update (assuming anyone cares)
My buyers accepted my offered $1000 at the house sale closing for any repairs.
They wanted me have the repairs done but I refused. I am not in Florida anymore and I suspect any repairs for them will be endless.
They are nit-pickers and clearly greedy. All this fuss for $1000 more. That means I pretty much paid for their inspection.
Perhaps they would like me to pay their movers too or as Karen said, maybe I should just give them the house for free.
I tell you, sometimes………
nit-picking
I have not written here in a few days. I was enjoying a “mini-break” (to quote the movie Bridget Jones, I think I will re-watch that today while I hem my skirt).
Being caught up is a wonderful feeling, I quite like it. I do not have that relentless pressure that “I must get this done” all the time.
I listed 2 new canvases/kits yesterday.
The Imari plate canvas I was going to list as the canvas alone, the kit with all Paternayan Wool or the kit with the gold details done in Kreinik gold (which will make the kit more expensive).
In looking at it, I think it needs the metallic gold so I am only listing the kit with the gold.
I listed another of my “lost” Laurel Burch designs (I have no idea why I keep misplacing these).
I have one more canvas to list (from my backstock, I am bringing them out slowly) and 2 books to do.
One of the books is a gorgeous brand new copy of Elizabeth Bradley’s Needlework Animals. This is a big, glossy coffee table size book full of incredible charts and pictures.
What I have been doing is getting us both clothes, jackets, boots etc for the winter. When we moved here we had no winter clothes to speak of.
I had 2 coats I had refused to get rid of (if I had to go north in the winter) a Marina Rinaldi and an Ellen Tracy topper and 2 wonderful Stizzoli sweaters (they last forever which is how I explain paying for them).
But I did not have a pair of closed shoes. Just 1 pair of “last ditch” Dansko Clogs.
Keith had a down jacket.
So, we have been shopping. Keith is easy to shop for. We went to the Nordstrom at King of Prussia Mall (near Philly) and were done for him, including 2 jackets, in less than 2 hours.
I am not so easy, even at the good malls, there is little to buy in my size (gently plus). This HUGE mall in King of Prussia has a pitifully puny large size dept in Bloomingdales and a Lane Bryant (ugh) for my size.
That’s it. Now I don’t get it. One of the things that I have noticed since moving here is that I have landed in fat lady heaven.
So many of the women here are fat, some quite so that it moves the Bell Curve rankings on being fat a lot (if you know what I mean) or to say it another way
“In the kingdom of the blind, the one eyed man is King”. Get it?
So, why the retail desert for larger size clothes. There is store after store with the teeny stuff, dept. after dept. I do not see many people in the mall carrying bags from most of these stores.
Anyway, I have the internet and so I am shopping here but it does mean ordering a lot of things. You can’t tell from a thumbnail (however big) that something will fit or flatter you.
So, lots of deliveries, lots of returns.
I have been hemming a skirt for an outfit to wear to my nephew’s wedding the weekend after next.
He is having one of those Destination Weddings in St. Augustine, FL (they live in Boston). It sounds nice but he now thinks it was maybe a mistake, many of his friends are having trouble affording the trip.
Still, I bought this Eileen Fisher outfit last summer but returned it. I was planning on wearing something dressier to the wedding.
Then it turns out that the wedding is not going to be so dressy, so I re-bought this. By now it was on sale too.
I know I do not have to tell you, I do NOT look like this (not even a little!)
It is a nice soft linen knit and the tank top has sequins at the neckline. I think it will be comfy for a long day.
I also bought (not to wear with this) these incredible earrings (yes, I am still obsessed). They are mother of pearl inlaid into silver. These are big hoops, very jazzy on with my hair pulled back.
Moving on. I am sure you are wondering what my blog title means.
I am being nit-picked to within an inch of my ability to stand it (which was not much to begin with) by the buyers of my Florida home.
They had their inspection and they seem to think that not only will I sell them my house real cheap (40% less then I paid for it 5 years ago) but that I am going to fix every single little thingie in it so they are buying a brand new house.
Well, I am not. My house has been perfectly maintained (by obsessive me) and has numerous upgrades. Enough is enough.
