I simply cannot believe the response I've gotten to my give-away so far! Thank you all so much for the comments and be sure to enter my give-away here!!! 

Never would I have EVER thought it possible to reach 100 followers on my little blog. I'm almost there and it's sooo AMAXING :) It is an absolute joy blogging and sharing my experiences, but what I love most is reading all the other cross stitchy blogs out there. They are a constant source of inspiration and motivation for me, and perhaps they also feed my addiction just a little too ;) 

This week it's back to the Friendship Sampler I've been working on. It took a back seat to the exchange piece I was working on over the past week or so... so I'm very happy to have it back onto the hoops. 

Over all I'm loving this sampler, despite a few errors I've caught in the chart. Last night I was stitching happily away when I realized... UH OH... I'm off a stitch in the stem I was working on... being too lazy to frog it all I decided the best course of action was simply to add a stitch to the top and hope things didn't look too off. By rights the red petals on either side shouldn't be directly touching the green of the stem... SUPREME LAZINESS... me no wanna frog .... haha. Here's the problem area.

Now to some doggie entertainment. I bought some bubbles at the dollar store today and instantly my mind went to the dogs. Literally. They would LOVE chasing around the bubbles!!! Here they are in action :)

Getting ready for some fun!

OMGZ BUBBLESSS! Ready to pounce!!!

Anyway I hope you all are enjoying the week so far. I'll be busy preparing for/recovering from my graduation party that's on Friday this week for the next couple of days. Lots of Italian themed games/drinks/food because that's where I did my Master's Degree :)  Wish me luck!!!!

Happy Stitching 

Melissa

Ciao tutti!!!

I can't say thank you enough for the support I received after posting last week. I was kinda feeling down in the dumps you could say - and all the support was simply inspiring! So thank you!!!

I really feel like doing something special for you all so I've decided to do a GIVE-A-WAY!!!! Yes you heard that right :) I've been toying with this idea for some time now so why not do it now?!

I'll send out a package of goodies to the lucky winner which will include some of my very own hand-dyed floss and this biscornu I stitched up not too long ago using Manka's Mystery SAL design... and a few other things to be revealed later! AND perhaps more than one winner just to make things interesting :)

The Rules are as follows:

(1) Be a follower of my blog.

(2) Create a link in your blog's side bar and/or post about my give-a-way.

(3) Comment on this post if you wish to be entered into this give-a-way indicating your email address (so I can notify you). 

It's as easy-peasy as that folks!

Give-a-way ends on JUNE 19, 2012

Good luck everyone!!!!

Melissa

Hello again everyone!!!

I'm going to take a bit of divergence from my usual cross stitch nattering. I need some support more than anything. 

While I'm blessed to have a job at the moment, I have been for the past year searching for something else. Something that is gratifying and something that inspires me. I have spurts of those moments where I'm at right now but... well lets just say it's just not fast paced enough. Add this too the fact that I'm on 3month contracts, with the fear of not being extended whenever the deadline approaches. Now the time is starting to creep upon me once more where I feel like I'm in a perpetual state of limbo, never knowing if I'm going to be here one day and gone the next. So I've been looking... but there's hardly anything showing up on the job boards that reflects the skills I have! I've just applied to my first job in over 6 months!!! That's how sparse the job market in my given field is. I'm feeling hugely insecure about it all at the moment... and part of me is dreading the day when I can't find a job before my contract ends.

Am I hopeless no... but as a new entrant into the labour force I never imagined it being this hard to find a secure(ish) job!!! I have the education, I have experience, I have the charisma, WHAT MORE CAN THEY WANT????? Yet no call backs, no interviews....

Hopefully I'll have good news soon to share... SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE!

Melissa

   

Hello again Folks!

