Today

Honor those that gave their lives.

 

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Certainly not humdrum

If you are a humbug that becomes a drum, does that make you a humdrum?

Not this definition!

I am torn between the two.  What to do what to do. 

Love this so much, on some sort of 36 count with dmc equivalents.  Let me repeat.  I love this so much.

And even though small, I was already tiring of the star pattern and wanted to stop at two rows instead of three.  Not a good sign.

Sun is out.  It's not raining.  Having shredded Italian hot beef sandwiches (on my recipe blog) hash brown "funeral" casserole, Italian green beans with garlic, balsamic and hot honey.

Enjoy your day!

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Next

Rose Hill Farm pinkeep.

It's a humbug.

Trying again. 

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Humbug to heart

I just could not warm up to that little humbug.  I removed the beads, restitched the seams, but nothing was mellowing the crabass.

A little rectangular pincushion was an option, but I thought aggravated frustration would make a fun finish.

Knob hanger...

Or Spot's accoutrement.

On to the next project.

A big THANK YOU for the info on the fabric shop in Canfield.  Less than an hour from home, looks like a great place.  Will be visiting soon!

Sweatshirts and pants, jackets, furnace and blankets.  The rain and downpours are relentless, the mosquitoes are unmerciful.  All make a crabass pinch harder.  But!  The Honeymooners are on the Me TV channel's lineup starting next week.  Ralph is back!

Be safe!

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Where do quilters shop?

We had a fantastic large fabric shop about 35 minutes away.  Opposite direction, much smaller but top quality.  Both closed several years ago.  JoAnn Fabric, now closed, did not offer the top lines, but at least we could see the fabric.  Hobby Lobby has basics, and that is the only option.  I found a quilt shop less than an hour away, very limited, cramped, and not polite.

Online is how I buy linen, most times not what I expected.  Can only imagine with all the prints and patterns offered for general fabrics, how the monitor's color will fool the eye.  Scanning bolts on display and folded fat quarters led my eyes to colors and patterns easily.  Online single or small group photos from one mfg at a time would take days.  

This color of a warm pink has not looked good with any of my limited fabrics.  So I chose a dark brown linen, not really happy about it, but how many pieces would I need to order to get a backing that would work?

The painting of the kitchen cabinets was finished today, the minor carpentry will be done by Scott in a few weeks.  I can get those charts ready to sell now, and other projects won't be nearly as time consuming. 

Should my next project be one of the berries I recently purchased, the Nash humbug, a small sampler? 

This is my favorite flower basket this year.  It's glorious and I wish I had bought two.  Lots of impatiens in pots this year, found a new greenhouse and their annuals are spectacular.  

Hope you're doing well.

Thanks for visiting.

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Just a few little motifs

 and this will be finished.

The dmc 869 was chosen over 611 and I'm really pleased.  I tried a few other off whites and decided to stay with 746.  

This photo makes the left half appear different than the right, but it's fine.  I panicked when seeing that so recounted and measured, it's just the way the linen is laying.

Will I do all the motifs?  I usually don't, especially the very small that sometimes clutter.  I shortened this by three rows, omitted the one over the large star, and raised that star a few rows.  Not sure if any others will change, but will complete this shortly.

Enjoy your day, be safe.

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746

 In choosing the lighter thread (only two colors in this), I assumed anything toward yellow would be wrong.  But I was.  The center flower in Ecru does not seem warm enough, and the 746 on the right is much better.  The skein leans to yellow but doesn't look so when stitched.  Better.  

 Not very obvious in photos, but is in person. I plan to try a slightly more yellow tone before proceeding, after another trip to the greenhouses this morning and afternoon painting.  

My sense of smell is better than most since Sjogren's, and I am more sensitive than others.  We have thousands of mosquitos waiting for the door to open so I had to use repellant.  It made me nauseous with a headache.  My only option to sit outside is with a fan directed toward me to blow them away.  Something bit the back of my neck creating a very hard but tender large lump that is spreading downward.  TMI ain't it?

Hope your weekend gets off to a good start.

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Finally .... we meet again

Good grief. ???

..... just thought about that. What grief is good?  Moving on.  Guess how many times this outline did not meet and was removed?  Four.  Well, technically three because this fourth stitching did meet.  I clipped three stitches off the top to shorten length slightly and widen the top, didn't like the narrow lobes.

Finally.

