A close call and a long post

Thanks for your compliments on Lori's heart.  I really like it and found the perfect fabric for the bag's back.  Once in a while I buy the discontinued decorator fabric swatches at JoAnn's and this one is a heavy cotton blend of a red with the leaves' 734 in the weave.  I added a strip of it to the top of the lining so the red would show as an accent instead of the muslin. 

There was a close call with the fabric.  I needed to mist the top edge to press the hem over, and it bled onto the ironing board cover.  If I would have misted the back and pressed with the stitching beneath, it would be ruined.  I usually dampen fabric and never imagined that upholstery or decorator fabric would bleed so easily.  Lesson learned.  The medium weight interfacing along with the heavier fabric holds it nicely.  Mylar would have been used beneath the lining if it needed more body.  For the strap  (stained with walnut to darken), I used a soft flat woven braid that is folded. 

And here's my group of bags, pouches, and sacks.  I think I have a few more, but I'm lucky I know where these are so I'm not going to push it.

 

This is the result of the dark brown hair coloring.  If  I lift the mess, that gray goes all the way to the top.  I'm thinking I could start a new trend of a back bottom band of color, or BBBC.  It's not as bright silver as it was, has a little bit of a taupe cast, but still stands out since the front is very dark.  Is this what's called defiant resistant gray?  My hair is thick and thin, curly and straight, soft and wiry.... a little bit of everything depending on the area.  Very weird.  My hairdresser started using women's Rogaine foam on her top front and she can't believe how thick it's become.  It took two months to see a difference and she's very pleased and surprised at the results.

 Nitzy is driving us nuts with his nuts.  It sounds like a bowling alley in there.  I moved my cloved pears from the hutch to a pan resting in a bucket since the littlest brat was swatting them, and look where she is now.  She must like the smell.  They are really getting wild and although they don't want to go outside, they are tired of being cooped up and starting to get destructive, even fighting with one another.  Constantly jumping over the barrier and then running - upstairs, into the basement, under the furniture.  My Squeak has not been here for weeks.  Oh no.  I just heard wild boy Nit slide into the litter box.  I think I have a mess to clean up.  Again.  Spring will be more welcome this year for a multitude of reasons!

Can anyone tell me why many of the comments are not coming through to my email?  I have it set for all comments to be transferred to my inbox, but I just checked again and many are not.  Not in spam, not in junk folders, not anywhere.  And they are from readers that have commented and were transferred before.  I think most of them are from aol.com, not sure if this is a coincidence.  I wonder how many I've missed in prior posts.  Been having trouble with creating posts too.  Whenever I hit enter to start a new line, it goes into the Link mode.  Weird.

I planned on getting out today to do a little shopping and hopefully find comfortable shoes for the Clinic walking.  Yesterday my cartilage moved again and I couldn't put weight on that leg so I stayed in, it's much better today, but it's snowing again.  Because of my neck I won't drive in the snow or ice, and because of my knee I am afraid of walking on it too.  Good grief I'm an old lady.  Forty years ago I would walk across an icy parking lot with 4" mules after a few drinks.  Now I can't even walk in 2" closed pumps on dry pavement.  I drove a metallic sports car that was close to the ground, now I have a much higher car in bright yellow so I can find it in the parking lot.  I even forgot my blogging anniversary.  Four years on Valentine's Day.  My mind is over occupied these days, may have to have a giveaway when I return.  Do you know how many I've had over the years?  I'll have to go back and check.  I noticed that the older posts done with Windows Vista are wonky, misaligned, goofy.   Long post, huh?  Time to go put on my I'm crabby sweatshirt and live up to it, which won't be hard.  It's snowing.
 

Have a good day and stay safe.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Done

Wanted to show you my bag - more photos later.  I love it!!

 

 

Not enough to go round!

Greetings to all.  For those of you caught in another blizzard, I hope you are safe and warm.  We are freezing and will be all week.  How does the wildlife manage in snow that is burying them?

 

So the heart - I was going to go round after reading your comments, but there isn't enough linen left on the one side to sew and I can't make the circle smaller or the design would be in the seam.

 

 I'm trying this shape as a hanging bag.  I'm making my template by folding the paper in half and cutting so both sides are the same, and then tape and adjust to the project until it looks centered. 

I turned the piece over and outlined the template with chalk pencils or quilting markers that are removable.  It's a little close so instead of stitching on the line, I will use my fat presser foot along the outside edge which will move the seam over at least 1/4".  I could cut the template a little larger couldn't I?  The fusible interfacing can be done after sewing since I couldn't see the template if I added it first, or I could fuse it to the lining instead.  You can see that I ran one long thread around the back to do the single 822 stitch on the berries.  Pat (my extraordinary by-the-book SIL stitcher whom I miss) would scold me.  And I would say "get over it or don't look".  Hey.  Berries.  I think I didn't finish this design.  There are little single stitches that go along the vine and I forgot about them!  I doubt if I will be sewing this today anyway but I do have the fabric choice in mind.  I'm not good at bag making/lining so I need to make sure I am in the right frame of mind before sitting at the machine.  I like this one too much to throw out the window.  Heck, it's probably frozen shut anyway.

I have to color my hair today.  Usually I do the front and side areas where the gray is heavy, really don't see it elsewhere.  Got a short haircut a few days ago.  The back is very short and tapered, no longer covered by the longer hair above.  She asked if I ever look at the back and I said no, why should I?  It's always been a wild mess so why bother?  Well, because the back is solid gray.  WHAT???  Yep, there it is.  I look like I fell backwards into a can of silver paint.  Picking up Chris from the hospital after his tests soon, and then taking Carole for more bloodwork.  I'll wheel them to the car backwards.

 

Have a good one.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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The shape of things to come

What to do, what to do.

 

 

First choice

 

Second choice

 

 

A distant third

 

 

 

My scientific method of copy paper cutouts.

I changed the berries from 926 to 3740 with 822 centers for my dark linen.

 

This is Lori's free chart found here on her blog.  Make sure you check out the stumpwork photos of her latest post too!

 

 

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Finished is not forever

Hey.  What's happening?  We're getting closer to spring, that's what. 

Hope the weekend is going great.

 

I had a pillow of this design from Homespun Elegance displayed for many many years.  Loved it.  Then as my tastes started to change, the buttons bugged me.  So did the Amber linen background.  Once one of my favorite linen colors, now I hate it.  It looks great in certain designs, but not with my other drab linen pieces.  When I was on my dyeing binge, nothing worked to rid the red cast of the linen I had left, for some reason the dye rinsed out completely.  Maybe because this piece was exposed to light and air for so long, it reacted differently, or maybe the Dawn dish soap helped a little.  Anyway, I cut off the buttons and realized there needs to be something stitched in their place, and it was a little larger than I wanted.

 

 So I decided to remove the stitched line from the button areas, put a dab of fabric glue over the cut floss ends on the back, and sew it smaller.  Now it is more my style, the green/black dye worked perfectly, and here it is on the original's backing.  Big difference in size.  Notice that the DMC floss did not darken much at all with the green/black dye, and it was dipped for a while. Some colors grab and some don't.  So if you have pieces from many years ago that don't fit with your current style, don't be afraid to cut, shorten, darken.  If you don't care for it any longer, no great loss if you ruin it!
 

 

 

Changed this heart's shape which was like its companion beneath it, annoying me, so I narrowed it even though I lost some of the stitching.










 This design is showing on Pinterest and although I have searched extensively, I cannot find the chart.  Love love it.  Want it.  I'm sure someone knows where to direct me...oh no...was this a club design?   Is that why I can't find it?   I've never joined one and miss out on some great pieces, but there are several projects I would not want, plus I'd probably change linen and thread so it's not worth it for me.  I hope this wasn't a club design.  I'm crabby enough.

 I received an email from a reader who is generous enough to offer the Love chart I recently showed by Emie Bishop for a giveaway.  Would any of you be interested in it?  Please let me know and if there are enough of you, we'll do that.

I started taking meds because my food has been sticking in my esophagus for a few months, trouble swallowing, major heartburn that I never had before, couldn't bend over without a food issue. Instead of having a scope now, she wants me to take a small dose of Ativan with the acid meds because at the end of the exam, she asked if there was any stress in my life.  Bingo.  Didn't realize it could all be caused by recent events and the esophagus can constrict from anxiety.  If all goes well, these issues could resolve on their own. 

 

Have a great Sunday.

 

Thanks for visiting.

Let me know if you would be interested in a Love chart giveaway.

 

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So far....

I've only changed three of the four colors.  I'm a creature of habit and my habit happens to be changing colors.  I used the 645!  But changed 3033 to 644,

920 to 3858, 

921 to 3857. 

Vines are next as soon as I decide if I want to leave the 645 picot edge or make it the lighter 644.  Hmmm.  Both are nice.  Maybe stitch the rest of the design and leave that decision for last.

Thanks again for the chart Lori!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

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