More Finishes for 2026

This is finish #4 for 2026.  272 Words - Primrose Needleworks. 28 count Lambwool Jobelan, one over one, using the suggested fancy floss, except the green, used dmc since the store was out of the fancy floss version.  This photo is not great, but it does show the floss colors accurately.  And yeah, they are kinda weird.  But it was my choice for the 250 year - celebrate the 4th of July - choice.  

 This was finish #5 for 2026.  Primitive Needle - Follow Me.  Used 28 count Dove Grey jobelan, one over one, dmc 3799. Started it this year, set it to the side to do 272 Words.  I only had that bottom line weird thing, so a photo would have looked like nothing.  Picked it back up after 272 words, and added the rest over a few days.  It was fun, and a lovely stitch. 
 

 Picked back up Lizzie Kate - ABCs of Parenting.  I have grabbed the wrong green, stitched, then unstitched.  Then re-stitch with the correct green.  This is the second time I have stitched this - but this time it is a different fabric.  But it's fine.  There were many things I did between then and now.  

I did manage to print out the pattern I had ordered.  I DID indeed run out of ink halfway through printing it.  I try to keep the next cartridge in the house - so it was not a huge deal, but it ran out of both the black, and the color - so about $50 in new ink cartridges.  

Oh, there were other weird things.  I had glass measuring cups stacked in the cupboard.  A four cup, then a two cup inside that, then a one cup inside that.  I had not used them for months.  But the middle two cup SHATTERED.  Sending glass everywhere inside the cupboard.  I did not hear it.  And actually, most of it stayed in the larger four cup - and the smaller cup held it in the larger 4 cup,  But it still blew the glass everywhere, into other dishes.   So I need to take EVERYTHING out, wash and clean EVERYTHING.  But it was on the middle shelf.  Which I can reach, but can't see without standing on something.  And there is not surface that is cleared, my food shelves were full, so the extra is on the counter - cereal, canned things, so I have a folding table - that I can put things on - but that is a project - not just a - oh, wipe it down - and you are done.  

Then my main tv decided to have a row of pixels go bad.  I had wished for a bigger tv - not a huge tv - then the row of pixels goes bad.  So that was a put it in the car, and go to the dump/recycling place.  Then shop for a new tv.  It was an adventure.

Things were just not really going my way.  Nothing awful.  My friend had a bowel problem, and got a ostomy bag - so compared to that.... and a week or two before that - he had his prostate surgery for  the second time - he did that two years ago too....  So prostate surgery he expected - to poop bag he didn't expect, all in a month.....yeah, I am not complaining about a tv or the fact it's gonna take me a weird long time to clean up glass in a cupboard.  

But I did get a new tv - again, it was an adventure.  I had moved the bedroom tv to living room, and was screwed trying to sleep without a tv.  I slept with the computer and youtube on day two....   Now it appears the computer is going to need a new battery power thing....  it's the - just try to fix one thing, and watch as something else breaks.  I had the antenna cable fall behind the dresser while putting the tv back today.  The dresser is full.  I have one of those old people grab it things - a stick with a pincher at the end....  took me hours - and at some point - the pinchers have suction cups on the ends that pinch.  One of the suction cups came off, and it was then behind there too....  

See, nothing horrible - but a test of my stamina.  I did put packing tape all over the end with the sticky side out - and again - it took a crazy number of tries - I got back to suction cup, and was able to fix the tool.  I can laugh about it - cause, it could be worse.

Just to show how silly.  I had two cds due at the bank.  The dump to recycle the tv had me right next to that bank.  So I stopped.  I even explained - shattered measuring cup - bad tv.... so don't screw this up.  When I went to file the paperwork - I had two renewals for one, and none for the other.   That took the Saturday morning, and a trip to two more backs to fix that.  What she had done - was to change and update ONE cd - THREE TIMES - and the other cd - not at all.  But she clearly understood there were two cds. 

I could not make that happen if I tried.  But the second girl told me that all of the customer help people had only been there three to six months - so they were all new...  So I just brace for the next thing.  And maybe you can understand why standing in a chair to clean up shattered glass just sounds like a bad idea.  I'm just not prepared for what might go slightly sideways when I try to do that.  It maybe won't be awful - maybe I drop and break something else.  I just am not ready to find out yet.  But it could be worse things.  So I am not whining or complaining.  I am smiling and trying to just consider it as silly. 

Still working on 272 Words....

Still on 272 Words - Primrose Needleworks.  Of the 20 pages, I have just four left, all in that upper corner.  Plus a bit more of the border.  

