Interview with a stitcher

First, why do you think working with a needle is such a pleasure for so many?

I thought these questions were to be fairly straight forward, no philosophy, interpretations, theories, or speculations. Just the facts, ma'am. That being said, I can only speak for myself. Choosing a linen, changing threads, losing scissors, removing errors.....it's frustrating! But I continue and get excited with each new project. I believe it's the aesthetics of the completed piece, more than it is the production. For me anyway. If I see a design that I really like, but can't imagine it in my space, I won't stitch it.

Are there certain elements that draw you to a design, or some that you avoid?

Yep. Elaborate borders are beautiful, but they make me feel overwhelmed. Small flowers and leaves consisting of a few stitches each and requiring numerous color changes - no. Can't handle it.   A simple sampler with all alphabet or mixed with motifs or scenes, is my preference, and less stitching stress. Most contain inaccuracies so a boner by me blends right in. 

Does cost ever preclude a project?

Sure. I'm cheap. If a design calls for expensive silks, I wouldn't follow it for two reasons. One, between the costs of linen, threads, and framing, I could buy an antique. Two, I don't like to see a beautiful sheen, I prefer matte. Blends in better with the dusty primitive style. I have no problem sticking with cotton floss, or hand dyeing a piece of linen.  I adore the Midnight Ride from BBD but will adapt rather than spend over $100 for the required box.

Have you burned any pieces recently?

No! I'm so proud. Lucy taught me a lesson, but I also think the mood swings are getting better. The anger after losing my dad, and the years of complete life changes taking care of mom, left me with pent-up emotions that refused reasoning. When I watched a difficult project be consumed by flames, I had mixed emotions, but still felt better. I was in control for once. 

Do you join the clubs that send new projects through the year?

No I don't. Reason is what I said previously. Although I may love the design, I may not stitch it so it would be a waste of money. The new Bittersweet Autumn offered by the Ladies Prim Society I LOVE. LOVE! That one I would definitely stitch.

Who are your favorite designers?

Too hard to choose, but my stash says R&R Reproductions, Scarlet Letter, Stacy Nash, Threadwork Primitives, Country Rustic, Pineberry Lane, along with reproductions from various merchants. Can we count R&R and SL since they are reproductions, not new designs? I am amazed at the amount of work involved in charting an exact reproduction.

Do you follow all the instructions to make it authentic?

Nope. I feel guilty after seeing how much work was involved in charting the piece, but I change things as I go, use two threads throughout, include my own errors without correction, and don't feel it's important to me as it may be to other stitchers. Actually, no one has ever done more than glance at them on the wall. My family and friends don't get my style, and after years of asking "is this stained", they've given up. Most think a sampler is what Whitman's puts out at Christmas.

What is your favorite cloth to stitch on?

I have Scarlet Letter's unbleached yardage from 20 years ago and still use it, preferring the coarse and stiffer cloth. At that time, there was also a tube of 15x18 linen from Charles Craft in tea dyed and natural, which is no longer around, but I have a decent stash since I stocked up during sales. 

Their "linen" now is not actually linen, but a blend. BUT. I just Googled to see if the original is available once again and found it - Wal-Mart online. 20x24 size tea dyed 100% linen so I ordered two even though I don't need them ($13.55 each!) and will have them this week. It's coarse, but not real stiff. I hope it's the same because I loved the soft brown and used it quite a bit for Christmas ornaments. Friends have been generous and sent me pieces of various counts, colors, and companies, and it's such a treat to have something other than my usual. Their thoughtfulness has also allowed me to order more of these new pieces since I could actually feel the texture and know the color.

 

How do you store your linens?

 

I have all the 15x18 pieces rolled in the tubes, and try to save the cardboard tubes from foil and wraps for storing others.  My linens were folded in the drawer for many years and some developed a faded mark on the fold line.  No the cardboard is not acid-free but neither am I when I'm handling it, and I really don't care about 100 years from now.  It's easy to make a roll without the tube also.

 

Are you concerned about using fabric glue or fill like polyester that contains chemicals?

 

No.  Linen is tough, has held up on samplers 100's of years old, and I would rather do what makes it easier and gives me the result I'm looking for.  I love the feel of sawdust stuffing and wood is highly acidic.  How long do you think it would take to ruin the muslin lining and get to the linen?  Don't care, but I'm sure I'll be gone or be tired of the piece before that happens.  It's a piece of fabric and some threads, not a being.

 

What are you working on now?

I'm completing Thankful Davis from R&R today and will begin the task of sorting through my mess to choose another. Santas are still in hiding.

And why did you decide to do this interview?

I'm hopped up on cold meds and cough syrup and was talking to myself anyway.

Will you ever do this again?

Sure. Probably tomorrow. Thankful may guest host. It depends on how many little pills in that fricking unbreakable foil pack are left.

Well thank you for taking the time out of your la-la land day to talk with us, and thanks to all who took the time to read this snore.

