Tag Archives: stash

Stuff 1 & Stuff 2

(Aka a-very-boring-blog-post)

Stuff 1
My order arrived a few days back, and the bits I couldn’t remember were a couple of Elizabeth’s Designs charts: Red Door and Nature’s Alphabet. Nice! I saw Junette’s finished Nature’s Alphabet ages ago, and liked it then, but when I saw Carol’s finished fobs (here, here, here… and more…), I was completely sold. So pretty!

Stuff 2
It appears Niamh suddenly prefers bottle to boob at bedtime. I am simultaneously saddened yet relieved it wasn’t difficult. Only snuggly-in-bed-morning-feeds left now, and who knows how few of those to go 🙁

Inspiration, Celebration

Well lookie here. My wee biscornus got a little spot on the Focus on Finishing blog. Thanks Karen! Glad I could provide some inspiration – I’ve been feeling a little short of that myself lately.

In order to try getting myself inspired to stitch again, I’ve been going through my stash and weeding out some of what I don’t need. I’m not fully organised yet, but I’ve been doing some ebaying and Freecycling, and in the next couple of days, I’ll post a few more things I have for sale but can’t be bothered ebaying up on the blog, so keep your eyes out.

While looking back into my archives for the details on the car story, I realised that in May this year, I missed the second anniversary of my blog’s birth. So, uh, Happy 2-years-2-months-and-a-bit Blogiversary to me! Since I missed that celebration, I’m going to celebrate the 1000th comment on this blog instead. I’m going to start putting together a little something for the person who leaves the 1000th comment on Million Stitches… but I’m not going to tell you how close we are to that milestone yet! I assure you, it’s at least a handful of posts away, and given my recent post frequency, it could take some time to get there. Or not. We shall see :giggle:

The Question Is…

One of the things which contributed to my Very Bad Day yesterday, was a trip into uni to pick up some student submissions for marking. Ten minutes after picking them up, Finn spilled water all over the back seat of the car, and the papers. Aaargh. They weren’t harmed much, so unfortunately I still have to mark them. Damn :giggle:

This whole thing, this marking, has been an experience I’d rather not repeat. We refer to it here as ‘my volunteer work’, due to the pittance which I am paid (the hourly rate is actually perfectly satisfactory. The problem stems from the unreasonable and unattainable time limit which is imposed on us to mark each assignment – regardless of how long it actually takes, we are paid only for the given amount of time). But, you know, volunteer work is supposed to be enriching and valuable in other ways, right? Ha.

Anyway, I decided early on that to make myself feel better, I would spend what I earned on stash. Technically this order came from some of my earnings. So now… the question is. What do I go and blow the rest on? A Silkweaver’s Trick or Treat bag? 25% off ‘almost everything’ at the SB&B Ooky Spooky sale? Any other sales on I should know about?

In other uni news, I decided officially today that paying through the teeth to wear a mortarboard and gown and sit through the endless hours of boring drivel that comprise Graduation, is not for me (again). I’m having my degree conferred in absentia. It should arrive sometime next month 🙂

Stream of (Un)consciousness

I don’t really know how much I like the new Mirabilia mermaid. I’ll happily wait until seeing some WIPs before I decide completely, but she seems kind of… shapeless, to me. The colours and swirly bits look nice, I guess.

Anyway, it’s not like I need another addition to my wishlist! More stashy mail arrived yesterday – I was completely unable to resist the lure of a 60% off closing down sale at Stitched from the Heart. Along with some Antique White Quaker and Cashel to add to my dyeing stash, I picked up Teenie Tweenies Vintage Grapes and Baby bluebells fob and The Drawn Thread Autumn Arbor. I’m thinking it might be time for another trip to the Wagon soon 😳

I’ve truncated my blog feeds. Just in case you were wondering. You probably weren’t. It’s related to the Bitacle saga, reading about which has taken up too much of my evening. I have yet to make further moves to block Bitacle from my content, but I’m too tired to think about it right now.

And on a related note, I’m definitely now switching from my current feed reader (Sage) to Google Reader. I tried Google Reader only a couple of weeks ago, and wasn’t that happy with the interface, and it seemed a little buggy (not picking up updates from all my subscribed feeds, for example). But I had another look tonight, and it seems they’ve had a nice little makeover, which makes me happy.

That is all 🙂

Sparklies & Beads & Threads, Oh My!

