2015 Smalls SAL

I've joined the Smalls SAL (Stitch-A-Long) because I have picked up quite a few from magazines.

First I finished the cupcake from Cross Sticher issue 295.



I still need to cut out the cross stitch and attach it to the doily, and the doily to the card, but the cross stitching bit is done. I did make a mistake, I started before sorting out the thread, I was basing was I picked from the picture that was in the magazine. I found out I was using the wrong color for the cake bit of the cupcake. Oops. It was supposed to be part of the frosting, which it looked to dark to be frosting to me. So, I left it there and replaced the frosting bit with DMC 3822. I think it worked out pretty well. Once I finish this up I may send the card to a college friend who sends me a lot of hand written letters.

I was supposed to take it with me and work on it on the train and airplane when we went to Geneva, but I finished it before we even left for Geneva, which was good because I forgot to pack a needle, so when I did leave I wasn't able to do my Lily of the Valley scissor keeper from Heritage Textile. Oh, well. It gives me something to work on later.


When we got back from Geneva I got another magazine that came with a little card. I made sure to sort the threads first this time!


You can see I made some changes from the original. I got rid of the little bits that come off the dog and cat, and I must say it was very difficult to tell the difference between DMC 318 and 414, but there is a huge difference in the picture, I also didn't put the white on the bunting, but I added whiskers to the cat. I only need to finish it up and put it in the card it came with. I may send this off to my mother-in-law for her birthday.


I got another magazine that came with two bear kits. I don't think it was supposed to.


I am going to send the second one to my high school friend and I'll probably finish the one I have for a neighbor we had when we first moved to Leeds.

Here is the last magazine I bought:


This one came with a key ring to cross stitch. I think I am going to wait to do this one, because I seems a bit silly to buy a bag of stuffing for one little key ring, plus I only have 1 key right now, and I don't think I'm likely to use this on my key ring if I even had one. It might be a kit to giveaway.



If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching: The Nine Lives of Chole King, while I cross stitch. It isn't a good show, which is probably why there are only 10 episodes.

Currently reading:

The Iron Wyrm Affair (Bannon and Clare Book 1) by Lilith Saintcrow
I checked this book out from the library before, but I got busy and was unable to finish reading it.
The chapters are mostly small, 3 or 4 pages, so it is easy to find a place if you need to stop. I wish the magic system was more fully explained in the beginning of the story. Don't be fooled by the gears on the cover, this isn't a steampunk story, it is an alt-history with a magic system set in an alternative London, called Londinium, which is actually London's original name. There are clockwork horses, but they run on sparks of magic, not steam power. I haven't finished the book yet, so I can't do a full review, but I found one on Steam Ingenious

If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.

Totally Useless Stitch Along (TUSAL) August

Here are my ORTs (Old Ratty Threads)

In the beginning it was very dark, they were mostly black and dark grey, but with the kits from the magzines and a new project I have started the ORTs have brightened up.




If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching: Supernatural, Dracula and Once Upon a Time, all while I cross stitch.

Currently reading:

The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker & Holmes Novel Book 1 by Colleen Gleason


If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.

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WIPocalypse July 31

What makes you pick up a long-abandoned UFO rather than beginning a new piece?
Right now I don't have any abandoned UFOs, but I hope to have some things completed after my holiday to Geneva.


It hasn't been that long since I updated, but I have gotten a lot done.



You can start to see where I am running out of space at the top of the fabric.


Lots more of black on black done.


And starting to fill in.

Here is where I am today.


So far I have used one skein each of DMC 535,783, and 310 (I've almost finished the second skein of that).

I'm going to try and get the things I'll need to fix the top of the cross stitch after we get back from our trip, but I might not do the actually fixing until the rest of the cross stitch is done. I'm not sure yet if the bottom will also need to be extended.


While we were at the haberdashery store we picked up a little ladybird for Jasmine to try and cross stitch.

She hasn't made very much progress on it.

I got this for our upcoming trip to Geneva.

I wanted something little that would easily fit in to luggage.


I picked up some magazines recently.


One of the magazines came with the cupcake pattern that fits into the center of a doily that is part of a card.

So, I think I am set for the time we'll spend on a train and airplane.


If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching:

Currently reading:

Dark Mirror: A Novel by M.J. Putney
I've only just started this, so I haven't gotten very far.


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Hogwarts Crest cross stitch part 3

I've really lost track of my work time. Instead I'll try to remember to take a picture of my work every other day or so and post the pictures once a week.

