For the online linen buyer

Greetings! 

 Looks good, huh?  I got it close enough, it doesn't have the hand-dyed variations or the stiffness of my original, but for small projects it's perfect.  This is an unbleached that I dyed because I am afraid to mess with the newest pieces.  They are already hand-dyed and not to be wet, so I may ruin it all by trying to dip in my colors.  I'm not sure what the plan will be for the last piece since its hand is too soft for me.  It's a beautiful fabric for sure, but I need to think about it.  I have many R&R hand-dyed colors and all are 30 count and fairly stiff, so I was puzzled by this softness and sheen.  If I would have printed out this information from Needle in a Haystack, I would have know.  But then again, I think I did and just don't know where it is. 

This information lists fabrics and their available counts, and what companies use which manufacturers for specific linens.  A great help to me because I can see which linen maker is used by each hand-dyed vendor.  The 28 count Rook I just received is very different in feel from the 30 count and checking this chart, I see that the two counts are from different companies.  The 28 count hand-dyed R&R is from Zweigart, and their 30 count is Northern Cross.  Since each has their own characteristics this explains why one is softer, and their base color would be different also.  This page lists the standard cut dimensions and the characteristics of the different linens.  Reading this told me which linen is soft, stiff, fine thread vs. thick, and really helps those of us ordering online that would like to know the hand of the linen.   I'm remembering now that I posted this once so I must have copies somewhere.  I'll print again and this time store the info in my floss box lid.  Sorry if I'm repeating repeating myself!

 

That's all I have this morning.  I already broke up two cat fights and my warrior ended up with a bunch of hair in his mouth, so I'm assuming he bit her really hard.  Honestly, I thought neutering would alleviate this but it hasn't at all.  He needs a pill.  Or maybe some soy milk for a little estrogen.  I can't get near this new cat and believe she is pregnant, or a fat male that someone dropped off.  Whatever, it does NOT want to fight, just eat, so I hid a dish in the woods which the crows are devouring.  I can't win!  My brother's little solid black is getting fixed in two weeks but we can't find a home for her or an agency to take her.  As all areas, they are beyond capacity.

Enjoy your Sunday, stay safe, and thanks for visiting.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wasting more money

Hi everyone.  Hope your weekend is going well.  No progress to show on ....????....what the heck is her name?  Who am I working on?  You know - the long one in the last post.  I'm so flustered I can't remember her name but I know what she looks like!   She's very long and the piece of linen I'm using for her was already cut, so I had to remove the top border and several rows of letters which took two evenings to do.  I would have had enough fabric to just move further down and start over, but not if I want a fringed bottom.  What's-her-name is all cleaned up and I started her once again, this time minus the top border AND - with the charted colors which is why I removed the prior stitching.  She'll be bright, but Mary Moseley surprised me when completed because I liked the bright colors, so I'll try again.   What has me upset is my second attempt at Rook.  The seller was very nice and scanned the fabric for me so I could see the color.  It looked similar, but you know our computers lie.  So I received it today, and once again, absolutely no where near my loved olive brown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bottom one is the first order, the top piece is the second.  This one is very pinkish taupe and not stiff or coarse like the others.  I'm done.  No more ordering online except for the basic neutral or unbleached.  I don't have a local shop but have a vast array of dyes.  Of course it won't be the same and I really didn't want to start this again, but I've wasted enough money.  It's no one's fault, it's just the way it is.  The seller included a small swatch of another color with my order and since I know for sure what it will look like, I'm ordering a piece of that color.

On another note, the cat that has been creating a problem here is sitting in the back yard staring at the house and it appears to have quite a belly.  Probably another pregnant young female.  Trying to help her with these other wild brats chasing her will be a challenge.

I worked up the design for the next pear this morning and will stitch it this evening and tomorrow.  Hopefully, it will look like I expect it to and I won't have to come up with another!

Thank you for visiting and enjoy your weekend.

Stay safe.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Change of plans

Hi everyone.  We're having a very warm, sunny day today and I plan on being outside to enjoy it.   The day started with a real case of menobrain.  I was carrying a latch in my hand as I left the house and assumed it was my keys.  Not a problem if I could remember where the spare is hidden.  These new locksets are a royal pain and you can't buy the older style.  They are locked, but can open from the inside which creates a real problem with the elderly.  Before, to get outside you couldn't turn the knob without unlocking it.  Now you can, so my mom and my aunt would always think it was unlocked, go outside, shut the door, and be locked out.  Ridiculous setup.  I know it's for emergency exiting but it also creates a problem for those of us that had to make sure a wandering parent couldn't easily leave.  On my way into town, the car ahead had FLOSSI on their license plate which brought up the crying jag since my mom's birthday is in a few days and that was her pet name for me.  The next stop was Walmart where I accidentally took off with someone else's buggy.  I need one of those orange tennis balls that people stick on the antennae to locate their car in the lots, on my buggy handle.  I only had a brain stoppage for about 1 minute while standing in JoAnn's, trying to remember why I was there.  Oh yes.  I needed to match the latch that led to the lockout.   ????   Where the hell is it? 

I was browsing antique samplers on Madelena when I spotted this one, and then this one.

Both are my type of sampler.  So I put away the three designs I was debating and am going back to Eliza Pumroy.

 

Something I didn't notice before, is that the floral border charted above the alphabet at the very top, is not on the photo.  Good.  Not necessary.  This is the sampler whose floss colors are terribly bright, and I dyed them all in a tiny bit of Rit Pearl Gray to tone them.  ????? Where the hell are they?  If I don't find them I will use the recommended colors and gag all the way through.  Way too many to change and waste all that time, stitch a while, think it's not working, and start over.  I don't want to be bothered.  I'll dip the whole thing when completed if it really bothers me.

