Thank you

Wow.  The personal emails I received really touched me.  How thoughtful of you to take the time to let me know how you feel.  I don't count readers by comments left, but by the stats on the dashboard, and I also noticed many of my favorite blogs aren't posting as often.  But it's spring, season changes bring on additional chores and we're all more busy.  Blogging is also a record for me since I lose everything.  All I have to do is enter a chart name or subject in the top left box and I can search the entire blog.  Results are easily found instead of looking through paper files that are not where they should be. I do this on your blogs too to find older projects and info.

 

 

 

 

The last nine months of anxiety have been tough, but I also came home from Cleveland to learn that my sweet and wonderful friend has entered hospice.  I wasn't expecting that and needless to say, I think about her all the time.
 

Physically, I've been sick from something I ate that doesn't want to leave.  Nothing serious, just keeping me from doing things and going out.  Until it's completely gone, we're not lighting any candles or matches for fear of an explosion.  Mark is looking for a sign like this for the bathroom door.  Better today finally but it doesn't always last.

 

I started Sally last night on 28 count unbleached.  My 30 is lighter and the floss colors were not good, plus I want to use up the rolls of 28.  So I have a piece of 28 x 30 linen on my lap, a rice heating pad balanced on a spot of my back, my surgery foot elevated on a pillow, and a heavy cotton lap throw because of chills.  Bud will not stay away.  He comes out of nowhere, a fat black ball of fur with muddy white paws scaring the hell out of me, lands on the linen, the floss, the rice pack slips out, the pillow under my foot moves, and I have to start all over again after I remove his claws from the layers on my lap.  It's a slow process and getting pretty annoying.  At the same time, Missy and Nit know that Bud hurdled the barrier and they follow.  One runs upstairs, the other in mom's old rooms, and I have to get up and search for them.  By the time I get positioned and put all the layers back and grab that huge piece of linen, I have to pee.  Here we go again.

 

Just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your kind words and compliments.  You made my day and I thank you.

 

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It's time

Greetings.  Been under the weather, not stitching, not doing much of anything.  Mark will take Carole to her appointments, even though it's been 6 weeks and she is allowed to drive but won't.  Nor will she attempt a short market trip that I tried to take her on.  She hasn't since August 2014 and something tells me that unless it's lunch with friends, she won't be.

 

I've been debating lately about stitching.  Most of you have gone through slumps but this isn't the same.  It's more about display. When we finally finish the house projects, I want an early but sparse look.  I'm not crazy about lots of wall items, and I am tiring of my wood bowls being obscured by smalls.  I like a stitched piece hanging from a cupboard door or knob but every one?  What am I going to do with all of it?

 

So I put away the three smalls I chose and pulled out a big girl.  Sally Fiske.  It's time I moved on to a larger piece.  And since I have yardage, I will use a 30 count unbleached.  The 18x27 pieces aren't big enough - she will be 22 x 21.  One large piece would appeal to me more than lots of smaller samplers.  This week anyway.  I want to start working with all the wools I bought and get boxes ready for sale to rid the closet of them.  I guess I'm just feeling out of sorts, unsettled, not really wanting to get involved in a project.  We still have the damn kitchen to finish too.

 

 

I did make some progress on the linens.  I have three drawers of unbleached/tans.  One in 28, 30, and 32.  The other drawer contains colors in clear pockets, mixed counts.  I think this will be the answer.  But what about these mystery pieces?  They're going in a box to be stored.  Do not have the ambition or the patience to figure them out.  I may give up stitching again before I would even need them.

 

  For a project this large, there won't be much progress to show except for a new row of alphabet, so I think I will only post once a week.  Unless I fall again or cut my hair in Walmart during a hot flash.  From the stats, it seems less and less are visiting blogs these days so once a week will be better.

 

Nitzy feels like I do.  Upside down and cover your eyes. 

  If anyone would like the tedious Sally Hunt chart, let me know.  It's yours.  Lots of over one and tent stitch, which I will never do.

