That, then the other, then something else....

 It has been a while...  I worked on Unicorn, Peacock, Badger for a while.  I finished the upper right corner fill in.  I think ithe top third is complete at this point.  But it got tossed back in the pile.

Worked on this for a short time.  Friends of the Hart from Plum Street Samplers.

Simple Living Sampler from Heartstring samplery.  I started the words, but the lettering was something I wanted to change just slightly, so the vines will have to adjust on the left side, meaning the words all have to come first.  It got tossed back at this point.  

After seeing this hanging in a flosstube video, mine had to come back out again.  This is where it was when I picked it back up again.  I reversed the bunny.  

This is where it is now after I finished adding the letters at the top, and reversing the rooster.  It's Heart's Content - Splendor.  I am using dmc 815 not the suggested 902.  

The Goode Huswife - Old Alphabet Blocks.  This was a pattern I added to another order, and am stitching it first.  It's on 28 count antique white lugana, using suggested dmc floss, and I'm stitching it two over two.  It was gonna be like 3 inches square if I stitched it one over one.  It has used almost the whole skein of the dark color to get to this point.  

I ordered fabric, and floss, and a pattern that I had liked a while back.  Nothing in the fall show caught my eye enough to order, so I ordered that old caught my eye pattern.  An older pattern I ordered used anchor flosses, and that took me a moment to figure out.  But I got the floss, and fabric, and it's two over two, because it has a silly one over one in the center, so stitching this two over two is a bit of practice for something I don't do very often.  But I am jumping around a bit from one started thing to something else, to wanting to start something new.  The Old Alphabet Blocks should get finished just because it will only take another day to finish it.  Three days total, and it will be done. 

Finish #5 for 2024

 

Long Dog Samplers - Act of God.   Finish #5 for 2024.  Dmc floss 938 on PTP Vellum 28 count lugana, one over one.  Used 10 skeins of floss.  The finished size is approx 12 x 12 inches.  The photo is not an accurate color.  If you are looking for a masculine color combination, this works.  I enjoyed stitching this, but I enjoy stitching many of her designs.  

Scarlet Letter - Peacock, Unicorn, Badger.  Back to this one again.  Filling in the right hand side.  My plan is to fill in all the things, not sure about stitching in the background.  I have a while to go before I need to decide that. 

This is what it looked like when I picked it back up again.  I seem to have last worked on it in February of this year.

Just to update on medical stuff...  I went in for a scan to check me for cancer again.  When I was in the ER, and that scan, showed I might have something on my adrenal glands.  I could not have told you where my adrenal glands even are...   My friend seemed to know.  Something about on my kidneys... looked odd....  Hey, when basically being able to breath is the problem, them telling me about adrenal glands looking slightly odd maybe..., not a darn thing I can do about that from the bed in the ER at midnight.  But that got me passed back to the chemo doctor to get another scan about 10 days later.  That next scan was the one using the radiated sugar, which makes bad things glow.  I had to wait a few hours to get the result, and the doctor said, nothing glowed, no cancer.  But  she wanted me back on the same estrogen killer pills.  Said that the estrogen killer pill does NOT have blood clots as a possible side effect.  One of them might, but not the one I am on.  So go back to the estrogen killer pill again.  Continue the 3 months of blood thinners, and they will do the ER scan again, and see what that looks like.  But my lesson... when I picked of the meds to start the blood thinners, I said, not gonna need that estrogen killer pill anymore... to the pharmacy.  That was my mistake.  Cause 10 days later, doctor says go back on it to keep the cancer away....   But asking the pharmacy, did you cancel the script?  Oh yeah, they did.  So I would need to go to the doctor again, which would be no problem to explain.  I was really convinced the blood clots had to be a side effect.  At the moment, there is no explaination for why I had the blood clots.  But the test is a sugar fasting test, so they said I'm not diabetic. It was a test that I had gotten sometime during the breast cancer stuff.  That all becomes a blur of what test was when, and at this point, doesn't matter to me.  But I do know places I have been before. But to be told, nothing glowed, no cancer...  that is nice to hear. 

Stitching Away....

Harriet Salt - Hands Across The Sea Samplers.  Picked it back up again.  This is two skeins of floss used and about a quarter of the total design area.  I last worked on it two years ago in February, so it needed some attention, but it was just a random thing to grab from the piles of started stuff.  The next line up is some roman numerals, and they are incorrect, so I already wanna fix them.  She did the following, I, II, III, VI, V, IV, IIV, IIIV, IX,X - So 4 thru 8, but it would be easy to fix, and not change the spacing.  Funny cause she did a thinner line version right before it, same row, and that version is correct.  Doing it with DMC 550, on a antique white 28 count, one over one.  It looks like I messed up in that first row, but it is just the material laying weird and not flat for the photo.  It's fine.  Below is where it was when I picked it back up again. 