Wow – a day before my birthday, and I’ve already had an international happy birthday phone call, a birthday cheque in the mail, and a big stash order arrival! Yippee. I’ve been waiting on this one for a long time. Some of the Mill Hill treasures were backordered for ages. Anyway, the goodness was extensive when it finally arrived:

Stash!
Stash!
Stash!
Stash!
Stash!

Whew! I’m exhausted after all that, aren’t you?!

PS. I totally didn’t realise I was getting a rainbow of WDWs – I just ordered a bunch that I needed for various charts – it made my heart smile when I pulled them all out of the package today.

Missing: One Parcel

Found: One Grumpy Me.

Until now, I have only had one parcel get ‘lost’ in the post. And if truth be told, in that case I have no definitive proof that one was ever actually posted… but it was of somewhat low value, so I let it slide. I was a bit miffed, but what could I do?

This time, however, I’m cranky. A parcel (of not exactly low value) from Stitching Bits and Bobs has gone ‘missing’ in between there and here. The worst thing? It’s not even full of stash for me… it’s for my Secret Stitcher victim. So it not only has to get here, it then has to be packaged up with some other stuff I have for her, then sent back to the US to my remailer, and then mailed from the remailer to my victim. So time is somewhat of the essence, y’know?!

Having given it two weeks now (this is a Global Priority parcel, which is supposed to take 4-7 days), I realise now that I’m going to have to make alternative arrangements, at least for the March mailing. Which means more paying local prices, which does not make me happy. Grrrr.

In a case of Bad news, Good news, though, the stash gremlins did decide to release to me the threads I was missing for Mermaids of the Deep Blue, and the still-don’t-know-what-they’re-for red crystals. I didn’t start MotDB in the end though – I haven’t made a working copy yet, so in the end my Lilly conversion won out, and I stitched a pink blob last night. It’s a bit too pink, I’m thinking, but the simple fact is that DMC don’t cater to my taste in burgundy 🙁 I’ll stitch some more before I decide whether it gets a complete overhaul… it could yet turn out to be quite pretty… and it’s not yellow, so that’s a definite improvement :giggle:

Burn, Wagon, Burn!

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
You know, what sustained me while I was ‘abstinent’, was photographs like these on other people’s blogs. I’m such a voyeur! Now I get to show off my own :giggle:

Stash1Stash2Stash3

The fabric beneath the goodies in the first picture is 28-count ‘Babbling Brook’ hand-dyed Jobelan from Witchelt. It was a spur of the moment purchase because it was so inexpensive. I didn’t know how it would be, but was sure I could find a use for it. It turns out to be quite lovely for Mermaids of the Deep Blue (top-right in the same picture). The beads and Kreiniks in that pic are for kitting up that chart. The floss is courtesy of a lovely Floss Fairy in the States – Jane went shopping for me and bought these at 8/US$1 😆

The metal finishing form is just because I’ve been wanting to try these for a while. The zip-up mesh bag is for storing WIPs in – I love these! And all of the charts had been on my wishlist. Actually, one of the things I really liked about being on the wagon was that I had time to decide whether I really liked a chart once it went on my list. I was continually refining the list, and even when I went to order, I asked myself which charts I really wanted the most.

And yes, I did have a huge splurge to end my stay on the wagon (what with fabrics from Country Stitch and Silkweaver still to arrive). But I don’t intend to continue spending at that rate, that’s for sure. I have signed up for a monthly club (fibers and beads) from SB&B, which will help me to slowly kit up various projects which are waiting in the wings, but which is a relatively small amount of money each month. For the rest, I intend to give myself goal-based rewards – meaning specifically I’m going to try not to buy charts or fabric until such time as I actually finish something! Preferably a medium to large something (which doesn’t happen all that often, as we all know). That’s going to exclude fabric for dyeing though – I’m itching to get dyeing again, both clothing and fabric, as soon as I finish off this final unit at school.

That’s all folks. As I head off to try and catch some sleep, at 10.ish pm, it is still about 30 degrees (86F) here. Tomorrow is supposed to be 43 in the city – it’s generally a degree or two higher where we are, so don’t expect big things from me. Maybe I’ll have a half-arsed attempt at that meme Laura tagged me for?

Sulking

One hundred and thirty one days until I can buy stash again, announces my sidebar cheerfully. And I pout, and grumble some more 😥 Everyone who is anyone on the stitching BBs has just returned from Nashville CATS (= big stitching show in the US) bearing mountains of new stash. And I want some.

