a bit of catching up seems necessary

I hope you enjoyed a fine weekend. Thanks to Niek, I had plenty of opportunity to stitch – I actually finished two projects this weekend! More on that later because first I’m terribly overdue on thanking Sara and Rachael for recent gifts.

Sara sent me this wonderful Don Drumm folding sculpture for my birthday. I was hesitant to put it out at first, because if it’s repeatedly bent it will break – a worry with my “handy” children. I finally found the perfect spot for it, though, and I wanted to show you all how beautiful it is. Remind me in a future post to show off the treasure trove of Don Drumm goodies Sara has gifted me with over the years. Thank you, Sara, and I’m sorry it took me so long!

Rachael also supplied lots of goodies for the kiddoes when we got together for our Stitch & Bitch at Harmien’s. I showed a picture of Rowen in her necklace a few days ago and Max has hidden his Legos away in his room, but here are the window stickers she got for Nicky:

the outfit she bought Arden:

and the matching salad set she got me, shown with the olive wood cutting board she got me in Muenster.

I was eager to finish the stitching on this gorgeous design this weekend. It’s a tree of life designed by Paula, the talent behind Stitch Witch. She’s released this chart to a Yahoo group as a freebie, but it will ultimately figure into a much larger design that she’s currently working on. Mine is stitched on the gorgeous silver Weddington linen I bought in Muenster and uses naturally dyed silk in the logwood color series from The Natural Dye Studio (which sadly no longer dyes silk, but if you’re into wool, go take a look!). The piece is much lovelier IRL, but my camera couldn’t cope with the deepness of the silk and the contrasting lightness of the linen in today’s overcast weather. I’m going to finish this as a drawstring bag.

My next project was meant to be Three Crowsby The Goode Huswife, which I had all kitted up. But I’d hidden it from myself. I actually had to tidy up my stitching corner before I could find it. It was in with the supplies I’d used to make gifts for the kids’ teachers. LOL.

But because I couldn’t find it fast enough, I decided to work on a little something different … and I do mean totally different. You’ll have to come back tomorrow to see it, though, because even though it’s done, I want to take another look at it in the morning and make sure I really am finished with it.

Thank you for coming to visit me – I do appreciate it. And thanks so much for all the kind comments about our recent Stitch & Bitch day. It was so fun, and I can’t wait to do it again!

 

i hardly know where to begin, it’s all so good

I played hooky yesterday. I went to Harmien’s house with Annemarie and Rachael and we had so much fun. I didn’t take a million pictures in Harmien’s house – even though I was sorely tempted to do so – because I thought that might be a little rude. But wow, guys, you really should all make a point of going to her house because it is absolutely chockablock full of the coolest stitching I have ever seen in one place. I mean … wow, what a variety of talent! Not just Harmien’s, but also from stitchers from all over the world who’ve sent her goodies. You know what? I’m sitting here now just kicking myself in the butt that I didn’t take pictures all over the place. Rude or not … sheesh! Harmien, can I come back??? Luckily, Harmien has shared a few photos of our day there, and I’m shamelessly using them here.

So what did the four of us get up to for an entire afternoon? It was a Stitch & Bitch, but honestly not a whole lot of either got done. LOL. We all had lots of catching up to do in the beginning. It was the first time that Rachael and I had met Harmien, and it was the first time in waaaayyyy too long that I’ve seen Annemarie.  Then we had to show off some stitching we’re working on, and I did take this picture of Annemarie holding her Blue Lady. This is such an incredible project IRL.

Another Fremme project she’s working on is similar to this little one that I’ve been hiding away in my drawer. Hers is designed by Ida Winckler and mine is from the 1986 Fremme calender, designed by Edith Hansen. The two women are two of my favorite Danish designers.

Rachael brought sock yarn and the teeniest knitting needles I’ve ever seen. I thought they were mini kabob sticks. And Harmien was working on the gorgeous, the stunning Cirque des Triangles … which again, I’m kicking myself for not photographing, but which does make a cameo appearance in one of Harmien’s photos. The linen is much richer IRL, full of plums and steel, reds, and all sort of deep colors. I told her she needs to send a picture to Tracy for her Gallery page.

