WOOHOO!!!! I am now a lady what lunches... :D I had my last official day of work on Thursday (I'll still be doing some babysitting so not completely done with the family) and as sad as it was to be finishing up, I think I will be glad not to be hearing the scream of the alarm clock for a while (just the scream of a bub in a few weeks' time!) It is strange (and scary) to think that in a few weeks, our lives will change forever. Sometimes I feel like I am not prepared at all, and it is the most scary thing in the world, and at other times I just want to meet bub and see what he/she looks like!

I got the most beautiful bunch of flowers from my employers too - they only just fitted into the car! Lots of Stargazer Lilies, and a heap of other flowers I don't know the name of... It'll be nice to enjoy watching them all open during the next week or so. I just loooove Lilies :D

So, now that I have time on my hands, I am hoping to get a bit further along with my birth sampler. So far, I haven't even completed one of the bunnies. Doing that, as well as getting bub's room sorted out should keep me busy for a while. :D

Only 13 weeks to go!!!!!

This morning I finally got around to finishing the card I have been working on. I was so chuffed that I had actually got to the end (I used one colour from my stash to match the one I had run out of, and just adjusted the design so I didn't have to go and buy a skein of the other colour I ran out of) and so set about putting the design in the card THEY provided with the kit... Imagine my disbelief when the design was LONGER than the aperture!!!! I'd have ended up cutting of the top and bottom of the stitching... Not very impressed AT ALL. :( Thankfully I have some large card left over from when I was doing family day care, as well as a reliable guilotine (I can't cut straight enough with scissors to make a card to save my life!) so used that instead. I frayed the edges of the design so it didn't look quite so weird and it hasn't turned out too badly. It's just annoying that it hasn't turned out as it was supposed to. I think I will have to be very careful with the other free kits I have from Cross Stitch Magic now, and measure it to make sure it is all going to fit.

Had a stitchy meet today with Belinda and Bek, at Belinda's house. I live for these days! :D It's sooo great catching up with friends and finding out what has been happening in their lives. I never want the day to end, so stay as long as possible... :P I finally left at 7.30pm, just before So You Think You Can Dance started (Bek had to leave early as she wasn't well, which is a shame).

I got a bit more stitching done on the card I am working on, but am a bit peeved that I have run out of 2 thread colours... Fair enough, it was a free kit, but I don't waste much thread so I don't think they supplied enough in the first place. That makes me cross - if they are going to give somethign away, make sure there is sufficient in there to complete the project! Grrrrr....

A great day, great company, great conversation and great munchies! :D Bring on the next meeting! WOOHOO!!!!

Just realised it has been a month since I last posted... Deary me! :P

I haven't done too much stitching of late though. I have started the birth sampler, which is good, but ending up interrupting that to stitch a couple of cards - one for hubby for Valentines Day and another that is still secret as it hasn't been given... Now I just need to finish that last one and then I can get back to my birth sampler. It probably hasn't helped that I have been soooo tired from being back at work that I haven't really felt like stitching at all. I only have one more week left at work though so hopefully the stitching will pick up a bit then. I have already had the telling off lecture from my SIL about the fact that I need to realise I am almost 6 months pregnant and I need to slow down. sometimes easier said than done though! I now have a terrible cold, so I guess my body is trying to tell me that I WILL slow down whether I want to or not... So frustrating when I can't take any normal meds for it either, so I am having to suffer the full effects. :(

Not much planned this weekend though, so I can just put my feet up and have a relaxing time. WOOHOO!!!! Looking forward to catching up with my stitchy girls too, so long as this cold disappears *crosses fingers*

Today I finally finished off my Somebunny design into a coaster. :D I'm not sure how happy I am with the finished result though - the aida isn't quite straight and I probably could have done with a bit more around the edge, but it'll do. :)

Gee, I really feel like I have been getting somewhere the past few days. I went into Spotlight at the weekend and got the remaining threads I needed to finish off Somebunny. Today I finished the cross stitches and completed the backstitch too, so that's another one out of the way. :D I now have to find my iron-on interfacing and coasters and I can get it made up. :)

I was trying to decide what to start next when I had an email from sewandso to say my fabric has been dispatched... If i start another kit, chances are I'll still be doing it when my delivery arrives. As I want to start on the birth sampler right away, I thought I would wait and not start something else. So, instead I am sorting out all my threads. I had a nice package sent to me a while ago with over 70 skeins of DMC (thanks Dolores!)... It's only now that I am getting around to sorting them out. And I haven't doubled up on many, which is great! It'll be so nice to have all my threads wound onto bobbins and put in order. I won't know myself... :P

