The boyfriend is evil...

And very distracting. Haha.

Hey guys, just a quick post to say that there will be no post...well, now there is but you get what I mean. The boyfriend has been a huge distraction and he's been making me play video games. ;)

Hopefully there will be progress for next weeks post! I hope you all got more done than I did!
Until next time,

Nel.

Cookies, fun and stitching.

Hello Again!

What a week! We've been all go this week and the weekend wasn't much different. I won't bore you with our schedule but I will show you some photos of the DS enjoying himself and the cookies he helped me make today.

He's a bit of a dork. I have no idea where he gets it. ;)

The week wasn't very busy for one of us though.

It's safe to say that someone has settled in very well and is one very happy and spoilt Kitty.

Now to stitching! I only worked on Halloween town this week and while I didn't get as much as I would have liked done, I did manage to finish the left hand side I was working on. Here are some progress shots and the piece so far.

Ta-da! :) Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Well that's all for today!

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Until next time,

Nel.

2 year olds...

Hello!
I have decided to move my 'regular weekly post' from Friday to Sunday as I have been late the last few posts. This is mainly because the BF and I do mushy couple-y things on a Friday night like stay in and watch movies or go out for dinner. So, as to not be constantly late, I shall just move the days around. :)

So, 2 year olds...Am I right? I love my son. So much. BUT, there are times when I love him a smidgen less. I know there are some of you out there who will understand what I mean.
At the start of the week my...lovely...Son threw a tantrum to end all tantrums. It was a scream fest and I had to do everything in my power not to join in with the screaming. Well, when I thought he had settled down, I turned my back to clean up some of the mess he had made and he decided to 'Dance' on my closed laptop. Yes, I had stupidly left it on the floor besides the couch and when my DS saw it he knew what he had to do to make me really mad. Well, I deserve an award because I took one long, deep breath, removed him from the laptop very gently, explained in a calm voice that he was in trouble and proceeded to open the lid to asses the damage. Well, my screen now looks like a Pablo Picasso piece of art. :(

It is ruined. To make it worse, I use it when stitching to blow up the charts. So naturally, I was unable to stitch for a few days. Thankfully, the clever BF came to the rescue and hooked me up to a separate monitor until I can afford to fix it. Kids. Got to love them...

Anyway, on to stitching. Not too much was done. This is all I managed on 'Halloween Town'.

I only managed to fill in the windows of the bakery. Tomorrow is a public holiday though so I'll try and get more done on this as I would really like to finish it in the next week or so.

I did also make a small start on my massive Pokemon project after I unpicked what was previously on the fabric. Here is what I managed.

Again, not a whole lot.
Well, sorry for being so rambly tonight and not having much progress. My DS and I are back on speaking terms after his performance and Sebastian has settled into the house really well.

Thank you all for reading and commenting.
Until next time,

Nel.

Warning: This post contains cute-ness.

Hello!

Back again for another post. I did try to have it up on Friday but I was a little distracted...

Meet Sebastian! Yes, I added a furry member to my little family.

He was not planned at all but my friend adopted his sister (whom she named Octavia) and was telling me that the shelter was worried they wouldn't find a home for her brother. Well, when I saw that he was Black, and very handsome, I couldn't say no. He is very cuddly and seems to be settling in very well. I do love animals but usually from a distance but for some reason we made a very quick connection at the shelter and he's been glued to me since.

Back to stitching!

I managed to get some more work done on 'Cut Thru Pirate Ship'. Here is a before and after:

Not too bad. I only worked on this for a few hours though as I also picked up my 'Halloween Town' by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. Here is a before and after for that one:

Sorry that the after picture isn't so great. I finished the lettering underneath and started the left side of the chart. I'll get a better photo for the next update.

Also, my boyfriend saw the crazy Pokemon generation charts made by Servotron over on Deviantart and Sprite Stitch. You may have seen them on floss tube as they are pretty popular. Well, he gave me some puppy dog eyes and I agreed to attempt generation IV for him. I was looking online for some aida for it when I remembered that I had a huge piece of magic guide 18ct aida in my stash that I had started 'Treasure Hunt Book Shelf Mini' on. I decided to do the large version of this chart instead and so I had this sitting in my UFO box:

It's my mission tonight to pick this all out as this piece of fabric is the perfect size for this:

'Pokemon Generation IV' by Servotron. It's a free pattern that you can find in the link. It is also CRAZY! I'm going to stitch this one Pokemon at a time and I'm going to aim to get 4 Pokemon done each week between other projects. We shall see home that goes. Haha.

Well, I'm sorry this post was so long, I hadn't intended to be so chatty tonight. I hope you've all had great stitching weeks. Thank you all for reading and commenting. It's great to be back.

I'll leave you with a picture of my DS at the teddy bear's picnic this week.
Until next time,

Nel.

Busy weekends mean not enough stitching!

Hello again!
I must really be back if I've already got 3 posts for the month! Haha.

I had planned to have this up on Friday as I'd like to get back into my regular Friday posts but the Show/Carnival was in town Friday night and the rest of the weekend was spent catching up with friends and the dreaded House work. Bleaugh.

Here's what I managed to get done before the weekend.

Not too much but I was happy to get some of the brown and beige done. Unless you haven't seen the design before (though I'm sure most of you have as it's quite popular), it's the 'Cut Thru Pirate Ship' by Bothy Threads. Here is an image of the completed design.

I hope you all had a great weekend with friends or family or even at home with some stitching. I'll add some more photos of my Son from the weekend. Sorry to spam you all with photos of him lately but sometimes a Mum can't help herself and he can't object yet. ;)

 Until next time,

Nel.

Stitching!

Hello again!
I am back as promised.
Let me start by saying thank you for you kind words about my Nan. Even though it's still pretty raw, I'm happy that she's at peace finally.

And now, onto happier things...
I stitched!
It's been a while and it felt so good to push that needle into some fabric.
I started a new project because I'm still unpacking and things are a bit of a mess around here and it was a kit so everything was all ready to go and it made it easy.
I decided to start on 'Cut Thru' Pirate Ship' by Bothy Threads. I love all of the Cut Thru' designs and I'm also working on Fairy Hill or at least I will be when I can pull it out of the box.

Anyway, enough rambling, here's what I managed to get done.

So not a whole lot but you can see the beginning of a Pirate. I'd like to get this finished before my Son thinks it's Lame. Haha.
Well that's all for now, I'll leave you with a picture of my DS eating in our new Unit. He's a bit of a grub.
Until next time,

Nel.

I'm Sorry, who are you again?

Have we met before? because you seem awfully familiar...

Hello again!
My goodness it has been much too long.
Let me start of by saying that I am sorry that I've been gone for so long. It really wasn't my intention but things snowballed after March and it's only now that everything is settling.
Where to begin?

Well, Unfortunately my Nan passed away in May. Her health deteriorated pretty rapidly after March and that's the main reason for my going missing. She left us in her sleep surrounded by family at home which is what she wanted. She taught me how to Cross stitch among a tonne of other crafts. We all miss her dearly.

Things looked up after that though. 

I decided to move back to the Northern Territory to be closer to my Mother and my Sister.

My Son's health has improved greatly.

I met someone... ;)

So all good things recently. Except one thing...My moving boxes haven't arrived yet and I stupidly packed ALL of my cross stitch. So naturally, for the last 3 weeks, all I've wanted to do is stitch. :(

The good news is that they arrive on Monday!

So hopefully I should be back on Tuesday with some progress on something. Haha. I'll also have some haul coming in soon too.

Thank you all for putting up with me. It's good to be back!
Until next time,

Nel.

SFS2015 March Report!

