My apologies

I mentioned that I did not want my gold threads and if anyone was interested to email.  I couldn't figure out why I had so many requests, so I did a little research.  These are not the current DMC spools for a few bucks that have a twist.  I found this Etsy listing, the same threads as mine.  That price is for ONE spool of gold, the silver is $38.  I haven't found any others so I don't know if this is too high, or because of being vintage and no longer made it is rare.  From what I've read, they stopped adding real gold long ago.  Either way, I gave away several fine gold hanks for embroidery a while ago and I'm sorry I did, so I think I should not make that mistake again.  The stickered price of $4.40 is still on my spools and that is listed on this box from the 60's.  Gold was around $35 an ounce, it's now closing in on $1900.  

I should have bought the gold back then, not the thread.

Please accept my apology but I've decided to hold on to them.

As for Carole, no she is not losing mental capacity, she doesn't take initiative.  She has always relied on others (her late husband and moi) to interpret reports, statement, taxes, instructions, directions, you get the idea.  She called in a panic last week because the appointment notice sent from Cleveland was wrong.  I looked at it, all in order, easily understood, and I made the drama queen read it again.  When you quickly go over information only once, you miss most of it.  Being in so many hospital rooms/baths which all have that red cord, she should have known the purpose.  She does now.  

You can't imagine the mail that I have to interpret for both she and Chris.  I know Chris has a problem and was never diagnosed in school for his dyslexia so getting a second opinion on what he's reading is a good idea.  We didn't realize this until several years ago when a truck imprinted with RSPC was stopped in front of his house.  He said it was SPCR.  Asked to repeat, same thing, and then it all made sense.  His brain works the same way in addition to ADD.  If he hears 350 Forest Lane in Sharon, he will repeat 53 Sharon Road in Forest.  We never understood why he always got things wrong which has really increased with age.  He has felt inadequate his entire life and what a difference it would have made if the school did more than tell his parents he had bad study habits.  Every year, conferences and meetings, the blame was always put on him as a failure. We have no idea if his biological mom was healthy and he has no desire to research.

I did the little birds in the same colors as the larger, but it's too matchy matchy for me.  Trying solid color next.  Should finish this weekend and am contemplating the next project.

Enjoy your weekend! 

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How many times?

I lost count.  First I removed the bird breast because of counting errors.  Then color after color, all of which were too strong.  There had to be some color, otherwise the breast did not show on this linen.  I'm done.

The other two birds are charted in different colors than the large bird but I may not do that.  Surprised?

I took Carole to a lab for blood work and she did not know a urine sample was needed.  She doesn't bother reading anything even though she had the requisition in hand.  So they show her into the bathroom and when the alarm went off, somehow, I knew it was her.  As I said, she doesn't bother reading anything.  That red cord ain't to order an iced coffee!!  Read the sign!!

Enjoy the final day of July.  I complain every year of summer passing too quickly.  This year, more so.  Stay safe.

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Color happy

Pleased with the 3045 roof and 3031 windows.  I'm lightening the mortar color to 3866 since the called for matches the linen.  I'm surprised at the coverage for this being 36 count.  And look how uniform the roof stitching looks with that method!  

Local Michael's is a disaster for floss and I don't believe I will ever get over the loss of Pat Catan's.  The display goes from 500's to 900's to 3000's, to 700's and none are the full range within that row.  900's are in two places, they don't even have a bin for 3866, and surprisingly, not 869 either.  Many colors are missing within the sections and the sections are in such a random order that it takes forever to look.  And after listening to the two employees talk about their jobs and money and departments, I threw my rather large hip to the side and added my hand.  Finally, "do you need help?".  They could not explain the numerical order and told me to bring in the floss itself so they could scan the label as if that would make a bin for 869 magically appear.  Whoever set this up must be a student of the new math taught by one of my neighbors and have no idea of numerical sequence.  