I pulled out my Fair, Kind, True project by Midsummer Night Designs to put a few stitches into. It’s “this” close to being done.

But the best stitching piece of the day? Well, sit down ladies and gentlemen! Here is my Neighborhood Round Robin. Can you even believe how gorgeous it is? Annemarie hasn’t quite finished her block, but I’ve brought it home to stitch the names and dates and add a simple border. I am so excited, you can’t even guess!

Oh, there was a little bit of other stitching, too, but that was of the done & finished variety. The reason I have not been able to post any stitching pictures is because I was a little bit busy making gifts for Harmien, An, and Rachael. I actually put the last whipstitches in Harmien’s on the train to her house, so I didn’t take a photo of it but Harmien has come to the rescue and sent me pictures she took in her garden. I used two designs from primitivebetty - 1817, a special-release design, and 1836 Spring Thyme Sampler (I only used parts of this one, due to space constraints. Harmien’s is stitched on tea-dyed 36 or 40 count linen, one thread over two, and stuffed with lavender to create a fragrant-smelling floss fob.

Annemarie’s was the easiest for me, as I’ve “known” her the longest. Okay, we only knew each other via Cyberstitchers and then through emails for a long time, but we have also had the good fortune to meet up IRL 3 or 4 times over the years. An has a pinkeep (thanks again for those pins, Anne!) featuring The Little Sampler by The Goode Huswife on the front side and a piece of heavy cotton with a cutout of antique lace on the backside. I changed the colorway from drab browns to what I think of as a rhapsody of blues because that’s her favorite color. Given all of the changes going on her life and her recent … obsession … with pumpkin plants, the verse on this was just too perfect. “Girls do not cook & scrub and scour until you have no time to plant a tree or vine or flower.” This has four different blues, and the prim look has been heightened by using one thread here, two there, three there; and I’ve stitched it on abusively distressed coffee-stained linen.

Keeping in the schoolgirl-style sampler vein, I chose The Star Sampler by Blackbird Designs for Rachael’s gift. I had such a good time with this, once I got it going on linen of the correct size. LOL. The four-sided stitch is quite simple, and looks absolutely lovely on the backside. I changed the colorway from the called-for gray on red to tones of pink on Legacy linen because I know how very fond Rachael is of pink. The pillow has a dark pink linen back and the front side is finished using antique lace and some lacy black ric-rak that I bought with Rachael in Muenster.

Thanks so much for putting up with such a long post, and with so many previous posts that didn’t have any stitching!!

oh, have i got stuff to show you!

But you’ll have to wait! Here’s a sneak peek till Friday. Take care, everyone!

 

 

blogroll explanation

Just to explain the very incomplete blogroll now in my sidebar … I actually follow blogs from my bloglines account and haven’t used my blogrolling account in ages. However, it’s come to my attention that my blog has been taking a lot of traffic from an unsavory source and I’ve installed a site meter that I hope will alert me when this activity occurs again. I needed to use my blogrolling account to embed the site meter (which I really hope I’ve done correctly, LOL) and that is the only reason it’s there.

Anyway, if you do not see your blog name on the list in the sidebar, never fear. You are on my bloglines list, which only I can see.

the year past, the year to come

Coincidentally, both my final exchange to Cathy and my first exchange to Su (for the Seasonal Exchange group) arrived on the same day. So you finally get some stitching photos! I know Chiloe said she likes pictures of Arden even more than of stitching, but not everyone may feel that way.

For Cathy, I tried to make her a collection of smalls. Cathy, like me, has fairly eclectic tastes and I had fun choosing designs willy-nilly from my stash. This final exchange is a kit released by The Sampler Girl last winter (with a lot of extra details on the inside). I also whipped up a wee matching fob so Cathy’s scissors would not get jealous of her needles & pins.

The inside of the needlebook would not be nearly as pretty as it is if it were not for the generosity of Sonya, who sent that wonderful quilt-style cotton, and of Anne, who sent the gorgeous assortment of pins.

For the upcoming year of exchanging with Su, I considered and rejected a number of ideas until I saw the work of a local crafter who makes twig/vine baskets and wreaths. I know that Su likes small things, and I’ve always loved her sense of humor. Although most of the gorgeous exchanges and gifts that she receives are very feminine and elegant, I hoped she would enjoy my spin on things, with a quirky prim look. I have to admit, I really (really) worried that she’d open the box and think, “Oh no! These are so ugly!” but she assures me that she really does like it.

The ornaments are Harvest Bird by Ewe and I and Friends (which kept twisting to the side when I photographed the wreath, thus an additional picture of it), Quaker Snail by Aury (freebie available here), and Plenty and Grace, which contains elements taken from Sampler Folk by Kathy Barrick-Dieter and from Plenty and Grace by Primitive Traditions (from the publication, A Most Noble Pursuit). I had so much fun making this exchange – I’m already looking forward to the winter ornaments!

Thanks for the comments on my short (angry) post yesterday. As for my legality here in the Netherlands, I’ve been legal all along, but the government has been changing laws in an attempt to homogenize the society. Unlike Canada, which is known as a patchwork of different peoples and cultures (a sentiment I’ve always really admired), the Netherlands seems to be going for a rather heavy-handed American ‘melting pot’ effect in which we foreigners must constantly prove our willingness to adapt to the society we’ve chosen to live in. I certainly understand the need to speak the language of the country in which one lives, but I’m weary of being treated literally like a second class citizen. But anyway … it’s over till the next time and the woman who conducted the interview really was very nice.

 

they did not deport me

Not much to share today, but I wanted to let you know I’ve been exempted from the ”assimilation program” based on the university-prep level Dutch course I took when I arrived here. The problem was that I arrived before they started keeping track of this sort of thing, and they were therefore unaware that I’d taken any steps to mainstream to the culture.

The mood I was in when I left for the appointment, I wouldn’t have minded being deported. It would’ve been a free ticket home at least. ;P

a little of this and a little of that

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful solstice and is enjoying a very pleasant weekend. We’re keeping it fairly low-key here at Chateau Chaos and that suits me just fine.

Yesterday Arden and I wound up wearing matching socks, which we both thought was pretty funny. You may remember that Rachael knit us matching socks. I’ve meant several times to get a picture of us both wearing them, and I finally managed to do so.

I have been stitching but as it’s all gifts for people who read this blog (at least now & then, they do), I can’t share any real pictures. I can share the mistake I made last night … I’d been stitching on 40 count linen during the day (I’ve shown an early WIP shot below), but as the light faded, I switched to a new project on 32 count. Obviously my mind was still on the 40 count project, however, as I arranged the new project … with far too little space to finish it. By the time I discovered my mistake, I’d already spent over two hours stitching! Sigh. The new project is a Schoolgirl Sampler by Blackbird Designs that incorporates a four-sided stich all around the border. It was my first time doing this, and I fell in love with how pretty the back side of the linen was. Honestly the back side is much prettier … but I had to unpick it all this morning and begin again on a larger piece of linen.

Tomorrow, I’m off to the Immigration department so they can determine whether or not, after 11 years here, I’ve assimilated enough to Dutch culture. Believe it or not, they may make me take tests in order to continue living here. It has nothing to do with my legality in the country, simply with whether or not I’ve mainstreamed sufficiently. There goes a whole afternoon, not to mention however long it takes me today to track down all the paperwork they want me to provide. In true bureacratic fashion, the letter arrived too late for me to do anything about changing the time or making any adjustments to the appointment. Gotta love red tape…

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and cheery start to the new week!

 

how to celebrate a half-birthday

Today is Arden’s half-birthday. Am I the only one who can’t believe that six months have flown by already? Naturally a half-birthday deserves some sort of special celebration, and Nachtegaal, Max’s bunny, was thoughtful enough to provide the structure for our day by breaking loose from (and in the process, destroying) her cage in Max’s room yesterday. Max apparently didn’t think we’d notice a loose rabbit running around upstairs, but the cat (or rabbit) was soon out of the bag and my Friday plans were hastily scratched to make time to go off in search of an indoor rabbit cage that was large, sturdy, and affordable.

After a bottle and a short nap, as well as a bit of necessary playing, laughter, and general cuteness, Arden and I were ready to hit the highways and byways in search of the perfect home for Nachtegaal.

It took us three tries to find the right store selling the right cage – we wound up a good half-hour’s drive away, but it was worth it. Not only did we find what we needed for Nachtegaal, but we also found extra large bags of food for her, Spin, and Rigby and some new toys for Gilbert. I think they were all pretty happy with the fruits of our shopping trip.

(Nachtegaal, who is quite shy, extends a timid if heartfelt hello to Pink and Elvis, whose adventures she finds positively titillating. I suspect I’ve told her too much of Pink’s antics, leading up to our recent cage-busting activity. )

Cake was obviously out of the question, but Arden did celebrate with a bowl of pureed fruit. Yum-yum! And a milk chaser to wash it down.

The kids got into the spirit of the thing by dressing up and getting totally silly – Rowen dressed up as a tiger, Nicky as a cowboy, and Max as a strange sort of be-wigged person. Because all that could be seen of Max in costume was his eyes, I took another picture of him after he was back in his regular clothes.

Naturally Arden got a lot of kisses and cuddles and hugs and hoorahs from us all, which made him even jollier than usual.

So although needle has not touched linen today, and probably won’t, it’s been a totally terrific day over in our tiny corner of the world. Hope your day was also full of happiness.

back to normal – whatever that is!

I’m very happy to share the news that Arden seems to be his usual, jolly self again. He’s still not drinking his bottles like he should, but for the rest, he’s happily himself.

Today we were at the foodbank, then rushed home for a brief phone call with my mom, and then picked up the kids from school. Rowen had a friend over to play for the first time – she was so excited, and her friend was such a sweet little girl – and Max always has his best friend over on Thursday; it was my first time with six kids here. It went fine, but boy, six kids is a handful!

No stitching to show yet. But soon, I promise! Thanks for stopping by to visit with me!

it worked!

Thank you all so much for your get well wishes for Arden – it obviously worked, as he slept better last night and woke up feeling much more like his usual self. I can’t claim he’s 100% recovered, but he’s certainly on the mend. After breakfast, he gifted me with one of his jolly smiles that make my heart feel too big for my chest. (The red spots are mosquito bites – all the kids have a mild allergy to them. And no, he hasn’t been teething. Yet!)

Arden’s improved health meant I could spend a little bit of time stitching and I’ve finished the border for my Goode Huswife piece. I can’t show any more pictures, though, because it’s a gift. What a tease, huh?

Breakfast was a particularly fun affair this morning as the kids were dressed up for Teachers’ Day. Rowen wanted to be a pussycat, so I made some ears and sewed them to a headband and also made her a matching tail. Luckily I still had some fuzzy pink “fur” that I used to make her an Easter bunny in 2007. See, it does pay to be a packrat. LOL! Nicky dressed up in a Spider Man outfit that my mom gave Max about five years ago, but which looked nearly new after a trip through the washing machine. (The bookmarks I made for the teachers were received with great curiosity and delight. Phew!)

The other charts I won on eBay – to spend my birthday bucks – came in today. Meg’s Bunny is as adorable as I knew it would be, and I think the other chart (Sarah E.A. Hunter) is perfect for something like a box top, especially if I do it over-one. It was only 99 cents, so I’m not too worried about finding just the right application for it.

My better half is out tonight at a work-dinner – coincidentally, it’s being held at the very same Japanese grill bar that I wanted to go to for my birthday. Some days, I do wish my current job came with those kind of perks. Not that the smiles don’t outweigh the spit-up (most days, anyway), but it would be nice to dine out in luxury on someone else’s dime. So I have my xth night in a row of kiddie bedtimes, which means the wee beasties and I are roaring through our Adventures of Pinkeltje stories. Pinkeltje is a very tiny gnomish creature who can talk to animals and has the loveliest adventures – like going to visit the Easter Bunny, falling asleep, and getting closed up in a (hollow) chocolate egg. Fortunately for little Pinkeltje, the egg is bound for the house that he lives in, behind the walls with a small family of mice.

My other reading is also very compelling – I’m enjoying Middlesex enormously. Mr. Eugenides can tell a story with best of them! I’m only a few dozen pages into the novel, but I’m already a fan. What a treat to read such consummate story telling!