Back to Eliza Low Pumroy

Greetings.  Hope everyone had a great weekend and all the dads in your family had a nice Father's Day.  We sure miss ours.  Several days ago my nephew became a grandfather to a red haired perfect little boy.  My sister is now a great grandmother at 74 and I'm a great-great-aunt at 62.  At the graduation party, we saw our "almost" cousins (my cousin's cousins) and they inherited skin without pores, wrinkles, sags, or bags.  So depressing!  We joked about our ages and I always get ribbed from Mike about owing my life to him.  He is my mom's sister's son, and because he was the cutest baby anyone ever saw, Mom decided on just one more - me.  He's the little devil on the far left and I'm on the far right, back in the days of traditional families without electronics, on a family picnic.

 

Age has changed my likes, dislikes, philosophy, judgment, patience, TOLERANCE!, but mostly, physicality.  While grocery shopping, I forgot myself and crouched down to see the price on the bottom shelf.  Big mistake.  I can't get up from that position without help.  Thank goodness no one was in that aisle.  I had two choices - 1. grab a shelf to pull myself up risking the entire shelf and its contents falling on me and creating a scene or 2. fall onto my side, roll until I was on my hands and knees, try to straighten my back legs hoisting my butt into the air while grabbing my knees to stabilize and letting out that grunt old people make.  Years ago I lost my balance while hopping on one leg trying to get a shoe on, grabbed for the shelf, and toppled the entire shoe rack in an outlet store.  I chose #2.
 

On to Eliza progress. I've completed the large alphabets and the fancy dividing bands and am now working on the last few rows before the bottom section.

 

 

 

She's going to be fabulous with a fringed bottom, at 9" wide and about 31" long on 30 count.  I may have to attach another piece of the same linen with a border stitch onto the bottom for fringing.  I really like the longer bottom margin like on this Mary Oldfield - one of my favorite sampler finishes, but there will only be about two inches on Eliza.  We'll see.  With her length the shorter bottom margin may be fine.

 

 

 

Thank you for such a great response to my offering.  In answer to emails, yes I will be selling this chart.  No I'm not published, I just printed my own packs and the chart on 11x17 paper, with an attached photo.  I don't know how to offer a PDF because most printers can't do that size paper.  It will be this week for sure.

 

I charted the July pear right after number X, and may stitch that to have it ready.  It shouldn't take long at all.  Famous last words!  I like the first draft, and don't think any changes will be made.

 

Have a good start to a great week, thank you for visiting, stay safe.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

O f f er ing

Hello people.  Been really busy the last few days and I'm on my way to a graduation party, but wanted to get this posted.  Because of the upheaval in the house, I decided to o f f er something that doesn't have to be painted, printed, sized, sanded, or stained.  How about this?

My first chart, 13" x 18" piece of Scarlet Letter's 30 count unbleached linen, the floss necessary, osnaburg for the lining, a piece of the olive brown corduroy for the back, and the leather for the drawstring.  OK?

Now I'll tell you the good news I mentioned earlier, and the reason for a celebration.  My cousin in CA with the massive stroke, is going home with help, on June 22.   I didn't want to say anything until it actually happened because of a possible setback, but I'm thinking positively!  Her right arm is not usable, she is speaking better, and is trying very hard to walk with a cane.  Because of the right arm, she is unable to use a walker which would be so much safer.  She has worked so hard and will continue with daily therapy.  They remodeled her home for easier access and she will try her best to prove she can stay there.

So.  If you would like to be included in the kit give away, please leave your name on THIS POST ONLY, with your name or initials if you are no-reply.  Oh heck, leave it even if you aren't.  The drawing will be in one week on June 21 at 8pm.  Someone please remind me.

I've got to run now!

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great and safe weekend.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A newfangled floss holder thingy

Hi!  How's everyone?  Except for walking into a automatic door that didn't open, another run in with the JCP mannequins, and an annoying batch of hives, I'm good.  I can't swallow pills, even small ones.  Recently, vitamins and supplements are coming out in gummies so I purchased CoQ10, B complex, 2 multi vitamins, and some other items so I'm assuming one of those caused the bumps. 

 

I want to thank you all again for the response to my sampler sack.  I must say again, that in my post about the magazine, I stated that I was not happy with their sampler being folded in half to make that bag, so I designed my own based on that shape.  Many readers thought it was the project from SANQ, but it's my own.  I was at the printer today and had problems with print quality.  I'm still trying to put it on one 11x17 sheet instead of two. 

 

 But today I am so excited with my newest brain storm!  First my floss box, now my floss stand!  I had my husband make this for me and I love it.  It slides under the sofa cushion and the floss bags are held in numeric order, suspended from the sturdy arm.  No more bags twisting on a ring.  I can easily see the floss number or color, open the bag and let it hang!  I absolutely love it.  He made a shorter model too for setting on a table.

