What's the point?

Sharp as hell, that's what.  Hiya.  I'm bringing up needles again.  I haven't rid the drawer of all the different sizes in my attempt to simplify just yet.  There has been a kitchen table in front of that spool cabinet for over a month, so I'm using the variety of sizes and brands found in my pinkeeps. 

 Let me tell you, this one can be a really nasty prick.  I had little bleeding thumb pricks from a very sharp eye, and now found one with the point end doing the same.  Being purchased over 20 years ago I have no idea the brand.    Here's a close-up of the pricker (left) and good girl (right).   I thought all embroidery needles had blunt tips, but this one is definitely a sharp. 

 

 I kept having trouble with the needle splitting the linen threads but it wasn't until it found its way into flesh that I realized why.  Yikes. 

 

 

I first thought it might be the linen itself causing the problem. You can see that not only is the bottom thread split, but the upper stitch is also.  I use the sewing method when stitching and move along pretty quick so maybe some of it is my fault, but I've never had this happen so frequently and easily. 

I felt no resistance when the needle was violating that weave.  My thumb holds the floss away from the next stitch and kind of guides the needle.  Rarely does the needle end up under my nail but this one would certainly cause a whimper.  Into the trash it goes. 

 I probably shouldn't mention this because my husband thinks I'm nuts, but here goes.  Years ago, there was a large starving and injured dog found in the local garbage dump, eating what it could find.  Well, I don't care what animal may be foraging, I wrap duct tape around the needles, secure them to styrofoam or cardboard, wrap it again, to make sure it doesn't get into a morsel of food scraps.  Same with glass, fish hooks, anything small and sharp.  OK, so I may go overboard but suffering animals rip my guts out and I don't want to be responsible for inflicting even more.  When I discarded my old straight pins, I put them in a plastic box and wrapped tape around several times.  After approaching those Amish women in the parking lot to offer them my quilting supplies and needles, I thought it best to not do that again so I threw them out.

I finished the cardinal and will show it off next time.

 

Thanks for visiting - enjoy the weekend.

 

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A bean of a different color

Hi all.  For those of you stringing beans for garland (or future soups), I thought I would show you my two.  These beans were purchased at two different markets but both are called green beans.    One dried more shriveled and kept the green color, the other is also dried but lightened to a tan and didn't curl as much.

No way to know what the next string will be!  I prefer the lighter for garland, but I'm pleased with the results of both.

 

I guess green is not always green, but a bean is always a bean.  You have my permission to quote me on that.

So there you have it.  Leather britches and I still have no idea why they were called that back in the day.  They may feel leathery but they don't look like britches.

 

That's all folks!  Just showing off my beans.

A tag dilemma

Greetings.  I'm in the process of finishing some tags and can't decide how to offer them.  Do I list the labels and have you choose, then complete them?  Do I complete a variety and what you see is what you get?  Do I offer the old with the new which is WAY too many choices?  Do I limit the folk art because it's not what you would want?  Do I consider Halloween and Christmas tags?  Do I have a problem with chocolate?  I threw that in there because I wanted to be able to answer at least one query.

 

But first, I may be closer to finding the Santa charts because this little ditty showed up.  It's a darling little Christmas cardinal, only 1 1/2" x 3 1/4" inches on 32 count and I started working on it until I make a sampler decision.  Put a rusty star on it and it's always a favorite.

 

My husband is off today and getting in my way.  Good grief he'll be retiring soon.  I told him to start making new friends and taking up new hobbies.    My hips are big enough without another person being attached to them.

 

 

 

Here's the new house tags.  A little fussy for my taste.

The folk art offers.

And holiday?

Here he comes again.  I need to find a project that isn't so involved it makes him balk, or so simple that it requires little time, or anything that needs a helper.   I'm going to hide out in the sewing room. 

 

Thanks for visiting!

 

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Bad photos - good choices

Hiya.  How's your week going?  Are you needing a jacket in the middle of August?  The way this month has been progressing it may snow in September.  I know, I know.  Many most of you like frost on your pumpkins. 

I've been working on tags and only came up with four new house labels.  It seems the sampler or alphabet tags aren't as popular so I didn't work on any, but still may because those are my preference.  And I'm in control.

PS's Old World Santas were to be the next project but I can't find them.  I really got some things in order the other day but the Christmas charts are ?????  So I went through the samplers and decided on several, then started weeding out fancy borders, over one stitching, and motifs.   Simple and quick seems the best choice with all the house disorder.  The sanding companies are coming today for estimates and they both claim to be dust-free.  Although the photos are bad, I like the choices. 

