When it rains...

at least it's not snowing.  Hello people.  Hope you're all doing well.  I had to ask Mark to hide the matches, just in case a hissy fit consumes me during this stitch. It has taken me three nights to remove that center wiggly leaf, even though it was not fully stitched.  I'm ready to start it over and have been stitching some of the light outlines for a break.  What a difference they make.  And since the 500's are gone, the entire piece looks better.  The right side flower change in size is much better and although I still love this, I am so tired of working on it.  I know if I stop for a short time it will turn into years.  That's just how I stitch.  One at a time, and never look back.  I guess thinking about other issues doesn't help with concentration and that's necessary when trying to recreate from a blurry photo. 

The recent sudden death of my cousin's husband was bad enough, but I got a call this evening from Cheryl, his widow.  Cheryl's sister Marcie is the cousin I posted about that had the massive stroke and they are very close.  I held a giveaway when she was finally released from a nursing home and returned to her family. As soon as I heard Cheryl's tone I knew something was wrong.  Marcie had a massive heart attack shortly after the reception following the funeral.  Here's the strange thing.  Her toe had been bothering her and it began hurting so bad that she had her daughter transport her to the hospital after the dinner.  As they left the ER, she vomited, slumped, and was making a gurgling sound.  Still in her wheelchair, her daughter turned it around and pushed her back into the ER.  She had six bypasses done that night and would never have survived if she was not at the hospital for her toe at that exact time.  Is that strange?  Has Cheryl's husband become Marcie's angel and made sure she was there?  Cheryl said if her sister died the day of her husband's funeral, she would have to be buried too.  Marcie is talking and coherent, the docs are amazed, and if no infection or clot develops, she will go home in 10 days.  And here, my brother's lungs are not responding to treatment and he had more tests done today.  My sister is still out of breath but no worse, and doing fairly well. So there's more on my mind than usual, just like many of you that have family concerns.

I haven't had the time to look for a new computer, and I am receiving four of every email, many sent to junk folders but aren't, and the spam from this blog is overwhelming.  So I am closing comments for a while to see if it stops, but you can still email.

I'm sorry for not keeping up with everyone but my attention and focus is elsewhere.  I can't tell you how many bags of Dove's dark almond have been inhaled consumed this week.  I had to buy jeans in a larger size.  Not good.  Even with the larger size, there is no room for the stocking I need to wear after more leg surgeries in two weeks. 

So I'll be back in a few days with I HOPE the finish.  I have a few ideas for finishing and may need your help in deciding.  And in answer to some emails, yes, I will be offering the journals soon.    Until then, stay safe ~ thanks for listening.

 

A new journal?

Greetings.  A quick post to ask for your opinion.  The paper mache journals that I label have been out of stock for months, and I believe the new ones will be smaller but the cost larger.  If they ever get them in.  So I came across these in limited supply and wondered if this type with the attached pen and spiral binding would be appealing. The paper is not lined and they measure 5 x 7 including the pen.  Your thoughts please!

 

The last several mornings, I found the back room jail where the cats are held to be empty.  Somehow, they are escaping and roaming all night but can't get back in once they are out.  It better warm up soon! 

 

Enjoy your day!

 

 

 

 

What a week

Hello hello hello. Hope all is well! We brought Carole home yesterday and she will have the cardioversion done in 3-4 weeks after meds to reduce the clot danger. She is still getting fluid in her lungs and this could be partly due to kidney problems. So we wait. Thank you again for your prayers and well wishes. We got a call from cousins in CA that one's husband died suddenly from the same symptoms for which Carole was admitted. Of course that increased anxiety, and added sadness. He was a great guy that was so much fun and a perfect fit for the family. His wife is the sister of Marcie, my cousin I posted about that had the massive stroke.

 

Not much stitching this week. I did manage to remove and re-stitch all the flowers and now they are softer and much more appealing. To me anyway.

What's left? Enlarging the left flower, finishing the right, all the white outlines, and changing the center leaf to the blue series.

 

I know I will receive emails telling me that I am way too peculiar particular, but when you've put this much time, effort, and study into a piece, you want to be pleased with the result. The 500 series doesn't look bad, but I want the 920's and think they will look a good deal better.  It wasn't until the colors were stitched into this teal linen that I could see how they worked together. The other issue was trying to keep it narrow while still trying to follow the original. I couldn't use the same branch angles fearing disproportion and now that it is near completion, I could see that the left flower is off in size. To tell the truth, at times I considered selling it because I am SO tired of it and I'm sure you are also. But I think when the white outlines are in place, I will love it. For some reason, whether it's the new needles, the linen, or me, these stitches are some of the worst I've even done. So uneven. The floss of the first half of the stitch keeps bunching up when I finish with the top cross, I'm still splitting linen threads all over the place, and I don't care. Never have I really been concerned, and never will I ever have, stitches as perfect as those we see in Kathy Barrick's models.   Using white floss is the only time I really railroad or put extra effort into nicer stitches. But color gets to me. So I'll be plugging away again and hopefully have a peaceful week. Except for this.....
 

And also because my second HP laptop is dying after 1 year and 1 month. I've been having problems and am now getting warnings of imminent hard drive failure. I will never buy another HP laptop. I haven't been reading blogs or viewing Pinterest except for a few minutes one afternoon and hope to catch up in the next few days.   I ran CHKDSK and it tied up the computer for four days.  My old old laptop with the new hard drive will not open blogger or Pinterest and I don't have my email accounts set up.  I'll be switching everything this afternoon.  If you're in western PA, look out for a hurtling laptop.


 

Wishing you all a stress free week ahead, and a peaceful Sunday.

Thank you for your good wishes and prayers, and for taking time to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks...

for the emails about my sister.  She is in the hospital, irregular beat and Afib caused a clot, it's in the lung, and hopefully there aren't others.  This hit us all in the pit of our stomachs because of my dad's slow suffocation death by the same.  At least this time, the doctors and radiologists are not idiots without a clue.  She's breathless and not allowed to move much, ablation was mentioned, shock will be tried first, after they look for more clots.  I'll post again when she is well and home.  Thank you all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonder clips

Hello people!   Hope you had an incident-free weekend.   Ours was a little anxious since my sister seems to be repeating her last condition.  We'll know more today.

I wanted to show you these clips that I found on Nancy Zieman's site.  My local JoAnn's doesn't carry them but their website does. 

 They are Wonder Clips made by Clover.  Great for holding fabrics when hand sewing (or machine).  They come larger, but even this small size holds the thick felted wool.  The bottoms are flat so your piece lays smooth and neat.  Now I can have small projects in my bags without worrying about getting stuck by a pin.  A very nice woman called to inform me that she had my package.  The post office delivered the 8 x 10 box with my name and address to another name and address, no where near close to mine.  I stopped at the post office and they never even scanned the box as received or delivered, so I'm grateful that she was nice enough to call me.

 

Work on the horses ... well... what can I say?  I started charting it the end of January, stitching the first of February, and it should have been completed by now.  Technically it was.  Several times. 

  Last night I starting removing the right side flowers to change the colors.  When that's done, I'm fairly sure that I will remove the large twisting center leaf for color too.  Both elements were fine, but too bright.  As the piece progressed, it was overwhelmed with the reds which is obviously not apparent on a black and white chart.  Going back to the photo showed them to be softer than the berries on the left.   To top it off, this color was what I used originally and thought it was wrong, not enough contrast.  Maybe holding off on the white outlines until the end wasn't smart.  What a difference it makes!

 

No reply from the kitchen guy yet.  I worked on these two boxes and they are ready for whatever paint finish I decide.  One will be in the foyer above this little pine chest that I had in the basement. Perfectly small and functional.  We will add a base with legs, change the knobs, add a new top, and some sort of aged paint.  Because of its small size (21" wide), proportion will dictate the changes.

 

 

 

 

 

Cold weather is returning and I once again have the visitor from hell.  I know this look well.  Good thing this chair will be reupholstered eventually because she uses the wing as a scratching post.

Hope your week is starting well, and gets better as it progresses.

Thanks for visiting!

P.S.  Francis Bliss and Lydia Hinckley Samplers from Scarlet Letter are on EBay HERE.  One is spelled wrong and the other doesn't have SL in the title so they came up in different searches.  Just in case someone is interested!

 

 

 

Carpal tunnel anyone?

Good day!  It's not snowing......yet......so it's a good day.  How's everyone doing?  Anxiously awaiting spring? 

Kathy left a comment about having carpal tunnel syndrome and since she's no-reply, I thought a post with suggestions might be a good idea.  I'm sure many of you are having the same pain and if anyone would like to share their attempt at relief, it may help others. 

My SIL, stitcher extraordinaire, had and treated it as long as she could to avoid surgery.  She took a B6 supplement and did stretching exercises (like Yoga) that she found online, all recommended by her doc.  Three days of an Advil regimen calmed inflammation flare-ups.  She wore a splint to bed to prevent more nerve pinching, and a glove when stitching.  Do you use a wrist support or glove (like Thera-Glove) that still allows stitching?    The wrist brace I needed after my cast came off was very cumbersome and uncomfortable but there are others with less bulk.  Can anyone recommend a favorite? 

 One that doesn't have a bulky thumb wrap and looks more comfortable is this one from DonJoy, Bell-Horn, and others.  All elastic with an aluminum support.  The affected nerve is really at the base of the palm which is why the stay needs to be up into the hand area.  You can find this one on Ebay here. 

 

Another that has no thumb strap and leaves the fingers completely free is the Carpal Mate.  It doesn't look like a good option for a very small hand.  Lots of places to purchase on Amazon, Ebay, and others.  I don't know if either are comfortable to wear, but they look the least confining and are not expensive.

 

That's today's Medical Matters.  And now a word from our sponsors.