Still thinking about Christmas

* ahem *

they say time flies when you are having fun - right?

All I can say, is Thank Goodness that 2011 is behind us with Jack completing his final year of high school, v.stressful, and John undergoing 7 operations on his eye to keep that %^&* retina attached.

Looking forward now :)

Here is a little something I have been working on lately - as I am stuck in Christmas it would seem. However I am motivated by the thought of our European Christmas 2012, somewhere with snow has been the general family request.... Switzerland? Austria?

This is Rosalie Quinlan's 'Christmas Treasures Wreath' and I am just loving all that red, I know you are not surprised by that! The pattern is pre-printed on the linen - which does make life easier although I generally prefer to use the blue pen and then remove the lines. It is very cute.

If anyone still has my blog on their blog reader, I aim to be back soon to show you all the cross stitch that I have been working away on, including the 'sitting in the surgery/hospital' piece!

Thank you for stopping by today X

The Lumpfree Needleroll Stuffing Tutorial

Like my gravy, I like my Needlerolls without lumps!

If you think you would like to make a lumpfree needleroll too, this tutorial is for you :)

Shepherd's Bush Antique Heart Needle Roll

Requirement List:

***Please note that this is a hobby fill / toy fill free zone***

* your beautifully stitched needleroll

* thin batting - like used for making quilts, also called wadding

* cutting mat & rotary cutter

(If you don't have this stuff, you can easily use a tape measure, pins and scissors to get the same result.

It doesn't matter if the edges are not 100% straight and have a couple of wobbles)

* baking paper, that non-waxed, slippery stuff on a roll

* sense of humour - it does get a little fiddly at only 1 point so it helps to smile and think of how happy you will be to make a lump free needleroll, after all, you have already done all the hard work getting your needleroll to this point!

* extra pair of hands is helpful but not essential

Step 0

Tear off a small piece of baking paper, about the width of the needleroll. eg approx 8" and have it ready, near where you are working

Step 1

Measure

Measure the distance between the ribbons. When you have measured the distance, subract 1 inch. (If you are like me and have difficulties remembering things, write this measurement down now :)

Why subtract the inch? This will allow the ends of the roll to sit nicely and let you easily tie your ribbons into pretty bows when you have done with the stuffing. After you have stuffed a needleroll using this method you may even want to subtract more than one inch.

Step 2

cut a piece of batting

The measurement you need is approx 30" long and the width of your neederoll from above - Phew, lucky you wrote this down! I use a cutting mat, rotary cutter and a long ruler to do this as I have this stuff from my quilting but as I mentioned in the requirement list, you can use a tape measure, pins and scissors.

Step 3

Roll'em

Starting from one end, roll your length of batting tightly until you have a batting sausage. Make sure you take your time and get the batting as tight as you can. When you get to the end, hold the sausage tightly and place on your pre-cut piece of baking paper, still holding tightly.

Ahhh - you skipped Step 0 - you can secure the batting sausage with a couple of pins or get that extra pair of hands to hold for you while you tear off that piece of baking paper!

Step 4

Wrap it

Wrap your tightly rolled sausage in the piece of baking paper and twist the ends.

I have seen other tutorials, not sure where, that suggest that you use glad wrap - I find glad wrap VERY sticky and not very co-operative when you want to remove it from your needleroll.

Step 5

Insert

I really like this step! This is where you insert your tightly rolled and wrapped in baking paper batting sausage into your needleroll. This should be a snug fit but should wriggle into the needleroll just nicely. You can push it along with your fingers and pull it from the twist at the other end. Remember to breathe and smile, you are nearly finished :)

Troubleshooting - if the batting sausage is simply too large to insert into your needleroll and you feel you have rolled it as tightly as you can, then you may need to reduce the length of the piece of batting - I don't have a magic number for this, it will have to be trial and error and can depend on the thickness of the batting as well as the chart you have stitched.

For all the Shepherd's Bush needlerolls, I have found that 30" is pretty good.

Step 6

Removing the paper

OK - this is the fiddly part so remember to keep that smile plastered on your face :)

The paper needs to come out of your needleroll leaving the batting sausage inside.

