Several projects started, one small finish

I realized today I haven't blogged for several days, but the week was indeed busy, and I won't complain - work is money, and money is stash! :)
Some of you already know that someone forged his ID and other documents to try to get credits in many, many banks. It is not an identity theft per se, because only my address and all phone numbers are being used by this creature, but this 'only' still means I have to deal with the police and every 2-3 days, contact a new bank and repeat the whole story again. There are no direct consequences for me in that I didn't have my ID, passport, company stamp or anything else stolen and the whole story does not concern any person I know, but a total stranger BUT everything is fine as long as only banks are involved. Unfortunately the police seem to think that using the same forget documents, that person might have tried to 'borrow' (hmm....) money from the mafia or from some firms running on a more or legal basis. In which case these funny (not!) people might try to recover the money directly from me. All in all, I am involved in an affair I did nothing to start and it is *not* funny. Less stressing now that I now what I have to do daily, but who knows what the future will bring.
Except that, my brother's oldest and best friend, aged 44, died suddenly last Sunday so my brother flew in from Switzerland for the funeral for just 2,5 days and I will meet him tomorrow for a short moment before he flies back via Basel. There are some little things for my adorable nephew I want to deliver to him.
Then a far uncle had a stroke and it is not thought he will leave long now, and I got news confirming that an ex-good friend and neighbor, around 38 years old, is indeed in a mental care hospital since many months and the description of what she became in the last period she lived here in the same building as I was rather disturbing.
All in all nothing concerning me directly, but lots of different stories that have an impact on me in one or another way.

Thursday brought joy and happiness! Ela from France sent me the sampler magazine I so wanted to have and I can't thank her enough for that. There are at least 4 (four!) projects I HAVE TO STITCH - you know that immediate love when you see a project and you just know you can't resist... especially that one is a sampler with a bird!! And you know, samplers with birds, trees, houses, I do not resist those! LOL
So.... I already started the project above on a lovely piece of Silkweaver fabric, with Gloriana Luminescence silks (see left). Sadly enough, I had to use two strands and this will be an expensive sampler beacuse I need to order several skeins more. In that case I'll have to accept it with a smile because it is going to be a big fav' on my wall.

And I also finished a little sampler which designer I will update tomorrow. I got in as an extra in a recent PS exchange from Teresa and I immediately loved it. I plan to finish it as a small pillow hanging at the entrance door :)

And then tonight I started project # 2 from the French magazine, an amazingly beautiful Christmas wall hanging sampler. Watch this space tomorrow for an update with a picture!

Saturday quickie

It is again a freebie by Echevette, who had this great idea after reading that someone was afraid to admit to some people that she stitches. The idea is to stitch it so you can make new friends... Read more on Echevette's blog (the text about this freebie is here also in English, scroll down) and enjoy stitching it :)


Freebie: Opération je brode, et vous? by Echevette

Threads: DMC (I lost the color tag)

Fabric: 18ct Aida Rustic Oatmeal

PS small finish

Chart: Prairie Schooler, adapted from leaflet 'Garden Gloves'

Threads used: WDW Saffron, Emeral, Bluecoat blue, Sweet Potato and I can't remember the red one.

Shame on you, PS girls! ;-) The pattern was from PS leaflet Garden Gloves. I was itching to do a luggage tag since a long time, and this week I needed to find a one evening quickie to stitch, so here it is. I had to adapt the chart so it has the right shape in the luggage tag, and I think I managed to do it nicely. The other side has a ready-made address label where I wrote the relevant info. Mind you, I won't ever attach it onto a bag/suitcase that travels in the luggage compartment in a plane as I don't want to risk having it stolen. It'll be perfect for hand luggage!
Not sure if I ever mentioned it here but in December the central lock in my Samsonite suitcase was broken and someone stole an expensive perfume I had in it. Swiss (the airline) behaved great and reimbursed me 300 CHF for both, which maybe doesn't cover the full price of a new luggage and perfume, but quite a big part of it. I *was* lucky and it covers how great they are.

It was the first time I stitched on vinyl paper. I think I like it much more than regular perforated paper.

