Did you ever...

try to exchange flowers?  I let the Amish owner with the ice blue eyes, chiseled jaw, and v-shaped body, on his private breathtaking acreage and enormous white farmhouse with wrapped porch, majestic birdhouses in rows, floral landscaping, and hanging baskets bigger than my ass, influence me.  I don't know why. 

 

So instead of getting the pink mini supertunias, I got the bigger Bubble Gum supertunias.  I want the minis.  Saw this same plant in large hanging baskets this morning and they were very nice but the centers were empty and bare.  Not so with the mini supertunias I've had before.  How foolish would I look if we ride out there tomorrow and ask to exchange $70 worth of 4" pots?  Mark said he will drop me off and stay in the car which I already knew.  Flowers have been the only items that didn't beg his question, " are these going back next week?".   No longer.  I am the Queen of Returns but is it really my fault?  Has not menopause created a hesitation, confusion, lack of self assurance, indecisiveness?  No?  Well it sounds like a plausible excuse to me and I'm sticking with it.  I'm sure their response to my request will be "we don't know - no one has ever asked to exchange flowers before".  Either I will end up a happy crab or have more pink petunias than any one person should.  And I should have bought the yellow.  I don't like pink.  See what I mean?  It's like living with two people!  One's a crabby bitch and the other is a weepy wimp.

 

I've set aside Sally for the time being, almost started a few others, but decided on Mary Kiptin/Kitpin, whatever her name is.  Not being a border stitcher, this may create some frustration but it's not the size of Elena Tratman which was my other choice.  I am studying the packets for the sweet bags and the stitches required, mostly detached buttonhole, and although anxious to start I know I don't have the patience right now.  Even been thinking of a Santa.

 

Went to the doc for my after surgery check and dressing change, the gauze was fixed to the stitches from dried blood and pulled out a few when he removed it.  Yikes.  He said to let it go as is, and start following his instructions.  What?  ME?  Not do what I'm told?  How the hell did he know?  My swollen ankle is bigger than my shoulder...may have given him a clue.  So I am to elevate and stay off it.  OK.  Next week, after the paint is remedied and flowers are exchanged and planted.  Lowe's was very nice about the paint and we were there forever getting the sample formula entered into a gallon.  So sure it would be right - got home - it's pink.  Don't know what else to do except buy two dozen samples. 

 

After the high 80's and humidity of the weekend, the furnace is on.  39 tonight.  Right now I'm going to make a cup of coffee, pull out the sweatshirts that are neatly packed away, and elevate my foot for a while.  Sad news....my nephew and his long time love have split, and the blind groundhog that my brother has fed since last year disappeared two weeks ago.  Something must have chased him into the woods and Ron hasn't been able to find him.  He will not survive.  And, the primitive shop in Ohio that opened in 2012 has decided to close, to my surprise.

 

That's it boys and girls.  I know it's not Sunday but I am very unreliable.  Can't blame that one on menopause.

 

Have a great week.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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The errors continue

Hello everyone.  Why does it seem progress is slow?  I'm not stitching much, that's true.  But the errors have really cost time and I'm taking one step back for every two forward.  I finished the brown eyelet top row of that section, corrected and completed the green dividing bands, haven't corrected the chain stitch row, moved an entire row to compensate for a placement error, and now can't even spell correctly. 

I was working on the A in AD and realized it wasn't under the prior row's c as it should be.  Forgot the u in wrought.  It's not a lot to remove but I am tiring of doing so row after row.  Good thing I checked when I did.  Many times my mind is on something else and I just stitch blindly, following the entire row without checking placement.  Haven't decided if I will switch to an easier and smaller project.  This is way too cumbersome to take outside or to appointments.

 

I won the only bid on Ebay for the Queen's Sweet bag from Sharon Cohen so the book cover is the last of her designs I am watching for.  I ordered this book too, and it has great directions for constructing bags, but I don't care for the designs. 

 

While in Lowe's this morning, a gentleman pointed to my legs and asked, "accident"?  I said "no, intentional".  He looked at me rather odd, didn't understand that I meant the medical procedures were necessary and planned. 

Now what was I doing in Lowe's?  Getting the gallon of paint for the cabinets and trim in the lighter color that they mixed for me last week.  And here it is.  Even my husband who believes there is only one beige can see the difference and the PINK!  I am so ticked.  Why bother mixing samples if you can't follow that same formula for the gallon?

Two appointments Monday morning, then a haircut, then off to the Amish greenhouse for a few flowers with husband and sister.  I seem to not be lifting my foot high enough and catching this thick shoe on everything and anything.  I sure hope I don't catch a water hose and take a header onto his flats of flowers.  I could just see the domino effect leading to the eventual collapse of the greenhouse tent.

 

Have a great start to your week.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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Happy Mother's Day

 

Wishing everyone a beautiful day filled with joy, memories, love.

