now so less stitching time!!

The other three quarters are not so interesting as they are only "tufts" and numbers but of course have to be placed accurately which entails lots of tacking and checking!

Yesterday I bought a notebook and made a list - in order of 'must be done' - of all the stitching promises I have made so far. There are four "musts" that I need to do before shoulder surgery on January 21. Far from being depressing this has been a great exercise and I am energised and organised - which is of course good.

Tonight Mother and I are going to the Auckland Choral Society annual production of Handel's Messiah. We go every year and thoroughly enjoy it. Will report tomorrow!

HELP Please I'm going MAD

I had a bad bad weekend (not as bad as Carol though - we had sun and electric power!).

I stitched a small ..... well I can't exactly say what as its an exchange gift - and I wanted to finish it as a triangular hanging ornament thingy. Well I was a mathematics teacher so I know how to draw up accurate triangles and did that. Wonderful! Next made the back - fabric covered part. Mutter mutter - aah aah -moan moan but it got done with around 85% satisfaction.

Then the front - the embroidered part. How does one lace the linen into a triangle shape and get sharp corners not these confounded rounded ones. Louder and louder mutters, then even louder and louder mutters, then groans, then tears, etc etc You get the picture right. I'm sure you heard the sobs in Alaska as I threw the wretched thing into the rubbish. I will now stitch another and this will be finished as a square or a circle. I can do those!!

How on earth do all you clever clever people out there make triangle shaped ornaments. I know you must because The Cricket Club has a neat chart of "Kisses" all finished as blessed triangles. I have the chart, the threads, the linen, the cardboard, the pellon, the inclination BUT obviously not the skill to put the things together. Anyone out there got a tutorial for the simple minded but nearly insane Margaret???

We had our company Christmas party at a restaurant down on Auckland Wharf. Beautiful night it was too so here's a snap. See you tomorrow with a progress shot of the Dandelion clock - its one quarter finished!!

Signups still open for the Blogaversary - here.

Message from my busy mailman

"Margaret", he said. "How come you get so many presents? I only came to your house a few days ago and before that I have left several CTC (Call to collect) cards. What do I have to do to get gifts like you?"

"Ah ha", Mr Mailman says I. "You need to learn to stitch and you need to learn to blog and you need to meet all the wonderful people I've met."

"You've met all these people? " Mr Mailman sounded a little disbelieving.

"Well, not exactly met" I had to confess.

"Then how come they send you gifts?" he asked

"That's because the are all GSASB (Generous Spirited Amazing Stitching Bloggers)" I explained and quickly took my package.



Well, to be honest little in the above is true except for the GSASB part. Yesterday a surprise package from Carol on the Crazy Exchange arrived. Carol has to be one of the top 10 GSASB people! She made me an absolutely exquisite Christmas Ornament that quickly found a home right at the front of my Christmas Tree so I can enjoy it. Isn't it really neat? And there is a cute little star button right in the top. I love it.
Included in the package (but not the photo) was a cute Christmas Card and a Prairie Schooler card chart of Santa. Many many thanks Carol. It was a wonderful surprise!

Don't forget to leave a comment and mention blogaversary if you want to be in for the draw.
I put details here.

Blogaversary Mystery Giveaway

Whoa! This year has gone fast. Last January I stumbled into the world of Blogging Stitchers and now not only do I meet up with so many of you in UK and USA but Google Translate and I are good friends as use GT's help to read some of the French, Russian and Finnish blogs too. Let's be honest here Margaret - you are hooked big time! My stash cupboard is full to the brim, I have learned new techniques and have proudly introduced friends at Embroiderers Guild to Biscornu and Pendibuile -even if they mostly call them "those fancy little things you make Margaret"!!

So I thought long and hard about what I could do as a suitable Blogaversary Gift and then remembered this box I had stored away for a special occasion. Isn't it beautiful??? Spectaular enough for such an event. So on January 6th this blog will be one year old and as a celebration I am going to fill this box with goodies and send to one lucky person.

There is only one rule for participation: Please leave a comment on my blog mentioning that you'd like to receive the Blogaversary Giveaway. Entries close on 5 January 2009 (New Zealand time).

Under the strict but impartial supervison of my nearly deaf, half blind elderly Mother ( you don't believe me do you!!) the draw will be made (I'm assuming there will be more than one comment ;-) on 6 January (NZ time) and I will post the winner the next day. Please make sure I have an email contact so I can let the winner know.

So to all of you out there who have so enriched my life this year - a big bloggy thank you.

Dandelion Clock Progress

Last night there were other chores that needed doing so stitching time was rather abbreviated. However I did make some progress on the Dandelion Clock so here's a shot. I had to change the colour of the seed head flower slightly as DMC Ecru didn't show up enough against the Platinum linen. Tonight is to be devoted to getting the yellow flower completed on the left of the seed head and to start the tufts that denote the hours. Look out for some more pictures tomorrow.