Tiny Needle Tuesday 6/6/23

 Hello, Hello,

Let's hope this Tuesday is better than Monday was!  Whew!  There were more computer woes mid-morning when I got on my first conference call but could not hear anyone.  All was set up correctly, but the way to log onto the call had changed.  Not sure what was up, but I ended up skipping that call.  My next one worked with no hitches...it was just way longer than necessary!

Fletch and I decided to do grocery shopping yesterday because I am going to the office this morning.  The store was mobbed!  Who would have guessed at 2:30 on a Monday afternoon?  And, of course, one speed checker (15 items or less) and one regular checker...we were third in line and that checker was pretty new and quite slow.  Oy vey!

And then last night I was so tired I couldn't see straight but when I went upstairs to go to bed I ended up with the worst case of indigestion.  Not sure why.  Didn't eat anything unusual.  So, I am ready for a better day for sure.  I'm sorry I am heading to the office, but such is life.

Meanwhile, let's move on to more fun things.  I have a finish!!  Woo-Hoo, the Crows of Strawberry Hill is stitched.  The fabric used was 32 count linen and the threads were a mix of Gentle Art Sampler Threads and Weeks Dye Works (both over-dyed cottons).

And, not only stitched, but made into a pincushion on Sunday!  Who am I?

I couldn't find any fabric in my stash that I thought really looked good as backing (amazing given how much fabric I have), so I just backed it in green felt and I love the way it turned out.

Next up we have The Sampler aux Bouquets which saw more love than I thought.  Quite a bit was added to the mix.

As the designer suggested, I am stitching my initials in a lighter color than the balance of the alphabet.  Love the little butterfly flittering across the top!

With the Crow piece finished I knew I wanted to start another "small."  I dug around in my stash and found a piece from way back in 2014.  I even had all the specialty threads in the bag with the chart, so it was just a matter of finding a piece of fabric.  I decided on Autumn Posy by Paulette Stewart of Plum Street Sampers.

And, I made a small start on this yesterday.  I am using 40 count fabric and stitching with one thread of Weeks Dye Works (an over-dyed cotton) over two linen threads.  So far, I'm loving it!

A few folks have asked how I manage to stitch on such fine fabric.  Not easily!  LOL  I used to be able to just pick up linen like this and stitch away.  Now I have to use magnification.  I have some lights with magnification but I find that they often seem hot in the warmer weather.  Now I wear a headband magnifier (which I refer to as my crown!  hahaha).  This is similar to what I use.  I can flip it up when, say, I have to get up to let Mabel in at the back door.  Then just flip it back down and keep stitching.  I miss being able to just pick up my fabric and stitch, but this is a good solution for me.

As I mentioned, I'll be heading to the office later.  There is a 12 p.m. BBQ to kick off summer (which probably means gift cards or bonus payments, etc.!).  Also Kevin is back in the office (3rd week in a row) for budget reviews.  I don't think I need to be involved in that this time.  It is also Bruce's birthday today - not sure if he will be in for the BBQ or not - his budget review is not till Wednesday and it looks like he may be in Baltimore today (according to his Outlook calendar).  Guess I'll find out at some point.

I'm also looking forward to our "Read With Us" book discussion tonight!  I'll see some of you and talk with you then.  Have a great day!