Coffee~Tea~ Hot Chocolate and K D Lang

A bit of experimenting this morning....dying fabric swatches~~~

this is with a strong cup of  Eight O'clock coffee and left for about an hour. I like the color and the scorch marks.....hated to waste my coffee but it had to be done. You can see the original bees fabric and the lovely difference.
Then we made a strong cup of Tetley tea...

Not bad color....but not quite right. This is why I always experiment before using all the fabric and time. Of course, there is no guarantee that it will turn out the same later when I do it for real. After this I decided to try Swiss Miss hot chocolate  which I had not tried before

not a bad shade but again, not what I would want with this project. It is always fun to try different foods. Do you ever use food for dying fabric? For each of these I left in the liquid for about hour swishing them periodically. Then a rinse in cold water briefly and into the microwave for a minute. Sometimes as with large pieces I use the clothes dryer and even the oven occasionally. Most important with the oven....check every few seconds or else! So, I guess the coffee dye will be the way to go.

The bee fabric is by Moda---design is Bee Creative by Deb Strain

So next will be to decide how to bag it! K D Lang ( Drag CD) in the back round is just so relaxing. Earlier I went out to water the garden and of course received 2 mosquito bites for my 5 minutes in the hot sun. Filled the birdbath and watched as the woodpecker made his daily visit to the hummingbird feeder. He looks so silly but I look forward to his visits. Meanwhile the hummer flits in and out to drink. Now I am off to sit and read my smocking book for a bit and then a little practice. You always make my day with your visits. Thank you for your friendship and kind words. Have a great day.

Playing with color

Last week I bought a chart, Amazing Grace. It was ordered for me by The Attic and when I went to pick up the remainder of my Elizabeth Doll order it was in. What I did not do was purchase linen for it. What to do? Well, since it is a 51 mile one way drive there, I decided I would dye my own. I finally bought the dye, but of course like chips, I can never eat buy just one.....

going from left to right: the Rit color is Apple Green, small square is a quick dip into Rit  Navy, the middle is Sunshine Orange and finally Navy. For the Navy I left it in the bath for several minutes, until I liked the color. I have no idea what I will stitch on the Apple Green but I do have an idea for the Orange. Such fun playing with color! There are so many good designer out there. Sometimes we get into the habit of stitching from only one or two. Now that is not necessarily bad, but I am trying to discover other designs. This was found by Mr H while he was roaming around The Attic. I love the hymn and have often been referred to as Amazing Grace.....

I am pleased with the shade the dye bath gave me. The chart is by Brenda Riddle Designs. I will be stitching on 32 count and not sure if I want to use the recommended thread, WDW White Lightening. I may go with DMC white or B5200 or maybe a very light grey.... have to think about it. Anyway, I will look into what other designs she has. I just noticed the time! It is 4 am...what ... how can I be so busy?! Update on Elizabeth; still working slowly on this and  I am in no rush with it. I really enjoy the process of stitching a design and never try to hurry it along. While Mr H was in for his procedure yesterday (which seemed to take forever) I began a small BBD Strawberry design...nice pass the time stitching. I would like to fill it with emery sand.... has anyone  used this and if so any suggestions? I would appreciate any thoughts on it. Okay, it is really time for me to settle back for a while before doing laundry, the market and so forth. It is always nice to have you visit with me and thank you for the kind words. Your friendship is like a big hug ..... have a good day.

A hug is a handshake from the heart....

Blueberries, cherries and Rit Dye

As I was eating some wonderful sweet cherries, I thought to myself, or rather aloud to Mr H, I bet these dye well. So off to the kitchen and I sacrificed some cherries to get...

Luscious pink fabric and on the left Rit Dye  for an ornament I will be doing. I really enjoy these experiments, you never get the same result twice. Mr H went out and pick me some Honeysuckle and I tried that but it was not very good.... somethings work, others do not. Both of these pieces started out white. I also finished stitching Blueberries...

I saw a frame that may work for this at Jo Ann's last week. I will check today. I will tell you a story about blueberries and growing up after it is all completed. For a break I think I will start the ornament using the blue linen. A little more done on Hummingbird Garden. I have so many nice projects waiting in my basket and craft closet, it is hard to chose which to pick up first. One the Hummer Garden is complete I will start Elizabeth, the pricey pincushion. Can't let all that money sit in  a basket.  It is always nice to chat with you, glad we can. Thank you for spending time with me. My Journal resumes below, hope you have time to read it. Have a great day.

