Hullo again everyone - hope this Monday sees everyone well. It's December tomorrow and I cannot believe that - like I said a couple of days ago - what a month. There isn't a part of me that doesn't either ache, burn or both right now. I swear the Christmas rush at work starts earlier every year, it's absolutely insane. And it starting mid November hasn't made training the newling any easier. He is good, and he is picking it up - slowly but certainly faster that previous minions have. And I am starting from complete scratch with him so I will give him credit where it's due. It's just taking longer than I had initially thought. But he can be left by himself on Saturdays now so for the first time since September, my pay slip last week was for under 100 hours - YIPPEE!!!
I guess that's me trying to make excuses for being a awol. I get home and pretty much collapse into bed most days and hide from the world for the rest of the afternoon. I really did mean what I said about being nice to your servers - we take a lot and I mean ALOT of crap from customers who think they know better - especially at this time of year.
Stitching is good therapy for that of course - when else can you stab something thousands of times and not get locked away?
I did spread the love amongst a few projects this month. I did the little freebie kit that came with a magazine I bought to cheer myself up...
And then carried on with the little freebie Chatelaine - Debbie's Roses.
I did as much as I could here. I need to wait for the kreinik to arrive. It's in that Stitching Bits and Bob's order that I made way way back at the beginning of October when I had my time off (a looooong distant memory now), and that still hasn't arrived. Waiting on a pattern arriving at that end apparently. I understand, and I'm not really in a huge rush for it but two projects are waiting on it to be finished now - this and Eleni. It would be nice to have them both done by the end of the year, but I guess it doesn't really matter one way or the other.
By this point in the month my work addled brain needed solid blocks of colour, so I worked on the border of Book of Ink Circles for a while.
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| Half way there |
Not much to say on this really. It's on 28 count antique white Monaco and I'm sure it will be great once I start to fill it in. But borders bore me.
So to break up the monotony of the border I picked up my Earth Dragon to see if he could be finished. Turns out I had made a mistake that would have meant frogging at least half of the entire design.... so it got thrown in the trash. Luckily I found some more of the random scrap fabric that I was stitching the set on, so I shall restart that one some time in the new year to round out the collection.
Since that ended up a fail, I picked up a Mill Hill Ornament kit that I had sitting around.
This is Dandy Duo and it got made into a plant spike. I love these little kits. They are always so bright and colourful and happy and easy. It's what I needed this month when I had a week from the absolute pits, which included (but was not limited to) the death of my beloved 8 year old gold fish. We planted him in a pot plant and the plant spike can be a commemoration of sorts.
And now I am back to the Reader. I really do think it's possible for me to get this one finished this year.... presuming I have some more of the gold kreinik I am using. I should probably check that. For anyone thinking of doing this design - the spool I need to hunt for will be the third. Some thing to keep in mind.
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| Pictures not great, she's what I'm stitching on right this minute... |
I am really happy with how she's turning out. I'm not as sold on the Joan Elliot pattern quite as much as I am on the Cross Stitching Art or on Mirabila but I certainly could see me doing some more of hers in the future.
All I all pretty good progress given the month I think. I don't expect it to calm down any in the near future, but if I can keep this up I will be a happy camper. Not holding my breath though, nor will I get dissapointed. I know what I looking at in the build up to christmas crazy. The car goes into the panel beaters for four days next week (see above mentioned horrible week - drunk students, dented up car and profanity etched into my windsheild), then it's my birthday (29, yikes) and since we didn't get a chance to properly celebrate either the Man's birthday nor our anniversary (4 years) last month due to both of us working over time, hopefully this will be a chance to make up for that. I've also got the Christmas and birthday presents to package up and sent to my dad's family (not visiting them, still a sore spot there for me), work out what we are all going to get my bosses for Christmas, survive the previous christmas work-fest craziness and drive up to my mums on Christmas eve with all the mad holiday motorists.
Good news is that if I survive all that I get 10 days off since we decided to shut the shop for a week between all the holidays. I look forward to that time off so very very much.
I better leave it there, before I get too much more ramble that I already have. I would say that I would call it an early night, but with the Man on over time that's not likely to do me much good - a bakery manager and a postal worker - that's a winning combo at this time of year, I can tell you...
But anyway, I sincerely hope that you all enjoy your week. I shall endeavor to not leave it an entire moth this time before I return. So until next time....