Good thing I was seeing the chiropractor after Michael's.  That hip throw ain't what it used to be.  Bet it doesn't look as good as it used to either.  Younger and thinner it was pretty demanding, now they probably think I need a hip replacement.

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Solid color blocks

Greetings folks.  Not much stitching accomplished yesterday.  Carole called and asked for our help, sudden and severe vertigo again, so most of the late afternoon and evening was spent there until the Meclizine (Rx) kicked in and she was able to get around by herself.  Dramamine (OTC) is meclizine and the newest is long lasting with nausea relief.

I tried 3031 and 420, wasn't happy.  The 3045 seems to be working out well and since the reproduction used 436, this isn't too far off.   My test area -

Doing a block of stitches using the sewing method cuts the time in half if not more.  I've shown this before and it makes such a difference in the uniformity of my stitches which are usually lopsided pulls and tension issues.  Both noticeable when it's a block of one color.  I do the first half horizontally, and then complete the cross vertically.  Such a difference from my wonky stitches.  Plus the sewing method of course makes it so much easier.  I turn the piece upside down every other row with that method.

Hot here again.  Still waiting for a red tomato.  Chiro pretty soon and errands to run including a few floss skeins.  My JoAnn does not have all the colors so I need to stop in Michael's.  I offered those bags of floss with hundreds of skeins, and I have been needing to purchase replacements!  But that's fine because it's only certain colors and I did not need all those others.

We found several places with elderberries!!  None are easy to get to and one is along I-80 but not near the road.  We're watching daily, those tiny berries need to be harvested within a day of ripeness and used or frozen within 12 hours.

Have a good one!!  

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Wasting time on color

Again.  These are the charted colors, 436 for the roof, 3371 for outlines and window trim.  I think the 3371 is way too harsh and dark but I can't find a dark brown that isn't reddish when next to the brick's 869.  Not sure I like the peach roof.

I've narrowed down the roof choice to two, 420, or the lighter 3045.  The outline will be the brick's 869 and I'll give the 3371 a try.  Using one strand in a single row won't be near as stark as the skein looks but I'll probably skip that for now. 

The grass color is Colour & Cotton's Willow, I lightened the critters, and reduced their head size.  I really like the subtle variegation of their threads and they are pretty consistent from skein to skein.  And eight yards rather than five.  Looking at this photo I can see that a front foot is missing.  Light thread on linen is difficult for me, I must not have seen the single stitch in place and went over it with the green.  

Had a pretty rotten weekend so far.  Ate a hard boiled egg Friday that looked fine, but my body didn't agree.  Yesterday, I happened to see a wren leave one of the bird houses and a baby came out with her.  We found it, as big as my thumb and feathered but eyes shut and not yet a fledgling.  We put it back in. Three times.  The box I attached to the pole to catch it before hitting the ground was empty, the baby was five feet away.  We then realized the mother was throwing it from the nest.  I checked several times in the evening and found no other babies so this one must have been ill even though it did not appear to be.  This morning, the nest is empty.  She must have taken them out one by one and dropped them into the high grass.  I held that little squawker and studied his tiny wings and legs, my heart is broken that they all met his fate.  There are birds that will abandon the nest, throw out the babes, kill them in the nest, it's nature.  That bitch.

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AND..............

we're back!

The more I looked at the mottling, the more I realized it was sort of crappy.  So......  I hate to tell you, but I bleached it.  Only took three quick dips, didn't affect the DMC (it usually doesn't unless I soak it), and we're back to where we started.  Yes I know.  Reckless.  Should change my Instagram to the The Reckless Stitcher.

The stiff linen can stand on its own.  I don't mind stiff fabric but when it has better posture than I do, it's a little disconcerting.  I need to change my needle (to one that will certainly prick me and draw blood) in order for it to get through some of these holes.  

