Dear Anonymous,

 Petey is a feral cat that I can't handle, treat for fleas, or trap for the vet.  He has a heated house inside of a wooden house that we built for him.  He eats great food, and always has fresh water.  This "abused" pet is happy in his house, yet leaves for hours in the cold which is his choice.  I can touch his head for a few seconds before he bolts or swats but no one else can get near.  I have two that spend most of their time in my house, ready to rip me to shreds.  No intention of bringing another in that fights with Nit, attacks Missy, has ticks on his back, and I'm certain fleas also.  If you would like to attempt capturing this fifteen pound male, you'll need prescription medication to knock him out which I can't get from a vet (best administered with a dart gun because he will smell it in his food), take a chance with human meds that may kill him, and have antibiotics on hand for your cat bites.  Three months of various bait treats and familiar locations using a large trap failed.  Let me know when you're coming, I would really like to de-flea and de-worm him.

I agree with you regarding animals/pets outside, it's heartbreaking, but sometimes it can't be helped so we do the best we can to provide shelter and warmth, food and water.  

There is a great number of gullible hateful people currently infecting this country that label and attack people on assumptions rather than facts, the vast majority of them hypocrites.  I have no doubt your concern for animals is genuine, and not hypocritical.

Have fun folks!

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

Size does matter

 Kitting the next three projects forced me to organize young and old fabric. Twenty eight count from forty eight years ago, to the forty count of my seventy years.  Maybe.  We'll see.

When deciding on fabric count for a new project, the size of it will many times make that decision easy.  The full eighteen inches of a quarter is hopefully enough.  The overdyed linens are smaller, I guess shrinkage from the process, so we're down to seventeen.  But measuring first is obviously warranted if it's a close call.  This piece looked a little smaller to me compared to the others I was folding, and it is.  One and a half inches to be exact at 15.5.  So expecting a project to fit on my quarter yard piece without measuring the linen first, is not wise.  Too bad, because I've never done that!  But I will now.  Minor change in size, but could certainly make a difference in margin allowed for mounting or whether your project will fit at all.

I'm glad I started marking the selvage edge with the count a while back.  Too many times I've questioned what the count was but now I know.  Except for a few that I may sell, I mark all fabric before storing.

Rachel will be finished eventually, your comments in fact had me place her back on the tray.  We're having a stare down.  DONE with black floss, and may attempt a word or two a day in the 610.  The second row of the left box has one word higher than the rest.  I based placement of the third row on that word, so it is now two positions higher.  Not a big deal since the final row does not need aligned with other stitches, but that second row is a thorn in my side.  A real bitch to frog over one let alone have black floss so fat you can't see the stitch.  

It is frigid here, but not as much as others I'm sure.  I am thrilled with the heated water dish I found for Petey.  We were constantly going outside to break ice from his bowl and refill. This is a one quart unit which was not easy to find since most are quite a bit larger for more critters.  It's working great.  Almost zero and no ice!  Thank goodness for heated house and bowl!  

Stay warm folks.  I feel like a popsicle.

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

Take a nap Rachel

 Sleep with the frogs.  Like a temperamental child, you have charmed, delighted, soothed, energized, and then slowly became uncooperative, moody, and difficult.  You've won.  Throwing in the floss.  If you were much smaller, less detailed, and my lighter had butane, poof baby.  Poof.  So sleep well my beauty.  I will not allow you to frustrate me enough to abandon my needle.

Mary Bell, Bluebird out my Window, and Jean Donaldson 1826 will all have fabric pulled today.  Jean will be last since she has a fricking border with color changes and I need a simple project right now.  Anxious to see this 8.5 x 13.5 on 40 count sampler whose details are hard to see in the photo.  Something tells me the unique elements and motifs will not only be enjoyable, but stunning.

Have a good one!

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

Got rice?

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

Boom part two.

Finally.  After two major changes and two major frogging sessions, boom.  Done.  The first time, narrowed the lower case letters to one space between instead of the two I originally stitched.  It didn't look proper compared to the tighter letter placement above it.  That change was a real improvement.  

The next frog removed the second row.  Rachel's God save America was in this section and I thought using her words would be a better option than my numeric section, so ... adios.  Her words were done in black since that was the original color, and it helped balance the black in the corners.  Using capital letters required removal of the single row of dark green completing the outline of the center section.  Removing the bottom blue row and inserting the green again is not necessary. 

Hope to finish that left corner and find a cow.  And I can say that I will not do another that has this much over one.  The two corners would be my limit, but the revamped section plus the beast, bird, and berries are weighing on my mind.

  I always read and study sampler charts/instructions when first received, but Rachel was many years ago and I failed to repeat.  Just like failing to recognize the rice stitch areas, but I would have caught that had the chart showed them differently. 

No sun on the snow but the glare coming in the windows is very very disturbing and I am having more difficulty with my eyes today.  But this evening, I will work on that fricking corner.

And if your medication, supplies, various items on trains never arrive .....

Have a good one.

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

A plan

The lowercase alphabet beneath the larger is over one, done in black.  Na-uh.  So what can I do?  I tried only God save America over two but there was too much space above and below.   I ended with just lowercase over two stretched to a second row, numeric over two.

Charted and ready to go.  Since black was charted for this area, and it would work well with the few words in the corners done with it, I decided not to use it.  You thought I was going to say the opposite!  I have a good reason.   Over two, those threads would be dramatic and not as delicate as over one.  But since they were charted in one color, I plan to follow that, maybe 3012. 

Got snow?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

***********