They are using the buyers market to really take advantage of me and I have gone as far as I will go.
The pool motor broke, I had it fixed immediately but am I going to pay them to correct a 1 inch gap in the rain gutters and an air conditioning line that is not “properly” insulated?
No, I am not and I am not giving them more money off the house.
At this point, seeing what I got for it I am thinking maybe I would be better off to rent it out.
I hate nit-picking. I am not a nit-picker. I wait for the big stuff and then go crazy. The small stuff can take care of itself.
done, done, done
This is a first, I am *caught up*. I have listed and done everything I intended to do on NewNeedlepoint.com
(m does her happy dance, it is not a pretty sight).
I think I have only been close to being caught-up once before and it lasted 15 seconds or so.
Father B update:
BTW, Now I know why I had a run on Father B’s 21st Century Stitches book. It is mentioned in the September/October issue of Needlepoint Now.
I ran out last week but place an order for more right away. I made the listing In-Active on my web site. I am activating it right now. You can buy the book and I will ship it the instant I get (which I hope will be soon)
Ok, back to my scheduled blather:
The holiday stuff is listed, the books are all listed. All my ducks are sitting in a nice row quacking happily.
I am now at leisure (ha!) to do a few things I have wanted to do to improve the site.
I have begun showing a colorful inside picture of the books that do not have dust covers
instead of the title page
I think it is a much more attractive way to show the listing on the web site catalog page.
Of course, some of them have colorful title pages so the point is moot.
(I love the word “moot”)
I have been doing the recent ones this way, now I will change the others.
I have a few canvases I have been holding back, not wanting to flood the site with too similar designs. There are 11 of them. I will list 2 of them plus a Patt & Lee Design I was having trouble deciding what to do with.
Patt sells this is a regular canvas. I, in my search for more Scrap Thread canvases, I thought I would market it as that. But when I got it, I saw that if it was listed as a Scrap Thread Canvas and stitched in other colors the whole point to the design would be lost.
The feeling here is very Southwest American. The design, the colors, everything.
So, I have gone from planning to list it as a Scrap Threads canvas to listing it as a kit only. I think it needs these specific colors for the design to be a success.
It seems that I *lost* a second Laurel Burch canvas on my racks (where I hang the canvases using skirt hangers so they stay nice). I am not sure why this keeps happening, maybe because they are smallish and get hidden between others. Or maybe because I have the memory span of a goldfish. Anyway….
I like these Green Dogs. I will list them canvas alone or as a kit. I am kitting them using rich Copper Kreinik Metallic Thread in place of the same old Gold
The last one is an Imari Plate design by Danji Designs. It is one of their 13 mesh canvases so it needs a larger size floss to stitch. Since I do not stock DMC #3 size floss (yet, it is a huge investment to buy another size, I have to buy the entire color spectrum in boxes of 12) I usually kit these using the lovely Paternayan Needlepoint Wool I have. The colors are different from the DMC & Anchor colors, richer, softer, perhaps more subtle and it is a easy stitch, using 2 strands on 13 mesh.
I am going to list this 3 different ways. As the canvas alone, as a kit using all Paternayan Wool and as a kit using Paternayan Wool for most of the design but the Gold Accents all done with Kreinik Metallic Hi-Lustre Braid Thread in Gold.
Obviously it will use quite a bit of the Gold, I estimate 5 spools (and I made sure I had more, in case more was needed). This will make the kit much more expensive than the all wool kit so I am offering it both ways.
Ok, moving on. Remember that possible scam I told you about involving the 2 orders for the exact same 2 bargello needlepoint books the same night, just minutes apart?
I have had another email from the 2nd buyer (the one who got the refund). I have sent her all the transaction information I have (isn’t it a good thing I am compulsive and I printed it and attached it to the order).
Hmmmmm again.
My sale of my house bumps along. The buyers have been “traveling” so the inspection is next Monday. I am told my house passed the appraisal thingie (to give a mortgage the bank wants to be sure the house is worth what they are lending).
I hope this goes through. My marvelous caretakers, Doreen & Valerie, tell me there is so much for sale there, I am lucky to get a buyer and I agree.
