Marking samplers and sources #2!

Hello stitching buds. I'm almost finished with the over one (AUGH!!) on Eunice and decided on a simple black frame. I messed up with the starting point of the single thread journey and it's one thread off in the top area. You can see how close it is to the V. Too bad. There was no way I was removing it, even though I caught it at this point.

I wanted to answer a few questions emailed to me about finding out of print charts and ordering new ones. First off, Thistle Needleworks has a listing of #19801 through #43000 of older charts, many of which are already gone.  You can use Control+F keys to create a search bar at the top for a particular item or designer, or just browse through.  Another is Old Stitch and you can choose a category to browse.  There isn't a lot of samplers but they have a nice selection of Christmas, Santas, and other topics.  Inventory seems to change often so check back.  Another that I have never ordered from is Cobweb Corner. And of course, there's Ebay.  When I search for a particular design, I save it.  Getting an email whenever the item first lists saves me from constantly checking and I won't miss an opportunity to bid.  I received an email a few days ago that the Plantation Sampler was newly listed as Buy it Now for $4.95 with free shipping.  Needless to say, it didn't last long.  Without these email notifications, lots of charts are gone before I even know they were listed!

As for purchasing, a lot of designs I did in the past and even now are from The Scarlet Letter, and R&R Reproductions.  I prefer marking samplers and found a great selection with these two.  You can order both through Homespun Samplar, which I just did again.  I haven't found the R&R selection anywhere else and for the $5 and up prices along with the quality of their packets, a great deal.   There are other online shops that I use too and one carrying the R&R charts whose name I can't remember!  She has much clearer photos of the pieces than Homespun does and although I Googled, still can't find her.  I prefer the marking style for several reasons, #1 being that I am a stitch wimp.  I prefer simple stitching.  #2, if I had to constantly change thread colors or count numerous linen threads to place a small element, I would give up.  When an intense hot flash hits, it makes me fidgety and I have to get up, walk around, open a door, jump out a window, stand in front of an open fridge, all of the above, bathe.  When I settle down and return, coming back to a row of letters or a large house is much easier than having to locate and count in a motif or large border.  And #3, I like 'em.  The simplistic alphabet, primitive creatures, houses, and odd elements of a stitching lesson, are what drew me to samplers in the beginning.  Sure there were young ladies who created elaborate and complex samplers, but I prefer to stitch their laid-back cousin's work.  Viewing these pieces is fascinating and I enjoy seeing all types, but for now I have no patience to stitch them so in my stash they will stay.

I wanted to link a sweet free chart that Ann was nice enough to pass along from the Gentle Art folks here.  Another that has some of my favorite frees is The Workbasket.

My husband makes these egg pancakes called Pizzarelles with wild mushrooms and he decided to modify the recipe for zucchini. No mushrooms yet! It's chopped bell peppers, onions, lots of eggs, parmesan, seasoned bread crumbs, and twice squeezed shredded zukes fried in very little oil. Damn they were good. We even ate them cold. I think we should all post at least one of our go-to zuke recipes this month. And don't forget about the chocolate zucchini cake recipe I posted! Fabulous.

Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe and enjoy the final month of summer which is breaking my heart.

Thank you much for visiting!!

Added note - my preview of the first post was fine but after seeing the post - it was all HTML and I couldn't correct it so hopefully this new post will be OK.

Marking samplers and sources

Hello stitching buds.  I'm almost finished with the over one (AUGH!!) on Eunice and decided on a simple black frame.  I messed up with the starting point of the single thread journey and it's one thread off in the top area.   You can see how close it is to the V.   Too bad.  There was no way I was removing it, even though I caught it at this point.

 

I wanted to answer a few questions emailed to me about finding out of print charts and ordering new ones.  First off,  Thistle Needleworks has quite a listing of older books. 
OBVIOUSLY A PROBLEM WITH BLOGGER!  WILL TRY TO CORRECT AND REPOST.

Fried salami and other goodies

Another two in a row!  Hi all.  Just a few things I wanted to show before I forget. 

First off, how the heck did I miss this opportunity?  This was my last basket purchase from James Creek and it's from Ragon-  the really stiff painted ones.  This one is a monster but I can't pass up an unusual size and shape.  I was getting some things ready for the framer and decided to do Fanny Erb when it hit me.  Here she is!  I'll show you how I did this one.

First off, fold the top down and press.  Cut a piece of mylar (the clear stiff stuff in the stencil section) to fit, and machine sew on a basting stitch.

If you do this on the outside, you can use a strong double back tape to hold it to whatever you are using for display without the tape coming in contact with the linen.  That doesn't bother me since I've never had a problem.  I sewed mine to the inside because I planned on pinning, but this hard surface was not easy to pierce so I may move it to the outside and end up with the tape. Just secure to the top  right under the rim and flip it over.  I used double back tape on the bottom edges since the basket is angled and Fanny was hanging out too far.  The tape really doesn't stick that well to the linen because of the weave not allowing complete contact.  Regardless, if and when I frame, this area would be turned back for mounting. 

 And I love what this little area did to Eunice.  I changed the 224 to 3772 in the body and decided to use 300 instead of the pink in the bottom area.  Love it.  Then that black border cinched it for me.  A motif, date, and over one in black is left and I'm going to have her

framed.

Do you remember the large cupboard we were working on months ago?   I finally made a decision on colors and am doing the painting to get another project completed.  I chose a dark taupe for the under color since I'm tiring of black, and a very dark brownish red for the top color.  I'm using a technique that is really primitive. Here's one of the small doors.

Now for fried salami.  I don't eat fried or greasy foods and was really disappointed when my 6 month cholesterol check came back with the bad number HIGHER, even with meds and fish oil.  I love salami and once in a great while, I sneak a few slices.  I throw the slices in a non stick pan and brown them (microwave works too and very quickly!) while they release a lot of fat.  A LOT of fat.  Dab with paper towels to remove even more.  They shrink and the flavor is intensified.  On garlic bread with Land O Lakes 5 cheese Italian blend....heaven!  Getting them really crisp and crumbling into a salad is divine too.  

And finally, the mushball and his last offspring, Nitwit.  You can tell just by looking at those eyes that he fits his name.

That's all folks!!!  Eunice will be making her final appearance soon.  Thank you so much for visiting with me - it is much appreciated - and have a wonderful week!

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Eunice, Google, the cat, and the bird

Hiya.  I have wasted more than two days trying to get the Google translator box to appear and I don't know if it will be working so please bear with me if there is a problem. I have two "practice" blogs that are not published and there was no problem at all with the bar, but this published one was a pain. I ended up with my own fix and held my breath. It worked! But if the other problems continue, I will remove it. For the size and reach of Google, you would think they could have answers for us, but even the forums don't reply anymore. On to Eunice.

I made two errors that really aren't important except for sizing this almost perfectly square design. The last two lines on the rice stitched alphabet were to be two threads down, and I did four. I may compensate on bottom border since I am planning on a square frame. I haven't worked on Pumroy because I'm taking the smaller Eunice outside to stitch, which has become a little difficult.

My big old warrior has turned into a mushball of love since being snipped and won't leave me alone.

There's only a small area left at the bottom plus the limited over one stitching to the right of the Z, which isn't enough to get my feathers ruffled.

Now for my new bird. We've never seen this beauty before and after checking a few books, think it's a Prothonotary Warbler, but he doesn't have the dark beak. Photos aren't the greatest but take a look at this guy!

Isn't he beautiful? We may have the identification wrong but we're pretty sure it's a Warbler of some sort.

I made a trip to the Olde English Shoppe which closed this weekend and found another cupboard at half off.  I couldn't pass it up because I also learned that The Hidden Den, another great shop about an hour from here is closing.  I have no choice but to get back to making my own items.  This is a good sized corner unit and is tall enough to set on the floor.  I plan on repainting and aging, removing the half door and adding a full length, and possibly a top with moulding.

That's all I got!  I've been busy with the Google crap and spent a few days discarding craft items and such.  If I haven't used it and am keeping it only because I MAY use it in the future - it's out of here.  The less I have, the more I can focus on what I enjoy the most.   I want the background static to be reduced to a pleasing hum.  Or Elvis.  Toby Keith.  Chuck Berry.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.  Stay safe, thank you so much for visiting, talk to you soon!

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Some new found freebies

 Two in a row!   These are the other mentions I left out of yesterday's post.  Many of you may be familiar with Sub Rosa but for the rest of you - it is certainly worth a look.  How did I miss this blog????  I found a free design called Birds of a Feather in my files and had a hard time deciphering the web address.  But am I glad I did!!  This page HERE has wonderful free smalls in a more primitive style and I like them all.  I translated the blog so it may come up in English but she has a translate button at the top for you.  Her main blog page is HERE and certainly one I will be following.

I've obviously visited before since I have the Birds design but as with many of my bookmarks, must have been lost.  This is Birds of a Feather.

And this is Locks and Keys.  Two of my favorites!  I will need to spend some time this evening going through her blog and see what I've missed.

I was at JoAnn's last week and the quilting supplies were all 50% off.  I've been wanting the Stitch Starter little corner thingy for marking your fabric and came across this similar item from Omnigrid.   Mark will drill little holes through the 2 and 3 inch corners.  I don't know if the original has them but I would like to pull a strand of floss through the measurement to mark the spot.  Plus it has a larger hole from displaying in the store, which can be threaded with ribbon to tie or hang on a bag.

 I can make my own padded case for it (but will probably clip it to something) and thought it was a good substitute.  I figured I would lose misplace it eventually so I was being cheap cost-effective since this was cheaper than the shipping charges alone.

And I was right.  I just looked for the darn thing to take a photo for you and couldn't find it.  I tore up the sewing room, the stitching mess in the parlor, and found it in the family room on top of the pie safe.   Why there?????  When they are again at half off I will get another and tape it to the back of the TV.  Just in case.  I always know where the TV is.

Enjoy your day!  Thanks for visiting!!

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Olde Santas, Eunice, and a decision

Hello friends.  Another not so great weekend so my progress on Eunice isn't as much as I would like. About all I can do today is stitch so I'm hoping to complete another two rows of the slow rice stitch.   I'm so frustrated with not being able to locate items, and the mess I have with craft stash that contributes to it.  So I'm donating many items to the local pre-schools and nursing homes.  Lots of Mom's knick knacks were taken to the homes since they can give them as prizes for bingo, and some of my craft kits were accepted too.  In the past I've also taken various items to local flea markets and asked vendors if they wanted them to sell.  I better warn you, this is kind of a useless post.  Here we go.

 My decision is that I'm giving up painting.  Making a decision feels good, making more will feel great, and I plan to continue.  The shaker boxes left over will be used for pincushion or stitched tops.  Wooden heart boxes will be crackled and all others will be donated.  I have small and medium gourds that will be used for display or garland, no more Santa gourds either.  So these photos of two boxes are all that's left, since I only kept these two small gourds and didn't photograph my works.  I didn't expect them to sell so well and should have kept a journal of designs.  A big seller was a  large gourd of him in long underwear and suspenders with a cup of coffee.  Formal Santa wore a red sport coat with tie and wedding ring.  Others had a stethoscope and clipboard for a doctor, and camo boots with a license on his back for an outdoorsman.  I enjoyed creating him in different styles and I have some sadness but it's time to empty these cupboards of paints, supplies, and items I am not using.

 

Even though they took forever to do, since I've had no training or proper supplies, they were both fun and frustrating to paint.  Goodbye Santa!  I'll see you in stitches!

Wouldn't these little ring boxes make cute thimble boxes?  I also have two basket kits from 25 years ago!  They should be complete, I will never use them, so out they go.

 

 And here's my new pincushion along with an old coverlet piece pillow that I found for little $$$ yesterday.

  Back to stitching.  I bought this pattern years ago from Fanci That and get a chuckle every time I look at her.  This is Stella's Brooms n Brellas and Mom was named Stella.  I was looking through some Santa charts and think this may be my next one.

This series of charts from the 80's are all adopted from antique post cards.  They range from 39 to 63 stitches wide, and 85 to 97 high.  I put them on EBay a while back and no one bid so I decided to keep them mainly because of their detail and small size. 

Wouldn't they make great ornaments for a feather tree?  As you know, I have plenty of trees, so these 14 would be perfect for a postcard Santa tree.  Fourteen????  Maybe not.  I'll be in that home getting a knick knack for a bingo win before those are completed.  I have a few more things to show but that's way too much already. 

So I will close with a thank you to everyone who commented on the needle cards.  I'm glad you liked them and it gave you an idea for displaying your collections.  One more photo - this is the wall in my sewing room and I love how they look.

 Thank you again for staying to the end of a kind of useless post, but I was up all night so please excuse the mishmash.

Have a great week!  Thank you for visiting.

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