Ms. Creativity has struck again and I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking. Jen, Laura and I decided to do a Halloween Exchange together, and on the 31st we met up at the Dutch Delight restaurant for brunch and to exchange gifts. The restaurant was decked out for Halloween, adding to the atmosphere of fun. We ended up displaying our stitched pieces together while we ate, and quite a few people liked what they saw! Afterwards we went back to my place, watched a bit of Supernatural and chilled out together while waiting for the trick-or-treaters to arrive. I love Halloween so much I also...

Question: Does Zeb do anything other than cross stitch exchanges? You’d think I was addicted considering the number of posts I’ve been making about them lately. I promise this will be the… second to last one! The other one is for a private exchange I am doing with two friends for Halloween. I signed up for a bookmark exchange on the Cross Stitch forum, and while I had a great time choosing and stitching this design, I have to say that this particular exchange left a rather sour taste in my mouth. It’s one of those times where you realise that while you may put a lot of effort...

My first biscornu was practice for a Halloween Biscornu exchange I had signed up to on the Cross Stitch forums. Once I had that under my belt, I figured it would be a breeze to do the Halloween one… guess again! The stitching went fine, I picked a freebie design by Barbara Ana Designs called (imaginatively) ‘Halloween Biscornu.’ Enjoyed stitching this design so much, I will be stitching it for myself one day soon. Alas, when it came to stitching it up into a biscornu, I got cold feet. Thankfully, my luffly friend Laura came along to hand hold me while I did the biscornu up, and as you...

When biscornus first came into the scene, I kinda thought “Eh, cute but not for me.” Part of the problem was that there weren’t many designs available, and I wasn’t too excited by the ones that were. Over the years they’ve really grown in popularity, and they grew on me. So much so, I did try making one, and failed, miserably. When I came across the Cross Stitch forum and saw that they were taking sign ups for a Halloween biscornu exchange, I decided I had to give it another go. I love halloween, and the thought of a biscornu in a halloween theme had me tickled pink! Of...

Ever wonder what type of personality you are? You probably know, but are never too sure because you see many conflicting characteristics within yourself. I recently took the MBTI Personality Test, and was classified as a INFJ. Before the results were presented to us, we went through a series of scenarios to introduce us to MBTI, and were asked to classify ourselves. I initially pegged myself as a ISFJ. Apparently this is all subjective, and while I see myself as one thing, everyone else sees me as another. I’ll let you be the judge. If you know me… tell me which one of the two statements...

If things can go wrong, Doujin Overload 2010 would have been the day they did go wrong. I spent all week boosting my immune system so I wouldn’t catch whatever plagues were going around work, only to spend yesterday with a migraine; I brought the wrong lens for my camera and forgot my mc announcement sheet… and yet, I pulled through without too many mis-haps (Friend: “Speak louder Zeb! Your sexy dulcet tones were not heard in the far corners of the hall!”) Most importantly, I had a great time! The atmosphere was fantastic; heaps of great artists and even more visitors than...

Guess what I did today? I created something all by myself *beams* I’ve always admired designers who are able to create beautiful one of a kind cross stitch patterns, so when I decided to sign up to a band sampler stitch along on a forum I’d recently joined, I thought I’d give it a go. The other ladies & gents in the group had already started sharing their own designs, and wanting to contribute, I came up with the following, which I boringly call the ‘Floral Band.’ My influences were definitely Indian/Pakistany in origin. I wanted to create something that reflected my...

I’ve been a cross stitcher for a very long time, but I’ve always been interested in other forms of needlecraft. So when my local needlework store mentioned they were attending the Association of New Zealand Embroiderers’ Guild Inc (ANZEG) 2010 conference, I wanted to check it out and my lovely friend Laura agreed to come along too. We met up at her place in the wee morning hours yesterday. It was chilly chilly chilly… the frost was so thick and mist so heavy the route down to Hamilton was spectacular, and for once I wasn’t driving so could enjoy the gorgeous views. Once we...

Depression and life problems meant that it had been a while since I picked up the needle and stitched. To try get back my stitching mojo, I signed up to a local craft exchange. After several mis-starts… where I started on a design but it just wasn’t “doing” it for me, I settled on stitching the pink lotus mandala from the larger sampler design by Joan Elliott called ‘Eastern Promise’ (found in her book ‘Cross Stitch Wit & Wisdom.’) I had originally planned to stitch this up as a needlebook, but of course, as is the case with me, I managed to stuff...

After the week of storms and coldness we’ve had, yesterday was a refreshingly beautiful day. Warm, sunny, blue skies… perfect for spending outdoors checking out the various markets in the city… specifically the Britomart farmers market and the Auckland City market. There were some delicious foods available and some interesting wares. Definitely not enough time or stomach space to try everything out. I got snap happy too, so I won’t bore you with my blather, and let the photos do the talking instead. [Show as...