Ain't it cool???  I'm back to Eliza and also had wood cut for new tags because I'm tired of searching for everything so I'm starting over.  But I couldn't wait to show this off. 

 

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great hump day.

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

I love it - do you?

I want to thank everyone for the sweet comments and for taking the time to answer me.  I received a few emails regarding this photo and wanted to mention again about Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly's similar bag on the cover.  This isn't it!  That bag is a large sampler that is folded in half, which I chose not to do.  I couldn't see stitching it and having half of it covered, so I designed and stitched my own sack with leather drawstrings.  I will offer it as my first chart, but I designed and stitched it so quickly that I am not prepared for packaging as yet.  

 

My sampler sack is done!

Hi everyone.  My sack would have been completed a day or two ago if I hadn't ripped out areas over and over to change colors. I have been stitching like crazy for a few days and wasting a lot of paper with changes. One thing I learned - always tear up the prior chart when a revision is made. That was another big time waster. I wanted to show you the bottom corner and how I sneaked the year into the sampler.  Well.....kind of.

 

I will be doing the finishing work tomorrow and then figure out what to do next.  A trip to Staples should help me with that.

 

 

And a few changes outside this year.  Inside of hanging my rusty paint cans on the hooks, I decided to hang a few from the arbor.

 

 

 

 

 

My galvanized tubs aren't on hooks this year either.  Just propped at an angle with a rock and the hanging basket inside.

 

 

 To Barbara - you asked me which magazine I was referring to regarding the sampler bag and you're no-reply so I can't email.  It is Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly.

 

I'm going to sit on my swing and relax for a while now.  Finally warm enough to not need a sweater!  Bud says hi.  He has stopped fighting with the newest stray which I call #4, but there are still a few growling sessions.  Nitzy chases it all the time too. 

 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and stay safe.

More later!  Thanks for visiting.

 

 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

More confessions

Hello hello hello.  Hope you're all well and enjoying your day. 

In prior posts I've confessed this

"I don't follow the rules, I don't baby the linen, I snack while I'm stitching, I leave the needle(s) in the fabric, I knot the floss, I've wet and machine dried a finished piece, I don't use glass anymore, I even used a heat gun to quickly dry a spot, I insert plastic, I glue seams. For those of you that fainted, my apologies."  That was taken from this post.  As I'm stitching Eliza with the excess fabric rolled up and held with safety pins, a Dove dark chocolate with almonds (my new favorite) nearby, a full cup of coffee sitting on the bench where I throw the project when I get up, I was reminded of my confession of being a reckless stitcher.  I have another.  I'm a sampler snob.  No longer can I see cute projects and want to stitch them, or even a newly designed symmetrical sampler that would look fabulous in someone's home.  Just not mine.  I learned by working on reproduction samplers but did other pieces, including angels from Told in a Garden.  The shops I had here many years ago displayed samplers large and small, framed and not, mostly on unbleached linen and all reproductions.  I was in heaven.  The one in town displayed more traditionals and florals which was OK back then, but not now.  I enjoy seeing the variety of your work and admire it, but unless it's primitive in design, a reproduction, or a marking sampler, I have no desire to stitch it.  So many designers have projects that I would like to do, but I end up purchasing and not completing.  I thought it was because of my home style that is turning toward stark primitive/colonial and these designs don't fit in, but I don't want to stitch them as gifts either.  I'm a sampler snob!  I know that everyone has a preference of designers, tastes, and styles, but I think I've become very rigid.  Santas, ornaments, pinkeeps are still delightful and these smalls are the exception. 

 I think that about wraps up my confessions.

The kitchen man has not called and I'm getting concerned.  I emailed the plans and he's probably thinking ............ she's going to change it again.  Well I'm not.  But I did come up with another idea.  This is a photo from The Seraph of a corner pantry.

And this one is from Bridgewater Primitives.

I don't want either of these, but I came up with a plan for something similar. 

Instead of squeezing into my little kitchen, I plan on using this corner and back of the kitchen wall, to have some open shelves and cupboards, storing potatoes, larger items, and whatever I want.  I wanted to have my little beat up table under the window with an upholstered chair but it's awkward and I think a unit from the window wrapped to the door opening would be great storage.  This wood floor will be removed and the new one installed throughout.  It's ash and difficult to stain so we decided to just start over.  The other end of this room was mom's TV room and it had carpeting so trying to match a new floor of a different wood would not work.  I've decided to put everything I can in large plastic bins to make it easier to move from room to room and keep it protected from the dust.  What a mess!!  Many things were found in this upheaval that were missing, but not all of my tags supplies yet. 

My husband will be coming home from fishing soon and we're having hot dogs, baked beans and cob corn.  I try to watch fat intake so I got the "light" weiners.  You know why they're light?  Because half of them is missing!  They're a little thicker than a pencil.  With enough chili sauce, hopefully he won't notice.

Have a great day everyone - thanks for visiting.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

p.s.  Giveaway coming soon - I know why but I don't know what.