First off welcome to my new followers and thank you to all for the lovely comments I've received on my previous posts these last couple of days :)

I think I'm going to have to drag myself away from the plethora of cross stitching sites out there... I am officially going STASH CRAZY! I don't mean picking up the occasional chart or piece of fabric here and there... I mean checking places like 123stitch.com almost everyday to see what's new and exciting. I have lots of projects waiting for me but I just want moreeeeeee. For instance... silkweaver fabrics weekly facebook sales of its fabrics... well I'm the person screaming at the computer screen screaming 'MEEEEE', yet some how managing to keep my fingers from hitting the enter button and buying those marvellous, delicious, divine fabrics ... 

When I'm not in buying mode I drool over the stash I have thinking 'soon my pretty, soon...' 

SOMEONE HELP ME!!!!!! How do I cure this itch???

AHhhhhhhhh!

This message was brought to you by cross stitch nut Melissa... now back to our regular programming.

This past weekend was a BLAST. Lots of friends, family, fishing and stitching! I'd definitely qualify May 24th weekend and IHSW a success. Here's some photo's of the May 24th weekend festivities:

My man being foolish! 

Brother fishing with is freezing little pup... 

The May 24th Gang!

And now another weekend is upon us!!! YEY. I have a concert I'm heading to tomorrow night - another YEY. This particular concert I've been literally waiting for forever. I'm not kidding... I bought my tickets back in November for the show in March which then got postponed to MAY! YIKES! Now I'm not what you call a fanatic... but it's rare to get concerts this big in such a small place... so you take what you can get. Of course it helps that I actually enjoy the band :) 

Besides anticipating another weekend full of activities, this week I've actually managed to achieve LOADS of stitching in... I just can't update you on much seeing as one of my stitchy projects is top secret. But I did get a little progress in on my Friendship Sampler - che bella no?

Also, here is my May TUSAL jar for this month - as you can tell I've been busy! And these are  only the threads that I managed to catch from other sneaky fingers/paws.

These being the mischievous buggers... 

They are not as innocent as they look I promise. You just have to get past the pile of cuteness and I swear you'll see that they would like nothing more than chew-up every shoe in the house so that you never leave again because you have nothing to wear on your feet! 

Until next time!

Ciao tutti!

Melissa 

Hello my stitchy friends!

It's finally the 24th of May long weekend (aka Victoria Day). But isn't May 24th on Thursday next week you ask??? Why yes it is, but May 24  is always celebrated on the Monday before the actual day. Victoria Day here in Canada is technically a celebration of the Monarchy and Queen Victoria's b-day. That's Queen Victoria of England I'm talking about. Some of you may be surprised to learn that formally Canada's Monarch and ruler is the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth. Now mind you we do have a Prime Minister just like the UK who actually calls the shots, but Canada is part of the commonwealth countries. There's your fun fact for today :) 

Now onto the more serious business! The May 2-4 weekend would not be complete without a couple of things, mainly a trip to 'da cabin' or 'around da bay' or 'up in a gravel pit' with your trusty camper. One must also be equipped with copious amounts of grub and booze to entertain all those that might pop by for a scoff (aka - a feed, a kitchen party, etc etc etc). I would even go so far as to say that the May 24th weekend is THE most anticipated long weekend in Newfoundland. It symbolizes so many things, good times with friends and family, start of the fishing/camping season, and most importantly May 24 weekend is the unofficial start of spring/summer... despite the fact that I can remember waking up to snow on the tent at times during this weekend. But as for this upcoming weekend... well I don't want to jinx it but... it's looking pretty darn fine. A few showers on Saturday but temps are suppose to be in the teens all weekend. I'm headed to the cabin this weekend with some family and friends, so here's me crossing my fingers and hoping for a good weekend. 

One other thing that we lot like to indulge in during this highly anticipated weekend is MUSIC. Specifically traditional Newfoundland/Irish Music. Below is a song I've linked that you must ABSOLUTELY listen to. It's called '24th of May' by Buddy Wasisname and the Other Fellers. This group has been around for years here in Newfoundland, so this song will give you a feel for what May 24th is all about and also a bit of traditional music. 

In mentioning Buddy Wasisname I also have to let you have a listen to 'Salt Water Joys'. My all time favourite Newfoundland Song. I would often listened to this when I lived away... it always made me a little homesick, but nevertheless I love this song.

