Roses in bloom...

Well not really - I don't have a yard, so nowhere to plant roses. But they ARE in my stitching!

Got started on Rose this week, and I LOVE these colours, which are Belle Soie Rosebud and Collard Greens. And of course the fabric is my old favourite, 40ct Magnolia from Lakeside. I have to say, after two projects on 32ct, it's soooooo wonderful to stitch on 40ct again. I love the tiny little stitches and the delicacy of the motifs!

I would have more stitched but the darned frogs have been to visit this week. I'm not surprised, we drove the through swarms of them the other night and I think I few hitched a ride home with us! Hopefully they're bored with me now, I KNOW I'm bored of them.

The week has definitely improved, though it kinda had to. Thank you for your good wishes, they worked. :)

We have a Nate free few days, he's off to stay with his new girlfriend for a few days. Her parents are really looking forward to meeting him. I know we really enjoyed having her here a couple weeks ago! While he's only 18 and I don't want him settling down YET, I have to admit I really like this girl and I hope it lasts. For one thing, she actually eats!!! She's very polite, great sense of humour and it's obvious she adores Nate.

As an added bonus, Jon took a few vacation days starting Sunday, no big plans apart from celebrating his birthday, but it'll be nice to spend a few days with him where neither of us has to run off anywhere. :) With the hours he works, we don't get to spend a lot of time together, especially just the two of us. I always look forward to it so much! I'm pleased to say that after almost six years together (in person - 2 more talking online) we're not even close to being tired of each other and still cherish every minute we get. :)

My plan for this week was to get started on the website, but it just hasn't happened. I did get my inital drawings done for an ornament I'm doing for The Gift of Stitching though, and will be getting that all charted out this weekend. As my aunt would say, it's got lots of bling! It'll be a fun one to stitch, AND will be my very first attempt at finishing work. If I can do it, anyone can. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Petal Fairy all done!

I finished her up on the weekend and she turned out beautifully. I made a few changes - I substituted Eterna silks for her wings to make them really sparkle, and I decided I didn't like the backstitched lines around her hair and skirt so I omitted them. I also changed the fabric to Oatmeal Floba as I found the natural a bit too dark. I'd estimate in total she took about 3 weeks of stitching to complete.

I'll do Bliss Fairy at a later date to go along with her, and then get them framed the same. Mom has claimed them for her living room over the sofa. lol I have her all kitted apart from the silks - don't have the right Eternas on hand. I was going to order them and found that the Eterna shop is down. Does anyone know if they have they closed? I may have to go with Pearsall's or Silk Mill instead if that's the case.

I started on Rose on Sunday, but haven't got much to show yet. It's been a nightmare few days. The fridge broke down Sunday (and I've been telling the landlord for ages that it was going). With the high heat and humidity we've had, we lost everything in it. And we can't seem to get hold of the landlord - he seems to be ducking us. Yesterday while in the shower I heard him outside yesterday cutting the hedge so after I got out and dried myself off, I ran out to talk to him about the fridge and he was gone already with the hedge only partly finished. Strange. We ended up having to replace it ourselves and found a second hand one for $100. It's not great, but it works for now. Add to that the hot water tap in the bathroom that is broken, the shower that needs to be fixed (it's currently duct-taped to the wall to hold it in place), the hardwood floors that are so badly in need of refinishing that you run the risk of splinters if you walk barefoot and the rain gutters that are nearly hanging off the house, to say I'm a little pissed would be an understatement. We've offered to do the work ourselves and he can either buy the materials and deduct the labour off the rent, OR we'll buy the materials and deduct both off the rent, but he won't go for it (even though Jon is a bloody carpenter). Yet, he doesn't want us to move out because he knows if we do, he'll HAVE to fix all this stuff before he can rent it again. We're looking for a house to rent now, problem is because this is mostly a "summer rental" town, there isn't a whole lot that is available to rent by the month. Most of it is weekly rentals in the summer so it might take a while to find something.

Then yesterday, in the midst of my nervous breakdown about the fridge/landlord situation, my internet crapped out. I called Bell to find out what was going on and they had suspended my service for non-payment. HUH? We paid it. What actually happened was that we cancelled the pre-authorized payment in March because their payment date didn't work with our schedule. We wanted to have it come out the following week and they couldn't change it, so we cancelled it altogether and now make our payments manually the second Tuesday every month. However, it's now July and they're still trying to take it out each month. The bank has a stop payment on it, so it doesn't go through. So even though the account is up to date and there is a balance of $0 owed, they turned it off for non-payment because THEY failed to cancel the pre-authorized payment. AND we have called them EVERY month since March, each time they try to take it, to notify them of their error. After 3 hours on the phone with them, they finally admitted that they made a mistake and switched it back on, but it didn't actually come back on until about noon today. Idiots. I swear, if they try to charge me a reconnection fee, my head will explode.

Add to that a collection agency keeps calling me about a debt from 1998. It was nearly paid off in 2003 (I found the last bill I have on hand and the balance was $300) and my ex and I separated at that time. He kept the furniture and said he'd make the last couple of payments. I figured he had since it's now 2011 and I never heard a word about it and I've been at this address since 2004. Apparently he didn't. They insist that they've notified me about this - however the only record I can find is voice mail messages which say something to the effect of "this is Mrs. Johnson calling, please call me back at phone # and quote reference #". Not once did they say the agency name or that it was in regards to an outstanding Leon's account. The first "official" notification I received in writing was in February of this year. I offered to pay the remaining principle on the account to clear it, but I will NOT pay 8 years worth of interest (over $2000) just because they failed to notify me. My address and phone number have been public record and associated with my SIN number for seven years. There is no excuse. I'm guessing it's time to find a lawyer about it because they keep refusing my offer and as far as I know, the statute of limitations on a debt in Ontario is six years which means they waited too long to contact me about it anyway. Hopefully that's correct, because I'm getting sick of the calls. Legally they're allowed to call 3 times per week. They call 3 times per day now.

Hoping that my week picks up soon!

Ooops

Barbara got her chart for the Antique Lace Band Sampler yesterday and found a small mistake on page 4 of the chart that I missed. On band #5, the wave filling stitch should join up all the way along, but there's a gap on the chart. Huge thank you to Barbara for letting me know!

It's been fixed now, so anyone ordering from this point forward will get the corrected version. However, Kathy let me know that there were 3 copies shipped - so if you're one of the other two, please email me and I'll send you the corrected page!

Hmmm... apart from that, not much news to report. I'm filling in the last little bit of Petal Fairy and will probably finish her up today, so I may have some pictures to post. Still torn between Rose and Marigold... Rose will probably win.

It's July!

Can it really be July? I know at the beginning of every month I post about being surprised that another month has passed already, but it's honest shock and awe at how quickly time flies by these days.

First, a little note that the final part of the mystery sampler, My Mother's Garden II is now available in The Gift of Stitching. Since it's all out in the open now, I can post a picture of the whole thing! I apologize in advance for the terrible picture, and will post better ones when the model is back in my hands. :) I'm gearing up to stitch another model of this one in a more muted colourway and on a smaller count fabric - just cause. I knew when I designed this one that a lot of people would probably prefer more muted, sampler-ish colours, but since this one shall eventually hang next to it's big sister in my mother's living room, I though it best to choose colours that my mom would appreciate most. I will say that even the more muted colourway is still in very rich colours. I just can't bring myself to stitch in dull colours. When will this be re-released as a stand alone design? I'm figuring on the fall Online Needlework show or possibly Nashville for that, but will let you know if that time frame changes.

I'd like to thank everyone for the amazing feedback I've been getting about Antique Lace(s). It's been wonderful hearing from all of you and I can't wait to see some WIP pictures!

I'm getting ready to start stitching the next flower design, but I can't decide which to do first, Rose or Marigold. Marigold would probably be the better choice since I don't yet have an orange one in the set, but I'm so in love with Belle Soie Rosebud I'm using for Rose that I'm torn!! So in the meantime I've been stitching away on Petal Fairy and I'm getting close to finishing. I may just keep at it and finish her up - I've got two colours of yellow left on her skirt and then just her legs and the beading to do. I hate to put her away with so little left to do! At some point I need to get a move on on my brother's Christmas present, but the threads are still in the mail.

I've also been fiddling around on the computer with some new designs. Nothing concrete yet, as I can't seem to translate what's in my head to little x's just yet. You would not believe how frustrating that is!! Eventually it'll just spew out and I'll be on the computer designing non-stop for two weeks. I've learned it's better to wait until it's concrete in my head than trying to force it.

And with that, I'm going to go stitch.

All finished :)

Okay well it was all stitched up on Friday. But then I took the weekend off to relax, and come Monday I was down for the count with some sort of bug. :( Feeling much better now, but oh what a pain. I've been stuck like glue to the computer since Tuesday morning though and, as promised, both versions have been sent off to the distributor now and will be available from ECS as soon as Cindy gets a chance to update the website. :)

And for those who may have missed it, or haven't seen it yet, here is the long band sampler version. I'll be stitching my model for this one later on in the summer - I need a break from lace!! Materials should be starting to arrive soon though, now that the mail is moving again.

I had hoped to have a third design to release today too, but with the postal strike the model for the third one sat at the border for who knows how long. I know it cleared customs at least a week ago or more, so it should be arriving home soon. Hopefully. If it gets lost, can I sue Canada Post/CUPW/Jack Layton for it? I think all of the small businesspeople like me should band together and start a class action lawsuit against them for all the hassles and stoppage of work they caused us.

Now I'm taking a short break from model stitching and working on Petal Fairy for a few days. I do have materials here to start either Marigold or Rose, so I may do that this week. I also have materials on order for a couple others so I might wait until those get here. Not sure, it's just nice to NOT be stitching lace. ;)

Just a quick one

I'm heading out the door to go visit dad for father's day, but since I had AL off the snaps to take to show mom, I figured I'd post a picture. :)


Almost there!! Sorry about the horrendous quality - it's so big it's hard to get a good picture of!

Venting, cursing, rambling...

Venting and cursing first...

Well first, I'm going to vent because my LNS is closing. Brenda has been talking about the possibility for months, but I had really hoped she wouldn't have to. I know I'll still see Brenda and visit with her, and we'll get together to stitch, but I'm sad to see the shop go. I still don't understand how the shops that sell at much higher prices are so much busier, but I'm going to guess that it's because they're in more populated areas.

One of the other reasons I'm venting today, and one of the major reasons shops are closing and sales are declining - copyright infringement. From the numbers on some of these sharing sites I can tell you that the interest in cross stitch isn't declining as much as some may think - they're just stealing their charts rather than buying them. Some of the sharing sites have over 100,000 members. I know it's always happened, photocopies being passed around and such, but with the internet it's getting worse and worse everyday. It's not just the sales numbers that hurt, it's the emotional toll it takes on us. More than a couple days spent in tears myself, and it's not happening to me nearly as often as it happens to some of the other designers. I can only imagine how they feel. Not going into a long rant. Those who do it, you know who you are, (and in some cases, so do we), those who do not, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support. :)

Having gotten that little vent out of the way, I have to say it's been refreshing to see the amount of support we're getting from a large number of people. Much of what we are able to have removed from internet sites is due to reports from stitchers, so a big thank you to all of you out there for dropping us emails and letting us know! We appreciate it more than you know.

Another small vent. Vikki Clayton is having a stitching exhibition over the next two weeks. I want to go so badly, but I just can't swing it. I'm incredibly jealous because one of my close stitching buddies arrived there yesterday and is spending the weekend, and I'm sure will be bombarding us with lots and lots of pretty pictures.

Finally, a really big vent. Canada Post, you suck. I have lost all respect for the union and company alike. The union is asking far too much in my opinion. They would never get anything close to that in the private sector, which is my basis for comparison. And the company locking down has completely pissed me off. I know it was probably so that the government would step in, and I can only hope that the back to work legislation passes quickly. In fact, so do the postal workers locally - they are livid with the union for pushing it to this point. Why am I so pissed off, you may ask? Because I am waiting for several parcels for model stitching. I have fabric and floss for the long version of Antique Lace on order, the threads for My Mother's Garden 2 in the sampler colours coming, and various other threads so I can finalize colours on Celtic Snow. And the model for Tulip is on it's way to me as well. Plus the threads for my brother's Growth Rings. Oh and of course my birthday charts. Service has been going downhill for years, though prices keep going up and up. 2 years ago I could get orders from vendors in the US in a week to 10 days. Now it takes closer to 3 weeks. I know it's not USPS, because they're getting to customs just as quickly as they ever did, it's on this side of the border the hold ups happen. Here's a question for you - why is postage in UK so much cheaper? The price of gas there is near double what it is here, yet it costs my MIL a fraction of what it costs us to send parcels back and forth. Plus theirs is much more efficient and quicker. Food for thought.

I know I can use UPS or Fed Ex, and in some cases I may go that route in future. In some cases that isn't an option, my vendors don't all offer that as an alternative. Plus, the cost of using these services can be pretty prohibitive. I scarcely make enough to cover materials now, in fact I used birthday money to buy supplies for the next couple of models, so additional costs for shipping isn't something I fancy.

The issue I have with them is their absolute selfishness, the company and union alike. Do they really not care how many people depend on them to run their businesses, and how much strain they're putting on THEM?

And an off topic vent... my hair. It grows much too fast. I caved and had it cut short a couple of months ago, and have had it trimmed back to chin length once already. It's already long enough to put in a pony tail again. I swear it grows 2 inches a month!! Suppose it's time to get it cut again.

Okay, venting and cursing over. I think.

A little update, Antique Lace is almost finished. I'm starting on the last couple of pages this weekend, then there will just be beading and ribbon left to do. Excited!!! I know I've been terrible about posting new pictures and updates but I just want to get it done now. Of course being this close to finishing, my usual stitching ADD is kicking in and I'm spending all sorts of time dreaming about other things I could be stitching instead of just getting it over with. I will try to get Jon to take a picture of me holding it so you can see how bloody huge it really is! This will be a HUGE happy dance.

And Tulip is finished. May dropped it in the mail to me on Wednesday. :) So look for that one to be released soon as well, so long as CP doesn't hold it hostage for too long. You rock, May. I'll probably release all three together at the beginning of July - 3 months ahead of schedule in fact. :)

And finally, a big, huge, THANK YOU! for all the birthday wishes, and a hello and welcome to my new followers! Inching up to that 100 mark. ;)