A new word .. motificating

Hi hi hi.  Crabass here. If all the things going wrong would have happened in the summer, would I be as crabby?  We'll never know, because it's Fall, going into November, starting Hallmark's 24/7 movies over and over and over (no GG and Frazier!), I need to force myself to stitch, do not want to be online, and everything seems to be changing.  Except the crabass part.  I don't know if too many nuisances at this time of the year are the culprit or if my menomoods are marching to a different tune.  Whatever.

 

 I completed the motifs on one side except for the vine encircling the house and will move to the other side.  I greatly enlarged the motifs on the copier and colored the symbols which helped a lot.  Really.  I think struggling to discern the - v / ø was making it frustrating and the chart was small enough that coloring did not make a difference.  The blown up motif, first at 150% and then that copy at another 150%, was so much better and without doing that I doubt I would have continued working on it.  The house is still in tent stitch and needs to be crossed.  Damn.

 The good news - I have this handsome fellow on my mind for a sack (Kathy Barrick).   That gives me hope.  I see him with the birds and a few motifs, not all.  Maybe I really do have a problem with motifs.  Or maybe just a thing for sacks. 

 

I also want to do Plum Street's Merry One.  Haven't ordered anything yet because I went to one online shop to order them along with a few pieces of linen, and they didn't have Kathy's.  In true crabass style, I slammed the laptop shut and walked away.  I'll try again in a few days.

 

Pat received the October ornament and sent photos of it hanging on her door along with her outside decorations.  Look at her fabulous old cart.

 

Well that did it.  I tagged the photo "pat" and when I searched to import it, the photos of my friend Patti came with it.  It will be a weepy Saturday.  I think those days are good for the soul though. 

 

Hope you have a fabulous weekend. 

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

 

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Getting closer!!

Hey!  I can type in the post box on the new/repaired laptop!  Hootyhoot baby.  Never mind that it took all afternoon with many upgrades, downgrades, removals, and installations.  I have no idea how it ended up where it is but it's better.  I'm wondering how many of you are also having trouble posting a comment because I received over twenty email entries this time.  It took a while to draw a name because I did it all with handwritten slips, not wanting to enter all into Random and then lose them for some reason.  Not sure if this is an email or comment entry but the winner of October is quin10va Pat.  I'll look it up on the old laptop which holds the entries - sounds like an email address but if not, please contact me Pat with your address.

 

Thanks for entering and making me feel once again that so many stitchers would want a piece of me!!!  Makes an old crab smile.

 

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It's a bird. It's a plane!

It's my fricking laptop flying through the air.  Now the orange in Google's logo and all orange everywhere is gone.  I tried to reply to blog comments and they won't send.  Looked it up, all settings are correct.  Still can't type in some comment boxes.  Still can't type a post on it, must use the old one.  So disgusted.  May be time for this baby to fly.

Got a little stitching done on wrinkled and folded Sally but anything is better than nothing.  Still not feeling it.

So the dinner went well.  Mostaccioli instead of risotto which we devoured until we were puffy.  My husband makes an excellent spaghetti sauce, my Dad's recipe.  There were only 5 of us and as we finished our meal, I turned to see this.  Hard to tell with a cheap camera but it was S.N.O.W.  Seriously.  See my her yellow car?

The chiffon cake was fabulous, infused with unsweetened shaved chocolate and that unmistakable texture.  We all prefer "from scratch" cakes that are a little different.  The Sicilian Cream Cake with its layers and such is the one I do not enjoy making.  German chocolate from scratch cannot be beat!  

This was her 77th.  She loved her new haircut.  I used to cut everyone's hair in my family including cousins, uncles, parents until my wrist was shattered.  That gave me a good excuse to not continue, even after the healing, because it was just too much.  But every once in a while I will do hers to save her a few bucks and she has always liked my cuts best.   No I was never trained or worked as a stylist.

Ta-da - kitchen cabinets that were to be made, never happened, we adapted, done!  The top are standard 30" high cabinets with the added 12" open shelf, the one on the left is a 42" tall unit. Haven't decided on the type of trim/crown moulding for the top yet.

  

The seams took a lot of work and I really liked working with the tube of Bondo.  It's red which was a problem but the smooth finish and application was like silk.  

Can't tell that the bottom area was added to the existing top pieces.  And the microwave is flush with the cabinet after boxing in the wall behind it.

One more area to finish and we are still looking for someone to install ductwork for the exhaust.

So that was my Saturday.  Hope yours went well.  

I am surprised at the number of entries and will be back tonight.

Later..........

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October knocking at my door

GO AWAY!!!  Who will take it off my hands?  It's not my best work because of all the changes as I was working on the design so there may be mistakes I missed.  But if you would like it, please leave your initials since almost everyone is now no-reply, or name, in the comments on this post.  You can also email me, just click the top right column.  If more than one would like it, I will draw a name this Sunday the 18th at 8pm.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, one that we didn't think she would reach.  Last year at this time it was horrible.  She had a very terrifying and upsetting year, and without Cleveland Clinic, would not have made it through.  Still slight improvement every month, and a very special birthday.  I will have to take a photo of her alongside her "new" car that she named Little Miss Sunshine.  She may be getting my new Escape and Miss Sunshine can return home to me.  Tomorrow I will have her for my Nona's risotto and make the chocolate chip chiffon that is our traditional family birthday cake.