 

 

 

 

A broken day

Hi.  It's late.  I have Frazier reruns in the background, while I listen to lids ping as they suck down, and a Jenn-Air high end dishwasher break down.  While making the pepper butter, my expensive rarely used Kitchen Aid blender died, so I brought out the Cuisinart processor and watched the plastic lock fall off right after the lid cracked.  And the bowl leaked.  Three items (one major $$) all breaking down while trying to puree a bunch of hot peppers.  Past warranty on all.  My HP laptops and printers usually wait until one month past warranty to fail so that will be coming soon too.

I was so busy today that I haven't had time to read blogs and although it was a brief glimpse, I see that I've been missing quite a lot on Pinterest too.  Too bad. 

Yesterday when Bud and I were sitting outside and doing a little stitching, I noticed that the gray threads where only in one area yet the symbol was throughout the piece.  Didn't I tell you that I learned my lesson (twice) about not having more than one skein in my floss bag during a project?  I didn't learn it well enough because it happened again.  3787.  One gray.  One taupe.  Two colors used for one symbol.  It was hard to stitch with someone taking up too much space.

 

Every time I ran into the house, he would patiently wait for my return.  Until the girlfriend showed up and he left me in his dust.

 

I also worked on boxes and as usual, can't decide which designs would be your choice.

So now, I'm tired, my jars have all pinged, three appliances have all died, the cats are outside, my Advil is waiting, lots of other boring crap happened and will continue tomorrow, so I will sink into bed and have a good sleep. 

And I bought a big fricking pumpkin.

Goodnight!

Thanks for visiting.

 

Leave 'em in the dust

Hey.  What's happening in your world?  Good stuff I hope.  My drywall guy showed up early morning, not planned, but I invited him in to sand.  Since I wasn't prepared, nothing was covered and I scrambled to move things out of his way and try to throw sheets.  This new "less dust" formula for drywall is ... well....

weird.  Microfiber cloths, Swiffer cloths, vacuum hoses, nothing seems to work to pick it up.  It just moves around like being pushed out of the way.  I had to do the floors with a wet cloth and white swirl marks plus a haze are left.  It did carry into the other rooms which it claims it won't do.

I worked on a few new labels and what's her name.  One band is a chain stitch and I needed to go back to Needle 'n Thread for a review.  Was it the stitch I was doing?  Yep.  Happy happy.  Her post today is about the Puffin & Co. thread separator and I'm glad she showed how to use it!  I love their pieces and would probably put it on a chain as jewelry.

Now for Blogger.  What am I doing wrong?  When I want to learn more about new followers and see if they have a blog, I click on their icon in the Followers box.  Some times I am taken to Google + and can't see anything about the person, or I see their profile and can send a message but there's no other links.  When I clicked on what I thought was their blog in one profile, I was blasted with porn.  Took forever to remove it all so I am leery of doing that again.  So what's a girl to do? 

Today will be a day of rest for the neck and hopefully close in on a finish of what's her name.  My sister needs a ride and I told her to take my car since I don't want to waste this sunshine in a parking lot.  I think I may have to pay the big bill for her car repairs so I guess getting boxes ready for sale would be a better idea.  But I have a friend waiting for me, and don't want to disappoint.

This morning I made the short drive to the cemetery, washed the granite,  placed the new silk mums, and lit the candle.  It's their anniversary.

I went back to last September's posts and saw that I did decorate for fall early.  I think the mums and pumpkins looked nice!  But I'm still upset about the end of summer so maybe just cornstalks this year.  Depends on the mood. 

That's all I got.  Worn out, dusty, and lazy.

I hope your hump day is filled with sunshine, whether from the sky or your heart.

Thanks for visiting!

 

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Nothing really

Hi everyone.  I hope your day is going well and your week starts with a smile.  Not much to show on ...what's her name?  Good grief I can't remember who I'm stitching.  That means she should have been done by now and this is dragging out.  Extenuating circumstances are the cause but I really don't think it will take too much longer.  The script doesn't take as long to stitch, and if I would remember that I changed 613 to ..... I can't remember ..... I would not have to remove the stitching and do it again in ..... damn..... I think it was 3021?  I know it was much darker. 

I should have written the color changes somewhere, and I could very well have.  Remember the notes I tape to the back of the TV so I know where to find them?  Well they're gone since it had sheets over and off, over and off, and most fell to the floor and were swept away.  I'm lost.  I'll go back and check where 613 should have been and will certainly be able to find the color I used.  My floss bags for the project are all neatly hanging on the holder so matching will be easy. 

 We made a trip to the farmer's market and I bought yellow wax beans for drying.  The green beans that turned to a light tan are my favorite and these will probably dry way too light, but I wanted to see.   Like I have nothing better to do, but the time involved in stringing them is minimal. 

While I sat on my swing sewing beans, everything looked so bare.  Flowers are gone, hydrangeas are trimmed back, most of my tubs are hung, but two things remain every season.

Mom's wind chimes and Old Glory.  I have two sets of these chimes and they make the most beautiful cathedral sounds.

The inside has changed too.  My fridge is no longer in the dining room (but I still go in looking for it), and I found that having the table turned to this position in this small room creates more open space. 

