Almost all tickets bought

(some of you might know I'm nuts about moose and reindeer decorations... here is Christmas reindeer from Angi!)

We had incredible luck tonight. It is now 2 months since I've been pressing H to buy his Christmas plane tickets. We'll be spending it at my father's this year, and 12 days together after a whole week in Switzerland just two weeks before, so I can't say enough how delighted I am. The luck, you'll ask? It's that plane tickets prices have been going up gradually, after all Christmas is in a little bit more than a month away now and I wasn't that happy with my stubborn partner who likes to delay everything till the last moment... We're a great couple, me who likes to plan everything *very* long in advance and H who hates it LOL! Anyway, we were planning to finally decide on the dates for Christmas today and while he was on his way home, I checked the airline's website and what do I see? Several days had prices several times lower than even last month! I called H, made him run home and tickets were bought, for 1/3 of the price!! The flight from Oslo to Warsaw cost 297 NOKs, while just an hour later it cost 1297!!! Delighted, delighted I am, I tell you... So, we get to spend almost 3 weeks together in total between end of November and end of December. Yooopla! I've been checking tickets prices every day the last month, sometimes several times per day, so I really don't know why this ONE cheap ticket was released... Of course, he will now use it against me forever, he's already joking that if we had bought the tickets yesterday as planned, he would have payed a fortune more than today! LOL

Stitching - I received a small order from 123stitch.com with [...] to finish my PS exchange for Suzanne. At least that's what I am planning, tomorrow I'll see it my idea can be brought to life. If it can, it is certainly a miniature challenge :)

I finished two more blocks of the Spring Thaw afghan for H. Only 8 more to go within two weeks (sigh). I hate speed-stitching. I've put the FAS away. I just don't like working on it at all. Too bad there was no chance to make it in time for his b-day or Christmas, but the LNS send it only :( 2 months after my order, and sent it to the wrong adress, meaning I got it end of September. Oh well, he'll get it one day. No need to hurry anymore.

H's 50th birthday was yesterday... we celebrated it over the phone, there will be plenty of time in Switzerland for more romantic moments, especially since on Dec. 03, we'll also celebrate 10 years of being together! :) To me, this is a magical date...

Off to stitch a little bit and head to bed... night night everyone!

Blackwork Furry Friends

Yup, Monday procrastination... while working on two texts... I ended buying Blackwork Furry Friends by Tam's Creations, I just loved it! Tam finally has a nice place to sell her designs from. It is nice, because you get the chart directly by email.

And if you want to see the pattern I bought, it is this one :)

Lost Saturday

Yup, I feel like it's lost, but there'll be a Sunday ;-)
I started working again in the flat in the evening yesterday and decided to pause... at almost 7 am!! I am nuts, I know, but I just have to have the flat neat again. At 4am there were beads, threads, frames, magazines, books, charts and kits, and what have you, *everywhere*!! including my bed, the floor, my keyboard etc. Now most of it is sorted and put into boxes of various kind with really (I amazed myself LOL!) some sort of system. One thing I don't know how to solve is little insects that seem to love fabrics. They are everywhere where I store fabrics in the flat, after they die they leave little dry skins and some sort of miniature coccoons. They drive me nuts! They are even in the closed plastic boxes. I will attemt to put soap (because of the fragrance) and see if that helps.
Now, the floor is still covered with a zillion items but there are walkable "channels" for the furry kids ;-)
Do you ever have moments like this? I discovered I have *dozens* of lovely tuck pillows (I seem to have bought more on ebay last year than I cared to admit), twice the number of Silkweaver hand-dyed fabric packs than I thought (granted, half are not colors I really like for my usual projects, so they were stuck in the back of a big drawer), I have quite many charms and other nice stash. Far from what some ladies have, but I only discovered US stash about 4 years ago... I also prepared a huge pile of charts to sell on ebay. The situation being as it is, I can't afford buying stash still for the next half year, so I decided to sell a lot, making a copy of the occasional pattern I think I will stitch and especially get rid of some precious doubles. Lots of these are samplers and Birds of a Feather patterns, but none of the BOF charts are the expensive OOP found on ebay.
Waking up today, I was thinking what I really need as stash... Scissors, probably. I only have two small pairs received from stitching friends with fobs. Overdyes and silks - I wish I would win the lotto. I am sure I would spend half the sum (however high it would be) on these, much to H's despair! LOL Hand-dyed fabrics, always. Buying some charts/kits from both my wishlists, certainly. Isn't it awful that designers always have new patterns we need to have? :)
So I'm thinking... 2007 will be (decided!) more Mill Hill stitching (especially some samplers from a book I bought earlier this year), more Prairie Schooler and stitching runners and tablecloths again. I must have mentioned earlier that I really miss those. Especially since stoopid me gave all my most beautiful accomplishments to family. I wish I didn't! Except for one which my aunt always proudly exhibits, they are hidden somewhere in closets gathering dust. Not the fate I want for a piece it took me a year to finish.
I'm flying to Switzerland in a little bit than 2 weeks and I need to have H's afghan ready, so I have to talk to myself and quit working on other stuff till then.
Off to start the day at past 5pm (told you it's a lost day :( ). Thank you everyone for emails, comments and other messages in the past few days, I'll do my best to reply this week-end! I only have one small job on my desk for Monday, so Sunday should be free for catching up on email.
Have a nice week-end, everyone!

