Good morning, my friends, although there isn't much morning left in the day. It was a busy and productive morning for me. I showered and left the house early for a fasting blood draw. It's a miserable morning when I can't have my coffee. It took three sticks for one vial of blood, which was mildly annoying.
The phlebotomist read off the tests they would run on my blood, looking at me for affirmation. "If that's what the doctor ordered," I said. "I was hoping you would know what we're doing." Sheesh. It didn't instill confidence. Then she felt around on my arm for at least five minutes before the first stick. No dice. Then...same thing on the other arm. When that didn't work, she brought in someone who found a vein right away. I've become a "hard stick" as I've gotten older, even if I'm well-hydrated, I'm often encountering a phlebotomist who can't find my veins. I'm always wishing they'd bring in the expert before making me look like a junkie.
Okay, but we're done with that. I had a cup of coffee in my car, and it was nice to get a slurp of coffee right away when the blood-sucking was finished. I had my Egg McMuffin and then headed for the grocery store. Along the way, I mailed two packages and stopped off for another errand. After that, I bought some birdseed to feed our hungry birds, and then I came home. Sigh. Now, I need a nap after all that.
There's been no time for slow-stitching yet this morning. When I stopped yesterday, I had it this far:
Now I've moved my hoop clockwise to fit in a few more designs. When I pick it up today, I'll start there with January.
I had some housekeeping chores to do yesterday. By the end of the day, I'd made more progress on the thread-painting for "Spices." I'm about halfway finished.
There are about seven values of purple in this piece, plus a rust red and an orangey-yellow. I'm working just with the purple threads to start, stitching with the lightest and moving my way to the darkest. Here's how it's looking so far. Just a peek for you.
Probably it won't be finished today, but I should have it ready for binding within the next few days. I can't say I'm very happy with the stabilizer I'm using. It's stiff like cardboard, and so it doesn't fit well within the throat of my domestic machine. Mine is a Bernina 750QE, which has a large throat, but I still can't fit the quilt within its limits without bending the stabilizer. And that would be fine except that it's so stiff that it leaves a fold wherever I bend it, and that's visible from the surface of the quilt. I believe I'll be able to iron it out when it's all finished, but I won't know until I get there. In any case, I'm sure this product, Peltex, is fine for bags and bowls, but it's too rigid for quilting. I'll stick with batting in the future.
Okay, so I don't have much else to tell you. After such a trying morning, I'm going to lie down on the couch for a while. We got more rain last night, and so weeding will have to wait at least another day. (Too bad. So sad.) I have on today's to-do list to make some Mini Apple Tarts for Two. (I like to have something for dessert on Fridays.) It'll be a new recipe to try, and I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.
I hope y'all are doing okay down there in hurricane land. Sounds like quite a storm, and so I hope everyone came through unharmed.
10 comments:
If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. ~ Vincent Van Gogh
I don’t remember your discussion on the stabilizer but in some class I took felt was recommended for heavy threat painting so I have used that successfully I felt. There’s a pun! Then where I wanted some dimension I put the batting on and did some more stitching. I worry about ironing with felt somewhat since some of it has nylon. But my last piece had silk so I needed to take care anyways. I’m sure your piece will be lovely as always. Edith
Would love to have more info on your thread painting. Do you leave the feed dogs up on the machine or sew with them down? If down, how do you keep the stitches even as they appear to be even in the photo? I did wonder about using that Peltex as it is very stiff so thanks for the review. I wondered if you were going to mount your piece and wanted it to be "sturdier" to do that. Either way, nice job! I will be interested I seeing the final piece.
I read your blog fairly regularly but don't normally comment. Looking forward to hearing about your mini apple tarts since there are only two of us who eat here and dessert recipes always seem to make too much for us.
I couldn't figure out how to not be anonymous but I am Karen L in NC.
Some people just don't seem to know how to 'stick' with any degree of success. I hate it when they stick the needle in and then wiggle it around in hopes of finding paydirt.
Good to know about Peltex. I like to use heavy stabilizer in my landscapes but only add it at the end to help stiffen.
Blood draws are not fun, I have the same problem you do. The last time I was in the ER, they had to bring in one of those imaging tools to help them find a vein. Glad you are back to a normal routine.
I have deep "rolly" veins and when I get to the lab I always apologize and announce this to the blood tech. Usually this brings a frightened look to their face and a more expert person at my arm. I've often had 3 sticks on one side (here the techs are only allowed 3 tries before calling for help) and then 2 on the other. Reminds me that I have a lab appointment next month. I like the current slow stitch you are working on with the months/seasons. Thanks for continuing to show us your projects and your kitties.
I too am a hard stick, yes with major hydrating for 24 hours. If the tech is new to me I ask for using the hand. That is usually where it ends anyway and I save the futile arm sticks.
Sorry to hear about the frustration with the stabilizer. If it's like the stuff I have, it is really stiff, great for bags (softens a bit over time and use), but would think it is tricky to manipulate for thread painting.
I too am a "hard stick", yes I give them that info up front. I also request the blood draw person I had last time. Saves time, that ugly black & blue arm and ultimately we go to the hand first .
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