So it's been awhile...

It's been awhile.

8 months to be exact.

A combination of burn-out and life just getting really really really busy.

So much has happened that I haven't told you about.  So much has happened I can't remember (ordinary day-to-day stuff).  But the highlights:

- I had a stall at Oz Comic Con in Brisbane.  It was awesome!  I met so many fellow crafters and fellow geeks, gave away a lot of business cards and sold a lot of patterns. I had a fantastic weekend and am planning on doing it again this year.

My stall at Oz Comic Con, and the Ravenclaw costumes my brother and I wore

- On that note, I met Evana Lynch!  Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter.  Very cool.

Yes, she's holding my stitched Luna

- My friend and I went to the UK and Ireland for 5 weeks over Christmas.  We hit England, Ireland (North and South), Scotland and Wales.  We drove more kilometres than I can count and had an awesome time.  We visited the Harry Potter studio, made tin soldiers, and learnt about tasting whiskey.  So much fun.

Inside a snow globe, and having fun at the Lepricorn Museum in Dublin

- I've released a heap of new patterns, and spent a lot of time stitching up a storm.  I've kept Instagram and Facebook pretty up-to-date with that side of things.  If you haven't visited Fangirl Stitches on Etsy for awhile, it's probably worth a look - lots of new movie and TV show tie-ins ;)

- I also applied for (and received) a transfer.  I found out 7 days before school finished for the year, and 9 days before I flew out of the country for 5 weeks.  I got back from the UK 2 days before I started at my new school - it's an interesting experience trying to settle into a new job while you're still experiencing severe jet-lag!

Skimbles and Eevee "helping" me pack

So at the moment I'm house-hunting and sleeping in the spare-room in my Brisbane-based brothers' unit.  I'm commuting 45 minutes each way which is a shock to the system when you're used to a 2 minute trip!  But I'm enjoying the new challenges of a new job.  And hopefully soon I will have a more permanent place to live and can bring my fur-babies down to live with me (as soon as I can find somewhere pet-friendly that is - not an easy task in Brisbane, it turns out).

Because we always need more photos of my babies

Which will mean more time for stitching and blogging - stay tuned!

It's a Swap Finish

 Life has been a bit complicated and overwhelming lately and I haven't had a lot of energy/enthusiasm for stitching over the last couple of weeks.  However I managed to get my groove back this week (yay!) and actually achieved a finish - hurray!

This is the piece I've made for the #VivaLaVillainsSwap.  (The pattern is available from my Etsy store if you like it!)  I was very glad when my swap partner listed several Doctor Who monsters as their favourite villains of all time - I had the perfect pattern to stitch!  In fact, I'd seen their mosaic on Instagram and worked out the perfect design even before they were allocated to me - how's that for "meant to be"?!

If you haven't been involved in an Instagram Craft Swap before, check out my previous blog post.  I tend to stalk the hashtag even before my partner is allocated and try to work out what I would make if that person was allocated to me.  Given the number of mosaics featuring Maleficent (who I don't really know having never watched Sleeping Beauty, and only recently (this month) watching the new movie), I was very glad to receive a partner who liked Doctor Who!  This piece now just needs to be finished off (the wonderful Ozzypip is turning it into a wall hanging for me) and I can post it to my swap partner.

I originally designed this pattern in 2013, just before the 50th Anniversary special, and it features some of my favourite aliens/monsters from the series at that stage.  As I was stitching it I was wondering if there were any other aliens I'd rather include if I was designing it now... but I struggled to come up with any awesome new ones.  I enjoyed Missy in the latest series, but not in a "wow, she's now my favourite!" kind of way.  I did like the Zygons in the 50th Anniversary special, and I'm glad to hear they'll be making a reappearance in the next series.  I'm not glad to hear that Missy is coming back - sometimes I wish they'd just leave well enough alone.  Like the Daleks (over them in so many ways) and the Weeping Angels (who they just destroy each time they bring them back - they were terrifying and now they are just a joke).

In other Swap news, my partner has received the package I sent them for the #DoctorWhoCraftSwap2015 - this was the piece I made for the A to Z Blog Challenge.

I've also received my package for this swap - my partner made me a Weeping Angel mug-rug, a Gallifreyan hoop, a Tardis card, a Tardis tea-towel, and Weeping Angel earrings - how cool!  My swap partner is super talented. :)

Happy Stitching!

So things have been a bit quiet...

So things have been a bit quiet of late.  I haven't been posting many blogs online (there was a 2 month gap in there!) and haven't been posting too many new patterns, or doing things on Facebook/twitter.

I'm sorry.  I do have a couple of reasons why... or excuses... But mostly I've been slack.  So I'm sorry.

Back to my excuses.

First of all:

I moved house.  In July I moved house, back into the share-house I used to live in before I went to London. This was very exciting.  The first 6 months I lived with two girls who didn't really communicate or talk or socialise or anything, so I spent a lot of time in my room.  Which was good for Fangirl Stitches business, less good for my sanity.  So I moved into my old house with a good friend and another girl who did talk and hangout and socialise and were friendly.  So much nicer! There was lots of moving and unpacking and sorting, and socialising and hanging out. Better for my sanity, but did mean not a lot of time was spent stitching!

