Stitch and Serve :)

My turn

2012-01-22T10:24:00.000+01:00

Now that my girl is doing better and will return to school on Monday, it is my turn to cough my lungs up and I am fulfilling my duty in flying colours. I've been coughing non stop for three days and no sign of getting better. None of my medicine seems to work and every time I take a breath I feel something vibrating inside my chest. Feels awful.
On the other hand I managed to scan a few pictures I wanted, watched a DVD I had for ages but never played, caught up with my e-mail and fixed the bluetooth gadget, so I can once again transfer images from my cell to my computer. Which is great as memory was full already.
I've done a nice amount of stitching on my CJC projects, but I realised I will have to put them aside for a bit. Almost a year is gone since I started working on my secret project, and although I have made nice progress, at this rate I will not finish in time. Problem is, I can only work on it when my baby is not at home, as no one in my family can keep a secret, and she's the worst. :) I wish I could show you pictures.
I am so fed up with this winter. I wish I wasn't cold all the time.

Stuck at home

2012-01-17T13:55:00.002+01:00

My baby has been having a lot of health problems lately. She's been missing some school days too. Illness also makes her very emotional and so she cries even if I just try to pop outside for bread an milk although she knows the shop is just around the corner. Despite her demands for my non-stop attention I have managed to stitch quite a lot, I'm just getting sick of being grounded for weeks. I wish her a speedy recovery, mostly so she will be her old happy and healthy self, but also feel a bit selfish for wishing to get outside, at least for 30 minutes a day, or I'm gonna be sick too soon. Also, I want our old sleep pattern back. She cannot sleep well because of her illness and I wake up every time she turns in the bed. My head has been aching for the past two days. Medicine wanted.

Dimensions Gold set Lace and Roses

Happy puppy with pigtails and rocker girl t-shirt.

The crazy getting out of hand

2012-01-13T13:43:00.002+01:00

Not only have I kitted and started my designated 15 projects, but while looking for ideas in my now huge collection of cross stitch magazines, I decided to work on even more that I have been in love with but due to low self-esteem and constant nagging by my mom ("are you done with the ones you started last year yet") I kept postponing the first stitches. Not any more! I found a Marjolein Bastin birdhouse chart in issue 93 of The World of Cross Stitching and a lovely garden sampler in issue 70 of Crazy for Cross Stitch. I'm only doing part of the sampler though, another birdhouse design that I'm going to use as a bookmark.Yeah, I know I'm nuts. But damn, I'm enjoying it!

CRC and a day full of ****

2012-01-10T20:49:00.001+01:00

Soooo, I'm at home with my sick baby, who has a sore throat and an awful cough. Some entertainment would be required. So when my net becomes incredibly slow, I do the usual routines, nothing. So we watch telly until the cartoon is interrupted and we get an error message I am not subscribed to that channel. Now mommy's angry. Calling the company we get our net and telly from, they keep me on the line for 8 minutes, when my cell suddenly hangs up. Out of credits. Great. Dialling company on my other cell, this time I get to speak with someone after mere four minutes. This time the phone company is gracious enough to let me know that I have 15 seconds before they terminate my connection. Well, fml, both cells run out of money on the same day. I had to run outside and buy cell time on an ATM machine. Usually I do this on my online bank, but thanks to a bunch of imbeciles, I cannot do that. Before my line was cut, the net/tv provider company's support lady told me that my net and tv was ~~taken from me~~ limited due to my not paying the bill. Which I HAVE paid last week. Unfortunately, by the time I could have told them that, my phone went dead. So I run outside, purchase phone time, call my provider, wait for another ten bleeding minutes before I can explain the situation, then am put on hold before the line is inexplicably cut again. I think this is the first time my 7 year old has heard me scream in anger.
Anyway, after several unsuccessful attempts to get in contact with the provider, I called my mom and asked her to call the company because my cell is acting up. My flat seems to be shadowed so often I get no signal at all. Mom kindly enough called them and told them what to do with their rotten customer service and billing department. Anyway, turns out my money did arrive last week, and service is restored, but I am still foaming at the mouth in anger.
Oh yeah, and I also started to work on both Jeremiah Junction pieces but am too mad to scan them.

CRC report

2012-01-09T15:47:00.002+01:00

This is my first report of the crazy January challenge, and I can see now why it is called crazy. Good thing I have joined, there is nothing else in the world to brighten the day of a chronically depressed person as constant pressure. /sarcasm
Let me continue with my report. Gee, I just started and I already feel like I am a lazy student showing up to an exam after just half an hour of studying. I still have no image of Butterfly Clover, I seem to have misplaced it. To my excuse, I did reorganize ALL of my DMC floss bobbins in the boxes, so instead of the random anarchy they used to exist in they are now in numerical order. Oh yeah, and I gave this challenge its own page here.
And now, for the pictures.

January WIPocalypse report

2012-01-09T11:32:00.000+01:00

I spent most of my stitchy time working on my BAP items and starting the Crazy January projects. Here are my big progress photos and I will add my CRC scans later today.

Victorian Elegance by Dimensions Gold

Lady of the Thread by Lavender and Lace

Little Wings by Lavender and Lace

Crazy challenge is crazy

2012-01-08T11:25:00.001+01:00

I kinda suspected that signing up for this challenge is a whole bite bigger than I can chew, and I realize how far I'm behind with the posting or even the stitching. My only excuse is that this time I have decided to do it right, and I take extra care on measuring my fabric, doing the inch -> millimetre conversions and marking the 10x10 grid on the fabric way ahead. My list of projects so far is the following.
1. Butterfly Clover kit by Anchor
2-5. Garden cards from issue 42 of Cross Stitch Gold
6. Poppy by Nora Corbett
7-8. I <3 Antiques by Jeremiah Junction
9. Circle of Friends by Mirabilia
10. Exquisite Kimono chart by Dimensions
11. Pai Xiao by Pinn Stitch
12. Afternoon Harvest by CrossMyHeart Inc.
13. A chart form Secret Gardens by CrossMyHeart Inc.
14. ???
15. ???
So I have 2 more to decide on. I thought it would be difficult to find 15 projects, but it is more difficult to pick only 15. I could easily start twice as many right now, and that's just off the top of my head.
Pictures will follow shortly.

Just noticed

2012-01-03T14:39:00.000+01:00

I have exactly 100 followers! Let's party! :)

Madness? This is stitching!

2012-01-02T19:41:00.001+01:00

I must be completely out of my mind. Not only did I sign up for the WIPocalypse, but I also accepted the Crazy January Challenge. So I must start a new project every day on January 1-15, and then finish them the best I can. I must be a total nutjob. Well, never mind. I joined this challenge literally in the last minute, so I don't have a list of what my 15 new projects are gonna be. Like with most of the things in my life, I will make it all up as I go along. I had a great time at a party on New Year's Eve, drinking one too many vodkas, so I am one day behind, but I did start an Anchor kit called Butterfly Clover. No progress picture, as the first stiches are white on white, or to be more precise, light cream on white, but you get the idea. Not much to see at this phase.

