August 03 X-Stitch Diary

31 August 03

I've been really busy at work this week pulling 6 and 7 hour shifts trying to get the school nice and tidy before the kids come back next week and trash all our hard work! Our work has been hampered by the fact that the builders are in - in fact they are still in and have work to do although they should have finished on Friday. It's been quite amusing to watch them putting down the new carpet only to know that within a week it's going to be hip-deep in gum when the kids start walking on it. In fact the carpet already has gum on it - apparently from the workmen themselves so it's already ruined and the leaky roof which they didn't bother to fix first has leaked on it already too. It's almost as bad as watching the poor organisation in the NHS.... but I won't go there!

So, due to lack of time I've only really been stitching on Mount Fuji - haven't had time to pick up anything else. Here's this week's progress.

Oh and Jade's famous!!! The email I sent into Cross Stitcher Magazine about the Cattitudes RR got printed, so did his picture. Except - the magazine edited my letter and gave Jade a sex change - yes they made him a "SHE"!!!

<grrrr>

The letter I sent read:

-----Original Message-----
From: Vash [mailto:vash_q at tiscali.co.uk]
Sent: 14 May 2003 09:14
To: dearcathy at futurenet.co.uk
Subject: Cattitudes

In the June 2003 issue of Cross Stitcher, you asked for people's favourite Cattitude Cats. Attached is a shot of my own "Contented" cat, "Jade", a blue Persian, with a completely placid, laid-back attitude.

Jade is laying on a piece of stitching of the first Cattitude, January's cat "Contented" from the free Calendar that was given away at Christmas. So many of the Cattitude designs exhibit the naughty habits and attitudes of my other cats. (I have 6 cats in total!).

This piece of stitching is no longer with me; it is currently in Canada as it is taking part in a huge 12-woman Round Robin with the goal to stitch all 12 of the Cats from the Calendar.

We are on the third cat already; and we are stitching one every two months, so hopefully I should see my contented cat again at the end of 2004. It seems a lifetime away.

In between sewing the Round Robin Cattitudes, I've also just finished Margaret Sherry's Purrpendicular design, and I look forward to stitching the Crafty Cat from the June issue of the magazine.

~ Vash ~

23 August 03

I've been actively stitching this week on Paradise Island, Mount Fuji and yet another small cover kit purse project, this time "Dumbo".

I thought I'd share a little accident that I had with my stitching on Monday. It was a nice day, and there I was, sitting in the garden in the sun with my feet in a little kiddies paddling pool that I'd bought in an effort to keep cool. Anyway as it was around lunchtime, the sun was getting awfly hot on my head so I thought I'd get the parasol umbrella out for a little shade.

So I put the umbrella up, only I get it stuck under the washing line and between the hanging basket hanging on the washing line pole and the apple tree which has grown way too big this year. Anyway, I'm trying to turn the umbrella around so I can angle it and give myself a little more shade, but the apple tree just doesn't want to let go and before I know it the table which the umbrella is through tips up, emptying it's entire contents into the paddling pool, including half a cheese and tomato sandwich, my Paradise Island project and it's associated threads, a packet of Wotsits (which floated around merrily) and the material I'm going to start Mount Fuji on. LOL

Anyway, no major damage was done (except to the cheese and tomato sandwich - which disintegrated - picture me trying to fish out floating pieces of cheese from the paddling pool), the threads were fished out and laid out in the sun to dry and the Paradise Island and Mount Fuji fabric got hung on the washing line to dry out. There's a slight water mark on the Paradise Island linen now - but when I finish it off I'll no doubt be washing it so this will come out then.

What an eventful day's stitching!

14 August 03

I finished Snow White today, the Quick and Easy Cover Kit which came with the September issue - hey - it's not yet September yet and she's already stitched. I don't think I would have gotten her finished if it wasn't for the heat this week - I was supposed to be back to work, but everyone sweated so much that we had extra teabreaks to make up for all that lost liquid. They sat and chatted away - guess what I was up to??? lol

This was the first cover kit I've done in ages where I didn't run out of thread!!! I've still got loads left. As this was 14 count aida, it didn't take long to stitch this design up at all.

Another finish this week (Monday) was Contented Cat for the Cattitudes RR.

Although I've already stitched this cat I volunteered to re-stitch it because of an unfortunate blip with the RR. One member dropped out after the first round and we have not been able to contact them to get the fabric back, so the easy solution was to replace it, which Piwi did. This is Kims 16 count cream aida. I really like this happy little cat - reminds me so much of my Jade. Not a thing fazes him either!

To allow time for members to catch up - with summer holidays and all - the RR this time has got an extra month, so I won't be mailing Contented on for another 6 weeks or so, which means another 6 weeks until I get the next Cattitude: Comical cat to do. Comical is another one of my favs, it's the one falling out of the tree!

03 August 03

I have now finished "Cultured Cat" for the Cattitudes Round Robin. I got a lot of him done last Wednesday when I took a drive up to the Birmingham area with my partner. I finished him off this morning just before dinner.

As this piece of material is a replacement for Kim (after a another member dropped out after the first round without explanation), he's missing the first cat which I volunteered to stitch on the replacement 16 count aida fabric. So back to "Contented" cat I go. I don't mind though - I like Contented he's so much like one of my own cats, Jade.

I've also started a new "purse project" after finishing Newton's Law last week. This time it's the Snow White cover kit from Quick and Easy Magazine (September 2003 issue).

Here she is after only about an hour's stitching. This kit is 14 count aida and is stitching up really quickly - although I'm wondering what thread I'm going to run out of this time!!!

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