Mystery Over

The Ozark Mystery that is. The last part of the Sampler was finally completed on Saturday night and yes, those bellydancing CD's got an outing for another Happy Dance. It was lovely to take this off the scroll frame and see it in it's entirety for the first time:

Ozark Mystery Sampler 2008

Designer: Debbie Draper

Fabric: 28ct hand dyed evenweave - Polstitches?

Ozark Threads: Blue Ivy; Mountain Violet; Mimosa; Blue Jeans; Emerald; Rose of Sharon; Spring Grass; Blueberry; Teal Kiss and four unnamed colours.

I still wonder if I did the right thing stitching those numbers in that thread - although they do show up better IRL. I think I'm about the third to finish this on the JA/S&S Forum. The other ladies have posted their pics and it's lovely to see the different choices that were made by each stitcher - although we have all opted to stitch the central heart motif, rather than the bird, rabbit or squirrel that were the alternatives to choose from. Although I liked the rabbit motif I really didn't fancy seeing a purple one - it would be almost as bad as seeing pink elephants! LOL

I picked up Night Watchman again last night but there's not enough progress to make another pic worthwhile yet. I may just do more on him tonight - although I now have a large scroll frame that's sat empty and is begging for a new start....... ;0)

On the reading front: I finished The Champion by Elizabeth Chadwick last night, the book that Karen very kindly sent to me. There are more details in the side bar and on The Reading Corner blog about the book, if you're interested. I've registered this with the Book Crossing site and it's now available, so please shout if you would like it. My next book is one by Barbara Erskine, which has the historical figure of Cartimandua in it, a contemporary of Boudicca - this will be my first BE book, so am looking forward to seeing what I've been missing out on. This is already spoken for by Julie and I'll be sending it to her as soon as it's finished. :0)

Sunday was a horrible day weatherwise but we popped to the Silica Lodge garden centre for dinner anyway. Good move - there weren't many brave (or should that be foolhardy?) souls about, so it was pretty quiet. After eating we had a look round their Christmas and gifts display - glad we did, as I found the first item for my Exchange partner in the No Stash For Christmas Exchange. No, I don't know who my partner is yet, but it's a universal/useful item that will suit anyone so I couldn't resist getting it - once I know who my partner is, and their likes/dislikes, I shall concentrate on finding specific things for them.
Next stop was Wilkinson's for a look round and we scored again: as well as the toiletries and household goods we wanted, I finally found somewhere that sells decorative Crimbo card holders that are of a suitable size to hang on the hall doors - they'll save having to damage anything by using drawing pins. Yay! Now I know they are the right size I shall go back for a couple more and we're all set to go when the festive season arrives.

We got back home in time to watch the final Grand Prix race of the season and what a race it was! Yes, it even had me watching some of it - something of a rarity. A shame for Massa, who was obviously gutted, but it was fantastic to have Lewis Hamilton, a British driver, win the Championship - that's one in the eye for all his detractors, especially those negative beggars in the media. Well done Lewis! :0)

Today has been my usual jobs day. Half term is over and Alex is back at work now, though she didn't visit today because of that. Roll on next week and a mega news catch-up! LOL

DH is off to Italy with two colleagues tomorrow. The regular flight they've been taking from East Midlands is no longer running, due to them changing to their winter timetable, so they have a very early start, due to having to travel down to Stansted instead. It's going to be a long week........ I expect I shall be doing my usual sleep-deprived zombie impression for much of it. Roll on the weekend! As he's not back until Friday I guess it'll give me more time this week to have a blog reading/commenting catch up, as I seem to have got behind again - so if you've nt heard from me lately, I will be by soon.

Many thanks for visiting and for all the kind comments. Hope you all had a good weekend and an easy start to the week. :0)

The Mystery

The Ozark mystery SAL, that is. Thought it was about time, after all the previous mentions, that I finally posted the promised pic:

This section consisted of the top two bands in the central panel. I decided to stitch the two bands that were on the main chart, rather than the alternatives supplied, as I liked the look of them the most. As I wasn't too sure about the Emerald Green thread, thinking it would dominate the piece a bit much, I stitched the little flowers in the same colour thread as the scrolls in the border to break it up a bit. Am still quite taken with this and glad I overcame my usual "What if I hate it when it's finished?" reluctance to sign up for paid mystery pieces.......... but it's doubtful I would rush into another one when this is finished.

Why? Well I've come to the conclusion that my stitching gratification has to be more instantaneous than a drawn out monthly drip feed. Whilst receiving the section and pretty threads each month on a mystery is OK (who doesn't like getting a stash surprise every month? LOL), there's nothing that beats seeing a design in its entirety and getting that immediate "Wow - I've just got to stitch that" itchy fingers reaction..... with the extra satisfaction of adding it to your stash. I don't know, maybe it's just me being weird again - my DH and DS certainly think I am at times! LOL I'd be interested to know what you folks think about paid mysteries.

I am currently in hot weather stitching slump mode: keep picking bits up with the intention of stitching but putting them down again because I just can't be bothered after all. It has got worse since I completed the Ozark section....... even the thought of a new start seems like too much bother right now and I really can't decide which, if any, projects to take on holiday with me. How bad is that?
Am hoping that tonight's UFO Night stitching will break the slump and get my mojo going again. There's absolutely no way I'm not taking part in UFO Night: apparently the hot weather has made Mr Stick cranky and I do not want a run in with a cranky Mr Stick! LOL

The Mini is still poorly, sick and balanced on the jacks: the arm thingy lost a bolt and DH bought a replacement for it yesterday but he's now decided it'll be best to replace the whole arm thingy (around £12, so not expensive - just means DS will have £12 less to spend on holiday). DH is currently having to run the lad into work for an 8.30am start....... and it's in the opposite direction to the steelworks....... and involves negotiating rush hour traffic on a main route into our town. DH was a mite cranky this morning so I don't think the earlier starts and extra running around are much to his liking. Roll on Saturday and the start of our holiday! :0)

Many thanks for the kind comments about my Challenge piece, they are very much appreciated. I've found they help as a very good motivator and encourage me to keep on trying new finishing techniques, so am especially grateful to you all for that.

Thank you for taking the time to visit - hope you are all having a happy, stitching-filled day. :0)