Something to think about

Greetings.  Got snow?  It's really getting old isn't it?  Anyway, an update on the horses.  I heard back from the very nice owner at the same time the inside photo of the purse was sent to me from Pinterest pins.  The chart will not be for sale or share because I am honoring her request.  You still have Primitive Needle's chart of it!  It was sold from a museum years ago and she feels that stitchers recreating it would decrease its value.  I know that many of you will disagree because an original sampler will continue to increase in value, even though it has been finely reproduced into a chart, and many times because of the exposure and popularity.  But they are her ponies.  What would your position be if you paid for a pricey one of a kind stitchery?  Would you be upset that others can recreate it for so little, or would you not care?  Myself, I would have to think about it.  Maybe I would feel like the queen with diamonds in my gold tiara, while you peasants had rhinestones in plastic.  Maybe not.  Since I'm not in this quandary, I don't have an answer.  And if I did, you know I would change my mind weekly.  So I will be featuring a different project (as soon as I choose one - here we go again!).

A sad story. My sister and I are really upset about her little raccoon Mickey.  This little guy showed up a few months ago, is very small, and has no usable front legs.  He walks on his hind legs and without the front, can't forage for food.  She feeds him twice a day under her car and her son shovels a path in the snow to their shed under which he lives.  Two days ago, he took her car and a mile down the road, Mickey fell out of wherever he was hiding, and jumped into the ditch, then hopped into the brush.  He saw this in the rear view mirror and immediately knew it was Mickey.  Chris went back after his appointment and tried to follow Mickey's tracks which showed he was trying to get under a maintenance shed behind a rest area off of I-80.  With all the brush and briars, fresh snow, and Chris being at work, he hasn't found him.  We're sick about it.  This little guy can't survive without help, can't climb a tree, and has no shelter.  I know Mother Nature can be a real bitch, but when you take care of a little visitor looking for handouts every day, it's even harder to accept. 
And it's snowing again.  The blast is coming back.
The cats are having a ball inside and even though I am letting them out for fresh air and running, they come back inside to use the litter box.  Brats.  Squeak has been in the lighted box for two nights now.  Of course the brats are not one bit happy about it.

So think about it - what would you do about your pricey piece?  I'm curious to hear how needleworkers feel about owning an antique.  Not your opinion - your decision if approached.

Take care and stay safe. 
Thanks for all the hand products info and
thanks for the visit!

Portrait of a slub

Hello people.  Another day of bad coffee.  But I'm safe inside and fortunate to have heat so I will enjoy that bad cup and be grateful.

Got a few emails regarding the last post and I was surprised to read that many of you try to slay the slub also.  I don't feel so alone now.  Thanks!  For those of you asking what a linen slub is, here you go.

This one I would definitely try to remove and if I fail, this coarse linen is very easy to weave in a replacement thread.  The needle needs to be large enough for the eye to take the linen strand so I always keep a 22 or 24 handy. The other piece is loaded with them in all directions, throughout the entire half yard. Most of these I would leave and only try to reduce the bad ones. I use a needle and gently pick up a little fuzz at a time, then grab tweezers to remove it. Most are left alone.

So far....

 

I think this horse area with the two largest flowers will be the most difficult part to chart.  Well, I should be truthful.  Trying to chart from a blurry photo is a crap shoot.  I hope the rest goes quick and easy, and with smaller less detailed flowers, that should be the case.  I'll start stitching this to check for color and then move on to the top portion.  Sorry I printed across it but I received an email that a few of my freebies are being sold and two have minor changes.  Play nice!  You don't want me coming to your playground.  Trust me.

For Karen (you're no-reply), the center sampler is an old Sheepish Antiques of Salina Dunwoody.  Check with Em-Li's since she owns Sheepish Designs now.  I think.

Thanks for reminding me about O'Keefe's.  My sister found it at Walmart so I will check next time I'm there.  Must be inventory month because most of the stores are bare of many products.  I've used Miracle Hand Repair and love it but it doesn't heal cracks.

