Hiding in plain sight

 Still working on Rachel and anxious to get to the bottom area, but there is a little sneak that keeps showing up.  See her peeking out?  Some times exposing just a corner, other times quite brazen, a few times in your face.  I don't want to conceal her.  She is studied at times as I do all charts (not instructions, just the chart) and I am afraid that she will disappear as most others do in the unorganized mess.

She's really pushing the button, I'm not mad, but getting anxious.  Next thing I'll be doing is pulling red threads.  I must resist!  Rachel will never be finished if I set her aside.  

I investigated the link for Optilight Martha was sweet to send about the latest treatment for dry eyes and it looks promising.  I even called my specialist for more information.  Not available here, but he checked more details and found that glands dead from Sjogrens don't revive (his opinion).  If I had a choice between treatment for eyes and mouth, I would definitely choose mouth.  Eyes can be soothed, even if needed every 15 minutes, but there is no product that can make eating enjoyable again or heal my tongue.  I appreciate the referral to this site, thank you Martha!  I'll continue to ask and investigate, never accept one opinion.  Unless it's mine because according to all that know me (and still speak to me) I know everything, and I'm always right.

Have a nice day folks.

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Rice

 One of the food items that is almost impossible for me to eat.  Even water with each mouthful, it sticks and will not go down.  Why isn't a liquid aid similar to saliva available?   Geez.

The rice stitch isn't much easier for me.  Please don't think that Krista was being critical, absolutely not the case, it was a comment about her Rachel finish.  I'm grateful that she did because I decided to change the large center flower since the white thread fill was not done yet.  The alphabet and band would not be noticed and will stay basic.  

I started on the center and proved once again that I have issue with tension and uniformity which is important for speciality stitches.  To me anyway.  After removing the flower, I will move to the right border for a bit.  Lots of appointments and I have to get to the facility for several things, Monday to Pittsburgh.  Then I will take my time and attempt neat rice stiches.  

I love these on sandwich, salad, anything.

Have a good day!

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Lazy know-it-all

 Holy crap.  Krista commented on my Rachel photo on Instagram and mentioned the rice stitch.  ???  Did she decide to do rice on her own or am I that arrogant and oblivious to instructions?  The latter of course.  Not only is the very large central flower rice stitch, the dividing band above it is also.  Why would that band be in rice you would wonder.  Because the three rows of large alpha above it should be dipstick!!  Part eyelet, part rice, and nary one in sight.  Dammit.  

Each graph square has a symbol, and usually a large specialty stitch symbol covers all four squares or has a different symbol.  But that's my fault entirely for not reading the chart.  I could excuse my lack of attention to a covid fog but I did the alpha before that happened.  And we're past the menomania.  Well, not completely.  I still use that defense for acquittal and sympathy while wiping my forehead from a not as hot as they used to be flash.   And thanks to masking, my face is always a little damp so it's still believable.  

But not with this flub.  Does it matter?  Unless very close to the stitching to study, rice is not as obvious in alphabets.... to me.  Eyelet?  More obvious.  Basic cross stitch?  Good enough.  But that central flower is already completed with three colors, and I believe it would be a nice feature in rice stitch.   Do I want to remove and do over?  

Give me a minute to wipe my forehead.

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Love this product

But before that .... Rachel progress.

I used to sew my own clothing back in high school, even my prom gowns, there was no option for tall skinny girls over fifty years ago.   And I hated it.  Still have the same machine.

When caring for mom, I started altering her clothing to cover coffee and food stains.  This led to other family and friends bringing tops for me to play with and do the same.  It was fun!  Also hides holes from cat claws.  The easiest was a wide print center band from top to bottom with buttons.  Recently purchased tall tops from Old Navy that are LONG to wear with leggings and I'm considering adding decoration.

Using a fusible for applique, these were so easy, I just outline the edges with a machine zig zag after fusing.  But learned that the cotton fabric MUST be washed and dried first!  On some, the edges were left to fray with just a straight stitch outline.  The top center back always had a smaller coordinating element.

I've tried sewing stretchy jersey before and it was a mess, never flat and neat.  Adding hem or other lightweight fusible offered flat hems that were stiff and obvious.  This product is not fused.  A thin strip of tacky hold that will be removed when washed, no residual stiffness.  No hot iron, no heat at all required.  You just press it on the edge (hem, zipper, applique), remove paper strip, fold over or secure the second fabric, finger press.  It held the jersey secure enough to stitch without stretching and IF my machine was working, it would be even better.  It won't pick up bobbin thread for any stitch other than straight.  

