A Meaningful Cross Stitch Finish

Earlier this year, through Angie of Linen Flower designs, I heard about a little boy named Eli. He was fighting the horrible disease that is neuroblastoma, a form of cancer. Angie designed a lovely cross stitch chart as a fundraising effort for his family.  I purchased one and although the design was lovely, I didn't know if I would ever stitch it as I wasn't sure what to do with it once completed. I started thinking (a dangerous thing, I know) and approached Angie with the idea of stitching it as a memorial piece for Eli's parents, as sadly he passed away shortly after the fundraising effort.

Angie & I emailed back and forth with ideas, and she adapted the design to suit a little more and I got started. Purple was Eli's favourite colour so I stitched it in a few different shades and sent it off to Angie. It is currently in her creative hands, awaiting her finishing skills - of which I have less than zero! It's not a good quality photo, but here's my efforts:

You can't really tell, but it's stitched over 2 on white 25 count evenweave, with DMC 333 for the border and darker wording, DMC 208 for the lighter wording & 1 strand of DMC 554 for the hearts.

The wording reads:
"You fill heaven with sunshine as you did our home. You have shown bravely what courage means in the face of trials. You brought joy and meaning to us as we cared for you. We will hold you in our hearts and minds until we see you again. Elijah Horn 2004-2012. We love you."

FYI - This was the original fundraising design:

Bargain Imaginating Charts

Colours Down Under are having an impressive April sale. All 6 pages of Imaginating charts are a whole $1 each. I bought 10, and would have bought more if several of them weren't out of stock. Shipping was reasonable too at $6.35. I bought the following:

CODE Product Amount Unit price Subtotal IMA-1904 Imaginating - Snowmen Gathering 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-1990 Imaginating - Cardinal Blessings 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-1991 Imaginating - Fun-Loving Fellows 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2560 Imaginating - Stacking Snowmen 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2559 Imaginating - Snow Babies 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2570 Imaginating - Jolly Snowmen 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2616 Imaginating - Another Day In Paradise 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2655 Imaginating - Music is Love 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2699 Imaginating - Keep Friends Close At Christmas 1 $1.00 $1.00  IMA-2704 Imaginating - Holiday Tweet Hearts 1 $1.00 $1.00

 

Not sure if/when I'll get around to stitching them, but who can pass them up at only $1? That is such a bargain for us Aussies.

Time For A Stitchy Post

It seems ages since I've posted anything cross stitch related, so here's a WIP pic of my current project. This is what I've done since Feb 18th.

And this is what it will eventually look like. I am thinking of getting a plain wooden frame and have it jut right up to the stitching. Then I can see about painting the frame so it looks like the sky, sand, sea and table are extending out past the picture. I can even glue some small shells on the sand too. It looks great in my head!

A Sick & Disappointing Weekend

Well, this time of year I should be reporting on how the Victorian State Karate Championships went, but unfortunately for DS, they didn't go at all. It is a compulsory event for state team selection, so he really wanted to go as he was concerned about not making the team if he didn't attend. He has also won the kata division every year he has been eligible to enter (2 years), so was keen to try for 3 titles in a row.

Sadly, he has been sick for about 10 days with what seemed like a cold. He had a nasty cough which we got antibiotics for, but then on the eve of the tournament he vomited. He really wants to make the team, so we decided to go and see how he felt when it was time for his event. However, a few officials didn't want us there and so we left after filling out a medical exemption form, taking a trip via the doctor on the way home to get a medical certificate.

He is still concerned about his chances. The selectors take 6 for the state team in each event. 1st & 2nd place automatically make the team (he was hoping to be one of these) and I heard a rumour that the 2 3rd place getters earn a spot too. That leaves 2 places. In each of his 2 events there are potentially 13 & 16 kids trying out, many of them new and several a year older as he is the bottom age. I'm not sure what happens now - if these same rules apply or not. Time will tell I guess.

Oh, and now his brother is sick too! So far, so good - hubby & I have managed to avoid it so far. Fingers crossed!

A new WIP

I needed a little break from all that green on green for the letter L project, so I've started another design. This one is a summery scene that reminds me of our recent cruise around the South Pacific. So far I have only done 20 rows of one shade of blue, so not much variation from green on green! I started it on February 18th. Here's what it will look like, eventually:

A Christmas finish in February

Why not? This is was stitched as part of the "ornament-a-year" I plan on stitching for each of my two boys. One was born in 1997, the other 2002 and I only started this project last month. I have been meaning to do it for ages but now I've started hopefully I won't look back. I've now stitched them 2 each, so I only have 21 left to stitch until I've caught up, hence the stitching of Christmas ornaments in February! I also joined a "Christmas all year" stitch-along to help me stay on track. This months theme was Christmas trees, I managed to stuff mine up a little bit, but made it work as I went along. Here it is:

• Name of the design is "Sapin Numero 4". I added the trunk myself.
• Chart is a freebie from this blog.
• Fabric is 32 count white opalescent evenweave.
• Thread is DMC cotton.
• Stitch count is 54 x 69
• Started on February 8th 2012.
• Completed on February 15th 2012.

Our cat was bitten by a snake!

It's been pretty quiet on the blogging front for the last few weeks, but I have been busy stitching but most importantly I have been dealing with a sick cat.