Then:

I bought a house.  This happened very suddenly.  I wasn't really looking, but then I drove past one I liked, went to the Open House, and put in an offer.  In a week I went from "maybe, someday, possibly" to putting in an offer.  Which was accepted.  And then my finance was approved.  It's been a fast paced five weeks with a lot happening - meetings with mortgage broker and solicitors, building and pest inspections, packing, measuring for curtains and shopping for furniture... It's been a very steep and busy learning curve. But also a lot of fun. I'm now in the process of buying furniture and choosing colour schemes, working out the best walls to hang my cross-stitch, and working out how to best inject my geeky style into the new house.

Move-In Day is Wednesday so there is still a lot going on- curtains to make, packing to do, washing machines to buy...

Those are my excuses.  As a reson for absent brain-ness I think they're okay.  As a reason for being slack for the last 3 months.... maybe not.  I'm looking forward to investigating all the geeky house decorating ideas and would love your suggestions.  I'll be sharing what I find, and what I end up doing :)

I also have several cross stitch patterns in mid design which I'm hoping to get finished "soon" so keep an eye out for those.  No guarantees as to when though!

Happy Stitching!

May the Fourth Be With You

Happy International Star Wars Day.  May the Fourth Be With You.

Go Yoda

Life's been very busy lately, and I have barely had 5 minutes to breath let alone write a blog post or design a new pattern!  I've managed to find a few minutes today on International Star Wars Day to sit down and update you.

The main reason life has been so hectic lately is that I've been directing the play for our local amateur theatre group, The Emerald Little Theatre.  We've been in rehearsals for the last three months, and opening night is next weekend.  It's gotten very busy the last three weeks with extra rehearsals, painting and building the set, locating props and trying to get my cast to learn their lines!  We are a very small theatre group (about 10 members at the moment).  Where most theatre companies have someone in charge of set design, someone in charge of sound and/or lighting, a backstage manager, a prop manager, a costume person, etc, in our theatre group this all tends to be the responsibility of the director, producer and cast.  Added responsibilities.  Add that to the fact that this play is a cast of three, and two of those are co-producing the play with me and you get where I'm going.  I have to keep reminding myself that I volunteered for this.  We've been in rehearsals every night last week, and will be every night this week.  With only 3 people in a play that runs for 110 minutes approximately, they've got a lot of script to memorise each and it's taken them (a lot) longer than expected to get there, but I think we might finally have it.

Promo picture for The Bob and Al Show

I do enjoy it.  Really.  My stress levels have been a little (read very) high this last few weeks, but it is all starting to come together.  Opening night is less than a week away (minor freak out) but I know that as soon as the play is over, I will be itching to start on the next one.  One really good thing to happen this week is that I've had three different people approach me to express interest in joining for the next play, and another person who has volunteered to paint the sets for the next play, which is amazing.

I've been back at work for four months now, slowly getting my head back around the role.  The referrals are starting to come in this term for Occupational Therapy, and without a physiotherapist at the moment, there is a fair amount to do.  This term is shaping up to be pretty full on - there are four public holidays this term, plus I am away for 5 1/2 days at conferences - which makes nearly 2 weeks out of a 10 week term where I am unable to visit students in schools.  That's okay - we'll get there. :)

So between Little Theatre, work and church, there hasn't been a lot of spare time for anything else.

I have managed to design a couple of patterns lately.  One was a birthday present for a friend who has over 100 pairs of shoes.  The pattern is now available from my Esty Store

Cinderella's Shoes

The other one I am very excited about but unable to share yet.  It is a gift for another friend, but she won't be getting it till the end of May so I have to keep it under wraps until then.  You'll just have to stay tuned.

That's it from me.  I'm off for an early night.

Celebrate Star Wars in style my friends!

Happy Stitching

Radio silence...

Apologies for the radio silence this last week.

When I started this blog, I had hoped to post weekly, maybe twice a week.  After I posted my initial blog, I had to stop myself getting straight back on and posting again.  I tend to do that - get very involved in something for a period of time, burn myself out and then give up.  So I tried to slow myself down and space my blogs out.

And then I moved.

I moved into a house-share with two teachers I'd never met.  It's all arranged through work, really good deal in regards to rent prices and not having to pay bills, but you don't get a say about who you live with (unless you've lived here awhile and apply for a specific move/swap).  It can be a bit hit and miss - sometimes you get great housemates who you get along with fantastically, and sometimes you get ones who you clash with or have a different value system to, or different interests to, or it just doesn't "click" for whatever reason.  Just like most flat/house shares really.

This time I've got phantom house-mates.  One house-mate I haven't seen yet, and one I've exchanged about 10 words with... over about 8 days!  It makes for an interesting move experience.  I'm not the chattiest person when meeting new people, and it turns out neither are they.  Doesn't make for a very lively household!

It also means I haven't managed to ask about internet arrangements.  It's on the urgent "to do" list, but I do need to actually see the house-mates in order to ask the question!

After I moved I started a new job.

No internet, and a new job (using up all my spare brain power) - not the  most conducive or helpful things for starting a new blog... or posting updates regularly!

However I will persevere.  An unsecured network in the neighbourhood (frequent dropouts) and parents who live nearby help.

Stay tuned folks - I aim to be back on track within the next week.... or two.

Happy stitching!

- Fangirl Stitches