As always....

 you may not get what you see.

A few stitchers emailed about the Tobias linen of Jane and were going to try to find a piece.  Just wanted to show the difference, and what you may get, or not.  

The linen I am using that I absolutely love was no longer in stock when I tried to order another piece.  Very different and subdued compared to an earlier piece, which is also a beautiful color, both 36 count Tobias, different shops, different shipments.  Just saying .... good luck!!

I am starting Jane again because of a mishap that I cannot correct.  Missy and her claw were involved, need to remember to snip those long serger thread chains that dangle and tempt.  A Missyhap.  I tried my best but it was too much fussing reweaving both warp and weft. This fat quarter has three inches to spare, so the sampler will still fit since the breaks are near the edge.  The damage is not shown, I don't post obscene photos.  Since the sampler has very little leeway on this fat quarter, this second start will be at the center mark.  I really dislike starting anywhere other than top left but with minimal margins, it's the best option.  I'm already crabby so what's a little more?

My friend in SC has the same symptoms as I do, kept testing negative.  Goes to the hospital and their more invasive swab showed a variant.  It's her third covid bout since spring.  I am still improving but the turkeys were not happy when I sneezed and scared the crap out of them.  

A tomato was knocked off the vine and partially eaten, leaving two tiny punctures a half inch apart like fangs.  ????  The cat?

Be careful!  Stay safe.

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Number two

I'm not having any problem with the 36 count!  Isn't that strange? 

I adore this Tobias color, lighter than my other piece, and perfect.  I pulled Kezia to start but had a problem with the symbol.  This wonderful booklet offers the border in over one and another chart for over two, but the symbol is not listed for the vine.  I thought it was 310 but after checking through a magnifier, it is a symbol not listed.  So she went back into the basket and the second pull was Sarah Needham, but I need a piece of linen for her.  Third was Jane.  And yes, already a thread change.  I am only substituting if I don't feel the charted color shows well on my chosen linen.  And I learned something important. 

 As with the yellow in Ann, choosing a lighter or darker shade doesn't always work.  Brighter is better.  These two are very similar, but the 3827 is brighter and that's what worked.  Going up and down from the 437 on the DMC card still didn't present as well on this dark fabric.  

Working only two (let alone five) at the same time is messy and I don't like putting away the work, the chart, all those floss bags every time.  So my plan today is to drill pilot holes into the side of my oak tray table, install the hooks, and keep the floss rings hung around the table for easy access (they are tagged with sampler name).  The projects will be stored in the bags and without the bulky floss bags, easier to handle.

  The basket is working well to store these bags and I bought extra clipboards to hold the current working page and thread list.  A few extra hooks on the table can also keep scissors at hand.  I actually worked up a wood project that I will show soon, not quite finished yet.

Feeling better today, thank you for the well wishes!

Have a good day.

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Oh no

 What am I seeing .....

not again.

This is the female (?) that Missy took off after a month ago.

Her solid yellow boyfriend is around too.  And mean.

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A dizzy tizzy

 Holy hotcakes.  I am unstable, wonky, a little dizzy, yet I attempted this band.  I can't tell you how many times I have been frustrated with frogs.  Why can't I catch on to this pattern?  I decided to do the bottom and top separately with the first cross and then follow with the second and fill in the few middle stitches.  I still haven't got the hang of it!  But thank goodness I only did the first half, made it so much easier to remove rather than the full stitch.  Trying again.

Still negative, but feeling so weird.  Last time the Urgent Care nurse swabbed me four different days and I kept getting worse.  Wasn't until the doctor in the hospital swabbed me and dislodged my eyeball doing it that it registered.  I've heard of a few that were not + until they were tested in the deep caves of the sinus.

Anyway, my cousin that was not to survive is now released to a nursing home for rehab, eating and speaking again.  I don't know who has authority over her health, no kids, husband gone, has a significant other but I doubt he holds her rights.  She has dementia and they may want to keep her, even though on meds and not serious at this point.  Something we all need to think about.  My other cousin that developed FTD (frontotemporal dementia) had no legal documents and the state took over her care and where she would go.  Her sister fought it, but lost.  Another thing that I've seen here three times in the last few years is single mothers with several children, different names, different fathers.  Tragically two were killed, one sent to jail, and without guardianship registered with the court, the children were separated to live with fathers, some they barely knew.  And certainly did not know their girlfriends and their kids.  Tragic.  Who would think at that age a situation like this could tear the family apart, but it happens.

I've been in sweatshirt in the evening and morning most of July, and now it's really cool and I'm dressed for snow.  The chills from whatever I have aren't helping.  That's it.  Fall.  Mid August and we'll be in the low 70's for weeks.  Dammit.

This is my Wave petunia that is not doing well, and my Limelight hydrangea tree.

Back to napping.  

Hope your day was good.

Oh .... Truus, that missing stitch is what I do when testing a new color to make it easier to find the end.

Be safe everyone.

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The minors

Hi folks.  It's Sunday morning and I can barely swallow.  Tested and negative so far, but since this started yesterday and more symptoms popped up today, I will continue testing.  

My husband won some $$ golfing so I bought linen!  Was considering a drive out to Shaker Woods which started yesterday but ....  If I continue to be negative, maybe next weekend.  The last time we were there was many years ago and hubs thinks it's about time I do something fun.  We'll see.  I wear a neck brace on longer rides because of my wonky vertebrae and need to remember who I lent it to.  Uncomfortable, but it stabilizes and would prevent further movement toward the spinal cord.  Both incidents of being hit by others happened within two miles of home.  But they were in town on two lanes, not a major higher speed highway.

 

Ann is the only sampler I've been working on and I am very surprised (and a little concerned) that this 30 count requires my 4.0 glasses and the Dazor mag.  I worked on 40 not that long ago and I'm almost afraid to pull out the 35 count in the kitted projects.  I'm following the thread colors except for three so far and they are mainly adjustments for better show.  The 3046 appears a little dull on this linen, the 3023 is barely visible, and 3033 is hardly seen and looks dirty.

The dividing band and letter N on the left are 3046 and the right is 676.  Not much change except for a more clear yellow.  The 3023 will now be 3022, and 822 shows much better than 3033.  Very minor difference in these changes but enough to offer more clarity.  The large area of blue in this piece may not be readable with the 927 used throughout.  DMC 926 may be subbed but I need to see how well it will show.

Time for Tylenol and a nap.  

Enjoy your day!

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Before you stitch,

 measure twice.  Top and bottom.  This may be the first time the cut was off, I've never checked before.  But a few of these starts need every inch of the fat quarter width and it would be foolish not to.  Edges are fully serged, I have not cut.  

It happens, I'm sure not intentional with all the pieces flying out for shipping.  It may only be one in a thousand but if you're that one that measured the top and it's good, measure the bottom too, just in case.  

This is the Paperbark that was too apricot for me, so I got out the Rit and now it is Bitch Beige with meno mottling.  Not bad, but the result looks more like it was tie-dyed.  The very small piece of Creme Brulee by Tabbycat that I ordered has one side with solid dark mottling and the other side has none.  Like half of an Oreo.  Can't help that in a small piece.  

I started Ann Stone on 30 count with two threads over two.  Meh.  It's like the old days when all my projects were 25 to 30 unbleached with two threads.  

It's been a frustrating morning dealing with someone that .... well ...... why bother. 

Hope your day is swell.

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