Month: March, 2015
Spent: $20
Earned: $0

I spent money this month! Shocking. Haha. I'm still really busy caring for my Grandma so I haven't had time to make a real post or read anyone's blogs but I hope to be back soon. Thank you all for understanding.
Until next time,

Nel.

SFS2015 February Report!

Month: February, 2015
Spent: $0
Earned: $0

The bonus to being busy is that this SFS is easy peasy ;) haha.

I tripped and fell from the face of the planet.

Hello.

Well, where to start. My life has been...well it's been pretty hard of late and extremely busy.

I'm sorry for being missing for most of this month and I'm terribly sorry to all of you. I have no progress on anything and I can't really guarantee any in the near future.

To cut things short, my Grandma, the one who taught me to cross stitch, is very ill and we fear that she hasn't got very long yet. I'm the closest family she has in terms of distance so most of my time is spent helping her around the house and running errands for her as well as raising a now 2 year old.

I know all of you ladies will understand and again I am sorry.

I have managed some crochet while sitting in waiting rooms and so I'll try to show that in the next week or so.

Thank you all for being so lovely and understanding!

Until next time,

Nel.

Friday posts on Friday!

How exciting! A Friday post on Friday. Haha.
Just a quick progress update!

Ta-da!
I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but it's the most stitching I've done in weeks so I'm still happy.

Thank you for reading, commenting and following!
Until next time,
Nel.

Tuesday is close to Sunday....right?

Aha. Here I am. 2 days late...again...
What can I say? 2015 is a busy year apparently.

Good news though! I have stitching!
Ta-Da!

Before and after pictures of my Noah's Ark Birth Record by Design Works.
Not a whole lot of work but some is better than what I've managed lately..a.k.a 0. I'm going to keep working on this as the recipient has already been born. Haha. He is such a little cutie but I need to get myself into gear to finish this off for him.

I've also been working on this...

It's just a simple granny square baby blanket. It's almost finished as this has been my go to de-stress project for the last few days. Crochet is a lot easier to put down and pick up again when your almost 2yo decides that bedtime is for babies. haha.

Well that's all for today, I'm going to keep on with Noah's Ark over the next few days so I hope to be back Friday with another update for you all. Thanks for hanging in there guys.
Thanks for reading, commenting and following.
Until next time,
Nel.

P.S. I'd like to add that I haven't abandoned the 31 starts/WIPS but they are on hold, even though Noah's Ark was one of the projects on the list!

January SFS

Month: January

Spent: $0.00

Earned: $0.00

It's ALIIIIIIVE!
Hey guys. It's me. I'm back.
I'm very sorry to have fallen off the face of the blogging world but to say that life has been hectic would be a massive understatement. Haha.
I feel like I haven't sat down in weeks and when I do get a minute all I want to do is sleep. DS has entered into the Terrible Twos a few weeks early and oh boy, it's terrible. We have full on melt downs when food goes into the microwave and don't even try to say the word 'No'. Ahhh, but I love him and really, it could be worse. I have done exactly 0 stitches since my last post which is a shame because I use cross stitching as a de-stress and right now I need it. Anyway, I hope to get back to it this weekend and get some progress in.

As for SFS! Well I have been suuuper succesful. I have spent $0 this month. haha. I haven't even had time to look at supplies or charts.

Well hopefully I will have a post up on Sunday with some stitches in something. Haha.
Thank you all for sticking around and thank you for the new followers I got during my absence!
Thank you for reading, commenting and following!
Until next time,
Nel.

Glendon Place SAL - 1

I'm not dead!
Hey everyone, sorry for my sudden, unexpected absence. Life has gone from quiet and cruise-y to flat out madness and I have had 0 time to stitch.
Yes, that means that I haven't been able to keep up with DUCJC2015. I haven't quit just yet though because I know that a few of you have decided to go straight through to February so my plan is to do all 31 but just stretched out over January and February.

Anyway, more on that in another post.
Now for Plum Pudding!

