The final four

Two eyelet bands, two rows of eyelet alpha, and only four more letters to go!

My answers to my questions - I would alter to center.

Do overs - Eliz Laidman, Hannah Breed, Mary Ann Hickling, Lucy Redd, Mary Spinney, Sally Fiske, Safrona Ager, Lydia Bond.

I found out the hard and bloody way that Petey is not declawed.

Happy Tuesday to you.

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To move or not to move

That is my question.  In this gorgeous reproduction, the top birds are not equally spaced yet the remainder of the sampler is.  Do you reproduce as the original, or do you alter a design to achieve symmetry?  Just curious.

Question #2.  If you lost all your work in a disaster, are there any samplers that you would stitch again?   How many of your favorites could you not be without and have no choice but to do so?  Or would you carry on with new charts?

Guess who got into my pants?  Guess who was stung twice in the same leg by a massive hornet?  Guess whose immune system was triggered by the venom?  Guess who has dried shrunken and split lips?  Guess who killed his ass?

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Pain free shaking

Hiya folks.  I've had inquiries about these PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections.  They were first used in orthopedic treatments to promote healing in joints and tendons and such.  Several years ago, they started injections into the face for cosmetic reasons (Kardashian of course) called vampire facials since your own blood is used.  On to hair regrowth treatments with good results.  Expected regrowth is around 30% but results vary.  My loss at the crown is around 65-70% and treatments cannot bring it back to what it was, but "may" offer improvement that is noticeable and stop the loss.  If successful, it is recommended to have one treatment per year after three initial over a few months.  From start to finish, I am in the chair about 20-25 minutes.  They draw your blood, buzz your head and numb it, spin the plasma, inject, go home.

Injections are many and spaced in rows about one inch apart in the affected area, for me, the top.  Here's the trick which I had never heard of before.  A vibration device is used around the scalp to disrupt the pain receptors/sensors so the Lidocaine injections aren't felt.  The method is also used for painful injections such as joints, sensitive areas, suture removal, even some dentists use it.  It's uncomfortable across the forehead but nowhere else, and I never feel the anesthesia he is injecting in the scalp.  Amazing.  I don't know how other doctors do this, maybe some numb without it, or shoot the plasma with numbing.  I have no side effects and by the next day, most of the red areas are gone but some may take a few days.  Washing and styling products can be used next day and this is what it looks like.  I hold off on adding the fill powder for a few days since it's as fine as flour and I don't want it in the sites.

So there you have it.  Any other questions, just ask.  I will report in a few months to see if it's working for me as well as it has for others.

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Diversity of color

in overdyed threads and linens is gorgeous, but the same can't be said for hair.  Several inches of gray in the front and along the nape, red on the ends of the front from faded color (which are pulled over the top - the female comb over), and natural dark brown mixed in.  Haven't decided on a solution to this or to just let the gray grow out but since my last treatment is tomorrow I will be free for any option.

In case you're wondering how many cats you can mail in a large size Priority box, two if tightly packed.

Found foam core board at Walmart with the shiny exterior (better for tape applied after pinning), 22" width so I can prepare Lucy Redd, but still not large enough for Sally Fiske.

Mail brought a Lucy Beam chart from Becky Noland.  I fell in love with this as soon as I saw it, glad I wandered to FB that day!  I sit and study charts when I get them for no other reason than, I like to.  Because of my symmetry issues I will be adding a stitch to the stars which are 6 stitches on the left and 5 on the right.  But first I will try it as charted since it looks wonderful as is.  Everything doesn't have to match and I'm learning to accept chart colors so this may be a good step to take in curing my matchy matchy issue.

OMG it's Labor Day this weekend.  And, our 50th.  Everyone keeps asking what our plans are.  I am tired of explaining that without saliva food sticks to your teeth, is hard to get down, and I am not comfortable at a restaurant swishing my mouth with water at each bite.  I have a sneaky suspicion that my MN cousin and husband who never announce a visit will be showing up soon.  We'll see.

Have a great Friday!

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Ready

Four mounted, the other two largest need to have foam core cut from a framer since they are larger than the standard size sold at Michael's.  I need to get another two boxes of bridal and lace pins, the thinnest and best for inserting into the foam and also the only I know of that are stainless steel.  Since these samplers will end up at Goodwill one day, I don't really care about acid-free core or non rusting pins for sixty years from now.  The linen weave on two was loose enough for the tiny pin heads to pull through so I tried a larger head, but they were thicker and harder to insert.  They also left a larger hole which interfered when I needed to adjust its location.  Most of my blood came from angled pins poking out of the foam.

Mark suggested I use a magnet to hold the pins making them easier for my crooked fingers to grab, and it worked well.  There were too many for a pincushion to hold and as you know, I am lazy, and didn't want to take the time to keep reloading it.  Dipping the magnet into the bunch is all it took to reload.

Getting a haircut today, my final treatment will be Friday.  I don't see any change and plan to make the appt for a transplant.  I don't want to wait until there is nothing left.  There's so much Toppik in it now that I have to clean my nails if I scratch my head!

Have a good day folks.

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Eye yi yi

Here we go again!!  Back to the eyes.

I've been trying to mount two larger samplers for framing, both stitched on a loose weave 28 or 30.  What a disaster.  I'm assuming it's from stitching in hand and distorting the edges while they were rolled.  I knew Ann Hicks was when I pressed her at the finish and what a PITA it was to mount.  There was nothing I could do (hot water, hot dryer, softener) that helped those corners come back.  The entire piece is stretched too tight which helped the wrinkles that refused to leave.  She's done, but so are my fingers.  So many pin pricks.  Here's a tip - if you get blood on your linen, immediately saturate a Qtip with peroxide and dab, then with a dry one, and continue until removed.  

I have a few more to do tomorrow and I will never use a looser silky weave again!!

It's September.  Crap.

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