Farewell to 2011, welcome 2012

2011-12-31T09:27:00.000+01:00

2011 didn't start out like it was gonna be a good year. I was lonely and very depressed. With the help of my friends though, I gradually managed to get my act together. Not just those friends I see in person, but my online stitching buddies who always have a minute or two to send me a few words of encouragement when I need it the most. I am extremely thankful for your support.
In 2011 I have changed some of the minor things that effected my mood and helped me a great deal. For example, I have successfully got rid of my Facebook gaming addiction, which gave me a lot of time I could spend on more useful things. For example, after several years, I have managed to look after my mini garden of potted plants properly. It was a great experience and I have every intention to do it again this year.
I dusted off my UFOs and had several finishes, big and small. Usually I don't like finishing, but this year I needed to close things down and the stitching finishes have, in some way, trained me to deal with the feeling of closure.
The biggest change, of course, is baby coming home. She was four years old when my delicate health and failing marriage made me unable to give her the attention and care she needed, so step by step, I let her move in with my parents. They did a terrific job looking after her, but she is my child, so I wanted her back. We had our arguments about what's best for her, but I am her mom, and I wasn't gonna spend another year without my baby. She is the light of my life, the sun around which all my thoughts orbit, and I only feel alive when we are together. This summer she moved back to Budapest, and since then all of my days are blessed. I cannot find words to describe how thankful and humbled I am to experience motherhood again. I almost forgot how amazing it is to raise a child. How wonderful it feels to look at her, listen to her, figure out how her innocent eyes view the world, go through the adventures of growing up. This is her adventure, she is the hero and I am always at her side as her faithful companion. Never again shall I let her out of my sight for so long. Unless she wants me to.
My baby is a big girl now, enjoying school days, using pointy scissors, washing the dishes, reading books on her own. Naturally, with the fun we have and the chores to be done, I don't have much time for my hobbies now, but I still think it's just a phase, and as she grows and becomes more mature and independent, I will be able to do more. For now, I am satisfied with what I have. And that really is more than what I could have asked for a year ago.

2012 - The year of the WIPocalypse

2011-12-20T14:32:00.000+01:00

I have decided to sign up for Measi's WIPocalypse project. It sounds like a fun SAL, and if the world is gonna end, I sure don't wanna leave any UFOs behind for the cockroaches! :) I will post about it on every full moon, and I even opened a new page on my blog for it. The pictures on it do not show the latest progress, they are just the most recent pictures on my hard drive. I will probably not update those this year, because honestly, I am too busy with christmas preparations and such.
Check it out and see if you can join us! You know, the more, the merrier!

Golden Sunday

2011-12-19T10:11:00.000+01:00

We usually have the same glass fibre enhanced, colour changing plastic tree that comes with its own ornaments already wired to the branches. This year my girl wished to decorate a christmas tree for the first time, and I gladly obliged. The tree is still plastic of course, and the majority of the ornaments are purple and pink, as those are her favourite colours. We still need to buy some lights and the top ornament will be a huge, silver colour silk poinsettia. We had that for a month, and yes, she spotted that in a Tesco and begged granma to buy it for her. So the tree is really according to her taste this year! I can't wait 'till it's present opening time.

After that we went skating. She has ice skating lessons once a week because her school specializes in PE training and sports, and all first graders learn ice skating. It was soooo brilliant! I hope to do this again very soon.

2011-12-17T11:41:00.000+01:00

10 Things You Might Like to Know About Me

1. What was the last film that really moved/disturbed/thrilled you and why?

District 9.

2.If you could be given ANY gift what would it be?
A Kindle, preferably with a huuuuge bunch of English language books on it.

3.What's your favourite way to wake up and what's the first thing you do?
My daughter's arm around my neck and her breath on my face. And the first thing I do I give her a big hug. Second thing is coffee.

4. What crafts have you done?
Stitching, embroidery, knitting, crochet, drawing, macramé, scrapbooking, little bit of pottery, beading.

5. What were you doing before you started this?
Watching QI on YouTube.

6. When was the last time you cried laughing?
About two weeks ago my daughter and I were fooling around and she made me laugh so hard my tummy ached.

7.What did you want to be when you were little?
Horse tender or circus acrobat. Or both.

8.What is your current favourite TV program?
Phineas and Ferb

9. What would you name yourself?
Jade

10. What characteristics do you hate about yourself?
Lack of self-esteem, insecurity, lack of motivation.

Finish update

2011-12-16T14:17:00.001+01:00

As I have promised, here are a few photos of the finished Ink Circles piece. It looks even better in real life. Here you can see two totals and a few close ups. Most of the pictures can be seen after the jump.

This is going to be a beautiful pillow.

Back to my old self

2011-12-15T10:12:00.003+01:00

Breaking news: my favourite pair jeans fit me again! Yay me!

Happy dancing in circles

2011-12-13T18:22:00.000+01:00

Yay, not 10 minutes ago I have finally finished Cirque les Cercles! I will upload scans later today, I just couldn't wait to share the news! I am literally happy dancing around the room!

Circles progress

2011-11-29T17:42:00.001+01:00

I still haven't found a time slot where I could stitch regularly, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple xs into my schedule. I have made some progress on Cirque les Cercles by Ink Circles. I can only hope I spelt that one right. Anyway, as you can see I am on the last page and very close to finish.

Giveaway

2011-11-27T10:27:00.001+01:00

Zoe at Scout's Stitches is hosting a Thanksgiving giveaway! Sign up quick to join the fun!

Dialogue

2011-11-16T19:47:00.001+01:00

"Mommy, I'm scared!"
"Of what?"
"I wanna jump from this table to that bed but it is too far away!"
"Don't jump then."
"But I want to!"
"You will have to let go of one thing. Will it be your dream or your fear? Choose now!"

Best piece of advice that ever left my lips. So wise it shocked me the most. :) Conclusion of the strory: she made the jump. ;)

Free downloadable calendar for all owl lovers

2011-10-23T12:03:00.000+02:00

Baby face, don't grow so fast

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000+02:00

Tami thinks she is such a big girl now she wants to go to school all alone. We've been discussing this issue in the past weeks. Her argument is that it's safe and the school is literally just around the corner. In fact, it is the building at the end or our rather short street, she just has to turn the corner to go to the main entrance.

Today she was returning to her school for her extra music lessons, and since it is bright daylight, I told her I will escort her across the street and then watch her from afar as she is walking to school. She accepted although she wished I would just let her go completely. She started walking away, and about 20 meters away from me she slowed down, stopped, looked back at me and decided to run all the way back. Did you change your mind and want me to escort you, I asked. Yes, she said and gave me a big hug. I thought I'd be very lonely on the way without you, she added.

