Monday, April 30, 2007

Did you miss me?

Remember when I told you I should start the border? Well, I did. I stitched a little bit last night and was able to stitch 20 minutes at school !!! I also took advantage of my last day at school to make copies of my chart on a big sheet. Tomorrow it's holiday in France so that means I don't work tuesday and wednesday . I hope they will call me on thrusday to go somewhere (anywhere :D)
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Zohrah, I don't like french knots because I don't master them ... They seem so easy to do but they end up too small or they disappear under the fabric ... :(


Saturday, April 28, 2007

Add a butterfly and ...

You get a new large picture of my latest WIP !!! I'm not friend with french, though they are supposed to be french :D so I only made one for my first butterfly! (that's also why none of my birds have eyes ;) yet ! ) I should start to stitch the border around as I know it may bore me if I leave it for the end. (it did when I stitched the four seasons...)

So, why do you think?


Friday, April 27, 2007

A little more wing


Well, no time to stitch at work and I checked internet last night so here is my small progress but a progress anyway ! While I was checking ebay , I got 2 brand new ideas for stash ... New projects in my mind as if I need new projects !!!
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I'm tired tonight, not so much from working but from spending one hour stuck in traffic jam! (for only 10 km drive - usually it takes me 10mn but I think they got an accident on the freeway)

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Do you see a bird now ?

Now you start to see the whole picture, right? :D I stitched the head just for you ladies !!! You must feel special, mustn't you? (I'm using my english gramar right now :p ) If I'm joking that's also mean I'm feeling so good to be working !!! I couldn't stitch at work because I was too busy at lunch time but I have good hope for tomorrow ;)
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Barbibouille: j'ai beaucoup avancé parce que je n'avais pas de remplacements alors j'en ai profité ;)

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Do you see a bird?


I can almost hear you: where does she (yes, I am a woman) see a bird? Well, I have barely started this yellow - beige bird. I'm sure it is going to be pretty nice but for now, it's just crosses stitched next to each others...
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I went to LNS this morning. I tried to buy one piece of fabric for my Dimensions bell pull : like always I want to replace the original aida fabric ( I'm stubborn :p ) but she had nothing in the right size for me. Maybe it is an american size. She told me to buy regular fabric, cut it and sew something around. Well, there's only one little problem : I don't know how to SEW !!!! Anyway, I have project for the next 20 years , at least, so it can wait :D

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

YEAH !!!!!

They finally called me today! I start this afternoon and it is until monday !!! I prefer longer contracts but right now, just working, going out of the appartment is what I need !!! So I am very HAPPY !!! I'm going have a class of 6 years old (like first grade) Ok, I'm going get ready for work so no stitching until tonight ...

Third birdhouse completed


Third birdhouse completed last night. I'm going to start the bird above. The bird looks beautiful on the picture so I hope mine is going to be as nice.
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I'm waiting for a job. We'll see what happened: I'll keep you posted ;)

Monday, April 23, 2007

New birdhouse


Yesterday, I finished the flower: it needed some backstitch on the main flower. I've started the third birdhouse. I'm going to stitch this afternoon : I'm still at home ... I may finish it this afternoon and I think I'll make the bird above the the birdhouse.
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Zohrah : then I am not on any wagon :D I am just free ;)

Sunday, April 22, 2007

I added the flower

The flower is finished: I still need to add the backstitch on the main flower. I'm going to go up to the third birdhouse (above the blue one) At least, I stitch fast which is great. I'm already kind of thinking about my next project.




It could be that:




I bought that kit from the french ebay. I bought it to offer it to one of my sister in law in Texas who like stitching once in a while. But when I got the kit, the seller had opened it, cut the image to make it fit into her envelope ... :o Well, I could not offer it as is for her birthday so I decided to stitch this design. I'm not too fond of angels but I really like my sister in law and I know she will love it. That's why I bought the solo from silweaver. What do you think? Do you like angels? Those are cute so they should not too painful to stitch. I like the little girl's face and expression (except it is a Dimensions kit so the design may be a little tricky with combined colours ... )
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Today, it is voting day in France. I'm among those people who don't know for whom they're going to vote ... We can choose from 12 candidates but I don't really trust them as I thing they just want the power. Sarkozy got a DNA testing to find the guys who stole his son's scooter as did Segolène Royal ... Do you think they will do if the son of a poor man had his scooter stolen too? I don't think so ... They spend OUR money as if it belongs to them and not to the community ... anyway, I'm going to go voting and I'll decide at the last moment...

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I'm still not feeling too well. Should I spend some money on cross stitch to feel better? .... I'm thinking about the Fabric of the Month from Silweaver .... Who knows what can happen :D

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By the way, blogspot seems to obey me a little better but it is not quite what I want yet ... I'll see if it will leave a space between 2 lines ... (no, it doesn't do it yet or at least, not today lol )

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Have a good sunday !!!


