I'm Moving...My House is Possessed

Yup. 

It's haunted.

I am so outta here.

What? Proof?

You want proof?

How is this for proof...there is a stuffed monkey, which is obviously possessed, moving around my house.

The Possessed Monkey

See? I came upon him, just sitting like this, on the kitchen floor. He hadn't time to arrange himself in an innocuous position before I stepped into the kitchen so he just sat down and tried to look harmless.

I am too wise for that.

I know this innocent looking monkey is actually an evil demon in need of exorcism. 

Sam? Dean? Where are you when I need you?

No, no way!

Molly could NOT have left said monkey on the floor.

It

SAT

DOWN

I tell you!

Molly knew the evil nature of this creature before I ever caught it sitting-down-all-innocent-looking and chewed off it's devil-spawned tail in an effort to hobble it's fiendish presence. We NEVER found that tail ~ so either Molly swallowed it or it evaporated into a puff of smoke once disconnected from it's malevolent host.

Molly is the darnedest toy-eating dog I've ever seen! She doesn't just chew them UP - she EATS them. Poor Dash awoke to find Molly vomiting up squeaky toy pieces ON HIM. Ewww! Only a couple days after the above photo was taken, the cute yellow sheepie was rescued into the trash can before it made it's way to Molly's tummy. The darn dog has eaten her way through BASKETS full of toys. We've taken to only buying those toys labeled for serious chewers!

I must go.

After I pick up some packing boxes, I need to run by the pet shop.

For some reason all of Molly's toys have disappeared.

Except one very creepy monkey.

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Loop Method Start

How do you start threads? I was taught the standard "leave a tail and tuck" method when I first started stitching. Somewhere along the way I learned the loop method and was truly thrilled with the fast start! I thought I would share it with you. This start is for standard threads only. You wouldn't want to use it when stitching with a variegated thread because it uses only one thread and you'd lose that variegation.

I'm showing you with half my usual thread length just for example. Start with one thread and put the two ends together.

Thread those ends through the needle leaving the "u" end as a loop at the bottom.

Start your stitch (your first half of the X), leaving a tail. Now, I've flipped the fabric over so I'm showing you the backside. Put the needle through the looped end and into the place where you start the next stitch (or the top half of the X) and hold your needle there.

Can you see it better here?

Holding your needle steady, pull the thread so the loop disappears and grips around the needle. Once it is tight, pull the thread on through. We are still on the back side of the fabric here.

Here is the looped end held tight by the first half of the X.

Here is the front side at that point. Yes, my stitches run backwards when compared to most! When I learned to stitch I found it easier to keep count if I started my rows going this direction.

What direction is that again? A "people love to tell you how wrong you are" story.

Years ago, when I first got "online" I read somewhere (probably a message board) about how the loop method was wrong. How you shouldn't use the loop method because then one of your threads would be going the wrong "direction." Wait, what? Direction? What did this mean? I was worried. Embroidery floss has a direction? No one ever told me this before. Fevered Internet searching brought up site after site telling you how to tell which direction with which to stitch from. I worried myself into a tizzy. All these thousands of threads I've stitched with, all going every which way and both. Gasp! All those stitched things I've given to people I loved with stitches that had threads maybe going the wrong direction! Holy Moses, I was mortified!

I studied the instructions. I studied my threads. They said look for the "twist" in the thread. Make sure the thread is started by this, the correct end with the twist going this way. WAIT! I couldn't tell which was correct! OMG I CAN'T TELL ANY DIFFERENCE! The major thread manufacturers websites gave no help. Crap, they actually said NOTHING about which end of the thread to use ~ their own product! What the hell was I going to do? I was certain my beloved hobby was ruined, all because I couldn't see the obvious.

After several anxious weeks I came to my senses. The bare fact is it doesn't really matter. If YOU think you can see the correct end of a strand of embroidery floss then by all means, use that end. If you like the loop method, use it. I promise, no one will EVER be able to tell the difference. I mean, really? Can you see any difference in these three rows of stitches below? Each one was stitched with threads going one way, threads going the other way and threads going both. No tricks here. Tell me true, which one is correct?



Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

Best Brownie Recipe Ever

These are such yummy treats!

You will need:

1 box of Ghirardelli Ultimate Fudge brownie mix.

Water.

