Bottoms up

Hi.  Everyone staying warm?  We're pretty frigid here but warming next week.  The brats don't mind being house bound at all, especially since the old furniture has moved into their room.

 

 

Nitzy is eating and seems to be back to normal, ornery as usual.  Cracks me up how the boys sleep.  See that tooth?  Penetrates flesh easily, but those razor claws are worse.

 

The new needle is fine except for one issue.  The tip is so blunt that I have difficulty lifting the back of stitches to run the tail.  I had a needle that was so sharp it would split the linen's threads, this is opposite.  Whether the DMC needle is from decades ago or recently, I don't know. 

 

I have always stitched left to right, top to bottom. Because of the symmetry question, I decided to work the perfectly centered bottom first to see if I want to move anything.  I don't think I will.  Even though I've had some problems on 40 count I am glad I used it.  This is a good size for a pouch but I may actually frame this one.  I plan to remove the wrong way stitches in the left kiss and do them properly. 

Another removal plan is the center of the house.  The variations in the red floss have no depth and I do not like the blob of bright.  Several skeins are being searched for a darker thread, haven't found it yet. The two skeins of GAST ordered have little variation.  That area was stitched last and remaining threads all seem this bright.  

 

Is it my tension that is still causing linen to show though?  I did not think it would happen on 40 count but it is.

Ate the last of the chestnuts.  They were outstanding this year from one store.  More addictive than chocolate!  Many locals would sell them from their own trees, smaller but sweeter than the imported.  As the elders pass away, we miss many traditions and specialties that others do not have interest in continuing.  Our local ethnic shops have all closed and were a treat for everyone to learn and try other foods and traditions.  We learned this morning that our KMart is closing.  The parking lot was always full and I am surprised at the news.  What's left here?  Walmart, JCP, a small Kohls and dollar stores, most junky.  It's getting to the point that even necessary items will need to be ordered, waited for, and shipping costs will eventually prohibit all but a large order from being reasonable in cost.  But with TRE monitoring even online returns, how long will it be before the ordered clothing that doesn't fit and other items that are not what we expected, not allowed to be returned?  Then what?  Because of purchasing (and returning) for most family members, I was cut off from returning at JCP, but that was lifted after I wrote to TRE and explained this.  Even with receipts, even online purchases, your returns are being monitored because of all the thieves that feel they are entitled to take from others.

 

Hope you are all safe and warm.

Thanks for visiting.

 

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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.

 

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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!

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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!

 

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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!

 

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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.

 

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