My head needs examined

She just did a post entitled I NEED A SMALL and with all these large projects in her stash, that she already vowed she could never stitch, and all the pain in the butt borders she hates, more so with little leaves off a vine, with so much fabric that she can't hold it, the dipstick just purchased this.

 

Ann Spence 1801 by GPA

 

Stitch count 269 x 424.  Pardon?  269 x 424.  So on 30 count it's 18" x 28"?  Yes you berrybrain and you bought it anyway.  Not only that, look at that border!  It's viney and has little leaves and it's 424 stitches down and then 424 back up.  Have you no shame?  Why do you keep buying things you just have to have yet know they will sit in your stash?  Oh Marly you're a real pip.

My husband is hitting the little ball into 18 holes tomorrow which would be a good time for me to do some lone shopping, but I much prefer taking advantage of having a quiet house to myself.  Perfect time to browse online for more samplers to add to the never-to-stitch pile.

I received my hoop stand and tried it.  Love the flip over!  I need to have it between my legs and a bit off the sofa in order to center on my lap so this model instead of the shorter base one is much better for me.  I found it very comfortable to angle it up and high, much less neck strain, easier to see since it's closer.












My left hand has to be beneath to push the fabric up in order to use the sewing method but I'm still playing with it.  I also like the unobstructed space beneath. All in all, for less than $25 including the nice thick hoop, I'm happy with it.  Originally I planned on ordering the 12" or 14" hoop for it but that would bring it too close to my chest, even though I don't really have one.  We'll work out a way to adapt it to a floor stand since the two piece adjustable post can be removed if I decide to use it all the time.  But maybe I won't adjust to it and prefer to stay with in hand stitching and Advil.

The sun is out again after a torrential rain, first we've had in a few days.  That break gave me an opportunity to fertilize the petunias since they dried out a little, but I think they are too far gone.

Have a great week!!
Thanks for visiting.

 

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Shopping with men

Why?  Why would we do it?  Because they retire and want to tag along. 

 

I grabbed a pack of the dishcloths I always use, put them in my cart.  After spending 15 minutes looking at the towels and finding none that match, taking a stroll around the next aisle, I return and place the cloths back on the shelf.  Yes, I knew they no longer carry the towels that match, and wasted time looking for them anyway.  So what?  Yes, I knew I wouldn't purchase the cloths if the towels weren't there, and they wouldn't be, but you never know. Grab them and hold on to them until all resources and hope are gone.  Then put them back.  The look on his face with his hands in the air told me he just doesn't understand the concept of shopping.

 

There is always a huge mess in Wal-Mart when it comes to ladies underwear.  Sizes are all over the aisle, styles aren't together, and it takes quite a while to search for the aqua labeled hipsters with the wide band.  Michael Jordan and I both prefer Hanes.   Especially when you have to keep buying a larger size, it gets expensive if they are $4 a piece. I choose hipsters because the band digs in creating that final 6th roll for my personal 6-pack.  Not quite the abs 6-pack that is preferred in today's society, but my own nonetheless.  Looking for size *, size *, size *.... "here they are" he shouts.  So proud of himself for helping and expecting to move out of the long stint in the ladies' gotchies aisle.  Not so fast old man.  That pack has a pair of black in it and that funky bright green.  I want the pinks, blues, and grays.  "What?  Why?  You aren't going to walk down State Street with them so what does it matter?"  Little does he know.  Because if I ever have a desire to do just that, I want those colors.  I wouldn't, but just in case.  Again, does not understand.

 

We left after 60 minutes with no cloths and no underwear, less time than trying to hit a little ball into a hole 9 times.  At least I walked away with my money, more than I can say for him.  We're both looking, estimating, roaming around with a cart searching, changing stance, strategizing.  You pull a club, stand there with it for a while, study it, put it back and take another, focused on achieving your goal.  I don't see much difference.

 

Enjoy your day.

 

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Drum roll

 

Hi all.  Guess what?  One of the does that waits for food, decided to walk over to the back garage door where I exit with her goodies.  While she was waiting there, next to the garden, she became impatient and jumped the fence to eat the lettuce, swiss chard, tomatoes, peppers, and peas.  I looked out the window around 8am and saw her within the fence, ran out, she casually jumped out and stood there.  She wouldn't leave until I fed her.  My neighbor has three huge unfenced gardens and they don't touch his, never did.  He uses several motion activated water bursts, not a gentle sprinkler, that he purchased at our local garden center years ago.  Works for him except for the occasional groundhog that's beneath the leaves.  We've had our garden chewed to the ground with the exception of tomatoes, usually by the fawns every year.  This year, tomatoes too.

  

Anyway, I don't like this tall drum.  I don't know why but it bugs me.  Maybe it's the bird.  Something.  Now that I see the photos I think it may be.  The second photo isn't bugging me as much. So I think EBay will be getting it soon.  Why EBay?  Because I have no clue pertaining to price.  The framing shop I used to mount needlework for is now also selling small furniture and decorative pieces.  She asked me to start painting Santas again for her shop or to bring anything I'm currently doing, and she is very fair with seller fees.  Patti's husband is starting to downsize her antique collections and found a shop that is thrilled with what he has.  Lots of smalls, choppers, bowls, crocks, and treen, perfect for fill-ins with the shop's large pieces.  I am going over this week to see if there is any I would like to purchase before it's gone.  Right up to the end, Patti was joking about her collections...."don't use my mashers for kindling!".