At 5pm, I also took out a big pile of clean (go figure!) clothes and bedclothes to wash again and iron, and a moment later, I noticed that Happy found a comfy place to sleep in! LOL

Meet Lil' Mouse!

Fabric: Sunshine Sparkle (Silkweaver), 25ct Lugana

Chart from Cross Stitch Crazy (Christmas 2006 issue) UK magazine

Threads used: my choice of overdyes

Finally finishes I love! I couldn't resist to this little mouse...

Basically, I stitched it for a friend's daughter. Now, please help me - what should I do? I love it so much that I have a hard time parting with it. And no, I won't stitch it again, I know I won't, I never do, there's plenty of other designs I always want to stitch :(. Should I keep it and have it finished or should I send it, what would you do?? And if I keep it, how do I finish it (=I'll have a finisher do it for me)? I'm perplexed though I have some ideas, but the first question is, do I send it, really...

Dragon Dreams new freebie

There's a new freebie, have you seen it? It's a little dragon with a pumpkin on his head, too cute :)
I just love DD designs!

Today's French freebies...

...are from Vivapetitmonde.fr

See here, links in the center and archives list in the pink sidebar to the right, including a nice hardanger ABC (Mylene should like that ;-))
Also click directle here.

More freebies here, but they're presented in a way I don't like and which I usually find not that attractive. I found a couple of cute ones though! :)

I don't remember if I ever posted those. Anyway, the scissors cases, for instance, are so beautiful!

And a fall design, two leaves from Ursulaschertz.de.

New yummy patterns

I just can't take my eyes off the new Janlynn kits (granted, I wouldn't do them on Aida). I especially love the winter piece and the autumn piece, aren't they stunning?

While procrastinating, I'd like to mention the new Spanish Church freebie by Michael Powell at http://www.michaelpowellart.co.uk/ (you need to subscribe to subscribe as member). It is wintery, not too big and certainly nice once finished :)

Small M letter finish

I stitched the first of several (but not many, I won't have time with my big and exchange projects) small gifties for stitcher-friends. I haven't been able to take a good shot tonight with the digital camera, so I'll upload a much better one once I have it finished - as a small hanging ornie. It is from the Holly and Ivy alphabet published in the UK magazine Cross Stitch Crazy, Christmas 2006.

TGOSM Sampler finish!

I so fell in love with this sampler that I stitched it in 3 evenings. I just couldn't wait for the Olde Willow Stitchery Threads so I made my own conversion to overdyes (see below).

Fabric: Silkweaver's linen 32 ct
Color: Sandcastle
Threads used: overdyes and silks

My conversion of the major colors:
OWS Virtue Teal-WDW Kentucky Bluegrass
OWS Yorkshire Blue - Gloriana silks : India Ink for the birds and Charcoal for the windows
OWS American Quaker Gold: WDW Whiskey
OWS Chestnus- GAST Currant

Stitched with 2 threads over 2.

