A Slow Sunday where the old dog doesn't want to learn new tricks...

 Hello - well time is flying again... Hope you had a nice Easter holiday... our was low key as a certain little fellow celebrated his 4th birthday a few days after Easter Sunday and a party ensued... Four years old... where does the time go??  His first birthday actually fell on Easter Sunday ... and his daddy looked it up... and that won't occur again until Elliott is 40.  I doubt I'll be around for that party... 

Which got me thinking about my birthday this year. I will hit one of those milestone decades in the Fall...    70 years on this earth... mentally I don't feel that old... physically I'm certainly aware of it... body parts are wearing out... knees, thumb, hip, eyes, teeth... a  calendar liberally dotted with appointments to see this or that medical professional.  And as far as I know, nothing fatal in afflicting me... just annoying stuff.  With every ache and pain some young doctor ( I have shoes in my closet older than them) usually prescribes taking something over the counter... and yet I resist... I don't want things to hurt, but I also don't want to take something for it... a dilemma of my own making. 

And last week a crafty situation got me feeling old... I do crafty stuff to escape reality, but it intruded. Soooooo... I've been wanting to start the  Remember Me Sampler by Teresa Kogut... if you don't remember here's what it looks like.

Well the model was done on 40 ct... and I've stitched on 40 ct before but it hasn't been my favorite. I thought I'd try again as I determined that the problem I was having was the linen I had ( I'm pretty sure it was a Zweigert) was soft... I stitch in hand and I don't like soft linen. I prefer something with some body, which is basically just sizing, and I know lots of others think of this as crunchy linen... and it is ... but if you are holding it in your hands to stitch it gets softer as time goes on.   OK where was I going with this?   So I ordered some 40 ct linen that is Wichelt... they make my favorite 32 ct... it is stiff as a board... I LIKE IT VERY MUCH.   

Now I wanted to paint the linen for this sampler.  I used Rit dyes... a very diluted Lemon Yellow and Tangerine... the tangerine is a lovely peachy color when watered down.  So I painted the 40 ct and I was very pleased with the results.  I gathered up my flosses ... all DMC with a few modifications of my own and took myself out on the sunroom porch to enjoy the Spring-y weather and good lighting. I worked on  the sampler for hours... one ply over 2 threads... and I HATED it... I didn't like the coverage ... I didn't like how my stitches were looking... and I didn't like how I was having to poke and stab versus the sewing motion I do.  It was not an enjoyable afternoon.... Why?  All the cool kids on Flosstube rave about 40 ct... and their stitching looks lovely ... and they obviously enjoy it... but I concluded this is NOT for me.

This old dog doesn't want to learn new tricks.  This old dog loves 32 ct... I LOVE the coverage... yes my stitches aren't all perfect but I've been stitching this way for over 35 years and I have stitched tons of pieces ... and they are pretty!! IMHO...LOL... I LOVE the sewing method ... and I LOVE DMC... don't need silks to make me happy.

So I put the 40 ct aside  and got out a piece of 32 ct count and again painted it a soft lemon yellow and peach ... and I LOVE THIS!!  I have hardly put this sampler down for the last two weeks...

and yes it is going to be a BIG sampler...about 14.5" x 18.5"...  I adore the floral border... you can stitch the outline of most of the flowers and then go back and fill in... no additional counting needed... perfect for watching TV or Flosstube... it is relaxing and satisfying and enjoyable... and I'm definitely in the mindset of making every day I have left on this earth as happy as I possibly can!!

And speaking of Flosstube ... I like watching what others are stitching and I like seeing older pieces too. Viewing different channels often has me running to search for a chart I've never seen before... but I also had a startling surprise... I learned that I've been starting my stitch in the wrong place... for over 35 years... I recently watched a video from a seasoned teacher who was explaining that the first leg of your stitch should be over the vertical threads...huh... I've always started on the horizontal threads... and while I was stitching on the 40 ct I tried to learn a new trick and changed to starting on the vertical thread... which had me all muddled up when I was trying to count stitches... this old dog hones in on the horizontal threads to count... and so along with poking and stabbing my stitches were ending up one thread off... I've returned to my normal  decades old behavior... not gonna change this late in the game.

Let's move on to more pleasant stuff... as I said I've been pretty monogamous to the Remember Me Sampler for the last couple of weeks.... but I did add another house to the Sunnyside Sampler from The Drawn Thread...

and I did this small... a snippet from the border of the  chart Saviour's Praise by Shakespeare's Peddler...

I need to FFO it into a little pillow and add it to my Spring bird display.

And segwaying into decor... I banished the bunnies and broke out the birdies... I LOVE birds... 

Here's the small shelf display... lots of cool blues and turquoises...

On top there is the Spring selection from the book Seasons of the Heart from With Thy Needle & Thread... I want to get the Summer piece done on this one this year... and the Spring Alphabet  Sampler from Lizzie Kate.  I've done all 4 seasons from this series... stitched them years ago and still LOVE them...

