Lucy, cats, and dyeing to change

Hi everyone.   Ever since I did the sampler bag on my persimmon linen, I've been moving it.  This is certainly not unusual, but this particular piece was not sitting well with me.  I hate it.  There.  I said it.   An offering would probably not garner many entries, so I figured, what the hell.  Dye it.  I've never dipped a completed piece!  What would happen?  The floss obviously would accept the dye very well and end up the same color, but I didn't like it anyway so I dipped.  Because of the orange/red in the fabric, I used green with a touch of black. This color showed very nicely on the open blister in the palm of my hand, plus all the loose skin and blisters on my right hand from a  bad burn.  No, it wasn't fire, it was boiling water.  So my cuticles, wrinkles, blisters, and peeling skin are a very dark green, but it was well worth it.

 I'm surprised and happy with the result.

As for Lucy, I'm still making so many errors it's becoming ridiculous.  You can see in the photo that both lines start with "that mercy" so naturally, I reversed them and had to remove and start over.  Along with the front windows and door on the house.  But I'm continuing and will finish the lettering tonight.  Tomorrow I hope to get the second house outlined.  My sister is having cataract surgery Thursday and I can fill in the houses and roofs while I'm there.  You have to appear 2 hours before surgery, then wait another hour because they are never on schedule, then another hour before going home so I should get quite a bit completed.  Their cafeteria and coffee shop has decided to only have "healthy" items so I could have decaf black coffee with lettuce on the side, not my usual cappuccino.  Bad news - there is a pharmacy across the street that has Bliss chocolate on sale and I have a coupon.  I may buy a bag and take it into the eating area and see if they arrest me.  This won't be pretty. 

We had a bad storm last night that flooded our yard, and the hail looked like it was from an ice cube tray.  Really big, and enough to tear the leaves on all my hostas.  I'm upset about the Blue Angels on the side of the garage.  Huge sturdy leaves and a real mess.  These are a different variety and were affected too.

Another thing I've been working on is this....

The doors are done also.  I leave the back off so the interior is accessible for painting.  That's the part I do not enjoy.  After the dreaded sanding, I'll age the wood and then paint a light tan under a darker blue.   Trying to make a piece look peeled and old is not easy for me but when it's done, I'll show you how it came out.

 

I have a few photos of cats.  First off is Junior (real name is Nitwit) taking a snooze on my swing.  He just loves getting up on the rocker or the swing and rolling to make it move.  Odd for a cat, but that's why we call him Nitwit.

My brother kept 5 from the stray litters of prior years and  it's starting again.  He can't afford to keep having all these strays neutered, nor can he keep them all.  His neighbors are not animal lovers at any level and don't help, nor do they want any more cats around their yards.

  This little girl appeared and she is less than a year old, skin and bones, and probably pregnant.  Lovable, very affectionate, and sociable. 
One of the strays he kept is very odd looking.  When she's in the driveway, cars slow down and look, not knowing for sure what she is.

Her long hair is so thick and full, she looks like a circular brush on legs.  He just finished combing her in this photo so it's a little tamed.  What's also odd is her legs which are WAY too short, with only about 2" visible when she is standing.    She is over two years old and from the very first stray litter.  Her name is Peanut.

She and her siblings love the new little girl and my brother is upset about this starting again.  He knows of a farm that will take her but this guy does nothing but put food out in the barn and she will be alone.  She's too sweet and affectionate to be a lonely barn cat and he doesn't spay his pets either.

A note for Tina - I can't reply to your question about the Simply Samplers design since you have a no-reply setting, but doing a search on Google would be the best way to locate Hannah Gibson.

That's all I have to report!  Hope everyone is doing well - stay safe and enjoy your week.

Thank you very much for sticking with me and Lucy.  The end is coming!