 

 

 

As with so many of you whose moms are gone, the memories are met with tears. 

Her favorite trees are glistening like white lights in the sun.

 

 

 

 

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Tiny bubbles

It's Friday.  Surgery went well except for a little too much bleeding.  Injections went well and I baked a cake for them to celebrate the end of treatments.  But the waist high stocking and the foot wrap with the big shoe is not comfortable on an 88 degree day.  That's OK!  It's done.  The endoscopy and stress test will come in a month or so.

 

I'm working on the sink base, finally decided on color.  Cranberry beneath Kodiak Gray, a greenish brownish grayish neutral.  How does it go with the other cabinets in Studio Taupe?  Not good but it doesn't matter.  I'm repainting.  Yep.  Idiot.  Can't help it!  It just doesn't look good with the soapstone in my dark kitchen so after viewing a Facebook entry on Primitives in Pine, I ran out to get the Behr Riviera Beach that was used.  Love love love.  Light, but not as light as the samples I had before.  The Kodiak Gray, a Pratt & Lambert older color, is soft and fabulous.  Just enough contrast for the sink base to be different.  It's what I used for these samples. 

 

I wanted to show you a trick that you might already know about to get a primitive paint finish.  It requires - not the blow torch - but a heat gun.  The standard heat gun for removing paint.  If you heat the gun first, brush on a thick coat of paint, then gun it while wet, you get this.

The paint will start bubbling very quickly and you need to move the gun away or all the paint will become one bubble.  You can push down the bubbles with your finger and when dry will be a rough finish, or wait until it's completely dry and scrape off the bubbles for this finish. 

The paint beneath doesn't get a chance to bubble and the top ones will scrape off exposing the under color.  This area on the top left is a basic thinner coat and it won't bubble at all, not enough paint and it dries too quickly.  As soon as the tiny bubbles started I moved the gun away and this creates just a rough aged looking finish without the really primitive mess in the above photo.

That's it.  Haven't decided if I will crackle or scrape but wanted to show this trick.  You can add an additional coat over the area and do it again if it didn't bubble as much as you wanted.  The paint must be a decent coat, but not real thick, and wet.  Once it dries the bubbles stop so if you use the gun before it is hot enough, it will dry the paint instead of bubble it. 

 Be careful!!  Have a silicone mat or something non-flammable to set the gun on, watch where you point it (wild hair sets to flame quickly - trust me), and you can also burn the paint.  Practice, be careful.

Edit - received a few emails from readers that have used this method and found that the hardness of the surface will vary with the new super wall paints.  Their bubbles did not harden to "crispy"!  Best test the brand you are using on a sample. It works really well with the acrylic craft paints but I can't vouch for the difference in Behr, BM, Valspar.  I use flat and haven't had a problem.

 

Enjoy your weekend - ours will be a hot one.  Yay!!!

 

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A good day

Hello all.  Monday was a pretty good day here. Even the brats were enjoying it.

It started with project work.  After giving up on anyone here knowing what I want, I decided to wing it.  I mentioned before that I visited the best custom and standard lumber supplier in these parts, asked if they could help me with colonial paneling, he laughed and told me to buy a new trailer. 

So to panel the bar and backsplash, we purchased 1/4" finished birch plywood and ripped it to wide random widths.  Half inch really wasn't necessary to get the look I wanted.  If they still carried the tiny bead moulding, we would have used it but instead, just spaced the boards for plain panels. 

Made the corner brackets, even though I am not happy with the my-fat-knees-won't-hit-now profile.  Mark (who doesn't want them messed with) will be attending a weekend golf outing and since it's almost impossible to use a jigsaw in this position, I will attempt the belt sander to get the shape I want. Won't be easy, there are three.  I wet an old bedsheet and hang it over like a tent and it catches sawdust really well.

Moved on to fitting the peg boards beneath the wall cabinets. The pegs will go in tomorrow and the outlets will be replaced with a newer style in a lighter color.

The legs and apron will be cut next and rather than paint the toekick area the same as the cabinets (then the legs blend in) or a dark gray or black (which is too obvious), we decided to stain the area the same as the floor. It will blend in allowing the leg moulding to be more noticeable.  I think it's a good solution.  It will be cut from the baseboard that you see here (and painted to match the cupboards).

Then the mail came.  I received the Sharon Cohen patterns along with Threads of Gold's new reproduction sampler, Ann Kiptin (call or email Em-Li's).  I am considering a hold on Sally and moving on to Ann, but concerned that I will never go back and Sally will never get finished.  Ann is 140x220, only 9 x 14 on 30 count.  I could do that.  There is a floral border, alphabet, motif, animals, back to alpha, should keep my interest and all in a smaller project.  I always end up browsing the 11 pages of Threads of Gold reproductions and wonder - do I have these?  I need more organization.

