Decision made - move down

Howdy.  As you can tell, I've had the blues about Mary.  I want to move on to Pumroy and thought Mary would be quick stitch.  And she should have been.  Still not happy with the blue and haven't decided if it will change.  So I've moved down.  I visually counted and also ran a thread for a more accurate count and I am in the correct row.  This bottom area of motifs is charted in the square, not on the line, which is why I moved 3 threads from my checkpoint.  That entire verse area is one thread over between letters instead of two and now I will be back to normal.  Well... the stitching anyway.

I had one of those days Monday of playing lost and found.  Problem is, most of the lost have remained so.  I had two perfectly shaped pears sitting on my counter waiting to be poked with cloves.  The raccoon had them last night because they turned bad ~ still haven't found my cloves.  I needed Scotch tape when I was working on boxes so went up to the craft room for a new roll.  Spotted that red/brown bag and grabbed some chocolate, decided to go into the bedroom for my painting sweatshirt, saw the compression stocking for my next day surgery, remembered we needed toilet paper in the bath downstairs, caught a glimpse of my fat quarters as I headed for the stairs.   The tape never made it to the kitchen, the toilet paper was left in the craft room, the Dove chocolate was on the dresser in the bedroom, the stockings were in the closet where the TP was, the fat quarters made it downstairs, and I still haven't found the sweatshirt.  Do you know how many trips up and down the steps I made to discover where I had left these items?  On top of it all, I had a box label in my hand on the very first trip for tape, didn't realize it, and later found it under the Dove bag.  Since I didn't even know I was carrying it, I had no idea where it had gone and tore the kitchen apart looking for it.  The cloves are still missing, and so is the pincushion I made for Carol that I showed recently, which is why I was looking through the fabric again.   My rooms are small, my house is not big, but my distraction quotient is obviously vast.

Thanks for the comments about my little Halloween tree.  It's made of wire, which you can do yourself by twisting multiple gauges to form a trunk. Twist additional wire strands together and then up the trunk and out at various levels to form twisted limbs.  I am sorry my pin oak tree is gone (and don't remember the details) because it was perfect for ornaments.  Apple limbs (including ornamental crabs) are the craggiest and best but they don't last forever like the oak.  These are a few dead ones I took off trees the other day.   Perfect for stitched ornaments of all sizes.

 And thank you also for the well wishes for the leg zapping.  Didn't go as smoothly as it should have.  They ran into an area of the vein that was constricted and couldn't get through.  So.  They made another entry point in the thigh and it happened to be at a nerve cluster.  I have to say it was unnerving, but not painful, to feel something moving in my leg.  The fluid injections to numb and protect surrounding tissue from the laser's heat were directly into the vein up and down the leg and not painless.  Not.  Very sore and pulling today and will be for weeks, but certainly tolerable.  The other leg will be done in two weeks and hopefully will be one entry point and a lot quicker.  Not a bad procedure to have done and hopefully worth it.  I had to stop somewhere on the way home to walk (necessary to keep moving) so Jimmy's Italian store was it.  Taralli, cannoli, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, fresh mozzarella balls, variety of olives, and 5# of ricotta came home with me.  My sister drove because I can't turn my head to the left for merging into traffic, and I am "directionally challenged".  I can get lost in town.  She goes everywhere and always boasts about her driving ability.  We're on the interstate and signs appears for three options.  "Where do we go?" she asks.  WHAT!!!  What do you mean???  You go everywhere!!!  And yes she does, but never on an interstate.  We took the correct lane and were fine, but my GPS came out of the console after that.

Drawing for the jingle bells Friday ~ sorry I can't help with rusty safety pins.  I have seen them on EBay (homemade I believe) but not at my craft store.  I use  Rustoleum's flat enamel in #214085 Flat Brown to mimic rust.  A light uneven and quick spray of black over it is added on bigger items, and sometimes I reverse the paint color to be the rusty brown over black. Their Multicolor Texture paint in #223523 Autumn Brown is good too, but the Flat Brown is the same color as true rust.

I'm done.  Must keep moving!  I can't take a walk outside because of the rain so will wander around the house for the required 20 minutes.  You never know, I may find some missing items.

Thanks for visiting!!  Have a wonderful day.

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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!