I have been picking up some odd older patterns.  I even ordered the Primitive Needle - ABC Hornbook from the site as a PDF.  But my computer is old - and as soon as I open it, it closes and says there is a problem.  I tried to simply print it - that makes the printer say - it has no paper.  Over and over and over.  Cancel, retry - turn things off and back on again.  Nothing is working - Adobe hates me.  I tried to get the adobe program again - it wants me to scan some QR code - That's not reasonable - so I will consider if there is an alternative.  But at the moment - I can't even see the pattern for more than 3 seconds.  ***  Additional....  I did finally figure out I can open in with Firefox and Chrome?  and it doesn't just declare there is an error.  Haven't tried to print it yet - as I have said, that seemed to be it's own adventure.  But now I have a bit of hope that something will work.  I actually already know that it will get halfway done printing out a copy for me to stitch with, and it will run out of ink.  So I will have half of a pattern.  I don't have air conditioning - so I was literally dripping sweat on the computer and paper, as it is telling me the printer is out of paper.  I have a fan 4 feet from me.  I have been giving the delivery drivers - Fat Boy Ice Cream sandwiches - and today - I was coming home, and I picked up three of the Wendy's $1 frostys.  So the driver today got a small Frosty.  I figure they have their drinks and snacks - but ice cream is harder - and it has been just miserable for weeks.   

My version of something patriotic for the 4th and 250 years

 A new start - 272 Words - Primrose Needleworks.  Using fancy suggested flosses.  Using 28 count lambswool jobelan.  One over one.  Oh, they were out of the fancy green, so I got the suggested dmc instead.  I wanted to do something patriotic for the 250 year thing, but not exactly.  I have liked this since it came out, but my ex was a big Lincoln person, so when it came out, it was too soon.  Now it is years later, I still like the pattern, so I decided stitching the Gettysburg Address works for me.  So far I have 106 words stitched of the 272 in the main text section.  There are fifty stars, and I don't have them all in yet, but I have more than half.  I don't mind words - if I did, this would be awful. 

Finish #3 for 2026 and other progress...

Finish #3 for 2026.  This is Bloomin' Hens by Teresa Kogut.  I used the suggested fancy flosses, on 28 count PTP Vellum, one over one.  I wrote before, that the finish is about the size of a recipe index card.  It has some bees on the pattern, but I was fine without the bees.  

This was what it looked like when I picked it back up again.  I like her designs, but even small designs just seem like there are a million stitches, and you are never gonna finish it.  I have another of her designs started, and it feels the same way.  I have no clue why they feel that way.  They ARE lovely - and actually, I know I have at least two more started.  But this is the first of her patterns that I remember finishing.

Long Dog Samplers - Life After Death.  I did get a bit more added, and a photo before it got tossed back.  

Harriett Salt 1866 - Hands Across the Sea Samplers.  I added just a bit more going up, but the spacing needed to change.  Sometimes I know immediately what to do, sometimes I take longer to commit to change.  There have been a couple of these lately, so I think this was one I changed, but I would not swear to it.  Then it got tossed back.

This is Lizzie Kate - the ABC's of Parenting.  I found another pattern to order, and this popped up on sale.  I have the others in the series, but I am not a parent - so I did not remember if I had finally gotten this or not.  So I added it.  I grabbed it, and started it when it arrived.  It is on 28 count Lambswool lugana, one over one, using suggested Classic Colorworks flosses, and dmc. Except, I felt like the Queen Bee was gonna be too light, so decided to try Ye Olde Gold instead.  It is used around the letters "Q" in Quit, and 'Y" in Enjoy on the right side bottom, and "U" in Unlock.  I'm happy with the result.  When I started stitching it - it felt familiar, so I looked it up on this blog - and I finished it the final day of the year in 1999. 

So here is the my photo of my finishing this way back in 1999.  This is the second time I have bought a pattern I already own this year.  But the fact I certainly had the choice to start the new pattern, or this pattern, and I started this one, one I didn't remember - from 6 year ago - mostly shows I still love the silly patterns in that series.  I did not immediately think - oh, I will toss it.  I felt - it's on different fabric, it will look different.  I added a photo of both versions of the suggested flosses on a post from back then.

I had to look at what I had used to stitch that version - here is a photo with both the Weeks suggested, and the Classic Colorworks suggested.  The Weeks version of the letters are a much more gray version, and the Classic Colorworks is a more midnight blue - and I did pick to use the Classic Colorworks floss both times.  The pattern doesn't show the Weeks version - for a while, there was just a slip of paper in the pattern.  And early on, the patterns came with the floss - so mine came with the alternate Weeks version.  At the time - I bought the original pattern flosses too - hence the photo.  But I think it is information worth showing, so I am including the photo.  I obviously like the pattern, I have stitched things twice - even a Long Dog.... on purpose.  Had I known I was stitching it again, I might have used the Weeks flossess - but I am happy with the version I am stitching now.  Again, my camera does not show colors accurately - but it gives you kind of an idea.  And it's not showing the 3 dmc flosses - red, green, and brown - like around the house.  Dyelots change - I have no clue what the flosses look like now.  Even mine - I try to pull from my stash.  I just bought a second pattern that was on sale, to travel with the first one.  I was honestly just too lazy to look - it was like $6.-$7.  I thought maybe I had it started, and not finished - so I was glad to learn I had finished it.  And this is also why I blog - to find it on my blog when I clearly am clueless.  I used to remember all this...  before cancer.  After cancer, and chemo, and all that for breast cancer.  I just don't remember certain things.  I don't know if it is because of the chemo - or if I decided it didn't really matter - and I was only gonna buy new things as they were released.  Or a bit of both.  

I have patterns kitted up - and I recently grabbed one of those - it had fabric cut to size, and floss - and a pattern on huge sheets of paper.  I had no clue what or where that came from.  I don't have a printer that could have printed that.  It ended up that it was missing the edge and two corners - so I HAD to figure out what it was - so I could try to find it, and order it.  But I had no clue.  It's clearly MY style - it would have been something I wanted to stitch.  But I have no clue where it came from.  I DID figure it out.  It is a Scarlet Letter pattern called Sarah Selfe 1784,  and it was a whole $8 plus $5 mailing it to me.  This is another one where I need to shift the rows slightly.  But I got it - and I can pick it back up again since I have it started.  Just no photos.  It's just a row of border with a few lines of text.  Not much to see.  But I really have no clue where it came from.  But I clearly measured the fabric - cause I double checked the math before adding the first stitch. 

Finish #2 for 2026

Finish #2 for 2026.  Swedish Horses from Modern Folk Embroidery.  Used 6 skeins of dmc 3799, one over one, on 28 count Colour and Cotton lugana in the color Haunted.  A start and a finish this year.  

Sampler Game Board was added to - from way back in 2018.  I had 2 houses finished before, and I finished 4 more houses this time, and 2 more are almost finished.  There are 32 houses total.  But just a couple days had me wanting to pull something else.

This is Alphabet Song from Courtney Collection.  I added just one word....   Why.... which does not show in this photo since this was a picking it back up photo, not an after photo.  It was last worked on in 2019.  I was actually looking for a different Courtney on this fabric, so after one word, it got tossed back.

Long Dog Samplers - Life After Death.  This was something that was also a random grab, and with another pattern in the same bag.  I started Death By CrossStitch - Long Dog Samplers - but I could not tell you if I ever finished it or not.  I knew I certainly would have bought Life after Death, and it was last worked on in Dec 22, 2022 according to random notes that could be wrong.  So I picked this back up, and I have worked on it for a day so far.  I'm enjoying adding to it.  Below shows my progress.

The last two photos certainly show how far off the colors are on my camera.  Neither is correct.  It's a bit more golden than the bottom photo.  But not as golden as the top photo.  I am using Anchor black. 

Working on the final page...

Swedish Horses - Modern Folk Embroidery.  This was 5 skeins completed.  Working on the final page.
 

5 of the 6 pages completed.

I think this was 4 skeins completed.  Which was just over 4 pages completed.

After trying for 6 monthes to get my Medicare restarted - and three people at Social Security - I finally got a letter saying it will be restarted, and back dated.  But it takes another month to have that actually happen, and to get another card issued.  But I have hope.  My yard waste cart has a new lid.  

Progress, and it's lovely...

 

Birds of a Feather - Winter Sampler.  Not quite halfway, but I want to take a break.  It is on PTP Ale lugana 28 count, one over one, using the fancy suggested flosses.  Happy with the fabric since the white snowflakes will show.  It is fun and lovely, and I am so glad it was released again.  

I am trying to pull my life back to a more normal level.  There are just so many things.  But I have a good attitude, and I willing to try.  The list is long.  I hired a friends son - he's 19, to cut volunteer trees for me.  They are not large around - I supply all the tools, leather gloves, blades, reciprocating saws, not chainsaws.  But the ground is sloped.  I can't help him - but I am out there with him.  Chemo screws up the feeling on the bottom of your feet - and I have already fallen twice in the back yard.  I had vines and crap growing all over the deck.  It's level for me - and I cleared that nearby - so he is not alone - and I am safer pulling vines that can easily make me fall - if he is nearby too.  My yard waste cart was not great, had a hole in the lid, and a broken hinge.  On pick up number two - they city guys broke the lid off completely, so I called today to ask about getting that fixed.  But the kid is doing great - and I just let him pick when and for how long.  I offered him $100 an hour - and he is making progress.  He has cleared a couple areas.  Some of  the trees have vines all over them.  You can cut through the tree - and nothing moves because the vines hold everything.  Trying to pull the tree away from the vines is a tug of war.  It takes everything he has - he is not a big guy.  But he can get it.  He can do the work.  He worked 2.5 hours the first round, and 3 hours the second time.  His stamina is about 30 minutes longer than mine is.  But we are both gaining stamina.  And I am sure my meter reader probably hates me - clearing the vine crap from the deck will be better for that person too.