Saturday, April 21, 2007

Depressed

I'm really feeling depressed today. I know I should relax but I can't help it. Too much fears I guess... Thanks for reading the blog anyway ... even though I don't get many comments ...

Friday, April 20, 2007

Stash from Silkweaver

My solos :
- 16x19 light purple (32 ct job.)
- 16x25 cloudy (32 ct lugana)
- 9 x13 terra cotta (28 ct job.)
- 9 x13 dark blue (32 ct job.)
- 9 x13 tutti fruti 28 ct lugana



















9 : 9x13 differents counts and colors .

How can you tell I am not working?

Just by looking at my Birdhouse artistry by Lanarte !!! I finished the second birdhouse and I'm also almost done with the yellow flower. But no cross stitch this afternoon.
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I called Isabel, my australian-spanish friend for a lunch. I'll see her beautiful daughter and I'm sure I'll have a nice afternoon before picking up the kids at school at 4.00 pm ! I'll post my silkweaver fabrics later on !!!
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Hasta luego !

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Got my 2nd order !!!

It took only 6 days for my second order of silweaver fabrics to arrive. YEAH !!!! I got 9 small fabrics (9 X 13 ) of regular color of their choices of colours. I couldn't take pictures because my batteries went off. Tomorrow, I'll do it: I promise ;)

I love small designs ...

I go really fast on that small birdhouse. I may even finish it tonight (or this afternoon as thet haven't call today either ... )
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It is not pleasant to stay at home and wait, wait for the time to pass... I need to find something interesting to do. I feel guilty if I stitch too much during the day...

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I just got it !!!!

Yeah ! I just got my FIRST order of solos from Silkweaver !!! I got a 32 ct lugana (16 X 25) looking like clouds (I want to use it to stitch some angels for my one of my sister in law) , a 32 ct jobelan (16 X 19 ) and 3 solos 9 X 13 of their choice of colors. I'll see with what I'll use those. I'm waiting for the second part of my order. My solos were sent in april 11 th and I got them today: 7 days to arrive in France !!! Not too bad :D I'll take pictures tomorrow.

More progress

My last progress: as you can see it goes pretty fast. It also helps that I am not working ... They haven't called yet so I'm going to call the lady today to remind her that I am here, available (desesperate) to work !!! :D On the small, there are many colors changes so that's also explain why I go very fast on that one. I am now sure I won't spend 7 months on that design.

Today, it's wednesday which means for french kids: activities ! Drawning class in the morning for Pierre and Emma and music and violin class for Emma in the afternoon.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Birdhouse completed



I finished the birdhouse last night. I still need to do some backstitch on the birdhouse but I'll do that later ;) I even have time to start the small birdhouse on the right. I may stitch the flower under after I finish the birdhouse. The colors are blue - green. It should go faster than the main birdhouse so I find that very motivating. I don't think I'll spend 7 months on that one :) But we never know :D Anyway, I'm glad I finished the main birdhouse !!!

I didn't work yesterday so I'll see if they call me today. I feel weird staying at home. I hate that actually and I don't think I could be a housewife : I'll get depressed (and desesperate ;) lol )








Monday, April 16, 2007

Almost done.



I'm not done like I wanted to but I'm almost done. Only the very top of the birdhouse is not finished. The overview of the birdhouse is still dark. I hope with the smaller designs around, it will look clearer.




Yesterday, we went to an adventure park with some friends. It was a first time for everybody. Pierre was very excited and he enjoyed very much being so high in the trees. It was very good for him as he tends to lack confi-dence. Emma wanted to do the baby course but then, decided she will do the junior one like her friend. At some moments, she got very scared but she was brave and completed all the junior course. That's great as she is sometimes scared for little things. During that time, I took care of Esteban so you won't see any pictures of me climbing in trees. I'm sure you will have enjoy that view. :D It cost 42 Euros for 3 but Chuy said it is worth it. The kids really got a good time for the last day of their vacations !!!
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The phone has not ring yet. So I don't know if I will work today or not. It is 10 am , they can call until 12.00 am so I'm waiting. I hate that because you are stuck at home and I don't really want to start something like big cleaning and have to stop in the middle and leave all the mess behind. Well, we'll see!!! I'll keep you posted ;)




























































Saturday, April 14, 2007

And who is a happy girl?

I got lucky this afternoon: I got my lamp !!! YEAH !!! I went to a Home Depot kind of store (Leroy Merlin for those who know) and there it was : in special ! Only 3 left because it was 14.95 Euros instead of 22. I took it in white instead of the dark yellow I would have liked (they were sold out) And, I even got a daylight bulb !!! They are the only home improvment store that have those around here. It is not the real brand but I don't care as I know they work fine too. Well well well, I 'm going have a nice stitching night !!!

