...and hello leafy Surrey. Yeah, I'm done. More importantly, I'm home, ready for a few days of crafty goodness with my mother (Dad's away for a couple of days, so she and I can dedicate more time to our various needlecrafts). And oh my god, am I exhausted. I'm also very hungry, and given that my diet has been less than perfect for the last couple of weeks, I'm more than ready to see a couple of fibrous, green vegetables. Nothing's quite settled in, though, and the thought that I'm not properly going to be in Southampton again for well over a year makes me sad. My Soton peeps, friends and teachers alike, have become a second family to me. I hope I don't miss them too much, otherwise The Sad will overtake me and... well, that's never good.
The good news is, I have a way through this - I'm going to spend most of the summer stitching! My bank account isn't too happy about this, but given the self-emposed restraining order, I won't be buying any more charts until 2014 at the earliest. There are two exceptions for this - charts that are only available to me for a limited period (SALs, things only available in Spain, rare OOP charts on eBay, etc.), and charts that are Mission 101 rewards (though my progress on that has been so negligable so far that I reckon I'll be waiting until late 2015 before I get to purchase most of those.
I do have a lot of new stuff to share, though. A couple of finishes that I couldn't show you last time for Reasons, and the umpteen bajillion things I bought that I probably didn't need, as well as the other stitchy present from my mother for my birthday. But first, exciting news!
I'm doing a SAL!!! This excites me so much that I used three exclamation marks. Yeah, after about a week of considering it, I broke and joined the Passione Ricamo Mystery SAL 2013. For non-stitchers, a stitch along, or SAL, is where a group of stichers pick a particular period or day to stich on a certain theme, piece, etc., and everyone in the group acts as motivation for everyone else. My reasoning was, I have a metric fucktonne of free time over the summer, so I've got to keep myself busy - and I love the mystery aspect of it. So, in between going back to work at one of the charity shops I worked at last summer, organising my Year Abroad and organising a 6-day choir tour to Barcelona for 25 alcohol-loving young adults, I'm hoping to make a serious dent in my out-of-control stash, whilst simultaneously working on the SAL. The DMCs have arrived, the fabric is ordered and I'm waiting to get the sparkles for a while. And I'm very excited to get started.
So, finishes! Remember my Extended Soton Family? Well, of the teachers I've had the pleasure to be taught by over the past couple of years, three really stand out. My Spanish teachers, Cristina, Marta and Paty, are three brilliant women for whom I have a huge amount of respect, are wonderful people not only without whom would I not have a hope of being prepared for next year, but have also been amazingly supportive and friendly - perhaps more so than they even know. As a sign of my gratitude, I stitched them each a card...
I'm so pleased with how they turned out, and even more so that they were well recieved. I don't often stitch things for other people (I've sewn little things for my gentleman, my sister and my mother), but I forget how nice it is to see heart-felt appreciation for handmade creations. I was originally skeptical about whether I liked the patterns or not, but it's easy to forget how much things come to life when they're not just a chart, and I really like how alike yet different they are.
Now, for the stash. Just pictures and captions for this bit, cos there's a lot of it...
The good news is, I have a way through this - I'm going to spend most of the summer stitching! My bank account isn't too happy about this, but given the self-emposed restraining order, I won't be buying any more charts until 2014 at the earliest. There are two exceptions for this - charts that are only available to me for a limited period (SALs, things only available in Spain, rare OOP charts on eBay, etc.), and charts that are Mission 101 rewards (though my progress on that has been so negligable so far that I reckon I'll be waiting until late 2015 before I get to purchase most of those.
I do have a lot of new stuff to share, though. A couple of finishes that I couldn't show you last time for Reasons, and the umpteen bajillion things I bought that I probably didn't need, as well as the other stitchy present from my mother for my birthday. But first, exciting news!
I'm doing a SAL!!! This excites me so much that I used three exclamation marks. Yeah, after about a week of considering it, I broke and joined the Passione Ricamo Mystery SAL 2013. For non-stitchers, a stitch along, or SAL, is where a group of stichers pick a particular period or day to stich on a certain theme, piece, etc., and everyone in the group acts as motivation for everyone else. My reasoning was, I have a metric fucktonne of free time over the summer, so I've got to keep myself busy - and I love the mystery aspect of it. So, in between going back to work at one of the charity shops I worked at last summer, organising my Year Abroad and organising a 6-day choir tour to Barcelona for 25 alcohol-loving young adults, I'm hoping to make a serious dent in my out-of-control stash, whilst simultaneously working on the SAL. The DMCs have arrived, the fabric is ordered and I'm waiting to get the sparkles for a while. And I'm very excited to get started.
So, finishes! Remember my Extended Soton Family? Well, of the teachers I've had the pleasure to be taught by over the past couple of years, three really stand out. My Spanish teachers, Cristina, Marta and Paty, are three brilliant women for whom I have a huge amount of respect, are wonderful people not only without whom would I not have a hope of being prepared for next year, but have also been amazingly supportive and friendly - perhaps more so than they even know. As a sign of my gratitude, I stitched them each a card...
I'm so pleased with how they turned out, and even more so that they were well recieved. I don't often stitch things for other people (I've sewn little things for my gentleman, my sister and my mother), but I forget how nice it is to see heart-felt appreciation for handmade creations. I was originally skeptical about whether I liked the patterns or not, but it's easy to forget how much things come to life when they're not just a chart, and I really like how alike yet different they are.
Now, for the stash. Just pictures and captions for this bit, cos there's a lot of it...
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| Basilica Santa Maria by Anchor |
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| Birds of a Feather by Dimensions |
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| Garden Beauty by Mirabilia |
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| Waiting for Ships by Mirabilia |
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| QS Wizard of Oz by HAED |
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| Love Potion #9 by Ruby Slipper Designs |
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| Night Train by Janlynn |
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| Fantasy Fairy by HAED |
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| Clematis Bookmark by Textile Heritage (birthday present) |
Last but definitely not least, I came home to find I'd recieved a wonderful package from Catherine, who made everyone who'd entered her giveaway a winner!
Isn't it lovely? The colour isn't captured very well, but the fabric is a beautiful sage-like colour called "Water Lily" and the thread is "Faded Teal". Now I just need to work out a design to use them on - I love them both! The needle in the middle is just too beautiful to use, especially since I move around quite a bit at the moment and I don't want to risk losing it, so I'm going to see if I can work it into a piece. The generosity of the stitching world never fails to amaze me - thank you, Catherine!
That's it for now, but I'll be back with updates for H very soon and a couple of items for which I'm still waiting, so don't forget to subscribe over theeeeeere >>> or just keep your eyes out!
Happy stitching!
Heather xx
Lovely stash and the cards are really pretty.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy crafting with your mum.