I gave up on a tablet for Carole since Verizon refuses to tell customers which will be compatible with the service, since they prefer you purchase from them.  I found several 4G LTE but read that is not a guarantee, there are many that some services will accept and Verizon will not.  So I'm done wasting my time.  The sales department at two Best Buys and two Verizon locations would not answer (yes they are open) to help me so the heck with them too. 

Chris came home from work yesterday with the news that someone in the locker room at work, different shift, has tested positive.  He didn't realize it because his symptoms were stomach upset, diarrhea, only now is he positive for fever as they are tested daily before entering the mill.  Chris has tested OK but being Type 1 diabetic and Carole being very compromised, we're concerned.  He was here, said he passed testing, but I was not comfortable talking with him.  The worker's temp was checked every day for fever, obviously not a reliable indicator.  We're holding our breath.  Our local paper reported an increase in cases, and also noted that one death "never showed any symptoms, was not tested, but a physician listed Covid as the probable cause".  Really?  Do cities or individuals benefit from claiming Covid as a cause of death?  Do not professionals have an obligation to be truthful on death certificates?  How can they do this without testing or symptoms?   As we take our rides in neighborhoods looking at houses for sale, we see so many people congregating outside, graduation parties, and young folks playing basketball and swimming.  I don't think if we stayed inside for 6 months it would matter, it will still be there.  But the more people testing positive will develop antibodies resulting in less people that can spread it.

Take care folks!  Be safe.  Enjoy your weekend.

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In a mottlin' mood

Crabby mottlin' mood.

So I dabbed two shades of dye on the project with a crumpled rag.

The house color is as charted, it looks better than I expected.

I'm not choosing the final threads for the large bird until later.  

Later could be anywhere from a half hour to two days.

And I dislike this stiff fabric that feels as if it was spray painted.

Soft wimpy linen is worse and I have happy mediums, but this small piece was the perfect size for the project.

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It's gold I tell 'ya!

Hiya folks.  I'm rooting around in a mess and found a few spools of this discontinued (I believe) gold thread.  I will never use this much and also have the flat gold that is wound on a wooden Talon spool.  ????  Not by me.  It must be from my SIL and it is wound so neatly that it appears to be original, but Talon did not make such a thread, did they?  Is anyone interested in either?  Do you think someone in a needlework group on FB may be?

My errors in the last project do not bother me one bit, I moved the motifs deliberately (because, well.... you know) but not being able to understand why the counts did not coincide with my moves baffled me.  

So I start again!  But this time I found the reason quickly.  Bad habit of mine is to memorize the repeat patterns, but in reproductions it's almost impossible for them to be the same.  I removed a lot of this side because of that. 

Starts with 8 stitches, then 9, then 10 to compensate for the 8, the rest 9.  If I didn't correct this and continued with 8, it would have been uneven at the bottom where I want to insert a straight border.

Blue Angel hostas are my favorite and they do so well along the garage side. You can see the browned area at the bottom of the tallest shrub, courtesy of ...............

You guessed it.  Been lounging all of yesterday and today on the bench, dirty as can be, happy to get his head and neck scratched.  I tried to quickly apply the flea med while scratching but he bolted and I wasted a tube.  

Enjoy the last full week of July which is breaking my heart.  Stay safe, be well.

Thanks for visiting.

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As Emeril would say

BAM!!  Lightning struck right next to our huge oak tree.  Thankful it wasn't a few feet over and didn't kill the tree.  But blast it, it did.  Dead limbs were shattered and the large squirrel nest near the top exploded.  Some of it was hanging from it's perch but most was on the ground along with the wood pieces.  We were without internet and phones.  Today the technician came out for service.  Yesterday I spent the entire afternoon standing outside on pavement in 90+ heat for almost an hour with many people ahead of me.  Twice.  Spectrum's policy is one person per employee so two are allowed inside.  After the first replacement modem did not work, back in line I went.  The male employee was rude, snotty, and a real pr**k.  The second modem did not work.  My $5 cell phone has no bars in my area and I was running all over the yard as if in a Verizon commercial.  "Can you hear me now?"  After dozens of failed calls, I got through for activation of both new modems.  They activated.  With the wrong codes.  So the wonderful tech got us going, but my 5 cordless phones set has to be replaced, which will come Sunday.   Then I found out that the tablet I purchased for Carole cannot be used on her plan because they didn't tell me it needs to be 4G/cellular.  It's wireless without that feature.  Useless since she does not have internet, only cell service.  Great.  I had asked her many times to contact Verizon and get the info for me but as usual, she does nothing I ask.  Now she won't be getting a new tablet because they are all more than I expected to pay.  Yes, I've been a crabass.

So my new project is the sweetie I showed back in May (canNOT believe it was that long ago and August is next week).  Of course, I am changing it.  The house bricks will be a darker mustard and brown, the birds will be more of a feature.  And I didn't want the bottom area.  So Paint to the rescue!  After many attempts at colors for house and birds and flowers, I decided on the pale rose breast and two shades of gray.  Or maybe the dark blue.  But definitely with a straight and simple bottom border.  Flowers may end up a darker rose than the breasts, if not, pale gold, otherwise it looks too fussy to me.  The first is the original, and far right what I will stitch.

And for those that are surprised about cat's spray ruining anything, it does.  My new shrubs that weren't protected by the prickly mats are brown at the bottom, and this area of white on the A/C is how the ammonia in their spray/urine corroded the fins.

Petey is the real culprit but a lot of the damage happened before he arrived.  The spray is minimal and a way of marking territory, but potent!  Males just lift their tail as they casually walk by, stop for a second, and continue walking.  The barn the barrels the posts the trees the plant stands his house my house doors benches everything!!

And then they sleep.  

Have a good Wednesday!!

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It' all over but the shouting

Or screaming.  I have to finish the over one in the body.

I can't tell you how many wacky errors in placement there are in this area and you don't want to hear them.  But you probably will.  How can a position be two stitches over (whether intentional or not) and yet be aligned with the other motif, or three stitches off in the opposite direction?  It really doesn't matter but that frustrates me to no end.   I moved the right side vase over to the border as the left side which I like much better.  I didn't change the position of the floral balls to match but did line up the leaves to the same extension as the left.   But that blue spotted llama was moved two stitches yet is correct to the center motif which is perfectly aligned. The bottom border was moved two to the right and it's two to the left from the center motif.   WTH???  Oh well.  I've wasted enough time and am happy with the outcome, but HOW did that happen?

I found a beautiful fungus this morning.  Worthy of Instagram?

Still playing with the tablet and blowing my mind, and I can easily post to Instagram but the photos are not very clear.  I am amazed at some on the close ups I see from phones and read that Samsung is the best for that.  We'll see.  

Yesterday we stained the 43"square surround Mark made to keep the brats away from the new air conditioner we're getting in two weeks.  They destroyed this one from spraying which deteriorated the condenser fins (you can see the white bottom area through the slats). The new one has more coverage on the sides but that spray can still get inside so we decided this would be the best solution.  Home Depot online had picket slats in bundles but their stock was depleted.  So we purchased the 1x6 treated rough sawn pine six footers and cut them in half, cut off the dog eared edge and slapped it together.  Even if the spray goes through, it won't reach the unit.  We'll buy screening and staple it to the inside top to prevent leaves and tree debris which is always a problem too.  

Hope the weekend is going well.  It's hot here, expecting storms.  Stay safe!!

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After the rain

Flowers add beauty but you can be stunning without decoration too.

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Closing in

A checkered stag (or spotted?), the side border, it won't be long now!!

Hope you're having a good week!

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One more page

and this will be a finish.

I don't like the bare top of the center stem but it is what it is. 

The base of the pot is void of stitching and may be filled with satin.

