First Post from Taiwan

Hi everyone!

If you've been clicking through to my actual blog, you'll have seen that I deleted the countdown widget and changed the location bit a week ago, and some of you have found your way across to my new blog about what we're up to here (link on left with the others). I created that blog as a way for home friends to keep up to date with us without my having to write the same thing to dozens of people over and over again or send group e-mails (which often get left unread!!), but readers here are welcome to click over there too. Thanks for taking an interest.=) This site will stay on its usual topic for the most part.

Our boxes haven't yet been delivered as we've had some trouble negotiating customs duties, but they should be with us soon and we should also be able to get some cash again tomorrow, so I hope to get some watercolour paper soon.

I did get my current WIP out and pressed today so I could work on it again. It felt good to be doing some needlework, (esp after that 'Stitching as Healing' article in the latest issue of 'Inspirations'), and here's the photo I took just before starting stitching today, focusing on the centre elements which are almost complete now. I managed to get my underskirts completed in good time too and wore one for the first time the other day.=)

I've been to one music shop and tried a viola there out for size, but I felt it didn't qualify for the description of 'dirt cheap' that I was given by someone whose lived here a while. So, I'll be shopping around.

10 days to go....

And I am now the proud owner of 2 homemade underskirts that still need elastic putting in them!! You can hardly get underskirts in the UK, certainly not decent, cool ones - just nylon stuff and totally the wrong shape and length, so I've had to fish out my old Vogue pattern and run up 3 new, lightweight cotton ones.=) I got them all cut out and then managed to lose the instruction sheet! Thankfully, I'd done it before and had read the instructions through a night or so before I was ready to start the sewing, so I managed to do everything OK - I think! As I mentioned, just need to put the elastic in, but that's a do-by-hand job, so I've been able to put the machine way for the time being. I hope to get time to make myself a little camera bag with some of the lovely fabric I got in Taiwan last spring and have already cut the main pieces out and found a design I can adapt in one of my books. Hope I get chance now....

Hardanger still coming on slowly. This is how far I've got - done all the surface work and removed the threads. Don't suppose I'll have chance to finish this one before we go which is rather a let-down as it's for someone I hope to see the first weekend we're over there and I didn't really want to take the larger R&R frames I'd need to work it in. Anyway, can't be helped and they are nice and light when all's said and done. The colour in the thread seems to have come out a bit better with the flash, but it's still a far cry from the actual thing.=(

No Wanda, I don't think you'd be flipping. I think you'd do the same as we've done - plan well in advance and then just get on with things as their time arrives. For us, now the time has arrived for packing up our belongings and moving them into storage. There are 13 boxes in the storage room already - mostly books and another 2 here waiting to be filled as you can see here:

These are the bags waiting to go to the charity shop/thrift store:

This is my favourite. As the car boot/trunk needs to be clear for taking boxes to and fro, we've had to take the usual motoring supplies out and, frankly, the only place I could find space for them where they wouldn't be in the way and need constant moving was in the bathroom!!

And this last shot is what you do when you have surplus flour, sugar, oil and cocoa and friends are throwing a little leaving do for you:

Still alive!

And even still stitching from time to time, but those times are a little rare at the moment.=( Here's the band sampler finally made up into a bell-pull, so I have been doing something I can show off.

The hardanger is still in progress and I hope I can get it done before we go! Only 2 more weeks and we move out of our home, then we fly out 2 days later. LOTS to do and I'll be amazed (and delighted) if I actually get all I need to do done in time, given that we're away the last weekend and have what seems like copious farewell dinners etc to go to. So much sewing etc to do as well as packing up.

Managed to sell rather a lot on E-bay and got shut of more or less everything I listed on there, except the stitching mags. I only listed a dozen or so to test the water, but it was stone cold, so I dropped that whole idea. The last 5 listings end tomorrow night (including the pattern for the band sampler, if you want to have a go at it!) and that will, hopefully, be it for my and E-bay sales for now. I've made about £300, which is great, considering that DH thought I might make £50 if I was lucky, and have cleared out all the threads I know I'll never use as well as several other stitching things and about half of my make-up. It's amazed me what people are willing to buy and how much, in some cases, they're willing to pay for it! I sold 2 Victoria Sampler designs with their relevant accessory packs and one went for about £15!

We've begun to pack some things up already and should be starting to move the boxes into the storage room at the weekend. Some local friends are borrowing certain things and I did a good bit of giving away this evening as well. Next up is sorting through the clothes into 3 piles: Take with me, save for later and give to charity. Ooof! Is it any wonder I've had no time to post or stitch? What does amaze me is that, during this last silent month, I've gained about half a dozen new followers!!

Other than the above, we've got our visas sorted now and have been offered one place to live with the option of another as well, so we won't be homeless when we get over there. Friends here are housing us for the last 2 days before we go, helping us with last minute linens and taking us to the airport as well. Banks are all sorted for international use and accounts being closed left, right and centre here. It's all happening, is very late at night and I should be in bed!

GOODNIGHT!=)