...london...

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

…My favourite things…

Christine has asked on her blog in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Sound of Music what our favourite thing are… The Sound of Music is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Being as it is one of my favorite musicals of all time, as a small homage, here are my favorite things...I love very much this film, I and my sister have seen it several time (I think 2 time every year) we know by heart all the songs…and we like better “My favourite things”!!! So I’m very happy of this tag!!




So my favourite things are:

• get under the freshly laundered blankets;
  
• stay at home when outside it’s raining;
  
• the cuddle of the Saturday morning in the double bed;
  
• the drawings of my daughter;
  
• our messy home;
  
• yours comments!!
  
• when something for me arrive in the mail….
  
• the dinners with all the family assembled and all our talking point!!
  
• sunflowers;
  
• green grass;
  
• and many other.....
  

Danielle ..the celebration of my degree will be on 13 December (the day is nearly here!!)

Jenn, San... thank you for your advices about loop method...I will follow them...

...a dress for my degree...

This week-end I would have liked to finish the Coeur Fragile….unfortunately, as you can see from the photo, I don’t manage to do so….I’ve had a very busy week end!!!
Friday afternoon I came home from work very late…in the evening I’ve stitched a few…
Saturday morning I went with my mom to buy the dress for my degree…we went to Max Mara…I bought a wonderful violet blouse, a black skirt, a black overcoat and a marvellous pair of shoes with a very high heel (to my standard)…I hope to show you a photo of my extraordinary outfit as soon as possible…I’m really satisfied about my purchase!!!!!
Yesterday afternoon some friend of us visit us and we have dinner all together…so I was very busy with the preparation….
Today I forecast nothing X-stitch I have to write the last chapter of my thesis….sig sob 

....loop method...

Yesterday arrive me the Little Kate calendar I’ve bought, the chart are lovely…

Thank you to Zohrah I can show you the Loop method I have tried to use, I would ask you a suggestion:

When you use loop method, and you have finished to stitch one colour but a lot of thread is left over…. I don’t manage to get unthreaded without cutting the thread (the loop is became too tight to unthread it)… what you do? You leave that colour in the needle to use it later and you use another needle for other colours? Or you cut the thread left and throw it away?.....

I haven’t notice that Coeur Fragile on the sidebar is on grey and my is on green, I don’t know why… on the chart I’m using the colour is green…I was beset by doubt so I’ve search other image on the net and I’ve found a lot of coeur green so I think the photo I’ve found on the web, and put in the sidebar, is of poor quality.

Yesterday evening I’ve had my first basket game, we‘ve lost but I’m satisfied I’ve scored a basket!!! My first basket!!! What an emotion!!!

...poutpurry..

I’ve just delivered my degree document…time is nearly here!!! This week’s was suggested by Dawn and is: When comparing large projects versus small projects, which do you get more excited about finishing? When I finish a project I’m always happy, perhaps I would be more happy for larger projects after all the time that I spend on them. I’ve stitch a few on the coeur fragile: I started also Lottie, but the improvements are laughable, so I haven’t took a photo of it!! I’ve tried a new method for thread the floss in the needle following the teaching on Cross Stitcher October issue that said to make a loop with threads (I’m not able to explain me very well…) anyway I’m very happy of this new method!! My X are much more regular and clear, my X stitch works are getting better!! :-)

Yesterday evening we watch a really lovely film: Spanglish. I like it very much, it’s romantic but not predictable, I appreciate how it shows mother-daughter dynamic seen though the teenaged daughters and their respective mothers….really nice!!!

...thank you very much!!!...

I’m truly happy you like my chest!!!
Thank you very much for your comments!!!!
To answer:
I haven’t bought the box at IKEA, unfortunately the nearest IKEA is 60 kilometres away!!! (At IKEA there is a similar box…cheaper than mine!!) Sigh…sob…I’ve bought it in a “do-it-yourself” shop in my city….
I’ve made the chest to tidy up my floss…before my thread was stored in several places and with several filing methods.. some keep in skeins, some keep in bobbins (the most useful) and some pre-cut store in cardboard with hole…now I will put all of them ( as they are stored) in the drawers in numeric order…so I hope to lose less time searching the right colour!!!

...chest of drawers...

Rain…rain…a week end really wet!!
Some days ago I read a post in EMS forum called Desperate Stitcher and I though that I’m desperate because of my DMC thread archive…so I take the most of this rainy days to reorganize my moulinè…
Yesterday I bought a little chest of drawers in its natural state and some transfer (I’m hopeless at painting!!)

This morning, with Alice, I’ve painted the box with green( to make the grass) and blue (to make the sky), this afternoon we’ve applied the transfer on the drawers…I think the result is nice…

I’ve put some separator in each drawers to obtain four glove compartment…so I have 24 space where put back my thread in numeric order…
Yesterday the Calendar, I bought on e-Bay, arrived!!! It’s wonderful…I’ve started stitching the coeur fragile….only a little bit progress…but I have time till the dead line

...SBQ....

Today’s is a fun question suggested by Dianne and is:

If you have stitched for a while, can you usually pick out the DMC colors you need from memory when you go to your LNS? (For example, you know that 610 is a brown.)

Usually I don't remember at what colour a DMC number is linked....for the most used number I have only a vague idea about what colour they are…When I go to my LNS I write a list of the colour I need and I give it to the saleswoman….recently I buy DMC colour on the web…here, in Italy, skein have prohibitive price!!!( 1 skein 1.10 EURO = 1.31 US Dollar!!!!!)….what a damned nuisance!!!

Yesterday I bought Ellie May calendar of Margaret Sherry…it will arrive next week..I’m looking forward for it..

Zohrah..I haven’ seen that my penguin dive into the ocean yet !!! It’s Fantastic!!!!…today afternoon I will shown it to Alice , I can imagine her belly laugh!! Thanks to have planted a bloom on my map!!! It will became a flowery world…it’s a truly a peace image!!!!

...it's already November!!...

It’s already November…Xmas is just around the corner!!
Unfortunately also this long week-end is ended and tomorrow back to work…..nooooooo!!!!
I’m quite satisfied with this week end:
..I wrote all the thesis chapter I’ve planned….well done
..Saturday afternoon we went to a chocolate party called “Le vie del Cioccolato” (the chocolate way)…Alice was really happy…there was two clown who give her a balloon in the shape of a swan, some chocolate and make up her as a butterfly…

…Yesterday we haven’t celebrate Halloween….but my basket coach give use some chocolate!! What a kind thought!!!…
...I have finished to stitch Tom Mouse, I like the end result of using only 1 strand for the X…I decide not to stitch the nose I think that, in the original design, it has a strange position…I don’t like it so I didn’t stitch it…I think I will make a Christmas decoration with it…I would like to find other Xmas subject to stitch and make ornaments with…

I would like to start stitching the Happy Birthday Lottie kit I’ve bought last month…I will stitch it for my daughter birthday on the 3 December I will put a five in the star..i hope she’ll love it!!!

..lucky charm & Tom Mouse

It’s started a long week-end….given over to write the first draft of my thesis...I have to deliver it to my teacher next Wednesday….an hard work awaited me!!!!

I would like to show you the lucky charm that I and my daughter Alice have made this week…Valeria, our Trento friend, gave us some wood silhouette…I and Alice painted them and bound them with a string…we made one charm for Alice and one for Samuele, Valeria’s child.

Yesterday evening I started to stitch Tom Mouse kit (enclosed in Cross Stitcher October issue), I decided to use only one strand for the x-stitch as suggested in the magazine…I think I will make a little bag with it… like those of the magazine…

--guest map...

Yesterday, I saw in Zohrah’s Blog the Bravenet GuestMap…I fall in love with it!! So today I‘ve put it also on my blog…I thinks it will be really nice to see where my X-stitch friends live!!! So if you want leave a mark on it!!! Thanks…Chia

...ebay & SBQ...

This evening I’ve done my first purchase on e-bay!!! I’ve bought COUNTRY FRIENDS 2004 CALENDAR…I hope i twill arrive soon!!!


Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Outi and is:

Have you ever stitched something as a gift and later realized that receiver doesn't respect your stitched gift a bit (for example it's never on show, or you have other reason to suspect that it may even be nonexistent or at least placed in some dark storage room corner)? If so, what have you done? If you've been lucky enough to avoid such people what would you do if it'd happen to you?

For now, luckily, I’ve never had this problem!!! If it will happen I Think I will fell sad and angry it will be a great heartbreaking…I think I won’t ever give that person any present (especially a present I work very hard on !!!)

The permalink to this post is:
http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2005/10/a-gift-sbq/

Zohrah...I have choosen the FRAGILE COEUR as you've said it's sweet...I'm not in Xmas mood yet!!!

Danielle...thanks for the compliments...I assure you that Trento is really nice...

…A good week-end...

The past week-end was really good!!!

First I finished my CATAFIDDLE:
(Since I’ve so little time to post my images I‘ll post all my progress this time)
The fruit of Thursday evening work:

I stitched some white and grey(I run out the DMC)…and some outline
The fruit of Friday evening work:

I bought DMC 762 and I completed all the cat tummy and the cat outline …I make the bow and the outline of violin…..and I ironed all the work…I was really satisfied!!!
On Saturday morning I got up early to work on the musician folder and finished it before the departure for Trento. I cut the square for the cat in the cardboard, then I lined the cardboard with some sheet music I’ve antiqued painting it with coffee. I lined the angle of the cardboard with a blue cloth to protect it from the wearing effect of time.
Using the bio-adhesive tape I attached the aida in the square and I put up in three sides of the folder some blue and beige ribbon to allow my sister to close it and to avoid to lose all the paper she’ll put in it!!! Then I covered the back of the folder with a blue paper and I lined the spine of the folder with the same blue cloth I used to cover the angle. I left it under a press all the Saturday and the Sunday…Yesterday evening I unearthed it and gave it to my sister as a present…she was thrilled…I was really glad to have make her happy(she is quite sad in this period!)


Second we went to Trento:

We visited some friends of us that some years ago moved there to work…they are a couple of our age with a one year child Samuele. A month ago they moved in a larger house…a really nice house…I would like to have a house all ours!!!(now we live in my parent’s mansard…)We enjoyed our day in Trento, Saturday we visited the city…a really lovely city…

in the evening we had a tasty dinner with "polenta".On Sunday we visited Segonzano Pyramid

truly strange and interesting…they look like those of “Willie coyote”


At the end it is a very good week end!!!


Now I have to decide what to stitch now? I have to stitch the heart for the RR or to start something new……mumble mumble…

On Thursday I received the October number of Cross Stitcher (now in England is coming out the November one :( ) ….there is Archie Bear in the bath…this design will be perfect to complete the square empty(a girl has withdrawn) of my “RR Nostro” cloth ….

...a newborn baby...

This afternoon the daughter of my thesis director was born!!! Her name is Bianca!!! I’m truly happy for him and his wife!!! Tomorrow we’ll celebrate the happy event at our office!!

Yesterday the pattern I’ve ordered at the end of September are arrived!!!! They are marvellous…I don’t know from witch I can start ….


Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Cathy and is:

Do you mark or hi-lite your patterns or can you follow them without any markings? Do you make copies to mark up, or do you mark originals?

Usually I don’t mark any pattern, but sometimes when I’m desperate I highlight it….it happens to me especially when the pattern has a lot of colour changes or it is printed in small….in this case I’m in danger to ruin my eyesight so I print it in a larger size !!!!

The permanent link to this post is:
http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2005/10/pattern-marking/

..thesis&cat&book&RR:::

Since my daughter was ill, we stayed at home all the week end and I take advantage of it for writing my graduation thesis....I wrote only a chapter....at this rate I will finish it next year (I have to finish it before the end of November!!!)...

I applied myself to cross stitching on Saturday on Sunday evening when Alice was sleeping and my husband was watching football championship (When his favourite team play he is untraceable !!!)….I stitched the cat tail and the blue floor….I found an error in the stitch I have done some days ago so I split all the wrong cross…what a damned nuisance!!

During the lunch break I went to the library and I took on loan Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby a friend of mine has said it’s wonderful…we shall see about that!!!

Today I received a fabric of the RR I taking part in…the theme is heart of Savoir-Faire Vailly I have to decide what heart I will stitch…I waver between:

I will decide…I have time until the end of November!!

... little witch...

Yesterday I finished the embroidery on the dress: I stitched two pumpkins, a witch hat, 3 stars and the moon….I used only four colours to avoid doing a witch harlequin!!!!!

This morning I slipped the dress on the witch body, stuffed the shoes and stitched on the whiskers to the cat …..and my little witch is finished!! I’m satisfied with what I have made….Alice loves the doll very much, she put the witch on her night table!!!

I have seen a nice Halloween pattern titled Meg and Mog on CrossStitching.com it seems really simple but I like it.. the owl looks like PLOP a character of Alice’s book….I would like to buy it…I’ll think about it!!!

I would like to show you where my little city is…

Reggio Emilia is a little city in the north of Italy (near Bologna), placed in the Po valley with an awful climate!!! It’s Sultry in Summer …It’s cold and foggy in Winter…Autumn and Spring are rather wet….It’s a bijou!! Italian flag was born here on 1797 and we are the home of Parmesan (the cheese)!!!

...SBQ...

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Outi and is:

How do you `non-hoopists' who use a rotation system handle it (as it
seems to be lot easier if you are in good terms with hoop)? Do you
have several scroll frames? Do you use Q-snaps or maybe something
completely different? Or do you just have one or two big projects and
others are small enough to be kept in hand while stitching?

Today my answers are all negative..
I don't use a rotation system because I usually stitch one design at a time and I don't use any Q-snaps, I keep all my pattern in hand while I'm stitching, but I would to try some Q-snaps as soon as possible...

Permanent Link: http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2005/10/a-rotation-sbq-and-an-sbrr-update/

....I'm a Gryffindor!!!!...

I have found the link to the HOGWART'S SORTING HAT in Karen blog....as I'm a super fan of Harry I've completed the quiz immediatly and....I'm a Gryffindor!!!


be sorted @ nimbo.net

WOW!!! AS Harry, Ron and Hermion!!!
I'm waiting for the italian version of the last book..i hope it will arrive soon!!!

..a witch for Halloween....

Finally the sun......

We have just taken Alice to the fair she is very happy...and very dirty of spun shugar!!!!

Some weeks ago I have borroed a book from the library called:"Fairys ,wizards and witches...."

it is a manual that teach how to make dolls.Saturday I started a witch...this will be my Halloween manufacture!!!
Saturday I've chose the pattern to use (I will use one pattern I've boughtlast wednesday)...and I went to the shop to buy all the things i missed!!I've bought a beautifull pair of scissors that cuts the pattern zigzaggy...It's a long time that I would like to buy it and now i have do that!! :)
I've decide to modify the original dool, instead of the plain pattern for the dress i decide to use a piece of black Aida where I'm going to stitch some Halloween design:I choose some free design of Lizzie Kate i like very much her style!!!
For the witch hair I have used orange raffia instead of an hair pattern(i didn't find it!!!)
On sunday and on monday i've cut, machine-stitch,stuff and glue...yesterday evening my witch shown up like that...I'm very satisfied of that result

...I hope to finish her as soon as possible!!! (also my husband loves her!!!It's a miracle!!!)

...rain rain rain and still rain...

It's raining since Monday...not light rain but heavy shower!!!I hope sun will come back again( but I think it's vey improbable...here in the Po valley, in autumn and winter, there is only fog !!) Even now it's thundering!!

But apart from the rain I have some freshness!!!

First today without study!!! Danielle you have reason I feel very great !!!

Today it's my first day at work!! I've seen my new office it's very nice...as soon as possible I will show you a photo!!!(I have the pc not yet but it will arrive soon I hope!!!)

Yesterday evening I went with my sister, Elena and a friend of us, Alice to a show in Reggio emilia called "Casa e tavola"(home and food) where I saw a lot of furniture and I ate some chocolate very delicious!!!! There was also a corner with cloth and paper for decuopage...I bought some of it (I think they are really prettty!! I don't know what to do with them ...but I will use them soneer or later!!)

Today's "Stitching Blogger's Question" was suggested by Bea and is:

When you have almost finished a pattern and start thinking about the next one to stitch, how do you select it? (a list, most recent purchase, etc.)

The permalink to this post is:http://blondelibrarian.net/stitching/archives/2005/10/future-projects/

It's a very interesting question...I 've think about it some day ago when i have to decide what to start stitching....I haven't a specific rule...I select the new pattern to stitch according to my current emotion...I have an enormous wish list (in fact I haven't put it on the web yet, it's too big ) so I have a lot of options to choose...when i finished a design I think what's my feeling in that moment ...and I start to stitch the patter that fit better with my wishes!!