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Today is Wednesday ……………………………….……….. Good Morning, MJ 💕

Does this pattern come with a seperate backstitch chart, please?

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Hi all. Except for 2 strings that will show the raven pulling the shed, it is done. A recap- my sister gave me the pattern for Christmas 2025, and due to your advice- I asked her to buy me the fabric, which she graciously gave me. I made a number of changes- the snow- both in the “air” and “ground” are a combo of B5200 floss, Kreinik braid#4, and petite and regular white beads. I added red beads to the tree instead of stitching them, and I used the Kreinik +B5200 on the gifts and the “bows” are beads. The snowflake on the gift under the mouse is a Just Another Button button. 😆 Finally, the white parts of the raven and mouse Santa hats are white Bella Lusso Fleur de Paris. It took a while, but I made it my own. I love it, and it gave me a chance to thank my sister again. Let me know what you think. Here it is…

Good Wednesday morning everyone. Today Poppy goes back to the vet for a procedure to test protein in her urine. Apparently they insert a small needle. The test is to see if the Lyme's has affected her kidneys. We are on pins and needles and hope it hasn't affected them. On the upside she hasn't taken the gabapentin and is her usual active self, no fever, and eating and drinking normally. So, I get to stay here with Buddy and entertain him while they're away. I can't believe it's the middle of the week already! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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Good Tuesday morning everyone. I hope all of you enjoyed the long weekend. We changed our minds and bbq'd baby back ribs instead of making a ham. The weather was perfect with not a cloud in the sky and 82 degrees. It was so nice after weeks of dreary gray, cold, and rain. Today promises to be the same. It's a trip to the store for those things you run out of at the end of the month. I am excited that I am almost finished with the second to last row on "Lady", too. I looked in my cross stitch journal and I've been working on her since October of 2024! Have a terrific Tuesday!

A Detroit Tigers baseball game....am having a great time we even one a ticket for a free pizza on the Detroit Tigers. 😊

There is an unofficial men and boys section where they lose their minds and shirts, waving them like they lost their minds, my son apologized profusely as he went to join them

So after I get home and shower this suntan lotion off SPF 60+....I'll stitch at least 100 stitches....

Work was kind of crazy I'll post later.

TFL-Chris

Today is Tuesday ……………………………………….…….. Good Morning, MJ 💕

Hello everyone! I'm hoping to start a new project in a couple of months. It's an American flag and is a very wide design -- I'll be stitching it on 16-count fabric ((actually 32-count stitched over 2 threads)) and design itself will be just under 44" wide. Because I seem, despite significant effort, to be unable to properly center a design I prefer to have 3" borders rather than the commonly recommended 2" borders. So, my fabric will be cut about 50 inches wide ((and about 32" deep/high)).

I always use scroll rods, and have 48" wide scroll rods and a floor frame/stand that will accommodate that width.

Because the fabric will be wider than the scroll rod I anticipate having to fold a bit of the fabric over at one end of the rod. It will be bulky but with the total width, I am thinking that while I'm working at one end of the design the bulk won't be bothersome or a problem. Once I reach perhaps half-way across the design, I can re-attach the fabric to the rods so that the folded part is at the other end of the design.

Is this the best approach, or is there something else I should consider? I know that if I'm folding the fabric I can use slightly shorter scroll rods ((don't need full 48" width)) but I purchased the long rods so am likely to use them.

I'm looking forward to starting the project but am intimidated by its size! Been purchasing floss -- almost 400 skeins!! -- a bit at a time for a couple of years to spread out the cost.

Thanks for any thoughts, and encouragement!