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. 

A Finish - and a new start...

 

Finish #1 for 2026.  To Laugh Often - Twisted Threads.  Using suggested fancy flosses on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace jobelan - one over one.  Uses two of the darker floss.  

Winter Sampler - Birds of a Feather.  A new start.  On 28 count PTP Ale lugana - one over one - using the suggested fancy flosses.  It should come out to just over 4 inches square when finished.  It was released again through Colorado Cross Stitcher's site last Christmas.

Filling it in....

 To Laugh Often - Twisted Threads.  Finished a skein of the darker fancy thread - which is why you need to get more than one skein.  And I stitch one over one.  I have one inner star, and the words on the left side to fill in.  I am hoping to finish it before I want to change projects. 

Skipping Around....

 

*** Okay - just figured out - I have already stitched this before, on PTP Sand fabric.  That it takes two of the darker floss, and one of the lighter one.  Stitching it again is fine with me.  But kinda funny.  I have converted a bunch of my original posts back to drafts - so I can't even say when I stitched it.  I did finish it.  Did not frame it - but I did finish it.  I had the fabric - I had the fancy floss - it didn't cost me anything to stitch it again.   ***

To Laugh Often - Twisted Threads.  A new start.  Using suggested fancy flosses, on 28 count Queen Anne's Lace jobelan, one over one.  I don't mind doing words at all, and this is from my stash.  Saw it on McKenna's 1884 store, just $2, but then thought I had it in my stash already.  But was it easier to just order it again, or try to dig through my stash?  I found it in my stash.  So far, it's been fine.

 I had looked up photos on-line for my high school reunion.  I have never gone.  The people that I would like to see or talk to again, do not go to class reunions,  But I did look at the photos, and have memories.  They were all people that either did not talk to me while we were in school.  The cheerleaders...  Or - men that let me know what a huge deal that they dance with me when I asked them once, or didn't talk to me when I asked them to talk at some bar a few years after high school.  And I seemed to have a version of that - I can't be bothered to talk to YOU (me) memory for each of the people in these bar union photos.  Oh boy - I could go - and they could tell me they are still too busy to talk to me - can't be bothered to say hello to you....  

And it turns out - it REALLY irked me that those people could still make me feel like that more than 45 years later, just looking at photos.  I did not care about their opinions then - it was clear that I did not matter to them in school.  Which I didn't care about in school.   And part of suddenly wanting to stitch this.... is a line that ends with.... and endure the betrayal of false friends.  

I can see some of the photos show guys that these cheerleader girls would never have dated, or be seen with, the guys that they are all cozy-cozy with in these bar photos.  And I am not claiming to know all their relationships - but that line about false friends - just fit the mood that I saw in those older reunion photos.  So I just HAD to start it.   

Rose Quaker - Stickideen Von Der Wiehenburg.  Still adding to this.  It kinda screwed me up - one motif had shown as two different numbers.  Why had I picked that number floss?  Had I screwed up and it needed to come out and be re-done in a different color floss?  It was exactly a year since I had last worked on it.  But it was just random it was what I grabbed.  I finished three motifs this time.  I was trying to fill in what was partially started.  The colors are the suggested - per the pattern pages.  Not my favorite colors, but I really didn't have any obvious thoughts on how to make it better. 

Technically half finished...

Swedish Horses - Modern Folk Embroidery.   This is where I am, 3 pages finished of 6 total.  My camera sucks for showing colors correctly, but the above photo is kinda close.  I am happy with the colors.  I didn't want to do another brown version combination. And the pattern photo is white stitches on a tan fabric, which is lovely, but my stitches would show flaws on something this big.  The side that is complete measures 9.25 inches.  It should be square when finished. 

This was after I finished the 3rd skein of dmc floss.  Just was not done with the page, and it seemed nicer to get to a point where I was technically finished with half the pages.