Tuesday 28 March 2017

WOYWW 408

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters' desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)


Firstly, I must apologise for my no-show last week.  All is well.  I had to take the mini-kitty to get her bits done and chose a day without thinking and without my diary about my person.  Bringing her home on the Tuesday night was not the easy, anaesthetic-filled ride I thought it would be, and so no time was spent blogging.  She is fine now and has had the all clear from the vet.  Winner.

ANYWAY (Sorry, Julia)...
Here's what I got up to since the last time:
I have motored on with Felicity the Lobster.  To mask the boredom, I have split it into sections.  I unpicked the blue claw and put in the colour that was supposed to be there.

My attempt at my Mother's Mother's Day card (hee hee).  I was meant to have an afternoon to make it, but work got in the way and I had an hour and a half in the end.  I hand stitched the picture in the middle (taken from harvesting a curtain I found in a charity shop) on to a fat quarter scrap, added 4 white buttons to the corners and stuck the whole thing down onto the card with my favourite craft product, double sided tape.

So that's my desk, what's on yours?

Tuesday 14 March 2017

WOYWW 406

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters' desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)

What I've been up to...

I nearly got all the purple work done on SYDNEY.  I tried to force finish it this evening but my eyes are sleepy.

 A plan for the muck up regarding Felicity the Lobster has been formulated.  The dark blue is only for the odd triangle shapes half way down the picture and not the claw.  I have enough of this colour to add the missing triangle, so will unpick the work I did to the claw and get started on the next colour being added.

This is the first week since I came back that I am able to actually show my work desk.  I bought an IKEA wardrobe (Ironically called Dombas (dumb-ass)) to go on the other side of the room at the end of January.  I decided I could build it.  I spent two hours looking at the pictures in the manual before fitting the top and bottom the wrong way round, the two inner boards the wrong way round and splitting the backing board with a panel pin.  It was then left.  After I admitted to DH that I was wrong about being capable in building furniture, he built it for me in half an hour when I was out.  I was overjoyed.  

It frees up a bit of room space and provides a tidy place to put upcoming projects.  Now, on the desk this week,  I have prepared for a new project that I have joined on Swap-Bot.  I did a poor job of a previous stamp swap and felt bad so this time I'm going to town on this one.  My package is going to Israel!

I'm leaving the baby sampler at the moment.  Something is making it hard for me to start and I don't know why.  So I'll wait until baby is born.  Be easier then as I'll be able to put the name straight in.  I have a couple more swaps to send out and am starting to look at decorating the Easter eggs I bought for my staff.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you might go and look at some other desks.  Have a great week! x

Tuesday 7 March 2017

WOYWW 405

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)

What has been going on this week?

I started stitching the heart background at the weekend.  I thought I would have the whole of today to complete it.  However, my mum, who this is for, has asked me to accompany her on a birthday trip out.  As I don't know how long we will be out for, I decided it had to be done NOW.  So, apart from three trips away from the sofa, I sat still, sewing like crazy from 3pm until midnight. When she pulls it out of the envelope, I'll squeeze the hearts that have vertical stitching to give it a 3D effect.  I thought of the hearts as butterflies. I'm a little dizzy, cross eyed and dazed.  Looking forward to closing my eyes very soon.

My cat, Taz got in the shot.  She's scoping out a very noisy kitten under the sofa.  No SYDNEY this week.  Needed a small break from it.  Instead, I've progressed a little more with Felicity the Lobster.  I've already messed up (Ssssh!  Don't tell anyone:))  The dark bluey-poiple you can see, isn't actually meant to be in any of those positions.  Turns out that in artificial light, I'm a little colour blind.  Stay tuned folks, to see if I actually have enough of the colour I should have been using.  Who knows?!

That's enough from me.  Go see some other desks.  Stay crafty!

Wednesday 1 March 2017

MY GENERATION: 1994

BBC 6Music has been hosting a series of programmes called My Generation, beginning in the 1950s, and this Friday, 3rd March, they are featuring the year 1994.

In my opinion, there were two great years for music in the 1990s.  1996 was fantastic for guitar-led and indie music.  However, 1994 was the goldmine year; it was the pinnacle of grunge, rave had firmly crossed over into the mainstream, the rise of Britpop was powering in.  There was decent R&B, Dancehall, rock, pop and just about every genre was in abundance and accessible.  

I turned 13 in 1994.  I had started buying singles with Easter, birthday and Christmas money the year before and I had discovered John Peel on Radio One.  A friend bought me a Blur t'shirt just in time for the Blur:Oasis showdown during the summer.  The realisation soon hit me that I would never be able to buy everything coming out, there was so much of it.

