Funky Snail

No, this doesn't involve an unsavory dining experience. It's about this little guy. He's a variation of Prairie Schooler #54 Garden Beasties. I used DMC Color Variations #4190 and regular DMC 150 and 721. I was a bit nervous about messing with a sacred PS pattern. I have never varied one of them before because they are so perfect the way they are. I really do like how this little guy turned out. I did eventually paint the bottom of the papier-mache box a bright lime green to match the hand-dyed linen. I might try the spotted frog next in some wild color combination.

A few other stitchy finishes to show including the patriotic stars I discussed in a previous post. As for the tutorial requested on how to finish a star shape, here is my advice. DON'T DO IT! Just stick to squares or circles. Actually I did take some photos of the WIP and I will write a little tutorial in a future post, but for now I am just recovering from the torture of making these darn things. The man standing between the two stars is Uncle Sam of course. He is from Needl' Love booklet #23 "Holiday Friends". There is Miss Liberty who goes along with him and hopefully she will be finished later today. If these awful rain storms continue as they have for the past 18 hours or so I will get a lot of "indoor time" to work on some stitching and finishing. This all hinges on the hopes that the electric will stay on while it's storming.

I spent the mandatory 2 hours on-line this morning that it takes me to read and comment on all my favorite blogs. Then a big crash and a big flash and the power went out. Just for a minute or two but long enough to zap the computer before I had a chance to make a new post here.

On Monday Joe had a day off so we did a little local tour. Our goal was to make it the 35 miles southwest to the closest Red Lobster restaurant, but a huge accident on the hi-way underpass and the ensuing traffic jam surrounding it put an abrupt end to that. Since it was only 4pm we decided to drive around to the cemetery where his paternal grandparents are buried. The cemetery has a very old section that I love to visit. The early 19th Century monuments are so beautifully carved and remind me of Georgian Era samplers. The weeping willows, lambs, doves etc.....and the verses are perfect to translate into needlework.

To the Memory of
Martha H. Campbell
Who departed this Life
April 10th 1830
Aged 19 years
3 months
2 days
Dearest Sister thou hast left us
Here thy loss we deeply feel.
But ‘tis God that doth bereft us
He can all our sorrows heal.

To the Memory of
Margaret Elizabeth
Daughter of
David C. & Margaret Williamson
Who departed this life
Dec. 5 1838
Aged 3 years 10 months 24 days
When carried by angels above
Your happy young spirit shall rest
In regions of pleasure and love
Forever to dwell with the blest.

Well, the clouds are rolling in again. I better get the photos uploading here before the storm starts.

Floss Minder

Here she is again today, up to her old tricks. Alix, being my "floss minder" in a not-so-constructive way. She seems to be thoroughly enjoying the Spring weather and it has brought back some of her old spunk and playfulness.

Not much to write about today. Mostly spent outside walking with Bud or watching the latest batch of floss dry. From left to right: Sky, Pumpkin, Spruce, Sammy, and Scarlet Tanager. The one second from last being named for my black cat Sammy who has just a tiny bit of white on him. The black dye didn't come out nearly as dark as I wanted it to. I find that after the floss dries and I am not satisfied with the color I just dunk it a few more times until I get what I want. I think the "Sammy" thread is going to take the plunge in the black dye again tomorrow.

Playing With String

Had a go at dying some more floss today. As I was unfurling the length of Ecru DMC I felt a tug at the end of the long strand on the floor. To my surprise it was Alix playing with the string! Alix hasn't been interested in her toys or playing at all in several months. I was so shocked and surprised to see her run and jump on the thread over and over again as I pulled it across the floor. What a nice start to an overall nice day. The weather was a bit cooler so I put on the old sweatshirt and sweat pants to do the dying today....and also some rubber gloves. It was a much cleaner affair and I am quite pleased with the results. I even got "professional" and put the floss on to little cards and gave each a name. From left to right: Faded Glory, Wisteria, Bonfire, Japan, Havana Brown, Poison Oak, Marinated Olives. My apologizes to any overdyed floss manufacturers if I have stolen some names. I just picked whatever came to mind when I looked at that floss.

