Linen ramblings

Hello all.  First off, several emails requested information on how I braided the candlewick threads to use for little ornaments.  I apologize for not making it clear.  I purchase candle WICKS, not candlewicking thread.  It comes in a package where they sell fragrance oils and wax, usually craft stores, is 100% cotton, and braided.  I also had requests for where to purchase the basket that is displaying France F.  They only sell in shows, but I have her number and will pass along any info I receive.  On to the linen weekend.

I found this unframed old piece that looks like the 25 count I used to purchase from Scarlet Letter, and this warm tone is what I'm looking for.  My higher count linens are not as light as this, even though as I've mentioned before, they are all "unbleached-raw-natural"- but all vary in tone and shade. 

                 

I don't know if I would like the recommended linen for a design since I have no resources, and my preferences do not lean toward the very light shades.   The natural/unbleached cuts that I ordered long ago came in darker and grayer than I expected.  This is the 30 count that's cut (YES!) in the drab grayish tone, so I prepared a bleach bath for it, in the tub.  I thought it would be the easiest way to submerge it evenly with the least amount of folds.  

The darkest is the original, beneath it the current shade, and the right is the same fabric soaked longer.  It's still too drab, so I may try to warm it with a coffee bath.   Am I wasting my time?  Sure seems like.  I have several yards of this and really want to use it for these big projects instead of purchasing more.  I have no idea what the multitude of color choices are like so even if I would receive new linens, would I like them?  Surprisingly, the amber color was in the bath longest and didn't flinch.  No change whatsoever.  I kept a swatch of wet fabric on hand to compare to the submerged pieces, checking on color change.  It became very mottled and uneven, but dried more evenly.   Months ago I had another brainstorm that if I washed and dried the 25 count linen on hot, it would shrink to a 28 or 30 count.  Well it didn't.  At all.  So I assumed this wouldn't either but it did - an inch in length and width.  The difference?  The first time I tried dyed/processed linen and this is unbleached/raw which obviously is more susceptible to shrinkage.  Which begs the question - would a 30 count cut become a 32 count if it shrinks?   Since the number of threads are the same, but smaller or tighter, wouldn't the design still fit since the stitches would also be smaller?   It will take some time but I'm running a line of stitches to make sure.  Logan's count is 474 x 412 and Metcalf's is 355 x 463.  WHAT?????  

Even though I have a ton of floss in all colors, I bought more.  I wanted everything ready, separate, starting from scratch in their floss and chart files.  Aren't they neat?

 

These are floss colors on the two linens, one too gold, and one too drab.  I'm spilling my coffee on it tomorrow and will decide then, but Logan will be on one of these.  

It took me quite a while, but I inventoried all my linens, even scrap pieces, and now have every piece tagged with size and recorded which is a huge improvement.  I don't know how much is considered a lot, but I think I have way too much of the same boring fabric.  For future projects, I'm going to order a few small cuts and hope the new colors are what I'm looking for.   WHAT?   Future projects?  These designs will keep me busy for a very long time.  a number of years. an eternity.  OK.... I'm done boring you with my linen troubles.  Frankly, I'm bored with it too but starting projects of this size and then deciding it's not the right background does not a happy stitcher make.  

So I'll say so long, have a great new day, be kind and generous to the homeless....

even if they're brats, wanting to eat ten times a day.

Thanks for stopping by, sorry I'm rambling about linen again.

Stitching begins today.

I'm OK with it

Greetings!  First off, the box from the last post was not burned but is in need of major repair.  The stitching was saved and stuck here...

Now for the big news.  A major breakthrough to announce - I'm cutting my linen yardage.   Yes, I know, it's a ridiculous eccentricity of mine but it will be no more.  Soon.  Some time today.  Before midnight.  After my shower, before my cholesterol reducing drugs, when Frazier is on, right before Golden Girls, unless I can't find the right scissors.  NO!  I'm serious, really it will be today.  All those years ago I used nothing but unbleached/natural, which was included with my Scarlet Letter kits, and I continued to purchase.   What's making this task easier is....I'm not as crazy about it as I used to be.  Several smaller pieces are marked Sandstone, Antique Tan, Tea-dyed, Golden Streak, and I'm liking those warmer tones.  The darkest of the natural with be slightly lightened with a bleach bath, and then stained or dyed if necessary to get a pleasing color for these monsters that I am going to kit...
  

 Lucy is still in the running, but I think she's out gallivanting with Ann Wragg.  So why did I choose such large samplers?  Good question.  Maybe doing such a time consuming project will keep me on track, instead of having to search through linen pieces and charts for the next project, trying to make the decision that never comes.   I'm wasting a lot of time and the longer I am without needle, the harder it is to pick it up again.  I also remember a comment from a few months ago about using an unfinished sampler in a standing hoop, as a display.  So if I start a monster and fail with the stamina to complete, I will use this great idea.

Small projects like these Santas, will keep me stitching during breaks from the large sampler's tedium.   Most of my Santa ornaments are on sage Jobelan so I may continue with it instead of linen.  Yeah I know, I gave away bunches of it, but I still have a few pieces.