 

That's all.  Still snowing.  Frigid temps coming again this week.  Maybe I'll venture out into the cold when the roads are clear and the snow has stopped.  May?  June?

 

Enjoy your day and your favorite drink.

If you see a helpless abandoned pet, please give it shelter or take it to one.

Thanks for visiting!


 

The slub trap

Hello dear readers.  It's the final weekend of January - spring is getting closer.  But not close enough for me.  I haven't been out much this week so I had planned on going into town for a good cup of coffee this morning.  Not to be.  We are getting several inches, again, and I'm not taking a chance on another accident just for good coffee.  If you've ever tasted mine, you may disagree and feel it's not only worth the risk, but necessary.

My fingertips have a few painful cracks from using cleaners and washing so often to remove paint, so I decided to try charting the teal horses instead of stitching.  Not as easy as I had hoped, but it's coming along.  I plan on stitching it as I go, charting 1/4 at a time, so I can see if my colors and shading will work.  If I wait until the entire piece is charted, I may have to go back for changes.  This way, I can see what may be off and correct it in the next 1/4.  

I started a few stitches prior to cracking and learned something about linen slubs.  On dyed linen, they are a trap.  I know you aren't supposed to pick the fat fuzz off or try to lessen their bulk, but I do anyway.  When I've come across a break in a weave, I took a linen thread from the edge and wove it in after removing the broken thread. The entire way if a small project, or just where the break happened in larger cuts.  If you leave long tails of the weave on the back, you can add the new thread in the damaged area only.  It's really not difficult to do and so unnecessary if you are sane and do not pick slubs. 

Unbleached and natural is what I use most and had no idea about the trap.  Here is the big fat slug slub on the backside after picking.  See that white strand?  It was covered by the fuzz and I have no idea why it did not accept the dye, but it didn't.  Good thing I saw this and worked from the back because the front is still good.  If I would have paid more attention to the weave before starting to stitch, I could have avoided it.  It's smaller now and won't be messed with again!  Would this happen to every dyed linen?  Who knows.  I'm probably the only wacko that tries defuzzing, and in my defense, it has always worked before.

We rigged Squeak's house with a 25 watt bulb about an inch away from the styrofoam top and sides.  Doesn't seem that warm in there to me, but my brother (cat man) claims that 15 watt is better.  He still leaves at night.  I touched him yesterday while he was eating and he made his brrt sound and didn't swat me.  This is the new toy that they all seem to love.

Except for the steel exterior front door that won't be painted until the weather cooperates, everything else is finished in here with two coats. I think I finally found the trick to painting door panels.  I did the recessed areas separately, and used a wet rag to wipe any paint that overlapped onto the flat areas.  Once those coats were dry, I used a cabinet sponge roller on the flat areas.  You have to work really quick with that roller to get an even finish but it worked so much better than trying to do the entire door at one time.   I know you saw these doors before but they are done and I'm happy to move on.  I'm glad the new room's trim, crown, and base were coated before installation so only the final coat is needed, but not glad that I didn't use the final color.  The important thing is - I like it much better so the extra work is worth it.  I use leftover plywood and drywall pieces for paint tests and purchase the $3 samples first.  It helps tremendously!  But I still have a paint problem.  They really hate to see me coming.

I found out a little more about Bloglovin.  I have seen a few now that list their blog on the profile page, so the ones I viewed that had no option for that, obviously don't have a blog.  I was mistaken in believing that everyone using it was a blogger.  I still use my reading list on my dashboard.

Enjoy your weekend, stay safe and warm.

Thanks for visiting! 

 

The winner is....

Lady Jane, I will be emailing you shortly for your address.  Thank you all for participating!  Another offer will be coming for my anniversary in February.  I'm still painting! 

 

 

 

 

I'm not a big fan of broccoli, but when I make the stems, oh baby.  Peel them, slice into sticks, a little oil in a med hot pan, sprinkle with salt and granulated garlic.  Mmmmm.  So tasty.

