Going stag

Hello people.  The storm is bearing down and I sure hope you are all safe.  Sandy is a real monster isn't she?  Geez.  I wonder how nasty Hurricane Marly would be.  Let's hope she never materializes.  So you figured I would be starting a sampler or a santa but instead, a stag. 

This little free chart is courtesy of Helga Mandl designs and you can find the chart here.  It is a pdf file and if you can't view it, try her website here and click on freebies.  Ain't it sweet?  Of course I changed the colors around and didn't use the blue in the border.  I also had a problem with the needle I was using (which was found in the ironing board so I have no idea what it is).  I mentioned before that I am a knotty girl and my first stitch is no exception.  I have always used the loop to begin. This needle was so sharp it actually split the loop's thread on the backside.

When pulling to complete a stitch, the thread would come out of the eye, which never happened before, and also allowed one thread to be lax.  I wish I knew who the manufacturer was but most all my needles are a mystery. 

  Months ago I also mentioned that I turned the design upside down to make it easier in some areas and received a few emails on that topic.  Here is the photo showing it both ways.  I stitch bottom left to top right first, and you can see it is the same either way.  This really helps me on long samplers so the bulk of the fabric stays at the bottom.  If I remember to turn the chart upside down, it works perfectly.

Lots of emails on studding pears so I took a few photos. This spacing will allow shrinkage without pushing the cloves out. 

You can see how messy this is with the juice - make sure your dry cloves are not close to the sticky pear juice and keep a paper towel beneath.  For one Bosc pear of decent size, I used a little over 3 ounces of cloves, using only the largest pieces with heads.  Use the others for the bottom area which isn't seen.  Eventually, some of the heads will fall either now or later and it really can't be helped.  The second photo is next day, and you can see the juice is still coming.  You can have a liner to catch the drippings, and I have also used the open weave cupboard liners to set them on.  They will become very mushy so try not to handle them for a while.

I'm still having problems but some comments are getting through.  I need to have a computer geek come over and straighten all this stuff out for me.  I had a question in the comments about the black border on my photos and since you are no-reply, I'll answer here.

If I remember correctly!

Go to Template, click on each of these - Template Designer, Advanced, Images, Border color (choose black), Background (choose black).  Check to see if that's it in the preview.  If it's not what you wanted, do not click Save and nothing will change.

Need to start dinner and make a Better-than-Sex cake for my brother to take to work for his last day.  I use a very large rectangular roasting pan for two box cakes instead of purchasing a sheet cake.  Same size, homemade, and cheaper!

Stay safe and thank you for visiting!

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