Progress Report – Birds in the Bower

Posted on 02/04/2013 by Crossed Yarns — 2 Comments

Hello Stitching Friends

I do hope you all enjoyed the Easter break as much as I did. I adore this time of year, after the long hot summer it’s such a relief to enjoy the abated heat and the cooler evenings. I’ve been making slow but steady progress on with the Birds. Lots of colourful plumage! A bit fiddly with the constant colour changes, but a really interesting piece.

Birds in the Bower, The Goode Huswife 1/4/13

Birds in the Bower – close up of the birds in full plumage

Not far to go now. Just a few more birds to stitch, and the poem. Can’t say I’m looking forward to the over one on 32 count.

Happy Stitchng (:smile:)
Pokua

Tagged with: Goode Huswife, Samplers
Posted in Cross stitch, Samplers, WIPs

Finished Fair Squares

Posted on 23/03/2013 by Crossed Yarns — 2 Comments

A couple of weeks ago I finished the Fair Squares received from my partner Daniela M for the Valentine Round into a pincushion.

Finished Fair Square Valentine Round

Close up charms and chenille trim

Heart scissor fob from Daniela M

Daniela so generously included an exquisite scissor fob she stitched

Thank you so much, Daniela. I really appreciate your exchange and gift.

Happy Stitching 🙂
Pokua

Tagged with: Cross stitch, Fair&Square, pincushions, Scissor Fobs
Posted in Cross stitch, Exchanges, Finished pieces

Stitching in 2013

Posted on 02/03/2013 by Crossed Yarns — 6 Comments

It’s Autumn in Australia and I’m so looking forward to the cooler weather it promises. Statisticians have confirmed that it’s been the hottest summer on record. It’s a long weekend in Perth (Bank Holiday) and March already (how did that happen?!) so it’s time to update this blog and journal my stitching plans and progress for 2013. The grand plan is to select four to six design at a time and stitch them on a rotation system of two weeks max per design. Hopefully, this plan will help me maintain focus, which was an issue in 2012. Simple enough? Let’s see how I go.

Here’s progress on the first four designs I’ve chosen to work on:

Project 1: Birds in the Bower, The Goode Huswife

Project 1 – Birds in the Bower, The Goode Huswife

Stitching progress February 2013

Stitching progress Feb 2013, close up

Project 2: Three Things, Moira Blackburn

Three Things, Moira Blackburn

Stitching progress February 2013

Stitching progress Feb 2013, close up

Project 3: Butterfly Garden, Drawn Thread

Butterfly Garden, The Drawn Thread

Stitching Progress February 2013

Project 4: Sampler 1663, Permin of Copenhagen

Sampler 1663, Permin of Copenhagen

Stitching progress February 2013

Project 5: A Red Cottage, Plum Street Samplers

A Red Cottage, Plum Street Samplers

Tagged with: Cross stitch, Drawn Thread, Goode Huswife, Moira Blackburn, Permin of Copenhagen, Plum Street Samplers, Samplers
Posted in Cross stitch, Samplers, Stitching plans

Travels Abroad

Posted on 17/02/2013 by Crossed Yarns — 1 Comment

Hello Stitching Friends!

It’s been a while. Already mid-February and I’m only just getting into the swing of 2013. Doesn’t sound like a good start, does it? But I’m not letting that worry me one bit. For most of 2012, I felt like my life was a race to catch up. So I decided that 2013 is the year of ‘at my own pace’. Anyway, the year ended well, with a fantastic overseas trip with my whole family. We went to Accra, Ghana (where I was born) to visit family and attend a wedding. Apparently the New York Times has rated Accra one of the top places to visit in 2013. We also did a stopover in Dubai, UAR. Here are some photos from the trip – Warning, image heavy post!

Stopover in Dubai

Dinner Cruise in this Dhow on the Dubai Creek

Yours truly sampling the smorgasbord

Oh, the choices!

At the Dubai Museum

Lining up to get to The Top – Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world

and on to Ghana

My family home where I grew up in Accra

At the Movenpick Hotel, Accra

DS – Coconut Grove Beach Resort

Doing the Tree Top Walk at Kakum National Park

We had to negotiate six of these – quite daunting!

On the way to the Owurobong waterfall, Kwahu

Cooling off in the water at the falls

a few of the fabric purchases

Auntie Tina’s Fabric kiosk

Such beautiful Ghanaian fabrics!

An evening at the +233 Jazz Club

DD’s BF at Elmina Castle, which used to be a slave fort

DD – Coconut Grove Beach Resort

Coconut Grove Beach

View from our villa at Coconut Grove Beach Resort

All done up for the wedding – L to R: DS, DD, My Mum and Myself

Accra is 4th best place to tour in 2013 (modernghana.com)

Posted in Cross stitch

Countdown to Christmas

Posted on 10/12/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 3 Comments

It’s two weeks to Christmas – need I remind anyone?

The whole family (myself, DH, DS, DD and her BF) is going to Ghana to visit the rellies for Christmas. We leave on the 21st of December, chill out two days in Dubai and get to Accra on he 24th. We’ll be there two weeks and hope to be able to slip in a bit of tourism in between spending time with relatives. I’m really looking forward to the trip, as it’s been four years since my last visit.

I haven’t done a lot of Christmas stitching this year, but I do have a few to share with you and to help you get into the Christmas spirit.

Merry Primitive Christmas – The Primitive Hare (freebie)

Close up of Primitve Christmas

Merry Christmas – Log Cabin Needleworks (freebie)

: Be Merry, Be Jolly – Lizzie Kate

Freebie – can’t remember which blogger gave this one

Fair & Square Exchange stitching from Susan Piluc 2010

Jenny Bean’s Christmas Ornament 2009 – Shakespeare’s Peddler

Hope all your Christmas preparations are going well, especially those last minute stitching projects!

Happy Stitching 😉
Pokua

Tagged with: Accra, Christmas, Cross stitch, Little House Needleworks, pincushions
Posted in Christmas stitching, Cross stitch, Finished pieces, Freebies

Another happy Dance!

Posted on 17/11/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 3 Comments

This is a wee one that I thoroughly enjoyed stitching. It’s a Carriage House Samplings design – Mr & Mrs Abbott & Daughters.

I made a few changes – a blue/grey fabric and a couple of changes to the thread shades for the sky to match the background fabric.

Mrs Abbott & Daughters – CHS

Close Up 1

Close up 2

Design: Mr & Mrs Abbott & Daughters
Fabric; 32 count Belfast (Smokey Pearl, I think)
Threads: DMC – changed as follows: 927 – 800; 928 – 775; 3820 – 832

A bit of trivia with this design: our current Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott has three daughters!

Watch out for the other half of this design, showing Mr Abbott and another daughter 🙂

Happy Stitching 😉
Pokua

Tagged with: Carriage House Samplings, Cross stitch, Tony Abbott
Posted in Finished pieces

A Finish! Happy Dancing!

Posted on 04/11/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 6 Comments

Hi Stitching Friends 🙂

2012 has been a very patchy year in terms of my stitching plans, so I am really really pleased to present a major stitching finish, Pear Orchard Farm by Carriage House Samplings. I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this design, though it happened in bits and pieces.

Pear Orchard Farm, Carriage House Samplings

Pear Orchard Farm, top left

Pear Orchard Farm, bottom left

Pear Orchard Farm, middle section

Pear Orchard Farm, top right

Pear Orchard Farm, bottom right

Design: Pear Orchard Farm
Designer: Carriage House Samplings
Fabric: 32 count cream Belfast linen
Threads: DMC threads as charted
Finishing: steeped and dyed in Australian organic black tea

Whew! For a while there, thought I’d lost my ability to pull off a finish. I’m one Happy Stitcher right now 🙂

Happy Stitching 😉
Pokua

Tagged with: Carriage House Samplings, Cross stitch, Samplers
Posted in Cross stitch

October is for Hope

Posted on 19/10/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 3 Comments

I’d intended to stitch and finish this design in time for the beginning of October as a tribute to women who are living with breast cancer and to remind us all to keep the flame of a cure alive. Late as usual! But better late than not at all.

Remember Me pincushion, Blackbird Designs

Close up of pincushion

Design: Basket of Memories, by Blackbird Design
Fabric: grey 32 count Belfast linen
Thread: WDW Emma’s Pink
Embellishments: pink shell buttons, pink beads and silver hope charms
Trim: Victorian Motto Sampler’s Pink rick rack

Here’s to a Cure

Happy Stitching 😉
Pokua

Tagged with: Blackbird Designs, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, pincushions
Posted in Cross stitch

Maggi Co’s Villages Finito!

Posted on 23/09/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 3 Comments

A number of posts ago, I showed you a wee finish…

Maggi Co’s Village 1

Well, thought you needed to see it’s partner. Village 2 – finished last week…

A Wonderful Village 2 – MaggiCo’s Village

MaggiCo’s Village 2 – close up

They are too cute! And stitch up very quickly. Had an idea to stitch up a few more quirky buildings to create a bit of a theme on a wall somewhere at home.

We’re fast approaching the last quarter of the year, and somehow, my stitching plans for 2012 just haven’t come together this year. Anyhow, I feel like I’ve had a bit of a win with these two designs.

I’m off to Melbourne for work this coming week, so not sure how much stitching is going to take place.

Wishing you all Happy Stitching while I’m away 🙂
Pokua

Tagged with: Maggi Co's Villages
Posted in Finished pieces, Stitching plans

Happy Spring!

Posted on 01/09/2012 by Crossed Yarns — 4 Comments

First day of spring Down Under, but my patio has started to bloom way ahead of the season…

Bright red Pig Face

gorgeous spring patio flowers – can’t remember name

Assorted Geraniums

On the stitching front, I do have a few feeble efforts to share. First, a small hanging ornament to cheer up my space at work…

La D Da Freebie-One-Two

La D Da Freebie -One-Two close up

La-D-Da Freebie-On-Two
Fabric: 32 count Dirty Belfast linen
Thread: HDF Dragon Heart
Finishing: Cord made with DMC Coton Perle 816 and two square metal bead spacers

And a wee bit of progress with my Adam & Eve Sampler, design by The Historical Sampler Company…

Top end of Adam & Eve Sampler

close up os stitching progress

This weekend I’m working feverishly on completing assignments that were due yesterday 31 August, so not much hope of stitching, but I remain optimistic.

Happy Stitching 😉
Pokua