The Cross Stitch Forum

Stitchers' Forum

The Cross Stitch Forum » CSG Forum

21. 

    Barbara Stone
    Member

    Jean, hope your sugar levels get sorted out soon - not a lot of fun having that as well as being shut in the house again.
    At Dunster castle, the pigeons nest under the solar panels, 'cos they are safe from the Peregrines there. Hell of a nuisance though.
    I had to go into Taunton this week for the first time since February, and it was like a ghost town. Half the shops seem to have shut, and there aren't the numbers of people around before the virus hit. At least we've been quite lucky down here in the South West, and not having the numbers affected like they've been up north, but they reported recently that half the local schools are now affected by the nasty germs. Not much surprise there, as none of the kids wear masks, and as for only having six in a group, well, that's a complete nonsense.
    At least its sunny here today, despite the fact that a cold wind is blowing the apples off the tree. I was so cold in bed last night, I had to get a blanket, and then found that the other half had opened all the windows again, after I'd shut them! Men huh!

    Posted 4 years ago #
22. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Have to agree Barbara - our town centre is just like a ghost town too.....

    As for our little bright eyed chick - hope the weekend in Skeggie was good - and has that bloody chair arrived yet?? With the weather as it has been both you and Jean should now be ensconced in your respective conservatories stitching for England!!

    Now we are into autumn hopefully the television should start perking up a bit. It's been pretty dire with all the repeat programmes on....although there is a repeat starting tonight on BBC4 at 7.00 p.m. which Geoff and I have watched a couple of times when it's been repeated over the last year or three. Timothy Spall 'Back at Sea'. For those of us who seem to enjoy canal boating this programme (4 of them half an hour each over the next 4 nights) is a gem. I will always watch anything that Timothy Spall is in anyway as I think him a fine actor, but in these boating programmes he comes across as such a lovely bloke. His boat - the Princess Matilda (named after his grand-daughter) is a flat bottomed barge - and for those of you who might not have seen the first series 'All at Sea' - he and his wife, Shane, set sail round the British Isles following his recovery from leukaemia.

    His barge is full of all the navigational aids that one would need when at sea, but even so he sets out in some really rough waters and you can tell he's having kittens negotiating the huge waves. Shane, however, for whom I have the most enormous respect, takes it all in her stride and doesn't seem to worry at all. It has me in tucks. She will walk up to him whilst he's at the helm and put her arms round him - and he tells her to 'sod off'. They have such a lovely relationship.

    Do watch it if you can.....

    Right, I'm off now to go on to Youtube....like many of us we can't get channel 74 so it's pointless even trying to get to see Jane 'live' on Sewing Street.

    Posted 4 years ago #
23. 

    Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
    Member

    Hi all

    The forecast for the weekend in East Anglia was awful so we went to Skeg in the car not on the bike & it lived up to expectations, with the van rocking in the wind. Going away is no fun when the curfews are being put in to place & we can't sit & talk to our friends for long enough !!

    The chair still hasn't arrived & I'm chasing them again. The blinds should be coming tomorrow.

    I'm now being told I can't have my day a week in the office - fed up with the whole thing now

    Posted 4 years ago #
24. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Oh Helen - don't like to hear you sounding so fed up love. Sending a big hug...hope you feel better soon xxxxxxx

    Posted 4 years ago #
25. 

    Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
    Member

    Thanks Brenda. My boss (who is one of the directors) has overruled the Health & Safety person & said I can go in for my day a week. The problem is that they need the room I'm in for the planner as he has health problems & the desk they gave him is where lots of people walk past, as more people are working from home again I can just use a spare desk for the day or I could have the one the planner is supposed to be at - all very confusing I know. Health & Safety has gone in to overdrive due to the office coming under the new North East rules.

    Posted 4 years ago #
26. 

    Jean Strange
    Member

    Hi everyone
    Off to the caravan for the weekend. Jeff wants to go to his clay pigeon shooting club on Sunday. He joined last year then couldn’t go because of me being ill and then lockdown. They have extended the membership because of this.

    I unpacked winter woolies need a trip to M&S for thin jumpers I can layer threw out most of them last year as they were getting old and the pure wool ones had started to felt.

    Helen glad you can do your one day a week in the office. We really do need some human contact at this time. Everyone is fed up with it. Jeff’s Mum has a flu jab booked but Jeff’s brother Allan can’t take her as he lives in Newport and is under lockdown and she lives in Chepstow out of the Newport area. She will have to try to get a taxi to the surgery bearing in mind she is over 90. It is a bit far for us to go just to take her for a 5 minute appointment!

    Hope everyone has a good weekend. Weather forecast not too good but there I will have a different 4 walls to look at!!!!!!

    Posted 4 years ago #
27. 

    Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
    Member

    Jean, hope you enjoy the weekend at the caravan

    We got the blinds fitted yesterday - they make a huge difference to the room. Got the kitchen & dining room done as well. We used Hillary's - simply because they have been around a long time & I thought they would be able to so something with the extension room being a slightly odd shape. I think they will be well worth the cost in the long run. Still chasing the chair, but at least I can start to unpack the boxes & fill the coffee tables / new bookcases up.

    The day in the office is to stop me going scatty at home. My job involves the need to communicate with people, but telephone & online meetings aren't always enough.

    Posted 4 years ago #
28. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Hello girls
    Well, the weekend starts later today Jean so I hope the caravan trip goes okay. They've promised all sorts of vile weather so I hope it doesn't spoil things for you.....it might for Jeff of course if the clay pigeons are light enough they get blown about too much! (I don't know much about clay pigeons as you might gather, so I don't know if they are light or heavy...... You can tell I wasn't brought up in the country!)

    So Helen, you've made some strides forward now the blinds are up. Hillary's - yes they are a good name. Nice to hear that some businesses are still in business. With the country's economy the way it is there just seems to be so many companies going to the wall, it's quite sobering really.

    Just come indoors from mowing the back lawn. It was just long enough it needed a light haircut and seeing as there is supposed to be heavy rain coming our way, I kept looking out of the window thinking 'am I in the mood or not' and although I decided 'not' I pulled my little wellies on and got out there anyway. In actual fact I was surprised that it seems quite mild outside so I got stuck in. Now it's all finished of course I'm pleased I pulled my socks up and got stuck in.

    Had been doing a bit of stitching before that - and as a side issue I've come to the decision about something I've been pondering on for a while. Insects. How often do we stitch things with a nice little butterfly or a ladybird etc. etc. and then if we need it again we can't remember where we saw it. This was sparked off when I was browsing an old magazine and found a lovely design of a dragonfly and thought to myself - as you do - 'I must remember where that is in case I want to stitch a dragonfly on something'.....so the idea was mooted in my little pea-sized brain that perhaps I could start a little book system of somewhere to keep all these little things together so I've got them in one place. So, I've got that lovely delicious feeling inside me now, buzzing away on how I want to set it up....... (well, it keeps me quiet anyway....)

    Anyway - whatever you are all doing - hope the weekend is good for you.

    Posted 4 years ago #
29. 

    Jean Strange
    Member

    Morning all from a wet New Forest

    Brenda Jeff says yes clay pigeons are affected by the wind makes them much harder to hit as they don’t fly out of the traps in the line expected!! He has decided not to go after all not because of the wind but the rain. Sat here in a nice warm centrally heated caravan stitching, knitting and the daylight lamp at the ready.

    We didn’t use Hilary’s for our blinds unfortunately several people we know used them and didn’t have good reports to give us. Suppose it is like so many other things depends on who is doing the measuring and fitting and who has the franchise in your area. Our friends Derek and Angie had to have their Hilary’s blinds replaced by another company as they just weren’t right. We used a company called Mona we had a number of quotes from small independent companies too. All were offering the same sort of thing and all at not much different price just went with the one we felt most comfortable with.

    Have certainly been using the conservatory a lot at home. Bought an oil filled radiator for it as we didn’t want heating from house extended into it. Switch it on when making first cup of tea and nice and warm about an hour later!! Lots of stitching and knitting being done out there!!!!

    Helen hope you have some luck with your chair soon. I bought some “patio/conservatory “ rocker recliners lovely and comfy. Even Jeff approves and he is very difficult to please with these sort of chairs.

    Well back to the tea and stitching etc. Listening to the rain on the caravan roof. Hope everyone has a good weekend in spite of the grotty weather.

    Posted 4 years ago #
30. 

    Helen Hawkins-Ainsley
    Member

    Well what an awful day Saturday was
    Even if I'd got my chair it was still too dark to stitch in the extension without a light

    Jean, I know what you mean about local fitters / franchises. Fortunately the one we got seems to have been really good. It really does come down to the individuals.

    Did you all get your newsletter from Andrea at the weekend - that brightened my day up.
    Managed to sell some Witney Antique catalogues on EBay - some for rather silly money. That will help pay for the chair when I finally get one.
    I did put my little stitched bits back in the coffee table - the new one needs a liner in the base of it then the antique bits / family bits can be displayed in it

    Have a good Monday all

    Posted 4 years ago #
31. 

    Barbara Stone
    Member

    Don't know about Saturday being an awful day - down here in the South West, we had three days of rain and wind, so it was a relief to see some sunshine on Monday. However, that lasted all of 10 minutes, and it was back to the rain, and this morning, its still raining! I'm slowly growing webbed feet! It was so cold that Bob actually turned the heating on - and this from a man who was often seen wandering about the garden in a short sleeve top, in the middle of winter!
    Talking about local franchises - Bob had a consultation with somebody who wants to sell him a new riser chair. The guy came yesterday morning, and spent 90 minutes talking about a massage system that could be installed in the chair, and 2 minutes talking about the chair itself! I just sat and sewed while he was rabbiting on, but I couldn't wait to show him the door. So, this afternoon, we're going to our local shop to order him a new chair, one that will hopefully make it easier for him to stand up.
    Helen, I hope your new chair arrives soon. This saga has been going on too long now. I'd make a big fuss if I were you.
    Brenda, talking of making a pattern book of things you need - I decided I was going to do the same kind of thing in lockdown. Good idea, until I started reading the magazines I found, and never did get round to doing it. Read a nice lot of articles though!
    Trying to make sense of mums collection of stuff that is now in the cabin, and among them, I have found at least two half finished wool work pictures - you know the kind of thing, done in half cross stitch. Well, I'm never going to get round to them, but wondered if anybody on the forum would know of somebody who would appreciate them. They are on frames, ready to go, and I'd prefer them to go to somebody who would like to do them, rather than have to make an appointment to give them to a charity shop, who might just chuck them if they didn't get sold. If you do know of anybody who would like them, can you let me know.
    Hope you all have a nice week.

    Posted 4 years ago #
32. 

    Barbara Stone
    Member

    Just remembered what I was going to ask. Has anybody else noticed any variation in colours of threads? I always use DMC, and wind mine onto Bobbins, and inadvertently bought two of the same colour. I was sorting threads into number order, and found that I'd got two - same number but a definite difference in shade. That made me wonder, and I went through the rest, and found several with different shades. Its caused a slight variation in what I'm sewing at the moment, and is quite noticeable, but its not causing a problem, but wondered if anybody else has noticed the same differences in their stash?

    Posted 4 years ago #
33. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Hello girls,

    Barbara especially - re colour variations in threads. Actually yes, sometimes the dye lot does cause threads to have a slight differentiation in colour. I have too heard Jane mention this once or twice - don't know if it's just DMC but I do think it feasible that all companies could come up against the same thing......

    I think, therefore, the sensible thing to do - having become aware of it - would be to ensure that if you have a project from the start, then buy say two lots of threads at the same time so you are getting the same dye lot or if you are part way through something then try to stick to the same thread on one section and then if there's another section of the same colour elsewhere to use the variation in colour on that, so that the two entities are kept away from each other. At the end of the day only you would know there is a difference.

    I have also found this slight difference crop up though in DMC's perle cottons too - particularly in the white thread - so I'm careful if I'm doing anything in the hardanger line, that my threads are exactly the same - be they 5, 8 or 12 threads - and in either white or ecru.

    It's interesting and useful to everyone else Barbara that you've brought up this topic for discussion..... what a good little blonde bombshell you are - top marks for being on the ball.

    She might only be 4' 10" but she's worth her weight in gold.......

    Posted 4 years ago #
34. 

    Jean Strange
    Member

    Hi Barbara
    I have a good friend who would love your wool work pictures to finish she and her daughter both do that type of stitching.
    Will just need to liaise on monies and how to get them here.

    Posted 4 years ago #
35. 

    Barbara Stone
    Member

    Jean, I’d be glad to let your friends have the pictures for free - just a donation to a charity of my choice. Contact me, and we can sort out delivery etc. I know mum would be glad that they are going to a good home. She can’t face doing them herself, as dad started one before he died, and she couldn’t think of finishing them. All the wool for the projects is included obviously.
    Brenda my darling, I’m a little bit taller than 4 foot 10 inches - a good six inches taller, but I’m glad to accept your plaudits. I actually don’t think I’d ever use enough of the colour that was so noticeable, but believe me, if I’m going to do a project, I do buy enough threads. I got given loads of threads from my local stitchers guild, because they know that I do loads of cross stitch, which explains why I had two different lots of threads. Also, I’ve been given mums stash, so I’ve been using them as well as my own.

    Posted 4 years ago #
36. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Oh I do love you so Barbara.....every time I say you are 4' 10" you tell me you are taller. To me though every inch of you is precious.........

    Good to know Jean's going to be able to take the woolwork items off your hands and for you to know they are going to go to a good home with someone who will appreciate them.

    Posted 4 years ago #
37. 

    Jean Strange
    Member

    Thanks Barbara I know Jan will enjoy completing them. I have checked and I have your email address so will contact you via that tomorrow.

    Posted 4 years ago #
38. 

    brenda midgley
    Member

    Oh - now - here's interesting.... thread differentiation in colour.....

    Just to explain - I'm about to start stitching a dragonfly onto my band sampler. We had a beautiful one whizzing about in the garden a few weeks ago. So....I've got the chart I want to use and the coloured threads depicted on it and just yesterday was pondering on whether to do the wings in beads or whether to use thread with some blending filament to give them a sort of 'shimmer' that dragonfly wings have when flying and caught by the sun.

    Okay, so this morning I've been checking my thread boxes as I felt sure I'd got some blending filament in a 'white' base - and do you know what I found? - two spools of white base but with a different colour base of filament. One looks white with a sort of pale greeny shimmer to it and the other is white with a kind of grey shimmer. I turned them ends up to look at the shade colour identification label- and they both say Kreinik Metallic 032 - 50m. So how about that then! - bears out everything you were saying Barbara about shades sometimes being different.....

    Decided not to use beads after all though. The chart shows white, baby blue and a very pale yellow as its wing colouring and I thought in any case the thread colours mixed with blending filament would make nicer wings. We'll see how we go.....

    Posted 4 years ago #
39. 

    Barbara Stone
    Member

    Spoke to a very nice lady at DMC when I phoned to ask her if she had an explanation, and she reckons that in a new dye lot, there is a 0.04 tolerance, which she reckons wouldn’t make any difference to colours. I can assure her that it does! I started doing a Laburnum fairy, from a DMC chart, checked I’d got enough of each colour, and started, using some of my mums 725 and about three other colours of yellow. Ran out of mums 725, started using mine, and it now looks as though I’ve got five different yellows in it. Luckily, I can explain it (if anybody is rude enough to point it out,)by saying that the sun was in a different place, but it’s very noticeable. Don’t think anybody but me is going to see it anyway, and it might never get framed anyway. I’ve got 2 more flower fairies in the cabin, that are finished, but unframed.
    Suns shining today, so might just have to sit and sew this afternoon. The housework can wait!

    Posted 4 years ago #
40. 

    Christine Berrett
    Administrator

    Housework? Don't talk mucky, Mrs Stone!!

    Posted 4 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Topic Closed

This topic has been closed to new replies.