Oooh, pretty!
I think that I have to join HAED's 'Birthday Club' because my wishlist over there is about a mile long...

Latest The Gift of Stitching

Did you see the Maryland Roses Ultimate Needlebook?! That thing went to my to-do list right away (even though I am opposed of having to purchase the finishing instructions, but then, who says I can't whip it out of my own head?)!
Though, I like the back much better than the front, but, then again, who says that I can't stitch the back twice..?

Life at my place

I'm having a day off tomorrow and cats are already enjoying from the fact of having their slave owner servant at home...

"Camarera, una cerveza, por favor!"

SBQ: The S.E.X. Heaven?

Today's

Stitching Bloggers' Question

was suggested by Jennifer and is:

What are your favorite online stitching supply sources?

Based on how often I order from there I could say that Sewandso is my favourite ONS, but that is just because they have HUGE selection and they ship fast (actually I placed my latest order there last night, but more about that later because its contents are a secret even the person receving knows that she gets something from me). Recently they have added another good reason to shop there: they accept Visa Electron.
After that my favourites are Violarium and One Star's Light Needlework Supplies. Both carry the yummiest hand-dyeds, best of the designs (incl. mine, of course *grin*) and have great service.

\o/

Houston, we have a success! I got the place I was interviewed for yesterday!
Only as a trainee-of-a-kind for now, but who knows? And it will look good on my CV. ^^

We are both running...

Time and I. Tuesday I was afoot most of my waking hours - surprisingly Hebrew lessons were very easy after running around Helsinki whole day (maybe it was the half an hour stitching session I had in the hallway while waiting the class to begin) and today I got exhausted enough because I had an interview for a possible "work experiment" place (for a big(ish) international company - it would look so good in my CV).
And as I was exhausted from yesterday I am exhausted today and still I have had to clean the kitchen... and I still should make lunch for tomorrow... Gah!

But, what makes this day worth living are the SMSes I got... Wolfie, being the sweetheart he is, sent me some new things to watch while stitching. ^^ (It's impossible not to like love that man.)

Great moment of the day

Actually moments: I can use stairs again without bronchodilator!

I ran up and down Central Railway Station's stairs without gasping for air afterwards, and I walked up the stairs at the synagogue (three stores, IIRC - I never remember how many stores it takes, I always regocnize the correct hallway from the white mezuza(h) case) and I made it without suffering from shortness of breath of any kind.

You know what that means? It means that my lungs are actually, really getting better!

Budesonide, I love you and want to have your babies!

Really, what is the point?

Virtual RR#1

Sometimes you get the best of ideas when you are in fever delirium... like this one:

"Solarium Sublime's Virtual RR!
Brought to you by the brainstorm of Succubus. (Editor's note: Which is me, as many of you know.)

Many stitchers have been hesitant to participate in RRs due to concerns about many issues- ranging from the piece disappearing (mail service, participants quitting, etc) to objections over quality of stitching or the themes/designs chosen.

The solution - a Virtual Round Robin!

• You pick the theme. (Your theme could be, for example TW corner motifs/ borders/ etc., Châtelaine borders/tiles/etc. or something along such lines)
• You introduce your theme and list of acceptable designs (most likely ones you already have, or seek an excuse to purchase ;) ) It is best if they come from the same designer, or have a similar style, though blending 2 or 3 is possible.
• Every two months or so, the next person in the RR will choose the next part for you. The moderators will be assigning the RR participant rotation order when the sign-up period closes.

If this sounds like fun, sign up in the current Virtual RR, and then post a new topic on that board introducing your theme, stitching parameters, motifs and so on.

Welcome, and Enjoy!

If you have any questions, please ask.

The thread.

Solarium Sublime has a focus on artisanry in needlework and may sound that we are bunch of toffee noses, but we aren't. Really.
If you strive to improve your skills and have a knack for analyzing your art pop by, read this thread and join the fun.

We are no many yet, but I can say that we have a cozy atmosphere at Solarium, the coffee is always hot, comfy chairs are really cozy and the discussion is great. ^^

And it's a.... goal!

As usual strike and green equal a success. Orange is for "put some work to said piece, but not enough for a success", and red goes, as you guess, for a failure.

The goals for September were:

1. Stitch Autumn dragon on Jenna's RR and send it to Christine. Done! (Admittedly I forgot to send it out in Friday, but it will be mailed out tomorrow.)
2. Finish one secret gift. Done!
3. Stitch the Halloween Exchange item. Done!
4. Participate Stitch-A-Thon with Loy Krathong. Done!
5. Finish the secret model. Not actually finished yet, but rest of it will be stitched and, probably, finished today.
6. Stitch another Top Secret model. Started...
7. Finish the started model and start another one.
8. Start the bourse for Linda.
9. Start the Hardanger Bookmark SAL.
10. Finish the layout for the alephbet sampler (based on the alephbets at the Kooler Design Studio's freebie section) and start it. The layout
11. Prepare the last installment of the Birthday Thread Exchange (to Edda). Done!

Additional:

12. Charity square

You can clearly see that in this month I got my medication and started to feel better... I am getting back on track, BUT there's quite some way in ahead of me before I get back to my old speed. I haven't even recovered from the flu yet (though it always goes like this: I am otherwise ok, but I will cough and spit phlegm out of my lungs for another week or so).

And the goals for October are:

1. Work on models.
2. Stitch, finish and send one secret gift.
3. Stitch Linda's bourse.
4. Participate Stitch-A-Thon with Loy Krathong.
5. Decide the design for Cross Stitch Lottery piece.

My DONE list is surprisingly long and I have to say that I am proud of myself, even though I do feel bad of not stitching more of the models. But then, I just got my meds two weeks ago - they shouldn't actually have any visible effect yet, even they do.

The visible effect? I cleaned my bathroom today, first time in months, and I am not tired at all. You can guess how much dirt, hairs and dye spots there was hiding under the dust surface... but when you are sick, you are and when the illness takes all of your energy cleaning your bathroom is the last thing you worry about.
I had some manic tootbrush fun while cleaning (i.e. all the tiny places have not just been wiped and rinsed, they have been toothbrushed), which means that I am not only getting better, but that my ADD symptoms are decreasing (- or getting worse, who knows).

Unconscious Mutterings

Week 243

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Crook :: Professor Moriarty (How so I have been listening to Sherlock Holmes audio books whole weekend?)
2. Career :: Change
3. Freckles :: Redhead
4. Scramble :: Eggs
5. Mistake :: Error
6. Telephone :: Cell
7. Thank you :: You're welcome
8. Obstruction :: Hinderance
9. 24/7 :: All the time
10. SciFi ::

Dreams

Last two nights I have been seeing dreams of my ex-partners and I find it VERY confusing. What makes it even more confusing is that they are not consistent i.e. for example with some I am back to the good old days (or in some cases even better) and with some I argue, some ask for forgiveness and some don't...
I can understand that part of the dreams where I met Dan - I had met him for the first time in ages in the previous day. I can understand the sweetness with Wolf because I miss him and what we had (I am bothered by the fact that cats woke me up before the dream got into its end and I don't know how it ended ).
I can't understand my dream of Sol because everything was so much better than it ever was, because, once again, he said he is sorry. I can't understand the dream of someone from the past as I claimed to him that I had had someone else with his name in my life prior to him and that guy had committed suicide. That is not true (none of my exes has committed suicide, as far as I know), and the guy before the guy was actually the guy, even in the dream...

What confuses me is also about the fact that I don't generally see dreams of most of these people... and my dreams of Wolf have gone to very innocently friendly level. I have dreams of Dan, but it's simply because he was around so long (six years of 28 is still quite much).
I'd really love to know what my head is up to.

Leap froggy, leap

This was started this in Friday night (~21:30) when I was bored and tired, but wasn't very eager to get to bed yet and desperately wanted to start something new. My excuse for this is that this is my square for Cayden's quilt - though this seems to be the pillow piece as someone stupid (not me, never...) didn't recheck the instructions and my square is 3x3 inches smaller than required for the quilt. *throws a tantrum*

Pieces of info:

• Designer: Gillian Souter
• Design: "Frog in Spring"
• Source: Classic Storybook Cross-Stitch (ISBN 0-316-85401-8)
• Fabric:: 32 count white Jobelan
• Notes:
  1. The light green charted for the grass was of completely wrong tone (it was yellowish when all the other colours in the design have blueish tint) I changed it to some light green from DMC 100 series.
  2. Blue stripes in shorts are my choice as I didn't have the charted pink. (I'd have changed it anyway, I think.)
  3. The grass is four stitches too wide (but if I hadn't told about it you wouldn't have noticed it).
  4. Sky was left out and butterfly added. (I thought it would give more sense for the design.)
  5. The backstitching is modified: in pieces like this I prefer not to follow the chart, but my own gut feeling.

I enjoyed stitching this piece as it is cheery and keeps you interested with tons of fractionals.

Some cats have no joint pains, I think...

 

Neko, that guy who had (im)mobility issues in spring... quite hard to believe now, don't you think? ^^

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Sixty Two

Appetizer: How are you today?

Fine, thanks. Though I have a nasty cough. (As one of my course mates said: "You know, that sounds quite dangerous..." *grin*)

Soup: Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.

I don't watch any as I don't watch TV. If you count series on DVD my list goes as following:


1. House M.D.
2. Fawlty Towers
3. Black Adder

Salad: What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?

Well, as I live in a country without huge hurricanes (we just get those tiny ones) and I don't find blizzards scary, as you kind of get used to them when you live somewhere almost thirty years, I have to say that I have experienced no such thing as scary weather.

Main Course: If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?

Oh my. Anywhere if it would be with someone who gets me and who I get (I think the word normal people use is love). Otherwise somewhere warm, humid and cheap.

Dessert: What do you usually wear to sleep?

Sleeping with your clothes on is SO twisted. I prefer to sleep au naturel.

Indian Food!

I stumbled upon this link at Deb's blog and if you, as I, do love Indian food (though I have broadened it a bit to male individuals of Indian origin, but edable as edable *grin*) check One Hot Stove. Yummy recipes and as yummy pictures.

Odd accomplishments

Noticing how nonexcitent my stitching mojo has been few months I have to say that I am rather proud of myself: 38 finishes in 39 weeks. This includes four knitted and 34 stitched items.

Because I'd love to have 39 items/ 39 weeks I think it's better that I will stitch some more before hitting the sack.
Ta-ta.

*gasp* Heaven and Earth Designs has freebies! O_o
I found it out by accident while looking for Sunfire (which I intend to buy in my next stash splurge). In addition to that I think I need few more from the Cats section: Sisters Under The Sun, Old King Cole, Two Of Wands and Fantavisions (though I'd probably stitch only the right side).

Anyway, I have spent my morning looking for interesting degree programmes to apply to and ended up digging out old application exams of business economics... which seem to be desperately easy (multiple choices (based on information acquired from reference material) mostly).
Easy is a real turn-off I must admit, though that is why I plan to study in English - to make it less easy, not to forget that it makes it easier to leave the country... You could kind of say that I am not very patriotic.

Afternoon was spent productively stitching personalization for Halloween Exchange item. It only lacks finishing which I can do on some slow evening.
And for your viewing pleasure, a teaser:

Those eyes look very disturbing on the shot for some odd reason... It's actually rather cute piece, though some people might disagree as it has quite a few spiders.

Photo Pherrets - Week 90

Our word for this week is: Dream

Do I need to say more?

I should do this more often...

Be sick, that is.

I am almost done with my Halloween Exchange item. Who knows what I achieve if I am sick tomorrow? (Yesterday a HD, today maybe another...)
Though, admittedly I am bored and would love to get back to business - and as I am getting better I have been pondering would I be healthy enough to go back to course tomorrow. That is something I have to see about in the morning, I can be away tomorrow without providing GP's note if I still feel a bit feeble.

My old self would probably get on with it and go back tomorrow, but my current self is a bit worried about the health of her lungs. If it's not good run around when you are not completely healthy, it is even worse when you have asthma.

Gah! Sometimes I do hate my overly responsible character... which makes it interesting, by the way, as they say that asthma is illness of kind people. (Kind, me? )

Happydancing dragon and on Round Robins

What do I do when I am having a fever, my joints kill me and I need to blow my nose every ten minutes? Watch movies with comment track on and stitch dragons.

(Fear not Jenna, I have cleaned my hands with fresh-up towels before getting back to stitching! *grin*)

1. I absolutely adore the colours, but I am not fan of the fact that due constant colour changes with cotton+filament mix the back does not look too nice. But then, no one won't look in the back (except Christine, who gets this next, and Jenna).

2. Spite of loving stitching on black the backstitching phase was rather difficult as 3371 just doesn't contrast with black that well (aren't we surprised?!). Nevertheless, I managed it too, and as said these draggies look gorgeous on black.

Based on two previous dragons and the chart of fourth I have to say that Autumn Fall probably is the most difficult of these. At least it takes more time than the previous dragons did.

(Cross posted to Solarium Sublime.)

On Round Robins

While stitching on Jenna's piece I was thinking of round robins and I think that Teresa Wenztler themed RR would be nice to participate to. I have seen some RRs which consist from different borders of designs of TW and they look great.

One of the advantages of such RR would be the fact that it had to be stitched on plainweave so no aida stitching there, and, people who stitch TWs are usually rather skilled stitchers which would lessen the worry over the quality of work on the piece.

Though I have also played with the idea of having RR consisting of Dragon Dreams' Elemental Dragons.

Shawl

My mother kind of promised to knit me a shawl in December because since my asthma broke down my outer body temperature has been incredibly low. This means that I have, for example, used my winter clothes since beginning of September (it still is ~+16 °C during days) because it has been so cold...

Anyway, I promised to provide my mother a link if I find some shawl pattern I'd like, and latest Knitty had it: Muir.

And I have to get these! And THIS!

Things that disturb the disturbed

Part gazillion and one.

I had a dream about one of my course mates... it was nothing drastic, in general at one phase of one dream he wrapped his arms around me after I fell asleep (in the dream - silly really: one sleeps in a dream), but it disturbs me for some reason. Maybe because it felt good and he is so *not* my type. Maybe because I actually have a reason (or rather reasons) to believe that he has a thing for me, a thing called crush.

Which is very understandable, noticing how absolutely adorable I am...

Nevertheless, it's very confusing (Finnish men just do not usually have a thing for me, unless they are unhappily married or otherwise desperately lonely - which kind of explains why I haven't been on too many dates (read: none) with men of Finnish origin last three years).

The whateveritis has now populated my upper airways and I am developing a fever, which means that I probably have to take - again! - few sick days from the course. The timing couldn't be worse as at this point we should be looking for "work experiment" jobs (as the course is directed for people who are forced to change their occupation we have two phases when we can experiment with fields we are interested of) as the first WE phase begins in the beginning of October...

Admittedly this is rather hilarious: budesonide makes it easier to live and breathe, but it also compromises my body's ability to fight against illnesses (as does asthma in itself) being a cortisone derivative, which means that even when my asthma is in balance I may get sick easier than I used to - and be sicker than I used to.

I feel old.

mondaysabitch

Random Joy

1. Which category of Trivial Pursuit would you say you're most knowledgeable in?
   Gosh, I haven't played the thing in ages so I can't remember the categories.... Literary was one of my bests.

2. Did you go to your High School Prom? .What was it like?
   No hablo States... erm, not the thing in here (I 'd love to nag about the US-centerism..).

3. If you were one of the five senses which would you be?
   Touch.

4. Have you ever gone downhill skiing?
   Not actually.

5. What's your favourite kind of nut?
   Myself, as I am allergic to nuts.

Behold, a shrubbery!

From this:

to this:

Firstly: I practically stitched this only in Sunday due an occult case of hypersomnia. (It seems to me that it has been cold induced. My sinuses don't feel very good at the moment...)

Secondly: it was great to get back together with Loy, even I got only a bit done. It's always closer to the finish, and this is one of those projects where you look at the charted colours in awe and doubt highly the choices of the designer, but, after you get some of the odd colour stitched you get the idea.
For example I had been wondering for ages those areas of 3371 in a shrub - shrubs are supposed to be green, right? - but now when I have actually stitched all the 3371 in the page four I get the idea. It would be even more obvious if I had had time to stitch the leaf under the shrub.
I think that, in the artist's mind, that shrub in the background has wooden stems which explains the "high" and very dark shadow.

And my trusty sidekick, Her Highness the Thread Guardian

Unconscious mutterings and sleeping too much

Week 242

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Singles :: People
2. Blaze :: Cartoon
3. Sandwich :: Earl of Sandwich
4. Outside :: Inside
5. Gooey :: Yummy
6. Industry :: Work
7. Exclusive :: Designs
8. Warranty :: Expires
9. Magical :: The Magic Mushrooms
10. Heels :: High

Life in general....

How has my weekend been?
To describe it with one word, and one word only: sleepy (or rather comatosed).
I slept 24 hours between Friday 6 PM and Saturday 9 PM (yes, that makes it 24 hours within 27 hours).

I never sleep that much unless I am sick. But I am not sure was I as or was it just all about the Budesonide: I had sore throat in Friday (which lead me to digest full box of "throat candy" (you know, menthol and such, relieves throat pain)), but it could have been caused by either having a cold or Budesonide.
I had unstable body temperature in Friday and in Saturday, which could have been caused by either one (because my outer body temperature is getting back to normal, after being way low for few months).

One of the possible reasons is my unusual reaction to cortisone (and its derivatives): it should cause mania, but relaxes me and makes me sleep like a baby... this time it really seems to make me sleep like a baby....

And of course sleeping too much caused a headache, which had to be cured by... you know where I am getting to with this... sleeping some more. Which means that I have spent 33 hours of last 41 sleeping...