A new life

2011-09-28T10:10:00.000+02:00

Sorry to have disappeared from the net for so long. First of all, you may know that after spending three years at my parents' home, my daughter had returned and is now permanently staying with me, where she belongs. She started her schooling on the 1st of September and although she sometimes whines about getting up early, she loves her teachers and most subjects. Apart from the usual classes, she also takes a bunch of extras in the afternoon, such as ballet, folk dancing, singing, crafting, playful English, computer use and junior mathlete club. Might sound a lot, but she asked to take part and I full-heartedly supported her decision.
Unfortunately, I had to give up on a lot of things thanks to the new schedule we have. First of all, stitching. I simply do not have the kind of time and energy it requires. I didn't stitch at all since Tamara is back home. I sometimes think of it, but most of the times I am too tired to even miss it. I wasn't prepared mentally or physically to look after the needs of a child all on my own. I guess as I grow stronger and get used to doing everything, I will be able to find more time for myself.
Second, I had to seriously cut back internet time. Now I have to hunt for jobs in the morning, and share the computer with DD in the afternoon, so idle chatting and browsing is just out of the question. I had to give up on World of Warcraft as well. Tami has to be in bed at 8 p.m. at the latest, so I wouldn't be able to raid, as we have a single room apartment and she couldn't sleep with my talking on vent and hitting the keys near her. Not to mention that I still can't afford subscribing. *sigh* I miss playing with my excellent guild though. So many friends I used to chat with daily.
Even with stitchy blogs and emails, now I just scan through them instead of the thorough reading they are worthy of. So sad it has to be this way, but single moms have to make sacrifices and I'm not really complaining as it was my choice and I stand by it.
I have not been able to watch any live telly in September, thank the gods for teevo. Got totally hooked on the reruns of Battlestar Galactica.
Still unemployed and broke. I will go through my stash this weekend and put up a bunch of leaflets and kits for sale, because I ran out of ideas on how to get more cash.
The past two weeks were tough as the computer broke down and I had withdrawal issues. :) A friend of mine fixed it for me and now I am in the process of reinstalling my old software, which starts with somehow locating installation CD's I haven't seen in years. I hope to keep you posted on how we adapt to our new way of life.

New era

2011-09-02T17:50:00.001+02:00

Yep... the school years have now officially began.

Can you get a ticket for speed stitching?

2011-08-03T12:53:00.000+02:00

Here is my progress on Little Wings. I worked a little bit on the girl's dress but done mostly the woman's gown as you can see. I really love the pink ribbons, it gives me a nice change with all the greens. I have a few missing colours, I need to buy a few skeins, or just gather the ones that are kitted up in another design. For example, 822 is hiding in the box of my super secret surprise project. I will need to borrow some of that as I cannot afford buying duplicates. I wonder about stitching this design with alternative colours. Does anyone have any tips? Maybe give her a dark blue or purple gown and pink for the little girl?

Smoking needle

2011-07-28T19:06:00.001+02:00

As you can see, I am still working on Little Wings. This design is unbelievable, it seems to stitch itself. I have made great progress on the green dress as well as the white of the little girl's skirt. I can hardly do anything else, I'm enjoying this too much! I cannot even remember the last time I was this happy with my stitching. It made me fall in love with cross stitch all over again. If only my human relationships were this easy to perfect!

Neil Gaiman and fabric paint

2011-07-27T14:37:00.002+02:00

How do you make the two of them meet? With a little help of one of my favourite webcomics, XKCD, which is about romance, sarcasm, math and language. Which, apart from romance, are definitely in my top 10 of favourite things. So there I found this interpretation of a quote from the graphic novel Sandman. I love both the quote and the drawing, so I decided to copy it on one of my fabric shopping bags. I have half a dozen textile bags that I decorated and I always carry one or two with me, for environment friendly reasons.

This poor bag is pretty worn, I have been using it for a year or two and the 3D fabric paint starts falling off. You can see some lines broken where day-to-day use left its mark. I still like it pretty much and I am proud to use it.

Eye of the tiger 2.0

2011-07-26T14:16:00.000+02:00

My sweet friend Sophie called my attention to a fun video. In yesterday's post she commented on how Eye Of The Tiger and the tv-show Supernatural have a fascinating crossover. I googled it and it made me LOL. I cannot embed it, but here is the link for your viewing pleasure, click away and have fun watching it!

Eye of the tiger

2011-07-25T19:02:00.001+02:00

I'm finally done with this beautiful Dimensions Gold kit too! Looks like July is the month of finishes. I cannot tell you how happy I am to have finished the backstitching and see this noble beast look right back at me. This kit is amazing, look at the glint in her eyes, who would have thought that two french knots would add so much to this design?

Here is the interpretation of a relevant poem, one of my personal favourites.

This video is here to show you the playful sides of these majestic beasts:

DD's masterpiece

2011-07-24T13:14:00.001+02:00

Just in time for the last Harry Potter movie, I present to you my daughter's drawing of Professor Lupin.

Yes, she is drawing werewolves at seven. It is clearly my fault. I am fascinated with these creatures. I play mostly worgen in WoW, my favourite RPG is Werewolf: the Apocalypse and I generally like the idea of beast within man. The only reason why I don't have a Team Jacob t-shirt is that I think Twilight is not only rubbish but atrociously badly written as well, but I wouldn't think twice about choosing a ww instead of an undead.

Maybe I will write a longer entry about this when I figured out the reasons. Until then just enjoy my daughter's ability to present the basic idea of a fairytale monster.

Amazing progress

2011-07-22T12:35:00.000+02:00

I really don't wanna pat myself on the shoulder, because it isn't me that is amazing, it's the talent of Marilyn Leavitt-Imblum that has made my progress possible. I spent only a couple of days on Little Wings and look at her dress! She looks so stunning! I don't know how I managed to complete so much.

Ughh... help?

2011-07-15T18:19:00.000+02:00

The naughty "I will hide your things to places and corners you never knew existed in your home" elf struck again! In my recent finishing frenzy I decided to dust off and complete the teddy bear height chart I started working on when I was expecting my daughter, and guess what. The charts disappeared. I have the Burda magazine but it is missing the folded chart from the middle. I stumbled upon my working copy about two months ago and thought, meh, I will never finish that one, but now I want to and I cannot find the copies! Seriously, is there a black hole in my home? If there is one, will it kindly return my teddy chart, the Raspberry Parfait floss and my hair removal cream? Thanks in advance.
As a reminder, here is a picture of my WIP and hopefully not UFO.

From Work In Progress

Another finish coming your way

2011-07-15T14:51:00.000+02:00

I finally managed to finish these mustangs for my girl. I have completed the cross stitches quite a few months ago, but I was too annoyed with the backstitching, so I put it aside for a little while, and it got lost in the throng of WIPs I have in my stash. I completely forgot about it until recently, when I was going through my stitchy stuff to see if I have any kits or charts I could sell, either because I have an extra copy or just don't like that much any more. I am planning to set up a sale/trade album on Picasaweb some time soon, I will keep you posted on that. Meanwhile, here is the finished picture. It's a Dimensions Gold mini kit.