Ta-da...or not so Ta-da! Haha.
Yes, this is all I managed today between running around like a crazy woman.

The details are:
"Plum Pudding" by Glendon Place
Silver 28ct Cashel 2 over 2
Started 16/01/2015

Ok, well I'm sorry to blog and dash but the day isn't quite over for me yet. Thank you all for sticking around and also thank you for reading, commenting and following.
Until next time,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 11 and SFS

Hello!
Welcome to day 11! and my first SFS post!
Today I started something that I've been reeeeally excited about. Both because I love the pattern and also because it was Debbie that lead me to it. You'll understand in a minute.

It is 'Cut Thru Fairy Hill' by Bothy Threads! Yes I know that Debbie wasn't actually doing this one but I first found these kits through her blog and so I feel that this is my special project just for her.
You are probably wondering what is with the fabric. Yes, that is not the supplied Aida from the kit. I had this in my stash and felt that it matched the design to make it even more fairy-ish. It is called 'Fairy Floss' and it is a hand dye Evenweave from Sew it All. My picture doesn't do it any justice so feel free to follow the link to get a better look.

Now onto SFS! Yes I know it's not the end of the month but I just wanted to do a bit of an intro.
So I have decided to stick to $25 AUD. It's a little less than $25 USD but I'm not going to worry about that. I will be posting my progress on the 1st of each month (or a couple of days after if need be). My main goal is to spend as little as possible over the whole 6 months of the first half of SFS and just work with what I have(which is pretty much everything I need). Well that's all until February 1st, not too exciting. Haha.

Well that's all again folks.
Thank you for reading, commenting and following!
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 10

Hey there!
Welcome to day 10! We're just under a third of the way through January which is crazy.
Tonight I started '12 Days of Christmas' by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

I feel a little more accomplished tonight than I have the last few nights and I'm not too sure why because I don't think I got that much more stitching done. 

Anyway, that is all for now. I'll be back tomorrow with my day 11 start and also my first SFS post.
Thank you so much for reading, commenting and following.
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 9

Hello!
Well I almost didn't make it today but here I am. Life has been pretty hectic all of a sudden but I'm going to continue trying to get a post up everyday in January for DUCJC.
Today I started 'The Prosperity Fae by Passione Ricamo'.

Ta-da! Haha. Ok, I'm sorry, I know I promised more progress for today but unfortunately my plans went astray and this is all I managed.

To make up for it though, I will show you what arrived in the mail!

Yay! These were my Christmas gifts from my Sister but unfortunately they didn't arrive in time but they're here now and that's all that matters! haha. The left is just some DMC and Kreinik I needed for some of my DUCJC2015 projects and right is my pattern and floss for the Glendon Place SAL that I am co hosting with Brenda of xStitchHaven. If you are interested in joining us then please head here before the 15th to sign up and get all the details. There are 8 of us so far and I can't wait to start!

Well that is all again for tonight. Thank you so much for your encouragement everyone! It's tough to blog everyday but I'm going to try my hardest to keep it up!

Thank you again for reading, commenting and following!

Until tomorrow,

Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 8

Howdy!
Super short post because I am exhausted today.
I worked on my WIP, Belle de Mer. Not much done from my last update but here she is...

Sorry that this seems so rushed but I promise to have more done on tomorrow's project and a better post. Haha.
Thank you for reading, commenting and following!
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 7

Hello again!
Welcome to day 7! My goodness. Haha.
This is so exciting, 7 days in a row.

Today I worked on 'Sakura Tree Pin Cushion' by Alesia Ost - X-stitch magic.

This is a really cute, really easy little project. I had hoped to start and finish it in one day but I had a friend around for dinner and chatting got in the way ;). haha.

I would like to thank all the lovely people who have been commenting on my DUCJC posts and cheering me on. It means the world to wake up and see those emails in my inbox. I've been trying to keep up in replying to you all. Unfortunately some of the comments are 'no-reply' and so I haven't been able to send a personal email to say thank you so if you have commented and not heard back from me I am really sorry but thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, it just means so much to me.

