Stitching Progress on Wiehenburg Heart

Hello Again :)

Got two more progress photos to show you of the work I have done on the Weihenburg Heart.

The first photo is Friday nights stitching effort & the second photo is Saturday nights stitching effort.



I am really happy with the progress I have made & I cannot wait to finish this one & start working on the 2009 design.



Back at university this week, only problem is we've had a few email issues at home & I suspect that uni is experiencing the same challenges - as they haven't sent us this weeks work update.

Never mind - I'll just have to make sure that I log on bright & early Tuesday morning, so that I don't fall behind.

I've had a busy day today, running errands, washing, dealing with our email problems & I have Tai Chi tonight - it will be a nice way to end today.

The weekend was also busy - I started Saturday morning as normal with Tai Chi training & then teaching. After that hubby & I ran an errand or two & did have plans to go out for coffee but we needed to go home to drop off my set of house keys to Nic [he left them at the mechanics on Friday] - only problem was that once we got home I fell asleep on the lounge for a few hours; so I spent Saturday evening stitching into the wee small hours.

Sunday morning I slept in, luckily we got to the markets just in time to pick up all the fruit & vegetables we need for the week. We even found a new stall that sells pre-made Japanese Curry Sauce - it was more spicey than hot & we took home a packet of the sauce to use for dinner later this week :)

We spent the afternoon visiting my parents & uncle - Mum & Dad are going to Europe for 10 weeks later this year - lucky things! Can you believe that Mum is already making plans for who needs to do what while they are away ... typical mother, we can never be too organised can we - lol!

Speaking of which, I think I might have to start planning my 'shopping list' for the trip - how exciting!

Until next time, take care & stay safe.

Ciao
Mish :)

Stitchng & Uni Holidays

I am really enjoying my university holidays - even if its is only for one week. I'm using the time to re-organise the house & do lots of stitching :)


I took two projects away with me to Tenterfield but unfortunately did not have a good enough light source to do much work in the evenings on either of them.


I am still working on the baby sampler gift but I did get some work done on Valentine Heart 2008 pattern from Kristine Herber at Dragonfly Stitches. Thankfully, I was able to finish off the project last night [photo below].

I did have to frog [undo] most of the left side border stitching as I had mis-counted the placement of these stitches & did not realise until I got to the bottom - argh!


The design is only 53 x 53 stitches in size - so not that large & the fabric is 28 count natural linen - so it was a fairly easy project to stitch.

Next time we go away I'm either going to take a portable stitching light with me or not take any stitching with me at all - problem with option 1 is that a portable light from Spotlight is $129.00 - ouch! Might have to wait a little while for this little splurge.


I also started working on the Wiehenburg Heart sampler last night - yeah!


I only got in 90 minutes of stitching time but because I am using one colour & because I use both methods of creating the stitches my progress was more than I expected.

Being a self taught stitcher, I do not let myself get up with the 'rules' of stitching. Yes I know this will probably shock more than a few stitchers but I find that this works to my advantage at times, as I am willing to try new ideas for creating unusual projects.

The only challenge I am having with this project is the fabric; the edges were not overlocked & I had to pull out the cut threads so that I had an even edge to start working from; regardless of this I am really enjoying this project.

I have no idea what I am going to do with the piece when it is finished - it is not suitable for a pillow & I'm not sure where in the house I could hang it; so I'm rather stuck for ideas.

I would love to hear any of your suggestions :)

Going to spend today stitching, reading, visiting the library & our local art gallery - fun :)

Until next time, take care.

Ciao
Mish :)

Food & Uni Work

I’m at home today trying to catch up on uni work for Language & Learning & one other subject. It’s raining here on the Gold Coast & the temperature has dropped somewhat, so I decided it would be the perfect day to cook roast vegetables.


You see, the oven in our rented townhouse doesn’t work all that well & most items take a considerable amount of time longer to cook than they should normally. Yes we’ve asked about getting it replaced but when you consider that it took the owners two years to put security screens on our three back doors & one window [this was after everyone else except us had been broken into & hubby was working nights]; I doubt very much that they will replace the oven anytime soon.


So, here I am at home, doing uni work & cooking roasted vegetables. Do you know how HARD it is to study when all you can smell is vegetables roasting!?!


Granted, I’ve had to check on them & swap the two trays between shelves while the cooking happens, but every time I open the oven I get overwhelmed by the smell & my stomach starts to make the loudest noises – lol!


So you know that as soon as they are cooked that is exactly what I’ll be eating – even a piece of chocolate wasn’t sufficient to change my stomach’s desires.

[the vegetables all cooked & ready for me to eat!]

Anyway, that’s enough from me – better get back to the uni work or it won’t be finished in time & I have an assessment that I must put in the post by next Thursday at the latest.



Until next time, stay safe



Ciao


Mish :)

University Life

So tomorrow is the last day of week two of my university studies. It's certainly been an interesting ride so far!


I have to mail off my first maths assessment to the lecturer & I'm going to do a favour for some friends on Friday afternoon, so I need to make sure that the paperwork is ready by 2pm at the latest - wish me luck!


I have to admit I am finding using the student portal and the blackboard a little challenging. For instance, the student portal is where I receive all emails relating to my studies & today I couldn't get the email signature function to work & I tried several times & yes I do know how to do this! So, after trying for more than 20 minutes, I sent an email to the lecturer to explain what is happening & ask if maybe there was a compatibility issue with the uni email system & my laptop [I have vista - enough said]. Then, Vista decided that I needed to restart my computer & after I logged in again I found that the email signature was working - yeah! So that problem was solved.


Also, I've been having a hard time trying how to work out using the blackboard properly. The blackboard is the place where students can *talk* to each other, post assessments for lecturers & share information about themselves, study & anything else we want to dish.


So far, I've shared who I am, where I live, basic details about my family, what I think I want to study in 2010 [if I pass] & the parts of the course that have been challenging. What I have not told them is that the other day I got so upset about not understanding what I'm suppose to be doing that I ended up yelling at my lap top - yes I know I need to be committed - LOL!


On the whole, I am starting to get a little excited about this new adventure - when I originally applied I wasn't sure I would be given a place in the course & then once I knew I had a place I was scared that I wouldn't be able to motivate myself enough to finish the work on time. I am studying as an external student & my *classes* are via text book or on-line - so you have to be really self disciplined & for anyone who knows me well, they know that I've been trying to loose weight for over 15yrs & I still haven't really got anywhere with that; so I was worried that I might waste this opportunity.


The past few days have given me a sufficient "kick in the butt" about the course & the amount of work involved - you see I've had a few computer issues & there have been a few other challenges [read earlier posts] to cope with; so unfortunately I let myeslf get slack & didn't actually start doing any serious work until the beginning of this week. Which meant I was a week behind right from the start - eik!


Thankfully I am all caught up - except for the assessment but I'm going to work on that on Friday morning - I don't have any interviews scheduled for Friday so I will have sufficient time to complete the task.

On the job front, I had an interview today for a position as an administration assistant at a hearing aid clinic - the job sounds very interesting & of course I would need to learn their computer programs. The next step is they are going to check my references [hopefully they will get a good report] & then make a decision on who to give the job to. I also have an interview scheduled for next Thursday as a retail assistant in a new store, which will only be a 5 minute drive from home. So wish me luck that I will get the job that I am suppose to have & if perhaps it is not one of these two, then something else will come along.


See, I am trying to be more positive about things & more positive about life in general. I think I've finally realised that although staying positive is not easy during difficult situations but if you try to you often find that something good will come out of it, even if it is not the thing that you want but it will be the thing that you need. So, on that positive note I've included below a colourful, bright & happy image that I found on this amazing website stock.xchng where once you join you have access to royalty free photos - you might just have to mention the photographer when you use them [but not all the time]. The photo below is by a brilliant photographer Zela from the Netherlands :)


So, take care & enjoy the image.

Ciao
Mish :)