Below is a full list of all the songs released during 1994 (with You Tube links for you to discover/rediscover) that made me the person I am today.  I have no shame in admitting I love all these songs and I bought the songs highlighted in yellow:)

JANUARY

                                     Tasmin Archer - Shipbuilding 
                                           D:Ream - Things Can Only Get Better   
Def Leppard - Action                                                          
                                          Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl                                                
                                      Depeche Mode - In Your Room                                         
                             Dr Dre - Ain't Nuthin But A G Thang                               
                                             Inspiral Carpets - Saturn 5                                                  

FEBRUARY

                                  The Charlatans - Can't Get Out Of Bed                               
                           Wendy Moten - Come In Out Of The Rain                        
                                   Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Give It Away                                
                                            Aretha Franklin - A Deeper Love                                         
                                                  Snoop Dogg - Gin And Juice                                                 
                                                 Reel II Reel - I Like To Move It                                            
                                                                   The Cranberries - Linger                                                      
                                                      D Mob ft Cathy Dennis - Why                                               
                         2 Unlimited - Let The Beat Control Your Body                  
                                                      Mariah Carey - Without You                                                  
                  Elton John and Ru Paul - Don't Go Breaking My Heart    
                             Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain (Re-Issue)                     
                                                 Jam & Spoon - Right In The Night                                        

MARCH


                                                                 Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm                                               
                                                                        Beck - Loser                                                                      
                                                                         Doop - Doop                                                                     
                                                         Blur - Girls And Boys                                                            
                        Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Philadelphia                      
                                                       Bjork - Violently Happy                                                        
                                 Salt n Pepa ft En Vogue - Whatta Man                                
                                                     Bon Jovi - Dry County                                                           

APRIL

                                    Pulp - Do You Remember The First Time?                        
                                                                  James - Say Something                                                           
                                                                        JX - Son Of A Gun                                                            
                              Bitty McLean - Dedicated To The One I Love                  
                           Prince - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World                
                                                              Des-Ree - You Gotta Be                                                        
                                                                     Tina Arena - Chains                                                            
                                                                     Erasure - Always                                                          
                                              The Pretenders - I'll Stand By You                                       
                          Crash Test Dummies - Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm                
                                                                        Oasis - Supersonic                                                                  
                                                CJ Lewis - Sweets For My Sweet                                    

MAY

                                                                                     Stiltskin - Inside                                                                    
                                                           N-Trance - Set You Free                                                          
                                                     Seal - Prayer For The Dying                                                 
                                                                      Moby - Hymn                                                                
                                  Prodigy - No Good (Start The Dance)                               

JUNE

                                     Big Mountain - Baby I Love Your Way                           
                                          Beautiful South - Everybody's Talkin'                                
                                                Eddie Reader - Patience Of Angels                                     
                                                                The Grid - Swamp Thing                                                      
                                                          Manic Street Preachers - Faster                                            
                                                                          Blur - To The End                                                           
                              Dawn Penn - You Don't Love Me (No No No)                  
                                                                           All 4 One - I Swear                                                      
                                                                               Aswad - Shine                                                           
                            Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry - 7 Seconds               
                                                                 Let Loose - Crazy For You                                                    

JULY

                                                        Beastie Boys - Sabotage                                                      
                                                                    Gun - Word Up                                                                      
                                                         China Black - Searching                                                      
                     PJ and Duncan AKA - Let's Get Ready To Rhumble     
                                       Warren G and Nate Dogg - Regulate                                   
                              Red Dragon - Compliments On Your Kiss                         

AUGUST


                                                     Public Enemy - Give It Up                                                  
                       Brand New Heavies - Midnight At The Oasis                  
                                          Manic Street Preachers - Revol                                         
                                   Sophie B Hawkins - Right Beside You                            
                                        Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun                                         
                                    Morrissey and Siouxie - Interlude                                    

SEPTEMBER

                                                                            Livin' Joy - Dreamer                                                         
                                          Robert Palmer - Know By Now                                       
                                                                     Blur - Parklife                                                              
                                             Kylie Minogue - Confide In Me                                      
                                             Shara Nelson - Down That Road                                     
                                             Corona - Rhythm Of The Night                                        
                                           Luther and Mariah - Endless Love                                   
                                                      Whigfield - Saturday Night                                              
                                  REM - What's The Frequency, Kenneth?                       
                                                                Bon Jovi - Always                                                            
                                              Crowded House - Pineapple Head                                   
                                                    Michelle Gayle - Sweetness                                             
                                           The Prodigy - Voodoo People                                       

