If you love a little house...

this site is for you.

I was watching Daisy Kays Primitives and she shared sweet smalls of various saltbox designs from Pinker n Punkin's blog.  And they are free.  New to me, this blogger offers a load of free designs and all are listed in the Labels column by subject.  This link is to her saltbox/house series and they are wonderful!!

Pinker n Punkin

Photo from her blog, a sample of her work.

It will take some time to read her posts and get to know her and I hope to do that in the coming days.

Just wanted to share this with you, so generous of her, and her designs are wonderful.

We're having a problem with the cat I showed recently.  Quite large so I assumed a male ... not so.  There are nightly fights, daily chases, this poor girl is constantly attacked to the point of not being able to finish a meal.  She eats here several times a day, gets within ten feet of us, then leaves in the same direction.  We assume she lives elsewhere since the shelter here is not used, but that may be under someone's deck for all we know.  We need to trap her which will be difficult, and take her to a clinic for spaying.  I don't care who she belongs to, she roams freely and should not have litters.  If we succeed, her new name will be Tootsie.  Or Flossy, my mother's name for me.  My sister called me Morticia because I was very thin and tall with long dark hair, my brother called me Weed because I grew so quickly.  My grandfather ... Malinka.  

Enjoy your Sunday.  Husband thinks he's golfing tomorrow but the wind now (midnight) is howling and frigid.  But this is PA, so anything is possible.

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Cosmo

Not Kramer, the thread.

 Hiya.  My order came today that included a few skeins of Cosmo.  ????  New to me, mentioned on a floss tube, thought I would try it.  If I remember correctly, DMC 310 was causing some stitchers problems because it frayed easily, and this was mentioned as an alternative.  Anyone familiar with this thread? 

My Ale linen in 32 count is wonderful, very pleased with its color, and doesn't look all that different from 36 count.  It about flipped me but I ordered overdyed skeins for the new Nash chart I am waiting for.  SO anxious to receive.  Anyone else waiting for market shipments?  I just ordered a few of the colors, I know they are great in projects, but 2.40 for less thread than a 60 cent DMC skein riled the Stella in me.  Weeks is so much nicer than GAST if ordered online.  Very disappointed in its strong variance, not only within a skein but between multiples of the same.  Much safer ordering Weeks.

We've been working at Carole's and finally hit on a plan that works well.  Tomorrow the bookcase will be deluvered and if not damaged, will be assembled and in place.  The appointments are done for week, only to have more scheduled.  And tests.  

I hope to stay awake and choose a fabric for ..... Tindale?  My mind is just bogged down again, restless.  Charts, linen, tbreads, all over the damn house!  Takes as long to organize and rid than to stitch, but even longer to locate supplies that are scattered.

Hope our weekend will be calm.  Yours too!

Be safe.

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Louisa

 Was browsing for no reason and happened upon this ...

Louisa Mollett 1875 from Samplers Forever.

Wow.  Look at that border.  The flowers.  The tree.  The birds.

And another one that I do not care for on a light linen.  Many originals are shown on dark linens (from aging?) and when stitched today on a lighter ground, I don't care for them.  Why?  Does that make them look like a recent design, too modern, too clean?  Maybe.

I think Louisa was released years ago, not sure, but thought I would share in case you missed her too.

 My mojo was in high gear on those smaller projects and these larger picks are causing the slowdown.  I always remember Glenna's words ... indecision=paralysis.   Sarah is quite a bit of stitching and the uncertainty of my fabric choice is causing reluctance to stitch.  So I will set aside these two gals and go back to a small.   If I stall too long, my battery dies.

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One down

 three sides to go. 

I decided to stitch the chart pages vertically instead of my usual horizontal.  I would like to get a start on the large lawn and house of the lower half which will be tedious for me.  I am not a border, motif, fill, or detail stitcher.  Started with alpha marking samplers and they are so simple, although boring, for me.

The photo doesn't show the colors in the border very well.  

I still believe these threads on a darker linen would be stunning but the 869 and 680 of the border would not show well at all.  It's not like I have a problem changing thread colors!!

I don't like having a lot of appointments in a week so I will be a cranky crab until Saturday.

And .... I feel the slump creeping in.

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Floss tube's fault

Hello stitching buds.  Hope everyone is doing well.

During a photo search for the two bigger samplers I'm working on, a floss tube with a cameo of Jane was listed.  Threads were silks, Attic conversion, and the lighter flower was a beautiful pastel peachy pink.  The stronger pink was very nice so I assumed my screen was showing colors fairly true.  It was gorgeous.  Silks and other threads can be converted to dmc but even a slight variation from the original can impact the work.  Seeing that made me consider a similar shade in place of the 3827 which I plan to do tomorrow.

Sarah was still on the station, and I decided to continue with the 40 count.  I don't want to purchase more linen for her, prefer to use what I have.  My big girl panties are larger since the banana cake with coffee frosting (thank you Carol!) but I can still pull them up.  I hope.

There is quite a bit of over one so I tested a few stitches before proceeding, and I managed.  How I hate choosing fabric!  I still question if the Ween Beans should be Sarah's ground, but the vine's thread is very close to the linen color.  I still may test a piece.  Maybe it wouldn't be what I envision.

Not even 8pm and I am already fighting sleep. Happens quite often and since I only stitch in the evening, really cuts my stitching time.

Hope your weekend is going well.

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Throwing in the towel

 It's time to move on.

You know I have to have symmetry or I get cranky.  Gave it my best, it isn't possible with this border.  The pink flowers are all facing inward, the tan are facing outward.  So alternating the two colors isn't possible without changing the direction of each.  Using the Paint program thankfully prevented a major disaster which I did not see until then.  I have flipped, rotated, mirrored, nothing works.  So ...

Paint also showed how all pink would be overwhelming, even if changed to a pastel.  So now, I will move on, follow the chart, stop trying to modify.  

I didn't realize how large Jane is until I saw the portion I'm working on as a tiny section in the photo!  Hoping I can try the WIP plan again and not fail as I did previously.  Also, my mojo is waning.  I went through the pile of finishes that are not framed (probably won't be) plus the others hanging on my ladder display.  I guess having samplers on wall isn't as meaningful as in hand, and I started questioning the large projects.  Doubtful that any more will be purchased.  The two market pieces I chose are not samplers.

 32 count was ordered yesterday.  Not only do I prefer the two thread coverage, it is a comfortable stitch for me.  Giving up the ease of one thread is not a bad compromise, especially when I can use the loop start.  Tails drive me nuts.  I can't get the needle beneath most times and I have no patience.  The last large sampler done on 32 (Ann Stone), is in that pile of finishes and looks great.  Not a huge difference from those done on 36.

Meeting with a roofer/sider today at Carole's.  Mark is very worried about her.  I told her if things don't change she will end up in the hospital and her doctor, who has authority to determine discharge, will surely not send her home.  She will have to take whatever facility has an opening at the time.  Many folks don't know that they have the right to request a transfer to another facility (waiting list most times) whether on Medicaid or self pay.  Facilities will try to deny that.  We also found out that some of the Advantage plans are not accepted at some of the better places.  Carole's does not accept Mark's plan and has that right, which we were unaware of.  Best to check with any Advantage plan if your preferred rehab/long term facility is included.

Gloomy and spitting snow, not expecting sun this weekend.  Hopefully the snow won't be sticking around, we have to drive to Pittsburgh Tuesday.  Covid caused a cancellation and after six weeks, my stitches are still in.  All were dissolving, but of course they have not.  I can see and feel the "strings" beneath my skin.  This won't be a pleasant visit I am sure.

Have a great weekend folks!

Thanks for visiting.

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