Arizona Bound

Friday July 23 2004 Day 4

8 am and the pooches want a walk; Dennis took them and they saw a deer. A cloudy very grey start to the day. I am drinking tea now as I have not found a good cup of coffee anywhere. We will be on Route 44 all the way to Tulsa Oklahoma. The temp is 90 but the humidity makes it feel very hot. The truck starts to move and the passengers find their spot and nap. I wish I could nap. Dennis tells me to go ahead and stretch out in the back. Where I ask, the pooches have done that already and anyway who would read the map? Who would tell him where to go? Who would get the soda refills for him? I am a very important part of this road trip and I do remind him of that. Dennis shakes his head and asks for soda---see what I mean! We are still traveling parallel along  Route 66...just like the series Route 66 and we are George Maharis and Martin Milner traveling in the corvette. Dennis shaking his head again and reminds me we are in in a 15 foot Penske and hauling a car. He has no patience. At 9:45 am we cross into Lebanon Missouri and the rain starts again. Breakfast and walks and back on  the road. A dead Armadillo on the road and Dennis comments that he should have not been out on the road. Crossing into Springfield Missouri and it is 11:17 am another pit stop for the passengers and me. I do have to go sometime. Next stop at 1:15 pm for gas and snacks in Joplin Missouri. A few more dead Armadillos along the way, and yes, he said they should have stayed home like us. I hear "never again" again!  Today it seems like we are not getting too far before someone needs a stop Maybe we should cut down on drinking the water/soda. The pooches are very thirsty today and so is Dennis. Okay, Tulsa Oklahoma. Finally out of Missouri. We are on the highway so we do not see much of the cities we are passing through. It is very hot today and we are sure to drink plenty of fluids. We find a rest stop and a Mc Donald's so the passengers get their hamburgers. No problem with this person understanding what I ask for. Finally time to call it a day at 5 pm in Oklahoma City. We find a Days Inn and some take out and another storm! It does not last too long and Sherlock, Zoe and Dennis are fast asleep. It is good to stretch out on a bed and get out of the truck each night. Our days are long. Dennis did not loose his patience with me too much today...I think I drive him nuts. Oh well, what can I say. Tomorrow is another day.

I would like to think....

Now, doesn't the title for this post make you want to know what is going on in my mind? Well, there is too much junk floating there but I will share this...

This little Quail family is about the right size of our orphan and there are out here everyday. In my mind, I want to think this is who came to retrieve the baby bird......better to think this than ..... anyway, let's think this is the family. I have been busy stitching in between this and that. I hope to get more on the Hummingbird Garden to show you, but here is

the Santa ornament ready for the backing. Love this red and white snowflake fabric I bought last year. My goal is to sew this up in the next few days while I am off from work. Speaking about work, I saw my hand doctor yesterday. "As long as you continue to cut fabric for 5 hours several times a week, your hand will be inflamed", a direct quote. Luckily for me, we are in our summer snowbirds gone time and my hours are much less. We all have something to adjust to in life.  I enjoy my part time job so I will adjust to this inconvenience. 
As I was being the sous chef for Mr H the other evening, I thought, (that thinking again!) gee, hate to toss out these red onion skins... so I boiled them up and tossed in a piece of fabric...

really like how it turned out....wish I had used a larger piece. I am sure to find something to make with it. We are still with the Monsoon Season and the humidity is really high today---46%...very high  for us. The other evening this was the sky at sunset...

I almost expected Old Man Wind to appear, but the sky was still and this puff just hung there with lightening and a few claps of thunder. It has been a quiet morning and since I have a dull headache, I will return to my comfy chair to relax before going to work later this morning....glad you stopped by today..... hope you have a great day.

B & B hip

I am filing yesterday morning away under, "not a good beginning day". Just like many of you, I have a routine, well of sorts. I told you I go out and open the plant umbrellas, check the hummer food and water plants if the temps are already hot. I also move the leaf blower on the lanai if it is not put back  in the corner spot. It was warm and cloudy so I did not do the umbrellas or watering. I did take care of the hummer feeders and then I saw that the leaf blower was not where it should I like it to be. So, I bent down to pick it up and lost my balance... don't ask me how, I just did. Down I went . On my left side.... hard. The lanai is cement. I was laying in front of the slider to our bedroom. It is 7:30. I twisted myself around and banged on the glass door, then again and again. Finally Mr H woke and opened the verticals and called out. " what are you doing?" I thought it was obvious that I was not just spread out relaxing! He came to help me to the chair and I tried to explain that I lost my balance and all he could say was, you should not be out here touching things and barefoot. Well, nothing is broken but I have a B & B hip---black and blue, both knees scraped and my left arm sore. That's my story.
I managed to sit and stitch yesterday....