I really like to have a helper for this part, with my helper holding the needleroll and me pulling the paper. (or the other way around) The holder needs to hold the needleroll quite firm whilst the remover needs to do a bit of a wriggle and a bit of a firm coaxing. Sometimes the paper tears, that's ok, sometimes it just comes out in one piece. But it does come out as it is slippery while the batting seems to stay put.

At this point, you may need to poke your finger into the ends of the needleroll to position the batting sausage into the right place so it sits in the middle. Try not to play too much though as you don't want to dislodge the sausage and make lumps.

Step 7

Ta-Da!

Your needleroll is stuffed - it is time to tie the ribbons into bows.

Step 8

Admire

Just very quickly....

Thanks to the people who bid on the beautiful Gingher scissor set which was won in the auction by Jeni for $161 - WOW!
I was soooooo nervous putting up this auction and nearly fell off my chair when the bidding was all finished. Just goes to show how something small can help toward something HUGE :)
As Mother Teresa said 'We can do no great things, only small things with great love.'

Queensland Flood Appeal Auction

I have a set of Gingher Scissors to auction. The 4" embroidery scissors and 8" dressmaker shears are brand new in their original packaging, never been opened & are BEAUTIFUL :)

How this auction works:

1. Bidding will start at $50 (Australian).

2. You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address. Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.

3. Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.

4. This auction is open to everyone.

5. The auction begins NOW and will END at 9am (Australian time) on Monday 24th January 2011.

6. At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment includes your email address). The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email. Once proof of payment has been received I will post your scissors to you. Postage will be paid for by me.

7. Thank you for participating and happy bidding! Your donation will make a big difference to someone.

8. If my scissors don't appeal to you, please visit Toni at Make It Perfect where there is a master list with many beautiful items on auction.

A Pleasing Plumpness (photo crazy)

A pleasing plumpness was the instruction for filling 'Merry Fifteen' which I have been stitching since before Christmas but only just finished, I couldn't pack it away with the other Christmas Ornaments tho' - I think I need to keep it on display for a little while longer. It was a bit tricky to get a decent photo due to all the different sides.

I have spent the last couple of weeks trying to finish some stitching pieces. I am pleased with myself as I now also have 2 needlerolls and 2 humbugs.

I am ashamed though, that I finished the needleroll in 2007 and all it needed was to be stuffed, why didn't I do that?

Shepherd's Bush

St Nicolas Roll * Antique Heart Roll

I have put together a little photo sequence of how I like to stuff my needlerolls - so they end up smooth and not lumpy! I will put the photos on a new post soon.

Lastly - a small Giveaway - these are individual items, you can pick & choose :)

If anyone would like the chart (plus leftover threads & beads) for

SB's St Nicolas Roll

Just Nan's Merry 15 - Chris from Chris Cross Corner

Just Nan's Lady Scarlet't Secret Garden

Just Nan's Humbug Collection 2010 - Winter Hearts & Summer Wings

(& I will send the other 2 charts when I have stitched them!)

Please leave me a comment with your email on this post and I will send it out to you, anywhere in the world :)

A gift received & A gift given

Wow - another post so soon! (cough, splutter!)

The lovely Carol stitched this lovely ornament for me for Christmas. THANK YOU CAROL for thinking of me this Christmas :)

I was lucky enough to have an extra surprise as Carol's package arrived on my birthday! Carol also enclosed a gorgeous sachet of herbal tea in a Christmas Eve Tea blend which I did drink on Christmas Eve. Carol tells me that this ornament is called Christmas Redwork by Historic Stitches. It is perfect for me and looks lovely on my red and gold decorated tree, which I still have up as our family tradition is that you don't take down the tree until the Wise Men have arrived at the stable. Not sure how they worked out that date, but according to my Dad, it is 6 January.

Carol personalised the back of the ornament which I always am grateful for as I like to remember the person who gifted me the ornament when I decorate the tree each year.

I made this bottle cap pincushion for the Kris Kringle in my Patchwork Group. I was really pleased with how this turned out and hope to make some more this year for 2011 Christmas Gifts. My recipient just loved it too so that is always nice :)

If you are interested, here is a link to the tutorial I used.

I stitched a row of running stitches along the 'vein' of the leaf to give the leaf more texture as Holly leaves are always 'wriggley'!

In the parcel I enclosed a Chocolate Truffle Pudding, I then used the fabric the puddings are sitting on to wrap the puddings, tied with a big red bow onto which I stitched a ceramic button in the shape of a pudding - forgot to take a photo :(

Good Luck

to all those embarking on the 15 new starts for 2011 Challenge - I did consider it but didn't have enough time to get myself organised. I still aim to finish 15 projects this year, most likely ones that I have already started. I am also going to try and update my blog a bit more this year which is going to be my biggest challenge. See you soon!

in sickness and in health....

Hello, if there is anyone out there who still reads my blog, hello!

It has been a difficult few months for sure with my DH's retina deciding to detach about 10 days after I had my appendix out. During that time he couldn't drive so thank goodness my DS has got his Probationary licence. The day after the surgery, our business moved and we have been frantic getting the new studio finished as well as hiring a lot of new staff.

Then, just as we thought things were coming together, on 23 Dec, the other side of John's retina started to come away. So, on Christmas Eve more surgery and now, 2-4 weeks of lying on the couch with head at 60˚ until the bubble of gas that has been injected into John's eye dissolves. (the bubble of gas is holding the retina against the eyeball - er, yuk!)

Anyhow, holiday trip cancelled but apart from tidying my stash cupboard, this means a whole heap more time to stitch, the silver lining!

I have been stitching & blog reading but not blogging - I am hoping to increase my blogging again in 2011 as I am hoping for a quieter, less exciting (!) year.

I will start with a finish - I stitched this for our friend's daughter's 2nd birthday. The original, which I saw on Katrina's blog is very blue. Ruby has 4 older brothers so I changed the colours to very girly & pink. I used DMC's from my collection and Amy sent me a pretty pink piece of linen, framed simply with a glossy white frame. I was really pleased with the result and Ruby's mum loves it :)

Sisters & Best Friends

Little Angel Birth Sampler

Here's to a Happy & Healthy 2011

Tessa x

Not really sure where to start...

Hello - I know it has been a while since I did a real post. Life seems to have moved at a hectic pace for the last couple of months so I am really not sure whether to back track or start fresh.

I guess the event that has most recently stopped me in my tracks is that I had to have my appendix removed unexpectedly about 8 days ago. It wasn't a real emergency as it hadn't burst, but it was an emergency enough in the sense that once I got to the emergency department in the hospital, I had to stay there until they removed it as it was definitely infected. I also found out that I was allergic to iodine which is the stuff they inject into you to 'contrast' when you are having a CT scan - apparently this is common with people who are also allergic to shellfish to which I have a mild allergy to cooked prawns in their shell. Lucky I was in the right place to have an allergic reaction!

The most distressing part of this whole ordeal was that an appendix only weighs 100gms - 3.5 ounces I think. LOL - it would have been a great way to lose some winter weight if it was bigger! Here is a very bad piccie of my appendix piece!

'Embroidery Guild' Little House Needleworks

I didn't stitch as much as I thought I would as I had a drip in my hand - I have also been reading my way through the Elm Creek Quilt series of books which I am reading on my iPad. (wow - never thought I would be able to read a book electronically as I adore reading books but it is great!)

This photo is proof for sure that John can cook when his wife is lying on the couch!!

Funniest thing is that John also had to go shopping and fresh ginger was on the shopping list. John didn't know you are allowed to just snap off a piece so he bought this HUGE piece of ginger - what you can see in the photo is only a small piece of it - it really hurt my stitches laughing :)

Thank you Katrina for offering to loan me your chart too, I think I found the last remaining chart in USA which is now winging its way to me.

Can anybody help me - Please, Please pretty please :)

Sisters & Best Friends Little Angel Birth Sampler

I am looking for a copy of this chart. I have pulled this picture of somebody's blog - Whose? I can't remember but loved it which is why I kept the piccie. (If this is your piccie, I apologise profusely for putting your piccie on my blog - I couldn't find a generic piccie of the chart and I really loved your finish so I hope you will forgive me)

Anyway, I would dearly love to stitch this for a friend and cannot find the chart anywhere - I have tried a few suppliers but it appears it is oop due to Sisters & Best Friends going out of business.

If you have this chart, I would be happy enough just to borrow it and will return it to you in perfect condition and will pay all costs associated with sending it to me in Australia.

Thank you so much :)