I have veered off from reading Georgette Heyer on the an odd tangent. I have a collection of books by Richard Matheson, the famous writer of genuine scaries, adult ones.
I re-read Hell House, incredible book. The old movie made from the book, The Legend of Hell House with Roddy McDowell and Pamlyn Franklin, was (and is) a pretty creepy good movie but it is nothing compared to the book. WOW.
Going to Richard Matheson from Georgette Heyer is some change. I am following Hell House up with the another novel by John Harwood, who wrote the book I recently finished , The Seance. It turns out I got it backwards (go figure). The book I am reading now, The Ghost Writer, was his first.
This book has no connection to the recent movie of the same name, with Ewan McGregor (who is indeed a hunk). That was an ok movie, I am not far enough into the book yet to judge it.
I think I mentioned we rent this dismal & dingy 3 bedroom duplex house here in Lititz and that our joining wall neighbors have 3 kids, 2 of whom are in a Heavy Metal Rock Bank. They practice there. They are very LOUD. They try to be considerate of us and once they realized I do not “go out to work every day” but work here at home they stopped practicing 7 days a week. (Plus school has started again!!!).
The drummer is a 15 year old, Andrew. These are nice kids, very nice kids but they do look the heavy metal part. I have lost track of the number of studs he & his sister have on their faces & bodies, a lot of them (the sister, Danielle is a wonderful singer).
Andrew, this young Heavy Metal Drummer mows our lawn every week. We pay him for this and are glad to do so. We were in a HOA community in Florida, they did all that, we do not own a lawnmower etc. anymore.
So, here is this punk rocker mowing our lawn. I love discordant things like that.
So, I am off to enjoy a Night Off but before you get too excited for me, I am going to iron tonight. I like to iron, I do it while watching a movie.
mixed bag
All kinds of stuff, all over the place in this blog entry. I have so much going on I am not sure of anything.
My house sale is still up in the air. My buyers are “traveling” and have asked for 15 days for the inspection period instead of the usual 10 days. Of course, I agree (what am I supposed to do, say no to the only offer I have’s request?)
The waiting is hard, then I have to sweat out their mortgage application period. AWK.
Things are selling on NewNeedlepoint.com. I keep expecting it to stop and for another long and painful dead zone to begin but so far, it hasn’t.
I am selling out of stuff. Patt (of Patt & Lee Designs) sent me 2 of the Pirate Cat canvases Jane is currently stitching on her Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure Blog. Jane kindly mentioned I had them in stock and I sold both of them in 3 days.
Patt is sending me more (marianne holds her breath).
June McKnight self-published a new book this year, Plants and Animals in Needlepoint. I have sold 3 copies so far and my distributor does not have any more…they are on order.
Speaking of June McKnight, her border books, background books and her Colorful Stitches for Over-Dye Threads book sell steadily.
I have also sold out of the Father B’s 21st Century Book of Stitches, more are on order.
The way the Father B book was sold seemed odd to me. I had not sold one in some time when I sold 2, 2 days in a row.
I wonder if the book was mentioned anywhere recently?
I had an odd thing happen recently, here on NewNeedlepoint.com.
2 women, living maybe a thousand miles apart placed an order for the exact same 2 used/rare books about 1/2 an hour apart one night not too long ago. I think I might have mentioned it here as a “go figure”.
Well, it turns out it was not as simple as that. The night it happened I refunded the 2nd order’s money, through the credit card she used. I shipped the other one the book, the one who ordered first.
Still, it seemed such an odd coincidence. Well, maybe it wasn’t.
A few weeks later I got an email from buyer #2 asking when she might expect her refund.
Hmmmmm.
I emailed her back and told her I had done it the same night and gave her the info on it.
I think there was one more email which I responded to the same way and then it went away.
It has occured to me that this might have been a joint attempt to get a double refund from me.
Now maybe that is a reach and I do admit to fairly high levels of paranoia, still…….
Interesting.
Remember the big Amethyst stone earrings I had made for the at the local gem show?
Does anyone remember how upset I was when I went to get them and found they had been set in a necklace fitting and then dangled from earwires?
They look ugly and stupid.
Worse from the side
I did a search for *wrapped wire earrings”. and emailed the artisans who came up in my search. Some said no, a few said yes with gold filled and cheaply done ($29.95 anyone?)