 

Answering a few emails - the compression slip-on is an elastic tube that comes on a roll.  They measure to your knee and cut it off, comes in S, M, and L with even compression.  I wear it half way up my leg and fold it back doubled on the foot, thinking it makes it tighter but I'm probably wrong.   Yes the ice cream was good but the bowl was too small.

 

The wing nut tightener is slotted to slip over the wings, giving you a larger surface to grab for adjustments.  Sondra suggested plastic knobs with interior threads as replacements and my scroll frame sets have lots of them, including this stand from K's. Never used the frames or even noticed the knobs. They will certainly make it easier.  Thanks Sondra, I will keep them and send the frames to Goodwill with the metal wing nuts.

 

My sister kept telling me about a crock pot corn that she takes to parties and everyone loves it.  So I tried it.  It's good but not as fabulous as she claimed.  Well....the 2# bag disappeared at one two person meal, so maybe I should rethink this.

Very simple...

1 two pound bag of frozen kernel corn, thawed
1 8 oz. brick of cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar.

Low temp for 4 hours.  If you leave it longer, slide the lid open a little so it doesn't get soupy.  Picture the corn in a white cream sauce when it's done.  That's what it looked like before we ate it all.

  Still stitching Ruth's sampler and enjoying the easy project.

 

Have a beautiful weekend!

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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A bad video

Hello!  I've been feeding the does for a while now and they allow me to get pretty close to them.  One I can almost hand feed.  I tried to do a video of them and the fawns, but it wasn't a good idea to balance the tablet, a jug full of corn, and a bag of bread, while swatting mosquitoes.   So here's a not so great video of part of the crew that I feed.   They didn't stick around long because I was doing things out of the ordinary.

A wing and a nut

Hiya.  Middle of July.  Seems like only yesterday I was complaining of it being July 1. 

 

Well, I ordered my hoop stand.  Decided on the Lacis since it has a larger base to sit on and that's the direction my thighs are going.  Also because of the flip.  I never thought about the ease of flipping the hoop over to run the end of threads through or start a new one.  Holding the extra fabric in hand may be difficult but turning those wingnuts isn't fun either.  Painful!  I don't want to loosen them to enable the hoop to flip to the back side and then tighten again for every thread, so I think this is the best fit for me.  I'll wait until it comes in to try out before ordering the larger hoop.  Small projects will still be hand held and the hoop will only be for larger projects or any with too much fabric. 

 

While looking for that old thick wooden hoop, I came across the number of scroll frames that I inherited.  This one from K's creations is great but I doubt I will ever use it. 

 

 

What I will use, is what I found in the accessory bag.  This patented simple and ingenious wingnut tightener.  What a blessing to use - so much easier.  I tried it on large and small nuts and it fits all sizes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Until the hoop comes to help with Sally Fiske, I started this little primitive piece.  Ruth's Sampler from Goode Huswife.  Because of its early look, I chose a burlap looking 28 count and will age it when I'm done.  Should be a quick and easy project, no border, large spaces, easy error hiding if need be.

 

 

My foot is still swelling bad enough that I still can't get a shoe on, only adjustable strap sandals.  The compression slip on that the doc gave me is gone.  How is that possible?  I only took it off to wash it, sleep, or shower.  It was clean and the last I remember was two days ago removing it in the bathroom before the shower.  It's gone.  We tore the house apart, even looked in the attic stairs, it's gone.  This happens way too often and it ticks me off.  I will stop tomorrow and see if I can bribe them for another one.  Until then, I need the waist high which is really hot.

 

I hope your week is going well and it continues through the weekend.

 

Take care and stay safe!!

 

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Hoopla!

Boy when I get something in my head it just rolls and rolls and bugs the crap out of me until I settle it.  I have so many things to do this morning and I'm searching for hoops.  First off, my trip to the attic was a safe success.  This is it - the standard quilting/embroidery stand.

 

And this is what we plan on doing to it.  I can't get it close enough to me on the sofa so we'll try what I have typed in the photo's bottom.  It may make it tipsy but I don't think so.  We'll leave a space to allow the top to move freely without binding on the bottom.

 

 

While searching online I found lots of options for the type I want - sit on it.  I saw some really nice ones but can't see how they would be secure just resting on my lap and I don't use a table.  Do not like this one because the clamp is over the hoop, and to tighten it enough to hold it from moving, the linen would be pressed.  But you have the option of using any hoop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here are the two I found (other than some international beauties), both with 10" hoops.

Lacis is online with JoAnn (coupon applies) and Nordic Needle also.  Another brand name is also used but it appears to be the same piece.  I like the way the hoop is attached but I would probably sit on it between my legs instead of the side.  Depending on how big my thighs get, the hoop may not reach my lap.  The dowel goes into the stand and can be turned to the angle you prefer before tightening.  There should be other hoop sizes available to slide into the base but I haven't found them yet.  Edit - just found them here in 12" and 14".
 

The second is handmade on Etsy from Kenhoops.  Both can be adjusted for height but Ken's gives you more stability and angles. The base is heavier and wider, works with table or sitting.  With the wing nut on the hoop, I think other sizes could be adapted and countersunk to accept the bolt.  But will the wood on the arm right beneath the hoop edge be in the way?  Nah.  Pull the stitching down toward the center.

 

MISSY!!!!

 

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