Chess Tournament

My youngest son, who's in grade 5, entered the inter school grade 6 chess tournament which was held yesterday. There were only 4 schools represented and his school came 3rd. I think he played 7 matches and won 5, several of them in some sort of "4 move checkmate". He was very pleased with his results, as he was the best player from his school, and he came 4th overall out of 30 kids. He did get a"distinction" certificate saying he was in the top 10% of the region - not sure how 4th out of 30 is in the top 10% but hey, it's chess not maths! This is the first medal that he didn't win through karate.

We went to Fiji!

How could I forget the most exciting news of all? We recently spent 5 days on Plantation Island in Fiji, with a night on the mainland either side. It was very relaxing as we didn't try and cram too much in which is often what we do on holidays. Sadly the food wasn't very nice and I even managed to LOSE weight while away! However the rest of the trip was great. We swam, snorkelled (off shore and on a couple of boat trips), kayaked, took a banana boat ride, lay in hammocks, had a massage, got my hair braided, took an island hopping tour and visited an island village.

Lookout at Mana Island

View from our room

Sunset on Plantation Island

Plantation Island

Fish off the pier at Plantation Island

Our room

Cocktails by the pool

The new extreme sport of hammocking

Perfection on Turtle Island

I'm Baaaccckkk!

I seem to have dropped off the face of the earth lately. I've had so much to do that blogging and cross stitching haven't featured in my life for ages. Let's see, a quick run down of what's been going on in my life:

DS had another small karate tournament where he met the number 1 kid in the final and lost to take home 2nd place in kata. Kumite he lost out first round to a stronger boy again. Then came nationals which were quite disappointing for him. He had placed 4th in the last 2 nationals in kata, but got a strong draw and lost first round this time. In kumite he also got a stronger opponent first round but managed to keep the score at 0-2 which was by no means a massive loss.

We have had our first calisthenics competition for the year and our results were also not what I was hoping for. Our next one is next weekend so hopefully we can improve.

I picked up a needle again for the first time since May, yes May, and finished a Christmas ornament I had been working on for my kids. I don't know any of the details of where it came from, but here he is anyway:

All Quiet On The Blogging Front

Up until recently I have been super busy, so much so that it feels like I've been taking one step forward, two steps back. Many things have been brushed to the side, blogging included. However, things have slowed down a little and I can now share some karate news. As you may know, my son missed the compulsory tournament for state team selection due to illness. Not the best start to the year! However, he has since entered 3 tournaments and done incredibly well in them all.

The first one had a massive 21 in kata and 18 in kumite. He did really well in kata, taking out 2nd place. The boy who won is stronger, in fact I don't think DS has ever gotten a flag against him. Kumite was not so great,  just losing out first round.

The second tournament was interesting because it was girls and boys for kata, and the boy who won the prior tournament wasn't there. There was also a $50 cash prize on the line as well as a medal, so extra incentive. DS took on the challenge and won! Kumite he came up against the finalist in the first round and lost, he is a year older, very strong and a state team member.

The final tournament was interesting for different reasons. The boy who beat DS at the first tournament was there again, and on the same side of the draw as DS in kata, meaning only one of them could make the final. They met in the 3rd round, and much to his surprise, DS won 2 flags to 1!! I think he is still on cloud nine :-). He went on to win again, against the same boy as the last tournament. This was the same boy he met first round in kumite last time, and surprise, surprise, they came up against each other first round in kumite again. That boy went on to win the tournament.

All 3 tournaments were 10 & 11 year olds combined for both kata and kumite, where as the major tournaments are single age for kumite. In all 3 tournaments, and across both disciplines, DS was the only 10 year old to be amongst the medalists! So his kata tally for this year, out of 3 tournaments, is two 1sts and a 2nd.

Oh, and the state team was announced and he has made both the kata and kumite teams! Not doing the state titles has cost him as far as placement of positions goes, but he is on the team nonetheless! He gets his team tracksuit this weekend which he is excited about.

Weekend In Warrnambool

Lady Bay Resort

Just because we had a free weekend & felt the need for a break, we headed to Warrnambool. I picked up the kids from school, then hubby from work & we hit the road, getting there in time for dinner. After dinner we headed back to the room to enjoy the spa before heading to bed for the night.

"Picture perfect" view

We were a little disappointed in the accommodation, only because of the price we paid and the fact it was advertised as 4 1/2 stars. The towel rail fell off the minute I touched it, the toilet had trouble flushing, the supplies were basic - no breakfast spreads, no shower cap, just milk in the fridge, no electric blanket - and the room boasted "a picture perfect" view of the ocean.

Penthouse view

Don't get me wrong, the room was fine, just not any better than any of the 3-4 star places we'd stayed before. Anyway, we ended up being upgraded to their best penthouse suite, which had much nicer views and was huge, the kids got a bedroom each - which of course meant fighting over who got the double bed! It was still missing those little extras, but it felt better quality and more like 4 1/2 stars. We also got 2 full bathrooms, 2 TVs, 2 spas and one large wrap around balcony.

Penthouse view

Saturday we headed out for breakfast and explored Lake Pertobe - we had a go at the flying fox and paddle boats. From there we had a quick lunch, went to the lookout at Cannon Hill and then back to the resort for a swim and spa in the heated pool. Dinner was a yummy Indian meal, then back to the suite for some relaxation and free wi-fi!

Lake Pertobe

Sunday we tried the buffet breakfast before exploring the foreshore then headed to the extinct volcano at Tower Lake reserve. We spotted free range koalas, emus & a wallaby we got close to - about 1 metre away. A few more lookouts, then on to Port Campbell to check out the cove there. Then it was on to the "Bay of Islands" coastal park to see the rock formations before heading back, with a Pizza Hut buffet for dinner. 

Wallaby at Tower Hill Reserve

The weather forecast was possible showers for both days, but turned out pretty perfect. Saturday was mostly sunny and 25, with some rain after dinner when we were in our room. Sunday was a little overcast and we got about 6 drops of rain on us at one lookout. It got to about 21.

Port Campbell

"The Arch" Port Campbell

"bay of Islands" Coastal Park
at Peterborough

Some WIP Pics

Started on Feb 18th

I know I've shown a few small finishes lately, but my larger WIPs have not been totally neglected. I am working on the "L" for my

Started on Oct 9th 

mum - hopefully, maybe,
probably not for Mother's
day in about a month. The
"Hot Sunny Days" one is
for me, it reminds me of our
cruise around the Sth Pacific.

Stash Blowout

I recently heard about a massive sale on Imaginating charts at Colours Down Under - they were going for just $1 each! In fact, the sale is currently still on if you're interested. I bought 10 charts, and with $6.35 shipping, I paid a whopping $16.35. Bargain! I calculated the original price of all the charts and it came to $87.35, a saving of $77.35. Can't blame me for buying up big, can you?

Another Christmas Finish - At Easter!

Well, why not? The theme for April on the "Christmas All Year" blog is snowflakes, so I've cheated a little and made a snowflake tree, the same one I did when the theme was Christmas trees! This nwill be for one of my boys. 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 a red sulky thread.
• Stitch count is 62 x 43
• Started & Completed on April 3rd 2012.

More Christmas Finishes

Thanks to the "Christmas All Year" blog, I've been working my way through some Christmas cross stitch finishes. March was free choice, so I decided on a small freebie that I stitched twice, one for each of my boys. Here they are:

The design is a freebie that was sent to newsletter subscribers of San Man Originals. I stitched it on 28 count white opalescent evenweave and used white DMC, red & green sulky thread.

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.