New progress



As you can see I did succeed to stitch with my desk lamp next to me. I'm almost done with the roof. I finally changed my mind and I'll stitch one of the small birdhouse on the right instead of the eggs under the main birdhouse. I changed because if I want to lower the eggs, it will easier if I have the stitch designs around .
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Well this afternoon, I'll go back for my lamp hunt ! San, I went to Conforama, But and Fly which are big furniture store. If the main brands don't have the cheapest lamps , what am I going to do??? Last month, I saw some though and at that time, I didn't even worry something could have happen to it ... I hope I'll be lucky this afternoon !!! Cross your fingers ladies !!!

Friday, April 13, 2007

No stitching... and a nightmare !!!

I didn't have time to stitch last night. So tonight it is stitching night but something terrible happened : my stitching lamp broke at the base ... Noooooooooo ! It's not one of those fancy stitching lamp (even though I wish to have one : Santa if you read my blog , think about me: I'm been very nice lately :D ) Anyway, it happened in the morning (almost broke one of my friend's son's head : oops ... :) So this afternoon, I rushed to the funriture store where I bought it ... But there were none ... :o So I went to a second one, and they were sold out. They had some but they cost 43 Euros so I decided to check another store to see if I'll have more luck. The third store didn't have any ... Well, let me tell you something ladies: all those stores are going to suffer a lot when IKEA is going to be open in my town !!! It should be in 2009 or 2010 (it's a long time to wait but it's worth it :D
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Anyway: that doesn't solve my problem... No good light for tonight... I'll try with a desk lamp but It may not be the same. Tomorrow, I'll check another store or I'll go back to the second one and spend my 43 Euros ... unless someone wins the lottery and want to be generous with me ;)

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Slow progress


I stitched a little bit last night. Progress is slow. Chuy, my husband, said we can really well what the design is about. Me, I do see the 2 birds . Could he have an eye problem? lol
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I finally bought a solo from silweaver. Of course, when I went there, the solo I wanted was already taken but a miracle happened and 30 minutes later, the solo was in MY cart !!! :) Thanks to the person who changed her/his mind. I think some people put all the solos they may want in their cart then take their time to think really about which one they're going to buy. I bought one to stitch angels for my sister in law in Texas. That way, I won't have to stitch the sky :D I hope the fabric is going to be as good as I think !!! It should be around 8 or 10 days before I get my order ! I'm all excited about it !!! I'm like a child at christmas time :D
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That was the good part of it. The bad part was I couldn't pay with my paypal account... I was very stressed out by that , wondering how I was going to pay for my fabrics as I couldn't go back to checkout. I sent a mail to silkweaver who sent me an electronic invoice so I was able to pay with my Visa e-card. So it can happen with Paypal : if they think they are a securtiy issue, they refuse the payment... They say it is very rare but still ... What will happen if I buy something on ebay US and they refuse the payment??? I asked them the question and I'm waiting for the answer ...
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Have a great day as sunny as ours ;)


Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Second bird almost over !


This bird is almost done. I just need to stitch the second wing. I'm going up to the roof of the birdhouse. I think I'll be done by sunday. Then I'll decide what I want to stitch next. I may stitch the 4 eggs under the birdhouse. I don't want to stitch Marjolein Bastin's name so I may stitch the eggs lower than on the original chart. I didn't do it with the four seasons and I regreted it at the end. If someone stitched it , please let me know so I can check your gallery. Thanks !!!

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Working on the second bird.


The roof is almost completed: I still need to stitch the backstitches. There are not a lot. The second bird is almost finished as well. I love when it goes fast !!! :)

Monday, April 9, 2007

Not much



Well, the picture is supposed to be on the left. We'll see if blogger accepts it this way.. I doubt about it. We came back late last night so I stitched only a little bit. I'm almost done with the roof under the second bird. On the left side of the design it's not that dark anymore. I'm impatient to see the birdhouse over !!!


Pierre learnt how to be a pinatero (with a pinata made in China ... ) and Esteban praticed his spanish with Belkys who is from Venezuela. It was Gabriel's birthday: who just turned 4 years old.


Easter and a brithday !



Well, Blogger never allow me to put the pictures the way I want it. I'd like to put them next to each other... It's all about easter: you can see Emma and esteban checking their easter eggs.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

HAPPY EASTER DAY !!!



All the bottom part of the birdhouse is now completed. The colors were more pleasant to stitch. I'm going to continue the roof in order to be able to stitch the second bird tomorrow.
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We have two invitations today: one at my parent's house for a lunch and a eggs hunt and at 4.30 pm, a birthday invitation for a 4 y.o. boy who is half brazilian and half french. We speak spanish with the mom. She's among our group of south american friends. That's good for our kids to hear spanish outside the house sometimes!
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HAPPY EASTER TO ALL !!!