And now the final good thing of the day.  My abdomen is large enough to roll the bottom hem of my t-shirt when I sit.  That's not the good thing since it is 5 pounds heavier again - not going in the right direction.  But as I undressed to get into the shower, a large hunk of chocolate that fell out of my cookie earlier hit the floor.  What a nice surprise.  It must have fallen into the rolled hem.  I searched for that chunk and could not figure out why it disappeared.  Some women have chests big enough to become a catch-all shelf, unfortunately, mine is my abdomen, not as attractive as a rack.

Still limping from the left foot surgery, the knees that need fixed, waist high surgical stocking from injections, I'm having the right foot surgery tomorrow, then the final left leg injections Friday.  Get it all over with at once.  It's minor stuff really but hurts like hell for quite a while.  Since I have to stay off it for several days, maybe I will get back into stitching instead of just watching the ice bag melt.

 

Enjoy your week!

 

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The Queen

Greetings folks.  How did the weekend go?  We had wonderful weather and it's finally warming up.  I can't believe how many people already have annuals planted and hanging baskets.  The stores have had them for some time.  I remember when Memorial Day was the big shopping day for flowers but just as all seasonal items, they are out sooner every year.  I feel pressured to get what I need before they are gone but I didn't even think about a plan or colors yet.  I'm still working on that damn paint that is pink in the day and green in the night.  My moods have me crabby in the day and giddy at night.  Hot flashes have diminished but when I do get them, the mood goes from cold to hot and back to cold just as my body does.  Is there such thing as a happy crab?

 

Not much done on Sally.  The chain stitch row that took me forever is off and I may take it out and just do a regular cross.  The rice alphabet is down one row and not rice - I did the regular cross - which made the row beneath also down one.  That's OK because there is enough space.  So I thought this would be a good time to show you Ann's latest wallet project and a little note from her about it.  By the way, Ellen Chester (With My Needle) called her wallet of 7000 queen stitches "not for the faint of heart" when she created this historical adaptation of her original antique. This photo is from Silver Needle and they are offering the chart with finishing instructions for half price ($8) on this page.
 Ann originally avoided this stitch like most of us, but thought maybe she could inspire a few of you to give it a try.  I know that several specialty stitches I imagined to be a nightmare, ended up being fun to do once I got my rhythm and a nice break from the usual cross.  As always, watching videos from Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread are a tremendous help.  Here's Ann....

 

 "In all my years of stitching I have always shied away from doing designs that contain the Queen stitch (also known as the Renaissance or Rococo stitch).  I like my needlework to be neat and orderly and the dilemma for me was what tension, if any, should I use.  Do I apply no tension, do I pull a little or a lot and is the same tension applied to each part of the stitch.  I found different instruction/suggestion based on the places I looked.  As a result,  my Queen stitches were crooked, uneven, slanted, and just out of whack.  However, I saw two designs that made my hesitation of doing this stitch turn to a desire to resolve my issues and just do it.  The designs are A Work'd Pocketbook, by Ellen Chester and Mary Alsop 1774 Pocketbook from the Examplarery, Joanne Harvey. 

I have both designs but chose to do Ellen's first.  I am lucky to know Ellen since we are both members of the Queen City Sampler Guild in Cincinnati, Ohio, and I have taken a class from her.  I will tell you her directions are outstanding and are precise, complete and so easy to follow. Perfect choice for my adventure.

Although I used Ellen's design, I decided, as I seem to often do, to change the colors from the ones in her design.  I am using 32 count Wichelt Lambswool fabric and Needlepoint Silk thread, which has become a favorite of mine. 

I began my stitching with very little tension but as I did a row or two, I wasn't sure that the look was what I wanted.  I began "playing" with the tension and found that a more "pulled" stitch appeared more appealing to me.  It could be that this is going to be a wallet and there will be soooo many queen stitches all touching each other, it could be my choice of colors for the threads, or possibly just the way I stitch; however, I'm liking the look with more tension.  

I thought I might tire of doing so many queens but I find that I'm as excited about this piece as any I've done....right now I'm just loving doing reproduction wallets.  

Thanks Marly for inviting me to be a tiny part of your blog." - Thank you Ann for sharing your projects. 

 

You can see in the photo how she changed tension as she moved along in the project.  My tension would not be visible through the flames. 

Ann has great boards on Pinterest (here) featuring wallets, huswifs, bags, pouches, books, caskets, and of course, her fabulous finished stitchery.  Some of the antiques in her wallet album are these, also done in queen stitch.

 

And my favorite which is a needlecase.

 

 

I'm sure she will share the finish of her wallet of 7000 queens.  I've never constructed these reproduction wallets, doubt if they are easy, but Ann has also accomplished that task with perfection. 

When your needlework interest is in early pieces and reproductions, you're tiring of samplers, try one of these projects for a change and challenge.  The sweet bags, wallets, huswifs, and other similar needlework may create a new interest and collection, and no wall space is needed!

 

Thanks again Ann.  Can't wait to see it completed and what the next project will be.

 

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