Redeeming the Time

As I have spent quite a bit of time in waiting rooms this week, I've gotten quite a bit of stitching done, wahoo! I was just thrilled to finally finish Blackbird Designs 'Quaker Garden'. It is stitched on 32 count Lakeside Linen Pear with Weeks Dye Works and Crescent Colours. Next is a Hands to Work pincushion design 'A little Peace'. It is stitched on some 36 ct. 'snickerdoodle blend'. ;) Actually, it's a piece of Lakeside Pearled Barley that I soaked in some of my leftover snickerdoodle coffee, I love it! Wonder if I could duplicate this same color again?! I plan to stitch all 3 of these pincushions from The Littles leaflet, and have a start on 'A Little Love' already. Next picture is my Blackbird Designs 'Be Kind & True' WIP stitched on 35 ct. R&R Marva's breakfast blend. This fabric has a light side and a dark side. I'm stitching on the light side, and the color of the darker side would probably be better, BUT, I could not reckon with the splotchiness of the darker side. I like some distress or mottling, but not when it makes the linen just look dirty. :) Last, but not least is a Lizzie Kate design 'Think Autumn'. I stitched it on some 36 ct linen that I dyed myself with coffee + vanilla, and used one strand of thread. I really like this one strand stitching! Anyway, the pattern calls for Picture This Plus in 'Relic' and I do like PTP linen a lot, but sometimes it's good to use something from the stash. I am so ready for fall and the cooler weather and lovely colors that come with it, I'm Thinking Autumn!

I am so disappointed lately in the quality of Weeks Dye Works threads. They used to be my favorite. What happened to them? The newer threads are all weird and shiny looking, they seem smashed, not soft or plump, and they shred after a stitch or two. Not good. Also, some of the colors that have been long time favorites, or 'staple' colors like 'Brick' for instance, do not have any variation in the color at all anymore. I might as well use DMC, it's softer and doesn't shred. I have recently been only using WDW if I have an older skein or can find an older skein of what is called for at the shop, after buying & using several skeins of the weird new stuff. I keep checking it out (last night) every time I'm in the LNS to see if any new threads are looking better. Still icky.