As many of you already know it's also IHSW this weekend. I've signed up in the hope that I'll get plenty of stitching done. Wish me luck!

This week also saw bit of work put into my Friendship Sampler. Here's were I'm at currently.

I also got some stashy things to report on! I received some new patterns in the mail the other day AND Bronwyn also sent me here Peter Rabbit Charts that were in an old magazine of hers. So a BIG thanks to Bronwyn, especially since her offer came to me just as I was entering the blogging world. Couldn't have asked for a better experience :) A couple of weeks ago I received some new fabrics from Silkweaver Fabrics and 123Stitch as well and am only just getting a picture in of them now... shame on me... hehe.

That's all from me for now! Have a great stitchy weekend everyone!!!

Ciao!

Melissa

Hello again my stitchy friends :)

Firstly, thank you all for the wonderful comments on my last post. I'm so glad you all enjoyed to pictures of South Brigus - I love this beautiful Island of mine and cannot resist sharing the photos I take with you guys!!!

My post title today is very appropriate because we got DRENCHED yesterday. It rained, and then it rained some more right up until 7pm and then the sun came out for just a quick hello and goodbye. 'Weather' also happened to be the very first thing I stitched on my new start!

This is the beginnings of the Friendship Sampler I purchased from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe not too long ago. I'm loving the hand dyed floss so far, especially since it's not quite the same shade throughout the length of the floss so the end result is rustic - which is exactly what I'm going for on this project. The only liberty I've taken with the design/instructions so far is that I'm not using full floss stitches - and by that I took it mean the whole 6 strands of floss!!! So instead I'm using just 3 - essentially halving the floss. I did a couple of stitches in full floss but the result was far to bulky for my liking. 3 strands on 18 count aida is just full enough for me I think. 

On another note ... I'm beginning to feel a bit guilty for not working on 'Oh Christmas Tree'... but I'm just not in the mood :( There are so many other fun stitchy projects calling my name! I know this is probably no excuse but I simply want to do other projects first. Maybe I'll get around to it soon... no promises though. 

Oh! Also, this weekend I finished up part of my project for my Stitched With Love Exchange partner, this of course was between helping my brother put the finishing touches on his new house. Just got to get the ok from the inspector and he'll be in the house and my free time will have doubled (or maybe even tripled!). Seriously though, I'm very happy for him and his girlfriend. Soon I hope to have a house just as beautiful as theirs. 

I'll leave you with a puppy picture, it's been some time since I posted a picture of these two rascals. Blue (the black and white one) will soon be leaving us to live with my brother - the true owner. I'm not sure how Leia will like that seeing as I'm pretty sure these two are in love with each other.  I see many a puppy date in the future...

Happy Stitching dearies!

Melissa

Hello my lovelies!

My my how time flies when you are having fun. The second week of May is about to bite the dust! Not much in the way of stitching done this week, although I've put some effort into my summer exchange piece (too bad I can't share my progress...).  This entry is decicated to the adventures I've had this week, and shows the very reason why my stitchy-things have sat in their cupboard all this week.

~~~

This week has just been filled with adventures. Sunday on the way back from the cabin myself and my friends popped of to South Brigus to explore. I have never been down the road that took us to South Brigus, despite it literally being around the corner from the turn off to my cabin. Were we EVER rewarded for this little detour! 

Like many a spring day in Newfoundland, the fog had been in since the early morning and the day had a generally overcast dreary feeling about it. After a feed of Eggs Benedict (YUM!) we headed out......... The road into South Brigus was nothing remarkable, through the stumped evergreen woods, past a small pond and some cabins... and then all of a sudden you crest a hill and there it is, a small picturesque fishing village that rural Newfoundland is characterized by. The whole of the village circles the small protected harbour, its neglected fishing buildings still standing atop wooden posts that have seemingly been infused with the ocean over time. Low-tide brings all the smells of the ocean out, and the ocean is literally in the air. It's an odd smell, somewhere between freshness and rot. The exposed seaweed that litters the rocky beach is most certainly the culprit for this, especially since there is no fish to be had in these parts in any real amount any more.  

We continue our walk to the break water and take our adventure to the massive rocks that keep the waters from flooding this little harbour.

 Again low-tide is our friend and allows us to make our way onto the rock ledges you see to the right of this picture.

My daring (and darling hehe) Boyfriend is already exploring...

We revert to our early childhood selves at this point and decide to climb up the rock onto the hill above... not recommended for the average tourist! I'd say growing up in Newfoundland allows one to obtain a certain skill set, rock climbing is just one of them ;) So up we go!

The fruit of our labour = awesome pic ;)

And this was the scene at the top of the hill that greeted us once we had made our way up the crevasses (and yes there was a much easier way to get there... we just wanted to do it the hard way hehe). The wind on this side was MUCH stronger than in the little protect harbour just on the other side. At times the ocean's swell was calm, as much as an ocean can be calm... and just as we were leaving huge waves began to arrive.

Now you see it ...

Now you don't!!! THE POWER OF THE OCEAN!