Here are two patriotic stitches. Barbara has got me hooked on the patriotic theme. I think they will be finished in the star shape (that will take some skill and luck!!) to be used a scissor fobs.

Maybe I can get another hour outside this evening before the sun goes down...........

Spring Cleaning

I guess it is a bit late for Spring Cleaning, but I was never one to really enjoy that type of stuff. I put it off and put it off until the place is quite unbearable. A spontaneous holiday barbecue is what motivated me on Sunday. Suddenly we had the new grill assembled and Joe decided to invite 8 of the neighbors over for a cook-out. Luckily it was early enough in the day to get to the grocery store and back without too much traffic or madness of the "cart race" in the store. Steaks marinating, cake baking, potatoes for the potato salad boiling.....there was nothing left to do but clean up the place. Of course the bathroom is always first. Inevitably every guest will make a trip in there, even if the main party is outside. It was finally warm enough also for all the tropical plants to move out of the living room on to the patio. I had strung up my favorite patio lanterns the night before. They are a bit less bright blue and a bit more faded lavender this year then they were last, but they all still work. So the couch got a reposition after the plants moved out and guess who I found? There they are in all their glory, the cat toys! Poor White Fluffy Mouse had been on his own for quite some time, but suddenly, one by one as each large potted plant was moved outside, his counterparts began to reappear. Even the very elusive Red Glitter Mouse, who has been missing since shortly after Christmas. Alix's favorite, the well-used red plaid corduroy catnip bell, was found lurking under the couch. I will open it up for the 16th time, re-stuff it and add some fresh catnip and he will be the favorite toy once again.

A few little stitchy finishes. A biscornu that is for, of all places, the neighbors bathroom! She redecorated in blue and brown and requested something small to hang in there. She can spray it with scent and hang it from one of the vanity lights. The pattern is free from Tante Zolder website. This is brown 16 count Aida and the floss is one of my all-time favorites, Needle Necessities "Bali Hai". The second little item is a key chain/floss ring. It is for my friend at the gym Becky. Since she doesn't stitch I assume it will be used as a key ring. It is the word "SHALOM" in Hebrew stitched on 18 count black Aida with Carrie's Creations Thread "Mardi Gras". Still have not mastered getting those grommets through the fabric. It looks OK on the front, but the back shows a few frayed edges.

Tried a bit of dying again, this time on floss! It's a messy job, but I did come up with these patriotic bits. These are RIT Dyes on DMC Ecru thread. Now I have a patriotic sink, dishtowels, cuttingboard and counter top to match!

The weather has been fabulous, but I think there is a bit of rain heading our way today. That's alright. I planted the baby spaghetti squash and lemon cucumber plants in the garden yesterday and they need a bit of refreshment.

What A Great Day!

This applies to yesterday as today has not really started for me yet. I had the best of intentions of spending my usual 2 +hours on line required by the slow dial-up to browse all my favorite blogs, leave comments, update the photo on my profile and then make a blog entry. But the computer was not cooperating last night. I kept getting that awful "Page unavailable" screen. This required hitting the "Refresh" button over and over again. We have another name for this button in our house.....named for the foul expletive that is shouted when hitting that button! I'll leave it to your imaginations. I even hesitated to use the expression "great day" or "wonderful day". I feel it is like a curse of sorts....to be too happy and suddenly things will come crashing down around me. I suppose it is just superstition on my part. No one has all good times and no bad. I feel this especially when it applies to Alix. She has had a run of 7 very good days, and I hope many more will follow.

Some more hand-dying yesterday. A patriotic piece on 28 count Monaco. This is before it was rinsed out and I like the bold colors and the bit of white background left open. Unfortunately when I rinsed it the red took over and it sort of has a muted pink background now, but I still like it. I have no idea what I am going to stitch on this. It would have to be some sort of silhouette design of a single dark color. Anything else would get lost in the explosion of color.

Another beautiful day is forecast for today. Yesterday was in the low 70'sF and today is predicted to be the high 70's with lots of sun. Worked a little in the garden and finally got that new barbecue grill we've been wanting. In viewing this wide shot you will notice the grill in the background and the 6-pack of beer (on the picnic table) that it took Joe to assemble the darn thing!

I've been just crazy over a new website introduced to me by my friend Nicole in Belgium. I think the translation from Dutch is "My Aunt's Attic". It has hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of free patterns, most in the Quaker-style. Apparently these are all patterns found in the attic of this woman's elderly aunt. She is moving to a smaller place and did a clean-out of all her needlework items. The kind niece has been scanning and digitizing them and posting them on her blog since February of 2007. Each post has three or four patterns and also photos of some finished works using her patterns. It is simply amazing. I am working on a biscornu from one of the charts. Hope to have a photo up soon. By the way, how is that pronounced correctly? Is the "s" silent? Yes, a rather ignorant question on my part, but I would hate to run into anyone in-person and starting discussing "biscornu" and pronounce it wrong and look like a complete idiot. Although the opportunities here to bring up biscornu in a conversation are very limited to say the least, I would still like to pronounce it correctly. I am also troubled by the fact that my biscornu come out huge. I tend to use Aida cloth rather then linen and this my be the problem. Once again that need to get the guts to stitch over-one is haunting me. My biscornu look more like paperweights rather then ornaments!

Well, about an hour left of "me time" to browse the blogs and make some comments. Then it is outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Pet snap: Sammy on the picnic table. He was very interested in the construction of the new grill. I think he is hoping for some barbecued left-overs today.

Tiny Stitches to 'Dye' For

I have always been insanely jealous of those of you who can stitch "over-one". I love the delicate look of those tiny stitches, especially on ornaments where "size matters"! I think I have found a solution to my problem. I had dyed some fabric a while back with the boiling RIT Dye method. It seems that the boiling will reduce a piece of 16 count down to a lovely and quite usable 20 count. I am thrilled with the results, as seen here in my WIP on a Barbara Ana Designs Christmas ornament "Make A Wish". I was in such a dying mood that I broke out some other fabrics and had a go of it this morning. Here are the results. Some nice blues, a pale green with some blue splotches and....well, that last piece...it looks sort of like a bruise! Something spooky or creepy will have to be stitched on that one.

Tonight is the last night of the "Fun" Meet. Another 5 hours of non-stop hollering from the boss, set to the repeated strains of toddler dance music played at an excruciatingly high volume. I managed a little self portrait Tuesday night...me dressed in my "fun uniform" on my way to the gym. I had the best of intentions of displaying this photo on my profile. It was certainly time for a change since the other photo is nearly two years old. Of course my computer is not cooperating so I am a big blank for a while until I can solve the problem.

Here are some stitchy finishes. Both projects were completed a while ago but I wanted to show a clear photo of the Heart in Hand piece (and a close-up of the lovely 'Sequoia' Needle Necessities thread). "One Stag Leaping" has finally found a frame, in of all places, my attic room. I love it when I can find the perfect item hidden away in my stash and not have to spend a penny. This frame I had custom built (10 x 10 inches) for a New Jersey sampler I was going to make to match the Ohio sampler I made for Joe. I planned this out when we were first married as a cute display of our home states for our first apartment. Well, nearly 20 years have gone by and the Ohio sampler is framed, but the New Jersey one never even made it out of the kit.

Finally a full day of sunshine and all the animals are enjoying the outside. Hopefully it will dry up a bit in the garden and I can get some work done out there over the long holiday weekend. I will go right outside again as soon as the long wait for the photos to upload is over.

Pet snap.............Bud, enjoying the warm weather.

Have a great day!