The brats have been on their own sleeping in shrubs and avoiding me.  But Petey is sticking close to me and wanting stroked, I've been obliging.  A half hour after my last close encounter, my stomach started itching and I assumed a skeeter bite.  But there was a tiny black pinhead protrusion, and after my Dazor light and mag, in addition to a pair of 4.0 mags, there it was.   A tick.  The tiniest of ticks, the Lyme carrying ones.  So I am swelled and red, waiting to see what develops over the next few days.  Can I squirt the tube on his neck without wasting this expensive flea/tick remedy?  I seriously doubt it.  

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Wren

Hopefully this will help when deciding on a PTP linen, whenever they are back in stock.  The Wren looks to be Flax with tan mottling.  Legacy is more yellow, Heartland even more.  One piece of Legacy I received a while ago is my favorite with less yellow background, more neutral and leaning to Flax.  Whatever!!  You all know I have a phobia about color.  Seeing completed projects compared to the actual linen is misleading because they don't seem to be as dark after stitching.

The Vellum that I showed in the prior comparison is the lightest ordered.  If I knew where it was, I would have included it.  But you saw it already so it's all good.  One more that I need to try - Faun.  Almost ordered Fawn by mistake (Lakeside?) but the PTP is spelled with a U.  Haven't found a piece yet and looks very contrasted in photos, but you can't believe what you see because every piece is different.

Have a great weekend!!

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Did they have spotted Llamas in 1809?

Bud doesn't know either.  

He's just ticked because Petey always gets to eat on the big bench.

I got Carole's tablet today.  Oh my word.  How the hell do you people know what to do with those smart ass phones?  Are they more confusing than tablets?  I touch the wrong spot or swipe a gnat off the screen and all hell breaks loose. I end up in places I've never heard of and a woman starts asking me questions.  Startled, I looked around to see if someone was watching me.  I think she's related to the one in my GPS and we do NOT get along.  The only way Carole will be able to use this without calling me every 5 minutes is if I hide all the apps and she keeps the Walmart grocery site open forever.  And allows gnats.

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Mottled crew

Not Motley Crue!  Two posts in one day but I received more linen and tomorrow will get the highly anticipated Wren.  Just can't get enough of this PTP.  Literally!  Out of stock everywhere!  I can do without the very dark and very contrasted, but these have become my linen crew.  Love love 'em.  For those of you feeling as confused and hesitant as most stitchers without a shop, I hope this helps a little about color choice.  

When I saw The Attic's flosstube sharing linen inventory, the Vellum looked so silvery and drab on that table.  Too late, I had already ordered.  And good thing I did because it's beautiful, not as it appeared on my laptop screen.  Beautiful!!  Light, very.  Neutral, very, Soft, absolutely.  No yellow no pink no green on this piece.  After these came in, I decided the gorgeous Dusty Road from Seraphim is not me, so I will either sell or dye (would rather sell).  Here's a peek.

Flax has no mottling, hardly any on Winter Brew.  Flax would be a great base to dab on some shading.  Remember the "old" days when you used a crumpled rag to get that effect on walls?  That's the method I will use in my attempts.  No immersing, no wetting, just dabbing with a light tan dye on a crumpled rag after a corner test.

 Legacy is my absolute favorite (so far!) but for very light projects Vellum is great.

Legacy, Vellum, and Heartland.

 I'm not crazy about the large piece of Heartland and may sell that one too.  Very anxious to see Wren and will compare that next time.

Blog and IG photos of various finishes listing linen color confuse me.  I've seen Oaken look very dark and dramatic, and other finishes much lighter and softer, which seems to be the case most often.  It depends on the photo's settings so it's very hard to know what to expect.  Can't wait for Wren!  Something tells me I will be thrilled.  I've been wrong before, and Mark notched that date into a 4x4 on the deck.  Which has long been removed.

I hope this helps a little.  I have an old tablet and comparing the photos between these two devices, not even close.  The tablet is more saturated and darker, so I have no idea how you will see these.  But I tried!!