~~~

Tuesday was my first pottery lesson! YEY. These are some of my creations.

For my first try, we simply stretched and moulded the clay on to a mould. That's the plate you see. 

But by far my favourite part of getting to try the wheel! Oh so fun, and far more challenging than you might think! Trying to control the clay and make it what you want it to do is A LOT harder than it looks. But still, despite it being a bit thick, I think the final product thus far looks great. I still need to paint/glaze it but I'll learn about that next week ;)

~~~

As for my stitchy stuff here's my lone update pic for this week.

The first part of my papillon SAL is officially completed! Now I'm anxiously awaiting the second instalment. 1/24 done :)

~~~

Before I go I want to express my sincere thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. Thanks so much, you guys certainly know how to make a girl feel good ;)

I'll leave you with this magnificent picture of the Quidi Vidi (sounds like Kitty Vidy) gut that I took yesterday. This hunk of ice was a massive iceberg not that long ago and has been beached in the Quidi Vidi gut for more than a month. As time goes on the ice gets bluer and bluer! Just amazing - this has been the year of the iceberg for sure!!!

CIAO!

Melissa

Wellll... I've officially exhausted my cross stitching budget for this month already and we're only 4 days into MAY! YIKES. I may have a slight addiction forming to online shopping... But I'm not exactly asking to be saved from it haha. In particular I bought a LOAD of new fabric from Silkweaver Fabrics. They have a sale on their Facebook page twice or three times a week from what I can tell... and all of the fabrics are hand dyed unique pieces. Some of the fabrics were so divine, and of course I just couldn't let the opportunity pass me by. So I have 5, 18"x 26" pieces of fabric on the way, they are a mix of Edinburg Linen, Belfast Linen or Lugana. It'll be my first time working on many of these fabrics. But again in typical me fashion - diving in head first. We'll see what happens :)

I've also gotten plenty of stitchy things done this week. Particularily I'm learning how to create a biscornu. I've decided to use the design of the Manka's Mini Mystery SAL on this, I just love the purples!!! So very me. (Sorry for the lack of pictures... I forgot to take a pic of it!) My reasoning for learning how to make a biscornu (even if I fail miserably at it) is because I've been dying for a pin-keep for when I'm working on my cross stitch. Normally the needle ends up in the arm of the sofa just waiting for an innocent bystander to make the wrong move ANNNNND prick.... needle in the arm or other appendage. Logical conclusion to avoid any pain on my part (verbal or physical... god forbid I end up with the needle sticking out of my arm...) is to have a designated place to put my pointy things... TA DAAAAA biscornu. 

Also here's my progress on my Papillon SAL piece. Coming along a little more slowly this week due to my pre-occupation with the biscornu job. 

While I love the colours and the overall look on this heart so far I'm a little concerned with the fullness of the stitches. You can see the canvas between in all of my stitches so far. I guess if I had chosen a smaller count fabric then this wouldn't be a problem... hopefully it doesn't look too bad... That said, the backstitching on each flower certainly adds to them. I've got about half the heart backstitched so far.

