Stitching Saturday: The Land Baby by John Collier(1899) Pt 2

I know it doesn’t look like much, but it took me some time to do this bit. It’s 40 stitches from top to bottom and 135 stitches from left to right. This is the top of the left hand side of the pattern. It’s been split in left and right sides of the original painting, and I’ve begun with the left side.

My plan, now that I have it done left to right, is to start working down the left side of the piece until I get to the bottom. I’ll be doing it in blocks of 40 stitches wide and tall.

This is being done on 16ct white Aida using 2 strands of DMC Moline floss.

I am missing colors, and I’m waiting for them to come in the mail. I had to order them because the local shops don’t have much variety of colors in their floss.

This is going to be an ongoing project.

This is Mimi Queen of Fluff sleeping on the small start on the Mystery Sampler Stitch-A-Long being hosted by Fox and Rabbit. I can show you this part of it, but you’ll have to wait to see the rest of it. 🙂

I am working the outer frame right now. I’m using DMC 415 and Artiste Metallic Silver – one strand of each. It’s slow going because I’m using short strands of thread and double checking my counting. Frogging metallic thread is not the best thing to do.

That’s it for my stitching progress this week. I hope to have more to show you next week – if I’m able to get the floss I’m still missing.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Baby Blanket for Co-Worker Pt. 2

I don’t have any pictures to share this week as I haven’t really done anything on the blanket. My co-worker didn’t get back to me until yesterday with the pattern and size she wants the blanket to be.

She’s going with the pattern from the picture I posted last week, but she doesn’t want it that big. She wants it to be around 28 by 32. I’ll be working on it as much as I can, and I will have progress pictures next week. I’m shooting for completing before then, but we’ll just see how it goes.

For those of you who didn’t read last week’s post: I am making a baby blanket for a co-worker. I am using Lion Brand Ice Cream yarn in UBE and a “G” or 4.25mm aluminum crochet hook. The stitch I am using is the Linen Stitch, and I’m just doing rows of the stitch because the yarn does a lot of self striping while not being completely uniform. My co-worker likes that look so I’m going forward with the project.

I’ll have more to show/discuss with you next week,

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

Book Review: Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

This book is the first of the Pendergast series, and it was initially published in 1995 by Tor Books. According to several sources, this book has sold over a million copies to date.

This book isn’t just about Special Agent AXL Pendergast of the FBI New Orleans Office. There’s a small cast including a Journalist for the Times, a graduate student working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and several others. I especially like Lieutenant Vincent “Vinny” D’Agosta of the NYPD and the very interesting Pendergast.

The story is about an ill fated expedition into the rain forests of the Amazon Basin where one of the researchers was looking for a tribe said not to exist. Finding signs of them, he and several of his party members followed the signs and, things didn’t go as planned.

Fast forwarding to the present, the American Museum of Natural History is preparing for a huge exhibit called “Superstition” to open in grand style. Unfortunately, two young boys are found dead in one of the many stairwells in the museum, and the place is locked down by Lt. D’Agosta. Not long after, a very singular man appears dressed in a black suit, and he eventually introduces himself as Special Agent Pendergast of the FBI.

With a distinctly Southern accent and gentlemanly manners more suited for the late 1800s than for modern New York, Pendergast is interesting, amusing and irritating in turns – both to the reader and to his fellow cast in the story.

“You see, when someone says “it’s impossible,’ I have this very bad habit, I can’t help myself, I immediately contradict that person in the most positive terms possible. A very bad habit, but one that I find hard to break.” – Special Agent Pendergast The Relic.

I won’t spoil the book for you – I have better manners than that. I do recommend this book highly, and I ask that you don’t take my word for it. Check the book out at the library or find a copy cheap at a thrift store(you can always donate it back or give it away later) and read it for yourself.

This is a well paced story with the right blend of thriller, horror and murder mystery with some history thrown in to spice things up a bit. The cast of characters have their own little side stories as well, and I think this adds to the story rather than detracting as many critics have claimed. There is a reason for all the little side trips, but I’ll leave that for you to figure out for yourself.

I give this a 5 out of a 5 rating.

Also, this book is available in all forms including audiobook so I hope you find a way to enjoy it.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Writing Prompts 2022 #1

I thought doing a writing prompt would be a nice change of pace since I haven’t done on in a while.

Choose one of the following items:

Horse
Apothecary
Rhino
Corvette Car
Bowling Alley

Now, pair it with one of the following

Sadness
Freezing
Staring
Blushing
Unconscious

Write 500-1000 words using the words you chose. Choose fiction, non-fiction, anything you like. Once you’re done, please either share in the comments below or post a link to where you are sharing it. Once I get mine written, I’ll be sharing it here. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

see you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

YouTube Tuesday: Fox and Rabbit on Flosstube!

For those of you who don’t know, Fox and Rabbit Designs is the producer of the Mystery Sampler Stitch-A-Long I did last year and am seriously considering doing again this year – it depends on what February’s part is going to be.

I found a lovely lady on YouTube’s Flosstube series which features different people showing off their cross stitch work. Many are designers while others, like myself, are happy stitchers who love finding new projects to do. I decided to see if I could find Fox and Rabbit on YouTube – they have a Facebook group so why not a channel on YouTube??

I found them, and I was happy to put proper names and faces to the pair!!

This is just one of their wonderful videos I’ve managed to have time to watch. I am planning to watch all of the ones I can find. They not only talk about themselves, their designs, their projects but also their animals and their personal lives – to a degree. I’ve gotten to #5 of their videos and so far, they’ve done giveaways in each one!

I am very happy to have found them, I even found a couple of places that sell their hand dyed linen. They’re not local, but they are in the same state as myself so I might be making a road trip to check out the fabrics in person!! The dyed linen I’ve seen so far are fabulous!!

I highly recommend checking them out and giving them a Like if nothing else!!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Dungeons and Dragons Inspired Twitch Streaming Prop – Health Potion

I took a Hartley Peach Brandy bottle – emptied by myself and my special gentleman friend – and I turned it into a Health Potion ala Dungeons and Dragons. My son asked me to make him a prop for his Twitch stream : Grim Commando 95, and we both chose the potion bottle.

I watched Darkest Raven Designs make her potion bottles, and I copied it only on a large scale. I also didn’t age or label the bottle because my son wanted something simple and basic. For the potion itself, I used:

Glycerin

Red Mica Powder

Water

For the bottle, I used

Push Button light

Foam

Cardboard

Mod Podge

Glue

Acrylic Paint in Brown and Black

Tissue Paper

The end results:

I know these aren’t the greatest pictures, and I really wish I had a decent way to make a video of it because the potion swirls inside and looks really cool with the light shining on it from below.

This is my first time ever doing something like this, and my son was pleased with the result so, I’m happy with how it came out. I’ll be doing more projects with bottles including making a Mana Potion prop for his stream. That will be a while because I want to get a few things to try out with it first.

More great projects are in the works, and I’ll be sharing them with you as I get them done just because I can!! LOL

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Stitching Saturday : The Land Baby

First off, let me tell you that despite everyone selling pdfs and other forms of this chart on Etsy and Ebay, this chart can be had for free. You can find it: The Land Baby by John Collier(1899). Instructions on how to print out the chart: How to Print Chart. I am sure the more tech savvy people can easily turn the images into a printable pdf as this is surely how the sellers have done it. Yes, this is in the public domain now, but I still don’t see myself paying for this chart if I don’t have to.

This the beginning of the full coverage piece. I am doing 20×20 blocks instead of 10×10 like many stitchers I’ve seen doing. If I did the 10×10 blocks, I’d go crazy. This is a great deal better. This is also the first time I have done a chart without starting from the middle. I marked out the block sections on the fabric after measuring out the sides.

I am using 2 strands of DMC Moline floss over 16ct white Aida. The finished size is supposed to be 9 3/8 inches wide by 11 7/8 inches high.

The chart is done in two pages with a third listing the colors needed for the project. There are 96 different colors!! I am amazed all those colors are going to be used in this project, but it is a true rendering of the original painting so I’m willing to do all the color changes required.

Next week, I’ll update you on my progress. I won’t be able to work on it a great deal due to all the other projects I have going on as well, but I will be working on it at least once a week.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Baby Blanket for Co-Worker

This is what the blanket looks like right now, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue with this. It’s for a newborn so I don’t want to make anything with holes in it that might catch tiny fingers, but I don’t want it too plain either. I’ll offer the mother some suggestions on patterns and see which one she goes with.

I am using Lion Brand Ice Cream yarn in UBE. I have no idea what that means, but that’s the name on the packaging. I just like all the pretty colors that could be for boy or girl.

I am also using a “G” or 4.25mm aluminum crochet hook.

The stitch you might see above has many names, but I prefer “Moss Stitch.” It’s simple, works up quickly, and it keeps its sides even.

I’ll let you know next week what pattern the mother decides to go with. 🙂

see you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Blog Sharing: Place Cooking

It’s been a while since I shared this blog, but I just had to do it again when I saw the most current post:

Katsu Curry by norecipes on Fklickr

The curry looks so scrumptious, and I really like how it’s been presented! I’ll be looking for the recipe to try with my son, Joe, and his girlfriend, E. I am not sure my special gentleman friend likes curry so, I’ll be asking him before I try serving him some. I wouldn’t appreciate someone trying to serve me something I didn’t like simply because they didn’t ask. I can still surprise him if he does like it. 🙂

Do you like curry?? Let me know!

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!!

Update for Golden Knave – Jan. 5, 2022

Wow, I’m still getting used to have to put 2022 instead of 2021 on my dates. 🙂

GK is coming along well, but I’m not ready to start sending out chapters to be reviewed. I’m still busy trying to get it all back on the computer from my handwritten second draft. Due to work, I don’t have as much time to sit and write as I’d like, but I am working on it, I promise. My personal deadline is my birthday, or as close to it as I can get.

I am working on getting a cover done as well. I like doing my own cover, and one of my love Beta Readers, Donna, has suggested a great site for the font for the title. I am going to be working on that more in the coming months, and I might have a contest to choose a cover.

I am also working on the bit that goes on the back as well as a small bit of copy to help sell the book. These take more time and effort than writing the entire book it seems like! I’ll be taking suggestions from my Beta Readers as to what to write.

Other than that, GK is coming along well.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!