Sitting on the swing with my pal.

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They prefer the heat

to an air conditioned room.  Hardly eating which is routine for them when it's this hot, but when they do it's a quick bite and back to the outdoors.  Why?  The rest of the day is spent lounging in the shade, or grabbing an occasional chipmunk.  Petey is a real hunter and rather than torture the helpless little creatures, he starts eating them immediately.  I like chipmunks and all other little PITA creatures, but when my cousin saw one steal a cardinal baby right out of its nest, they moved down a few notches.  The nest was in a burning bush outside her office and she was horrified as the munk came back until they were all killed.  I couldn't believe they would eat a baby bird so I researched and found they are nest raiders, eggs or chicks.  Nature is so cruel on many levels, but my hope is for deaths to be quick and free of suffering.  You can't fool Mother Nature nor can you control her.

Another thing about critters, the really big ones are fussy about hydrangeas.  They devour Annabelles and don't touch Limelight.  Right next to each other, but never any damage.  Annabelle has some foliage left on the house side, but the back side is bare.

 These are next in line but usually manage to avoid destruction.  The Vista variety is not at the top of their petunia list.  Of maybe they don't like Fuschia.

And for some good news, Petey is now allowing me to scratch his neck and head when he's on the bench getting food.  And I didn't fall out of the door.  Once off the bench I can't get near him.  He did not try to bite or scratch, just recoiled from fear, but after several times he is now enjoying it.  I know he was someone's cat.

We got Carole's umbrella for her wrought iron set (I gave her a choice of two, she kept both) and Mark drilled the pole for a bolt to keep it secure.  Matt Jr. has been staying there for a few days and you don't know how bad autism can be until you deal with 24/7.  He has meltdowns and has not been bathed, won't put shoes on, and a multitude of other issues that can't be forced on him.  I bought him bright green water shoes and attached a tag that states "can only be worn by kids that like dinosaurs, will not fit anyone else".  We'll see if that helps.  He hides from us now.  Last fall he made great progress and played basketball, had friends, and was fine on the bus.  The break from school has set him back two years.  He still thinks he did something wrong because none of his teachers had visual contact, just the weekly email.  This fall will be traumatic because he panics if you try to put a mask on him and it's mandatory, let alone leaving home on a bus full of kids.

Steak splurge and grilled veggies tonight.  Hope your day is a good one.

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Decorative aids

Arthritis is really taking a toll on my right hand.  Heberden's nodes are getting huge and starting on the left also.  Trying to alleviate frustration and pain on simple things with decorative alterations has become a hobby of sorts.  I have several of these Basketville lunch bucket baskets and although easy to lift, the lids are getting difficult to grab.  So I decided to add leather flaps.  Two baskets are still unfinished and need stained or painted but I'll come up with something for them too.

And remember this typcial bench that I had Mark cut open and convert to a shelf?  Those storage baskets that fit perfectly are now sporting jute loops.  So much easier to pull out.  One of my better ideas because so much coffee table stuff is hidden in these baskets.  Pens, papers, magazines, missing floss skeins, stitching aids, extra glasses, and of course, Dove.

My $274 sealed tooth caused me to hit the ceiling when I chomped a piece of cold watermelon.  I called, they said it doesn't always work.  No, I can't have a refund.  I never asked prices because I was just there in February so assumed the costs would be the same.  Costco still has a good dental plan but I never got around to making the almost 4 hour round trip to sign and pick up my card.  They wouldn't mail it.  This dentist would not accept it anyway, he only participates in union plans.

It's hot baby!!  So are the prices of beef.  I thought the processing plants were only down a week or two over a month ago.  So why haven't the prices returned to prior costs?  Really taking advantage of us aren't they?  My local meat market has a huge farm in PA, all meat comes from their animals and processing is done in house, yet they increased prices dramatically.

Have a good day folks.

Iced coffee and chocolate for me.  Thanks for the visit!

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