 I like it.  Husband does not.  I try to avoid having dinner/parties/company as much as possible so this space is rarely used anyway.  The new room will be large enough for two tables if I get trapped into being a hostess.  When mom was here, I had all birthdays, holidays and such to make it easier for her, and I don't have the energy or desire to host these days. 

Now the little parlor, a.k.a. my stash room, is a different story.  All the samplers, supplies, and smalls were thrown in here and covered, along with furniture and items from the new room, and it is not in order yet.

 

Debi was kind enough to identify the punch needle in the prior post.  Thank you Debi!!  I went to Pattern Mart to purchase and download.  If you're interested, you can find it here from Bird in Hand Primitives.  I see that I need a locked lip hoop.  Not sure what it is but sounds like something my husband would be happy to buy.  I like the look of a smaller loop so I may use 3 strands with the finer needle.  Listen to me.  I know NOTHING about this and never tried it.  First I need to get the necessary supplies, practice, and lock my lips.  Easier said than done.

 

Thanks for visiting - have a great week.

 

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Great balls of Valdani

Greetings.  It's freezing, gloomy, rainy, like a switch was turned off after the 90 degree temps.  We're not getting things accomplished as we had planned on his week off of work, but managed a white knuckle ride to Mercer PA for my first visit to The Gallery.  It's a quilting shop with machines, parts, accessories, kits, lots of fabrics, specialty items, and I saw my first ball of Valdani.  Nice.  Very nice.  I planned on checking a few punch needle designs and making a trip back for needed colors.  After visiting their website, I realized not all balls are the same.  Just as other companies, there is pearl cotton in 12, 8, 5, 3-ply matte cotton floss for punchneedle, and 6 strand floss skeins.  Now what?  So I called and found that their balls are pearl cotton, mostly the finer #12, 108 yards, and $6.  I would prefer starting with the 3-ply.

This punchneedle heart was found on Pinterest and I can't locate the source to give credit or ascertain the designer.  Love it.  I have several of Lori's designs and watched her video tut, but I'm not sure if now is a good time to try something new, adding to my pile of things I'm not accomplishing.

I bought a few new fabrics that I hadn't seen at the smaller shop I visit.   I have a thing for script fabrics and sort of hoard them.  When I really like a fabric, I hate to cut it and use it, the same as I feel about a yard of linen.  A quirk or serious fabric disorder? 

They also carry Sullivan brand of floss, and explained to me that it is long-staple and colorfast, whereas DMC is now short-staple and not colorfast in every shade.  So I came home with one skein to compare. 

There is a slight difference in appearance of a single strand, which separated much easier than the DMC.  In each photo, DMC is top and Sullivan bottom.  Hardly noticeable by eye, but closeup, you can see the thicker twist which I think would be better for the dreaded over one stitches.  The first photo is loose, and the second slightly stretched.  When I ran my nail along the strand, the DMC frayed a little and the Sullivan did not.  It's too bad I have at least 3 DMC in every color, but my next visit I will purchase Sullivan for a project and test it.

This house mess has had me ishkabobbled for a while, and then the accident kind of wiped out three weeks of the end of summer.  A few designs have been roaming in the noggin, I'm trying to work out the labels on the new printer, line up people to complete the house projects, stitch when I can, bitch about the end of summer, worry about upcoming tests, and be thankful I can do all that.  There is a young mom with an adorable baby whose blog I recently found, that is dealing with the unimaginable.  She is always on my mind.

 

The heat pack is on, the Advil is chewed, and I'm hoping for some serious stitching tonight.  Wishing you a peaceful and safe weekend, enjoying your family and the little pleasures we take for granted.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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On the road again

Hi.  How are you on this date that we will never forget?  Can you watch the video and be any less stunned than you were the first time you saw it?  I can't.

 

 The queen bee is back in the bumble bee car.  It looks pretty darn good!

I'm also back on the linen again.  Not much...little at a time....but I finished the top except for the satin border, and started on the script alpha bottom.  I will complete the border flowers as the final stitches.  Numbness is better at times and I thank all of you for your concern and best wishes.

I am still trying to organize and reduce stash and craft supplies, but I have several of these lap throws that are heavy wool and want to keep them for projects.  Problem is, I've never dyed wool plaid and have no idea how it would turn out.  Darker all over would be the expected result but I don't know how prominent the plaid will be. I will find out soon enough.

My Gingher nippers came in and I love playing with them.  They stay in the palm of your hand while your other crooked fingers can still maneuver the fabric, then a quick snip of thread, and back to sewing.  I guess most quilters would use these when sewing the patchwork together, but I'll be using them any time I am at the machine.  So tired of searching under the fabric for the little scissors. 

I don't think Nitzy will ever catch on.

Can you believe how fast September is moving?  Coming up on the middle of the month's weekend.  Did you ever clean throw rugs with a power washer?  Works pretty neat!!  We still have quite a bit to do this week, but I will be checking out some new charts, especially Nash's.  Love 'em.

Enjoy and stay safe ~ thanks for visiting!

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