 

 

 

R&R's very primitive and quite different piece.  The colors I choose will be more prominent.

 

 

R&R's Lydia Tyler.  Beautiful colors.

R&R's Mary Ann Bradbury.  Small yet several different stitch styles.  Calls for flower thread but I will use DMC.

Hoping to finish the tags today and will start stitching this evening. 

Look who snuck onto the deck for a snack.  Bud was sound asleep 10 feet away.  And this is something you don't see very often.  A groundhog lounging on your fence.

While working outside, some sort of flying critter flew into my hair (which many mistake for shelter), so I had to brush it.  With my hair, not a good idea.  It's best to leave it alone.   Never did find the bug. 

 I went for a haircut the next day and the only change is that it's a shorter bush now.  She didn't find the bug either so it must have suffocated or found its way out.  Now my hair goes out to a point and comes back in so I have a bevel head.  It feels weird.

And look at my second bean string.  Love the color!

 

 The sander will be here in a few minutes so I better start watching for him.

Thanks for visiting!  Enjoy your day.

 

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A day without fringe

Greetings!  Are you enjoying the weekend?  Our weather has been too cool for summer, but very nice and sunny.  Today there was no fringing around!  I tried to get the rooms into organized chaos.  Did a fairly good job, enough that there is a definite path to follow without tripping. 

I had a little time to start a few of these, but the new printer is spitting them out in different hues than the prior machine.  Lots of adjustments and I'm thinking - just start over.  I had quite a few of the folk art labels sized and ready but never got to them before Niky's Creations featured hers.  I waited and waited before offering mine.  Honestly, I like hers!  She has a scalloped border and aging around the edges.  Very nice.  She may offer more and her Etsy site with other goodies is here.

 

Started a few of these.

 

And offered a second chance.  The fraying fringe would not have bothered me, but I planned it as a gift and didn't want it to come apart in someone else's hand.   So I tried again.  And guess what?  I'm still not happy.  I never really cared for the fabric frame so I will take it apart and use this print on the back, maybe attach a hanger.  It would have been quicker to just stitch another but I dyed this linen for those threads and have no more.

Company just came.  Skinny Limper is allowing me to walk very close to her with the bread.  She comes several times a day and waits until I see her and offer her corn.  Big Daddy doesn't seem to mind my presence either.  The mosquitoes are taking advantage of my flesh so I think I will head back into the house, or switch to the single swing and start flying.  They can't land when you create as big a draft as I do.  I used to have a large standing fan that kept them away too.  Have NO idea what happened to it.  It's not easy to lose something that large, but if anyone can, it's me.

Have a great start to a new week. 

Thank you for visiting.

 

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This little hairy bastard

Can you tell I'm not in a good mood? 

Here's the finish, filled with walnut shells, backed with a darker greenish taupe linen, with both linen colors variegated with the floss in this darling fringe, and if I wasn't done burning the wood it would be ash by now. I wasted DAYS that I could have put toward a sampler.  I wasted three pieces of linen working on the back which is impossible to neatly attach when you don't turkey through both sides at once.   This hairy little bastard has tried my patience more than Lucy and that ***** bird design put together.  I've tried to keep my cool, have patience, take a deep breath, but my breath is now fire. 

  I was about to attach the trim over the stitching on the back, when I saw this.  I don't know if it happened when attaching and removing the backing stitches, or probably when releasing the linen threads for fringe, but these pulled off.  Could I fix them?  Probably.  Do I want to devote more time to it?  Hell no.  Will I ever do fringe again?  Yes.  But I'll find a different way. 

But look at my leather britches.  The beans are almost completely dried and I hung them with my sweet potato garland.  I think they will eventually turn brown but that will take more time. 

The other string that is drying much more slowly, is continuing to lighten.   Happy happy.  No yellow wax beans at the markets but I'll keep looking.

So what's next?  A break.  I want to get these tags finished, do a few boxes, stitch a Santa, and think about the next sampler.  Right now, it's best I do nothing because when I get upset, it stays for a while.  In this case, with all the thread splits, knots, tangled loops, six strand pile-ups, and frogs choking at every turn, I should have probably released a little steam from this pressure cooker now and then.  The bigger the explosion, the longer it burns. 

Thanks for your concern over my foot, which is back to normal size and feeling much better.

I hope your weekend is safe and enjoyable.  Thanks for visiting!

 

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