Saturday, January 27, 2007

Dawn Star #008


Dawn Star #008
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

My last catch up post for today. I hope to have some photos of Marcus' quilt in the next week or so.

Right now I'm doing some scrapbooking as a break from patchwork, quilting and cross stitch, but I do have HAED's Defender of the Kingdom out and I'm determined to get Aeron's hair done before going on to something else.

Dawn Star #008

This is as far as I got with my stitching over Christmas. When I got home I went a bit crazy trying to make a quilt for Marcus (which is done now and I hope to have photos soon). So no more than this yet.

The photo is a bit dark but it does show how it's looking. It's hard to photograph since it is all still such soft colours.

I'm joining a SAL for Character Creation designs which will be on the third weekend of each month, starting in February. I'll be doing Dawn Star, so there should be updates at least once a month now.

Seventh Guild Friendship Sampler


Seventh Guild Friendship Sampler
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I was also the last stitcher for this one. The row of bargello before mine was much bigger than everything else and looked a bit odd to me, so I tried to tighten it all up again with the row of key pattern to finish it off. The original stitcher had used the blue thread for the dividing row at the top and then left instructions for the middle dividers to use the multi-coloured one and the last one to be blue again. That's why the bottom is blue, not because I'm colour blind.

Sixth Guild Friendship Sampler


Sixth Guild Friendship Sampler
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I was the last person to stitch on this one, so my row of little oak leaves finished off this sampler. I called it's owner and didn't get an answer, so must remember to do so again so I can give it back to her.

Christmas 2006


Christmas 2006
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

No explanation needed really - the family on Christmas Day. Me, Dave and Marcus, then my sister and my father on the sofa. My mother is missing because she's the photographer.

Credits~
Template is SketchPLATE07 by Anita Stergiou; everything else is from “Merry Little Christmas” by Michelle Coleman.

There's Something About Red


There's Something About Red
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

This was a Christmas present for my mother. She loves wearing red, and when we found this photo she showed it to me, telling me it was clear she must have got the liking for red from her mother. It was clearly a significant photo for her, so I scrapped it and gave her the layout for Christmas.

There’s Something About Red

My mother with her parents (probably in the '70s going by her clothes), showing that a liking for red may be genetic.

Credits~
Papers and "love" element from "Rouge Flirt" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; brad from "Hippie" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; transfer from "Grounded" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; camellia from "Faraway Friends Camellias" by Lanne; butterfly from "Unconditional" in the "A Mother's Love Collection" by Amanda Rockwell; ribbon from "Avec Amour" by Isabelle Cyr; dried rose from "Beloved" by Josie Celio; heart charm by Miss Mint; alpha is "White Vellum" by Miss Mint; flower pin is from "A Day to Remember" by the Sweet Shoppe design team; font is FG Lova.

Bye Out


Bye Out
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Finally, Kerry gets her scrapping mojo back and uploads some more layouts. This is based on the lovely photo we got of Marcus in the pool and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Journalling ~
22—01—2007
Today was the first day you weren't scared of being in the swimming pool. Instead, you had the time of your life. You quickly got the hang of swimming and could soon kick well enough to paddle around the pool with your water wings and swimming ring. You certainly didn't want to get out. When we suggested it, you said very firmly, “Bye, Out”. Just to make sure we got the message, you added "Bye ladder” even as your teeth were chattering with cold. You are clearly a natural water baby.

Credits~
Journalling tag from “His Day Out” and staples from “The Photo Shoot” from the “Expecting Sweet Stuff Collection” by Christy Lyle and Robin Carlton; hanging tag from “Ronnie’s Jewellery Tag Assortment” by Ronnie McCray; summer button from “Seasonal Elements” by Lisa Whitney; alphas from the “I Live Collection” by Tracy Robinson; everything else from “I Play” in the “I Live Collection” by Tracy Robinson; font is Amano.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Water Baby

There's a very cute picture of Marcus over on my LJ.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Elf Princess WIP


Elf Princess WIP
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Elf Princess (art by Carol Covey)
WIP by Erin
Stitched over 1 on 28-count linen using tent stitch

Erin posted her WIP on the Character Creations Bulletin Board and very kindly agreed that I could show this off on my blog. I'm delighted with the way this is turning out, and fortunately so is Erin.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

I've just been taking a look at my LibraryThing pages for 2006. So here's a quick summary...

I read 109 books in 2006.

Of those, I gave 22 a rating of 10/10.

There were 7 I gave up on and failed to finish.

My lowest rating was 2/10 on one of those 7 which I hated with a passion and don't understand why people like the series, although I appreciate that some do. That book was "Dexta" by CJ Ryan.

My 10 favourites of the year, in no particular order and with series grouped as a single entry were:

- Ship of Magic / The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
- Earth by David Brin
- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
- Lover Awakened by JR Ward
- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
- Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
- Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
- Tinker / Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
- The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
- Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Of those 12 books...

- 4 were rereads and the other 8 were new books
- 6 authors I had read before 2006 while the other 4 were new to me this year
- Only one was a stand alone, while all the others were parts of series, either as a tight set such as a trilogy (4) or an ongoing series on undetermined length (7)
- 10 were fantasty, 1 was science fiction and 1 was paranormal romance