Birthday/Christmas bloggers stitching club

I subscribed to Becky's exchange this week. Just passing the info... would love to see my stitching friends in there too! :)
More info here and here.

I'm so upset with myself!

Why, oh why is it that way that I regularly think I will remember a little bit of info, which of course it is impossible to do for a longer period, and why can't I learn to write down that little piece of info somewhere...
Tonight I found back Miss Mary Mack (by Lori Markovic) which I started before the summer. Of course I customized it by picking a color of floss I wanted. I know it was GAST or DMC, and it's done over one. I was sure I would remember that OBVIOUS (^%$^%#%) color name to order one skein more... But know I don't. Wait, I think it might have been Crescent Colors.. All I can do is to order several skeins of colors from different companies and check what it was. Aaaaargh!!! I like this piece so much!
DON'T ASK - I forgot the name of the Silkweaver fabric as well! (sound of head banging on wall)
Actually the digital camera distorted the colors - the floss color has nothing to do with coffee, it is indeed more like dark ink.

Good traveling news

I'll be blogging less in the end of the year. Decisions are made and plane tickets were bought today - we're flying to Switzerland on Nov. 28 for a well deserved week at my brother's and to attend Chris de Burgh's concert in Zurich. We'll do some traveling in the country as well to discover places we haven't been yet, with mandatory trips to Geneva and Lausanne as well, as I need to find some items related to my work.
I won't be able to describe what that concert means to me, so I won't even try, especially in English. This is simply a dream come true.... I still can't be believe we're going to attend!
It'll be nice to stay at my brother's and spend time with my 4,5 y.o. nephew. It's been a long time since I saw him last... oh my, can it really be a whole year?
And then on Dec. 3rd, we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of being together... probably with a nice dinner somewhere on the French side.
Still unsure if H. can fly in here for Christmas, that should be solved tomorrow or within the next days. There's hope!
That all means I'll be traveling a lot between the end of November and end of December (Christmas at my father's).
I'm starting to prepare little Xmas packages for several cross stitch friends, I can't make them big this year, so they will just be little somethings to say I think of you during this special period of the year...

All Saints Day

In Poland, we do not celebrate Halloween other than as a new fashion imported from the US, but we celebrate All Saints Day on Nov. 1. It's also a day off as well as tomorrow (All Souls Day). The tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives. Everybody, I mean everybody except for people whose condition makes it impossible visits graves - usually at several cementaries during the same day. We visit the graves of all family members, friends, other people we knew, and we light a candle. There are also big crosses where we light a candle for a special 'occasion' - WWII victims, Polish people buried abroad etc. - this is what the picture above shows.
From what I know, this tradition is very similar to how Mexicans celebrate this day. In East Poland, there are regional customs such as bringing food for the dead, singing and rejoycing, but for most people this is a day where we think about those who left...
Graves are decorated with enormous pots of chrysanthema (usually), and the atmosphere in the evening, when it's dark, with all those small red lights everywhere, is just magic. I would recommend people visiting our country to discover this day here, with all its customs...
More photos:

And here's a picture from last year, from the cementary where my mother is buried (I just realized I uploaded above only pictures made in the evening):

Lovely freebies and other stories :)

Today's find, hoping you'll like them.

3 sweet French freebies - click here
and more here

A few lovely French designers/companies to discover (beware, they're addicting!):
* http://www.deshistoiresabroder.com/ (click on Broderie, Cartonnage etc.). Incredible beauties!!!
* http://www.craftcorner.be/accueil.html - this one is in Belgium (click on Nos Modèles and follow the links)
* http://www.madame-la-fee.com/index.php?cPath=24_2 (follow the links Kits complets and Fiches, then go further in each cathegory)
* more stunning, colorful samplers also ">here

I just can't take my eyes off that one! (Michele, if you see it... LOL!)
and also these: http://www.accrostitch.com/craftica/craftica_nouv.htm

That'll be all for today.... happy dreams!