The Hummingbird Garden has a full feeder and more of the lower flower bed planted. I also started a Christmas ornament for Natalia. I plan to make one each year as long as I am able and date them for her. I also finished completely My Needle is Sharp....

from Notforgotten Farm. I stitched in the listed DMC floss on 32 count Belfast Lt Mocha. I put in a gold plated needle and gently fringed the edges. I really enjoyed stitching this.
I was cutting up onions and thought, I bet these skins would make a great dye. I grabbed 3 pieces of fabric....

and voila! the #1 piece I also painted with a tea bag drawn across it, #2 was left in the bath about 3 minutes and #4 was just dipped in and out. The 2 pieces of Ric rack are piece I keep dipping into what ever I have at the moment. I love playing with my food! I think today I may boil some carrots.....
I must tell you about Tuesday at work. A gal was walking by and told me she reads my blog. She knew I worked at Jo Ann's because I wrote about that so she came to find me. She does not have one of her own, but enjoys following what others are doing. We chatted for a few minutes and I do hope she looks me up again when she is in Jo Ann's and continues to read my blog. Who knows, we may even meet to stitch together one day. A small world. Okay, I think it is time for an ice pack on my hip and a cup of tea. Glad you stopped in today. I will be continuing my Arizona Bound tale soon. Hope your day is great.

Good start to my week

It is always nice to start the week on a positive note...the swelling in my hand has gone down, it is still sore, but much better that last week. I was able to stitch and finished The Civil War needlebook...

This is from The Prim Society group and I am really happy that I decided to stitch this piece. This was my first SAL so I have a lot to learn/understand about group projects. I love pincushions, pillows and needlebooks, so this will be added to my collection. I am so glad that I can resume stitching...  I am lost without a needle in hand. Plans are to resume Clematis and get ready for the hummingbird piece. I dyed the fabric yesterday...

The design is a garden against the sky so I wanted a very pale blue linen and it is just right for me. I also played with some Aqua dye..
and although I am not sure what I will do with these small pieces, I like how they turned out.

One is mottled. As you can see by the white linen piece, the light blue is very soft looking and the aqua pieces are soft also.
Always a surprise when I dye fabric. I must get outside and get the plant umbrellas up ..... I will have to show you the pretty colors the plants get to sit under... until then, glad you took time to chat with me... have a great day.

Thank you Cucki

The weather has been hot and I have been stitching on Clematis....I will update with a picture soon. I am enjoying this and have no idea why I never finished it  before.  I do know that I have a few others that really should be finished and I do know that I have plans to start a dew more...oh dear, it is just a dizzy circle! One of the ones to start I needed light blue linen. I decided to experiment and dye some samples. Don't you love dying fabrics and trims? I use almost anything from Rit to fruit and of course tea and coffee.....coffee, still not in my diet and I do miss it. Anyway where was I? oh yes the light blue fabric. So I started the process...

starting with 28 count white evenweave, this is what happened. I started with 1/2 cap full of Royal Blue and first 2 cups hot water, then 3 and finally 4 cups hot water. The top row are all dipped in and then rinse for a few minutes in plain water. The bottom row is washed with soap.  The sample all by itself is 1/2 cap full and 1 cup water and just rinsed. Now to select and try to duplicate. Love doing this!
My Round Robin #2 piece arrived from Cucki

So pretty and a lovely postcard too. Love getting postcards from different states and countries. I will be thinking of a way to use this. I just joined a SAL, my first one. I am Just waiting for the kit to arrive. The others have started so I will play catch-up. It is not a large project so I should be able to follow along. So any of you do Punch Needle? I have wanted to try it for some time. I love  seeing what others create but now I have a push to try it. Charl, from the Prim Society Group is sending me the tools to do so. Very kind and generous.  I know what you are saying, why something else? I can not help myself! When I am sitting in the Angels Craft Garden someday, I want to be able to join in on all that everyone else is doing! Dear friends, it is time to go out to open the umbrellas, and water my assigned plant! (more about this later) and of course have another cup of tea. I will be working today so my stitching is not a happening thing nor is the fabric dyeing. Thank you for your friendship and kind words. Hope your day is wonderful.