Avis aux brodeuses françaises

... ou plutôt au secours, à l'aide, il faut que je mette la main dessus! :) :)
J'explique : je viens de voir le nouveau Mains et merveilles No 13 Spécial Marquoirs sur le site de Isa V. et... bon, vous connaissez ces frémissements des doigts, cette impatience, cette nervosité, je le veux !!! :)
Pourriez-vous me dire s'il est possible de se le procurer en ligne ? Sinon, une gentille brodeuse (visualisez ce sourire timide...) accepterait-elle de me l'envoyer contre remboursement total des frais ? J'utilise Paypal. Merci d'avance !

Friday happiness

Just celebrating the end of the working week :)
I'm pooped and a new job is coming in, so there's more work in perspective for the w/e, but so far it's the end of Friday, hah! I've only slept 2-3 hours last night but I've delivered everything in time.

This evening I've been invited by girl (a girl? she's over 40, I need to grow up fast! but she really is more a girl than a 'lady' to me!!) from my building to chat a bit about different stuff related to neighbors etc. She talks so much and so fast and is so uninterested in hearing what others have to say that I think I'll shorten my visit this time ;) She's nice though, really, and part of the administration of the building, so there's always something 'secret' I can learn about what's going on LOL!

It hasn't snowed since two days but the view is so nice when the sun settles down... Warning: I never said that Warsaw is beautiful. I always tell foreigners to skip the capital when visiting Poland, there are so many gorgeous, interesting towns. But you need to bear in mind that it was almost entirely rebuilt by our Big Brother from the East after the Germans burnt it and bombed it in 99%. Yes, really, 99%. As for the socialist style in architecture... see for yourself. The view I have from my flat is great, though, it was one of the reasons why I bought this flat and not others. The way the light changes during the day, when it rains, snows, I so enjoy the different ways the town looks.

Have you heard about the boy that screamed and killed hundreds of chickens?

Mysterious WIP

Hah! Anyone recognizes the designer and, more difficultly, what it is going to be? The shape might provide a hint... or not :)

Just a couple of stitched to add but I need to work so I'll postpone that as well as cutting it off so it becomes a [???]. I am delighted with that one-evening project and I am sure I'll use it during many, many years! After all, it's going to be a [???]! LOL

Tagged! I've been tagged!!

For the first time ever, by Annette :)

The rules: Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write in their blog of 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names.

Not an easy task! I do have some weird sides but to recall them immediately is not easy, so what I list won't necessarily be most characteristical of me ;-)

1. Over the years, I see I have developed a liking for pink color and a hatred for blue. I can't imagine what my reaction would be if I were given a blue hotel room, I think I would feel very unconfortable till the next morning LOL! Pink seems to have some soothing effect on me. I'm not talking about baby pink or paster pink, but intense shades, raspberry, etc. I also do like to wear such colors because I look nice in them :)
2. I was brought up till the age of 15 in North Africa; my partner is Norwegian. And despite longing from my childhood country, I much prefer snow and cold to warm and heat!!
3. I love washing up dishes in hand, how weird is that! LOL (but I hate dusting off)
4. I can get extremely anxious inside in the wild nature. That started after meeting mummy bear with cubs several years ago. Now when I'm alone or with just a couple of persons in a wild spot in the mountains, I have the feeling there's an angry moose or bear or whatever else waiting to chew me behind the next tree!
5. I have a genuine genius brother but my own math skills are much less famous, well... I know how much 2+2 is) LOL
6. I am the only one to have green eyes in both sides of the family. But I do have so much physical resemblance to my parents that I don't have weird thought because of that!

Now.... my turn to pick up some victims... You've been tagged, ladies!

- Linda McM (oh, I am sure I'll enjoy what you'll write!! LOL)
- Mylene
- Elisabeth
- Michele W.
- Irene
- Mary Kathryn

Seen the newies coming in?

- There's a cutie snowman freebie here.

- See the Peacock Stitching Chair and the Feather Dilly Bag from The Cat Whiskers!!!

We're snowed under! Happy had lots of fun during his walk, he was very excited :)

My friend (currently living in Tahiti with French hubby) sent me better pictures of the Mon Premier Noel (My First Christmas) heart I stitched in December for her baby daughter. I posted a picture back then but it was very lousy, so here it is again:

And here is princess Hélène for whom I stitched it (she is the most beautiful baby girl I've seen):

Sewing birds

If you don't know them yet - have a look at the 2007 series (started last month with the January sewing bird) The Meri Wanderer is kindly offering to stitchers... Lovely :)

Just a nothing day

Nothing to say, nothing really happened, no work on my desk, a plain boring nothing day. But cold! Cold finally arrived. They're announcing -1 but felt like -20, and we're supposed to dress for -20 as well (all Celsius, of course). The good side of a free-lance job is working from home and not having to go out except for the traditional dog walks. However if it's cold and *nice* tomorrow, I'd like to have a brisk 40 min. walk with Happy. Despite following a diet, I am not losing weight and it starts to be upsetting. I decided to kill those %$#%^#%$ kgs by moving, moving, moving this year! With my new Ipod, fast walks have become so pleasant. I've downloaded music (let's call that so...) for workouts, running etc. with a special heart beat programme. It's great but it will be greater the day I start running.

Anyway, when I wake up in the morning, I'm supposed to see SNOW, tons of snow. Why not? The last thin layer was back in early November. Even in Oslo... H. told me he started the engine of the snow removing machine for the first time this past Sunday. When he called me tonight at 9 pm the temperature had already dropped to -18 C.

So... since I am too lazy (and honestly, freezing, something must be wrong with the heating system in my flat) to post any xstitch pictures, though I have some :), here is the result of playing with my photo editing software. Miss Toska in all her sleeping glory!

An early Easter finish

Tonight I finished the new Easter 2007 freebie from Echevette's blog. I hope she doesn't mind I didn't stitch the text in the center and instead replaced it with a wooden "charm". Actually I am not so fond of having stitched pieces at home with the year on it. Somehow I have the feeling they've gone old and lose their charm... Hey, nobody's perfect! LOL
It was such a pleasure to stitch it!!


Chart: 2007 Easter freebie from Echevette


Fabric: 28ct Jazzlyn, Spring Maiden from Silkweaver

Threads: GAST Holly Berry, GAST Spring Grass

(how funny, both the chart and one of the threads have "spring" in the name!)

A finish from last December

Now that I've heard that my package reached its destination, I can show this little reindeer that I stitched for Michele W.:

Valentine freebie

See Lune d'automne's blog here for a lovely February heart freebie, easy and fast to do!

Friday laziness

I sent the last bit of the job for today, so far I haven't got anything to do for Monday so a cross-stitch weekend is awaiting :)

Here's a much better photo of the French freebie (http://echevette.over-blog.com/) I finished this week

Fabric: Silkweaver Rock-A-Bye

Threads: WDW Americana

Yesterday I started the new Easter 2007 freebie, also by Echevette. It's a pleasure to work on!!!

Crazy wind and crazy rain

I'm just back from my daily long evening dog walk - what a weather! My umbrella was closing every minute and I was afraid it would break. Good thing that with my Ipod kept me entertained with some French podcasts (Stéphane Bern's Le fou du Roi and Bouvard's les Grosses Têtes) but I think Happy thought his owner had gone nuts. Indeed, he hates rain!!! Recently I discovered he doesn't have an inner layer of "fur" (my first dog that way!) and that must be the reason why he is so sentitive to water and cold. Brrrr....

The week has been sooooo busy but I managed to squeeze in some stitching. I worked till 6pm today, sent the job and still have to work a little bit more on the last part for tomorrow morning. I wish I could head to bed! I might stitch a bit though and get up at 5am to finish the job.

Here's yesterday's finish. My fingers were itching to do that one since some time and here it is. I think I'll send it to a finisher so it becomes a pillow. Love that one!


Four fat friends

Freebie by The Drawn Thread

Fabric: 25ct Sand Jobelan (Silkweaver)

Threads: my choice of WDW (Kudzu is ideal for tree leaves, I have to remember that!)


I had to work all night and by 3am, Tosca the Devil decided it's high time to reorganize part of my stash. See how busy she was!

Freebie finish

My French cousin just had her first baby last week so this one is for her. I plan to finish it as a door hang-up (or something like that) as soon as I feel inspired enough! ;-)

The picture is lousy as always when I take them out of the daylight interval. Vrrrr! Will take a better one once I do the finishing part on it.

I hope this will help little Thibau(l)t sleep tight! :) (the French text means Hush! Baby's sleeping...)

Monday work, Monday stitching

I finished stitching the French freebie (picture tomorrow) and I am very satisfied with the result. Done some more on writing back emails to several persons. Need to do more!
I have to work overnight on a tough legal and banking text for 7am as my brain didn't cooperate during the day. I am sipping a new cup of coffee and typing away... boring stuff.
I just exchanged a few words with my neighbor's sister whom I met as she was about to take the lift and I had opened the door to the mailman. My neighbor had a small embolism but I need to call her sister to learn more. Crossing all fingers for the little lively lady...