Minor finish

2011-07-13T09:12:00.000+02:00

I just managed to finish this small Lanarte kit. It wasn't very challenging, except that I had to once rip out most of the sky and it was rather annoying, so I had to put the project aside for a few months. I found it again in May and decided to complete it. I think it turned out to be really pretty.

You did NOT just say that!

2011-07-12T20:27:00.000+02:00

We are watching the show The Top 10 Most X-treme Animals on the telly. This episode is about all the weird and amazing ways animals can change places. Before commercial break the announcer says "and next you will see a sea creature with a built-in rocket engine". I guess medusa and turn to my girl.
"Can you think of any animals that move around like that?"
"Like what?"
"Rocket engine. Do you know how that works?"
"Nope..."
"It's not moving with legs or swimming, rather the animal squeezes something out of its body, usually water, and that pushes it forward. Can you think of any creature that blows out something behind as it moves ahead?"
"Granma'!"
"......" <--- Mommy is pissing herself with laughter.

Amazing paper world

2011-07-06T00:06:00.000+02:00

Too bad it's an ad but it still looks beautiful!

Skoda - Curriculum Vitae from weareflink on Vimeo.

Conversion problems

2011-07-04T23:49:00.000+02:00

I spent the past two days working on my super secret project. I got to the point where I should work on the heads of the people in it, and I need to convert hair from blonde to brunette. The chart has instructions for that, but not very obvious ones. It says hair shades can be substituted. My problem is that the brunette has four shades and the blonde five, so I can substitute some but not all. Can anyone who has experience help me out? The original colours were 801, 420, 3045, 3046 and 3047 going from darkest to brightest. I changed them to 3371, 898, 433 and 434 in this order, but dunno what to do with the last one.
I really wish I could blog about this but my family reads that and I don't wanna spoil the surprise. No one in our family can keep secrets. Well, no one apart from me.

Kiddo ideas

2011-07-03T18:14:00.000+02:00

My daughter is watching Tom and Jerry.
"Mom?"
"Yes, honey?"
"Are mice vegan?"
"They eat grains and nuts and maybe tree bark. They eat vegetables too. But I think they eat anything when they are really hungry."
"Cartoon mice eat cheese."
"Yes, that makes them vegetarian but not vegan."
"How come?"
"Vegans eat nothing that comes out of an animal. Do you know what cheese is made of?"
"Well yes, cheese is made of milk, which comes out of cows, but cows only eat plants, so technically milk is only plants metamorphosed. That makes mice practically vegan."
"..." <--- Mommy is speechless.

My future favourite author

2011-07-02T10:16:00.000+02:00

There's nothing I love more than when worlds collide. So I was very pleased to see a special episode of Arthur, a cartoon series my daughter and I both enjoy. To my surprise, one of my favourite authors, Neil Gaiman, had appeared as himself, told the kids about graphic novels and coached a little girl who was trying her hand at writing and drawing one. I have been a big fan of the genre ever since I heard of it. Not much of a surprise, really, as I love to read, and being the geek I am, I love comic books too. Graphic novels are like the love child of the two genres, and I just can't get enough of them. It seems my girl likes the idea too, as she expressed her love for the Arthur episode by recreating the graphic novel written Sue Ellen in the story. Here is her first drawing of the chief circle and triangle:

Of course, nowadays contacting famous people is not as difficult as it was, let's say, twenty or more years ago. Since Neil Gaiman is very active on Twitter by the name @neilhimself, I couldn't help myself but let him know what my girl was up to and how she plans on writing graphic novels. To my surprise he replied within a few minutes, saying "my work here is done".
Yep. And I will continue to work on dragging her deeper and deeper into the magnificent world of words and images.

The World of Cross Stitching free kit finished

2011-07-01T19:19:00.000+02:00

Before and after

2011-06-23T14:56:00.000+02:00

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful baby girl.

And seven years later, she was still a beautiful little girl.

To be continued...

Hey! Blogger!

2011-06-22T11:12:00.002+02:00

How come I can't upload pictures again? Fix it! I have urgent blogging to do!

Another notch

2011-06-06T11:36:00.000+02:00

Last week I have turned thirty-seven, or, as one of my Wilde-loving friends would say, I have turned thirty-five for the third year in a row. :) I disapprove of lying in any form to the extreme, which is why I refuse to wear hair extensions or padded bras, and I stopped applying make up for the same reason. Last week I have dyed my hair for the very last time, only because the ends were still very light reddish shade, while the roots were my original dark brown. So I got my hair consistent and from now on I will just let it hang. :)
Read more »

I has a puppy!

2011-05-28T15:12:00.002+02:00

Picture heavy

2011-05-19T13:38:00.006+02:00

Here is my baby in the progress of teaching her bunnies to beg. They are truly adorable creatures, but no match for my girl!
I added several pictures of my parents' garden. I wish I could arrange the pictures better, but Blogger is really terrible in that respect. The pictures are difficult to position and they don't stay where I put them in the editing frame, so I have to keep switching to the preview. Next time I will simply add a Picasa slideshow but I just cannot bother now.
Read more »

Introducing

2011-05-17T13:30:00.000+02:00

Scented geranium

Rhododendron

These are my new plants. I love the rhododendron most of all. But don't tell the rest of them! They might be jealous.

Breaking news

2011-05-16T18:26:00.000+02:00

For the very first time in seven years, my daughter finally caved in to my pleas and let me, wait for it, braid her hair!

Mommy is really over the moon now.

Read more »

Victorian progress

2011-05-16T17:06:00.000+02:00

I gave up on trying to use hoops on Victorian Elegance and sewn it onto my roll frame. I'm still not very happy with the face and will probably frog and stitch it again before I do the ribbons. Here is how far I got stitching her.

Kinda gone, kinda back

2011-05-11T16:31:00.001+02:00

I know I disappeared from blogging, but I'm all right. I have done a lot of things in the meantime. I have been stitching too. No finishes, just progress on various projects, including the super secret surprise project. No progress photos now because I don't have the brains to browse on my hard drive.
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Meet the survivors

2011-04-15T16:17:00.000+02:00

You may remember my telling you that after a long time I have decided to try and look after a few plants. That was a year ago. Two of the four plants didn't make it, but I'm very happy with 50%. Especially because I know better than anyone else how little I cared for them in the past year. There were times when I forgot to water them for over a week. These were quite frequent times to be honest.

Somehow these two plants didn't just survive, they flourished. Look at these beauties!

I also managed to fall in love with a new plant. It's a beautiful multicoloured primula. I plan on planting a few more flowers this spring again. I hope my baby will help me tending to them!

A different view

2011-04-13T09:24:00.000+02:00

I'm wondering if I should change the link in my signature line to http://jadestitch.blogspot.com/view/sidebar because I love the new view feature of Blogger and I am not sure if users are generally aware of it. I love it though. I love switching back and forth between views depending on what I am looking for.
The sidebar view is good for some general browsing. It also improves speed, as it shows one post at a time and the sidebar gadgets of the traditional look that take a lot of time to load are hidden.
The flipcard view is best for image heavy bloggers. It can also be reorganized by date, label or author, thus giving an easier overview if you are looking for something specific.
The mosaic view is exactly what it's called, just a fun way of looking at a blog.
The snapshot view grabs all the pictures from the entires.
The timeline view is of course a chronological presentation of one's blog. It's fun to look at a blog like mine this way, because my blogging is so periodical; I write an entry or two a week, then I sign up for NaBloPoMo and post like I'm paid for it, and then I'm absent for a month to recover. :D
So, did you play around with the various views? Did you like it? Which one is your favourite? Make sure you share!

Ink Circles progress

2011-04-12T09:35:00.000+02:00

Almost done with page 4 and the stitch goes on!

Seven years ago

2011-04-11T10:04:00.000+02:00

"Mom, please don't call me Luca!"
"Why? It's your middle name."
"Well, I don't like it!"
"What's the matter, honey? Does it mean something bad for you? Do I say Luca in a different tone than I say Tamara?"
"No, I just don't like it. I like Tamara. Call me Tamara every time you talk to me!"

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Back in the habit

2011-04-10T13:07:00.000+02:00

Okay, I tried. I really tried. I know I have a long face, most of it consists of my big square forehead. I know I lost interest in beauty products and no longer feel like wasting any time on my looks. I know that the most logical thing would be to wear bangs. It is easy to manage and makes me look less like a hobby horse. But I cannot stand it. Seriously, it makes me nervous. I'd much rather have my hair hang into my eye and mouth than feel it cover my forehead. I swear I tried, several times. Can. Not. Do. It.
I also decided to not dye my hair any more. Red will be missed, and I loved experimenting with different styles. I love how much a new hair colour transforms your whole character. At least it does for me. I cannot behave the same way with jet black hair as I do with auburn or blonde locks. It just summons a different angle of my personality and lets me channel it with ease.
I never really liked my original, dull, dark brown hair. However, as I said before, I found myself no longer bothered by my looks. Also, I don't know if you can tell by this cell phone picture, but I am growing grey. Shining silver strands are speckled all over my scalp. And I'm loving it. I love the way I change with age. I want to be able to watch it happen, so no way I am covering it with dye. I wonder if my hair will be as beautiful silver as my mother's. She still dyes her hair red, but in the time between colouring sessions I see the roots sparkle. I tried to convince her to lay off dying, but she hates having gone grey. I, on the other hand, cannot wait.
I wonder if there is a washable silver hair dye available. :D

The end of an era

2011-03-25T22:54:00.000+01:00

Today I have removed the child safety latches from the kitchen cabinet. I no longer have to worry that she will unknowingly reach in and grab a knife by the blade. She's a big girl now.
*sigh*

Ink Circles progress

2011-03-24T10:14:00.001+01:00

These are not the latest pictures, I will have to do some scanning before I can post those. These are after finishing page 3, and I am almost done with page 4 now. I put up a folder for this WIP on my Picasa albums.

Brought to you by Motorola

2011-03-22T10:09:00.000+01:00

The sweetest little girl I have ever seen in my whole life.

UFOs dusted off

2011-03-18T11:15:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the absence, I had to spend a longer-than-usual period at my parents because my dad was briefly in hospital and they needed my help. Then, after coming home, I just laid back feeling sorry for myself for having to carry and stack up 10 quintals of wood on my own. Until I remembered that my parents do it every few months.

Anyway, I took a look around my stash and found some abandoned projects I have decided to work on. I also did some motivational decorating, that is, I hung up a couple of my kits and charts on the wall to remind me what I wanted to stitch. Feasting Frenzy is almost ready, I just need to do the backstitch. I have two Dimensions Gold kits only an afternoon's work away from completion. The Permin butterfly is nearly done too. But somehow I am unable to do those. So I pulled Victorian Elegance from the pile. I was very disappointed with my starting stitches. I may gonna frog and re-do them in the end. I started working on it a few years ago, when I had less experience, and my stitches look too uneven to me. Right now I just wanna carry on and see how much floss I will have left at the end.

The other project is Butterflies and Brambles by DMC. I just love this one, very easy on the eyes.

Cat vs Printer - The Translation (BEWARE OF STRONG LANUGAGE)

2011-03-15T09:14:00.000+01:00

This is a vid I came across months ago. I'm sharing it now because my printer acts like this. The wheels go round and round but won't pick up the paper, no matter how carefully I fill the tray. I have to feed every sheet one by one and even then it may not pull it in and say "paper jam" instead of the "no paper" and it is getting more and more annoying. I know, maintenance, but I cannot afford it. So I just feed the paper sheets to this monster, carefully, one at a time, and cursing like a cat in the progress.

Facebook isolation

2011-02-26T00:44:00.000+01:00

I have spent a little time winnowing my "friends" each day since my last FB post. I had 948 contacts when I started, now I am under 200. And let me tell you, it doesn't feel good.
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Mandala design

2011-02-21T14:57:00.000+01:00

I spent the weekend with my baby, so I couldn't be bothered to blog. Partly because I was having such a good time with my girl, and partly because she was camping the computer. She has a bunch of games she likes to play on the Nickelodeon website and a Hungarian site. She also loves drawing on the computer. For a six-year-old, she is very good with the mouse. I spotted a mandala maker on one of her favourite sites and decided to play around with it. I'm sharing the link in case you want to give it a go. The buttons speak for themselves, so I don't think you will need instructions. I just wish I could hold the mouse a bit more steady. Some of my lines are too shaky!

Of dragons

2011-02-19T09:32:00.002+01:00

By now you all know that I play World of Warcraft on a regular basis. There are many creatures in that game that are too scary for minors to see, so I do my best to avoid showing those to my daughter. On the other hand, I think kids are way smarter than the average grown up gives them credit for, so I do let her see some parts of the game. The healthy part with green grass and trees and wolves for monsters. Not the Plaguelands with gigantic worms and rotting carcasses and attacking undead creatures.
I did, however, let her play some of the more innocent features of the game, like flying around on one of my drake mounts or fishing. Yes, you can fish in WoW. Or just let her watch the game, it is almost like a cartoon anyway. That was before November, 2008, when the game expansion Wrath Of The Lich King was released. From that point forward, the loading screen of a slightly ominous but still definitely peaceful stone gate was changed to the icy landscape above, with a huge undead skeletal dragon occasionally flying in and releasing a chilling roar before departing again. I was first worried that might scare my baby and tried to hide from her, but one time she woke up earlier than expected and saw the loading screen. "Oh, cool, an ice dragon" she exclaimed and seemed to completely ignore the fact that there is neither flesh or skin on its bones. I quickly affirmed that it is indeed an ice dragon, not unlike the one she is playing with in the game Fairies and Dragons, installed from a CD we got for free in a McDonald's Happy Meal.
So all was well until last December. That is when the latest expansion, Cataclysm was released. The powerful black dragon, Deathwing, has finally found it's way from its prison and scorched the lands of Azeroth in the event that is referred to as The Shattering. As a meta-gaming consequence, the loading screen had changed too. It is Deathwing in person, during his attack on the city of Stormwind.