OCTOBER

                                                        Pato Banton - Baby Come Back                                     
                                 Dodgy - Staying Out For The Summer                            
                                                             East 17 - Steam                                                      
                                                         The Cranberries - Zombie                                                   
                                                      Radiohead - My Iron Lung                                                
                                                      Jamiroquai - Sapce Cowboy                                               
                                   Nightcrawlers - Push The Feeling On                              
                                               Oasis - Cigarettes and Alcohol                                          
                                                  Elastica - Connection                                                       

NOVEMBER

                                                                      Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do                                         
                                                                REM - Bang and Blame                                                       
                                                                 Blur - End Of A Century                                                       
                                                   Baby D - Let Me Be Your Fantasy                                       
                                            Billie Ray Martin - Your Lovin' Arms                               
                                                      Jimmy Nail - Crocodile Shoes                                            
                                                    Beastie Boys - Sure Shot                                                    

DECEMBER

                                                                                      Stone Roses - Love Spreads                                         
                                                            The Cranberries - Ode To My Family                                
                                                                      East 17 - Stay Another Day 
                                                             Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas
                                                                     Rednex - Cotton Eye Joe   
                                                        Bon Jovi - Please Come Home For Christmas 
                                                                           Strike - U Sure Do                                                                  

Strange how our music tastes change.  I am surprised to see Bon Jovi and reggae in general scored pretty high in my CD purchasing.  A shame I hadn't been introduced to the likes of the Manics and Radiohead at this point. Finally, I'd like to say how shocked I am upon hearing Jimmy Nail's Crocodile Shoes for the first time probably since 1994 that A.) It was allowed to be released based on the fact he barely hits the first note, and B.) I bought it.         

Tuesday 28 February 2017

WOYWW 404

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)

Very short post this week...

In my quest to attempt to fill in all the purple work this week, absolutely nothing has been added to Felicity the Lobster.  You'll notice that I failed in my quest, but there is always next week:)  I worked on this every spare minute I had (a lot of them this week), which puts into perspective how time consuming this project is.

In the next week, I intend to finish the purple work off on SYDNEY, start cross stitching my mum's birthday card (which I hope to show you as she has no online presence), look into starting a baby sampler, and spend at least two evenings concentrating on Felicity.  Here's hoping.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll do my best to get to as many desks as possible this week.  Have a great week everyone!

Tuesday 21 February 2017

WOYWW 403

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)

In the last week, I have...
 ...progressed with the purple work on Sydney.  It is filled in and encases the N, E and second Y.  I'm now working in the purple within the D.
Felicity the Lobster has had a deep blue added, some black work completed, and she now has her eyes!

Short and sweet this week as there really hasn't been much time away from work.  I apologise to those I didn't visit last week, I think I got around half of you so will endeavour to do better this week (it helps that i'm at work today).

If you've got the time, please try to see some of the other crafty desks around the world.  See you all next week!

Tuesday 14 February 2017

WOYWW 402

Hello and welcome back again to What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday!  Every week we take a sneak peak of other crafters desks from around the world, all courtesy of our Julia.  Click here for more information:)

I didn't get as much crafting done in the last week as I would have liked.  I'm finding it hard to create an equal balance of home, work, swimming and crafting.  Not enough hours in the day.

What I did manage:
 I made quite a lot of Gluten free Lebkuchen.  This picture is the third tray I made.  I made them primarily as a gift for my friend Amy, who had her birthday yesterday and I made them with gluten free flour because my mum wanted to try one.   I also made Vegan chocolate brownies for my friend Joe who had his birthday last Friday.  I forgot to take a picture of them.  Doh.
 Amy and Joe's cross stitched birthday cake cards.  The card and envelopes are by Artoz from a shop in town.  Amy had the Strawberry cake card and Joe had the other.  The '1,2,yeah yeah' on his card is in reference to the fact he is one of the sound engineers at my pub and that is what he says when he is testing out the gear.  The cupcake on his card is the first I have stitched freestyle without a chart - all from my head.  I was dubious at first, but I like it now.


 Sydney progressed.  The letters in Sydney are now complete  I did more purple work above the e and second Y and pink work below the n.  This is going to take a long time.

This picture is for WOYWW regular, Anne.  She took the time to stop by my blog last week and said she was intrigued by the star on my motivation board that reads 'Felicity the Lobster'.  I started stitching it in between the San Francisco and Sydney tapestries as I needed a smaller scale break for a while.  I will keep working on it.

I saw a similar video to this the other day and thought it was magic! I shall be making one soon, I hope! 

Thank you for popping by.  If you have the time, I hope you will visit some of the other deskers on this week's WOYWW.

See you next week!