I also wanted to mention trims and cords for hanging little projects/ornaments.  Keep in mind I only have one local store and trims offered are more for upholstery and drapery.  Most of the time I use hemp cord or jute, but it's not appropriate for everything.  Trying to find something small in black was impossible so I turned to shoe laces.  The braided lace is heavy enough for a seam trim or hanger, the flat cotton can be dyed, navy blue and dark brown are available too which is hard to find in trims.   Another option I use is 100% cotton candlewicks.  Yep.  Candlewick.  

Very thin, soft, and flexible as a hanger for a tiny project.  

As usual, you probably already know this. 

Today and tomorrow will be pretty hot and muggy so I'm going to sit outside and enjoy what will soon be over.    My mind has been on a wonderful peach dessert with a cream cheese topping.  Very easy to make and so good.  And the ice cream bars that are coated with crunchies and coconut.   Oh my. 

I hope you all have a great weekend, long or short, hopefully with dessert, and thank you once again for visiting!

Another box

Hello everyone.   I haven't started a major project yet and thought about doing something with this paper mache box.  I have several since they are inexpensive and I really like the shape and the hinged lid. 

I used linen band - one of my favorite quick stitch choices - but I haven't attached it to the lid yet.  I covered the box with fabric and tried aging it by sanding the fabric edges and corners and overdid it - not too happy with the result - so I may either do another box or ????  I made the closure button from knotted hemp.  The more I look at it, the more I dislike it.   In fact, I should be embarrassed to post this but one of the perks of getting older is being pardoned for your mistakes. 

I received these 100% wool throws and wondered if I could throw them in a vat of dark dye to blend the bright colors into a darker plaid.  I've never hooked but would like to try other projects with applique or penny rugs.  They're pretty thick so I don't think felting would be a good idea. 

 But what do I know.  I put my 10 bags of Dove chocolate pieces on the second floor because I checked online and found that 50 calories are burned  going up and down stairs.   One piece is around 40, so thinking I was outsmarting my hips, this was a great plan.   The calories I consumed were burned to get one!  Then why was I still gaining weight?  Surely eating 10 pieces a day didn't matter since I made a separate trip upstairs for each one.  Wrong.  I checked again - the 50 calories was for 5 minutes of stair climbing, not one trip.  Calories consumed are way ahead of calories burned.

I also have another new friend. 

He is very large yet very thin and cries so loudly as he walks around the yard and the woods.  It is so different and haunting.  I don't know why, unless he is missing the idiots that disowned him?  So along with his pregnant girlfriend (who he looks for and stays with as much as he can), I have an un-neutered male to be fixed.  Black, white feet, neck and unusual solid white whiskers. 

I'm very very upset that it's September since I am a summer child and I hate watching the leaves clutter the yards warning of the oncoming cold.  Especially with my bigger than expected hips.

A project needs to be chosen tomorrow, even if it's small.  I'm not feeling the love lately.  I started a Halloween design but couldn't do it.  Following a design without the letters and layout of a sampler was not enjoyable.  What about my Santas?  I need to try one of them and see if I have the same problem.  Everyone has stitching slumps but I know myself well enough to know how easily I can lose interest.  Maybe that's why I didn't really put an effort into the box.  So is it a slump or a waning desire?  The project I choose will tell the tale.

Talk to you soon...thanks for visiting! 

And the finish is......

Option #4!   Which wasn't available yesterday.  This is a first for me.  Two posts in 24 hours. 

 My brilliant idea didn't work.  When I did the nun stitch on the sampler bottom, the linen thread edges were sticking out and I wasn't a happy girl lady woman.  I realized that the only way this would not look like a patch job was to have the nun stitch on the added piece, sewn over the sampler's linen.  So I sewed the edge by hand to prevent further raveling and when I moved my arm to grab the phone, the needle and all the linen threads came with it!  So now the edge was even shorter.  The machine sewing is still the best when it's a matter of losing more threads and it worked nicely...

I did the edge stitch on the piece to be added and then removed two threads to turn it back with less bulk.  Once again, attaching by hand was not going well, so I went to the machine and just stitched into the nun stitch, then cut away the excess beneath.  I think it turned out very nice.  If you didn't know the sordid details of this episode, you'd have no idea it's a patch job. 

So I started playing with where to hang it.  Several options....

 On an interior door...

on the side of a cabinet...

 on my jelly cupboard's door...    

in the window without the fabric backing...

 in the window with the backing.

And then I spotted this.....from Pennsylvania Basket Company.

Well, that about clinched it. 


I may frame it later by removing the added fringe and sewing a binding to the bottom for mounting.

I want to thank Irene from Starry-eyed-stitcher for correctly identifying the nun stitch for me.  After searching my Proper Stitch and not finding anything close, I was about to give up.  Without your help Irene I couldn't have completed this as I did and I'm happy with the results.  So what's next?  My order for Scarlett House's Coverlet Birds came last week and I just found it yesterday so I may start it tonight before I misplace it again.  I plan on using Sampler Threads if I have enough of a comparable color.  If not, DMC will be fine.  But hey, you know how this goes.  The project never ends up being what I planned!!  To be continued.....

