Happy Dance!!!

Here is Alla Turca in all her glory!! I started stitching this complimentary SAL of Pelin Tezer in the end of April 2009, and now about 10 months later is completed:)

Alla Turca, Designer: Pelin Tezer

Stitched on 14 count Aida

Color: Anchor 0150

Started: April end 2009

Finished: February end 2010

(I am trying to correct this display, but i am failing each time. Any tips??!!)

My progress had been really slow in 2009, as i was rotating my weekend projects every weekend. Towards the end of 2009, i changed my rotation plan. My weekend projects were rotated every month. This change helped me maintain a relaxing rhythm with the project i was working on, although I had only completed the middle row when 2009 ended.

I took 8 long months to stitch this row, hmmm. To make myself feel better, I will add I was working on Boink and OHD January SAL too when working on this.

The top and the bottom row were started and finished in February.

Here you can also see some of the 'back'...

My stiching plans changed dramatically with my back ache, and with Lilies given a vacation - i concentrated largely on BOINK in January and on AT in February!! While i am satisfied with my turnout for BOINK, AT gave me my first 2010 finish!!

As promised to myself, i will resume with Lilies in March. I have to complete the quickie SAL soon (sometime this week), and there is something else i am working on. Once these two are done, it will be a date with the Lilies!!

On our weekend shopping there was a flat 50% discount on books - so here is my new addition

Edith Wharton - The House of Mirth

Cecelia Ahern - A Place Called Here

Harriet Beecher Stowe - Uncle Tom's Cabin

Barbara Delinsky - Looking for Peyton Place

As for my current read, i have picked up Amy Tan's The Kitchen God's Wife

This and that...

I will not bore you with pics, last night i completed Page 8. What with 4 more nights of February still to go, i am in a comfortable position to finish AT as hoped, eh!! Thanks for all your comments - i appreciate, enjoy and cherish every one of them:)

Now, just some this and that... if you have the time!

A. Have received fabric from a board member @123. Since i only get 14-count white aida here, i grabbed the opportunity of buying an assortment of fabric @ the board. So that is some stash addition. It is weird that all my stash is accumulating at my parents' place. I have told my Mother that she will not send them to me. I am so scared, i will lose the parcel mid-way. So whatever fabric, floss, kits accumulate at her place will be mine when we meet face-to-face!! Although it really is weird, as i cannot see / touch / feel my 'new' stash:)

B. The other day there was one of those ADMIN emails from a yahoo group that kind of got me to reality - i had stopped visiting some of the yahoo groups. I know life and work do get in the way, but i had no answer to myself as to why i had stopped visiting. Probably i do belong to too many groups??? You see what happens is only those groups that appear in Page 1 are accessed, and then by the time i am done there, i tell myself i have spent far too much time, and move on to work. Hmm. Got to do something abt that..

C. Now some cleaning up required in my blog: If you look at my left frame you will see the amount of blogs i visit. I do visit MOST of them, I enjoy these visits. There are those rare occurences where i have been seeing posts but no pics; pics being links off flickr/webshots/photobucket - now these pics i cannot see. I can read the details, but i cannot see the pics.

Are you still with me? Thanks for your patience:) I do promise a pic of AT in my next post

Still Aiming...

Here's Alla Turca after last week's turn-out. I have been stitching on AT five nights every week, two nights going for another SAL. Given that statistic, I still think i can complete AT this month:) This other SAL which i am keeping under wraps because i am thinking i am expected to, will also complete in a couple of weeks.

Looking at the pic, i should really do something about the dangling threads - i do not want to snip them unnecessarily, but they do give a dishevelled look to the project, not to mention the infinite creases on the Aida. Since we are reaching the end, i guess we will give it a go!!

Last night i used up another skein of Anchor 0150, i now wish i had made note of the number of skeins used. Not sure if i used 3 so far, or 4. More likely 4 from the usage of the last skein.

With AT over, and the other SAL getting over pretty soon, my WIPs will be merely two - BOINK and the eternal Lilies. This is just a matter of switching gears i know. LOL, starting another new project is a long way ahead. *grin* seriously, I think so. Well, i think i do. Now that i am thinking, i think i thought i did. Whatever...

Wishing you all a great week ahead!!

Quiet

It has been very quiet here this week. I have not been able to complete Page 7 of Alla Turca yet- still about 30% left which i plan to complete tonight. I have been telling myself, in the event that i do not complete AT this month, there will be so little left to consider the project complete, that i can borrow one or two March (BOINK) days instead of waiting till April when AT gets her turn back.

I have been regularly (well almost) doing my back exercises, and i plan to resume my lilies stitching from March 1st - which is why it will be a wonderful thing if i really complete AT. I will give it my best!!

I finished reading David Copperfield. This joins Pickwick Papers and Martin Chuzzlewit under the category of my favorite Dickens novels. The book moved me to tears so often, not only in the pages where Davy is tormented by the Murdstones, but also much later when David goes away from England and realises his love for Agnes. My favorite character was Peggotty with "cheeks and arms so hard and red that he wondered the birds didn't peck her in preference to apples."

The kind soul promised, and we both of us kissed the keyhole withthe greatest affection - I patted it with my hand, I recollect, asif it had been her honest face - and parted. From that night theregrew up in my breast a feeling for Peggotty which I cannot verywell define. She did not replace my mother; no one could do that;but she came into a vacancy in my heart, which closed upon her, andI felt towards her something I have never felt for any other humanbeing.

My next book is The Gift by Cecilia Ahern, which will be my tenth book of the year.

Presenting...

Alla Turca 6 of 9 pages completed as of 14th Febuary. I had a long weekend, but was not considering it a great stitchy weekend as my Brother was to visit me for two days. I am really really happy and contented to have reached this stage by mid-month - i have done pages 3, 4 and 5 in these two weeks. This and your precious comments give me the boost. Now, it all depends on how much time i will really get to stitch for the rest of the month!! And yes, isnt that a wonderful blue?!! If you closely observe the [blank] diamonds, in the piccie - i have left most of them blank. I will take a call at the end about which blank ones to fill.

I am like a li'l school girl waiting to see what the day has ushered in for her in the form of comments. So this is a thank you note to all you wonderful bloggers who stop by, and leave a comment.

Why this pic??!! Well it does depict how much love my Brother brought for me. Though he was here only for two days, we had a great time just being together. Toto also had fun time, and within minutes was playing with his Uncle! We chatted and chatted for God knows how long:) And when he took his afternoon nap (day 1), i even stitched some sitting by his bed-side. Among the goodies he got for us - the kiddie variety have become precious playtime material by my precious - there were some stitchy stuff too, LOL. The Retro Kitchen Aprons cross stitch kit which my Brother got for me ( you will remember the eBay item that was on sale as US only that i without as much as blinking an eye [hopefully is the last such behaviour from me] begged him to buy for me), and the Hummel charts (my first purchase from Etsy, so i now can stitch the Hummel Postman for my shweetypie) that i gave my parents' address for. I have now confirmed to myself that some one is playing pranks and parcels rarely reach my doorstep anymore, which is why my parents' address is my current shipping address.

And right this moment, i got a call from my mother. The letter T popcorn alphabet stitch kit has arrived. Hurrah, just a small jig from where i am sitting, LOL. You see, I had lost one of the ebay parcels somewere between being shipped in the UK and reaching Bangalore, India. More likely some problem at my end. So i had put this up as a wish list on 123 MB. One of the members (thanks dear Nicki!!) granted my wish early this month, and it is now waiting to be in my possesson, and is with my Mother at the moment. Oh yes, the stitchy community is a very generous community!!

It has not been an as-dreaded bad week for me. I had been very unhappy being unable to meet my brother's family. Then God did bring ways to make me happy, eh?!!

One of those ...

posts where i am not sure of what would be a good title. First of all, thanks to all you for your comments:)

As i said in my earlier post, February is going to be an AT month. Having said that, this weekend has not been a very stitchy one. I did stitch, but not as much as i typically do on weekends. Still, the weekend was good. The stitching time was spent shopping, and who does not like that, LOL.

Have completed Page 3 of AT, and a wee bit of Page 4. I would have stitched some more, but for frogs having visited me - the vicious variety. First i stitched one column to the right (the topmost portion in Page 3), and spotted it towards the end of finishing the top triangle, so i undo my stitches, and start again - this time only to swap the order of the crosses. Drat.... Undo again, and well *sigh* finally completed. Never mind, all that is stitched is in order now:)

Do you think i can finish AT in this month? I am pessimistic about it though, let us see!

Milestones!!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

Completed Page 6 on Christmas Eve:) Here is a piccie. Lilies are now on official leave, and shop opens 1st January, LOL. I am very happy as i would get 7 nights to stitch on something else (Freddie). As there are guests at home, i have not done any of my weekend stitching. All stitching has happened after all the housemates were sleeping:)

I have also picked my next book, which i am sure will not be completed this year. Tara Road by Maeve Binchy.

Here is a pic of Alla Turca - pages 1, 2 and 6 completed. I was very very tempted to take this up for my night-time, and complete at least 2 of the top pages by end of the year. But it is Frederick the Literate i am working on, and you should see a pic very soon. I will now take up AT in February.

Thanks for all of you who take time to leave me a comment/email me!! It means a LOT to me:)

Here's wishing all a great, happy, peaceful 2010!!!

Out of 516 reviews in Amazon, Tara Road has 236 5-star reviews, and 40 1-star reviews. The review that catches my eye (and no i did not read all 516, i read the reviews on the first page, and skimmed through those on the second page (there are 52 review pages) ) is this one:

At first I was hesitant to read this story because I thought it sounded like another stereotypical romance novel, but it definitely breaks the mold. The characters are so endearing, especially the main character, Ria. She is a gentle, loving house wife that is appreciative of her husband, home and family, but when tragedy tears apart her life she finds strength and a sense of independence in the midst of her heartache. Every character is so real they all feel like someone you know personally: a friend, a sister, a neighbor, your children. The author beautifully intertwines their lives to create a rich tapestry of experiences. Maeve Binchy is another wonderful Irish storyteller.

Mid Month Milestone

First the lilies - they have been shrieking confetti at me, and i am silently tending to them. I have to, LOL. If you look at the sea of blue below, they were my silver lining of the page. Once that sea was almost done, i switched gears and looked seriously into the confetti stitches - the disarrray of the hanging floss talks for that, dont you think.

Can you believe this pic is taken (this morning) from my E71?? Tonight, i am going to work around the sea of blue in case that makes you feel better for me:8)

The other pic (courtesy E71) i have is of the Alla Turca. As you can see i am currently doing Page 6. Pages 3, 4 and 5 are the top section which is the order i would have followed if i was 'on time'. Since i am always a lagging behind cross stitcher, i have an option (it conveniences me)of doing Page 6 first, and then take the top portion most likely.

Froggie visited me on Sunday, and i had to redo some stitches - annoyed me no end. And then what do you think, i stitched some MORE and found out i have done another blunder or two. You are right, Captain Haddock says Blistering Barnacles. While the first frog visit had to, HAD TO be dealt with, this one most likely can be camouflaged. So i have not been hospitable to Froggie, the second time round. She might wield her power, and then there could be more work and then Captain Haddock might remind me of Thundering Typhoons, but i am ignoring that for now. I tell you...

Month-end milestone!

This update comes slightly delayed because of a happy long weekend i had!! The past couple of long weekends have been a godsend coz i got those extra moments with my parents. They leave on the coming Sunday, though.

Here's how my lilies looked by end of September; though some more color has been filled in the past days. Last night i spent 1 and half hours only doing 38 stitches - when my son woke up, and then another 36 stitches in an hour after he slept. When the end nears, we go confetti!!

I also finished Page 2 of Alla Turca. Ta da.. Yes I did!! The project looks much better than in this photo! All happy and motivated i kept the Boink project out to put in couple of stitches whenever possible. But the time never came. Never mind.

I played with my son every possible time the past three days. We also gave him a hair cut (ourselves, as we did not want him bawling) during his nap time. His Mom was thinking a slight trim would do. His Papa decided a good trim is required to 'manage' till the end of the year. Luckily we managed well, if i may say so and he did not wake up either.

Coming weekend is OHD time and it is time to stitch September. Yes!!! i have received the charts.

Mid-month Milestone - Updates Galore!!

It is time for my mid-month update on Lilies, and coincidentally i have pics of all my WIPs this time round!!

To begin with is Lilies, i am almost half done with Page 5. I am enjoying doing this page, as i can continue with one color for a good amount of time!! Also Page 5 completion will be an important milestone - i complete the first row. That is an accomplishment!, even if i say so myself.

Next is an update on OHD January SAL, i had completed this way back but the pic-time is now. If you remember i had only the text August, and li'l bit of backstitching remaining when i decided to hit the sack on the last day of August as it turned into early September, lol. This remainder got done in my morning-sneak-time in the next couple of days. I will now request Tonia for the September chart. And Yes!!! Tonia is back in the OHD group.

BOINK - This weekend was AT time, but i had just a little pending in the BOINK block that i decided i will have a dig at it as well. So here is how it looked by Sunday evening. If i do not get the September chart (of OHD) by Friday, i will work on the next block (the top block in the middle column) of BOINK.

And lastly i have AT to show you - i am positive i can complete this page in the next AT rota. Just like i thought, it was Page 1 that had a lot of xs to stitch!

And yes, i also received the floss from Mary-Anne from Canada for the Monopoly game board. Happy Happy!!!

As you will be knowing i have landed in Applique World and am mesmerised by what i find there. This is my progress so far.

• I have been watching/following several Applique blogs for over a month now.
• I have even finalised on taking this up as my first applique project.
• I have gone through this tutorial and now have this for reference.
• I have also been approved to be a member of the yahoo group Applique Addicts.

Wish me luck on my Applique Journey - I have to start from scratch with whatever materials (apart from fabric, floss, scissors and needles of course!) are required. So far, I only have the Interfacing material!

Mid-month milestone, and some

Here is the mid-month update on water lilies... I now have a bit over 1000 stitches more to complete, lol. I tell you, it gets manic at this stage. Last night for instance i took this up at a quarter to ten, and by 5 minutes past midnight, i had completed seventy crosses. Hmm, Toto woke up just once in this period. Mostly confetti stitches done, but the colors that i took up were asking me to do some more, some more. But when midnight strikes, Cinderella leaves...

I also have some BOINK to show from last weekend. I really love the color combination in this block, and will store this up as a good choice of floss for future projects. I could stitch on couple of evenings as well, and hence have more than half of this block completed!

And some Alla Turca. Took this up on Saturday and Sunday afternoon this weekend. This weekend my son's nap time moved from morning to afternoon. He is not in his best healthwise, poor child, and hence is cranky. He senses his Mama might go out, and so does not nap when he should. Come afternoon, he is way too tired, and then drops off to sleep.

Am really happy with the progress on my weekend projects. Thank you God!

Month-end Milestone

Have some piccie updates for you!! I have crossed the half-page milestone in Monet's Water Lilies!! A little voice inside me tells me it could be tough to finish this page by 31st August. That sums up the confetti challenge. Let me see how it goes. Nevertheless it is a fun stitch, i love how the colors fall into place! I have gradually moved into my own park and stitch method. I 'feel' this way my pace is improved. I will know for sure as this month progresses.

I was lucky with Alla Turca this weekend. I had 'passed' it during its regular rotation time, becuase of the biscornu gift(!). This weekend was again AT time as per the rota plan. I could do lots on this - in fact i did some more after this pic that i have taken. I was so happy by the end, although i have still a wee-bit to consider Page 1 as 'completed'!!

Thanks for stopping by ladies. All your lovely comments are appreciated.

Month-end milestone, Week-end updates

I am surprised at myself for the delay in updating here. I would have posted these pics couple of days earlier, but my camera gave some tantrums:(( While i could see the pics in view mode, i could not get the camera up and running while in shoot mode. I recharged the batteries some more, and they worked finally! Phew. That is how i have these pics ready for you!

I am happy with the way Alla Turca (sorry still on Page 1) shaped up. On an average, i take this up for 4 to 5 hours a month. So i am getting used to the slowness of this. When i took it up for the previous weekend, i was thinking it will be GREAT if i complete half of the top block, and to my surprise i actually did. What a feeling of accomplishment!!

My Lilies gave me a mixed bag feeling. I was aspiring(HAH) to complete the page 3 well in advance - but again finished on 25th June just like the last page. Here is how my lilies till Page 3 look. I took this snap in Auto mode, so the colours are really standing out, gee!! I could not work on Frederick the literate, because of another small project i have taken up. I will show this piece of work by next month this time. So sorry Freddie, you were not visited this month. Please bear with me, sweetie.

This weekend was to be OHD time, can you believe i did not have the June chart printed out #$#$%. So i worked on the small project instead, and once the printouts were with me, took June stitching in the night-time. So, i rejigged my timetable. Hope to complete the June piece tonight:)

I have done some ebay surfing, but controlling myself from buying more. Since we are now almost half-way through the year, I see that there will not be even one completed this year. The only one i will finish are the OHD month charts, but then the finishing i have there will go into the next year, LOL

Progress Pics

This weekend went good for stitching after a long time!! And that felt good:)

It was Alla Turca time, and the outcome on the previous sitting had been poor. I love the richness of the color as it takes shape on the white Aida. I got considerably more time this weekend than i thought, and at least have finished close to half of the Page 1. I keep helping myself by the fact that the centre page is by far the most 'filled' page, LOL. I am loving the MSAL, and am happy to have taken this up!!

Here is the BOINK from last weekend. I have decided i will stitch the orange color instead of the yellow for this block. The yellow i am thinking, i will only use for the borders and not inside any block. As i said in my previous post, i would have completed this block but for the frogs visiting me.

And then some special things for my stash!! Here are pics of what i received, one from Cheryl in SMO - tapestry needles *and* needles for beads, floss and a cute card. Thanks Cheryl for all these! Extremely sweet of you. Stash i received from Shellie - Beatrix Potter sampler, i am loving this and is a perfect addition for my 'stitch' theme. Isnt that nice?!!!

After the dismal photo i clicked, i gave this another shot in bright daylight. Here is what i received from Janet in a contest in SMO. You have given me a great beauty Janet. Thank you so much:) Yet another one for my 'stitch' theme, and i am sure will be the first i will stitch for that theme.

That's it for now ladies! Thanks for taking a look

Small Happy Dance!

So yes, now i am all set with the pics, and am happy to show these progress pics.

First is Water Lilies - I am very pleased to have finished Page 2, five days before the month end!! I leave the confetti to the last, at least most of the confetti to the last. So the stitches/day towards the end ofthe page gets lesser and lesser, lol. The good part about this page was it had lesser confetti than the first. I will be starting Page 3 on May 1st. Till then, i will play with Freddie.

Weekend (day time) was Alla Turca time. I have finally chosen Anchor 150, and am happy with the color taking shape on the Aida. This is how much i could accomplish by Sunday evening. Very less done, eh? The amount of stitching done is directly proportional to the amount of sleep time my son takes!! Sweet darling he is. He loves to play with my stitching files. And i am slowly learning to master distracting him with something equally attractive, lol.

Finally BOINK - this is progress as of the previous week. I finished one red block that weekend, and will go back to this after i try my hand at Month March of OHD SAL. I have decided upon my colors for this month's piece. So we will see how that turns out!

And yes i will post a Freddie update next week...