The Time I Spend Stitching...

by ShannyKhoo

I think this piece is very challenging for my eyes! It took me the whole day to do gridding. It didn't help at all with tiny holes, me wearing glasses, the use of magnifaying lens and to top it off, the "soft" lighting we have at our place. Like EeKoon used to say, great for the eyes but shitty for pictures (and gridding)!

Hubs was like, "why are you pooking and looking at the cloth like there's a microscopic stain there?" I swear, this is the last time I'm ever going to grid (or attempt to) a 28 count Jobelan again!! Although the stitching part gets easier as I started to stitch from the top.

I didn't realise before that overdye floss is so pretty when stitched! Since its the first time I'm using them (and also the matelics), I did try to closely match the next colour when I ran out of the last one. And let me tell you, Dinky Dye has the softest floss ever! But since its made out of silk, it tends to rip easily as well.

I think I'm hooked on the beauty that the overdye floss add to the whole piece! Please click on the picture to look at some of the stitches. :)

Would you like to buy my cross stitch mags?

by ShannyKhoo

Recently someone got me a cross stitch mag which I'm not sure what to do with it since none of the motif in it appels to me. Its not that I'm ungreatful etc, its just that I don't like keeping things that I'm not going to use it anyways! It'll be so much better to find them a home that someone will appreciate them more than I do. And besides there's about 26 charts, specially on subject of babies and children; teddy bears, alphabets, grow charts, zoo animals etc.... Am willing to give away this mag but the reciever have to bear the cost of postage.

Before recieving the mag, I bought another cross stitch mag (the same mag title but different issue). The only reason why I bought it then was there's only one particular poster chart that appels to me and now I'm not sure what to do with the rest!! I was thinking of selling it but at what price? The price I bought was CHF9.50 (about RM28.-), so am willing to sell it off at CHF3.50 (about RM10.-) since I took off one of the posters. In this mag, there's about 22 charts (after minus the ones I took), the main subjects; scenery and still life.

Please be aware that the mags mentioned above is in French/Italian! I'm not sure about postage cost right now as it really depends on the weight and destination. From a smoke free home and in good condition. I accept payment via PayPal and RHBbank.com.my. Please email me if you're interested. Serious buyers only. Please click on the above image to go to the pictures. Sorry for the inconvience as I can't seem to post pictures at the moment.

One of the many days to remember...

Yesterday was one of the many days to remember for hubby. It was a wonderful day as well, with sunny skies and breezy weather. It was my kind of day given the sudden weather/temperature change for the past few days....

It was my birthday yesterday and I did have a great time just doing nothing during the day but stitching. No new stash this time, coz I think I've stashed enough to either keep me busy or lasts till end of the year. Unless of course I'm hardworking enough to start some of them now and put in at least 3 or 4 hours of stitching everyday. But as you know by now, I'm not that type of person to rotate between different projects (unless its pretty important piece) and do it every day. I'm also afraid that by rotating, some of the pieces might end up being UFOs! Plus I'm the type of person that want to see things get done from A to Z. Hubby (and my mum) says I'm a bit "got head no tail" type of person. So I have to prove them wrong!

The ladies from M'sia, China and the Phillipines...

It was a bit of a rush by the time it hits evening. Thank goodness we've opted for steamboat instead of bbq as it got a little too windy in the evening to eat out on our balcony. Invited some friends over for steamboat dinner, which happens to be an all girl party (except for hubby)! I think I prefer a small dinner party with friends instead of a big bash thingy. Its soo much more intimate, we can still chat and laugh rather than going around, making sure everything's in place/order/entertained and not being able to sit down for a good chitter-chat with friends.

As girls, we'll talk about anything and everything. So yesterday I'm quite surprised that hubby is able to carry a conversation about who's the most good looking actor; Brad Pitt or Keanu Reeves. Of course Brad Pitt won, despite my objection. I mean how to object when you have 4 against 1 (hubby included) whom debated and voted for Brad Pitt?! Thanks hubby for being such a sport!

The cake with the "magical" touch to feel young again!

Then came the surprise cake. Surprise coz the cake hubby got me says "For your 18th birthday"! hehehehehe... Ok, Ok I'll admit, I don't want to face the fact that I'm already 28. I mean, in general, women will never admit what's their "real" age when asked right? What vain and always young at heart ladies would admit it? Then the other surprise was the girls got me "magic" candles. I kept on blowing them but they kept on re-lighting by themselves!! It was really funny!

Thanks hubs!

So I wan to say a BIG THANK YOU to hubby for making it great day for me with such a simple touch on the cake, to the girls that came to wine and dine with us and to my family and friends for the sms and email wishes that I didn't expect. Its soo sweet of you all to remember. Thank you soo much for reminding me that you care!

Finished!!!

My piggy family....

I finally finished my Joan Elliot "Mom Loves You" piece! Was suppose to have "report" it earlier but some how notice last minute mistakes. So had to frog and restitch on some areas... The froging done was not an enjoyable time for me. The same goes for making french knots and back stitching.... Now I can understand why some people just don't like backstitching and some would rather use a bead to replace the french knot!

Wonderfully crips on top!

So now that's finally finished, I'm going to get a frame for it! So to "celebrate", I've made my own lasagne.... Yes, yes. Me and food never go far apart! The time spent cutting and chopping the vegies and meat, not to mention the time it took, was well worth it. Its the same with stitching. We spent long hours stitching and frogging (at times), in the end the result that we get is self satisfaction and pride with the piece we've long imagine even before its finished!! So to all the ladies (and gents) that really take pride and give your all in what ever you do, give yourselves a pat on the back and say well done!

Weekend trip - Annecy France

The Alps and Annecy Lake....

Annecy (pronounced Ann-ci), is said to be one the Venice of the Apls by some. Its located on the foot of the Alps in the region of Haute-Savoie France. Close to the boarder of Switzerland, it took us about 1 and half to 2 hours ride from our place in Vevey. If one would drive from Geneva, it'll probably take about 30 to 45 mins! Along the way, the scenery of the Alps is just breath taking.

The old town area and their waterways

The town itself is nestled on the Lake of Annecy and are connected by canals that goes through it. The old town are mainly lined with cobbled streets and red roofed tiled houses, where pedestrian roam freely around the small winding streets.

On the streets of Annecy

The hotel we booked into was a small and clean 2 (or was it 3) star place strategically located next to the main sights. As parking is expensive and rare here, the hotel helped us to reduce our overnight (starting from 18:00 till check-out) parking fees! We just paid for the difference. It was a really nice gesture for them and not to mention a great publicity tool!

There's things to sell and buy here!

After checking into the hotel at noon, we went for a walk (a whole day walk, in fact) around the block. The streets were filled with tourists, street vendors and art/antique peddlers. As we arrived on a Saturday, the whole place is alive with plenty to see, buy and bargain. From our walk around town, we've discovered that the whole place is towered by a chateau which probably dates back to the 12th century.

As we stroll towards the lakeside from the town, we've pass by so many boat service operators along the way! Imagine PD or Cherating beach lined with banana boat, jet ski etc operators. The main difference is that they do boat rides, paddle and row boat rentals. The water level at the lake seems to be at their lowest this time around due to the heat wave I was talking about on my earlier posts. But it was still clean despite the alarming growth of algae in the canals.

Look how serene and peaceful it is!

It was getting pretty hot by the time we stopped for an ice-cream in town after strolling through their gardens at 3pm. It was a pretty amazing garden by the way. The trees are at least more than 10 or 20 years old as some of the branches are tied to the trunks for support. Then I spotted my favourite tree, the Weeping willow tree. This tree has been my favourite since I was a kid. There's something special about this tree. It gives a relaxed, peaceful, softer and kinda romantic mood and look to its surroundings....

Just right after the ice-cream and some window shopping that we decided to get some shut eye back the hotel. While window shopping, we saw a small potted bonsai on a window display. It had a special shape; a ginseng shape! Hubby loves bonsai so we decide to get it. Then right after walking out from the shop, I saw a LNS shop!! I was soo excited to find it even though I wasn't really expecting to find LNS here. The place was called Au Papillon along rue de la Republique. They have stocks from Royal Paris, Marie Coeur, Lanarte etc, etc... I just wish I could stash again this time. But the stern look on my hubby says; "No time lar! You could buy next time!", that makes me think twice....

Including this ice-cream, its been my 3rd so far and will it be the last for me?

I thought that the whole place would be quite by dinner time but how wrong I was! It was even livelier than during the day time with street performers on each street corner. We had ice-cream again right after dinner as they are always selling them in almost every cafés on every street! Ice-cream sellers are doing brisk business here as almost everyone we walk past would be holding a cone or a cup topped up with different flavours. So right after dinner, we went ahead to get some more ice-cream!

The night time secene

Smelly cheese....

The next day was market day on the streets. As we walked down towards the pastry shop to get some croissant, the whole place smelt like horrible cheese! Don't get me wrong, I like cheesee but just not the type that has been moldy and well "aged" ones. The smell was so overwhelming that we almost miss the bakers place! After a fairly quick stop there, we made our way towards the chateau area and had our breakfast there. It was an amazing sight to look at while munching on an orange tart. Crooked houses with red (or moldy) roof tops that seems to be toppling over anytime soon against the massivee alps that seems to go and go.... Th escenery seems to transport me into one of Enid Blyton's stories... ahh... The day dreaming days of just doing nothing but reading! Just that, we'll have to go home after this... How sad. BUt I'm sure we'll take another short weekend trip like this soon!