I found one jeweler, Bev Ludow who was willing. We have been working together all day, emailing pictures back & forth and discussing what can be done.
She is creative plus a nice person, she has been patient with me. In the end this is the design we agreed on.
The picture shows a cabochon stone in Sterling Silver. Mine will be gold wire (reusing the gold wire that is there now with a bit more added) and my oval stone with the “pointed side” out, as is the current fashion, not the flat side.
I am thrilled, I was sure there was nothing I could do and the Amethysts were ruined.
Bev has this terrific web store.
http://www.wirewrapjeweler.com/
Plus she makes these terrific “HairSkewers”. I have long hair these days which I wear “up” I have ordered this one to try. Bev has a video on her site on how to use/place them in your hair.
So… still enmeshed in Georgette Heyer, reading her very first novel, The Black Moth, written when she was 17 to entertain her sick brother.
Yes, it can be juvenile but even as I read along I see her writing changing, getting stronger. It is a good story too. I bet her brother was much entertained by it.
So, as I said, all over the place. I am almost finished listing the canvases. All the holiday ones are done except for one laggard Patt & Lee Ornament, that just came.
I am down to 2 more canvases/kits to list. That assumes I don’t “get over it” and list this Laurie Korsgaden Cat Stocking one that I do not seem to like much. Anyone have any opinions, I would like to hear them.
Pirate Cat
I received my 2 copies of Patt’s (of Patt & Lee Design) wonderful Pirate Cat, holding a Trick or Treat sign, needlepoint canvases today.
As many of you already know (or suspect) it takes me anywhere from a few days to several months to list a new canvas.
This one arrived here at 4pm (we have a late afternoon mail delivery schedule here, it can be annoying if you are waiting for something).
It is now 10:32 pm and Pirate Cat is taped, photographed, edited and listed!
I don’t know if you are following Jane, the Master Stitchress (is that a word?) of the Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure Blog as she stitches this Pirate Cat on her blog
She is doing wonderful (and unusual) things with this design, she really is one great stitcher (as opposed to ole plain stitch me).
I have listed all the “time is of the essence” Christmas themed canvases & kits except for this one.
I suspect this means I do not love/like it. if so, I have no idea why (maybe the muddy colors?). It is a Laurie Korsgaden hand painted design and I liked it well enough to order it……we shall see if I get over this or not.
There are a few more *regular* canvas & kits I have to list now.
Some of them I have not shown you yet.
This is the Gail Lang River Bird I have mentioned. This is a small canvas.
Another Beginner Kit, The Lady Bug, also a small canvas in 14 mesh.
This Beach Cabanas. The rich colors and design are very evocative for me.
The last of the Patt & Lee Christmas Tree Ornament needlepoint kits. This one came just today with Pirate Cats.
My first thought when I saw it was “Baby’s First Christmas” but I need to change the gray background. These toys deserve a better color background.
I have The Mighty Bright L.E.D Floor Light and Magnifier back in stock. I was amazed that I had sold all I had, even with the $10.00 shipping surcharge. This costs me more then that to ship, even using UPS Ground.
I even have an account with UPS now but I find for the things I mostly ship I do better with cost & ship time with USPS.
I do have to confess, this is the only one of the tools I sell on NewNeedlepoint
that I don’t actually use.
I already have 3 (count em) Ott Lights and at this price (even high wholesale) I did not want to keep one. My supplier told me they are excellent lights and so they seem to be.
I am ok, we are sweating out the inspection 15 days on the sale of my house. Then I have to worry for the 30 days of their Mortgage Contingency. They want to move in 10/28 so they are cutting it close.
There is nothing wrong with my house (except maybe the pool motor which failed last weekend and my excellent pool guy replaced as fast as he could.).
Why do things like that always happen just when you most need them to not happen. One of my houses got a good offer during the only time the basement of it ever flooded, ever!.
Of course, they asked for a sump pump to be installed which I gladly did.
I am still hiding in Georgette Heyer’s books. I plowed through A Civil Contract, then Frederica and now Arabella. I am running down my favorites list.
Have any of you seen the Leonardo Di Caprio movie directed by Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island? I am a fan of both of their work. This was a deep and sometimes difficult movie. The ending was a total surprise for me. Overall I liked it very much. It is on Pay-Per-View right now.
I keep thinking about both their first (well known anyway) movies.
For Leonardo it was the excellent What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, with Johnny Depp.
For Mr Scorsese it was Mean Streets with an impossibly young Robert DiNiro and Harvey Keitel. They both remain favorite movies (among my zillion others).
Odd, I would use Johnny Depp in this post (a first) which starts with Pirate Cat
I , ahhhh, lifted this picture from the Chilly Hollow Blog.
And
YES!
It sold! the price could be better but it is a huge load off.
distracted
I (finally) have an offer on my house in Florida. I am distracted, to say the least (needlepoint? what needlepoint?).
It follows that I do not have much to say. When I am not pacing the length of our dingy dirty rental, house I am trying to list the Christmas Tree Ornaments and the last few new, New Books that straggled in.
I have done all the replacements, so I have 2 color ways of the Scrap Threads Circles canvas listed
and 2 color ways in Patt’s redesign of Fan Cats
I have 2 new New Books. The Complete Illustrated Stitch Encyclopedia and A Potpourri Of Pattern by Ann Strite Kurtz.
Did I mention I have a not too bad offer on my house? I will probably accept it.
I have this Patt & Lee Scrap Threads Christmas Tree Ornamant for sale for $15. That includes free shipping. I see this stitched with all the left over glitter and “royal” (ie” gold/silver/purple etc.) colors you have.
Sorry this is so short, I have to go and pace some more.
P.s. I am re-re-reading Georgette Heyer’s Frederica. My go-to book in moments of stress.
m has it together
Saturday September 11th 2010, 10:11 pm
Filed under:
Uncategorized However briefly, I have it going on. I am caught up listing both new & rare books (except for the stragglers).
I am caught up listing the P&L older new stuff and 1/3 of the way there to listing the new, new stuff.
(is your head spinning yet?)
I finally have pictures of the older new stuff (there I go again) but first I want to talk about 2 books.
I paid a fortune for and shipping to buy a book on Florentine Embroidery from the UK. I was so excited. Well, (doesn’t sound good, does it?) It came today.
It is basically a Pamphlet, and not a very well done one at that from South Africa. Oh dear.
The other is happier. As you might know (or guess) I list all of June McKnight’s handy little self-published Needlepoint and Bargello Needlepoint Books.
There are some amazing titles, a few of them holiday themed. Her books cover the basics and then take them further. They are easy to slip into a tote bag and not too expensive, this is all good.
There is one in particular I want to mention. I just had to order some more of them, I have sold so many already.
It is Colorful Stitches For OverDyed Threads. Published this year, 2010, with a handsome Agean Blue cover.
In her introduction to the book Ms. McKnight says she was approached by the TNNA to develop “thread program” for them.
This book is part of that.
The first 30 pages of the book are in in-depth discussion of thread types, advantages and dis-advantages. There are 4 pages of “Helpful Hints” and 3 pages of on-line sources for OverDyed Threads.
Then the real fun begins, the rest of the book is stitches done with a variety of overdyed threads. All the pictures are in full color. Even the graphs of each stitch are in color.
I can see the effects on each stitch of the OverDyed Threads. It is pretty much amazing (and colorful). They stitch up differently than you might imagine.
There are 25 Satin Stitches shown, each has 2 pages. !0 Cross Stitches, again each stitch covering 2 pages and then 10 more pages of Leaf Stitches etc.
Of course, there are the usual clear pictures, easy to follow graphs and directions for each stitch, again in full color and using a large variety of different color OverDyed Threads.
I have some pictures of the new Christmas Tree Ornament design kits I have. As you may remember, I only sell these as kits. It just seems silly, to me, to list them as canvas alone and as kits.
These next pictures are the Laurie Kostigan Ornaments I haven’t shown you already. All are 18 mesh and very color rich.
Next is the other Laurel Burch Ornament design. I love this one but I almost always love graphics in rich colors.
Some brand new original design Patt & Lee Scrap Threads Designs
This last one is perfect for someone who has tons of smaller amounts of left over skeins. I think this design is dazzling.
