Fern sale

Hey.  Just came back from Lowe's and they have beautifully full ferns for $8, not sure how long the sale is in effect.  Originally $14.98.  Thought I'd let you know - I didn't see this advertised.

 

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Time is flying

Hiya.  The caps are coming in.  I ordered a few rolls of the Washi tape and the smaller bronze caps too (BF25).  Only $2.85 for eight with no additional shipping, couldn't let them go.  They will be very small berries!  I can spray paint with one of the metal colors if they are too dark.

 

The berry pattern I used is in a mess upstairs and I will post the measurements if anyone wants to use them.  Since the top needs to be narrow, the standard templates weren't working for me.  I did find that stuffing it to the very very top with just enough fabric to close made the top narrower.  So I used my letter opener and just kept packing the walnut shells in.  For one of them to fit the cap, I needed to add more shells and then I laid a tiny piece of muslin over them before I gathered it closed.  The fabric didn't quite meet but the muslin beneath held the shells from escaping.

 

After pulling all the teals, I decided on 503 for the row above the blue people.  The greener 523 looked really nice but it seemed to predictable for this funky piece.  I also had to remove the letters in the center because I misread that symbol, they are to be blue.  After working on the very light vase at the bottom, this sampler is fantastic.  I'm very glad that I used the darker Sea Glass.

 

High Sunday will be 49.  Before and after, 60.  All during, rain.

If you have sun, enjoy it!

 

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Got dirt?

Greetings folks.  The sun was out today and although I still needed a sweatshirt in the morning, by afternoon it was warm and sunny.  The rain is moving back and darkness is returning.  A walk around the house, as I do every spring wondering what to do with the house siding, my blue angels surprised me.  My goodness they sprout fast.

 

Each is in a different stage, from the tightly rolled cigars to the big girl leaves.

The huge Blue Angels are probably my favorite and I have shown them before. 

 

My second is a simple chartreuse that matches sweet potato vines, my favorite color to mix in with any flower.  Those vines are the deer's favorite also.  I purchased two many years ago and have asked every year since, never to find this color in a solid again.  The closest has a yellow edge but I want the solid.  A local greenhouse (DJ's in Transfer) specializes in Hostas and has a vast selection, but not this one!  We purchased several Yard Enforcers to stop the critters from eating everything.  My neighbor has used this method for years, right along the wooded areas, with great success.  Don't hurt 'em, squirt 'em.

 

This is a photo from DJ's gallery - I see so many unique plantings like this feathery white one, but with our top 8" of orange clay with unending blue clay beneath, we just waste our money. When we dug a very large hole to fill with good soil, it became a pool of water after rains.  The water can't perk through the clay so it follows the path of least resistance, my good dirt.  We've tried everything, amended with all including gypsum.  We're done!  Someone's blog showed their gorgeous landscaping and there was a sparse chartreuse tree with very short needles on weeping branches.  Loved it.  I did have the name and checked locally, they never heard of it, and I've since lost the note.  Probably best anyway because it would certainly not survive on this property. 

 

Almost done with Mary.  Have a spectacular weekend.  I'll settle for good.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

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A little birdie told me

 

that some of you are trying to find The Examplarery's Mary Spinney from 1990.  I did a search and came across a hydroponic growing site that seems to also have some stitchery.  Spinney is in kit form, with the linen, unopened, for $52.  The linen is not as dark as mine but listed as olive green. I did not click the Buy button to see if it was still available or any other info on shipping but you can do that if you are interested.  Here is the page....

http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/store/The-Examplarery-Mary-Spinney-Plymouth-AS-Sampler-Kit_300560084059.html

 

Today I am signing up for a health care/Medicare plan, choosing from the options that can make your head spin.  I have it down to two, will probably choose the BC Advantage plan and then switch to a Medigap full coverage in fall.

 

It's still rainy and chilly here, rain the rest of the week and only around 60 this weekend and continuing into next week.  Poor husband has a 3-day golf outing!

 

Nitzy appeared last night and I thought he was someone else's cat.  The mud was packed down to his skin, all over, and he appeared gray or light brown.  I used Wet Ones and gently petted him but after 20 sheets, I wasn't making a dent.  Switched to a thick washcloth but I need to really rub opposite to get to his skin.  Some blood from those claws that are sharper than a fishing hook, and he went to the garage for the night.  This morning I tried combing the dried mud clumps and broke most of them up, but he is still coated with the dirt and a light brown color.  Little by little, cautiously, with gloves on. 

 

Enjoy your day.

 

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The perfect blue

 

Hello all!  After pulling blue after blue, I decided on 334, rather bright and saturated for me, but the muted colors I prefer did not do this justice.  The others colors I chose were not the brightest shade in their color family yet look striking on the dark linen.  I combined several symbols into one.  Lots of light, medium, antique golds/yellows and too confusing, so I just consolidated.  There are still quite a few variations and I'm happy with the choices. 

 

As for the errors, I can't recall having this many.  Continually missing the placement by one thread and there are at least 15 areas that I found and did not correct.  Another reason to love primitive samplers; you can't see the errors.

 

 

As an example, the bottom of the r was started in the correct position but I went over 3 threads on the start, and two on the cross which set me up for being one thread off.  You can see how it snowballs with the white lines showing how the rows do no line up with each other since I used the previous incorrect placement as a guide.  Checking the stitches in the row above would catch problems and correct them before the entire row is off, unless it's off one thread too.  That may be why there are so many edges that didn't meet the side border. Who cares?  Certainly can't tell.  But I'm amazed at how many times this happened on this project.  The dark linen?  Lack of interest? 

And as I looked closely at the chart, I see that two similar symbols were used in close proximity and I didn't notice the difference.  The band above the blue people was to be a light teal.  It's only a single line and I can easily remove it but I don't know if I would like that color next to this blue.  Need to think about it.  I see now that I also mistook these symbols for the inverted V so there are other color errors.  Again...who cares?  I should have enlarged the chart.
 
I love this sampler but if I wasn't blogging, it wouldn't be stitched.  I started this blog to help motivate my love of samplers after a long break, which also held me accountable to continue reporting progress.  Without it, I seriously doubt (at this point) that I would even care where the needle was. 

 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. 

 Already a week gone in May.  Slow down!!!
 

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To all the moms

Happy Mother's Day.

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