 

Until then, take care, stay safe, and enjoy the stitch.

 

Thanks for visiting. 

 

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On a rainy day

...I made two dishes of kugel (brother and sister split one)

 

leaving out some noodles for a snack

 

shelled the Easter eggs for pickling in the pickled beet juice from the cwikla

 

and here's my progress on organizing.

I really appreciate your tips.  I'm going to try the sizing that Marilyn mentioned, will decide if color or count are more important as a few of you pointed out, and dream about having a system like Jeanne.  But not until I devour the kugel (recipe here).

My little sweet raccoon (Budette) is failing fast.  She is having trouble walking, still coming for food, and we know she is old and her end is near.  So sad.  She is just so cute and docile.  My brother has a blind groundhog that has lived under a neighbor's shed for two years.  He made it through winter and is terribly thin.  When he hears Ron he will run toward the footsteps and hit into him.  He is enjoying carrots and greens and apples but he has to have the food in a pile for the critter to bump into or he can't find it.  A roaming pit bull was pushing him from behind with his nose and Ron went out to scare him away.  Some dogs will kill groundhogs but he didn't. 

 

Appointments for myself and Carole every day the rest of the week. 

 

The sun is starting to come out so I'm going outside to sink into the mud.

 

Have a great day!

 

Thanks for reading a boring post.

 

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Winner

Greetings all!  The Nash chart is going to Monica from The Hoopless Stitcher.  I will be emailing you this evening for your address.  Thanks to everyone for your interest! 

 

In the current newsletter from the Essamplaire, they offered a link to a video (48 minutes long) from the Saco Museum showing their exhibit of Maine samplers.  The close ups aren't clear but you get to see a great group of antique samplers while listening to their history.  You can go to the site here, start the video and don't forget (like I did) to click the bottom right box to view it full screen. The video is certainly not the same as seeing these antiques in person, but it's the closest I will get so it was appreciated.

 The queen stitch borders of the first group were amazing and several near the last portion of video were on very dark linen.  I like.  Ann, whose wallets you've seen in a previous post, is working on a new one that is entirely queen stitches and I will show you her progress soon.  The project is from Ellen Chester (With My Needle) called A Work'd Pocketbook. 

That's it! 
See 'ya later.

Yours truly,
The crab-ass

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Linen limbo

Hope everyone had a great weekend and holiday. 

After a heated discussion with nephews at my sister's, I came home to relax and choose a new project.  This is what I deal with almost every time.

How do you organize linen?  I've tried using containers by color, drawers by count, kitting the projects, but I still have a mess.  When I test the floss colors, I end up with too many choices pulled, some from the count drawers, some from the color containers, tags come off, and another mess.  Now I have way too much 28 count, quite a bit of 30, and I'm leaning toward 32 and 35.  So I emptied the drawers and I'm starting over.  But how?  I'm thinking of going back to color.  All unbleached in one drawer, all neutral beiges in another, clear zippered envelopes with colors in the third.  Mystery and unwanted linen will go in the bottom and not be considered because they waste my time and confuse the heck out of me. I do not like soft linen and several that I ordered online are, but I love the color.  Maybe use a little spray starch and move them up a drawer?  So how do you organize and keep track of your fabric inventory?   

This evening I also browsed online shops for more linen in higher counts and tried to imagine what they look like.  Ridiculous isn't it?  All sized 13 x 18, no more large pieces since I have a phobia about cutting into them.  I am so weird, in a bad mood, cranky, a real crab-ass.  No project was chosen and when the crab loses her claws, she'll start over again.

 

Have a crabless day everyone.

Hope I remember the drawing!

 

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Happy Easter

Kielbasa in my Polish grandmother's dish, cwikla in Mom's.

I always use a serving dish of those to be remembered for holidays.  Aunt Nancy's compote dish has the fruit salad.  Wishing everyone a peaceful and joyous Easter.

 

Thinking today of the latest 148 young people killed in Kenya, because of their Christian belief, and all the others brutally murdered before them.  There is no peace for those being persecuted.

 

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