Norwegian "snuff"

I've always wondered about it during my stays in Norway. Does this exist in other countries? If so, what would be the French (ideal) or English name???
See today's article in Aftenposten for a description.
I'm tobacco challenged but very curious! :)

I just need to put the latest stitches on the French freebie I've been working on during the week-end and should be able to post a finished picture tomorrow. Then I just need to finish it!

This week's finishes

I've been busy stitching lately, here are the latest two finishes. First, the French cottages SAL....

Stitched over 1 on Cream Cashel with DMC (some color changes)

And second, LHN's Coffee Menu, which I adored stitching! Going to the framer as priority! :)

Stitched over 2 on 40ct Cameo linen from Silkweaver with my choice of GAST/WDW.

Weird windy days

I guess I should start my post today with a but it's not even that... It's been strange days... I am watching a show on French TV with guests such as Jimmy Sommerville and now Kim Wilde singing Kids in America, it's a nice evening basically, but...
I've been feeling low on energy since Thursday and I thought it's just me, you know, it sometimes happen ;-) but then my father said the air pressure is loooooow. Okay, so it's the pressure. Then his wife told me on the phone she's been continually feeling for sleeping. Okay, all is normal then. Then my soon 99 y.o. grandma didn't want to dress up on Thursday morning and spent all morning in bed till lunch. That never happens, so my aunt worried. On Friday grandma got up fine but said "she would have liked to go to the doctor". Of course my aunt told her she doesn't have to go anywhere, that she'll call and have the doctor come home, and so she did. The doc said grandma is super fine, better than ever (yeah, we also have the feeling she started to get younger lately LOL!), it's just the weather. Fine, okay. Grandma is amazing anyways.
Then Friday around 5pm I heard knocking on my door and it was my neighbor's sister all shaked up (my neighbor's door is just next to mine so we basically live only meters from each other though the building is so well built that I *never* hear a single sound from the neighbors, a great feature. At this occasion I'll mention it was built in 1960 as an experimental top-of-the-notch technology building, a marvel designed by the Warsaw Polytechnical School which is just accross the street. I already knew that it's close to impossible to put any "nails" in the walls because they are stone hard and one of the professors living in my building told me that the whole structure is supposed to withstand the blow of an eventual atomic bomb. What about the contaminated air infiltrating through the numerous crackings, I thought...). Anyway, I digress. My neighbor's sister lives just one floor up, very close and has the keys to my neighbor, who is over 82 but is a lively strong woman and I've always felt "close" to her. She's always been alone, participated in the Warsaw uprising in the 1944 as a young girl, was a journalist and kept being involved in everything related to the Second World War and is regularly meeting those of her friends from that time who are still alive. And on Friday, her sister worried that her phone kept ringing busy for a long time, opened her flat and found her laying on the floor, alive but not okay, not understanding much. Obviously, she had been laying there for several hours unable to ask for help. And that disturbed me immensely, the thought that I had been at home all the time and that she was laying there, needing help, so close to me... She was taken to the emergency and did not respond to basic tests such as reaching her nose with a finger and was talking ununderstandably. My father's wife (the doc') said it could be a small stroke. But then her sister told me she had been staying in bed a lot lately and that the repairs on the front of the building made her very tired... I hate worrying about her.... Since her sister can't see well after a cancer op' last year, she asked me to find toiled stuff, pijamas, such stuff. It was the weirdest feeling having to open someone else's closets and bathroom to try to find where everything is... I felt like violating her territory. Just a bit, of course, because I knew I was doing the right thing. Everything so clean, so well packed, sorted, like if such an old person knows she should prepare for leaving one day... I didn't want to disturb her sister today but will call tomorrow to ask how things are. Passing her door today was tough. I hope she is still alive..
So when I say that these past days have been weird.... all this wind blowing and things happening... A falling branch even killed a nun on the streets in Cracow...
Stitching wise, I hope to finish the first cottage of the French SAL tonight. It will have taken me 4 evenings because I chose to stitch it over one. It *is* cute :)
Tomorrow I plan to start and finish another project, but hush till tomorrow!
Have a great week-end, everyone! I'm just staying in doing a lot of my fav' occupation, nothing! LOL