 

Again, it's not the greatest little piece but if you would like it, leave your initials please.  The back is black with orange polka dots and it's a flat finish, not much padding.

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend.

And vote for Lori!

 

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That memory thing

Greetings!  How is everyone?  Enjoying what's left of Fall before the white crap starts flying?  We will have a very cold weekend and I'm already bitching before it's even here.

 

I remember telling you a few years ago how I received a package and was excited to view the contents even before I got back into the house.  Distraction (probably something inane as usual) caused me to set it down and move on.  A few weeks later, I found the completely forgotten package in the garage and was able to get excited all over again.  Certainly got my money's worth with that one.  Now I'm doing it with stitchery.  I decided to do a little more thorough cleaning and happened to notice two items that made me go "wow!  I like that!".  One of them was very recent and I am thrilled with it.  Again.  Am I the only one doing this?  This is scary!  Maybe because of my display methods I don't notice them and they just sort of blend into the background.  Not a good thing.  In case you forgot, here they are.  Robina and the double pouch of Harriet Hazlin. 

I just love that Robina and she reminds me of R&R's Dorothy Allen that is very similar in colors.  I would show you, but I have no idea where she is. 

 

Carol (StitchingDream) asked readers to help out a friend who lost all her supplies which gave me a perfect opportunity to thin out the linen.  I really prefer the dark, stiff, and coarse, have plenty, and hope she can find use for these colors and textures.  If you would like to help Carol's friend, visit her blog for more information.

Final sanding will be done today on the cupboard seams and I have a little trick that I do when sanding in the house.  Old washcloths are folded and sewn into a small pouch leaving an opening just large enough to fit on the dust collector tube, held on with a tight twist tie.  I never seem to have luck with those collector bags so I decided to try this heavy terry cloth - the trick is to wet the pouch.  Seems to work much better.  I turn it inside out and get rid of the dust, rinse it and store it for next time.  I also use a spray bottle to wet towels or cloths that protect items so they hold the fine dust.

Worked on Sally last night.  I think one of the reasons I fell into this slump is constantly having to check the chart.  Stems and flowers and vines don't allow the mindless alphabet work that I am used to.  But I am determined to finish her before I move on.  Poor girl has been stuck in this bag for too long.

Time to get back to cleaning.  Still haven't found a solution to the computer issues and can't click on text boxes to type, whether commenting on your blogs or to post on mine.  If a new window pops up I can most times, but if the comments are embedded I can't. This old laptop's touchpad doesn't work and the mouse is past its prime too.  Hit and miss.  It's not the computer itself but the operating system and browser settings that aren't cooperating.

 

Hope your week finishes with smiles and sweets.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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What I've been up to

Hello people.  Last night was the first time in weeks that I picked up the needle.  If I start a little Christmas project I will never finish Sally so I will try my best to continue.  Then have a little party when it's done.

 

I've had quite a few appointments lately and we've been working on the kitchen cupboards that Dominic will never get to.

 

This is the time of year that Mark ventures into the woods to pick mushrooms, as his grandfather and father taught him.  His grandfather was from Czechoslovakia and his grandmother would string the mushrooms to dry for soups and dishes throughout winter.  He has his favorite types but enjoys the tradition of that walk in the woods to find the reward.  Coming across a hunter is always a concern.  He went on Sunday to avoid that encounter and brought back some bags for me.  Black walnuts for making another batch of dye.  I have since moved them to a large box since they are starting to rot, ready for the pot.

 

I've had this chair in my garage for a few years and love the colors of paint showing.  It makes a mess with flaking off, even after wire brushing, so I sprayed with a matte acrylic sealer.  Never did this before and I'd like to bring it in the house so I'm hoping the sealer stops the flaking.

 

My sister is finally getting rid of some things and she came across a set of pillowcases that she received as a wedding gift 45 years ago.  Beautifully hand embroidered, still in the original box with label from Madeira.  I need to check EBay and see if anything like this is being purchased. 

 

As for the cupboards, I painted and we used the originals, adding the bottom area for microwave and open storage.  This is similar to what we drew for Dominic and it would have been one large unit instead of pieces.  A strip of moulding was to cover the seam between the top cabinets and the bottom area we added but I didn't like it so I'm using one-part Bondo (for cars) to fill and level the joints.  Hopefully, you won't be able to tell at all that they were joined.  If not, the moulding will go back on.  You notice the right side is not the same backing as the left.  That's because we cut into the wall and boxed it to add a few inches of depth for the microwave.  This allows it to be flush with the top cabinets.

 

Mammogram at 7:30 am tomorrow so I'll miss the Golden Girl reruns tonight and am already dreading Hallmark's program change to 24/7 movies for two months.  Still having major problems with the computer(s) browser and now Firefox won't open items when I click them either.  Disgusted enough to be missing a lot of posts and updates.  That's not helping my disconnect to stitching at all.

 

It's late and I have to color my very noticeable 2" gray at the roots.  I hope all is well with everyone.  I feel like I'm slipping further away since the tech troubles, kind of like a kid who is changing schools.  I'll do my best to get back to stitching and call the computer guru back to help me again.

 

Take care!  Thanks for visiting.

 

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