An update on my squirrel problem... a friend ... hi Meredith!... suggested a product called Flaming Squirrel Seed Sauce that you mix with the bird seed... here's a link to it on Amazon...
Notice the flames coming out of the squirrel's head... it has no effect on birds ...just mammals... like squirrels and deer... I consider repelling deer a bonus as they have snacked at my feeders too. Anyway, you mix this stuff with the seed and boy is it potent. Meredith warned me to wear rubber gloves and don't breath it in... you mix it up double strength to begin with and then after about 2 weeks you can do the normal dose. I am happy to report that the birds haven't noticed any changes but the squirrels have been pretty few and far between. I saw one the other day work very very hard to get onto my platform feeder...and once he got there he took one bite and whoosh... he was gone!!! YES YES YES!! I've even spread some of the "sauced" bird seed on the ground around the feeders as they have munched there in the past. I am making my house as inhospitable as possible to the little rats in the nice fur coats... and I am thoroughly enjoying watching the birds... I have a pair of doves and I've seen several cardinals in addition to the numerous sparrows and robins. I talked with my handyman about the window box problem and he suggested he could make covers for the boxes in the Fall from wood ... if they gnaw the wood he can repair them ... I think that might save the boxes from further damage. Now I can't wait to get them re-painted and planted up ... but it is still way too early ... another 4 to 5 weeks and then PETUNIAS!!!
Okay back to what you came here for... stitching!!! I FFO'd my April piece from Hands on Designs A Year of Celebrations...
A nice little Spring-y display... need to get started on May soon.
And I stitched up Pineberry Lane's Sister's Farm Fresh Eggs...
I'm loving how this one looks... I got that chicken wire frame at my LQS Homegrown Homesewn... it is from Darice and I also found it here on Amazon... it comes as unfinished wood but I stained/painted it with undiluted Rit dye in Apple Green...ooohh... I found lots of crafty Darice stuff on Amazon...have to go peruse the offerings later....
I attached a wired ribbon burlap bow and added a pretty Prima flower I found in my card-making stash along with some cute leaf straight pins...
It is GOOD... very very GOOD to have a stash of crafty stuff!! Now some people use magnets and washers and hot melt glue to attach the stitching to a frame but my preference is for Scotch double sized foam tape... it looks like this in the package...
No burnt fingers and it is easy to use... a couple of strips on the back and press it down... I've been using it to mount all my stitching to frames and cut small pieces to attach bows or flowers. It holds very well and it easy to remove and redo a frame. Sometimes I pick it up at Krogers and other times I order it from Amazon...here's a link... can you tell I LOVE Amazon Prime?...LOL...
Anyway I think Sister came out nice... of course I painted the linen ... 32 ct... with Rit dye... Apple Green and Lemon Yellow... I changed most of the flosses ... used primarily DMC except for her dress which was GA Raspberry Parfait... I did Smyrna crosses for the middle of the flowers and the band of trim on her skirt, along with some satin stitch... and I added hair... she was bald as are most of the Pineberry Lane prim gals... I think hair is an improvement...LOL
And this productivity of stitching and finishing had me starting two new pieces... first off, another Pineberry Lane chart, Mrs. Maguire's Hen House... this is how far I've gotten...
I used the same Rit dyes but they look brown-er here... IRL much lighter and clearer... there are more chickens to add and her apron and the henhouse needs to be sided... I'm doing it in satin stitch... five stitches high... I think it will look great!
I also painted and dyed more linen last week... so many things I can't wait to get to... I've been waffling on doing the LHN Spring ABC's... I've done Fall and Winter and the first one that was sewing related and have the perfect spot by the front door to display it...but I've tried and tried to get the linen right for it and failed several times...but this time I think I got it... instead of painting the linen I smushed it in a mason jar with a mixture of Rit Lemon Yellow and some Coral... be very sparing with the Coral... I've found it is a very intense dye... anyway I came up with a piece that is a lovely shade of cantaloupe... and here is my start on this piece...
It is hard to get a good pic of these long narrow pieces...now I started with the K...why there? Well for some reason there was a splotch of light green dye right where the roof of the house is ... I started there and covered it up and then worked up to the A... I checked my math numerous times and I should have plenty of fabric to complete the piece but just to be sure I'm going to stitch ALL the letters before I fill in any motifs. I'm using the DMC conversion on the chart with a few changes... a different shade of green and I'm substituting a turquoise for the blue... yesterday when I stitched the F I wasn't sure I liked the turquoise I picked ...thought it was too bright but today it looks ok... yesterday I was looking at it in the sun, today is cloudy... I'll think about it a bit more ...easy enough to change it at this stage.
Well I told myself that I'd be good where new charts are concerned... but I lied... I lie to myself a lot... I couldn't resist the new ones from With Thy Needle & Thread and while I didn't order them all at one time, I have gotten almost every new one she took to market. She has a great style, doesn't she? There are just so many pretty charts and scrolling through Instagram I am constantly tempted ...and I have no willpower where pretty stuff is concerned... life needs all the pretty it can get!!
And I've gotten sucked into a couple of new quilting projects... I've got one on my design wall ready to sew the rows together... I'm using some blocks I'd already sewn in a configuration I found in a new quilt book...and I got sucked into a QAL... you can see it here... it is for the Chamomile quilt...I want to make it big enough for my double bed so I need 25 blocks... each block has 16 squares... 25 x 16 equals 400 squares... and I have a nice stash of low volume fabrics... over 100... so if I cut 4 from each piece I'd have a lovely variety...and a humongous mess...LOL...which is exactly where I am now... tune in tomorrow and I'll share more ...even include pics of the mess ...hopefully it will make some one feel better about there messy sewing room...
Okay... I'll be linking up with Kathy's Quilts today... doing carryout for dinner so nothing to do here... the weather guys jumped the gun...no rain yet and even a peek of sun... very nice... next week has a couple of things I have to do but hopefully nice amount of stitching and sewing time will be on my agenda...hope you have a great week too!
happy stitching-
carol fun
Beautiful! What creative presentation of your stitching! You've got my wheels turning! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour April is very bright and sunny, rather than drab and gloomy, despite the rain cloud. I got in trouble once in grade school for suggesting to my teacher (I had nuns) that the background on her April bulletin board should be yellow; she thought I was being a smart alec (?), but I often saw yellow in the sky when it was going to rain. Squashed my creative tendencies for awhile, but luckily not long term! :)
ReplyDeleteBoth of your finished finishes look super. I really like the fabric you painted for both. You are off to a good start on the LHN Alphabet stitch. Glad you were able to come up with a solution to your squirrel problem! Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love the color of the linen you are using for the Spring LHN design. It is so cheerful. I have fallen in love with Classic Colorworks Queen Bee. I put it in where ever I can. I agree with you about WTN&T designs. I love some in the trays. I just have to find out the count because I know she uses 40 count at times for the design to fit. I do not stitch on 40 count. My eyes are way too old!! I just might try that stuff on some plants and my feeder next winter. We gave up feeding because the squirrels were so bad. I also have a huge deer problem!
ReplyDeleteFInally something to repel squirrels!! Hope it works for you!
ReplyDeleteThat was interesting to learn how you framed the stitchery.
The Sisters piece with the chicken wire backing is so perfect!