Symmetry

Another quirk of mine.  I love reproductions but I find myself fussing over symmetry, rare in a repro.  Ellen is not off much, just a little off center, but it bugs me.  So I decided to work the bottom house which is centered, and then work the motifs above by moving a stitch or two, just to make an old girl happy.  Well.... less crabby.  I should have paid attention to the layout and could then have easily moved the center vase over and all would be well.  It's such a sweet piece that maybe I will just leave Ellen's work as she intended.  Except for the Hershey Kiss  motif which I evened and, see that little crown in the top corner?  I plan to fill it in with the gold.

 

Really having a difficult time with the lighter thread on this linen.  I am either missing or overshooting stitches on this 40 count without a sharp contrast. 

Then my needle broke and starting a new one for some reason put a kink in my snark.  I honestly didn't know the number, assumed it was 26, but neither it nor the 28 felt right.  After going through the short and long, high and low, thick and thin, I decided to stuff my mouth with chocolate and walk away. 

 

I didn't remember from a long ago post, what I determined to be my favorite brand.  Today, it's a 26 DMC with its longer eye.  I don't know why I purchased 28 needles.  They aren't quite large enough to spread the linen threads for smooth floss passage, and they don't feel secure between my arthritic fingers.

Nitzy continues to improve and is such a good boy.  Bud and Missy are causing problems every night. It is too cold for them to stay in their padded condos in the garage.  Plywood and other barriers to keep them in one room with the litter has failed time after time.  Bud somehow digs his way around, escapes, and then can't get back in.  No barrier and they are on the sofa, on the tables, and roaming all night.  Day time, they stay in their beds and rarely roam.  Certainly not what this Labrador family is used to.  We've never had cats and accepting dirty feral killers has been a new experience.

 

Our temps are to increase this Sunday to over 32 degrees.  I think the New Year's slider fest will take place.  I plan to start a steroid pack for my bicep/shoulder and being drug sensitive, I should be full blown bitch by then.  Always fun.  I gained 5# over last week and will probably add another 5 in fluid retention too.  More fun.

 

I was asked about the header photo, one of the labels from my boxes.  It's the bottom part of The Yellow House sampler by Sheepish Designs.  The top part of it was a label also. 

 

Time for bed before I start eating again.  That box of melt-aways really started a carb crave and I need to stop it before it goes any further. 

 

Hope you're staying warm.

 

Thanks for visiting.

 

*****************

 

The year in stitches

Five are my design, many were changed from original charts.  But truth be told, it was a year of waning needle love and stitching slumps.  The most difficult I've had in quite some time resulting in small projects and no desire to work on a larger sampler.  Lori Rippey's Polly Cole was the only one and having short rows made it easier for me.  Very wide projects really test my patience so Polly was not a problem.

One Santa was stitched in 2016 and finished in 2017, I believe the others were all 2017. 

 

Not sure I could pick a favorite, but 1776, my minis, Chums, the Kogut Santas are at the top.

Nitzy has improved, is drinking water and taking some food.  He is using the litter box and staying inside to rest, I am sure he will be fine.  He was drooling with his tongue out and not moving much which is what the vet said was common with poisoning.

 

 

 

Happy 2018!

*****************************

Not running as fast as my nose

Hello friends.  My progress on Ellen Ford has not been what I had hoped.  My pounding head allows for very brief periods of stitching.  I am not crazy about the green and wish I would have used 830 instead.  As you can see, I changed direction of the stitches on the large Hershey Kiss crown's left side.  Usually it is not noticeable on 40 but it is this time.  Once I get to the house at the bottom, I will do the first half of the stitch horizontal and the second half vertical.  Makes for a really nice even fill with my tension issues. 

Since this 40 count is so sheer (as you can see from the white paper beneath) I have been careful with the back side's tails.  Pretty darn neat! 

 

Mark is going to Carole's soon and I am watching trucks run up and down the road with radioed dogs running all over the yards.  I have the cats in and am afraid to let them out.  PA doesn't allow hunting on Sunday but we think they are running coyotes. 

 

Poor Nitzy is very sick and after calling an emergency vet place in Ohio, they said his symptoms are almost surely from poisoning.  He was perfectly fine 12 hours before.  We can't really get near him but are keeping him in the house and comfortable, which is what they recommended.  He does seem to be a little better today and drank a tiny bit of water.  Hoping he can recover but if he worsens, we will not allow him to suffer.

 

Regular programming back on Hallmark tomorrow!!  I wish they would switch Frazier with Golden Girls.  Just can't get enough of that endearing yet pompous ass.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful 2018, the joy to celebrate the good things, and the strength to weather the bad. 

 

Happy New Year everyone!

 

***********************

2017

I guess it's time to look back and see what projects were completed in 2017.  I am still in shock that the Y2K question was 18 years ago.  So hard to understand the passing of time, when some incidents seem like yesterday, and others decades ago.  I guess that depends on our emotional attachment to them.

 

I received a card and coaster from Krissy.  The card is Lori's (Notforgotten Farm) and will be kept for display.  Love it. 

The coaster's line is something I have been considering.  Watching carbs works, but when I slip, it's more like falling off a moving train.  What did I get from my family?  A pound box of melt-aways which after a week, have mysteriously disappeared and left behind little brown paper cups.  Lots of them.  All empty.  How could this be?   