 

And this is how easily a used candle can be removed from the glass after two days in the freezer.   Then use the wax in a tart burner.

 

Sorry, but since I haven't been stitching, I don't have much to show other than broccoli and candle bits.

 

So there you have it. 

 

One more thing.  When someone follows you on Bloglovin, how can you find their blogs or if they have one?  I clicked to follow a few and all I receive is updates on what they are following!  I see a profile but that's it.  Is Bloglovin for followers that don't have blogs?  Or younger people that have smart phones and brain cells?  I refuse to get a phone that is smarter than I am.

 

Stay warm - thanks for visiting!

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

The cats the cold the colors

What's happening?  Looks like another polar blast in the east and we're freezing again, but not much snow here.  I'm about halfway with my painting and wanted to show you a few things.  But before I forget, I mentioned about using jute knots for cat toys - found something better. 

 

 They shredded the jute so I used leather laces and knotted them.  The hockey rink is singing!  Even old man Bud who never played before is wearing himself out.  Because of the cold, I made a makeshift litter box for them because Mark wanted to keep them in, and they used it!  Progress!!  Bud will NOT allow me near him for fear of being put outside so he is camping out in the corner under the chair. 

 Here's the Studio Taupe color that I had Home Depot mix for me in an eggshell enamel.  The close up door on the right is the old color. I don't like a lot of sheen and this has just enough, plus being enamel, it's a very hard finish making for easy cleaning.  It's a taupe that's not pinkish, slightly on the green side, not real light, and not dark.  Just love it.  I'm thinking of stenciling in this foyer.  Now for the big question - am I going to use this over the other darker custom color in the new room?  That decision needs to be made today since it's the next to be painted and that will start late today.

 After my whining about whether or not to dye the Amsterdam Blue a little darker, I did. My home made black walnut stain is kept in the fridge and while sneaking some Genoa salami, I spotted the container.  I'm good.  Take a look at how close this is to the original.  The Amsterdam was just fine the way it was and I took a chance staining it, but it was an impulse and thank goodness it worked out.  This was after three 30 second dips.  I pulled the colors and will be changing one group.  See that long middle leaf starting at the fold?  It's the same as the background colors so I will change the greens to bluish teal.  Still no word from the owner and she may have sold this piece since she is an antique dealer.  After seeing wallets stitched by a reader (whose work I will show in a future post), I realized that the background teal is not linen, it's stitches.  I'll use the linen!  Of course it would be stunning entirely in thread, but I also like to see linen with the texture of the raised areas created by the floss.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I started a few stitches and I think this should be done on 40 count, but I'll continue and see if detail is possible on 32 while attempting to keep it small.

See the streak on the printed copy?  Remember my new HP printer and how disappointed I was?  This happens for no reason and at any time and wastes a lot of my ink and paper when making labels.  I need to contact tech service again and demand a replacement.  Enough is enough.

A note to Marie-France.  I'm sorry!  I can't enter you as a follower because you are no-reply.  I do not have your email or Google account and need it to do so.  Please email me by clicking on the link at the top right column.

 

Back to painting!

Enjoy the day and stay safe - thanks for visiting.

  

 

If you like the box.....

you can win the box.  Period. 

You can trust me. 

 

Since this was such an easy fit for a label, and I think most of you liked this design, I decided this would be the offer for reaching 800 followers.  Although it looks like linen, it's not.  This is a paper stock label - a print of the piece I just completed - not the actual stitched piece.  The little box on top is mine, not part of the offer.  The box is 6" high and 6" round paper mache.  If you prefer the smaller 4" oval - it's your choice.

 Leave your name on this post only and Random.org will draw a winner on Thursday 1/23 at 8 pm EST or later if I forget.  I'm not putting it on a separate page because I won't be posting again until then.  The paint cans are calling my name.

 

Thanks for visiting!!