Out fox!

Get out of my house!!!  I have had enough of this project!

 

So here's the deal.... leave a comment on this post if you would like to enter the giveaway for this upside down hornbook.  If you are unable to do so, enter by email link at right.  This will be my birthday offer to you, my stitching buds.  The drawing will be Tuesday night the 21th at 9pm EST.  As always, the majority are no-reply so make sure you leave your initials or name, especially if you are anonymous.  If you receive posts through email, you cannot reply to them and must email me directly through the blog page.  If I cannot contact the winner and there is no response to me by the 24th (Friday morning), another entry will be drawn.

The stitches are uneven, some loose, some tight, some in the wrong hole, and they could all be yours.  Enter now!

 

Thanks for all your help with the pain in the ass fox. 

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My crow is on its way

Hello folks.  I'm sure many of you follow Misi of Gable House Goods.  Love her style of decorating and her home photos. 

In one of the outdoor shots, I saw a metal crow with a bucket.  Since then, I have searched high and low to no avail.  Recently, Pine Cone Gift Shop's post featured their arrival.  Since my neck condition has me paranoid about long car rides, I didn't want to take the 100 minute drive.  But then, I found a source!  P Allen Smith has them and I used a coupon code for 25% off and my bird is on its way!  If any of you have been searching for this yard stake, go here and use code thanks25 for your discount.  The site has two crow fountains that are also very nice, but I do not need the sound of trickling water while having a cup of coffee on my swing.  I can barely make it inside fast enough as it is.

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Wish me luck

I said I would not mention current events.  That doesn't mean they are not breaking my heart.  The local child abuse, many resulting in deaths, puts me into a zone that can bring me down for days.  The babies left to suffer and die in cars, is inexplicable to me, and this latest unintended tragedy at Disney has me entering that zone again.

 

Hornbook assembly.  I have the board ready with a section left unsealed where the project will be attached.  Still don't know if it will be handle up or down, but I've decided to add a hole for a nail head that will not go all the way through.  Only visible from the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took Linda's advice and got a thin piece of basswood which is what my locals carry, 1/16" thick.  It's covered by the batting but I sealed it with acrylic anyway.  Acid free or regular mat board will work too.

 

I'm using only one layer of thin cotton batting which makes the finish this thick, including the basswood.

 

Next, I will tape the linen in place while centering.  Then I will lace it, which I hate and have never done properly.  The fabric glue may suddenly appear and save me from myself.  But should I trust that it won't prevent the stretched linen from loosening?  You know by now that fabric glue is my buddy and I don't care what happens to my stitchery 100 years from now.

 

When that is completed and trimmed, I will use the E6000 on the basswood part of the mounting which will be most of the center.  Melinda suggested Tacky glue and I know many of you like that product, will give it a try on the linen edges.  I don't have the time to wait for the mounting tape that Michelle and Truus mentioned, but will add it to my next stitching order.

Thank you all for your help!

 I want it done as nicely as menopossible since this is a giveaway.

 

So wish me luck!  If I would have assembled this BEFORE I decided to offer it, it would have been much easier on me.

 

As for the flag chart I offered two years ago, I took the little bag apart long ago and just made a knob hanger.  It's so stinkin' cute.

 

Enjoy your day.

 

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Flag Day

I searched for the little flag chart in the Free tab and could not find it.  In case you would like a quick stitch flag, here it is again, from August 12, 2014.

 

 

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The thingamabob hickey

Hello everyone.  Once again, I'm asking for your suggestions.  The natural wood was my first choice but dark wood grain did not look good with this dark linen, in my humble opinion.  So I chose a brown crackle finish for it (although it doesn't look bad on the light primer).  Since this is my first hornbook type thingamabob hickey, I'll tell you how I plan to mount it, and you tell me a better way. 

 

I do not want a trim around it so the corners must be mitered. I will stitch them into place, trim and Tacky glue for extra hold.  I plan on a thin layer of cotton batting beneath the stitchery, no pouf, just for softness.  The inside board is not a thick mount board but a thin mat since I want it sort of flat.  When I finally get the corners right and the entire piece is fixed on the mat, I will use E6000 in a few spots to glue to the hornbook type thingamabob hickey.  No plans for tacks around the piece, no trim ....but ... should I trim it and pouf it?  Floss cording in the linen color, thin hemp cord, chenille?  I think I'm doing the actual prep and attach OK, but how do you think the final finish should look?  What do you do?  Should I put a hole for hanging in the handle?  Any suggestions or help would be welcomed.  I would like to have the offer listed this Friday. 

 

We're having perfect weather today, I hope you are having a good day.

 

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Picking away

Stitches, that is.  Did it last project, and even though the current has only two colors, did it again.  I like black in a design and even as the entire work, but adding just one other color made it .... I don't know ..... muddy.  The recommended 646 was so blah with the black so I removed it and tried a more brownish gray, 3787.  Adios.  Gone.  Then I realized that something with a smidge of color will accent the black, not muddy it. 

 

So I moved on to 3011, dark and neutral, grayish but green.  Or green but grayish.  Happy dance.  Now I can fill in the area that was removed twice before.  The border was to be the 4-sided stitch but I didn't read that until it was too late.

 

My heart goes out to the families affected by the recent tragedy, but from now on, I will avoid mentioning anything related to current events.  I am so disgusted with the name calling, labeling, shouting, intolerance, and hate from hypocrites doing exactly what they are accusing others of.  I need to keep my mouth shut.  I wish others had enough respect for themselves and this country to do the same and express their opinion with an ounce of dignity.  Not with Facebook shares of stories they don't even know are true.

 

Hope your week is peaceful.

 

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