Oil.

Egg.

Creation effort: minimal.

Preparation time: approximately 3 months.

Instructions: Purchase ingredients. Place box of brownie mix into the cupboard. Now, it's a little iffy. You need to wait until husband (or significant other) gets tired of looking at said box of mix languishing in the cupboard and bakes them. Mine took three months, your wait time might be shorter or longer, depending. See? I said they were easy! Almost effortless! Yummy too. Just wait & see.

I'm teasing, these brownies were actually made by me as a surprise for Dash when he gets home tonight. But every time we make them I do remember our very first box!

Just a little fun to tide you over until I can gather all the info needed to draw a winner for the giveaway. It might take a couple of days. I will try to hurry!

Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

I'm abandoning my stitching...

A peaceful scene?

I was minding my own business; well, actually, I was reading your blog posts, which is really minding your business. But I digress...I was reading blogs when I saw something moving overhead. Glancing up, I saw a small spider charging across the top frame of the chalkboard hanging over my stitching desk. And I mean charging; this little guy was moving fast! He reaches the edge of the frame and goes scurrying around on the Hello Kitty purse hanging there. I'm sure I was sitting with my jaw dropped, watching, as he reaches and reaches trying to grab another foothold somewhere. He falls onto the button box, right under the "R" in the photo. Puzzled, I'm trying to think what to do. I don't want him on my desk but he is one speedy spider. I pick up the button box carefully, carefully, and I shriek as he takes a flying leap...where? You can see the clutter in that corner. The other corner is worse by far. I'm such a clutter-bug! Where did the little creep go? I grabbed the can of air-duster and tornadoed the desk. Vanished. Crap.

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Now, I have the creeps. I don't mind spiders in general but I like knowing where they are and I don't like them on me. Little tickles, imaginary spiders, keep me skittish. Where did it go???

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Here is my progress on the front side of Olenka's Stitches Wisteria Biscornu. I'm stitching this on 32 count Summer Sunshine Belfast (dyed by me.) Yes, this is what I was dyeing for last week! The colors aren't true in the photo but there are spiders creeping around this place and I'm not waiting for them to jump on me!

Be sure to visit Edgar's blog and wish him a happy blogoversary! To celebrate two years of blogging he is hosting a giveaway! Happy blogoversary, Edgar!

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Thank you for visiting my blog today!

xox

This one is for Terri...

Terri at Raised by Poodles occasionally posts little comics created by her son. They feature a little fox and are so cute! I told her how much I enjoyed them as they reminded me of Jessie doing the same when she was young(er).

Jessie gave me permission to post these but I had to promise to tell you that these were created by her when she was about 14-15 years old and that she is a much better artist these days. The scans are a little washed out color wise. These were drawn in inks and colored with pencils...no computer used at all. Oh yeah, I also had to promise to post some of her current art sometime so no one thinks she draws like a 9th grader!

So, for your comic reading pleasure, here is the first installment of "Farm" by Jessie B. The picture is clickable for easier reading. A reminder: this is copyrighted by my daughter; please, don't steal her work.

Stress reliever

Here is a little stress reliever for all my stitchy friends.

Click here.

I say it's okay to be mean to beans.

Disasters in the Sun...

Hamlet ACT 1. SC.1

This is a picture of Jessie's antenna ball (or what's left of it) a present from Joan & Bob in the UK. It rode happily on her antenna until her car went into the shop for body work and she put it away in her room and lost it. One day last month she found it and set it on the kitchen counter to remember to put it back on her car.

Taco found it first.

It made a good kill.

Jessie was much dismayed to find the remains.

Violent pocket lint.

It was a small piece of pocket lint and it had sat quietly in the middle of the kitchen floor for two days. Denim blue, fluffy; it seemed innocent. Nobody in the family perceived its menace except Taco. She glared at it from the shadows under the dining table. Eventually Taco gathered her courage to make several mad-cat dash and pounce maneuvers in an effort to drive it away. These attacks were ignored; the pocket lint refused to be intimidated. Stronger measures were employed and the ambushes included severe bites with furious kicking of hind claws when the lint threatened to overpower. Tail shaped like a bottle brush of fright Taco felted the lint in her mouth with irate passion until it was a subdued blue lump. Menace cowed. All is safe again in the kitchen.