Some Sunday Stuff

I finished the anemones on the Cottage Garden project. The stems were done with reverse split stitch the other day so today I got the pink lazy daisies done plus sequins and beads.

I've been putting off the last fiddly larkspur, couching the bouclé silk thread with gold metallic thread. Aside from that I'm happy savouring each little step. The green/blue thread should arrive from the UK this week.

I spent last night and today finishing up the Honeybee piece. 

I cut away a lot of the water soluble stabilizer in preparation for washing the rest away. 

I have it drying now and will press it tomorrow, face down on a thick terry cloth towel, so as to not squish down the stitches too much. Now what shall I do with it? 

It could make a neat cover of a needlebook, front of a small zipper pouch, lid of a 5" embroidery hoop box. I'll get some feedback tomorrow at my stitching group.

I got a bunch of outside jobs done that I've wanted to do for a while. First I took the screens out of the bedroom windows which really needed a good scrubbing. I noticed some mildew on the window frame so I got it all cleaned up - no black mold for us this winter!

While washing the screens outside, and had the soap (blue Dawn) and water handy, I thought I should also give our recycling bins a good scrub. They've all felt a little sticky. So that's done. 

The shrubs beside the garage have needed trimming so I got out the electric hedge trimmer. I cleverly strung an extension cord that would reach them a couple of months ago. Of course, the top plug of the outlet in the garage is 'pooched' so it took a couple of trips, eeling myself between the car and the wall (I was too lazy to back the car out of the garage). Then I had to eel myself back into the garage to get the wheeled caddy to throw all the clippings into it and wheel it back to the compost bin in the back yard. Then eel myself back in there to put the caddy away. 

A little while later I remembered I needed to scrub out the birdbaths and get some fresh water in there. so I got that done.

In spite of how hard it was to motivate myself  to get out there and start the tasks, I feel I got a lot accomplished.

It is SUCH a beautiful day. I spent some time looking around the yard at the tomatoes, beans, and flowers. 

The chocolate Joe Pye weed is spectacular and a favourite among the bees and monarchs. It has grown to over 7' tall so I guess the neighbours are enjoying the view over the top of the fence as well. 

This male monarch nectared on the regular Joe Pye weed for quite a while.

It has been The. Best. Year. for the black-eyed susans. And they've lasted so long!

The purple salvia continues to delight behind the big marigolds and in front of Skip's Roma tomatoes - just starting to ripen. I made some Yard Sauce last week with my first 18 or so Early Girl tomatoes. More to come.

This is the first year I've planted purple salvia in a long time. Their flowers last a long time, too.

One of the peppers has turned red. Unfortunately because I didn't fertilize enough, these plants didn't grow very tall so that pepper is touching the ground and some insect has burrowed into it. Hopefully only the bottom tip was affected. There are several other peppers that I plan to leave until they turn red as well.

And finally, I have a bit of progress to report on the Live on Little project.

There is a lot of filling in that I'm happy to do while stitching socially. I still haven't decided what colour I'll use for the mortar. The called-for colour is too dark for my liking. We shall see.

Obsessive Craft Disorder (OCD)

I've been surfing around the Internet (Google, Pinterest, etc.) looking for patterns to continue adding to my denim shirt. I came upon this hummingbird pattern that stopped me in my tracks.

It's the Floral Hummingbird from Canadian designer Nest Embirdery Yes, that is spelled correctly. 

I love the colours and the specialty stitches that make up the design. AND it was available both as a kit and as a .pdf. Into my shopping cart it went - remember, I still have a substantial credit in my PayPal account.

I went through my stash and checked to see if I had all the floss colours. Substitutions were made for any I didn't have. Reading through the directions, I felt a little bit overwhelmed so I put it aside for now. 

Whilst further perusing the .pdf patterns available on the website, I came across this one. 

So simple! Only three colours. I raided my fabric stash and found a Silver Fox, 40ct Fiber on a Whim remnant that measured 9" x 20". So I cut an 8" piece from it and ironed some fusible interfacing onto the back to stabilize the linen a bit; then printed the pattern onto the Printable Sticky Fabri-Solvy and adhered it to the front of the linen; and popped the whole thing into a 6" hoop.

I started this whole process at about 10 o'clock last night... did I mention that I'm somewhat of a night owl?

I got most of the bee's left wings and the yellow bits done before I turned in for the night at about 12:30.

The instructions weren't clear as to when two strands should be used or only one strand.

This morning I zoomed in on the photo which really helped me figure this out. Then got the other wing outlined and most of the body done.

I have really enjoyed doing the lazy daisy stitches and French knots. I put off doing the leaf stitches because I thought they'd be too fiddly but they turned out quite nicely. Still more of them to do on the thorax. The legs are all done with one strand. I can probably finish it this weekend. Then the dilemma of what to do with it. A small sewing project would work well, or maybe the lid of an embroidery hoop box?

While I was hopping from one project to another, the thought popped into my head that I have Obsessive Craft Disorder - OCD. It's WAY different from the real, clinical OCD in that I function well in situations that aren't pristine or ultra tidy. There's organization to my untidy surroundings - except I couldn't find my Morgan hoop the other day when I was looking for it.

No, my type of OCD stems from my mind that won't stop whirling with craft ideas and projects. I love starting projects - picking out the threads, fabrics, project bag to put it all in, etc. I love the process of working on the project. I enjoy finishing most of them. My real sticking point is fully finishing a lot of them and as a result, I have grown quite comfortable with not necessarily finishing all the projects I stitch. I do like to finish sewing projects, though, and am pretty good at doing that. 

The other factor in my OCD is I have lots of time to do all this crafty thinking, Internet searching, and YouTube channel watching.

Speaking of the Internet, I have recently noticed my 4+ year-old laptop is starting to slow down. I have deleted a lot of stuff, updated a lot of drivers and apps, and don't think I have a virus. But it's still slower responding to my ultra high speed Internet service. So I have begun the search for a new laptop.

I don't do any gaming. Because I have a keyboard on my iPad mini, I really only use the laptop for editing photos, posting my blogs, doing the spreadsheets for our household expenses, Zoom and other video calls/chats, and often searches for online items when I want to see things on a bigger screen.

Since Skip and I have more or less been 'grounded' as we deal with his cancer treatments, my new motto has been, "What else are we saving our money for?", A lot of our disposable income used to go towards travel.

So I'm keeping an eye on sales for a 15.6" laptop with at least 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD hard drive, and fairly favourable reviews.

Speaking of cancer, I'm getting my stitches out this Thursday and will get the pathology report. Fingers are crossed it was all excised. If not I'll need more treatment. I'm meeting Lorna for lunch afterwards. 

Making Some Progress

I got a response about the missing threads in my Cottage Garden kit and they're being mailed to me. The online list of items included in the kit say there is a calico (I think we call it 'muslin') backing fabric but I didn't get that either and just noticed it today. It's supposed to prevent the stitched holes from being too big and keeps the trailing threads from showing through. I'm carrying on but will make sure I use a backing fabric or stabilizer on my next project.

In the meantime, I continued on with the next steps - the alliums. Stem stitches on the stems and eyelets with beads on the flowers.

I didn't like how the white beading thread showed against the blue beads. Obvious on the right and bottom beads.

So I took a blue Sharpie and coloured the nylon beading thread. Unorthodox? Maybe. But it did the trick.

The beading thread was way less obvious on the allium on the right.

Then came the split stitches on the larkspurs. 

I needed two hands free to do the couching on the larkspur flowers using the bouclé silk. So I grabbed a clamp and clamped my hoop to the table. It worked pretty well.

One larkspur is completely finished.

I put it away and did a bit more filling in on my Live on Little. There are big swatches of colour which are great for social stitching. Will continue working among my various projects.

I also want to make a project bag to give to someone who helped me out a couple of weeks ago. Fabric selection will
be tomorrow's goal. Of course, I'll be shopping from my stash.

Barb got herself to Michaels to pick out some beads to make more zipper pulls for her bags. She picked some nice, blingy beads to match perfectly. So fun! Now she's addicted and is ready to get the set of pliers/wire cutters. 

Screeching to a Halt

I finally got started on the Cottage Garden embroidery. I got the backstitching done on the leaves on the bottom.

When I went to start doing the stems and the veins on the darker green leaves, I realized I was completely missing those threads in my kit. 

I fired off an email to the designer asking her to mail them to me or suggest a substitution I could get on this side of 'the pond'. Hopefully I'll hear soon. Mail from the UK is pretty fast and I have lots of other stuff I can be doing on this piece in the meantime.

Next, I'll start the purple threads on the alliums.

Project Bag Blue and Alliums

Barb, Jeanette, Poppy, and Jen1 are going to the EGA National Seminar in Boston at the end of this month. Barb needed some project bags for the classes she's taking. She planned on making all three herself but I had one made from a couple of months ago that I planned to give her on some auspicious occasion (Christmas, birthday) but I thought now would be a good time so she only has to make two herself.

I did the checkerboard pattern using Bleu de France charm squares from French General that she gave me for my birthday. 

The interior fabric is from a totally different line but it went really well with the Bleu de France beiges.

I like making these zipper pulls to match.

She prepped the fabric for her bags last weekend and sewed one of them together today. She followed the instructions I had written up a while back. I always had trouble wording the last steps and she got stuck there so we had a Zoom chat and got her sorted out. Her bag turned out great.

Not surprisingly I loved the sunflower motif.

Speaking of sunflowers - I was deadheading the spent blooms on the sunflowers in the pots on my front porch. I accidentally nipped off two buds which I brought into the house and stuck them in some water so they'd bloom.

I can't tell you how much enjoyment I've been getting in the mornings when I come down for breakfast and see these little guys right in front of me on the kitchen table.

They honestly make me smile with their sunny 'faces'.

Continuing on the flower motif, I embroidered more flowers onto the yoke of my denim shirt.

Alliums!

II want to continue adding flowers in a somewhat balanced way. As this is an oversize shirt, the outer flowers fall below my shoulder line.

Next I'll add flowers on either side of the centre motifs. I haven't decided what to add to the pockets, collar, and cuffs. Sarah Homfray has some great videos and free patterns. I have three different sunflower patterns from three different designers I'll have to decide among.

I'm not much of a designer; I'm way better at copying other designers' work so am keeping an eye out on Pinterest and in other places for floral motifs.

All of this is leading up to me starting the Cottage Garden piece which I now have put in a hoop and into a project bag. Maybe I'll start it tomorrow.

A Spurt of Embroidery Energy

 After my success starting the flowers on the yoke of my denim shirt,

I got inspired to re-stitch the bee and flowers onto the centre back. 

Again, I used the Sticky Fabric-Solvy water-soluble stabilizer even though the stickiness can be annoying whilst stitching. However, this time I didn't find it to be too bad. Maybe I had a better needle? This pack has a pretty good selection for my purposes. Somewhat low end but better than using tapestry needles that weren't pointy enough.

After I finished stitching, I ironed some fusible interfacing onto the back, mostly to anchor the threads. I had to cut some threads on the inside of the yoke in the French knot area that I accidentally stitched through the neck tag. I didn't want to pull out the corresponding French knots so I though I'd just fuse them into place. This worked well because when I went to dissolve the stabilizer on the front, I did a bit of scrubbing with a toothbrush and the French knots didn't budge a bit. Winning!

Now I'm itching to do more stitching - this time on the right side of the yoke to balance out the daisies on the left.

A Pretty Fun Day

Barb and I ventured to Uxbridge to the Quilter's Cupboard this morning. I had to pick up the long-awaited instructions from our project portfolio class we took in early June and Barb came along for the ride to buy a bit of fabric. We had a lovely time gabbing, stopping at Hy Hope Farm for coffee and treats, and to hear about her recent trip to Nova Scotia.

I started my denim shirt embroidery this afternoon.

I had printed the template onto the sticky, water soluble stabilizer but I felt the images were too small. I could have re-printed them larger but decided instead to draw them onto the yoke with a water soluble pen.

First, I stitched the stems. The instructions called for backstitching but I grew to like the look of whipped stitch backstitching so did it instead. It just smooths everything out.

The washed denim is very soft and shows holes very easily so I paused to iron in some fusible lightweight interfacing.

The leaves were done with fishbone stitch. The daisies were supposed to be done with satin stitch but I thought, "Why not do detached lazy daisies?". I filled them in with a couple of extra straight stitches. 

Then the raised centers were done with French knots. Most of the time the pattern called for 2 strands (except for the daily petals which were all 6 strands), but I added a third strand as the flowers were proportionately larger and needed more filling in.

The next flowers will go on the opposite side of the yolk.

While I was planning and executing my embroidery, Barb was cutting out and interfacing fabric for the project bags she wants to make to take to Boston at her house. Jen1 was sewing a couple of bags and a medium sized Bionic Gear bag for her travels at her house. So we crafted in tandem - quite fun sending messages and photos to each other.

I got a scheduled call from the MD who did my colonoscopy a while back. He informed me that "there is absolutely nothing wrong" with my colon and to book another colonoscopy in 10 years. He also recommended I take in more fibre and water, take a multivitamin, and get more exercise.

The next phone call was a robocall from a plastic surgeon my GP had referred me to a couple of weeks ago. I had also sent him an impassioned plea for an appointment along with my pathology report and (yucky) photos of my lesion. The electronic message was that I had an appointment on October 30 at 9am and was given a phone number to call if I wanted to change anything. I called back and cancelled the appointment. I didn't bother telling them I'd had the skin cancer removed last week. Sheesh!

French General Project Bag

I made this project bag three months ago.  It is my currently favourite, checkerboard pattern created by cutting 5" charm squares into 2 1/2" quarters. The fabric is La Grande Soirée by French General.

Then totally by chance I had this wee Blackbird Designs pattern - Le Poulet - whose colours perfectly went with the project bag's colours. The finished pincushion measured about 4.5" square.

However, when I sewed the back on, it wasn't centred. Rats! 

Oh well, I have enough charm squares to make another bag and this can go with it. I'll just have to make another one.