Here it is at about 30ish hours or so.


Here is the Gryffindor lion finished.


Here is the background and some of the frill done.


The top of the frill done.


It was here that I noticed I had made a big mistake. The cloth was turned the wrong way! There was way too much finished that i didn't want to pull it all out and start over. I looked to see if I could modify the top, maybe replace the helm with a banner that said Hogwarts instead, but I didn't find anything that I liked. I did however find a page that describes joining two pieces of Aida together, here. I'm not sure if it will work for me, since Pellon is white, and my Aida is black, but I think it is worth giving it a try. That means though, that I am racing to finish the top of the crest, as much as I can, to test if this will work, before I finish any of the bottom of the crest. I think it is worth giving it a shot before having to start all over again, which would be very disheartening, especially since I've been dreaming of starting something different for a week or two now.

I made a little video that shows what a pain it is to cross stitch black floss onto black Aida.


If I can avoid it I will never use black floss on black Aida again.

Here is an example, can you find the missing stitch?


It is right here:


And then there was the time that I finished the thread on the needle and after I put new thread in I forgot to finish the row I was working on!


Although I don't want to collect too much stuff while we are living in the UK, and I gave away all of my cross stitch and other needle point stuff before we moved here!, I've already have stuff that I would like to make planned out in my head. I think once I've figured out if I'll be able to extend the cloth with the Pellon (cross your fingers for me) I'll take a short break from the Hogwarts crest and work on something different. Either something I have planned for my Mother, or something for tea towels.


You can see previous work on this at Hogwarts Crest part 1.
Hogwarts Crest part 2.

If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching: Supernatural, Dracula and Once Upon a Time, all while I cross stitch.

Currently reading:

The Clockwork Scarab: A Stoker & Holmes Novel Book 1 by Colleen Gleason
I'm only on chapter 1 of this book, so I can't say much about it. I really should write longer reviews of books once I finish them.


If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.

Swagbucks it is how I make money for amazon gift cards!

Hogwarts Crest cross stitch part 2

Here we are at 15 hours of work.


And here is 20 hours.


And 25 hours.


But I started to think that the gold of the lion was too similar to the gold of the border, so...

I pulled it all out.

I replaced it with a more brown gold.


Here is what the back looks like now.




You can see previous work on this at Hogwarts Crest part 1.

If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching: reviewing other King of Food episodes for future posts!

Currently reading:

Death by Darjeeling (A Tea Shop Mystery Book 1) by Laura Childs
This is a reread for me. Nothing like death and tea for a good mystery. I would highly recommend this series to anyone, even if they aren't normally a fan of mysteries.


If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.

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Weekly Korean words with Jae Korean101.com videos episodes 16-20

Korean101.com produces a youtube video every week called, "Weekly Korean words with Jae." I have reproduced the sentences they create here, because for myself I find that the subtitles go way too fast and having to stop the video every few seconds is irritating. I thought that other people may have the same problem and this might help them. I haven't corrected the English grammar of the subtitles, so you will see that some times it is a bit awkward when you read the English translation.

August 12, 2014 Direction Words


1. East side 동쪽
일본은 한국의 동쪽에 있습니다.
Japan is located on the east side of South Korea.

2. South side 남쪽
강님은 한강의 남쪽에 있어서 "강남" 이라고 부릅니다.
Gangnam is located to the South of the Han river, and that's why people call it Gangnam (South of River).

3. Right side 오른쪽
저는 오른손 잡이여서 마우스를 오른쪽에 놓습니다.
I am a right-handed person, so I put my mouse on the right side.

4. Inside 안
내 안에 너 있다.
You are inside me.

5. Outside 밖
날씨가 추워서 밖에 나가기 싫다.
I don't want to go outside because it's cold.

Also good to know: West side 서쪽; North side 북쪽; and left side 왼쪽.


August 27, 2014 Hobbies


1. to dance 춤을 추다
나는 춤을 추는 것을 좋아한다.
I like dancing.

2. to play chess 체스를 하다
한국 사람들은 체스를 잘 안 합니다.
Korean people usually don't play chess.

3. to draw 그리다
부모님의 얼굴을 그리다.
I draw my parent's face.

4. to fish 낚시하다
한강에서는 사람들이 낚시를 합니다.
Near Han river, people do fishing.

5. to take a picture 사진을 찍다
사진을 찍어주시겠어요?
Could you take a picture (of me)?