Reinforced my reluctance to use 46 count.  At height of 105 stitches on 40 count, this should be 5.25", not much difference with the three stitches I removed.  But this measures 4.75" which means this 40 count did shrink some.  Partly because of trauma I inflicted with four dye baths.  

So now I can move on.  Any other errors (and there will be) can be worked out.

My current favorite treat.

Toast topped with Nutella, fresh strawberries, powdered sugar dusting.  Not a good photo, but I kept taking a bite until I found my tablet.

Hope your ends meet!!  Enjoy your day.

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35, 46, 41..bingo!

Hi again.

I started on the 35 count WDW linen, decided it needed to be a little smaller.  Searched, no 40 count except one shop but would not spend 32 for a quarter yard when I need such a small piece.  I found 46, but have been struggling with worsening eye condition and wasn't sure it would be feasible.  Most times, different counts are slightly off a shade because of the tighter weave.  I love this one!

So I matched it on a 40 count.  This one took a while to dye using four colors, each a separate dip.  The other 40 count I dyed to a very light pink was not to be changed so I started over. 

Good!

Would love the 46 but as I said, do not trust my eyesight.  That zigging outline could easily be home to many errors.  Over one, even on 35/36 count, is easier for me to see because of the looser weave than 46.  I think this may actually be 41 or 42 now after wetting and drying so many times.

So I can get moving on this.

Still a lot of cabinet painting to do in this small kitchen.  Trying to spruce up with neutral colors.  No intention to purchase new cabinets since whoever would buy the house may want to do that in their choice.  I am liking the white, really showcases wood tone or painted furniture.  

Have a good day.  Middle of May.  What?

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Too small

Yep.  Over one on the 36 count Sanguine may not be what I expect.  I think this BBD design needs to be as charted, over two, six inches high.

I am loving smalls right now and thought it would be sweet, now I can't picture it finished over one.

So six inch it will be.  From the BBD book My Dear Hearts.

As stitched by a genius and finished by Faye on the pinky linen......

I got my standard Vista Bubblegum flowers, they are not very full and need trimmed in the center already.  I purchased a beautiful multi color that I could not resist for such a reasonable price.  When rains stop and we take a break from building an ark, I'll take a photo.

Been having a hard time again, tears flowing often if I had any.  It's the process of accepting loss, I'm not very good at it.

Have a good day.

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No reply

Everyone?

I was able to respond to only a few before, but now no one at all!  What happened?  I know I replied to Catherine and Vera before, and just realized their no-reply status.

I didn't have to visit the ER.  My fig trees are in huge pots, saturated and heavy from rains. I lifted/slid them off their trolleys over the threshold to get them into the garage (frost warning).  I really was concerned for a few hours.  Need to get action from the snotty cardio office.  Been dealing with inept or lazy people for too long.  And when did dressing like a couch potato for the office become the norm?  A pair of black leggings and a tunic tee cost less than joggers and a hoodie.  Comb your hair! Good grief.  If you see anyone well dressed they look out of place. Bank employees at one time were some of the best dressed and decades ago were paid little.  Now, you can't tell they work there. I guess the younger employees wear the same whatever they're doing.  My teachers always looked professional, here they wear capris with tees and flip flops.  I'm done. But it irks me.  Neatly dressed, not sloppy, looking groomed, does not take that much effort.  A small local bank with four employees is the exception.

Catherine, I can't get near those cats.  Had traps out for months and they ignore them.  They are here for food, have shelter when they want it, but live with a colony, not sure which.  Missy hates them both through the door.

The watermelon drink has nothing but a dash of salt and squirt of Splenda if it lacks flavor.  I did the entire melon and stored in the fridge.  Can't wait to do a cantaloupe.

Now about that humbug.  Stacy Nash got me again. I don't have her Rose Hill Farm sampler chart since I am only doing smalls, but look what's butting in to steal the spotlight... 

On 36 count, a different closure stitch, do I need to purchase a large project to get the tiny bonus?  I moved an 80# pot and survived, so hell yeah.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Have a wonderful day.

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Bah humbug

Never again on 40 count.  Or black thread.

Stitches too tiny for the whipstitch closing, thread too dark to see those tiny suckers.   The beads were the only easy part.

Just not happy with my choices and may try another on a larger weave.  Sometime.

Watermelon is the only fruit that soothes my dry mouth.  I eat many during summer, prefer a crisp texture.  If it's not, into the Ninja smoothie maker for such a refreshing drink.  (Kerosene is the lamp base, not the real thing.) I'm going to do this with cantaloupe too.  My sister nearly choked to death on a piece of it, liquid is better.