In the middle a BIG square turquoise plate... LOVE it ... got it for free as another friend was going to take it to Goodwill... and I just got these birds this year. at Hobby Lobby ... and off the subject at hand, but have you been to HL lately?  They've definitely upped their game with the decor items. Remember never pay full price... I find that the sales alternate each week between Wall Decor and Table Decor so I snag things during the right sales week... The little lady with the big posey is part of a chart from Pineberry Lane ... you can see it here.  the little Hope pillow is by Hello From Liz Matthews... you can find it here ... its a freebie.

And on the bottom Funky Bird from Barbara Ana designs...

I feel like I have a lot of bird things but this time around my displays seem less busy than the bunnies... I'm by no means a minimalist ... and yet I'm liking the calmer feel of my displays right now.

On the wall I have my favorite Stack N Whack quilt...

the fabric is giant petunias from Phillip Jacobs... all the blocks came from that border fabric. I had planned on having a new wall quilt for Spring, but I'm just not feeling quilting as much as I'm into cross stitch right now. 

Here's the tier tray...

The top piece is a Lizzie Kate... the bird was something I got off of Pinterest years ago and the little pillow on the bottom was something I copied from a photograph I saw online... it was from Blackbird Designs... I love a petite sampler.

I'm still working on the large shelf display and the sunroom porch. I have 2 small projects I want to finish before I show them, so stay tuned. 

Well the weather here is definitely Spring -y.... 80 degrees one day followed by a touch of frost the next day... which coincidentally is the current forecast. I'm itching to work in the yard.  Flats of annuals are sneaking into garden centers... I did succumb to a flat of marigolds and a flat of  dark purple petunias... I put them in my window boxes because I hate empty window boxes... so far the frost hasn't bothered them. It helps the boxes are a minimum of 5 feet off the ground and right up on the side of the house. I think that gives them some protection. If the frost does get to them I think the marigolds will be fine, its the petunias that could be vulnerable... but they aren't the expensive Wave petunias so if they don't make it I'll replant them. I knew prices would be more than last year and they are. The flats I got were from the least expensive garden center in my part of town. I paid $18 for a flat... each flat had 8 cells with 4 plants in each... so 32 plants total... and that seems like less than last year. I thought the marigolds I got last year had 6 plants per cell and I remember paying $14 or $15 for a flat.  I also priced ferns... anywhere from $14 to $20 this season. Last year I paid $10... so far no bargains.  I did see those fancy petunias I like at Meijers. They come in little 4 inch pots... they were priced at $5 each... yikes... I know they were no more than $4 last year.   I keep hearing that inflation is going down... and it is but that doesn't mean prices are going down...they aren't and they won't... that's basic economics... I understand it but I don't like it.

I'll hop over and link up with Kathy's Quilts... planning on a quiet day ... perhaps motivate myself to work on Nick's quilt... definitely get some cross stitching in.... The weather next week doesn't look bad but doesn't look warm enough to do any planting. The daffodils are gone but the alliums are just starting to open... I love those purple lollipop flowers.  I have seen some signs of life from  the cannas and dahlias I left in the ground... that makes me happy. Haven't seen anything coming up in my big  raised bed. I should go out and dig up some tubers and see if there are any sprouts. I hope so, but I'm wary of what I might find. I do have over 100 tubers in the garage. Last year I planted 175 in that raised bed, so if I lost some I should be okay and I hope I didn't lose all of them... fingers crossed. 

Hope you are getting some Spring time weather and some crafty time too!

happy stitching-

carol fun 

Easter decor and MORE... on a Slow Sunday...

 Hello - well March certainly marched quickly by me... next week is Easter and a certain little guy's 4th birthday... Time does march on, doesn't it?    We are finally having seasonal weather and I'm itching to get out and work in my garden.   However before that can start a trip or two to the orthopedic docs is on my agenda. Hope to get a shot in my knee on Monday and my thumb looked at later in the week... my body is a temple... it is ancient and crumbling....

As for gardening... the outlet nursery opened this week and I was there on Thursday  buying new shrubs with Dan... the Dan who mows my lawn, not to be confused with Dan the handyman...  9 new boxwoods, a gorgeous golden Amber Jubilee ninebark, a Kodiak Black diervilla, and a Aphrodite  sweetshurb.  All of these are to replace bushes that got frozen to death during that arctic cold snap we had. I wanted to go and get this project started before everyone else is out shopping to replace their frozen to death shrubbery. Everywhere I go I see brown dead shrubs.... I suppose that is better than seeing dead people, right?  The garden centers are going to do very well this Spring.  Dan will be around in the next week or so to dig up the dead stuff and plant the new live stuff.  Its still too early for me to do any planting... those 100+ dahlia tubers in the garage are calling to me, but I will resist their siren song. I did pick up one of those seed starter trays... I can plant it up with some seeds... that will hold me for a while.

Inside I'm all decorated for Easter... here's the small display unit...

I love that little mini quilt of tulips... since I can't do tulips outside... deer buffet... I shall have tulips inside!

I stitched that little sampler pillow last year but just got around to finishing it last month. I like the beaded rickrack finish, even though it does take a bit of time.  The pattern is Hello Spring from Sub Rosa...you can find it here. 

In the middle,  a small from Lila Studio and a freebie from Pinker N Punkin Quilting.