Saturday, April 7, 2007

New pic



I finished the right part of the birdhouse. I am now working on the left one. I am going fast and I hope to finish the birdhouse by the end of my vacations (april 15th) . We'll see if I can do it!

Friday, April 6, 2007

Yellow bird what do you see?


It could be an Eric Carle's book ;) As you can see I had a stitching afternoon yesterday. I took advantage of Esteban's nap and Chuy took the 3 kids out to the park after his own nap (he works in the morning shift this week) So I really enjoyed myself !!! Colors are still very dark (too dark for me at least) but anyway, I started it and I don't want that one end up as an UFO. That's why I choose carefully the one I am making now. I have no plans for this afternoon so I may stitch again for 2 hours. But right now, it's cleaning time! :(( lol

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Still disappointed ...

Colors are really dark. I hope when I'll stitch the bottom part od the bridhouse , it will look close to the picture I have on the kit. Stitching takes a lot of time so I don't want to stitch something for a long time and be that disappointed :((

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

New progress


Nobody could really help me so I may try to contact Lanarte but I'm not sure they will answer me. For now, the colors are way darker than on my kit's picture. It is a little bit disapointing ... I hope it will end up looking much better because it is not a small project...
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I changed the fabric. I chose a 28 ct cream jobelan. I hope tonight stitching is going to be nice...
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Today was the first day of vacations for the kids. This morning, Pierre had an appointment at the hospital with his cancer doctor. It's a regular check up. He goes there every 4 months and in between, he does a blood test. The doc said Pierre's fine but I trust more a blood test... They are building a new unit so it was very hard to park. This new unit is going to be a pediatric unit where cancer kids are going to be. I hope it's going better than the actual one .They have 4 sterile rooms there and in 2 of them you have a view on the other side of the hospital (it has a U shape and 23 floors. The kids unit is at the 10 th floor) When you know some kids spends 2 months in there, you can imagine how hard it can be ...

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

I need your help !!!

The cross stitch I am making is "BIRDHOUSE ARTISTRY" from Lanarte. I found on internet a slighty different design. As you can see on the two pictures the blues on the newer design are stronger than on my own design.
this is mine!
And this is what I found on the internet:




As you can see, it is not the same blue on the flowers. I'd like to stitch it with those shades of blue so if someone stitched it, can you please contact me to give me the DMC numbers so I can change the colors? Thanks beforehand !!!! :)

First pic


Here it comes : my first picture !!! I stitched last night until midnight. It's always a great pleasure to stitch a Lanarte. The charts are always very clear. The only problem is that I didn't make a copy of the chart at school... I didn't think I'll start that one ....

Free charts

This is a french woman who create free charts that could work fine for RR. You choose you own colors. http://mamou.over-blog.net/ It is in french but you can go through the charts by checking "grilles gratuites" they are 8 pages to browse. Hope you'll find something you like ;)

French designer .




I'd like to show a new designer : "madame la fée " http://www.madame-la-fee.com/ I like what she does but she sells her chart for 19 Euros (about 21 $ ) which I think it's too much for a chart. I'm not sure the images are going to be clear. Don't hesitate to check her work, it's beautiful. You can buy through her site or check that web site :http://www.universbroderie.com/
The shipping cost is lower and they speak english.

Monday, April 2, 2007

Good news !

I did find my next project. You remember how I told you I wanted to start a small project and bla bla bla. Well, I finally chose one of my Lanarte Kit. The name is not writing on it: it is the one with a nest, birds and brushes. It's from Marjolein Bastin. I love lanarte's kit. I hope that one will be as pleasant as the other ones I made. I hope to show you some progress tomorrow !!!

An UFO .



I put the bears in the closet and I took my Inca ans Maya cultures from Lanarte. I took a picture before and after. I stitched the fringe close to the man with the guitar. It still hard to stitch on that fabric, even though it is evenweave (my favorite...)
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Kids are at school and Esteban is at the daycare. It is time to look at my stash with no kids around !!!! Should I order pizza for lunch to complete the fiesta? just kidding ... :p
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Terri Ann you should create your own blog: it is easy and fast. I like blogger for that. In less than 5 minutes you can create your message blog ! ;)

I gave up ...



Well, like I told you, I did gave up on my Calendar bear. It is long and not very exciting... I'm showing you my latest progress and a view of the 3 completed bears (still 9 to go ;) one day ...)

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Snow on march 30th !!!


I forgot to tell you that on friday morning we got some snow. When I checked by the window, I just saw some rain but I got very surprised when I went out to see the cars covered with snow :o Fortunately on my part of town, we didn't have any snow on the roads but it was not the case everywhere. I found a picture from Honfleur on the internet. Honfleur is a touristic area in Normandy. Snow at the end of march is pretty unusual ... Another proof the weather is getting weird???