I totally forgot about it as to me it made no difference what is on the loading screen, but my girl got all excited. "Look mommy, it's a new dragon" she shouted when she first saw it. "Yes, honey" I answered, "this time it's an evil fire dragon". She froze on the spot. Her eyes got big. I obviously said something shocking. I asked her "what is wrong, honey?" With her eyes still fixed on the loading screen she asked in the voice of disbelief "dragons CAN be evil?"

Mommy is so proud.

The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England Exp...

2011-02-18T21:34:00.001+01:00

This is great, I thought I was clear on what stands for what, but I learned some new data from this video. Enjoy!

No more Facebook

2011-02-17T12:00:00.000+01:00

I recently purged my Facebook account. Last year I spent irrationally much time there, mostly playing FarmVille, Restaurant City and other virtual build-and-manage-an-environment games, befriending strangers just to get more neighbours so I can collect virtual tripe by the dozens and exchange them for rare and seasonal in-game items. At a time when real life didn't offer many chances of success and had no positive feedback, these games gave me proof that if I stick to doing something on a daily basis, I can build something big and beautiful. And in that way they were helpful for a while and made me feel better. But then I became addicted and needed to add more and more games, till I found myself clicking those things all day long.

Do you know the worst part? At a time I convinced myself that I am doing it for my daughter, because on my virtual farm I had a pink virtual house and stuffed its virtual garden with virtual toys, a virtual see-saw and virtual swings, etc, while in reality I spent less time with my baby, because I stole time from playing with her so I can build an unreal environment she may enjoy looking at but will never be able to access. How dumb is that? Yes, Tamara likes the way the virtual puppy wags its tail, but she doesn't enjoy my spending 20 minutes daily on virtual feeding it. And that is just one game.

Anyway, I snapped out of it. I removed 75 of my 85 games. I removed all the pages I was a fan of. Why on earth did I ever decide to "like" Celebrity Birthdays in the first place? And did I really think I can save the rainforests by sending 10 virtual seeds a day? The games I have spared are only there because I feel sorry for the time and energy I invested in building them.

Next I am gonna start to remove all those friends I don't really know. I am only worried about accidentally removing a few stitching friends, as I remember most of them by email addy and not by full name. Should it happen to you, please let me know. I wanna use Facebook for what I believe it was invented for, to keep in touch with real people who are really important for me in my real life.

Online friendships

2011-02-16T16:32:00.001+01:00

Do you remember how few days ago I whined about how I can't believe in big things any more, and included friendship in my list? Well, I got some reminders about its existence. First of all, one day after I announced to my guild that I must quit WoW for financial reasons, one member contacted me and offered me a prepaid game card. Annamarie said she bought it for her sister, but she was never really interested in playing, so the card was not used and pretty much forgotten. She practically gave me 6 months of playing time for free! How awesome is she?
Then I was whining about the missing Anchor floss, and the next thing I know, Brigitte e-mails me to find out if I know the number for it yet, because she can send me some. I already found the shop that carries Anchor, as I mentioned by now, so I politely declined the offer, but still, I am very touched!
Finally, there was a discussion about the DMC price differences around the world on one of my Yahoo groups called Counted Cross Stitch, and a group of friends in the U.S.A. decided that since floss is so much cheaper in the States than in most other countries (for example, I pay about $1,2 for a skein when some U.S. stores carry DMC for 35 cents), they wanna occasionally send a bunch of floss to their foreign stitching friends just for the sake of being generous. That is amazing! Come on, are stitchers, and as it seems WoW players, the kindest people on the planet or what?

Horseland

2011-02-15T16:00:00.000+01:00

Horseland is one of Tamara's favourite cartoons ever. Mainly because of the many horses in it.

In the meantime

2011-02-14T15:52:00.000+01:00

I shared a lot of non-stitching stories in the past day, but I have been busy doing the little x-s despite not mentioning them. I think I mentioned frogging the ballerina's hair, that is gonna happen soon. Right now I am working mainly on Feasting Frenzy. My parents have a bird feeder in the backyard that is visited mostly by blue tits and great tits (which in Hungary have a name that translates to coal tit because of the black cap they have) and blackbirds. Everyone in my family adores them. So my mom really wants to have that picture stitched, framed and hanging on her wall. I have made really great progress and will soon start doing the backstitching!

So not doing Valentine

2011-02-14T11:21:00.001+01:00

Look what I got!

2011-02-13T15:52:00.000+01:00

My newest favourite item is this strawberry shaped teapot. I first saw this about ten years ago in a Pickwick tea ad. I fell in love with it immediately, and been wanting one ever since. Last December it was on a special Christmas offer. It was in a gift-pack with four boxes of tea. I love tea, but even if I didn't, I would have bought the pack just for the teapot. Unfortunately, my tight working schedule didn't let me buy one, and the packs sold out so quick that I thought I had missed my chance and was devastated over it. Luckily, my home town has a Tesco and since it is a small town, they had a few boxes left for a special sale in January! I ma pretty tight on money, but I just had to buy me one! So this is one story with a happy ending!

A few of my favourite things

2011-02-12T16:03:00.000+01:00

Now that I have lost all faith in the thingss I thought were the greatest, like love, friendship, kindness and optimism, I find absolutely profound and satisfying joys in the little things. For example, my steam iron. During my recent extended period of depression, I have forgotten just how much I love the act of ironing, taking the miserable looking, wrinkly clothes, and transforming them, as if by magic, into beautiful garments. And on my side, as always, my faithful Tefal ceramic plate iron.
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The curse is lifted!

2011-02-11T22:49:00.000+01:00

Yay! I found a shop that carries the floss for my Ink Circles project! :D

RIP Gary Moore

2011-02-10T11:35:00.002+01:00

I just read the very sad news that legendary guitarist Gary Moore had passed on the 6th. I'm devastated because I have always been a fan of his, have some of his albums on vinyl and he was still quite young. It's a terrible loss and my heart goes out to his loved ones.
To remember him I decided to not add a vid of himself playing but a genius cover of his song, Still Got The Blues, because I think a real artist is someone who doesn't only create magic but also inspires others to cast their own spells and Gary Moore was and remains one of these amazing artists.

ShapeShifter

2011-02-09T17:29:00.003+01:00

I found this amazing piece of computer animation and I just had to share! I love dreams and I love to play with them, and it's nice to see others so amazed and inspired by them that they go and create this breathtaking vision.

ShapeShifter from Charlex on Vimeo.

