Humbugs!

Before I tried a humbug like one of Just Nan's that would have to turn out like the picture, I thought it better to try a couple that I didn't have pictures with which to compare.  So here they are - both filled with crushed walnut shells.   They are a real confidence booster, only one piece of fabric ... how could I go wrong!  But the next time I will make sure the end I'm closing up is straighter since that is where the seam is, to not have that on the front side.   But I am very pleased with how they look and a good experience to learn from for the next time.  The first one I used 14 ct Fiddler's Lite, Gentle Art and Crescent Colors, attached beads for the cording ends and a short piece of twine to the bottom seam and knotted those ends.   The other humbug is done on 18 ct dirty aida (?) with Caron Waterlilies and Threadworx (?) that I braided for the hanger.

Another humbug I designed myself is being done on 28 ct Fabric Flair (similar to Floba) ... this one will be MUCH bigger so once I get finished with Winter Hearts I hope to get going on that one.

Winter Hearts Progress

Just a few hours to go and I remembered that today is the day to post progress for the Just Nan SAL.   I was having quite a time trying to come up with designs for the other two sections ... at first I was going to do each one different.   But that just wasn't happening so this is what I came up with ... instead of trying to come up with something different for each section.  The colors on the outside hearts are Vintage Violet, WDW Snowflake for the middle, small hearts are Lavender Louise and Pixie Dust, corners are Hydrangea and Blooming Crocus; middle hearts are WDW Snowflake, Hydrangea, Blooming Crocus, WDW Ultraviolet and Purple Majesty; corner hearts are Pixie Dust and Boysenberry Jam.  I'll probably change the CC Hydrangea in the middle hearts since you can't tell the difference from WDW Snowflake which is on the outer edge and the next color which is CC Blooming Crocus.  I'm hoping the shade of the new Hydrangea I have will be enough shade change between the two to be noticed. 

With this being so different from the original, if it doesn't fall within the guidelines Zeb has, I'll choose something else for next month.

1 down 8 to go

Well this post is almost a week and a half after the incident ... happened on Sunday the weekend before last.   My DH opened up the attic to check out wiring for fixing the doorbell (which has never worked like so many other things in this house).   So the drop-down door was open but he needed to get something else so the door was left open ... nobody thought to put the kitties in another room.   Then it was Stephanie who noticed her cat had gone up the stairs and into the attic ... I climbed up there, needed a flashlight since it was pitch black, started shining the light and found Malachi wandering around on the rafters ... picking up fiberglass pieces in his paws, but seemingly enjoying his excursion in the frigid air.   So I kept on shining the light his direction and calling to him, but to no avail.   So I started yelling at him, you know like a child who won't come home from neighborhood mischief ... DH said you're probably scaring him ... so I stopped and came back downstairs, hoping he would find his way back down (sooner than later) ... which he did.   With a sigh of relief and thinking what could very easily have happened.   He had gone to the edge where the roof angle stops and was peering down into that space.   To which DH said if he had gone down there ... well there would not have been anything we could have done for him.   I prayed asking Jesus to help him come back down safely.   A few minutes later Stephanie saw him in the hallway when we promptly snatched him up in a towel, took him in the bathroom and gave him a quick wash in the tub with Dawn dishwashing soap.   And the thought of him cleaning himself and getting the fiberglass in his stomach, oh what a dreadful thought.  I think Kalina must not have recognized him after he came back out, looking strange with hair sticking out all over.

But what DH did notice was that the roof beams on the inside are darkened from being damp and there is frozen moisture on the boards.   Can't determine now what has to be or can be done, we'll have to wait until (MUCH) warmer weather to give time for the boards to dry out to see if we can remedy this.   He says that vents should have been installed when the roof was replaced and lack of air circulation is contributing to the dampness. 

So I don't know if I should credit Malachi with being a cat detective ... doesn't make a good mouser ...  maybe investigations are not his strong point.   It just takes him quite a while before he figures things out.   Anyway, I am very thankful that my prayer was answered and Kalina will never know what is beyond the stairs.