I wasn't home Monday night, but the boys didn't notice anything wrong with him. Tuesday morning he didn't come when called and I found him lying down not looking himself and drooling. I kept an eye on him but he didn't improve so Wednesday I took him to the vet. The vet wasn't sure what was wrong but she did an x-ray which came back clear and some bloodwork. The test for snakebite didn't work properly at the clinic so they sent it away and it came back as positive. Whatever they tested for should have been <300 but Jazz's results were over 33,000!

We then went through the options for treatment, getting progressively more expensive as his odds for survival went up. At best he stood about a 70% chance of making it. We decided to give him the mixed anti-venom as we couldn't be sure if it was a brown or tiger snake - both of which have been sighted on our property. He spent Thursday getting the anti-venom and he did pick up Thursday night and then again Friday. I took the kids for a visit Friday night and was shocked and surprised when the vet said I could take him home! He gave me some prescription food and showed me how to water it down and syringe it into the back of his throat, as Jazz's swallowing was still difficult.

Fast forward to today - Sunday, and he came into the kitchen when he smelt bacon. I gave him some bacon to lick at but he surprised me by eating it, quickly followed by some cheese and then 2 small plates of real cat food. He's yet to poo since Monday, but now he's back to eating real food it should happen soon.

Whew - that's an adventure I don't want to repeat! He will hopefully be more wary of snakes now, if and when he wants to go outside again.

Another Ornament Finish

My 3rd of the year. This will also be for one of my boys, that's why it's backdated. I'm playing catch up! Here it is:

• Name of the design is "Jingle Bells".
• Chart is from the booklet titled "Ornaments Galore vol 2" by Ursula Michaels for Leisure Arts.
• Fabric is 32 count white opalescent evenweave.
• Thread is DMC cotton.
• Stitch count is 58 x 50.
• Started on January 10th 2012.
• Completed on January 23rd 2012.

Just turned 10 year olds and microwaves do not mix

The other day I spotted my son with cooking chocolate in the kitchen and asked what he was doing - "Nothing". I asked if he needed help - "Nope". Stupidly I went about my business and got sidetracked, as you do. Some time later (5.16 minutes precisely - thanks to my dibber-dobber mathematically gifted other son) there was a commotion as "chocolate son" remembered he was using the microwave. The enticing aroma of burnt chocolate/melted plastic - accompanied by a smoky haze  - greeted us when we opened the microwave. Did I mention he put it on high too? He was hoping to make chocolate ninjas - I'd bought him some cookie cutters (apparently interchangable for chocolate moulds) in the shape of karate ninjas for his birthday.

Note to self: Fully supervise kids around the microwave. And find some safe holiday activities for them :-)

Andrea's AWOL - so we have a new winner!

I searched in vain for a way to contact Andrea, so her loss is your gain. Well at least for Chars, who is now the lucky winner! Congrats, enjoy your kit and threads.

Andrea, Andrea, where for art thou Andrea?

Andrea, you were the lucky winner of my blogoversary contest, but I can't find a way to contact you. Can you please email me at jakt70 at gmail dot com or leave your details in a comment? If I don't hear back from you soon I may have to do a re-draw for the kit and floss.

My second finish of 2012

Thanks to the Christmas ornament SAL I've joined, I've completed another one to go to the kids. (that's why I backdated it to 2011). Not sure what I'll stitch next, maybe another quick ornament. I have 3 weeks before February starts and I can stitch a Christmas tree, which is the theme for February. Here's the ornament:

Here's the details:

• Name of the design is "Christmas bear"
• Chart is from a booklet titled "101 Bears with Personality" by Lynn Busa, for Leisure Arts
• Fabric is 32 count white opalescent evenweave.
• Thread is DMC cotton.
• Stitch count is 42 x 41.
• Started on January 6th 2012.
• Completed on Januray 9th 2012.

Blogoversary contest winners

I used a random number generator to choose the winners, and they are as follows:

• 1st prize of the kit & 5 skeins of DMC cotton goes to Andrea.
• 2nd prize of the leaflet and 5 skeins of floss goes to Grannystitches.
• 3rd prize of a piece of aida or evenweave plus 3 skeins of floss goes to Blueladie

 Congratulations to the winners and thanks everyone for entering. I have contact details for Grannystitches & Blueladie, but can't find a way to contact you Andrea, could you please email me at jakt70 at gmail dot com?

First Finish of 2012

This is going to be an ornament, with red seed beads for berries, when they come in the mail. I know the date says 2011, but there's a reason for that. I wanted to stitch my kids an ornament each year to put away for them, to be presented when they move out or marry. However, my kids are 14 and almost 10 and I have not yet started on my grand scheme. Therefore this will be #1 of the 23 I need to catch up and be on track.

On a side note, I joined an exchange blog in 2011 and participated in my first exchange there. Through that, I've now signed up for an ornament SAL (Stitch-A-Long) to help keep me on track. Each month there is a theme, with a few free choices thrown in. January's theme is Santa, so my next project will be the Santa Bear from "101 Bears with Personality", a great go-to book for cute ornament or card designs.

Here's the reindeer:

• Name of the design is Merry Christmas to all.
• Chart is a free design from Vee & co, found on her blog.
• Fabric is 32 count white opalescent evenweave.
• Thread is DMC cotton .
• Stitch count is 38 x 43.  
• Started on January 3rd 2012.
• Completed on January 6th 2012.  

It's my Blog-O-Versary

And I'm turning 3! To celebrate I'm having a contest with 3 stitching prizes. It started 3 days before my blogoversary and will end 3 days after. Check out the post (below) to find out how to enter, and good luck!