Mar 14, 2013

Interrupted by a cat fight!

Hi everyone.  Mary would have been completed if not for my warrior's bad attitude.  Honestly, I thought having him neutered would help but he is so territorial.  Bud is very calm and sweet, until he spots another of his kind.  I have two other strays that want to come for food and he tears into them.  I was working on the final flower when I heard it.  It was already dark and they ran to the woods where I couldn't distract them.  After that, I was searching the yard with spotlights trying to find them and so upset I couldn't concentrate to finish.  He's fine today, but I worry about the others. 
The bottom of this sampler has some wacky looking two color odd leaves in the center and I didn't care for them so I just repeated the outside leaves.  The right hand flower will complete her this evening.
 And now, some things you are not interested in but I'm showing them anyway.  In my closet and drawer travels, I came across a few more old items from mom, and this wonderful little girl's 13" ivory necklace that my sister's old boyfriend bought for me when he was overseas in the service 50 years ago.   I tried to have this appraised to sell years ago and no one around here has dealt with old ivory so I still have it in my drawer. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
You can see the cross hatching on the ivory and it passed the heat test.   At that time, it was legal to sell and I understand that poaching is rampant once again.  I say shoot the poacher!  Did you know that the amazing elephants actually shed tears and grieve for their lost?  They gather around the sick and dying, and each one gently nudges their lost member to say goodbye.  
I also found mom's old fan that she carried when church was stifling.  This was also a gift from old what's his name.

And here we have the staple of all the older woman in my family for keeping rain off their perfectly styled hair.  My aunt was never without one in her purse.  They are large and patterned, fold into a flat little case, and I need to find a lady who has been looking for one.
I'm not one to throw anything away that someone else could use.  Part of my recycling mentality I guess.  My young neighbors put out sofas, chairs, desks, anything they are replacing with newer pieces and there isn't a thing wrong with the old.  It sits on the roadside waiting for the garbage pickup.  That really irritates me.  Do they not realize someone would be happy to have it, or do they not care?  I've heard from many people that they are tired of donating because too many expect, instead of appreciate, but it doesn't matter.  Usage is always better than a landfill.  And no, they don't like it when you try to talk to them about it.  Young people with attitudes and I do not mix.
BOOM.
That was me jumping off the soapbox.
Have a great day!!  Thank you for visiting and all your kind words about Mary.
Also, I truly appreciate the offer of greetings for my cousin, but Donna believes that it would upset Marcie because she doesn't understand some things.   They all feel that cards from someone she doesn't know will confuse her and she gets frustrated trying to understand.  She took a step the other day with assistance so albeit slow, it's still progress!!
 

Mar 13, 2013

When bad samplers go quickly

Hi everyone.  Looky looky.
The stitches aren't perfect and I changed the horizontal stem to vertical in a few places.   It didn't take long at all to do this side. I had to steam steam steam the linen to restore the stretched areas from my prior stitching but I think it will be fine when mounted.  I'm so surprised that this was completed in one sitting with no frogging, unlike prior attempts. 
 
 
 
Do you think this had something to do with it?
 
I found several St. Clare images but this was my favorite.  Crackled and aged looking in beautiful colors.  If you're wondering when the tags will be for sale, so am I.  I thought this would be a really cheap ship because of the size but our postal service claims 1/4" thick is a package.  Anyway, I need to get the envelopes ordered and I'm still working out a few more designs.  They will probably be $8 or $8.50 including the snap ring for hanging, plus shipping. 
 
So here is Mary with just the bottom to finish and then I'm moving on to the pile of possibilities that will create a decision making dilemma.  Do you think Clare can help me with that? 
Mary certainly is different and I think she will frame nicely. 
 I wish you all a pleasant week with happy stitching,
good coffee, and dark chocolate.
 

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Mar 12, 2013

When good samplers go bad

Good grief.  What a mess I'm making.  Are those curved stem stitch lines on the chart for one row or two?  Is there a trick to stitching on a curve or is my gripping tension the problem?  Whatever I'm doing wrong is making me change the design.   Take a look at how the linen is stretched and wonky.  I started with two rows and then changed to one, forgot that the stitch is to be started at the END of the prior, not in the middle, and after removing it several times, I may not try again. 
 