JN Winter Hearts Progress

Nan's designs are so beautiful and creative that when I came across an SAL of her patterns I knew I had to join.  I still haven't figured out how to attach the badge showing I've joined.  But I am happy to show the beginning of Winter Hearts Humbug.  I love the natural opalescent linen, it is a bit tricky to work with as the metallic threads reflect but the effect will be well worth it.  I used Caron Waterlilies Pebble for the borders and assorted Crescent Colors (now Classic Colorworks) ... Grape Pie, Vintage Violet, Amethyst, Pixie Dust, Lavender Louise (so far). This is my adaptation (59 x 121) as I wanted larger hearts so the inside top and bottom borders I developed a bit more and chose a ribbon-like idea for in between the hearts.  I kept making mistakes on the border, though, as the arctic frog invaded along with that polar vortex.  Now that the borders are in I can proceed more easily, and the colors even at this point are so inviting I'm able to contend with the cold much better.  I only wish the picture was better ... maybe that frog is making things blurry too???

A Couple Finishes

Here's two that I finished a couple years ago.  The first is Something in Common Woodland Owls and the other is Stitchy Kitty Meow Spoken Here.   The first one hangs on our tree and the kitty one my daughter and I gave to our vet for Christmas.   I have another kitty one finished on smaller count floba for us, just haven't gotten around to finishing it.

 

 

 

 

I'm currently working on Goode Huswife Currants Coxcomb and Rose, Just Nan Winter Hearts Humbug and Cinnamon Heart Needleworks Cinnamon Samplings that I'd like to make into a stitching bag.   I have a yellow one but it's too pretty to take anywhere, so I would like to make it from wool felt and put a zipper in it and pockets ... it's gotta have pockets.  The other two that have been waiting for a while are Bent Creek Quaker Thankful and Jeremiah Junction Nutcracker Factory.  I also finished two humbugs -  and filled them with those crushed walnut shells.  One is a lavender freebie and other is an unknown design - I have more pictures to take so just in case someone finds my blog ... they will have something to look at.   I'm surprised the cats haven't gotten interested in them yet.   But then walnut shells don't smell very tempting.

 This is Sweetheart Tree Blue Mountain Bunny done with assorted Waterlilies and chose instead those tiny pastel buttons and heart charm instead of the ones in the pattern.  I moved things around a bit to make space for the year and my initials.   Those silks are so much fun to work with!

 

 My daughter and I have also enjoyed going out looking for rocks.   I've always wanted to make a rock garden ... well that still hasn't happened but I found so many pretty ones.   These are, of course, my favorites.   I found them at a nearby river just like this along with other small chunks.

I have joined the Just Nan SAL so at the end of this month I will be posting a picture of something, probably Winter Hearts.   Here is Wildflower Wishes that I finished a couple years ago, done up as a flatfold.

 

first picture

Here's my first attempt with posting a picture ... my tortoisehell Kalina Kay.   I adopted her from a lady in Lakewood who had rescued some feral cats.   My daughter and I went to Pet Supplies Plus the end of August 2011 to get litter and several cats were there hoping to find new homes.  My daughter's cat, Malachi, is behind the chair and in the box.   He was very hopeful she would engage in play with him, as she tends to be passive.   Now she's the instigator chasing him around the house, so now he doesn't have to get aggressive and pin her down.   My DH says it sounds like they have lead feet ... aren't cats supposed to be light on their feet???

Coming up with a name for my blog was a long and winding road.   Possibilities were Allusions of the Pewter Frog, The Rustic Needle, Rustic Needle's Renditions, The Tortoise and The Bear, Thimblepie, Thimblerock, Through the Glass Darkly, Through the Eye of the Needle, Me, Myself and I of the Needle, French Knot Dilemma ... OK I don't need to go on.   That should be one of my New Year's Resolutions ... try to stay away from tangents.   Oh, The Tangential Needle.   And I just said I wouldn't do that.   But I had to slip that one in.   Just when I thought I came up with a good one, on second thought it sounded to lofty, too dumb, too proud, too ordinary ... sounds like another tangent.   Well I do like to play around with writing, because I have always loved the written word ... poetry, especially when the meaning is fashioned sort of like a puzzle, so that the meaning is there, but not outright obvious ... so that as you think about what was written, layers sort of evolve from it creating a multi-dimensional effect.   So I finally decided the blog name should be something concise and creative, sort of a 'tip of the iceberg' about me, not revealing much at the outset.   The word needle is used so much I thought ... well, thimble isn't and I use that idea in an unfinished poem ... and the image I create there really jumpstarted this blog name.   Thimblepie is snapping a person on the top of the head and Thimblerock was the name of a geological formation (which fascinates me) ... but also wouldn't work ... so I thought of how important our heart is.   Not just the muscle, but where our thoughts and feelings come from.   So one word comes from the two and now I can proceed with unraveling ...
unraveling what?   Well it's time for bed, Malachi wants to snuggle with me, my feet are cold and tomorrow (no it's today already) is another day, another year.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone.