Mini LNS Rant

Fred wrote:

Hi Norma,
Now for the epologue,
Yesterday morning my DW gives me a lesson in central cost accounting finger
style....
Thumb - At least 3 hours of my time wasted. Now that is debateable!
Finger - 1. Cost of at least 3 gallons of gas.
Finger - 2. Cost of at least 3 hours depreciation of the vehicle.
Finger - 3. Cost of at least 3 hours wear and tear on the motor and
transmission of the vehicle.
Finger - 4. Cost of at least 3 hours wear and tear on the tires.
Okay, tell me, Freddy my boy, why did you put all that wear and tear on
your vehicle when you have such a cute "little" puppy that needed some
exercise?????????? I'm sure *he* wouldn't have minded that little bit
of fussy weather! ;-)

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

On Sun, 4 Jan 2004 23:52:07 -0600, "Fred" wrote:

you had remembered the pizza, you could tell your wife you got off
cheap...


When one suddenly comes on snow drifts that are over 18" deep without a 4x4
one justs mutters a few hail marthas, closes one's eyes and hopes for devine
deliverance. Pizza is the last thing on one's mind.LOL

Lightweight........nothing less than 24" drifts can excuse the lack of
the pizza.....


--
Deb

WIP: How Great Thou Art (Leisure Arts Greatest Hymns II)

Hi Anne,
I'm needlepointing a fiddler on the roof design on canvas. Needlepoint (true
continental stitches) is using up a lot of perle cotton #3. IIRC Basketweave
stitches would even use a lot more. Not sure if a true continental stitch
takes as much floss as a cross stitch or not. It probably does because it is
thicker floss.

This project has been a pain since day one. The only redeeming thing is that
I stopped using a size 20 needle as it was almost impossible to get it and
the perle cotton under some stitches on the back side when finishing a row
or color and I learned how to thread a size 22 needle with the #3 perle in
the twinkling of an eye. The smaller needle is wayyyyyyyy easier to get
under the stitches on the back side.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof".
W.I.L., "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Anne Tuchscherer" wrote in message
s.com...
I just have one question. What are you stitching that you were able to
use an entire skein of perle floss in one day? Even when I spend an
entire day stitching hardanger I think I would be hard pressed to use
that much floss. I think it's a good thing I don't live as close to my
LNS as you live to yours otherwise I would have a whole lot more stash.
It's bad enough that I can arrange my drive home from work to go right
past my LNS and not have to go out of my way.

Anne (in Ellicott City, MD)

That pampered buddy bear of mine? Surely you jest!!!LOL
Momma was baking and Chilkoot wasn't about to leave the kitchen with all
those sweet smells wafting about.
All kidding aside, I don't have the mushing booties for him and in this cold
weather as he sweats from his paws it builds up ice between his toes.
Without booties he wouldn't last a mile and he would have been sitting on
the sled and I would have been pulling it. Been there done that!!

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof".
W.I.L., "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".


"Joan Erickson" wrote in message
...
Okay, tell me, Freddy my boy, why did you put all that wear and tear on
your vehicle when you have such a cute "little" puppy that needed some
exercise?????????? I'm sure *he* wouldn't have minded that little bit
of fussy weather! ;-)

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

Fred wrote:
That pampered buddy bear of mine? Surely you jest!!!LOL
Momma was baking and Chilkoot wasn't about to leave the kitchen with all
those sweet smells wafting about.
Ah, so he *does* know on which side his bread is buttered!!!

All kidding aside, I don't have the mushing booties for him and in this cold
weather as he sweats from his paws it builds up ice between his toes.
Without booties he wouldn't last a mile and he would have been sitting on
the sled and I would have been pulling it. Been there done that!!
Well, as long as you have a *good* reason, I guess I'll let it pass!
Staying warm up there? It's a little warmer here--actually 5 above
zero right now! Yesterday was darned cold, though!
--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

On 1/6/04 3:14 AM,"Fred" posted:

Hi Anne,
I'm needlepointing a fiddler on the roof design on canvas. Needlepoint (true
continental stitches) is using up a lot of perle cotton #3. IIRC Basketweave
stitches would even use a lot more. Not sure if a true continental stitch
takes as much floss as a cross stitch or not. It probably does because it is
thicker floss.

Basketweave definitely does eat up the thread. But it holds so well - worth
it if it's going to get a lot of touchy, feely use.

I stopped using a size 20 needle as it was almost impossible to get it and
the perle cotton under some stitches on the back side when finishing a row
or color and I learned how to thread a size 22 needle with the #3 perle in
the twinkling of an eye. The smaller needle is wayyyyyyyy easier to get
under the stitches on the back side.

I use a Tapestry 22 petite needle - John James makes them. Really nice, the
eye is large enough for most threads, but the needle is a little shorter,
and I find it really comfy. Of course, this may be as I'm usually using 26
petites, so when I switch to canvas the shorter needle is better for me.
But, I also use a hemostat (clamp) for pulling needles thru the back of the
stitching when ending a thread. And believe me, it's sometimes very snug
getting thru some basket weave.

Are you working on 14 ct? I usually use Perle 5 on 18 ct, so that's just a
curiousity question.

ellice

Hey Joan,
We had -42º wind chills for a few nights and that can really stiffen your
knickers!LOL
It is supposed to warm up to -22º for a few days. I guess we can thank
global warming for that.
I'll take a snorting Colorado Low with snow any time versus these darn low
temps.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof".
W.I.L., "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Joan Erickson" wrote in message
...
Fred wrote:
That pampered buddy bear of mine? Surely you jest!!!LOL
Momma was baking and Chilkoot wasn't about to leave the kitchen with all
those sweet smells wafting about.
Ah, so he *does* know on which side his bread is buttered!!!

All kidding aside, I don't have the mushing booties for him and in this
cold
weather as he sweats from his paws it builds up ice between his toes.
Without booties he wouldn't last a mile and he would have been sitting
on
the sled and I would have been pulling it. Been there done that!!
Well, as long as you have a *good* reason, I guess I'll let it pass!
Staying warm up there? It's a little warmer here--actually 5 above
zero right now! Yesterday was darned cold, though!
--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

Hi Ellice,
Yes I'm using 14ct canvas. What and where did you get the hemostat clamp?
It's probably better than the pair of vice-grip pliers that I'm using for
pulling the needle out of tough spots. I thought basketweave was only used
to lessen distortion. With my fabric mounts there is very little if any
distortion in the canvas when I'm finished.

Not sure why one would use the basketweave for designs that are touched a
lot. Wear and tear would be on the front side not the back - no?

Interesting enough I know a chap that buries his threads on the diagonal
versus vertical or horizontal. It is a lot easier and looks great, i.e. no
funny diagonal lines on the front as some people claim would happen.

Fred
http://www.stitchaway.com

If you are on thin ice
you might as well dance!

W.I.P. - "Fiddler on the Roof".
W.I.L., "Romantic Venice",
"Ocean Princess", "Southwest Charm",
"Rainbow Trail", "Indian Pottery", "One Earth",
"Spirit of the Full Moon"
and "+?", "+?", "+?".

"Ellice" wrote in message
...
On 1/6/04 3:14 AM,"Fred" posted:

Basketweave definitely does eat up the thread. But it holds so well -
worth
it if it's going to get a lot of touchy, feely use.

I use a Tapestry 22 petite needle - John James makes them. Really nice,
the
eye is large enough for most threads, but the needle is a little shorter,
and I find it really comfy. Of course, this may be as I'm usually using
26
petites, so when I switch to canvas the shorter needle is better for me.
But, I also use a hemostat (clamp) for pulling needles thru the back of
the
stitching when ending a thread. And believe me, it's sometimes very snug
getting thru some basket weave.

Are you working on 14 ct? I usually use Perle 5 on 18 ct, so that's just a
curiousity question.

ellice

Fred wrote:

Hey Joan,
We had -42º wind chills for a few nights and that can really stiffen your
knickers!LOL
It is supposed to warm up to -22º for a few days. I guess we can thank
global warming for that.
I'll take a snorting Colorado Low with snow any time versus these darn low
temps.
I'm with you on that, Fred! They say it's supposed to be warmer this
weekend. I'm ready!

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.heritageshoppe.com/joan.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

On 1/7/04 6:21 AM,"Fred" posted:

Yes I'm using 14ct canvas. What and where did you get the hemostat clamp?

Ah, the old medical education days come in handy! But, my aunt who is a
retired surgeon still has stuff from the office. And I got mine ages back -
don't actually use them much as a paramedic in the bus ;^)

It's probably better than the pair of vice-grip pliers that I'm using for
pulling the needle out of tough spots.
I've seen some nice little ones that cost about $6 made for needlework -
they come in a curved tip and a straight tip. I forget the brand - but
they're the company that makes the inexpensive, colored handle scissors. If
you can't find them locally - I'd be happy to get a set for you (on sale
right now). Also, Rainbow gallery has a new little gadget, needle-puller
thing. It's a little clip with a magnet (you can clip to your scissors if
you like) and mating to the magnet is another little magnet topping a
plastic tube. You pull the mag/tube piece from the clip, and slide the tube
over the tip of your needle, then grip it, squeezing the tube, like a
sleeve, and pull thru. It works pretty well also. I think you can see it on
the Rainbow Gallery website.

I'm sure the hemostats, or stitch version clamp would work much better. I
use mine a lot when doing canvas work. Seems especially worthy when
stitching with perle cotton, or basketweave.

I thought basketweave was only used
to lessen distortion. With my fabric mounts there is very little if any
distortion in the canvas when I'm finished.

Well, the anti-distortion thing is one reason. But, with your mounts I
understand that's not an issue. Personally, I don't usually have much
distortion with my canvas work as long as it's framed up when I stitch.

Not sure why one would use the basketweave for designs that are touched a
lot. Wear and tear would be on the front side not the back - no?

Anything like upholstery - foot stools, chair cushions - the extra coverage
on the back helps the entire piece wear better. I guess it's like having a
good heavy fabric, vs a lighter weight one.

Interesting enough I know a chap that buries his threads on the diagonal
versus vertical or horizontal. It is a lot easier and looks great, i.e. no
funny diagonal lines on the front as some people claim would happen.

Y'know, before I "knew better" I did this. Felt like an idiot at some class
when the instructor made one of those "obviously everyone will put their
waste knot HORIZONTALLY out to the left" - wasn't obvious to me ;^) But, I
will tell you - I have actually seen the line, bump, zipper on some pieces.
Even saw it on one of my own when I did the waste knot so it ended up buried
on a diagonal. I was not a happy camper - the stitching was basketweave/tent
done in Felicity's Garden - wool/silk blend - midnight blue. Sometimes it
just depends on the stitch. I've seen it on enough tent stitch pieces to be
wary, and just go with the horizontal, or vertical. With some other
stitches, that may be the only option, or it just doesn't show. I'm glad for
your friend that it works out. Now I'm such a nut I do the little hidden
stitch to lock the thread under when I come in to start - and it helps with
the direction of the first visible stitch so it doesn't look pulled. And in
a class with Vima, she taught me finally how to thread perle cotton (the
only thing I don't need a needle threader for) and how to end with a flat
knot.

When I took a judging class, they actually did talk about the diagonal line
showing - it's one of those details that people judging NP will note.

I'm sure your piece is really nice - looking forward to seeing it. LMK if
you want me to pick up some clamps for you - they're much easier on the
hands, and the needles.

ellice