September 2, 2014 Fruits


1. Strawberry 딸기
옛날에는 딸기를 봄에만 먹을 수 있었습니다.
In the old days, you could only eat strawberries in spring.

2. Apple 사과
추석에는 사과를 꼭 먹어야 합니다.
You have to eat apples on Chuseok.

3. Apricot 살구
한국 사람들은 살구를 주스로 만들어서 자주 먹습니다.
Korean people often drink juice with apricots in it.

4. Grape 포도
어떡 사람들은 포도를껍질채 먹습니다.
Some people eat grapes unpeeled.

5. Plum 자두
자두 화장품이 인기가 많습니다.
Cosmetics made with plums are popular.


September 8, 2014 Hygiene Actions


1. to blow dry 드라이하다
우리 어머니는 외출을 할 때마다 꼭 드라이극 한다.
My mother always blowdries her hair when she goes out.

2. to shave 면도하다
저는 아침마다 2분씩 면도를 합니다.
I shave for two minutes every morning.

3. to take a bath 목욕하다
어렸을 때에는 목욕을 하기위해서 공중목욕탕에 갔습니다.
When I was little, I went to a public bathhouse to take a bath.

4. to comb 빗다
엄마들은 딸의 머리를 빗겨주는 것을 좋아합니다.
Mothers like combing their daughters' hair.

5. to wash 씻다
훈련소에서는 몸을 1분 만에 전부 다 씻어야 합니다.
In training camps, you have to wash your whole body within one minute.


September 16, 2014 Colors


1. Black 검은
저는 검은 양복을 좋아합니다.
I like black suits.

2. Yellow 노란
배가 아파서 얼굴이 노란색이 되었다.
My face got yellow because of a stomachache.

3. Red 빨간
저는 지금 빨간색 셔츠를 입고 있습니다.
I am now wearing a red shirt.

4. Blue 파란
무서운 영화를 봐서 얼굴이 파랑게 되었습니다.
My face got blue because I watched a scary movie.

5. White 하얀
한국 사람들은 하햔색을 좋아합니다.
Korean people like white color.

Here are other colors you might like to know: orange 오렌지색 or 주황색; green 녹색; purple 보라색; pink 핑크색; grey 회색.


If you have any ideas for posts you'd like to see in the future let me know!

Currently watching: reviewing other King of Food episodes for future posts! I'm almost done with these.

Currently reading:

The Iron Wyrm Affair (Bannon and Clare Book 1) by Lilith Saintcrow
I've been meaning to read this book for awhile, it's on my Amazon wishlist, but the mobile library happened to have it this week, so I get to read it for free!

If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.

Swagbucks it is how I make money for amazon gift cards!

My Little Kitchen Season 2 Episodes 9-12

Arirang television produced a second season of "My Little Kitchen." The last episodes of this series.

Episode 9 Part 1 Bean Sprout Soup with Rice.

Almost done with this series, can't wait. Fabien's voice is so grating.

Part 2 Boiled Fish in Soy sauce.

I've never seen anyone fry the fish before boiling it, seems a bit weird.


Episode 10 Part 1 Beef Mushroom Hot Pot.

It seemed like a bit of a waste to make your own broth, but not use the ingredients from the broth for the soup.

Part 2 Spicy Stir-fried Rice cakes with Fish cakes.

Yeah..., no. Please use Maangchi's recipe if you want to make ddukbokki, thanks.


Episode 11 Part 1 Rice-cake Soup.

Traditional recipe, mostly no liberties taken.

Part 2 Marinated Grilled Beef Slices.

This is a type of sanjeok, and used to cooked on skewers. Some times ground beef is used and shaped into square patties, like a burger.


Episode 12 Part 1 Soybean Paste Stew.

I would replace half of the potato with zucchini.

Part 2 Korean Three-colored Pasta Soup.

Why couldn't they just call it sujebi in the title, like they did in the video? Also, I would not call this pasta, dumpling is more accurate.


Currently watching: Just finished this awful series, back to King of Food.

Currently reading:

Queen of Sorcery (The Belgariad, Book 2) by David and Leigh Eddings
Rereading a favorite from high school. David Eddings died while we were living in Carson City, NV, he too lived in Carson City. It's sad to think I never got to meet him.


If you'd like to request that I review a book please leave a comment. Include a brief description of the book, including which genre it is. Please also note if the book is an ARC and whether you are self-published.


Swagbucks it is how I make money for amazon gift cards!