I had a problem with yesterday's post and had to keep re-publishing until it appeared - we'll see how it goes today.  Thanks for reading and for everyone's help and suggestions.  It is greatly appreciated, and certainly needed!

The fringe element

Hello guys and dolls.  I finished the stitching on France F ....

Now for the big decision.  If you remember, the fabric is 27 instead of 28 and that made a big enough difference to short me in this long sampler for continuing the fringe.  So here's what I came up with..

I need to back the sampler with fabric anyway so I played around with it before I even finished stitching.  I took a piece of the same linen and sewed it to the inside bottom of the backing.

When I lay the sampler over the back, the linen piece extends.  My decision is whether to do the nun stitch across the bottom where it will hide the seam, and then fringe the added piece, or just hem the bottom without fringe as the top is.

The backing will be hand stitched along the inside of the nun stitches, and you can see how the added linen will be hidden inside.  If I do the nun properly, you may never know.  I was excited about this idea and then changed my mind.  Big surprise.  Whenever a decision of any kind is needed, I waffle.  Then I finally settle, and the waffle comes back.  My husband always encourages me to buy the item that I don't want because he knows I'll be back for it the next day.  Framing was originally not an option for me, but the chart's photo shows it framed right up to the sampler's border and I'm liking it now.  Right now, at 7:38 pm, I am planning on hemming the top and bottom and having just the sides fringed.  Or continuing the nun stitch and adding the linen piece.  Well....for sure it won't be framed tomorrow.  Maybe later after I live with the fringe...or no fringe...for a while.  Or a day.  I'm on a carb high right now, so we'll see what tomorrow brings.  Whatever it is, I just love this sampler and it's colors (even the ones I changed), and I'm sorry I didn't stitch this years ago.

Here's my little buddy that is giving me another dilemma. 

  

She is constantly rolling and pawing around me as I sit outside, but I haven't tried to pet her.  With no movement or threat on my part, she will all of a sudden draw blood from my legs.  Yesterday she started eating while I held the dish - no problem.  Today, after all the rolling,  rubbing, and meowing, she turned and swiped my leg again.  She's not playing.  When I bent over to set her food down, she lunged at my face.   And I think she is pregnant.  Not sure how this will play out.   

So the next post will be fringe or no fringe, but backed and displayed.......oh no.   Where?  How?  Damn these decisions.   Do they have a pill for this?  

Thanks for visiting!

A drawer, a jar, and an appetite

Hello everyone.  You probably expected to see France F completed!  Well, when I have a reduction in hot flashes, I have an increase in appetite and ADD.   Let's see.....which do I prefer.....being as sticky as velcro, or stuffing my face in a state of confusion.  Sticky.  At least I can still get my pants on when I dry out.

France is almost completed.....

Whenever I have these wacko eating days, I can't sit still or concentrate on one thing for very long.  Working on France would always be interrupted by an idea swimming in the menopool.   I started playing around with the little drawer.  I stitched on a tiny scrap of fabric that I was surprised to find since I normally would toss it.   It fit the entire top but while pressing it, I spotted this swatch of fabric and decided to mix them with this result...

Cute isn't it?  I edged it with jute, one of my favorite trims when using unbleached or natural dark linen, then painted and distressed the box.

 

It's only 4 inches wide and 2 1/2 deep.  I plan on doing the double drawer with a long pincushion roll on top.



I picked up France again and made some progress, then had difficulty trying to lift my scissors from the table with my thick arthritic fingers.  I decided to drop the stitching and come up with something that would allow me to easily handle them and also provide a safe storage place while protecting the blades. 

Here it is....

 My scissor jar.

I made a little center indented pillow, and used two layers of pinked-edge felt around the inside of the glass in case I miss the cushion.  It's not much, but for me it's practical.  I have a retractable ID clip that I attach scissors to when stitching but I wanted a place to keep them together and grab easily.  More importantly, I know where they are!

I was visiting blogs the other day and saw Nicole's Hawk Run stitching.  The designs in this series are wonderful but the completed piece isn't really my style.  Yet every time I see someone stitching a Hawk, I love it and would like to stitch a few.  Has anyone ever stitched these individually for ornaments on a Hawk Run tree?  I would like to try that, using different linen colors and a small twig or wire tree for display. 

France F will certainly be finished in a day or so.   There is another project hanging in the back of my brain that I will probably start and that's a Santa box.  These other little items are thrown together without a pattern or plan and if they don't end well, I burn them.  But painting Santa isn't something to throw together on a whim, so I need to make sure it's not an ADD day.   I found more Aida and even weave plus the afghan fabric so I will be stalking Amish women in parking lots again.  It's not easy to approach strangers and try to give them something without some apprehension on their part.  I'm still up in the air on the huge linen tablecloth, thinking I could use that beautiful fabric for backing, but it was meant to be a cloth gracing a large family table.  

Well boys and girls, I'm running out of potato chips, so I need to check on the cheese drawer, possibly hit the freezer for a fried glazed donut.  YES!!  Good idea.   I am so tired of the flashes but on days like these, I would welcome them.

Thanks for visiting!  Talk to you soon.... 

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