Ups and Downs

That can describe the weather or my mood lately. I sit down at the computer everyday and try to write something, but in the last two or three days nothing seems to want to come out. Up and down would also describe Alix's health. She had a not-so good day on Saturday after a few little spells on Friday night. Then yesterday she was fine again. This wreaks havoc with my emotions and I can only imagine what it does to her. She is certainly not at the "decision-making" stage....that moment I dread, but this is always in the back of my mind. I watch her all the time and she seems to take well to this. Instead of running away like many ill or old animals do, she seeks me out and we comfort each other. Yesterday we all enjoyed a bit of long overdue sunshine, although the wind was quite brutal. I don't remember a year when Spring took so long to arrive. So much rain and temperatures in the 50s and 60sF. All my little seedlings remain safely on the porch for a while longer. Their older counterparts that made it out into the garden are now at a near drowning stage.We need a few days of warm and dry weather to sort things out.

I am in my constant debate of whether to make the trek to Fabric Shack or to stay home and save money. Fabric Shack is a gigantic quilting/fabric shop about 20 miles northwest of here. This is the only shop that would qualify as LNS, even though it has not one single scrap of cross-stitch in it. I haven't been there in over two years. Not that the drive is really that much of an issue, it is more of my inherit "miserly-ness" that gets the best of me. Also, I don't feel comfortable being away from the house for long periods of time. They don't open for another hour, so I will see how Alix is doing and then decide.

No stitchy finishes to show. I've been too unsettled and restless to even sit down and stitch for more then a few minutes. I go through the motions though...dragging out all the patterns and magazines, reviewing the fabric stash, setting out the threads....then my mind wanders and it all gets pushed aside and nothing gets stitched. My deadline for a gift for my friend and assistant Becky is Tuesday. That is when our little gymnastics group is finished for a two week break. Of course her gift is not done. I wanted to finish "Jerusalem Sampler" for her, but it's not even half-way done. Instead I took the rather wimpy way out and collected $5 from each girl in our group to get her a giftcard from a local mall. Yuck, so unlike me, and I am rather ashamed. Becky is such a sweet lady and I really wanted to give her something from my own hands rather then the mall. I console myself by saying in this way at least all of the girls get to participate in the gift, and Becky will certainly get use out of it. Her baby is due in August.

A break from the gym today and then the "Fun Meet" three nights in a row from 4-10pm. I have this simply marked as "F-Meet" on my calendar with the "F" standing for whatever your imagination cares to insert there! This is the big end of the season show where everyone ( and I mean everyone) from the tiniest screaming, crying three year old to the poor unfortunate teachers and coaches has to "show their stuff" to a restless, squirming audience of parents, grandparents and equally screaming and crying siblings. Each age group has set routines so invariably one will get to see the same song and dance over and over again. Is anyone else concerned of the positioning of the words "3 year-old" and "set routines" in the same paragraph? Then I think you are getting my point about this.

Here are some flea market finds from Saturday. A lovely frame for $1 that I can use for needlework, two amazing little variegated threads f0r 25 cents. These are rather old and one is a brand I have never seen before, "Star". The most amazing scissors that Joe bought for me while I was browsing at another booth. Aren't these lovely? The box says "Hancock Fabrics 50th Anniversary 1957-2007" in gold letter and the same is engraved on the blade of the scissors. It is kind of hard to see, but the handles are gold plated!

This is a photo of our gymnast Shelby. She is one of the most talented girls in the gym, but has decided to leave in favor of soccer. Her father thinks she has a better chance at a college scholarship in soccer then she does in gymnastics. I'm afraid that's true since most college gymnastics scholarships go to the girls at an elite/National Team level. Shelby is only 11, but I don't think she could make it that far at our little gym. I am so sad to see her go, since she was my student since the age of 4. From left to right: Becca, Shelby, Brenda and me.

Loving the new camera, although most of the photos are the same old dull household stuff. Here are the more exciting Alix and Elliot in the kitchenAre rare shot indeed, since these two have never gotten along well. Off to debate the rest of my day. At least I know I am free from the gym tonight and there may be a decent and timely dinner on the horizon.