Needlework, Finishing, Designing, Quilting, Some Discoveries and Adventures in Stitching from Windy Ridge Designs

Friday, February 10, 2012

This Winter Really Sucks

The doctor's say that it's because we keep going from mild to cold.  There are fleas, ticks, germs that aren't being killed by the cold weather.  My son works at a grocery store and handles dirty money.  And he hasn't been all that careful about cleaning up well when he comes home.  Whatever the reason, I'm sick again.  I have now been sick - in some sort of way - since December 3.  My husband had to go to the doctor this week.  His sinus was so full on one side, his eye was swollen shut.  So, I had to take him.  He saw the same doc I saw back in December.  She asked how I was doing.  I said I was now fighting off whatever he's got, but also I've had a nagging cough that just won't go away.  She nodded - lots of people are having the same trouble.  She recommended we run the humidifier.  Last night I lost the battle against the newest germ.  However, the nasal spray and the Coracidin seem to be helping me fight back.  I am just so sick of being sick.  Spring, and consistently warm weather, just can't get here soon enough for me.  Punxatawny Phil better be wrong.

We did get some snow last weekend and are supposed to get a little bit more tonite - but it will only last a day and we'll be back in the 60's again.   I pulled a huge tick out of my dog last night that wasn't there a few days ago.  Yuck!  So here's some pics of the snow.



So there I was, last Sunday morning, sipping my coffee and BAM!  A hawk lands on my deck railing.  POOF!  All my songbirds disappeared instantly.  Amazingly, the hawk looked straight at me inside the house and then hopped to the other railing.  That gave me the opportunity to get up and grab my camera.  First shot is of the hawk - not the best, but it was looking right in my direction and they don't call 'em Hawkeyes for nuthin.  After that picture, it was up up and away - much to the songbirds delight.  I went outside and grabbed a shot of its prints in the snow.

 On the sewing side of things - I've got a lot of things on the burners for clients.  Thought I'd resolved my issues with the pirate quilt and have managed to make great headway with Opus Magnusson.

Did this for a client - it's a needlepoint plaque; just a large ornament really.



I saw a piece on Fons & Porter last weekend about painting with Fabric dyes.  Finally found the dyes on a website and ordered the "Classic" colors.  Got an email today saying oops, sorry, we're out of stock, how about we send you the "romantic" colors or the "country" colors.  Well, I wrote them back and said, how about you issue me a refund and keep better track of what you're in stock of and not.  Get pissy when I'm sick.  I was just really annoyed.  I'd spent hours looking for the darned things and then thought I'd resolved my problem.  Not so much.

When I finished stitching on AotH in January, I went right into Opus Magnusson.  Remember how I really hated this tiger?


Well, to use one of Siobhan's euphemisms, I yanked up my big girl panties (because the darned thing was driving me nuts!) and did this:


I have not edited the stitching in my photo software.  I edited the stitching on my kitchen counter instead.  Yep.  I went out to Michaels and purchased a packet of orange fabric dye.  I mixed up the tiniest bit of the dye with a little salt and a little water and painted it on with a watercolor brush.  I am MUCH happier with the whole thing now.

Also, I've finished the top four blocks:


I have decided that I'm going off the reservation again with the recommended colors.  As noted before, Cidermill Brown is not a satisfactory substitution for orange (that's what happened to the tiger).  So, I pulled some GA orange - Pumpkin Patch.  And it turns out that it very closely matches my dye job on the tiger!  YAY!  At least that went right, right?  And then I decided that there was just too little use of the red.  So, I made the birds red with a little orange.  They make me think of phoenixes.  The bottom row is supposed to have more people in the corner, but I think that's too many people, so I'm going to make a substitution.  My husband, who has been rather blase' about this piece in the past went WOW!  when he saw it this past weekend.  I'm now back to work on the stocking for my daughter in law (no pic for now).  

I am probably late in discovering her, but in case you haven't heard about the Pioneer Woman, she's had a blog (now website) for a long time and recently went into the t.v. business on the food channel.  I made her brussel sprouts for Christmas dinner and want to make her Knock-You_Naked Brownies soon.  I just love the name!  I have to write her because she recently did something on her show that I went - wow, why haven't I been doing it like that, I'm smart, I should've figured that out!  So, gotta run!  Hope you enjoyed!

7 comments:

  1. Sorry that you still feel rotten, i hope you pick up soon.
    The weather's not much better here in the UK, i just looked and it's reading zero, we had snow last weekend but it cleared by Sunday night/Monday morning, still feels really cold though, but it's weird because although it feels very cold and we haven't really had frosty mornings. The weather report is not any better for the weekend either, more icy conditions, they talk about it on the news as though it's strange, but it's winter, what more do we expect! I just wish that we could guarantee that we had a decent amount of sunshine to compensate, it doesn't work like that over here though.

    I like what you have done to your tiger, it's made such a difference, good for you for having such a great idea :-)

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  2. Well I sure hope you feel better soon! The pics of the snow are beautiful. I am just so glad that I don't live in the frozen north anymore. I do love the way the tigers look now. HUGS

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  3. Very resourceful, with the tiger--that project has some gorgeous color! I hope you feel better soon. I'm thinking it's probably bad in lots of ways that we're not having a proper winter, and that includes the fact that my favorite sweaters are just too warm.

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  4. Wow your Opus is coming along wonderfully. I think pulling up your big girl panties must have done the job! I'm poorly at the moment with a very sore throat and hacking cough so I feel for you. The snow can go for me too. I gave had enough of it now. X

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  5. Hey Katherine!
    I hope you guys are feeling better soon. It has been an awful winter for stuff that just won't go away.
    Your stitching is so wonderful. Opus is amazing, wonderful colors.
    Sending good thoughts your way.

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  6. I am sorry that you & your husband have been so sick! That stinks. :P We haven't had much of a winter here, either. Only one day with frost enough that I had to warm up the car before leaving the house. It's kind of bizarre--and I much prefer the cold to the warm!

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE what you've done with your Opus piece!! Love the piece for your client, too.

    I love PW's recipes! I read her blog way back when she was still acting as if she was just a regular ol' gal living on a ranch and it wasn't well known that she is actually living on a ranch that is part of a hugely successful family business. I don't begrudge her that, it's more just of a 'don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining' sort of thing. The regular ol' gal schtick gets annoying after awhile. Sour grapes much? Yeah. But, all that aside, her recipes are amazing and my family loves each one I've put in front of them. My husband had a mini-tantrum this week when I didn't make "Prairie Dog's" (he can never remember names and so that's what he calls her)white chicken enchiladas for dinner because he says they're his favorite meal from "the Prairie Dog website". LOL

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  7. Hope you feel better soon. Have you tried a sinus rinse daily such as a netti-pot. This really helps. I love the PW too. You would enjoy her cookbook and her book she wrote about how she met her husband and moved to the ranch. Happy Stitching!

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