 

 I wrote to thank Krissy and informed her that the laugh-your-ass off diet does not work, unless you count bladder leakage as a pound.

 

Since I am now sick either from the shopping day or the sadists at therapy, I have cancelled our New Year's Day slider fest.  Tomorrow we will (hopefully) go to Carole's and try the cranberry meatballs, candy bacon, and all the other goodies she has prepared.  All I am to bring is the "funeral" potatoes.  Hate that name.  LOVE those fricking potatoes.  If I am not up to it, Mark already has a list of what to put in the box I am sending for my pleasure.

 

Have a safe and happy new year!

 

**********************

Touchdown!

Greetings folks.  We had no problem exchanging the tool set at Sears.  On to Macy's!  I miss having that store local.

 

Trying on coats there created some concerned looks.  An old lady with wild hair and gray roots kept grabbing her left arm and wincing in pain.  When I grab my arm in pain I also bend over as if I'm ready to hurl.  I'm not sure if the other shoppers were concerned about that or if I was having a heart attack.  After several attempts, even with his help, I had to stop.

 

  While Mark was watching TV in another room, I tried on an older coat (younger days, thinner hips) and happened to get stuck.  First of all, it was too small, and trying it on with a sweatshirt beneath was just .. well... stupid.  The delicate maneuver of slipping the bad arm in at the same time as the good one without his help failed, and the coat somehow ended up stuck on my head and covered my face.  I could not lower either arm because my head took up all the slack in the coat, nor could I raise the arms any higher to release the tension.  I started to panic and ran around with a full length coat covering my face while signaling a touchdown.  Not quite up all the way, may be called for a review, more like a cheerleader signaling the V for victory.  Mark looked at me as usual with that "what the hell" look on his face.  Couldn't pull it off the arms without breaking my neck, couldn't pull it off my head without breaking my arms.  I started laughing so hard, and although the bathroom was close, it was an unattainable goal.   

 

In case you ever see a woman signaling a touchdown with a coat covering her face and head, grab the hem and pull it up over the head to release the victim.  If she has claustrophobia, expect a panic until the coat is completely removed.

 

I'm taking several Tylenol and going back in to score today.

 

**********************

Sparkle

Hello all.  I'm sorry.  I didn't intend to boo-hoo or appear to be exploited.  It was just an example of a typical gifting session in this family.  I am 13 and 10 years younger than siblings, and the only one with technology skills although limited.  When asked if I have children, I answer yes, a 79 and 76 year old.  Many of you wonder why I put up with being the go-to efficient one in the family.  Because I am.  Rather than deal with endless phone calls of inquiries about stores, online offers, reviews, payments, and the constant issues with using technology, it's much quicker to do it myself.  But I am also Type A (well.. used to be but fading fast) and get a kick out of finding fabulous bargains with precision, exactly what is needed.  The frustration is because their requests are incorrect.  Carole is a Food Network junkie and her prior years gifts were for items she saw being used and just had to have, but when received, not at all what she expected.   This year, she was happy.
My brother the perfectionist doesn't even have internet service.  He prefers basics and donates a little too much to organizations every month.  The problem with him is, he obsesses.  I am on the phone for close to an hour at least once a day listening to the same thing over and over and over.  He has enough in his house for several antique stores (which he and my SIL planned to open before her second cancer diagnosis).  He's at the point of wanting to keep and display it all, which is creating quite a space problem.  Unfortunately, I cannot reason with him to get rid of the many items that are prefect for flea markets and vintage shops, and just keep his (too) many favorite collections.  If he passes before me, it would take me years to go through it all, literally.  And every item is spotless, clean, not a defect in sight.  Being the only family left, I do what I can and accept their faults, all the while reminding them that I have none.
 That information is always well received.

 

I received a sparkling gift from Catherine (I Love to Stitch).  She makes these light catching ornaments with tiny beads, mine is red, and I love it.  Thank you Catherine!

 

 We took a ride around the area called teacher's woods (most residents retired teachers), a development with huge beautiful homes.  The theme this year was outlining the dramatic roof lines with what appeared to be large white bulbs in a clear tube.  Absolutely perfect alignment so I doubt the bulbs were wire strung.   We may go riding in another exclusive area tomorrow before the displays are taken down.  But it is SO cold!!

 

We did have an icy dusting of snow Christmas Eve and temperatures are predicted to stay very low for a while. 

 

Since our mall lost its stores, a trip to Macy's and others is planned today since we have to drive into Ohio to exchange the tool chest anyway.  I can't believe Sears shipped this chest with obviously missing parts and a total mess inside. I still have difficulty dressing with my shoulder problem so trying on a few items may not be feasible.  I missed out on all the bra sales because of it.  You know I've had mishaps in dressing rooms before.  But this is minor and not even a blip on a screen compared to others so I'll accept the limitation and smile in pain.

 

I am having more difficult a time than I expected with the 40 count linen and had to remove many stitches to reach errors.  I was coming up one linen thread over instead of two, noticeable when looking over the work but not while that row was being stitched.  I need to go much slower than usual and that's OK because it is a small project, but I would never attempt a complicated or large design on 40.  Who am I kidding?  I wouldn't attempt them on 30 count either.

 

Hope the week goes well and you stay warm and safe. 

Please pick up any strays that you may see in cold temps and take them to shelter.

Thanks for visiting.

****************************