This always happens when I’m not stitching. Pre-Wagon, I would indulge my slump-induced desire for new stash and shop all my favourite ONSs until my credit card begged for mercy. Well, perhaps I exaggerate just a wee bit, but that’s the general idea. Nowadays, however, my blog tells me I cannot, and the serious size of the mortgage we are about to become intimate with tells me I cannot. So my clicky-finger is itching, and I just can’t take reading about the Nashville stash-orgy any more, dagnammit!

I really need to be stitching again, and I’ll get over the yearning to shop. But I’m not stitching, because if I do, I’ll get the guilts because I should be studying. But I’m not studying either, because… well, there is no because. Simply that I am the World’s Best Procrastinator. Aaargh!

I’m also very antsy and impatient to settle on our house, so that it all starts feeling a little more tangible and a lot less like a dream. I want to paint walls… and tear down a different wall… and plant vegetables… and hang out in my own backyard watching Finn ride his trike…

Off to put our settlement date into my sidebar countdown, to distract myself from the not-allowed-to-shop situation. I so deserve to win the Queen of the Wagon challenge, with all the pain this is causing me!

Under 200!

199 days to go until I can buy stash again! I was going to write about this yesterday, when it was 200 days, but I decided clocking down to 199, and thereby being ‘under 200′ was more exciting.

So for my non-stitching friends… what on earth am I going on about? Well, stash is all the cross stitch supplies (charts, fabric, fibers, beads…) that we stitchers seem to accumulate, especially when we are collectors and hoarders, like me. Going ‘on the wagon’ is taking some time out from buying any more stash, for whatever reason (though some participants have small ‘exceptions’ they are allowed to purchase). The Wagon BB is a great place for support while on said wagon, as well as a great place for general and stitchy chat. Earlier this year I decided to join in the big challenge – a group of us are on the wagon for the rest of the year. It’s the ‘Queen [or King] of The Wagon’ challenge. There’s a prize pool in it for the last one standing. So, why am I on the wagon?

Reason #1: We would love to buy a house. Our available house-hunting time is severely stunted by my studies, but at least we need to be getting that deposit up as high (and our other debts as low) as possible. It’s kind of depressing watching suburban house prices drift out of our reach.

Reason #2: This is the first time since I left uni (the first time) that I’ve had no income whatsoever. Since Finn was born, I haven’t worked full time, but I have had a small amount of part-time employment up until the end of last year. I decided not to do any sessional teaching this year, my own study load promised to be difficult enough (and has lived up to that promise). While we do completely share our finances, and jointly made the decision that I would be an at-home parent, I feel I should limit my frivolous spending for now.

Reason #3: I spend when I’m stressed. And this year, I’m stressed. I needed to do this or else who knows what my stash might have grown into! Besides which, the stressors of my life leave me little time to stitch what I already have, so it’s a bit crazy adding to the pile (even though it is oh-so-satisfying getting parcels full of pretty shiny things)!

Reason #4: I’m doing it to prove that I can!

So far, I’ve managed to stay on for 110 days. All I’ve purchased in that time is a few beads and things which were officially ordered pre-wagon-challenge, and some others which I had to facilitate the purchase of, but which technically OtherHalf bought, and I’m not receiving until my birthday. All officially okayed by the powers that be at The Wagon.

But I can tell you… I’ve already started planning for January 1st. It will be a spectacular leap off the wagon when the time comes, you just wait!

Stash Saturation Point

As I have every month since I discovered Hoffman’s, I checked the new releases the other day. I am happy to report that there was nothing added to my wishlist! Well, technically, I added Dimple Designs’ Ladybug and Bee collections, but I added those a few days earlier, when I saw them on the new Dimples’ website. I didn’t add the new Mirabilia to my list, or the new L&L, Celtic Winter. Even the new Elizabeth’s Designs selection didn’t really appeal, and she’s usually a favourite of mine.

Happily, this has been the case of the last few months. I think the serious stash explosion of 2003 and 2004 has brought me close to stash saturation point. I still do have a sizeable wishlist though, and being “on the wagon” for most of 2005 will probably cause it to grow into quite the shopping list for January 😆 But I think really I’m pretty happy with what I’ve accumulated.

Well… that’s the story of my charts, anyway! Fabric is a whole ‘nother story…definitely an area of my stash that needs some work :giggle: