Sunday 31 August 2008

Last Weekend of Winter

The MOTH was away in Perth all week so we made a point of spending lots of weekend time together.

On Friday evening, it was a glass of wine followed by a walk for the dogs followed by a steak with salad for dinner.

On Saturday, after another walk with the dogs, we set out for a drive. We ended up at Sirromet Winery at Mt Cotton. We had a late lunch at Lurleen's. I recommend it to anyone. The food was good & the service excellent.

Next, we headed home. We didn't get far. We dropped into Carindale shopping centre to go to the cinema. We saw Taken. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

But that wasn't all for our Saturday, folks. On the way home we were just crossing the Captain Cook bridge heading back to our part of Brisbane when the River Fire fireworks started. It was a fitting finish to a wonderful day. Congratulations to the organisers. It was a wonderful spectacle.

Sunday was just as good but in different ways. After a couple hours of housework, we headed over to Boondall, up to Burpengarry and then over to Woody Point for lunch. It was a round about trip, but we in the process of collecting a car-load of friends. We spent the afternoon on the waterfront, sipping Pims and picking at a smorgasbord lunch.

To finish the weekend off: an episode of Dr Who.

Life is simple but fun. Happy birthday Lisa and Linda!

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Nothing to Report

I've lost the stitching bug. It has had a tight hold for such a long time, but I think the latest fabric fiasco has acted as an antibiotic. I haven't picked up a needle for over a week!

I'm not too worried about it. It's time to take a stitching break, to be honest. There are other things happening in life which need my attention. I'm playing more piano, walking the dogs a lot and getting myself organised for a B-I-G semester at uni (which starts next week).

I'll keep visiting blogs and commenting. It's in my own stitching that I'm not interested. Yours I'm still avidly admiring. Visit me at my Daily Bliss site which tells you about what's happening in my world when I'm not cross stitching.

I hope things are going well for you, wherever you are.

Bliss

Saturday 23 August 2008

Scientist: All Blue-Eyed People Are Related

I saw the following article on quite a few sites. It seems, I'm related to Brad Pitt, as well as some of the loveliest people I've ever met!



If you've got blue eyes, shake the hand of the nearest person who shares your azure irises: He or she may be a distant cousin.



Danish researchers have concluded that all blue-eyed people share a common ancestor, presumably someone who lived 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.



"Originally, we all had brown eyes," Professor Hans Eiberg of the University of Copenhagen said in a press release. "But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a 'switch,' which literally 'turned off' the ability to produce brown eyes."



That "switch" — a simple change from "A," or adenine, to "G," or guanine, in the DNA — actually sits next to the OCA2 gene, which regulates the pigmentation of our eyes, hair and skin, and hence has only a limiting effect on it.



If the mutation had completely deactivated OCA2, all blue-eyed people would be albinos.



Eiberg and his team analyzed 155 individuals in a large Danish family, plus several blue-eyed people born in Turkey and Jordan.



Wednesday 20 August 2008

10 Reasons to stay out of the sun

Reason 1. As much as 90-95 percent of what we consider "inevitable aging" (fine lines, uneven pigmentation, etc) is actually sun damage. Most damage occurs before the age of 10, and at least 80 percent of it takes place before the age of 18. However, it can take up to 30 years for this damage to finally become evident.

Reason 2. Rosacea is a skin disease of vassal motor instability that is primarily characterised by persistent facial redness and enlarged capillaries known as telangiectasia. While the specific cause of rosacea is unknown, it has been established that one of the primary causative factors is sun exposure.

Reason 3. If you thought cataracts were an aspect of growing old, think again. While there are a number of conditions that can contribute to, or cause cataracts, cumulative sun exposure is a major causative or exacerbating factor in age-related cataracts.

Reason 4. In some cases, skin cancer can be easily and superficially removed. But in many instances, they can substantially reach beyond the superficial borders, necessitating invasive and disfiguring surgical removal. The risk for developing these types of skin cancers increases after years of cumulative sun exposure.

Reason 5. While skin cancer is one of the worst villains, actinic keratosis, or precancerous lesions, is also harmful. Actinic keratosis may appear as unsightly reddish or yellowish brown spots, and may be raised or scaly in texture. Because these lesions are a precursor to skin cancer, they necessitate aggressive treatment.

Reason 6. Solar lentigines are brown-pigmented areas that can be found on the face, hands and other areas that are exposed to the sun. They are commonly referred to as age spots or liver spots. Usually, solar lentigines appear post sunburn, or in older people who have experienced years of chronic sun exposure. They can be prevented by simply wearing sunscreen.

Reason 7. A common misconception is that the sun assists in clearing up acne. Because sun exposure hardens the outer layers of the skin, eruptions may be temporarily suppressed. However, sun exposure stimulates greater oil production, which in turn, provides more fuel for bacteria. When an individual lessens the time spent sunbathing, they may experience a major acne flare-up. As the outer layer of skin softens, the retentive material rapidly surfaces, resulting in a worsening of the condition.

Reason 8. Oftentimes, unsightly discolorations are left behind once an acne lesion clears up. Referred to as flat macular pigmentation or post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation, these marks are difficult to resolve, and sun exposure makes them darker and more resistant to treatment.

Reason 9. Cumulative sun exposure can cause hair to become dull looking and brittle to the touch. The sun also ages hair by removing its colour. Like skin, lighter coloured hair with less colour pigment is more vulnerable than darker hair with more pigment. Hair products with UV protecting agents are beneficial, but it's even better to wear a hat.

Reason 10. Most indoor tanning sources emit as much as 95 percent of UVA rays (as opposed to UVB rays). UVA radiation penetrates more deeply into the skin, and the remaining light is UVB, which affects the uppermost layers of skin and is often associated with sunburn. Because there is less superficial burning with tanning beds, there is a false sense that indoor tanning is less harmful.

http://yourbeautyspot.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=616565

Buckley’s Chance


Waa! After this post, I'm not going to say anything more about this matter. I'm not going to get a piece of fabric that I like from Polstitches to do this piece.
My fabric really does look pine-lime green in real life.
It's probably the correct piece of fabric, but I still don't like it & certainly would never have chosen it for this project if I was matching my fabric according to what's in the book.

Click on the pic in the book. The piece of fabric that I have has a lot more depth of colour (most of it green) than that of the book's example of colour of the fabric and the swatch online.


Ultimately though, Polstitches has lost my business for good with the email she sent me below. I asked about an exchange directly through the company. It seems that Jo's worried about the designer and retailer, and couldn't give a stuff about the purchaser of the fabric. Obviously, business is so good that one lost customer doesn't hurt.

Below in blue is the reply to an email I sent about my fabric. It's kinda funny how Jo says that they have never had any complaints about the fabric but are prepared to act on complaints made, and yet offers no help to me.

Hello! I complained nicely! I bought exactly the same fabric as was suggested for the design and ended up with a lime green piece. My primary examples of the fabric colour came from the book & the colour swatch on ABC stitch's site, not the magazine, but I used the mag pic to show what I was going to stitch. In my email, I even acknowledged that dyed fabric has variations. Her action/solution was 'take our swatch off your site' ... I gather that it's an 'or else' kind of request, don't you? No other help was offered, yet a simple offer of exchange of fabric would have been appreciated.


After many hundred of pieces of Neptune we have sold we have never recieved any commplaints to date from any other designer or retailer.

Fabric disclaimer as stated on site

Please note that all fabrics take dyes differently due to their fabric content so there could be a slight variation in dye lot according to fabric ordered.eg Linen tends to take the dye slightly darker and 32,25 and 22ct's takes the dye lighter while opalescent and Jobelan can be less variegated with a gentle effect. All scans on site are of a 9 x 13 jobelan and therefore this needs to be taken into account when envisioning larger cuts. Please note hand dyed fabrics are not guaranteed colourfast.

Aida does like to take dye a bit more dramatically the design was aimed at evenweave...

I am sorry you are diappointed with your fabric choice as I have stated before we have never had a problem we always value comments and try and act on them. The graphics included in the magazine that uses polstitches fabric is very small yet in the book the large scale design is an actual representation of the fabric.

I respectfully ask you to remove the postitches graphics from your blog they are expressly for retailers and are not allowed for private use as it is a violation of copywrite, I understand you most proberly did not know this. If we can be a help just shout.


Warm
Wishes
Jo

Tuesday 19 August 2008

Ghastly!



The mermaid is gorgeous. I mail-ordered a piece of the recommended fabric from ABC Stitches, and today it arrived from the US (it's a fabric from a supplier in the UK, but prices in USD made it half the cost). It's Neptune by Polstitches.

Here'e my warning...

The piece of fabric delivered to my postbox is not at all like the example on the site or in the various different publications. The piece of fabric that I received is lime green. It's also the ugliest piece of fabric I have ever acquired. I wanted something more blue-green like the stitched example in the book and magazine.

What do you think of my chance of an exchange directly through Polstitches? To go through the US company I bought the original piece from makes postage prohibitively expensive.

Oh woe (typed with swooning dramatics & a hysterical giggle that's not quite serious), I totally give up working with other than white fabrics.

Sunday 17 August 2008

The Seasonal Chair SAL - Update No.1

Hi folks,

We are back from Melbourne. Thank you all for your well-wishes. We had a marvelous time!


At the beginning of winter, I joined with Margaret & Berta to do another SAL. Last year, we stitched Frederick the Literate' together. The girls were such an inspiration!

Until recently, I had done nothing but organise the purchase of chart, fabric and floss for the current SAL. Come 1st August I had to do something! I've spent the best part of the last stitching week getting my SAL up to date rather than working on A Quaker Christmas. Here's my winter chair so far.



Happy stitching to everyone!

Bliss

Wednesday 13 August 2008

Molly-Dookers' Day


To all you left handed people out there, here's another reason to celebrate your life:

We're intelligent, gorgeous n creative!

I'm the left handed daughter (one of three born in my family of 7 off-spring) of a left-handed daughter. I just so happen to have two left-handed off-spring of my own (one of whom is born on left handers' day). I think that's pretty damned cool!

The MOTH is also left-handed & his cadet prince is also left handed. Oh my!

Tuesday 12 August 2008

The Mikado

My sister, Lisa, organised tickets for The MOTH & I to see The Mikado at the Lyric Theatre, this evening.
A great night was had by all!

Monday 11 August 2008

Middle Children's Day

A middle child often feels him/herself to be the least loved one. S/He is likely to sulk between the importance attached to the elder sibling and the attention given to the youngest. The middle one hence is more prone to be dubious of his/her position in the family. Middle Children's Day is the perfect time to pamper all the middle children you know. Reach out to them and tell them how significant they are !

Happy middle children's day to my own darling middle princess (pictured above with her best mate, Murray) from a mother who is also the middle child amongst her six siblings. My Living Doll, you are the centre attraction in my world! You make me so proud.

Saturday 9 August 2008

3 years married and a trip to Melbourne to celebrate


See the row of wedding photographs at the top of the blog page? It's hard to believe that it's three years since they were taken.

The MOTH and I went to Melbourne to celebrate our anniversary. It was really fun trip. If you get the chance, go to see Wicked at the Regent Theatre & the Art Deco exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. Good restaurants to visit include: Ezard, Rockpool & The Oyster Restaurant. I'm not a shopper, but I did enjoy browsing the bookshops. The other thing to enjoy in good weather is listening for a wee while to the lone bagpipe player at the Scottish Church on Collins Street.

Sunday 3 August 2008

A Quaker Christmas - Update No. 2


Thank you everyone, for your encouragement with this project.

I'm really enjoying stitching it. The sampler's progressing quite quickly.
Like the 'Love with a Capital L' piece that I did last year, it's such a simple stitch, but the size dictates a little dedication to get it going (& thus keep up the motivation to finish).

Thanks also to Sally for the Brillante Weblog Award. I don't usually go for these sorts of ideas but I will carry this one further when I get the chance. It's a nice way of being introduced to other stitching blogs.

I'm off to Melbourne in the south for the best part of a week. To celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary on Wednesday, the MOTH organised tickets to see 'Wicked' at the Regent Theatre next weekend . Because it turns out that he has meetings most of the week in his southern office, we are putting Lucy & Harry into boarding school, sending Gypsy to 'the aunts' (two of the true and rightful heirs of our fortune - i.e. the 2 eldest princesses who share a house) & flying the coup on Wednesday.

While I'm gone, stay healthy & warm or cool (depending on where you are). We've had some wintery weather here in Brisbane, this week.

Happy stitching

Bliss