Well, with that said it is time to say goodbye for the night.
Thank you for reading, commenting and following.
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 6

Hello!
I must say, I am surprising myself by not missing a day yet! Haha.
Today we have 'World Collection Girls - China' by Sodastitch.

Not a lot of progress again but between doing adult things and starting new things everyday I think it's to be expected.
That's all for now. Thank you for reading, commenting and following.
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 5

Hello!
Welcome to day 5!
Today I decided to start 'Treasure Hunt Bookshelf' Artwork by Aimee Stewart, charted by HAED.
I decided to do the full size chart as I love the image sooo much. Haha. Well it is massive. The fabric is about 1.5m by 80cm. Yep....big.

I decided to start in the bottom right because I feel that a lot of people are working on this chart and so you've probably seen the top left a few times. Haha.

Woo! Browns, black and dark green. Haha. Sorry about the poor photography. All of these start images were taken at night after I finished stitching so the lighting is poor.

Well that is all for now. I will have my 1st SFS post up this week as a bit of an introduction and I will be back tomorrow with day 6! Which will be another surprise because I didn't plan the order in advance and I'm kind of just picking out things at random. haha.

Thank you for reading, commenting and following.
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

PS. If you would like to see any of the DUCJC2015 starts/progress but you don't want to read all my jibber jabber then please head to the tab at the top of the blog to see all of the projects that I will be working on as well as the progress pics. Thank you!

DUCJC2015 day 4

Just around the riverbend!
Hello again!
Thank you for returning for day 4! Not a lot of stitching again today but here goes anyway.

Today I chose to work on the Pocahontas sprite stitch freebie. I am stitching her on plastic canvas and when she is finished I will cover her back with some felt and probably turn her into a fridge magnet. Yay!

Again, it's a short post.
Thank you for reading, commenting and following!
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 3

Hello again!

Here is day number 3 on time again. Am I getting good or what? ;) Haha.
I decided to start 'Cherry Blossom Sampler' today by The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.

Not a whole lot of stitching got done as today was super busy but a stitch is a stitch.

It is being stitched on 28ct Cashel called 'Crystal Barnwood' by Picture this Plus with the recommended Cosmo floss.

Well I am tired so it's short and sweet tonight. See you tomorrow!

Thank you for reading, commenting and following.

Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 2

Yessss, I am back and on time!
Today I decided to pull out Sleeping Beauty by Thomas Kinkade. I had a few child free hours today so I got a lot more done than usual.

Sorry the picture is so terrible the lighting is really bad at night. Haha. I managed to make my way to the 2 little birds(the bright red and blue blobs) and do their back stitch. They're really cute close up. Well that's all for tonight, I shall be back tomorrow with another surprise! ;)
Thanks for reading, commenting and following!
Until tomorrow,
Nel.

DUCJC2015 day 1 and the Mirabilia SAL

Hello and welcome to the madness that shall be DUCJC2015!
Woo hoo!

I'll try to keep this short and simple.
My first start for 2015 is 'Sleeping Princess' by Mirabilia. She is first because I also joined the Mirabilia SAL hosted by MrsMilkybarKid over on Floss Tube which also started today. I have really enjoyed working on her and I'm a little sad that she won't be touched again for another 30 days. Haha.
Here is what I got done today...

She is being stitched on 32ct Belfast Summer Khaki in DMC floss. The colours aren't quite accurate as I snapped this picture at 11.50pm under my work lamp.

I've decided that I'm going to add a picture of  each project as of their January start date to the DUCJC2015 tab and then have a current photo along with it so if you would like to see how each project is going without all of my rambling you may just head that way.

Well thank you for stopping by, I will be back tomorrow night with a new project which I shall keep a surprise(because I haven't picked one yet).
Thank you for reading, commenting and following.
Until tomorrow,
Nel.