Yesterday afternoon the mail man FINALLY delivered my package from the Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe. JOY! I really haven't been waiting all that long for it but the sheer anticipation was killing me. Thankfully my boyfriend was driving after I picked up the package and I was able rip right into the contents. Frankly I'm surprised the envelope survived my anxious little fingers haha. Mr. Envelope thanks me for my kindness :) I also have to mention again the kindness and patience Nancy over at the Victorian Motto Shoppe showed me. Made my first experience with ebay simple and easy. THANKS Nancy!

Doesn't that hand dyed floss look amazing?! So rich! I know the pic of the sampler is not that great... sleepy morning picture taking abilities (or lack there of) on my part. Waiting on some fabric and then this will be my next WIP. 

I don't think I'm going to get much, if any, stitching done this weekend because I'm heading up to the cabin once again, but this time with a bunch of friends. So I'm thinking I'll be playing hostess most of the time, which really doesn't leave a whole lot of time for stitching. But my friends deserve my attention, and I deserve a little break from having my hands into a pile of floss and fabric... as much as I love it. 


Happy Friday everyone and Happy Stitching :)


Melissa

Hello again readers,

Firstly thank you once again for all the wonderful comments on my last post! I hope you will all be able to make it here one day, perhaps even take in a kitchen party or two ;) And welcome to the new follower's I've picked up as well :)

It's been quite a while since I posted last, almost a full week. Wait did I read that right? A full week?! Shockin' I know. I so enjoy posting here and reading up on everyones blog but I seemed to have fallen a little behind this week. SO I spent my morning break and lunch hour reading away and am now feeling inspired.

I have a new start that I'll be beginning today, but shhhhhh it's a little bit of a secret. I'm participating in Stitched With Love Exchanges and this start will represent my beginning my very first exchange!!!! EXCITING! I didn't have a wealth of patterns to avail of to suit my partner, but I have one I think may do the trick. I really want to whip up something nice and the creative juices are flowing! Bright fun colours for the summer months ahead.

Apart from this 'Oh Christmas Tree" really has taken a backseat to the Papillon SAL piece. I know I've said this before, but the combination of the different fabric and the speciality stitches are making this so fun! I can hardly put it down. I have one more heart to do until this part of the SAL is done. I'll be anxiously waiting for part number 2 this week!

On a good note though I'm starting to feel the itch to pick up 'Oh Christmas Tree' again, the complete aversion I had to it last week has dissipated considerably and I think I'll brave the 'green' of the tree very soon.

Putting stitchy news aside, life has been pretty straight forward over the past week. I'll be starting pottery lesson VERY soon (first class was postponed :(  ). OH and here are some lovely little pics of what mother nature decided to surprise us with this morning...  unfortunately that white stuff is not a figment of your imagination... it's snow... The warm, veritably balmy weather of last week has disappeared. I look at the weather forecast and I think, when are those people going to give me some news that's real and not just false hope. For instance, the 14 day trend has predicted this week's forecast to be pretty darn crappy, lots of rain/snow showers and temps that would make anyone cry... BUT I seem to recall the previous 14 day trend last week had predicted this week to be awesome... how very wrong they were. Thing is, this is not a one time thing - it's all the time. If they predict rain, we either hardly have any of what they had predicted OR the sun literally splits the rocks. Take for instance that warm lovely weather I was talking to you about, on all the days it got to 20+ degrees... the weather forecasters had predicted showers and temps in around 10-12 degrees. Talk about discrepancies!!! But I guess I can lament all I want, but that doesn't change what mother nature throws at us in terms of weather, just going to have to truck through it.

Ughhhhhh...

Oh and before I forget! This past Friday was my younger brother's grad. Don't they look beautiful?!!!! What I wouldn't give to have her dress back when I graduated. 

And of course, it wouldn't be a complete post if I didn't add any puppy pics. These two were quite curious of the impromptu grad photo shoot taking place in the back yard. I'm sure they were trying to come up with devious ideas on how they could devour that pretty sparkly purple dress. 

Until next time my dears! Happy Stitching!!!