 
 
 
 
The right side scallops were charted as cross stitch for most and I filled two more with it to avoid any more frustration.  The left side only has two with cross, the rest are curved stems. Will I try again?  Probably.  The stitches are so easy to do and I'm considering changing the stem to chain ~ maybe this will help?  We'll see.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I can always fill with cross stitches but they can't be done in curved lines.  At this point.....you know the rest.  What about the bottom?  Not sure.  If it starts badly, I'll stop and try to mimic the side scallops.  Whatever, I just want to finish it before I get really discouraged and leave it.  The Scarlet Letter always states the experience level for their designs.  Well I'm not an intermediate level needleworker and won't pretend to be ever again.  I miss my marking samplers!!!  I promise never to stray again!!   Remember St. Clare, the patron saint of stitchers?  This article is one of several about St. Clare of Assisi, friend to Francis, and namesake of Assisi embroidery.  And as I'm typing this, I'm thinking of sizing her image to put on a floss tag.  Think it will help?
Enjoy your day.  Thank you so much for visiting and welcome to new followers!
 
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Mar 10, 2013

Whew!

That was a lot of names to enter!  And here they are randomized.  The numbers beside a few names are the date and time of the entry so I can identify from others of the same name.
And the generator chose number 57.
Carmen Sutton  from Cardan Antiques & Needlework!
Several times the winners have not been bloggers but not this time.
Congrats Carmen.  I'll email you soon.
Thank you again to everyone that participated.

Frickin freehand

Hello people.  What a gorgeous warm and sunny day we have in PA.  Hope you're enjoying your weather and a peaceful Sunday.  As my husband was watching golf on TV, the local announcer mentioned during a break that six local teenagers were killed in an auto accident this morning.  That certainly changed the mood.  As we all have heard many times, life changes in an instant.
First off, I am floored by the response to my tags!  Thank you so much ~ I'm so glad you like them.
  
Now for Mary.  I said how much I enjoyed doing these simple but different stitches, but I can honestly say that I do NOT like freehand.  Progress has been slow because of  removing and repositioning, even though I had my actual size graph to follow.  Not sure if I will follow the chart for the border's scallop designs but the bottom vines of the chart leave me no choice. 
Love this sampler but not enjoying it any longer.  Why am I letting it bother me?  I am a reckless stitcher who doesn't follow rules so if I am incorrect in a leaf position, why do I care?  Freehand is exactly that and should be an interpretation.  Honestly, I allow some of the dumbest things to bother me!
Several of you commented on the rabbit.  It's an old design from Homespun Elegance called Mr. Hare.  There is one chart available here, and I'm sure it's also somewhere on Ebay. This was stitched by my SIL on Klostern but it's not 7 count.  I have another piece of the Klostern in a darker color and you can see it's smaller than 7. 
I had quite a bit of this stuff in two colors, and several yards of 7 count.  All was sold on Ebay by including this fabric with the Cinnamon Stick series santa charts.  I like this smaller count but haven't found any online so I don't know if it's still available.
Added - I received info that the fabric may be Heatherfield which comes in a 10 count, and the chart has been reprinted.  Thank you Carol!!!
That's it.  I'll be back this evening with the winner and I want to thank everyone again for participating!
Enjoy your evening! 
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Mar 7, 2013

Tag - you're it!


Greetings!  My followers reached 600 this evening, and you know what that means!   Yep.  Another offer.  I've never put restrictions on any giveaways and decided this one would be for followers only, and then of course changed my mind.  No restrictions.  Very soon I will be selling these sampler tags with snap rings, for attaching to anything you would like, or to slip on a larger floss ring. 
 I will offer a set of 3, your choice, to the name drawn on this Sunday 3/10 at 8pm EST.  Please leave your name on this post only, anonymous PLEASE leave your name or initials.  There may be more designs , but these are my favorites so far.  If I don't like something, I don't sell it!  They are stained wood, 2 1/2" x 3".
So there you have it.  Don't you get tired of me pushing things on you?  Always trying to get rid of something!
Have a good evening ~ leave your name only if you want to enter.  Thank you!
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