I've posted pics of my latest finishes in my webshots album now too. It was so hot today that the best thing to do was stay inside and organise. :D

Today I managed to get a bit of stitching done and finished "Splendiferous" - a small Tigger design. I'll be adding pics of the last two finishes to my webshots album soon. Feeling very pleased with myself though, as the stitching seems to be coming along well at the moment. I think it might be a combination of the long, light days and the fact that I am not working at the moment. I will be going back next week though, so I think it'll suffer again for a bit, until I finish at the end of February. Really enjoying being back into it too. :D

I ordered some fabric from sewandso yesterday too, so once that arrives I will be able to start stitching the birth sampler that we have chosen for bub. It is called Sleepy Bunnies and will be suitable for either a girl or boy, which is good as we are keeping that part a surprise for ourselves! I already have all the threads I need, so it looks like I might have to just pick up a small kit to do whilst I am waiting (or even pick up a book instead!)

Also today I started sorting out our back room (read "junk room" but soon to be "baby's room"). I had big ideas of getting heaps done, but in the end it was just too warm so I only ended up moving stuff around and making it a bit tidier rather than sorting through it. At least now I have an area to work in. :) I also took photo's so that we'll be able to see the difference between when all the junk was in there, when it was all gone, when it was painted and when it was finished up as bub's room. I just probably won't look at the first pictures too much! :P

It's going to be another sweltering day tomorrow, so looks like I'll be sitting inside with the air-con on, and finishing off the freebie Somebunny design that is going to be turned into a coaster. :) Oh, such happy, stitchy days! :D

In some ways today was a great day (lots of stitching and time spent with people I care about) but in another way it was a sad day (saying goodbye to a friend).

I spent time with Steph today and was so proud of myself for driving to her place by myself without getitng stressed, even when I went a couple of miles too far down the road... Thank goodness for Melways!!! I took Lily with me to see Steph as it was her last full day in Oz before heading back to the good ol' US of A... I'll be sad to see her go. She has become part of our stitchign group very quickly and it's not going to be quite the same without her. We had a good time this morning to early afternoon - plenty of stitching and eating sugar/fat rich foods that were yummy! :D We both made some good progress before Steph had to head off to attend to visa related matters. I dropped her off at the train station on our way home, and the goodbye seemed very rushed (she got out at the traffic lights) but it was probably better that way. But I know I'll see her again soon. :) AND, she's going to stitch the most beautiful Christmas stocking for bub... :D I love my stitchy friends! :D :D :D

After arriving back home, we were visited by the in-laws. It was good to catch up after such a long holiday. Went to SIL's for dinner (spag bol) and then went on a road trip to pick up a hall stand she'd purchased from eBay... Unfortunately the person who sold it to her forgot to mention that the driveway was so steep that you'd be praying for your life as you went down it! :P Fortunately we survived to tell the tale though, and it looks pretty good in it's new home. :) Stayed a SIL's for a cuppa and chat, and ended up leaving about 11pm, before I got kicked out! :P

I've been enjoying the time I have had since getting back off holiday to relax. I have managed to catch up with some good friends, and got a fair bit of stitching done too... I finished stitching Bob's Christmas Stocking this week, and have now started working on a small Tigger design. Hubby asked what I was doing it for, and I told him it was "just because"... It was actually one of only two small designs that I had already stitched around the fabric on, so it was ready to go straight away. :) I'm guessing that by the next stitchy meet, I will have finished it and started on the next design (hopefully my birth sampler if I can get the fabric).

We went to see the obstetrician yesterday, and we got told that everything was progressing well. We have an appointment for a scan on Wednesday. :D it'll be good to see bub again (and get another dvd) and see how much he/she has grown. Apparently on this scan we can find out the sex of the baby, but neithe rof us wants to know - we want to keep it as a surprise, even as frustrating as it is trying to buy gender neutral stuff...

Really enjoying these light nights too - it was getting dark at 4pm in England... Now I have so much more stitchy time!!!! :D

We made it back from the freezing temperatures on Thursday night. Gee, it was sooo good to walk out of the airport in t-shirts rather than being rugged up! It felt a bit strange when we got home - the place seemed really big, and very quiet. Worked out later that it probably seemed strange as Buster wasn't here to greet us... He had another day and a half of holiday before we collected him. Went and picked him up today, and he's so exhausted, bless him - apparently he made friends with a huge golden lab... who also went home today. Good to hear that he had a good time anyway. :)

The pregnancy is going well - officially half way now (20 weeks yesterday) but still waiting to feel it move. Many people have asked if we are finding out the sex - hopefully not. If it happens then there's not much we can do, but we want to keep it a surprise. We also have names picked out for either sex, but we're not telling! :P Mum is knitting like mad at the moment, all in either white, lemon, pale green or cream... It will be good once it's born so we can have more choice on colours! Hubby is planning on painting the spare room in the next couple of weeks, as we need to turn it into the baby's room - I have the unenviable task of clearing all the junk out of it!

I go back to work on the 28th at this stage (that's when they next need me) and it'll only be for a few weeks. The kids are starting a private kinder 5 days a week from 9.00 to 3.30, so I won't be needed... :( A good excuse to put my feet up and stitch though! :D

I did a little bit of stitching whilst I was away, but not as much as I thought I was going to - probably because I was getting very tired. It took me almost 2 weeks to get over the jet-lag! Thankfully it hasn't been too bad since we arrived here. I'm very much enjoying the longer days - it was getting dark at 4.00pm there!

I have almost finished a design called "Bob's Christmas Stocking" - it's an RSPCA design, and looks very cute. I'm looking forward to showing it off at the stitchy meet tomorrow! I have also almost completed a Somebunny design that was a free kit from one of the magazines. I decided to use 2 strands instead of 1, so have to check my stash for threads that I ran out of... It isn't much, but I think the design looks better in 2 strands. I'll be making that one into a coaster.

One of the other things I enjoyed about being back in England was that I could get the stitchy mags on the day that they came out AND I was guaranteed to get the free gift! :D

Still, it's good to be home. :)

I had such a nice surprise whilst visiting the immigration office in Dandenong today. When we have been there before we have usually been waiting for at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half to be seen... So today I went prepared. I took my book and my iPod with me, got my ticket and made myself comfortable. So, imagine my surprise when I got called after only 5 minutes! In the end I was out of there 15 minutes after I arrived (and that includes the guy having technical difficulties with the computer and calling someone to get it fixed). I was amazed!!! I just wish our other visits had been as quick as that... But, at least now I have in my passport that I am a permanent resident. Seems I only have to wait until mid next year before I can apply to become an Australian citizen... WOOHOO!!! I actually think that today was the most relaxed I have EVER been whilst sitting in front of an immigration officer. He was very nice and even asked about my holiday, wishing me a good trip. :D It's a happy day!

I started to think about my packing today for my holiday. I got the suitcase out (or rather hubby got it out as it was too awkward and too heavy for me to manouvre out of the wardrobe (it had heaps of other bags in it!) And guess what the first thing was that I packed? You've got it! My cross stitch!!!! I am taking three small designs with me to cover the 8 weeks I will be gone. I don't think there is any real chance that I will complete all of them, but I just wanted the option to choose. I am taking two RSPCA designs (Ruff and Bob's Christmas Stocking) and a Country Companions design called Christmas Pudding. Well, I couldn't really be on holiday over Christmas without any Christmas stitching, now could I? :P And thankfully they are ALL on 14ct! LOL!

I had a bit of a stitchy breakthrough today. It actually happened whilst I was sorting out a few things for packing (YAY! Only 11 days to go...) and I came across some free cover kits from the magazines. I remembered I had seen the pattern for one of the kits in my huge pile of mags that I am wading my way through, so I sorted it out. I feel like I just need a break from the 18ct and all those fractionals! So now I am working on 14ct - which is wonderful - and it has NO fractional stitches!!! WOOHOO!!! It's a small kit of Somebunny and looks so cute. It's coming along pretty quickly, so hopefully I will have it finished in time before I head home. Then it can keep my Peaches coaster company on the coffee table. :D

I am just so happy to be working on 14ct again - it's heaven!!!! :D

Daniel and I went to Knox shopping centre with the family today (MIL, FIL, SIL and niece) and had a fantastic time. We didn't rush around, but took our time and stopped for lunch and afternoon tea. I finally got to use the vouchers I got from Bek for my birthday at Lincraft. YAY! I bought a purple noticeboard for the entrance hall (very la-dee-da, we are! LOL!) which has a pin board, note paper, a white board and a place to hang keys! Also got 3 tea towels which were rather nice. Still disappointed that Lincraft's cross stitch section SUCKS!!! Not impressed with that at all, although they did have slightly more selection than the city store. I'll be so glad to go to Hobbycraft when I am back in England - at least they'll have a decent selection... So, anyway, thanks for my present Bek! You'll get to see at the stitchy meet on Sunday. :)

Also whilst we were there, I managed to sneak into Borders. :D Have a look for the Elm Creek novels, but they didn't have any - boo hoo - so I had a look for the Monica Ferris books instead and managed to pick up the first one!!!! Hubby laughed at me when I told him it was Needlework Murder Mystery... But I don't care. I'm thinking I might take it with me to read on the long flight to London.

I just heard that the lovely David Tennant has officially confirmed he is quitting Dr Who... It won't be the same without him! I really enjoyed watching it because he was in it. Not sure if I'll take to another person playing him... Might have to convince hubby to get all his series on dvd now! LOL

WOW! I just found a whole heap of stitchy mags to sort through. I knew I had a few, but I had just been stashing them in my bedside drawers. Turns out that they're deeper than I thought! LOL I have a HUGE pile to get through. Some of them I don't even recognise, so I can't have read them... either that or I am getting forgetful in my old age...

The plan now is to make sure I have read them and then I will sort out which patterns I would like to keep and I'll truf the rest. Of course, I'll be letting my stitchy friends persue them before I start destroying them!!!! :D I think I have decided to stop getting the magazines put by at the newsagent too. I went and picked up the latest stash (I hadn't been for a while so there were 6 - yes, 6!!!!) and once i got them home, I realised there were only a few designs that I might stitch in them, so the value for money wasn't there. I figure I'll just end up buying whichever ones have designs in that I like, as just lately the magazines don't seem to have much to offer. At least it'll make sure that I go to the newsagent's more often!

Another thought I had yesterday is that I think I am going to have to sort through my kits and work out what I am not likely to stitch now. Some of the kits I have had almost since I started stitching (and that was 15 years ago!) and I think my taste has changed slightly. Hubby will be pleased to see some of them go, I am sure... Anyway, I am not rushing the decision - I'll see how much stitching I get done next year and take it from there. Besides, in the current financial situation, it's good to know I won't have to spend any money to enjoy my favourite hobby! :D

I changed the theme of my journal today as I felt like a change. Thought it might help me to post a bit more often too, if I was drawn to the page. I just love this new one - it looks so cute! Much more interesting than my old one, I think. :)

I had a great time stitching today. Spent most of the morning and half of the afternoon doing some, whilst watching (ok, listening!) to my Robbie Williams DVD. Brought back some good memories of going to see him live 2 years ago!

I managed to finish Eeyore, and am now working on the grass and flowers below him. It felt great just to be able to sit and stitch, and I am most definitely making the most of the time I have off from work. Buster is getting better at doing his own thing whilst I am stitching, although he does take an interest every once in a while, so I still have to be alert and keep my stuff where I can easily reach it to put away. Think he'll end up being locked out of the lounge room when I have the stitchy meet at my place...

I will be glad when I finish this design though - fractional stitches on 18ct isn't my idea of fun! Bring on the 14ct!!! Not sure if I will finish this one before I head back to England for 8 weeks (in just 18 days time!!!) but I will certainly be close. I am soooo looking forwards to being able to sit down with mum and stitch together again. It has been too long.

Went to the stitchy meet at Belinda's today and had a fantastic time! Met new member, Steph, and we all had a ball. It was like we had been together as a group for ages. Such a great feeling to have some new life in the group. Maybe it'll encourage some of us (ahem!) to stitch a bit more. I actually felt like I achieved something other than chatting today, which is great. And it makes such a difference having it back as an all girls stitchy meeting rather than a social gathering with the boys too (sorry boys! I do enjoy your company too...)

Really looking forward to the next one!

I have also recently got back into reading books rather than vegetating in front of the TV. I am currently reading Those Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney. It is such a good read. Nice andeasy to get lost in, and nothing gruesome happening (I like to chose a gruesome book followed by a more "innocent" book, just for a bit of variation). I have never read one of Monica's books before, but am definitely enjoying trying a new author. I have tonnes of books to get through too, some by new authors to me, so it looks like I will be having lots of fun in the coming months. YAY for reading!!!!!

I have just discovered that I ahve made a mistake on my current stitching... And it's with three quarter stitches too. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!! Just going to leave it be for the rest of the day and continue reading my book. Otherwise I will get too frustrated with it. And my good light decided to die last night so no night time stitching for me until I can get a new bulb. Oh well....