I'm waiting for the tight chest caused by moving an 80# pot to subside.  If it doesn't, I need to make sure my underwear is clean.  Do mothers still tell their kids that when leaving the house?  It is better than it was, guess I should stick to painting.

Happy Mother's Day!!

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Hide the matches

The crabass is quite irritated.

I did a half stitch first to mark the backstitch location, easier to see and count, simple to remove.  All went well .... for a while.  Backstitch has always been a problem for me on 40 count.  Using black thread, even more so.

The height and corners were positioned properly but as I proceeded, that was no longer the case.  My only option was to hop skip the stitches making it easier to find the extra linen thread errors.  Finally.  Now to go back and complete that outline.

Sometimes incomplete or missing stitches are not caught on a visual inspection.  Such as now.  Until I checked the photo, the section missing the second half of the cross was not caught.  I looked this over several times!  Yet one look at the photo and it was obvious.  So once that's corrected and the outline filled, I can start the closure.

The ferns are covered with a blanket, the flats are in the garage, the hanging baskets are in the dining room, and the fig trees are also in the garage.  Why did I put away winter clothing?  Just like every holiday's decor is offered many months before, the spring ritual of buying flowers Memorial Day has joined in.  If you don't have them by mid May, they're picked over.  Too soon for the unpredictable weather.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Mother's Day.

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A tiny humbug

Since I have black beads to finish the edge of this humbug, I decided to stop the blue and start the black.  I think mustard is often used with black in overshot weave, ivory with blue. These hearts need to be outlined to see the shape, I thought adding the second color would be another option.

Quite tiny on 40 count darker linen, with dmc 310 and 680, and very sore arthritic fingers.  Sanding has them in terrible condition!

It did not rain today, the sun actually appeared for a short time, and these two (Ollie & Tootsie) had a ball playing with tree debris on the deck.

Did you see Stacy Nash's IG post of the retreat's designs?  Just. So. Fabulous.  Won't be offered to the rest of us for a year.

Hope your May hasn't been as cold and wet as mine has.

Stay safe folks.

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More work and time

than this job took years ago.  Arthritic hands and body sure slow you down.  

The older paint is not dark, a medium tan I'd say.  But the White Dove Aura is taking three coats.  Small kitchen but overwhelming me!  Five lower cabinets and four uppers plus the backsplash vertical shiplap, fridge cabinet, and beneath bar to do yet.  Yoi.

My nerve tests showed nothing requiring surgery yet, and they can't explain the pain that radiates from mid bicep down through fingers.  I expected it was something weird, always is.  The cardio tests are still not scheduled after seven weeks.  Now they are saying the facility won't accept my insurance.  They do.  I spoke with them, I spoke with Highmark, and the office is being very testy and telling me to choose another facility.  I'm changing to another doctor, but first opening is in August.  Matt broke up another fight at school and was hurt, he's been off seven weeks, no check from workman's comp yet, and his MRI can't be done until August.  No openings.

I dyed a piece of linen I didn't care for to a lighter shade of the Sanguine.  Pink is not a favorite, but neither are florals and fussies yet I'll be stitching them.

It has rained heavily with no mercy for days, is raining now, and will be all week with cool temps.  June 1 will probably be 90 degrees.

And I found a nutroll in the freezer!  Last one, thought they were all gone.  It will be very soon.

Be good, be safe, be well.

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And just like that ...

I'm stitching hearts that I recently claimed to avoid.

I mentioned Needle 'n Thread, Mart Corbet's site for all you need to know about needlework.  Another is Jean Farish Needleworks.  This tiny heart on 36 count (you can see my attempt to increase its size) is a free chart from her site here.  

There are others also, listed in the left hand column along with her post titles.  The Americana Sampler Flag is one of them, here.

My plan was to stitch individual hearts, stuff to finish, and then I went to her site for a look.  Change of plans.  I will do all three on 40 count for a tiny fob (a humbug), and follow her tutorial.  It is floss tube #27, here.  Check out her site if you haven't seen it, loads of good information, links to charts and floss tube.  I am anxious to do that edge finish, perfectly shown in her tutorial.

There is another shape I am not familiar with called a Pendibule, designs for this finish are from Durene Jones on Etsy, here.  In the UK, new to me, loads of smalls in various finishes.  I found quite a few I would like to order such as this scissor case.

And this one.

Have a good weekend.

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