A Rose By Any Other Name....

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...."

...so said Juliet to Romeo, suggesting that it mattered not that his last name was Montague and he was from her family's rival house.

In other words, things are what they are, no matter what name you give them.  And no truer thing could ever be said about Woodrose floss from The Gentle Art:  It is what is no matter that it is called Woodrose...  No matter that one Woodrose is entirely different in tone and color from another Woodrose.  (Come to think of it, that is very true of families too....)

I love overdyed flosses for the variegation they have. I hate them for the same reason.  There is just too MUCH variation in the variegation.

I am still in that equivocal place of uncertainty as I have been for some time regarding my next "project," so thought I would once again "fill in" with a quick (ha!) stitch while I decide where I go next.  Besides, I needed a bunny fix.

So I started a little design called "imagine*dream*believe" by Artful Offerings.

It came kitted, but since I (relatively recently) organized my stitching and knew from my journal that I already had the Woodrose floss called for, I thought it wise to use what was started rather than start on a new skein.

After stitching several of the numbers in the pattern, I began have to have throwbacks to the mauve-y pinks and colonial/baby blues of the '80s.  

Not a good thing...so I went back and compared the Woodrose that I had and was using with the Woodrose that came in the kit.  Whoa....2 very different colors: the one I had a very pale pink, the kitted one a definite tangerine orange.

I was already not overly thrilled with the "baby blue" involved, but the pink threw me over the edge, and out it came.  Here you can see (at least a little...it was more dramatic in person) that 0, 1, and 2 are done in the "pink" Woodrose, while the 3 and 4 are done in the tangerine Woodrose:

I had actually already stitched through "5" before acknowledging I wasn't "thrilled," but happily frogged and re-stitched, grateful that I had not settled for the PINK Woodrose.

So grateful, in fact, that I stitched all the numbers AND the verbiage at the top of the design...only to become dissatisfied with the actual "variegation" (or, more precisely, the lack thereof) of the tangerine Woodrose.

(It's not easy being me....)

And, yes, I tempted fate a by going to the LNS: Most Woodroses they had were not only of the "orange" variety, but also more variegated...and less "in-your-face-plain-carrot-orange."

So....out it all came...

....and in went the perfect Woodrose (or maybe not....):

(The "8" and "9" still need to be redone....or maybe not.)

And then I saw it: I totally messed up the border.  The inner 5 vertical rows were supposed to be two rows light, 1 row dark, 2 rows light.  I did 2 rows dark, 1 row light, 2 rows dark.  

Seriously?

It was meant to mimic ticking - my version looks decidedly less like ticking, but I am not certain I have the wherewithal to actually redo it all.

  I think I am over that bunny thing.

I just may coax the Beast out of that dark closet.

Or maybe not.

In other news:  

I have spent the better part of the week at the vet.  This one had a blockage and we spent 6+ hours (and a great deal of money) at the emergency vet:

(Rajah Roo)

This one developed an upper respiratory infection from who-knows-where:

(Liza Bean)

And this one's chronic bronchitis (??) is back and his arthritis is worsening:

(SnowDog)

I have pills, liquid orals and injections...some need refrigeration, some are light sensitive.  I sure hope I keep all this straight.

Easter/spring decorating was sidelined.  I did not even put out my antique German bunny candy containers.  Little carrots and a lone needle felted bunny will be it it looks like.

Maybe next year.  Maybe not.

**********

As an unhappy side note, "Buddy" (from a few posts back about my technology issues) suffered an aneurysm and brain bleed.  They are thinking they will be taking him off life support soon.  😢  Prayers for him would be sincerely appreciated.  All sarcasm aside, he has a beautiful heart.

I Like To Do What Most Hookers Don't.....

Cathy from Acorn Hollow likes them "big," Lauren from Rugs and Pugs enjoys (and often pursues) "quickies" and dear Mummy Dearest (a/k/a Saundra) of Woodland Junction's penchant is clearly for "older" ones.

To each their own, I suppose, and while I have experienced, at some point, some of the pleasures of the above preferences, my predilection is, as in most aspects of my life, of a more peculiar bend:  I like to do what other hookers do not like to do.

I like to bind rugs.

(What were you thinking I was going to say???)

Most hookers (including those above-named wonted hookers) dread binding their rugs.  I, however, find it relaxing, mindless and effortless...the part where I don't really have to do any work.  

While I have not yet brought the Beast forth from his dark hiding place or otherwise engaged in full-blown hooking activities, I did finally bind my "Guilford Runner" that I had finished hooking some time ago.

There are some amazing old paisleys used in the red and gold portions that do not show in the above photo, but think that you can see in the photo below:

 

This design (by Edyth O'Niell) was what I first chose to hook after having taken a long hiatus from hooking.  I should have thought more clearly in both my choice and technique while doing it.  The pattern is clearly very symmetrical in design and was not drawn as symmetrically as it should have been (at least according to the dictates of my OCD).  It, therefore, required many "adjustments," most usually in the form of reverse hooking.

In the end, however, I was "satisfied" enough to even consider doing the same one again sometime - something I never, ever, do. (I am usually a "once and done" kind of hooker.)  There are so many tempting color combinations and it just might be better the second time around.

I'll have to "circle back" on that.

And since I had no more rugs to bind am fickle, I finally also finished "Salem Village," a design by Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm.  I am ashamed to admit this took me over 4 years to finish. And it is not "finished" finished...it still needs to be framed...or something.

 I guess sometimes I like it slow too.

I have not decided what's next.  I have a few things started, but none is really getting me terribly excited.  At the risk of once again not finishing something I have started, I may pick up something entirely new.

But, not tonight because I have a headache.

 Yes, my internet woes are continuing.

  I will not bore you with all the technicalities but, basically, my "system" is dropping connectivity somewhere between my devices and the satellite. Still trying to figure out if it is a router issue, a modem issue, or something else altogether.  The bottom line is it's not fixed and I am operating now on "borrowed time."  Hence, why I have a headache.

(Where I go when "she" has a headache.  Smart kitteh....)

Signing off for now while I am still connected.  Hope you are all well and happy. Happier than me will do.