Another WIP

2011-02-08T12:51:00.001+01:00

I still didn't find the hand dyed floss for my x-mas SAL, so that is put aside in my UFO pile for now, but I will definitely finish it as soon as I put my hands on more floss. But since I was going through my UFOs I found an earlier project, that happens to be another x-mas SAL. At the time I couldn't finish it because I couldn't print the chart. I ran out of ink and couldn't afford a new cartridge. I know. Anyway, long story short, I got the ink, the chart, the floss, so I dusted it off and am determined to finish it this month. As you can see, I changed it to say 2011, and I plan to make it to a nice pillow for my girl this X-mas.

The photo isn't the best quality, as I took it with my new cell phone. Yes, I have a new phone. The old one was kinda, well, old, and mom found a sweet deal at a provider, so she bought me a new one. I love it most because it has a big screen and a radio. And just look at the pretty pictures I managed to take with it! Of course, there is no way you can take a bad picture of such a pretty face!

Kitchen and I

2011-02-07T18:15:00.015+01:00

I found this piece on XKCD.com, and it's a scarily accurate diagram of the love/hate relationship I have with cooking. Actually, it's more like a hate/hate relationship, the only thing I like in the kitchen is photographing my daughter making a mess of the ingredients.

Example:

De-curse please!

2011-02-06T11:32:00.000+01:00

Seriously, what is wrong with me? One can not be this much out of luck! My favourite LNS stopped carrying Anchor floss. Another one I knew is closed. Two more I visited carry Anchor but one didn't have any variegated floss, and at the other, only one colour was missing. Care to guess? Yes, it was the one I need for my Ink Circles project! Honestly, why me?

No Ink, Just Stitching

2011-02-05T17:09:00.000+01:00

Sometimes we use the words "painting with needles and floss" to describe stitching. Here's an artist that is doing just that. Click on the link below to see his beauties!

No Ink, Just Stitching — Illusion 360 - The World's most amazing Art, Design, Technology and Video

Looking for readers

2011-02-04T11:16:00.005+01:00

In case you didn't notice the new tab on this blog, I'm hereby announcing that I started a new blog, called Diaries of a Werewolf. I decided to keep a journal of a newly generated World of Warcraft character. I'm trying to write as she would see things and not from a gamer's point of view. You know, I started playing traditional role-playing games about 15 years ago, and sometimes when I play WoW, I try to get back to those rpg roots. For me it's fun and games and pwning, but for the characters that "live" in that world every day is terrible, they live in wartime, fight horrible monsters every day, kill and get killed every day, and somehow it doesn't come across the computer screen, how weird is that?

By the way, I had to make a sad decision. A few days ago I cancelled my WoW subscription. I know it is only $15 a month, but right now I cannot afford to spend even that much. I have about 20 days on my account and then I am unplugged for a while. I will try to gather enough material for my new blog till then. Please pay a visit and tell me what you think! I've been trying to make it enjoyable for those that are not familiar with the game at all and I am aching to find out how I'm doing.

The Force and a giveaway

2011-02-03T12:35:00.000+01:00

I came across this ad for Volkswagen today and it was so adorable I just had to share it immediately.

I was gonna write another entry anyway, as Nataly is hosting a sweet and generous Valentine giveaway on her blog, and knowing how much I hate Valentine Day, you must realize how sweet it must be if I want to be part of it! :)

First finish of the year

2011-02-03T10:48:00.000+01:00

My bigger pieces are growing slowly so I decided to do a smaller project so I can brush up on my happy dancing. And here it is, a small Lanarte kit that has a sister (with poppies) and took me only a few days to stitch start to finish.
I took a deep breath and started stitching the hair on my ballerina. If you recall, the kit has floss for brown hair but I wanted her to be blonde. Most of the colours I have chosen I'm satisfied with, except for the darkest shade. As it were, the darkest colour takes up most of the hair, and it is more brown than blonde. It would be okay if it would only be a shade here and there, but it's too much, it makes her look like the girl was the subject of an unsuccessful bleaching experiment that went horribly early 80's. So I will frog that colour and probably blend a lighter shade with the original floss to make it work. I will keep you updated.
I worked on Feasting Frenzy too, I will give you details when I'm done scanning.

Girls will be girls

2011-02-02T09:45:00.004+01:00

I bought a whole bunch of toys for my baby for Christmas, but I thought that the real girlie thing to do would be to go shopping for clothes together, like girls do. I only had money for one item, but she was very understanding about it. She chose this pretty lavender ballet skirt in H&M and she's wearing it every day. Obviously, given the weather that is unusually cold even for winter, she can only wear it indoors, but she loves it and won't stop dancing in it. She even drew a picture of herself in this skirt. Please observe how much care she took to add sequins to her belt. Yep, she's my girl, and she's multi-talented.

This place is cursed

2011-02-01T09:51:00.001+01:00

I have lost, or rather misplaced, the materials for yet another project. I can't find the original chart pack for my Ink Circles project, which is a problem because I kept the floss in its folder. I only have the working copies and the fabric. I may gonna have to buy some new skeins. Which is problematic only as I don't know its number, I only remember it is Anchor variegated. Here's hoping that will be enough to identify it. Here is a scan of how far I got with three skeins (I think).

February NaBloPoMo

2011-01-27T21:06:00.000+01:00

I have signed up once again because I need motivation to achieve anything. I set the goal of 28 posts in February, but I will not whine if I can't make it, that much is sure. Usually it's starting to type that's problematic. I have so much to say about, umm, practically anything, I just tend to not bother because a, I can hardly imagine anyone giving a damn about my opinion, and b, I have been alone for such a long time that I am used to not having anyone to talk to.
Back to topic, the theme for February is character, I can think of blogging about that in several ways, the most obvious being my WoW characters and their adventures. Of course, SaS is an will remain a stitching/parenting/depressing themed blog :) but it will be fun to experiment with various tones and personas.

Rufus Hound as Cheryl Cole

2011-01-26T20:03:00.001+01:00

I just want this here for future occasions of depression attacking. This is the funniest vid I have seen in a long time. Enjoy!

Back in town

2011-01-26T11:10:00.000+01:00

I'm back and I have a ton of things to do. Very difficult in my condition. I make to do lists all day hoping they help. Here's a list of what to blog about, see if it helps me to resurrect this blog again.

cell phone photos
baby's drawings
my finishes
my works in progress
my health issues
my gaming experiences
job hunt
drawings and sketches
my hair

Let's see if this will get us anywhere.

Blogging

2011-01-20T20:37:00.000+01:00

Somehow writing down my thoughts has always helped me to calm my nerves and deal with my problems. Even if no one ever read it. Even if I destroyed it immediately. I always found it therapeutic. I don't know if I will able to blog in the next few days though. I am visiting my parents and kid again. Usually I use my sister's computer when I am in their town, but I'm not sure if she still has her internet subscription. She, her hubby and son are moving to England temporarily. Which could mean a few months or a couple of years.

A Brief History of Conspicuous Product Placement in Movies

2011-01-20T15:14:00.000+01:00

Forcing my hand

2011-01-19T19:56:00.000+01:00

I honestly have to force myself to do every little thing now. Including stitching. Or watching telly. Or start playing WoW. Or stop playing WoW. Or shower. Or eat. I am sunken into depression so deep, I'm sure it covers me completely. I hope I will get out of it, but right now I don't even know which way to go for a start.

ABC meme

2011-01-08T22:40:00.001+01:00

A - Age: 36 and a half
B - Bed size: futon
C - Chore you hate: hoovering
D - Dog's name: Valiant
E - Essential start of the day item: coffee
F - Favorite color: orange or purple, depending on mood. Or both.
G - Gold or Silver: silver
H - Height: 5'11"
I - Instruments you play: None so far but I'm still young
J - Job: Mom
K - Kids: one perfect little girl
L - Living arrangements: a dark, cold hole I jokingly refer to as my flat
M - Music you love: Gorillaz
N - Nicknames: Jade, Kris, Cat, Elf
O - Overnight hospital stay at hospital: a few times
P - Pet Peeve: dumb people who think they're the smartest
Q - Quote from a movie: Oh, I'm a panther. I shall slip unnoticed through the darkness... like a dark, unnoticeable slippy thing. (Mirrormask)
R - Right handed or left: Ambi
S - Siblings: one sister
T - Time you wake up: anywhere between 5 and 11 a.m.
U - Underwear: comfortable
V - Vegetable you dislike: cabbage
W - Workout Style: callanetics
X - X-rays you've had: chest, wrist
Y - Yummy food you make: muffins
Z - The best place to visit: gardens or libraries. Just make it quiet and give me access to a book.

Missed a month

2011-01-03T23:27:00.000+01:00

My temp job and xmas took all my energy, I hardly even logged in for a month. I will be going through my mail and my reader entries (should be thousands with all those blogs) in the next few days. I had my H1N1 flu shot so I will be grounded at my home for a few days. I hope to resume blogging as soon as I gather my thoughts.

Cercles progress

2010-12-02T15:58:00.000+01:00

While one variegated turned monochromatic design is giving me a hard time with the ill sized fabric and the disappearing magical floss, the other one is growing nicely. Here it is nearly at the end of the second skein. I love every minute of working on it, I truly do. I am tempted to re-stitch it in other colour combinations over and over again.

Comics can be epic

2010-12-01T11:16:00.001+01:00

What have I done?

2010-11-30T19:36:00.001+01:00

Seriously. Is my Xmas SAL project cursed? I lost my floss! What is going on here? I know I had at least one more skein, but I cannot find it anywhere. It was right here, on my table, between the keyboard and the screen for ages. Along with dozens of other things, that, unlike my floss, are still here, gathering dust. All right, so I am not the tidiest housewife, correction, housesinglemom, in the world. In fact, I am sure I am somewhere at the bottom of the tidy list. But I always take care of my stash! There is at least one, possibly one and a half skeins of Raspberry Parfait floss located in my flat some place, I just don't know the exact spot. I spent the day looking for it. I found copious amounts of stuff I didn't remember I had, but the floss remains missing. I am fuming. In my day-long monologue I have used every curse word known to mankind and went on to invent a few new ones. Still the floss is missing. I swear, there must be an evil little goblin sneaking in every once in a while and relocate my stuff as a prank.
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SAL progress

2010-11-25T17:02:00.000+01:00

Finished the big ornament on the middle, moving on to the one next to it.

The wonderful world of cats

2010-11-24T16:25:00.027+01:00

I just love cats. I always have. Somehow they were never the number one favourites, but were always there in the top three.

I am always annoyed when someone asks me if I am a cat person or a dog person. Surely you can love them both? It's not like there is a law that makes you must choose sides. Also, they are like apples and oranges. They have different attitudes and give love in a different manner. Why should you have only one kind? It's like saying one loves only daughters or sons. You cannot compare the two and you shouldn't have to live without either. I've had dogs and cats in the past, and I am looking forward to the time when my financial status and housing situation allows me have them again, that is, when I have a place that is bigger than a cubicle and at least feeding them would not mean that I cannot have more than one meal a day. Until then, all I have is dreaming and looking at animal pictures.

A snowflake a day keeps insanity away

2010-11-23T13:21:00.000+01:00

I stitched on my Christmas SAL piece at nights, I managed to do a snowflake a day, we sill see if I can keep up with that!

Thought of the day

2010-11-22T16:12:00.000+01:00

For my baby

2010-11-21T16:05:00.006+01:00

I have collected a few adorable animal photos from the web that have a parent and offspring in them. I will print them for my baby but I also wanna share them with my friends. Here you go!

Kids of any race will nag mom while she's working

Job update

2010-11-20T15:57:00.000+01:00

Last night I spent two hours at a clothing store, helping to serve customers. By this time tomorrow, I will know if I will be hired there or not. I'm not sure what I am more afraid of, getting the job or not getting it. I am not sure if I can physically handle eleven hours of standing without a pause, except for a quick lunch break, for 3-4 days a week, sometimes in a row. I guess beggars can't be choosers. I have loads of bills to pay, and bosses aren't exactly knocking down my door to give me a job that pays well and is comfortable, so I might have to settle for the one that does neither. At least until I find something better.
There was one another girl who was very good at folding the clothes and arranging them, but didn't seem too keen on communicating with shoppers. It had me in stitches because it reminded me of the Jeffrey's sketch from Saturday Night Live. It was difficult to not giggle non stop!
This week I gave out 20 CVs and that is just on paper, I'm not even counting online applications any more, but I am sure it is well over 200 attempts by now. One of these days, if someone will not hire me, I will just go and start my own cross stitch design company just out of spite. Hear me, world?

Wednesday, Friday

2010-11-19T23:40:00.000+01:00

I still have only my phone camera at my service, so these pictures aren't perfect either, but they are pretty good for showing the progress I have made. Not much for two day's stitching, but I have spent most of my days running around town, either looking for a job or standing in line in front of various office clerk desks to get stuff done. And next week I will probably have to do at least twice as much.

Job hunt update

2010-11-18T23:45:00.000+01:00

Since my usual methods of answering any and all job ads, signing up to head hunter websites and so on has failed me, I decided to try a new approach. I grabbed a bunch of copies of my CV and walked around a couple malls. Whenever I saw a "help wanted" sign on any door, I just walked in and handed over a CV to whoever would accept one. No, I have no commercial qualification, but I can serve your customers better than any gal who just left that school, ma'am. And it worked! No, I don't have a job yet, but I already had one job interview, and I have an appointment for tomorrow. I am going to take my chances in another shop. Plus, who knows, a few more calls may come in. Not to mention that there are several malls I have not visited yet. My feet hurt from walking all day long, but I am so not giving up!
Wish me luck for tomorrow!