 

I'll be washing my car and enjoying the weather this afternoon, hopefully starting Eliza for the third time this evening.

Added note - if you email with a question, please check to see if you are no-reply.  I wasn't able to answer several recently.

Have a wonderful day - enjoy your weekend - thank you for visiting!

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

I thought I was getting Rooked!

And that's exactly what I wanted.  I LOVE Rook linen and recently ordered more with a few other discontinued colors of the 18th Century linen.  My heart sank when this came.

Left to right is 18th Century Mustard Seed, Brown, Rook, and Sea Glass.  The Sea Glass is more green than it shows in the photo, and closer to the Rook that these two pieces are stitched on.   But the Rook (to the left of the sampler) is no where close, very light, and although marked as Rook,  I have to wonder.  I love the other colors which are new to me, but the purpose was to acquire more of my favorite.  I understand that hand dyed can be inconsistent, but I never expected this.  Maybe I should stick with dyeing my own as I had been!  This piece is so similar to my hoard of unbleached that I will probably try doing just that.  Without local shops, we all take a chance when ordering new fabric since our computer screens can't replicate the actual swatch.  Ordering what we've already seen and have, we can expect some slight differences, but I wouldn't call this one slight!

I haven't started another sampler yet, and not sure if I will finish the free design I was working on.  The three new choices all have wonky borders with several color changes and flowers.  That drives this alphabet girl nuts.  We'll see what mood I'm in later for the decision. 

I don't want to bring up the tragedy because I'm sure everyone is very upset, myself included.

Enjoy your day.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

What I would have burned

Greetings!!  It's 11 am and I ran home to take care of the brat cats while my sister is resting after the cath.  Guess what?  After several years of echocardiograms showing aortic valve deterioration, an abnormal and problematic stress test, a failed CT scan, and an MRI showing damage in another area, the catheterization shows............no blockages, and MINIMAL valve damage.  No surgery.  The doc said everything looks really good!  She can't believe it.  He will explain later why the echo results are deceiving and this will be interesting.  But we're thrilled.   Thank you all again for your kind words and concern.  It meant a lot to me.

I'm still tossing and destashing - came across these pieces that were destined for the burn.  They are an odd size and I couldn't come up with an idea for display.

 

One is my sampler bag freebie that I did on another size linen for my boxes, and the other was also a box tester.

 

 

 

 

After doing the first one, I decided to use the other also.  I stuffed these little rolls with crushed walnut shells and love the bean bag feel of them.  Great little rolls for pins and needles.

The sampler had enough linen to sew together - perfect amount for the roll.  The smaller one got my sampler print fabric that I was lucky to receive as a gift, and it fits perfectly.

 

The last project to be spared is this Christmas tree done over two on 18 count linen.  You can sew "ornaments" to it, and mom's was mini jingle bells, pink ribbons, and pink buttons.  This was framed on batting and I took it apart, removed the decorations, turned the top down for a rod, and fringed the edges.  I can use various buttons and rusty stars and bells for next year and hang it on an interior door. 

 

 

 

 

I have to go back to the hospital and pick her up - just got the call.  They are releasing her after only 3 hours instead of the 6 it used to be. I made stuffed cabbage yesterday so she can't wait for supper!

Thank you for visiting - have a wonderful day!

 

Small finish and a final needle note

Good day everyone. Thank you again for the comments on your needle preference. Many of you never paid attention to size and type, you use what is comfortable and works for you. That to me is more important than following rules, as you all know. But after the bloody assault on my finger, I checked and found that the majority of my stash was composed of these little prickers, and I needed to find a solution.   Joanne made me realize something and directed me to her blog post here.  Secured needle threading.   Thank you so much Jo for pointing this out.  I have always threaded two floss ends into the eye to create the loop at the other end.  I don't like tails or having to start a stitch with any method other than slipping the needle through that loop on the backside for a secure and neat start.  Doing that drags the two pieces of floss that are in the eye, plus the 2 ends, so 4 threads are actually going through the linen and depending on the fabric, could really create floss fuzz.  I have been the victim of floss fuzz and could never figure out why it was no longer smooth.  Joanne's method pulls two strands through, and another advantage is the needle cannot slip off.  If you drop the project to run for chocolate or any other reason, the needle will stay attached - you can't lose it!  So I tried it while stitching this small, but ran into one downside.  I miss the correct placement many times and will slip the needle off and pull the stitch out, rethread, and continue.  With the secured needle method, you have to go back through the linen in the exact spot and try to remove the stitch.  I couldn't.  The needle had caught a wisp of the back threads and I was stuck.  I've gone back before to a prior stitch and it worked just fine, but this was three stitches back, so I had to cut the floss and start over. 

This is the small that I worked on.  I had completed the first one on 18th Century Rook, and this one is on unbleached.  I moved the design and colors a little.

Easy finish.

 

 

Interfacing on the backing fabric only, one layer of the thickest quilt batting (my absolute favorite stuffing),

 

 Liquid Stitch to glue it shut. 

 

 

 

 

 

 And a good squeeze to make sure the front isn't glued to the seam allowance.

My Pineberry Lane Wool designs are done!

I haven't decided on a sampler yet but it's narrowed down to three. 

I mentioned that I was going to the doc and would ask for a pill, and she obliged.  Unfortunately, it was an anti-depressant that also was to help with menopausal and anxiety issues.  I stopped it last night.  Haven't slept in days, crushing heartburn, my neck is unbearable.  After a little research, yes, a drug that works on your mood can wreak havoc on the body.  We have to be at the hospital at 6:30 am tomorrow so I'm hoping that resting today will put me back on track for an early start to a long day.

Have a great finish to your weekend - thanks for visiting.

Talk to you soon.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx