What the heck am I doing?

Good day to you all.  Just wanted to let you know that I am still

stitching, just not very much!  Took my brace off last week and there is no difference.  When I hold something or turn it a certain way, pain radiates toward the elbow slowly, right after distorting my face enough to pull back a jowl. 

So this is where I am with Mary.  Looking at it, I don't understand why none of the darker blues looked good to me. 

Maybe it was one of those weeks where no matter what I do, I'm not satisfied.  Regardless, I'm leaving this lighter blue.  But tomorrow starts a new week so .....

And this is what has been taking up a lot of my time.  Talk about not being satisfied.  Some times I will print the same label over 10 times because I don't like the tone of the linen and I try to get all in a set to be the same hue.  My sister can't figure out how we are sisters ~  exact opposites.  You can see how much stock and ink I use!!   I really haven't had a lot of time to check on blogs so I need to do some catch up.  This new Blogger dashboard is a pain and I can't see as many at one time as I used to.

We went into Volant on our way to Grove City outlets and I stopped at the antique shop.  Last time I was there and bought the nasty cabinet, I left behind two sweet little rolling pins.  Only one was left.  It's only 1 1/2" wide, and I brought home this very small divided box and cream can, too.

Finally, I put up the Halloween tree.  Our pin oak provided a wonderfully craggy limb one year that I sprayed black and decorated and liked it much better than this one. 

Thanks for the kind thoughts about my leg surgery.  It's really nothing - local anesthesia and a little scary whenever they go into the veins, but I'm more concerned about the 40 minute car ride!  I am always white knuckled on the road because of my neck condition and fear of an accident.  My sister is driving me so my preaching and her arguing should make it go pretty quick.  As for the giveaway, to answer some emails, you get all 4 bags.  They are from Pat Catan's since Hobby Lobby and Michaels have none that I found.   This week will be busy so how about a Friday night (28th) drawing at 8 pm.  If you didn't state in your comment that you want the bells, please do so.  Just click on the offer's photo at the top, and let me know in the comments.

That's all for now.  I have a mess to clean up and chocolate to eat.  Guess which one is a sure thing.

Once again, I appreciate your visit and I thank you. 

Have a great start to the last week of September. 

That was very painful to type.  I'm still mourning the end of August.

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For whom the bells toll

WHAT?  Does Blogger not understand there are women in various phases of menopause and PMS?  Are they crazy?   No choice any more, we have to accept the new format.  It's really not too different except for drop down menus and of course, I can't find my dashboard.  I posted a question in Google groups and received a reply that I need to go to www.blogger.com/home to see my dashboard and reader lists.  There is supposed to be a blue button on all format pages to click which takes you back to dashboard, but I don't have one.  So going to the home page and signing in, staying signed in, will take you there.  I saved it to Favorites and moved it to the #1 position so I can click readily.  I'm sure we'll get used to it and when the kinks are worked out, it will be running smoothly.  Until then, I hate it.

I've been visiting the doc getting ready for my EVLA (burn your varicose veins with a laser and catheter) in office surgery which is next Tuesday and then again two weeks later.  I got mapped today and although it's just a wavy thick blue line from ankle to crotch, I feel funky.  My first rub off tattoo at 61.  And my only. 

 I'm also working on a few boxes, one of which is the Mary Antrim that recently sold for over a million.  I did this on 3 sizes of round boxes. It's only the top portion and it's been in public domain for a while.  I wish I could do antique samplers on the boxes but I've asked sites that feature them and was told no every time.  They didn't stitch them and if a pattern is not charted for sale, I don't understand the problem.  Anyway, I'm still working on Mary when I can and thought about changing the blue again.  It's too light, and I'm too fussy about some things and too lax about other aspects of stitching.  Still want to talk about that but not today. 

This post is for ................ another little giveaway. 

I was at Hobby Lobby and Michaels today after my appointment and realized that rusty jingle bells are not easy to find.  So would you like some?  Don't know if you have access to any but thought it would be a nice offer for Christmas ornaments.  Now these are not painted rust, they are real rust!  I wipe them and then slide on to a very tight string line and spray them with a clear matte finish.  There are several sizes. 6 of 25mm, 45 of 18mm, 50 of 12mm, and 25 of 9mm.   So what do you think?  Interested?  If so, leave a comment on this post only and I will announce when the entries will end in a few days.  With the blogger changes, I'll give it at least a week. 

 Did you notice the miniature corn?  I've had it for years and wish I could find more.  They are so sweet and I just love the red strawberry corn.   I should probably check online.

For Joyce, sorry I can't answer your email since you are no-reply so I'll post it here.  I use Google's Picasa to do a collage for headers. Click on Help, How to, Edit and Create, Slideshows and Collages.  It will explain what to do.  Lots of options for sizes and layouts and you can preview it all first before saving.  It took me a while to get the hang of it and since it's been a while, I forgot most of it.

That's all I have.

Don't forget - tell me in the comments if you would like to be included in the bells offer.
Hope your weekend starts well and ends fabulous. 

Welcome to new followers and thank you all again for taking the time to visit!

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Gluing 101

Greetings.  It's rainy and dark today, still fairly warm but that will change tomorrow.  I gave in to Fall crap and bought a pumpkin.  Well,  I bought more than one and also a few mums.  They're out front and I'm liking the lime green sweet potato vine with the orange.  Yes, I'm still hanging on to summer plants including the marigolds here.  I usually pot some in yellow and orange and when fall rolls around, I try to pass them off as mums.  Close enough.  But I couldn't pass up the beautiful rust ones I found for $3.99.

I know this will probably get a few (or more) stitchers upset, but I was working with glue today and thought I would show how I close seams when I choose not to stitch.  First off, I didn't take a photo of the actual amount of glue.  I spotted the red/brown Dove chocolate bag and lost my train of thought for a moment.  A tiny amount spread evenly is all that you need of Liquid Stitch.  I've tried other fabric glues but still prefer this brand since it's very tacky and grabs quickly.  Even after several minutes, you can still reopen if needed to adjust. 

When you close the seam and press gently, if you don't have batting or interfacing behind the fabric it will sometimes grab the outside layer. There will be a little indentation like this.

Pinch the seam and kind of roll the fabric until it's loose and not attached.  You won't hurt the glued seam and you can easily pinch it shut again if it should come open.  So here's the seam.

If stuffing is not to the edge, take a long strong and sharp needle and insert at an angle into the fabric.

Twist or rotate the needle towards the seam.  I also do this for corners when needed.  The needle grabs some of the stuffing and moves it to the area.  Not a lot, but enough to fill any voids.  It's usually not necessary when using the thick batting because it will stay in place right to the edge.  You already know this, but I'm covering all the bases. 

Now you're probably wondering what the heck I was gluing. 

By now, you know that I can never leave well enough alone.  In fact, I started making a few more.  I just love fabric.  I've been buying fat quarters in such beautiful prints, but they are not something I would use on the backs of more primitive stitchery, so I'm working on pincushions.

And on this day, 75 years ago, Dominic wed Stella. My Aunt Kay, dad's sister, is next to mom, and mom's sister Jenny is in the middle. They were married 65 years when dad passed.

So that's it. I'm making smoked pork chops with mom's scalloped potatoes from scratch.  You know how it was - no one ever measured - so it's usually different every time.  No cheese in these, just the milk, flour, butter, onions, and black pepper.  So good.

Welcome to new followers!  I thank you all for reading and wish you a wonderful day.

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When is that pill coming out?

Hi everyone.  I just don't understand why we have a pill for every possible ailment and disorder except for that pesky decision making.  And BTW, spellchecker still hasn't put menobrain or hysterectobelly into their files.  No one listens to me.  This change isn't as much of being indecisive as it is for aesthetics.   Beside the point.  I still want a pill.  I did two rows of the 503 and thought it was too bright.  Yes, it's soft and medium toned but it looked bright against those muted threads. 
Is it still there?  No.  Lots of stitch removal.

And I have to say, the Uncle Bill's tweezers that Carole send to me made it a lot easier.  No leftover fuzz and twice as quick to remove.  I owe her for this help, so I made this heart pincushion with a crushed shell strawberry.  Hope she likes it.  I used to make items like this and took most into the needlework shop of years ago.  Back then (25 years ago) I tried a few patchwork quilted hearts but didn't enjoy the work involved so put a price of $2 on each just to get rid of them.  The next day, the owner called and told me she had taken an order for 40 of them to use as favors for a birthday party.  Yikes!!  My mistake for not making it clear they were one of a kind and not priced for orders.  The lady was a good customer and wanted each to be different.  Since it was my fault I had no choice but to oblige.  Lesson learned.

