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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Borders and other joys


Weather here has been lousy lately. Warmish one day and freezing the next. Ah good old Winnipeg winters...
I have to mention the giant ice patch along my walk to the bus stop. Honestly, there's this one spot where there's always a giant icy patch about 3 feet long. It snowed last night, so I figured the patch would be covered and I could walk on it, but no. It was icy, while the area around it was powder! I have a secret suspicion that someone runs out and throws a bucket of water to ice it up, and cackles as unwary pedestrians crack their skulls!


Legends of Dragons
28ct antique white Lugana

I finished Magic and started on the border. I'm not very fond of them, but they add so much...

I had thought that I might use an overdyed but couldn't find one I liked, so I just went with what's charted. It is a very nice border after all. However it has 2 primary yellows, one secondary and a last one for a few random stitches. I tried stitching just one colour but kept getting lost, so I grabbed another needle and now I'm alternating between the two primary yellows. Stitch one, then stitch the other. This way the second one can "check" the first one.

It worked but I was still frogging. I don't like to highlight even though I use working copies.. Mostly because I move on and then forget where I am relative to the already highlighted parts. Finally I came up with this low tech solution which is working quite well:

One giant paperclip that slides along as I go! I am quite pleased with myself over this solution!

I don't usually order charts via my LNS, but I decided to give it a try. Ordered one last month and asked her yesterday when I could expect it. Apparently they don't have enough to warrant an order from that supplier so they're waiting until the order is a good size. ETA: mid March. I ordered in mid January. If I'd know that it would've taken that long I'd have done it online and paid the shipping anyway. Guess I'll stick to the net for my charts and go to the LNS for fabric and beads.

16 comments:

Annie said...

That little guy looks great! We're expecting another giant storm tonight. Unlike Winnipeg residents, we are not used to this kind of winter. I really wish spring would come!

Danielle said...

Love the dragon! I am with you about ordering anything from my LNS. If they don't have it in, usually I will just go home and order online. Much faster.

Barbi said...

Oh! Your dragon is TOO CUTE! Great idea with the border stitching. UGH I hate border stitching. I have had the same experience with LNS. It's hard to stay supportive when you don't get what you want in a timely manner.

Berit said...

PLEASE don't get me started on "ordering" from the needlework shops. Particularly the Local ones. Anita of http://www.anitalittlestitches.com/ has the best service so far imho; you literally email her about what you want, and the she does it all and emails you a total. Very fast, very great service and etc! I had such a good experience with her that I'm going to try "ordering" through her for something that she doesn't have next time I want it. But...I don't think I'll do it through another place again. I've done it about 4-5 times with no good result. In stock, please.

That's a funny image of someone carefully preparing the icy walk!

Dragon is looking good; Borders Worketh Patience. :)

Kathy A. said...

Oh Blue - I love your little dragon. What a handsome little fella! Nice work.

Annie Bee said...

Your dragon is really cute. I always order on line as I don't have any near LNS

Carol said...

What a cute dragon, Blu! (Can dragons be cute?)

I always order online, too, due to a severe lack of local needlework shops in my area. Some are much faster than others and I miss not being able to see and touch the fabric first, but there's nothing else I can do...

Carla said...

Beautiful stitching!!

Pumpkin said...

Beautiful Blu! I can only imagine how frustrating that border is ;o) You've got a good solution though.

Michelle said...

Your dragon is so cute! The border is going to look great - it will be worth it in the end.

I also mostly order online due to a serious lack of needlework shops in the area (for that matter the country!) and I have always had good experiences.

Daffycat said...

Beautiful progress, Blu!

You can get a little set of magnets somewhere (not sure where, is it LoRan? maybe?) that go behind and on top of your chart to mark the place you are working on. That might be worth looking into. Me, I am a real fan of working copies and marking them off!

Missy Ann said...

Great job, those borders can drive a girl nutty.

I'm blessed with a fast ordering LNS. I have ordered from Anita's before too, and she is great. She is also very close to my house so if she has it in stock it only takes 1 or 2 days to arrive.

Siobhán said...

Great progress! I'm not a fan of stitching borders, either, but they do really set off a piece nicely.

Urgh about the LNS woes! I have quickly worked out where to order what so I can get it in the speediest time possible. There is not a single LNS in the Republic of Ireland so I'm stuck with mail order.

Lynn said...

I picked up Legends of the Dragons recently during a chart swap. I'm hoping to do it at some point in time for one of my sons. It's a great piece.
I just might have to steal that paper clip idea! I dislike using highlighter too.

Lonneke said...

That's a clever idea! Keep up the good work on the border!

Meadows08 said...

I'm totally with you about your LNS. I have one about a 15 min drive away. Unfortunately the charts they carry are always the same, year after year.

They do get new Lizzie*Kate charts in. I think the only LHN chart they have is Home of a Needlworker.

And they wonder why they lose business to online shops!