Finishing dilemma

Hiya.  You know I'm not one to make decisions.  And also that those long awaiting decisions are never final.  So what do I do with the Beale wreath?   I love this wreath but a beautiful formal looking finish isn't me.  This design is not something I want to age but I also don't want fussy.  Fabrics are limited to JoAnn's selection of which there are none to my liking.  I have several upholstery samples that may work, but I'm not happy with them. 

  One is a beautiful iridescent shade that matches the DMC 356, but not enough to make a bias piping and it's also too elegant.  The tone on tone stripe is my favorite, but I don't want striped piping.  The heavy nubbed fabric has several colors from the piece but it's really too rough looking.  So let's change from piping to braid.  Ick.  I don't like braid.  So shiny and formal.  I know you can make it from DMC but I never have and don't feel it would be heavy enough.  But it's still an option.  Hey.  Let's do something reckless.  My Krylon Matte spray that I use on my printed labels is also used on silk flowers and artwork so.......let's see if we can take the shine off the braid.  Yep.  Left is natural light and right is lamp light.

The only color I found is this odd greenish gold.  Gold is too yellow, red is too bright, green was emerald, and on and on.  These 355 and 356 colors are not red and nothing looked good, plus the greens are all different so this was my choice.  The plus is, a piped edge can't be removed but the braid sewn by hand can be.  Now I'm not so concerned about the edge because I have that option.  But what an odd color - so what about the backing?  This afternoon I will be digging and tossing linen trying to find a matching piece.  I think it's the only solution.   If I make a braid from the 356 or any of the bottom's thread colors, it would look the best but I don't want to mess with that now.  Or maybe I will.  Or not.  Depends on the mood.  You know what?  I will look it up, learn it, and do it.  Damn.  With which color?  I knew hoped this would happen.  Many times when I'm typing a post, things become more clear and everything I've done to that point ends up a waste of time.  So just ignore everything written above.  Linen backing, DMC braid.  Or piping.  Hey - if I don't have to worry about it matching the backing I can pick a fabric for piping.  Here we go.

  Another decision.  My Christmas fun has always been to drop a $10 bill behind a youngster that looks unhappy in a store throughout the weeks in December.  Then I would quietly tell them that they dropped their money, or found some.  The look on their faces was a gift!  Well, the last year or two is much different and you can certainly tell the changes in our society.  I've decided to stop.

I plan on giving a solid maple dining table and chairs to a family at the battered women's shelter, and someone else will get the complete set of these old Poppytrail dishes. These women leave the abuse with nothing and must start over.  My mom's beautiful wool coats and jackets are still in her closet and I can't seem to let them go.  But I must.  So someone at the shelter will also receive new coats.  And mom's new shoes that she never got to wear and I've kept, will go to the nursing home for someone that needs comfort shoes they can't afford.  But as I type this, the tears are telling me I may not be able to do this!  But I must.

I plan on doing some inside decorating today, maybe hanging garland to hide the wires and studs. 

Enjoy your weekend, stay safe, bake something!

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