Got off track there.  Here's Mary as of last night.  When I removed the 503 I also removed all the offending blue.  Another mistake I made originally was testing 3768 which is a little darker than 926, thinking the latter would be too light.  I should have tested both because that slight difference made it work.  926 it is, sticking with a blue like Mary's original work.  Next will be to change the gold to a lighter shade.  That will be the end, and worth the hassle to be pleased. 

One more thing that was brought up in my comments ~

Yes I did get mentioned in Cross Stitch & Needlework magazine!  I am grateful for the honor and found that my local JoAnn carries it.  Lots of great information and sources, published 6 times a year.  Their website has downloads for patterns in addition to helpful information at the bottom of the page from previous issues.  That's where I found an article I printed for Stitching Over One.  Simple and just one page to keep with the charts since some things refuse to stick in my mind and I need referral notes.  I can still remember all my friends' phone numbers from school, but need refreshers for stitching!   I found a nice article with photos on Needlework Shop Travel Guide.  In the free projects, I was tickled to find a product that is totally new to me. DMC's Soluble Canvas.  I found a video on You Tube showing a project for stitching a design onto a jacket using this and I've already come up with a few ideas.  So I've learned some things and found a product I didn't know existed and this is just from their website, so check out the entire magazine and see what you think!  How did I not know about this soluble stuff??  I see it's available through online shops and also on Amazon, but I usually browse for charts and never think to look at other products.  Well that answers my question, doesn't it.

It's warm today, the boys are outside tussling, and I plan to sit out there and stitch this afternoon since it will be chilly this week.  Husband is making Greek spaghetti before the Steelers come on so I hope to get quite a bit done.

Welcome to new followers, thanks again for participating in my offer (I have a few more I'm trying to get ready), and for taking time to visit!  Stay safe.

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Whew! Finally a winner.

Took me a while to enter all the names in the List Randomizer.  But it shuffled and numbered and generated basketsnprims as the winner.   Pam, please send me your address and I'll get this in the mail to you Monday.  Thanks to all who entered!   This offer had the most entries of any and I so appreciate your interest and participation.   There will be a few more to come before the end of this year, so stay tuned!!  I'll be back tomorrow!

I did the right thing

Hello boys and girls!  First off, just wanted to show that I have been stitching behind the scenes.  Trying to make new labels, I combined my sampler bag chart with another design.  The round boxes are easier to get and are not cock-eyed like some of the ovals.  This is the largest 6"x6" but I can adapt this design to the 5" and 4" too. I'm still working on a few others while stitching Mary.  Speaking of her...I removed the line of stitching and correctly followed the chart for Mary's name.  In the instructions, it does show the "offset" stitches being one thread over from the others, but I still had trouble until I found the secret that no one told me. 

Stitch the border beneath that line first, and you can line up the entire row by following the border stitches.   They told me when to be offset and when to line up.  Easy peasy.  But I'm still not happy.  The linen color could be the cause, but these floss hues are not setting well with me.  The majority of the verse is blue DMC #161 which I thought was too strong.  So I tried 931 dipped in the gray dye.  Still not happy.  Looked through my color cards and came up empty with the blues.  The 611 and 632 are fine, the ecru changed to a gold since it was invisible, but it seemed a blue looked out of place.   Nothing really wrong with it and others may like it, but I just thought the blue was too cold, and the brighter blues too bright for my taste.  Here's the blue and the cover-up with the 500 series I chose.

So it looks like the end result will not be the colors of the Mary's original design.  Does that bother some stitchers?  Yep.  Does it bother me?  Nope.  If the stitcher is not pleased with what she is creating in her hand, what is the point?  I asked last year if you thought a designer would be insulted by our changing colors after they labored over their design to find what they felt was perfect.  This is one of the topics I want to post in the near future.  For now, I really like the 501 and 502 in the main body, and may use 503 in place of the gold, or change the gold to a different hue.  I love the sampler, want to finish it, and not regret choices when it's on the wall.

I want to show you my new basket, too.  I custom ordered a basket from Ann at 1803 Ohio Farm Baskets for my new nasty cupboard and love it.  I chose her long skinny basket with higher sides and shorter handle.  For years I've been searching for a basket for the tank lid (of the commode) to hold items and this fits the bill.  Perfect side height for the standard tissue box, with lots of room for other items.  I can even lay a piece of homespun over the contents.  It's staying where I had planned but the width makes it usable almost anywhere, including mantels.

That's all for now.  I sure hope I don't forget to draw a name tomorrow!  Until then, enjoy your weekend start and thank you for visiting.

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