But it's a nightshirt that went from floor length to knee length and was so much easier, and the hem is neat!

About the kids' gifts.  I used to love spending hours in stores looking for top and bottoms that coordinated, but Miss Sophia has become so fussy that is a waste of time and money.  Autistic Matt rarely will accept all items so their mom is better at knowing what they will wear.  Last year we went with new blankets, comforters, pillows, underwear.  So more underwear this year and I'm thinking sleeping bags.  They use them for watching TV and unzip to add to their bed when really cold.  Been a few years, I'll bet they are tattered by now.  Cash?  Visa cards one year were not spent on them, another story, absolutely not an option for such young kids.

Monday monday melting snow.  

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Mid November

 Why?  And why are black Friday sales so early?  We no longer receive ads for major retailers in our useless local paper, and even if I had a phone I would not allow push notifications or be linked.  Guess that's why I will never get the journals or bags or anything else that stitchers are promptly made aware of.

Mary, my sister's adjacent 105 year old resident passed away last night.  To be of sound mind at that age, what a blessing.  They moved a once lovely woman who now screams nastiness all day across the hall, and when she would barge into Carole's room, Mary would enter and in no uncertain terms set her straight!  Since Carole can't walk, Mary watched over her.  I only hope the new neighbor will be kind.  It would help if she could talk to other residents that dealt with limb loss, but privacy laws prohibit sharing such info.  Mid thigh amputation is harder to adjust to than below knee and along with the pain of the remaining leg, she is having a difficult time.

All those gowns I purchased that she insisted be ankle length despite my arguments, I have to cut and hem.  Watching a video about working with knits/jersey will have Mark taking me to JoAnn's for Wash-Away Wonder Tape.  Only a few are jersey and I will try to do that this evening.  Ordered several but nothing in stock locally, arrival time is end of November.  

I'll tell you what I got for myself this morning!  From Lori Rippey......

Mary Bell.  Wowza!

My new linens were to be sorted and listed by count, but I got sidetracked.  When putting the 36 and 40 in pouches is when I realized how similar some colors were to each other.  My foggy mind could not produce a way to list color shades within counts, so that ended and I got the lemon zucchini bread out of the freezer.  Technically husband did.  Some days the weakness is profound and others better, so he is still on stair duty.  But I did offer a slice for his trouble.

Wow, this has been a ramble hasn't it?  Wish me luck on the hemming.  If it fails, it will become a raw zig zagged edge.  As I keep telling her majesty, she is not attending a prom so get over it.  

Roethlisberger is out with Covid, it will be a grumpy afternoon for my stair master. 

Thanks for visiting!

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Close enough

If you are unable to locate a particular color of linen for a project, you should be able to find a substitute that is so close you won't notice a difference.  The Affogato I received is very nice and I can't tell the difference from the Antique Lace.

This background is Oatmeal (Kitten Stitcher) as is the totally different Oatmeal (Hobby House) in the right corner.  So if a chart calls for it, which one would work with the threads?  The other two, Caramel Macchiato and Buttermilk, are no different at all from the Oatmeal.  But not the corner Oatmeal which matches my Prairie Grass.  There's no way to know which variation of a color was used for the model so close enough has to be good enough!  And it appears a completely different linen may be closer to what the model is stitched on.

I received two counts of Sand Dunes, expecting it to be tan, and I soaked both yellow pieces in bleach to remove color.  I'll play with them at some point and get the color I want.

Stayed in the car yesterday while Mark did the errands but did go into Kraynak's to see new offers.  I featured this store before, the largest Christmas shop ever.  So many string light options, theme bulbs, tabletop items, collectibles, artificial greens, ribbons, tiny to massive trees, yoi!   They opened the back area this year for more toys, which also fill the actual store.  The Christmas items are in the numerous greenhouses.  My knees were giving out so I got a few larger bells for the skimpy tree and left.   Between that and a shower, I was so exhausted.  Hard to understand when all else is so much better.  

 

This advent item was new.  I also saw cut glass trees lighted inside by battery which would be a nice sparkling decoration for Carole's tray table if she doesn't make it home in time for Christmas.

I very much like the shape and size of the shorter tree between the snowmen.  I don't know if it was my wobbly knees or not, but I swear a few of the gnomes and snow people tried to trip me.

I found two charts recently purchased that I didn't remember and they are NICE!  Hurry up Rachel Hyde!  Let's get your clusters hanging!

 High winds and rain, cold weekend.  Crapola.

Hope everyone took some time yesterday to honor our veterans.

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