Jen1 had given me some 45ct Jersey Cream linen for my birthday so I thought I'd use it for another pincushion. Its finished size was about 3" square.

In order not to screw up centering, I just took one of the charm squares and quilted it onto a piece of batting, then made sure to centre it carefully onto the stitching.

I'm pretty happy how it turned out. 

The recipient was pretty happy with it as she needed a project bag for one of her classes at the upcoming Embroidery Guild of America National Seminar in Boston at the beginning of September.

Some Strokes of Luck

After all the fun I had practicing the embroidery, I thought it would be cool to do more random stitching on a denim shirt. I didn’t want thick denim but the softer washed denim. I tried several stores online and finally lucked out on the Old Navy website. I can’t remember the last time I bought anything at Old Navy but they had exactly what I wanted. An oversized ‘Boyfriend Shirt’. AND it was on clearance with an additional 30% off. The Old Navy at the local mall didn’t have it in stock but the one in the next town (Ajax ON) did AND in the size I wanted!! Bonus!!

So for $11.47 minus 30% plus tax I got the shirt for $9.47. When I got the message that they had it ready for me to pick up, I beetled right over there to get it. 

In the meantime, I did a search on Etsy for fun patterns for the yoke and bought this one. I’m not sure I’ll do all the cacti and will brighten up some of the colours but I think some of the clusters will look very nifty. I’ve been really partial to sunflowers this year.

Since getting a refund for a stitching event I could no longer attend, I had a big credit in my PayPal account burning the figurative hole in my pocket. So I ordered another pattern on Etsy.

I’ll print them out on the water soluble stabilizer and use the ones I like. I also want to try to design some echinacea and black-eyed susans. 

While on the topic of going to pick up the denim shirt yesterday, I did another errand at the Canadian Tire in Ajax. When I came out, I smelled an amazing aroma. My nose took me over to a taco truck parked on the sidewalk right in front of Canadian Tire - Cocodrilo Tacos and Hot Dogs . Oh my goodness, the beef (carne asada) tacos were the best I’ve had since leaving the Rio Grande Valley. There were tender, soft corn tortillas with onion, cilantro, and lime. I bought three for my lunch and even ate one in the car on the way home (messy - wasn’t a good idea). I will be returning for more…

And finally, after having a plastic surgery clinic recommended to me by a stitcher/retired nurse at our stitch day on Saturday, I called and left them a message. An administrator called me back the next morning (Sunday of a long weekend!!) and assured me the plastic surgeon could do my surgery and she would book me in the soonest available spot.

Sure enough, Tuesday morning (first business day after our long weekend), she called me back and told me I have a booking for tomorrow at 11:45 at their clinic in NW Toronto. Huzzah!! FINALLY!! My dear friend, Jen1 will chauffeur me to the appointment, wait with me, wait while I’m having the procedure done, and bring me home afterwards. My friends and family have been THE BEST through all the crap we’ve been dealing with since Skip’s cancer diagnosis last fall. We’re SO grateful.

Interestingly, yesterday I got a call from an administrator at the local hospital where my November 1 surgery is booked, asking me who my GP was who referred me to the dermatologist who ‘denied’ me service a month ago. Apparently they received a message from my MPP (to whom I’d sent an email about my situation 2 weeks ago) to investigate my complaint. I didn’t catch his name or extension number but he said he’d call me back when he found out something. It appears the ‘squeaky wheel’ does get the grease sometimes.

And this afternoon I got a call from the November 1 plastic surgeon’s office that they have a cancellation for me for next Wednesday. I told her I was having surgery tomorrow at a clinic in Toronto and would not need the cancelled booking nor the November 1 booking. (I had planned to call them tomorrow afternoon after the surgery but she beat me to it). I will cancel the consultation I had booked for next Thursday in the US when I get home from the procedure tomorrow.

So hopefully this nightmare of a medical situation will be behind me tomorrow. If pathology finds any cancer in the margins, I can go back and have that dealt with but in the meantime the lesion will be gone. Such a relief.

Practice Piece is Done

At our guild's stitching day yesterday, I finished the practice piece I was embroidering.

Very sweet and simple. I cut away a lot of the water soluble stabilizer.

When I got home I was eager to wash it away. I did rinse it a few times to make sure I got all the floaters off.

Then I laid it flat to dry. It still needs pressing.

Now I have to agonize over what fabric to use for the back and lining. If I can find another piece of linen big enough I'll use it for the back.

Things might be looking up on my skin cancer removal odyssey. It has been a hell of an ordeal trying to find a surgeon who will do the job sooner than three months from now.

In the meantime I distract myself with streamed TV, YouTube on various subjects, and obsessive crafting. I'm way less stressed out today now that I know I may have a couple of viable options.