OK, I hope/expect to have these all listed early next week. I know Christmas Stitching time is here, no messing around.
I finished reading The Seance by John Harwood. I really enjoyed it. As a break I stormed through Georgette Heyer’s A Civil Contract. I love that book, it is so romantic without really being romantic. I think the point is that real romance is in the everyday things of life.
Just 2 bags left in my Claire Sanchez category. They look very forlorn sitting there.
Fall is in the air here and I bought boots. Despite some good fashion advice not to buy UGGS, that they give you “cankles” (fat looking ankles) I could not resist. They box says to wear them without socks for the most benefit from their warmth.
I do wish I had the courage to buy them in pink or purple but coward that I am, I bought black. I may never take them off.
a request
I don’t have much to show you tonight. I have 9 new & replacement canvases from Patt & Lee ( Patt gets & deserves my appreciation for getting them to me so fast). 7 of them are brand new Stash Thread Designs, I have 2 Mona Lisa Cats and 1 is a star ornament. I have 4 new Laurel Burch (including the one I found buried in my stock) 2 ornaments, 2 pets.
3 new Ornament designs by Laurie Kostigan and one small Stocking. These are very color rich using 10, 13 or more colors in each 5 inch ornament.
I have a replacement for Gail Lang’s adorable Snowman Ornament.
Plus an amazing bird, about to take flight from a branch above a river, also by Gail Lang.
They have all been taped or hemmed (the smaller ones mostly taped, small canvases rarely have enough extra canvas outside the design for me to hem them).
They have been kitted and are all ready for the photographs. Unfortunately it was dusk before I got this done and I need daylight for the pictures.
So I have nothing visual to show you.
As you might (or might not know) I won my bet with Jane who writes the Chilly Hollow Needlepoint Adventure Blog. Interestingly she says the word “Adventure” is the most important word in her title. I believe it.
I bet her readers would pick Patt & Lee’s Pirate Cat and they did.
Patt has promised I will have several of these to sell while Jane is stitching it. I am holding my breath.
The main purpose of tonights post (besides just reminding everyone that I am still here) is a letter I received from the Ohio Women’s Prison NeedleArts Rehabilitation Project thanking me from my last package. The letter went on to say that their greatest need is Knitting Yarn.
I surmise that knitting is considered the most “marketable” of the NeedleArts.
I do not knit but my mother used to, we all have and love the afghans she made for us all over the years. My mother has a real eye for color as long as it involves blue.
She can’t knit anymore but has a fair amount of wool left over. I have asked her to send it to me, so I can send it to them.
I am asking you too. Please send any extra and left over knitting yarn you have to:
Elizabeth Wright, Warden’s Assistant
c/o The Community Service Stitching Post
Ohio Reformatory for Women
1479 Collins Ave
Marysville, OH 43040-9102
You can email her at
Elizabeth.Wright@odrc.state.oh.us
You will receive, eventually, a nice letter thanking you for your donation that you can use for a nice little tax deduction.
Ask your knitting friends. I think this is a good one.
OK, I know I said I wouldn’t do it but I did. I have 4 Clair Sanchez Tote or Shoulder Bags left. I have marked them down to $20, which still includes free shipping). This is much less than 1/2 of what I paid for them (if you figure in the shipping and I do).
So…….buy them already.
I am still reading The Seance by John Harwood. An extraordinary book. I often figure out mysteries before they are done, even some of the really good ones. I have no idea what is to be here. I am on my last few chapters and only true love for for NewNeedlepoint got me away from the book this close to finishing it.
Ok, I promised myself if I list the last 5 rare/used books on my desk I can go finish the book. See ya.
Laurel Burch & Christmas
I have new canvases. I just finished taping/hemming the edges. I can’t kit them until tomorrow, I need daylight for that. It is hard to truly see a color and it’s relationship to other colors in artificial light.
I have 3 new Laurel Burch animals, 2 Laurel Burch Tree Ornaments. Four new Ornament designs and 1 replacement for 1 sold
Please, do not absolutely judge these canvases from these pictures, they were taken in terrible light using the camera’s flash.