I don't mind alphabets, although these alphabets are not my favorites... But I always think, even if I hate the motif, none of the motifs are very big or long.

Peacock, Unicorn, Badger - Scarlet Letter.  Still have been randomly filling in on this one. This is where I am at the moment.  It's not put away...  but I do need a break from it.  And the Ark small design that I started from LaDDa, got tossed.  It just was not my favorite once I started adding the animals. 

New Year, small new start...

 Carnation Sampler - Hello from Liz Mathews.  New Year, new start.  Just a small project from my stash.  Not gonna do the fancy border, I prefer it more simple with just the center area.  It's about 3 inches square.  On a 28 count antique white jobelan?  A scrap from my stash.  One over one.  Mostly dmc floss.  I would like to start the year with a finish. 

  Peacock, Unicorn, Badger, from Scarlet Letter.  Working on getting in the outlines for the open area.  Took a break to do a puzzle, and to do the small new year start.  But it's funny cause I really do want to get back to it all the time.  A day on something else is fine.  But after two days on something else, I just want to pick up this again.  Might be because it is on 25 count, not 28 count, making it just a bit more comfortable to see and stitch.  I haven't felt like there is something else in my stash I would rather be stitching either.  Or even really wanting to start something else.  Hence such a small start of something I'd consider very quick and easy.  I didn't find a new puzzle to buy on January 1st.  Gonna try to use things up, and not keep stashing more.  And that goes for life in general, not just stitching stuff.   

The End of 2023 report....

 

Peacock, Unicorn, and Badger from the Scarlet Letter.  I have completed pages that I can count as done.  Well, except filling in the background... or the water.  I have 8 pages completed of 20 pages.  I have that left side filled in down to the unicorn, and through the tree.  I have the unicorn, the ground, and the underwater area yet to do.  I only have the water pages done on the right side.  But the border is there, and I have a few things filled in near the deer.  I should be able to fill in a couple things to complete two more pages before the end of the year.  But this is my final year end post.

I completed 9 stitching projects this year.  Considering I was doing chemo for breast cancer to start the year, and then did radiation daily (week days) for 30 treatments... with treatment ending at the end of June...  I am fine with 9 completed.  My goal is just to not start more than I finished...  so that the things I have started do slowly decrease in numbers.  I keep track of what I spend, I simply write it down.  I started 2023 year with buying floss for a $1. at Joann's on January 2.  I am pretty sure I will go to Joanns as the first purchase of 2024 if the weather is okay.  My friend does jigsaw puzzles during winter months.  During treatments, in waiting areas, there were jigsaw puzzles and I would sometimes do them.  So this winter I bought a folding table that I could use for jigsaw puzzles, and I have done a couple.  It was a nice break for a couple days doing a puzzle, and then going back to stitching.  My first purchase might be a puzzle with the coupon.  I had bought just a couple of puzzles at the Dollar Store several years ago, and done those.  This is not completely out of the blue.  But before this, oh, it's been more than twenty years.  

I am trying to settle onto the estrogen meds.  The first version was awful, so I asked for a different pill, and this version has been better.  But it's taken 6 months, and I'm watching my blood pressure which is the side effect of this medication.  It's all really weird, they say that chemo meds screw up your body so much it takes a year before you know what effects will be lasting.  Technically, I still have 6 more months till I figure all this out.  I don't miss the breast, but there is so much that nobody tells you about.  I understand, it is different for everybody.  And that is their answer for most questions.  It all could have been much worse, so I am not complaining.  I'm able to stitch.  But I let things go, and need to get my life in better working order.  That is my goal for 2024. 

 May you have a safe and happy 2024....  as the readers that come and check on me from time to time.  

Back to This, Still December...

I did start the snowmen patterns, but this one was just more fun to work on.  I even started another new pattern, and again, this one just seemed to keep calling me back.  But there was several days on other things.  I even did a jigsaw puzzle, 1000 pieces.  I came back to this again.  Still trying to fill things in, started that under water part of the left bottom corner.  The badger is filled in, got a bit of the background behind him to do yet.  It's a thread here, then trying to find where else I need to fill in that color to use up the rest of a thread.  Which moves to hoop.  Things are filling in.  I really am enjoying this much more than I expected I would.  I am not a big fan of whatever type of art this is considered.  I still consider that I might enjoy stitching something else more.  But the truth is, I enjoy stitching this at the moment.  I would like to finish the fill in.  But if something else calls to me, I am open to changing whatever I am stitching.

