2012 NNC Anniversary Meet

Caution: Picture heavy post.

Today is NNC's 5th Anniversary Meet. This year, Mel has graciously offered to host the event at her house. Thanks to Bee Ee who gave me a lift and Vivian who served as navigator, we arrived around 9:30 am.

First thing I saw after greeting everyone was this gorgeous cupcake stand.

Talk about a feast for both the eyes and the tastebuds. On top of that, Mel has prepared these gifts for everyone. Framed Pincushions,

Tins of Buttons,

and Little Pink Cupcakes which are actually a crafter's microfibre polishing cloths.

I just love this handmade decoration she has hanging off the ceiling.

Off to the side was a lovely pond full of koi fish. There's just something so soothing about watching fish swim round and round. LOL!

I chatted and hung out with those in the living room for a bit. Then, I walked into the kitchen to see if I could lend a hand and was greeted with this adorable bunny bowls that I couldn't help but take a picture of.

"What were they for?", you asked. Well, they had something to do with these

and my new found addiction.

Oh yes, that's a chocolate fountain! Which can only mean one thing.

Chocolate covered strawberries. Members who were there will confirm that I was on a sugar high the entire meet ^.^

Of course, let me not neglect the other available dishes.

And this macadamia chocolate brownie is as sinful as it looks.

Okay, enough about the food :P

Every year, a challenge is given to members who participated in the Anniversary Gift Exchange. Last year was the Gingham Heart. This year is the Bird Challenge.

These are what the participants came up with.

Just look at the lovely birds on display. I'm always amazed at the creativity of this group.

To ensure the voting remains fair, every bird was labeled with a number with no prior notice given on who its creator is.

But sometimes, we can venture a guess.

For example, these beautiful tatted birds belong to Zarina. Hehehe...

When everyone has eaten, the demos were given. Here's Vivian showing us her Big Shot.

Zarina also showed us basic piecing method for quilts. I was too busy asking questions to take a picture.

Once votes were taken for the birds, the winner was announced. I won!... Again. Some said I should be banned from entering next year :(

This is the prize made by Margaret.

I'm so happy everyone love my bird. I'll show it to you in my next post.

Check out Margaret's gorgeous stitching. Unfortunately, I have no idea which design this is.

Next, gifts and prizes were given. Here's Margaret, one of the organizers, showing off an owl she received.

And Nik, our other organizer with the cat she made for NNC's 1005th Posting Prize winner.

I was lucky enough to win this pincushion made by Margaret too. This is a Primitive Hare freebie downloadable here.

I had wanted to stitch this the moment I saw it. Now I don't have to anymore :) Thanks, Margaret.

Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for. Every gift has been labeled with a number. Underneath each bird on this tray is a Hershey's Kisses and a number. You get to pick a bird and the gift that matches the number you pick goes to you.

Mine went to Shanny in Switzerland.

This is the bird that came home with me, made by Vivian.

Can you guess what treasures are in this pretty box?

Three stunning handmade cards,

A tissue holder, book cover, zipper pouch, hand-bind book and a bottle of perfume.

Last but not least, door gifts were handed out to everyone.

What a haul! Thank you so much to all who contributed. I had a fabulous time today.

Get Set, Ready, SAL!

9 April marks the start of our 6 Fat Man SAL. Unfortunately, it was that time of the month and I had a roaring migraine the whole of that day. So, I started mine a day late. Thankfully, I'm feeling much better now.

I finished the bird house that was included with the border instructions in the middle of the design. Aren't the birds adorable?

I'm loving my HDF conversion so far and PTP's Tarnish Belfast is a joy to stitch on. I can't wait till next Monday. I'm having a ball with this design.

I'll be dropping by to see everyone's progress.

Happy Stitching!

Purple Paradise

After being on time for my last TUSAL update, here's my prompt report for April's WiPocalypse. What is going on? I'm usually the world's first class procrastinator. LOL!

Until a few days ago, I stitched one project and one project only. I hope you're not bored with seeing Stella again. Here's my progress so far.

Have you noticed she has so much purple on her gown? Hence the post title ^.^ Alas, I had to put her down due to an exchange commitment. Can't show you the whole project yet but here's a glimpse of what I've been up to.

Yup, silk ribbon embroidery. Let's hope this project turns out exactly as I've envisioned it. Wish me luck.

Happy Stitching!

Liebster Award

Leibster is a German word meaning favorite, dearest or beloved. The Leibster is awarded by bloggers to other new (and not so new) bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers., to help spread the word and help the new talented bloggers gain wider recognition.

The Leibster award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy:

• Choose 5 up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers to award the Liebster to.
• Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
• Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
• Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you.

I've been presented this award by Chris. Thank you!

And without any further ado, my nominees are:

• Autumn
• Denise
• Gem
• Kay
• Melinda

I've purposely picked stitchers who are new to blogging. Let's all head over and give them each a warm welcome to the blogging world :)

As for the random facts, I'm a pretty boring person but you might find these interesting.

• I've lived in Melbourne, Australia for a year when I was 20. Love that city and I hope to return for a visit someday.
• I've never seen real snow in my life. Living in a tropical country, how could I? Plus it never snowed in Melbourne while I was there.
• I have a Full Driver Licence but I've not driven a car since I accidentally clipped the curb, damaging my friend's tyre cap while driving her car a few months after getting my Probation Driver Licence. Whoops!
• I'm allergic to Aspirin and certain painkillers (probably NSAIDs). The first time I took Aspirin, my eyes were swollen as big as dinner plates. Not fun, I tell ya, not fun at all!
• My absolute favourite dish is the Sambal Belacan Petai. Petai or Parkia beans are not something many people enjoy. Definitely an acquired taste.

I'm feeling much better now. Thank you, everyone, for your well wishes.

Happy Stitching!

IHSW & TUSAL

I fell sick couple of weekends ago with flu, cough and headache so even though I took Monday and Tuesday off last week, little stitching was done. In fact, I'm still coping with a right nasty cough :(

Last weekend was IHSW for March. I managed to put a few more stitches in Stargazer. Truth be told, I could hardly bear to put her down. She's so much fun to stitch. Here's how she looks now.

Finished all the ribbons on her dress. More progress would have been made had there been less need to keep changing floss colours. Looking forward to work on her dress now.

Once again, it's time for TUSAL. For once, I'm right on time.

In the background are my much neglected books in my TBR (to-be-read) pile. As you can see, I'm a huge J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts fan. I think Roarke of the in Death series is the most scrumptious male character ever created.

Anyway, I digress. Back to stitching related matters, I've aquired a new SAL partner for my Magic Garden Sampler. Woohoo! Gillie has offered to join me as she has this design in her WiP list too. Now I'm no longer stitching alone. Yays! Now to find time to get to it. I doubt Stella would be happy if I leave her now :P

Happy Stitching!

March WiPocalypse

It's full moon again. Time for another WiPocalypse update. I could have sworn we just had one.

I've been stitching Stella. Made some progress on her which I'm rather happy with.

Then I had to put her down because my Magic Garden Sampler SAL partner, June (no blog), emailed me with a photo of her finish.

Whoops! I've not touched my Magic Garden Sampler since my last update so I scrambled to put some stitches into it. I guess I'll be stitching this piece alone now.

Here's my rather pitiful progress.

Hopefully I'll have more to share in my next WiPocalypse post.
Happy Stitching!

An Exchange & A Gift

Last week, I received my Friendship Bag from Margaret (no blog). It arrived neatly wrapped in layers of paper and plastic. I'm not kidding when I said layers :P After opening the envelope, this pretty package presented itself.

After impatiently tearing through that and more, I managed to hold the bag in my hot, little hands.

These are the stash it contained, once more nicely wrapped.

I swear, either Margaret must be torturing me or testing my patience, which I failed miserably. LOL! Finally, finally, here's the exchange in its entirety.

There were pins, buttons, needles, threads, bobbin and lace, quilting fabric and tools. I was in stash heaven. Not to mention this beautiful bag. I really love the red floral fabric and linen combination. And you wonder why I couldn't wait to open the package ^.^

Margaret told me this is the third bag she had made before she deemed it acceptable for the exchange. Can you imagine the effort that went into it? I'm so touched.

She has attached a note on the bag indicating which fabrics were used in case I would like to buy some. How thoughtful.

Thank you so much, Margaret. I'll always treasure this bag.

On another note, I've been remiss in showing off the package I received from Kaye some time ago. I had won the giveaway she offered on her blog back in December. It contained a lovely MarBek kit, a beautiful hummingbirds and flowers card and a keychain from Hawaii. How cool is that?

Thank you again, Kaye. I look forward to stitching this design.

By the way, regarding the 6 Fat Man SAL I mentioned that was supposed to start in March, Kati and I have decided to postpone it to April. This will give everyone more time to gather their materials.

The official start date of the SAL is 9 April 2012. We'll be stitching it only on Mondays. For more information and to sign up, Kati has created a special page on her blog here.

I've already receive my fabric from Picture This Plus. I'll be stitching it on Tarnish Belfast. Here's my very messy floss toss:

Do join us. Hazel, Cathey, Shanda, DJ and Tammy, you ladies still interested? Any more of you want to join? You're certainly welcome. The more the merrier.
Happy Stitching!

Meet Stella

"Who is Stella?" you ask. Well, dear readers, this is Stella... My new project.

I started The Stargazer by Mirabilia on Valentine's Day and have been stitching on her since, all through IHSW. She's stitched on Silkweaver's Starquest Reflections Belfast and is to date the design with the most bling that I've ever attempted. I must admit all those beads are making me a little nervous but I'll only worry about that when the time comes.

By the way, what is your usual stitching process for Mirabilias, Lavender & Lace, Passione Ricamo, etc. designs? Do you start at the top, bottom, left or right? Do you finish the head, the dress or perhaps even the background first? Do you stitch the skin as soon as you could or leave it for last? Do you stitch the skin as charted or do you prefer it over one? These questions popped into my head while working on Stargazer and I'd love to hear your answers.

As you can see, I started at the middle and headed straight for Stella's head/face immediately. I've stitched her skin over one. I just love the delicate effect of over one skin. With the exception of Garden Verses, I usually complete the face first as I like to see who I'm stitching and watch her grow. Besides, I dread stitching the fiddly skin and since the hair usually contains confetti stitches, I'd rather get those out of the way as soon as possible. The only reason I've not stitched the skin on Garden Verses is because it consists of a big area and I've yet to decide how I'm gonna go about it. That amount of one over one scares me. LOL!

Technically, The Stargazer is not on my WiPocalypse list but in my opinion, that's the beauty of WiPocalypse. I'm allowed to start anything I want because after all, the world might end soon and I ain't about to miss my chance to do so :P

Anyway, I've been seeing stitchers posting photos of their ort jars on their blogs which reminds me that it's once again time for TUSAL. Here's my ort jar:

It now contains plenty of clippings from Home of A Needleworker (Too)! and of course The Stargazer.

One last thing, I've removed Blogger's new, impossible-to-read word verification from my comment section.  I've been getting spam since removing it but I'd rather my visitors not have to go through that just to leave me a comment. Believe me, I know how frustrating and annoying it can be. Don't you just hate it when people try to fix something that isn't broken? Sigh!

Happy Stitching!

First 2012 Finish

Yikes! I'm more than ten days late for my WiPocalypse update. Where has the time flown to? At least I have a finish to show.

Design: Home of A Needleworker (Too)!

Designer: Little House Needleworks

Fabric: 32 count Lakeside Linens Navy Bean Belfast linen

Fibers: Hand Dyed Fibers silk

I'm really happy with how my HDF conversion makes an already pretty design so much more vibrant.

This dear little cottage is in my favourite colour - blue.

If you're interested, this is my HDF conversion:

• CC Bamboo - HDF BeCreamed
• CC Brandied Pears - HDF Examplar Fire Thorn
• CC Cocoa Bean - HDF Examplar Old Maid of the Soil
• CC Hickory Sticks - HDF Examplar Hearthstone
• CC Old Blue Jeans - HDF Magpie Warbles
• CC Razzleberry - HDF Examplar Crushed Berry
• CC Weeping Willow - HDF BeFrogged

I gotta say this is one of my favourite design to stitch. I'm almost sorry to see it done... Amost!

It's IHSW this weekend. Will you be hermitting with us? I've already started a new project and am anxious to get to it. Stay tune for details ^.^

Happy Stitching!

Friendship Bag Exchange

Early December last year, I joined in the Friendship Bag Exchange on NNC. For this exchange, participants were required to make a fabric bag no larger than 8" x 8" and fill it with bits and bobs for a crafter. I handed the bag to my exchange partner, Margaret, today during our Stitching Bee so I can finally show it to you.

Anyway, here's the bag I made. I named it the Woven Bag. I'm sure you can understand the reason for that ^.^

This bag is very special to me for I designed it. I did not follow any pattern at all. Instead of embroidery, I decided once again to try something new - Lattice Smocking for the front and back.

For the handles, I made a six strand braid from the same fabric I used for the sides. In actuality, the whole bag except for the lining is made from the same fabric. One side of this fabric is grey and the other side black.

I lined it with Frilly Hearts from the Still by Loralie Harris for Quilting Treasures collection.

For the contents, these are what I included: buttons, bobbin cards with lace and labels, a mini sewing kit, a tape measure, Little House Needleworks' Snow White along with a bobbin of HDF Examplar White Chocolate to stitch it and an apple notepad.

I'm so happy Margaret loves it. Now I can breath easy again and concentrate on my stitching.

On the way home, Bee Ee, one of our members who is kind enough to give me a lift to and from the Bee (Thank you, Bee Ee) gifted me with a sweet little pouch.

I absolutely love the lavender colour and lace she used. The word she stitched on it is "Prosperity" in Chinese. Thank you, again.

Happy Stitching, everyone!

Unofficial IHSW Update

Chinese New Year falls on 23 January this year. I had returned to my hometown the previous Friday with my family to celebrate Chinese New Year with my relatives. Hence, I had thought I wouldn't be able to join in this month's IHSW so I didn't sign up for it.
Surprisingly however, I found myself stitching quite a bit this past weekend so here's my unofficial IHSW result:

This is such an enjoyable design to stitch. Makes me wonder why I hadn't started it ages ago. All that's left now is the construction of the house.
I had mixed up the TUSAL dates last post. WiPocalypse is on the FULL moon and TUSAL is on the NEW moon. Whoops! Thanks to Mouse and Dani for pointing that out to me.
Here's my TUSAL update again with more orts from Home of A Needleworker (Too)!

To all my friends who are celebrating Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Chai and to everyone else, Happy Stitching!

New Year, New Starts

Happy New Year, dear readers. Yes, I'm late with my WiPocalypse update. Still, better late than never, right? I've had two new starts. I figured January should be a guilt-free month.

First, as planned, is Magic Garden Sampler by Shakespeare's Peddlar.

I'm stitching this with HDF on Lakeside Linens Navy Bean. I absolutely love how the silk glides through the fabric.

Next, I started Home of A Needleworker (Too)! by Little House Needleworks as well.

It's stitched on the same fabric as Magic Garden Sampler. I've also converted the colors to HDF. It's not an exact color conversion as I'm only eyeballing the floss and choosing what I deemed fit but I'm loving the results so far.

Last but not least, I've joined the TUSAL and this is my first update:

Have a great weekend, everyone and happy stitching!