The little birdie pulling the cart is from Homespun Elegance and is called Delivering Posies... and there's a bunny from Prairie Schooler No. 178.

On the bottom, Spring from Lizzie Kate and two more little bunnies from Prairie Schooler  No. 178 in a carrot boat  sailing away from my fleet of carrot cars... 

The big display...

Starting off with another carrot car, a chorus line of egg cups with feet and  below that a piece from Blackbird Designs  called as I remember "Breath of Spring"... I only did 2/3rds of it.  

To the right, more Below BBD,  a piece from the book,  Thank you Sarah Tobias... it was suppose to be a 2 sided small pillow but I like it better this  way.  The sampler with the pink linen is from Stitchy Princess Black and is called Easter Rabbits...you can see it here... I brighten this one up  quite a bit... and my favorite monthly stitch from Prairie Schooler.  Love the soft colors and the alphabet hidden in the grass and  daffodils at the bottom and the painted linen. It turned out great if I say so myself and I do...LOL

One shelf down it Sampler Hill from With Thy Needle & Thread... another piece with the alphabet in the grass... and some cute pink and yellow knickknacky stuff.

Moving down is Ah 'tis Spring by Notforgotten Farms... you can find it here... I love my animals with clothes on...LOL... that is Holiday Hoopla: Easter by WTN&T in the little tin and Garden Friends from the BBD Sewing Club book ....I made that  ribbon rose on the top at least 25 years ago. I picked up the wired ribbon at a little gift shop in Modesto CA when I lived there in the early 90s.... how can I remember that and not remember what I had for dinner last night?  sheesh... 

 

And I LOVE those little bottle brush carrots that are vertical... picked them up at Target last year and saw them again this year... the pink is an unusual color but it works perfectly here... IMHO...

Over on the TV cabinet I have this little display...

picked up that bunny tier tray at Target... it folds flat... that will be great for storage... the crossstitch is from Jellybean Jubilee by WTN&T and all those adorable chicks are salt & pepper shakers from Cracker Barrel. 

Are you still with me?  I know ... I'm exhausting at times... LOL

As for what crafty stuff I've been doing, I'm still working on Nick's quilt... I have the last 2 blocks pinned to my design wall but I can't remember a project where I've made sooooo many mistakes... I'm working on the 3rd block and I've re-sewn it at least 10 times... it isn't just that the points won't match (actually they aren't too bad) but I've sewn units together in the wrong order over and over and over....

So I've been concentrating more on crossstitch.... I finished Prairie Schooler  The Twelve Days of Christmas...

I'll be taking this to Hobby Lobby to be framed when the stuff I dropped off is ready for pick up. 

And while I've been stitching I've been watching a lot of Flosstube when has lead to several new purchases... these charts... more Prairie Schooler have arrived in the last week.

The Birdsong I and II are both cardstock charts  "new old stock"... love that... 

And I'm anxious to put some stitches in some things from my Market haul... I planned to work on this one from Teresa Kogut... 

but then this chart from Teresa popped in my mail box ...

Isn't this fabulous?  Don't know how I missed it before ... I want to do bits and pieces from it as small pillows... would make a great dough bowl display, wouldn't it?

But while contemplating all of those choices, I picked up this sampler which I've had kitted up for quite a while... Sunnyside Sampler from The Drawn Thread...

I am really enjoying stitching this one... even the over one... I'm using the DMC conversion and I made some changes of my own too. Doing the windows in DMC 414 gray instead of black... the black was too stark... made the crow 3371, again a bit less stark and  where 3371 was called for I went with DMC 3781 and I'm using DMC 3362 for the letters... and changing other stuff as I go along... I am writing everything down as I'm afraid I'll put this down before it is complete and won't remember what in the heck I changed.  One of the biggest lies I tell myself is "I'll remember that"... and I don't... 

I'm doing this on 32 ct I painted with very diluted Rit dyes Lemon Yellow and Tangerine... the Tangerine is very peachy when you water it down... I think I want this same background linen for the Teresa Kogut Remember Me chart... 

People always ask me about how I paint linen and there really isn't any trick to it. I treat the linen like a piece of paper. I start with it dry. I dilute the dyes and to test the color I paint a little bit on the edge. Remember it will dry lighter than it looks wet, so you can always go back and make it darker. When I paint it I put down swaths and splotches of the dye trying to keep it kinda blotchy... all I can say is give it a try. If you paint it and it isn't to your liking when it dries you can over paint or dye it darker or you can get some of the color out if you bleach it... I've resorted to both methods now and then.  I iron the linen when it dries to "set" the dye. Now I don't every wash my pieces after I've stitched them, but I think the dye would be pretty stable.  I do find that dyeing and painting my own linen makes me happy... it lets me put my spin on a piece... 

Well that was certainly a rambling post... hope you enjoyed it... I plan on more stitching in the next couple of weeks and working on Nick's quilt and checking out garden centers... Walmart has some great prices on dahlia tubers, if you need to know... 

I'll link up with Kathy's Quilts ... and I think I'll sit out on the porch and stitch and watch the birds... hope you have a enjoyable week ahead...

happy stitching -

carol fun