Final on this for December...

Peacock, Unicorn, and Badger - Scarlet Letter.  Trying to fill in...  I stitched all day yesterday, just trying to fill in so that I can point to things and say - that is complete, this is complete...  but there is still not much that I can say is complete.  It IS filling in...  I just picked up everything for this pattern to take a break from it. 

One day I was thinking about the Lizzie Kate - Snow Belles, and Snow Men patterns.  But I needed a fabric.  Had the patterns in my stash.  Even had the dmc flosses for the patterns.  I checked my stash for the fancy flosses and had a few, but still needed a dozen.  But fabric can't travel alone.  So I ordered the fancy flosses.  So this is what I am starting tonight.  Snow people during December seems like the nice thing to stitch. 

It has part of the frame outline...

  A Peacock, A Unicorn and a Badger from Scarlet Letter.  Filling in, and added the border line of single stitches.  I am still content to continue on this.  It still has so many options to just mindless stitch, or fussy counting stitching.  As the colors of things fill in, they are really lovely.  I have hit and miss days of stitching, but I am fine with sticking with it another week. 

More and More

 A Peacock, A Unicorn and a Badger from Scarlet Letter.  Still working away on it.  Phew, just checked that the vine leaf behind the unicorn's tail lined up with the flowers above it.  First time it didn't, then I checked again, and it did... so I checked three more times, and I think it lines up correctly.

How Many Things Are In This Pattern???

 A Peacock, A Unicorn and a Badger from Scarlet Letter.  The outline idea has made this more fun.  And it has been less than 7 days since my last posting, and it has changed so much.  I am almost through my first skein of the outline color.  Not everything is outlined in that color.  The size is about two legal sheets of paper, side by side, as a rough estimate since I know it is hard to tell from photos.  And it is on 25 count, one over one, which for me fills in nicely without a fight on lugana when you are going to fill something in solid.  Stitched area should be 12.64 inches, by 14 inches.  I think the pattern says it is 320 x 340, but the pattern is actually 316 x 351.  So if you have the pattern, you might want to put a note in it to double check a few things before starting it.  I'm already thinking I want lots more of the background floss color before I start to fill that in, just so I can have the same dyelot.  But the background is a while before I get to that point.  I will give it that - this pattern has it all.  If you want to stitch outlines, and placement...  you can.  If you want just mindless fill in the background, you can.  if you want detail work, fussy stitching, it has that.  If you just want simple two color things, it has that.  I have lots of things that still need a partial thread to complete that area.  But I am trying not to just waste thread.  So I'm hoping I will have enough outlines done to be able to find other areas to use the rest of the thread in that color. 

Still Enjoying It...

Still enjoying adding to Peacock, Unicorn, and Badger.  I did screw up by a stitch just around the badger, so all that had to come out right after the last photo blog, and the badger had to move one stitch to the right.  I filled in the bottom three pages except the swan beak.  It needs the water stitches added.  Then I decided to go up and fill in the outlines of things to check and double check.  So far, so good.  There is still one more page to the left of the peacock, another whole bird and a flower.  Then I will have top to bottom, and side to side.  Mostly it feels like I don't have enough floss. 

It was time to give it a try, and start it....

A Peacock, A Unicorn and a Badger - Scarlet Letter.  A new start, one over one, on 25 count white lugana, dmc flosses. I have a bit more done, trying to fill in where I have started.  This is the bottom row to the center flower, the center badger at the bottom of the tree.  I am enjoying stitching it.  So far everything has matched up, which makes it fun to stitch.   This was actually one of the last patterns that I have purchased, and it's been maybe a year since then.  I ordered the fabric, kitted it up, and it has been waiting for me.  It was time to give it a try. 

Autumn on Lazy Bear Mountain - Kathy Barrick.  Picked this back up thinking it feels like fall, but all I got done was to work on that upper right corner, and I did finish that part, those pages.  Below is the photo where it was when I picked it back up again.  I just burned out quick on it, and decided to start the new project.  But I was pleased to get an area done that I know is completed on this. 

And I do still have to fill in some orange on that border bottom to complete it.  But I completed the moon and I'm not wild about the owl in the moon center, I'm thinking I'd rather go more plain.  Once you start changing the pattern, you need to either do it and commit to it, or change projects.  I started the new, but a classic pattern, instead.