Stash days

Today, I received from Drema a kit she had on sale and which I've wanted sooo badly for quite some time. The kit alone usually costs around 16 usd and I paid in total about 12 usd with the shipping cost to Poland. Additional plus, for a reason unknown to me, I always receive packages from her within 2-3 days. Ah, forgot to mention the name, it's an older knob knocker kit from Sweetheart Tree called 'Dog in, Dog out'. Why do I like it so much? It's because in Norway, the house is big, with a garden, and during my summer stay with Happy H. had to shout several times daily to ask: "Is Happy in or out?" This was because sometimes he wanted to open the door for a longer time and Happy has to be in a special (very) long leash when out in the garden - plus, he's very good at running away if he gets the occasion. Now it's just to finish the knob knocker and have it hanging at the front door! Hah, I am sooo happy!
And yesterday, I got a bigger order from Stitches 'N Things which I had put back in May, when I used a birthday coupon.

It took time to get the frames and The Victoria Sampler's "Jingle Bells Tree Farm" with the threads for it, then I was in Norway etc. Now the frames are here and they are such a joy for the eye!!! I got the Kitchen frame for the Hinzeit's mini-block of the same name and the Moose frame - I received the Moose mini-block from Michele W. earlier this year and just had to have the right frame for it!!!

While we are at that, Drema offers the small pieces of different fabrics needed for the 2006 JCS ornies, see here. And she always has nice items in her clearance section! :)

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate it
or just like this tradition!

Dull Saturday

I didn't do anything today. I went to bed extremely late, woke up extremely late and I've been extremely lazy since then. It's already Sunday here on the old continent and I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow I plan to get up at a more normal hour and go on with sorting/packing/throwing old stuff and books in an efficient way. I want my flat sparkling clean and much more empty in time for Christmas. Yay, looks like H. might be spending it in Poland this time!!! I can't remember now, but it must be 3 Christmases now that we spent apart. One time he wanted to stay in Norway so that his mother wouldn't be alone, then there was the heart operation, and then neither of us wanted her to stay alone. I am still undecided... on one hand I feel it's going to be another partly sad Christmas for me, it just isn't the same when he's not here, but on the other hand now that I know his mother well and we get along so well - I just don't like the idea of her being alone on this special evening. It's not easy the way we have it, my father in Poland and his mother in Norway. Impossible to make everyone happy. Tomorrow probably we'll make decisions and buy tickets. Still unclear if I'll fly to Norway for his birthday in 2 weeks or not. Money is a big issue this year.
XSTITCH: I've decided to keep the .... ornament I stitched for the PS exchange. I used gorgeous Gloriana Lorikeet silks but there's something I am not fond about - either it's the colors (too sad) or the chart, or both. I am already half done with the new ornament I picked - and that one starts to look quite nice :-) Can't upload a progress photo though because Linda might be lurking here! LOL

And here's just to show what a pet owner's life can be. I changed my bed clothes, sat at the computer and soon I watched Toska occupying my pillow, later replaced by Happy. Pets! :)

Progress on the Spring Thaw Afghan

So here's as far as I am as today. I'm putting the FAS aside as I will not be able to complete it in time for H's birthday anyway (will try for Chrismas - I can always dream, right? LOL).

This is where I stopped working on it on my last day in Norway in the middle of September.

Now that my PS exchange ornament for Linda McM is stitched (just need to do the finishing part), I will work very fast on the afghan, and I should have it finished within a week or so. If I'm fast, that is ;-)

2,5 squares more in the last row visible and one more row down from that to do.

Today's freebie find...

For sampler fans :
http://www.pcbdijon.com/accueil/TMP1072434954.htm

I especially like the little "A" chart in the second row from the bottom.

Prairie Schooler crow

Here's a crow I stitched early this summer but was too lazy to post ;-)




Pattern name: Crow from Garden Birds (Prairie Schooler leaflet #56)

Threads: my choice of overdyes

Fabric: can't remember, will update!

Stitched over one with one thread.

One day I plan to send it to a finisher to make it into a rustic pillow.