My usual pictures are done in “studio conditions” with proper lighting etc.
But I wanted to show them to you.
The next three are Laurel Burch designs. They are smallish designs ranging in size from 3.5 X 6 inches to 4 X 7 inches.
Below is the Blue Dogs, they look like “father & son” to me. It is 18 mesh.
Next and the smallest is this handsome Black Cat. This is also 18 mesh canvas. I have a antique gold color Kreinik Metallic Thread that will be perfect for his flowers. However, I think his outlines will not be in a metallic.
The last one is a surprising 14 mesh canvas. This is the canvas I forgot I had. It has been sitting buried among my other canvases for a while now. I can’t believe I forgot this cat with his friend the bird (or maybe his tormentor the bird)
Below is one of the two Laurel Burch Christmas Tree Ornaments I have. The design measures 5 X 6.5 inches and it is 14 mesh canvas. This should stitch up very quickly. As always, it has LB’s wonderful jewel tone colors.
These next Ornament & Stocking is from Laurie Korsgaden Designs. Most of her work seems to be holiday themes and she clearly knows holiday design and motifs well.
The ornament is a 5 inch circle on 18 mesh canvas. This is the Snowman Angel
Below is a small Christmas stocking design that could be used as an ornament. It measures 5.5 X 7 inches and is also 18 mesh canvas. I like the Santa Cat here.
I have not been sleeping much lately, no idea why but NewNeedlepoint.com is reaping the benefits or me awake & alert (how unusual).
Last night I listed all the rare books I bought as replacements for ones I sold. Some of them sell so frequently I have begun buying more than 1 at a time.
Every time I look for some of my most popular books I find the prices are higher. It goes from slightly higher to very noticeably higher.
I suppose I am creating “rare book situations” with my buying, thus driving prices up.
I have 5 new used/rare books to list. Assuming I can’t sleep again I will do them tonight.
I know I have mentioned I am stitching one of the Eileen Best designs that I took from my stock.
This is how far I have gotten. Remember, I had to unstitch ( a polite way of saying rip it out) the double strand stitches I had done. The area was pretty much this size.
These are the maybe/maybe not colors I am using. The pink/red/mauve is a keeper. I am not sure yet about the greens, I have changed them a lot, so far. I think the yellows will be good. I would love to do the white with Kreinik #12 Metallic white thread but I only have 4 spools of it left and these Ornaments are going to need it (all that snow)
Then again maybe it would not suit, just one Metallic color with all the others.
I do need to order more (but that means I have to go through all the Kreinik to see what else I am getting low on and what colors I want to add).
I am using the DMC & Anchor #8 Perle Cotton Floss. As I said, the colors are up for discussion.
I ordered another of the Pink Circles canvas and I will list it tomorrow but I think I will list it as just the canvas. If someone wants to stitch along with me, we can discuss the colors.
Things for me are good. The weather is gorgeous, we went for a ride yesterday through all the back country roads and farmland.
Actually we were looking for someplace to have dinner. The few places that were open had waiting lists to eternity (or bus loads of tourists running to the door to get in first).
In an Amish and Mennonite area such is this, almost no place is open on Sunday. They even close the self-service car wash that is open 24 hours a day. 6/24 not 7/24.
We had a lovely ride. we passed an amazing numbers of Amish families and couples in their buggies on the road. They drive beautiful high stepping horses, it is something to see. (the Mennonites drive mostly mini vans it seems).
Anyway, we ended up at a burger joint not a mile from where we live, in the end. Figures.
We are looking at fall clothes. I have been buying some but K announced today HE needs winter clothes. Oh my, this will not be fun.
After all, spending money on me is good, spending money on him is bad. Simple isn’t it? In my own defense he has been outfitting himself (from scratch) to go deer hunting this fall.
There is almost none of that in Florida, it is all deep sea fishing which he did and gave away all his northern hunting stuff, thinking we would never live north again surprise! surprise!.
I am finally out of my romance reading rut (no idea for how long, it may be brief) I am re-reading John Harwood’s The Seance. Next up is his The Ghost Writer. I found it in my book shelves, I did not remeber buying it. from the perfect condition of the book & the spine, I never did read it.
I have run out of blather…back to work.
