So, do to the gorgeousness of Donna's Poseidon, and my DH really thinking it is cool, I'm also doing it. Seems Donna and I are having some weird shared taste - it's the 2nd of 3 of the same pieces we're doing/have done.
Anyhow - mine is on "loch" hand-dye from Picture this plus, which looks nothing like what's on the website. I'll post a progress picture on RCTNP later. Using pretty much the threads listed by Lynne, except as someone who uses Anchor, I have about 1/3 in Anchor rather than the similar DMC. But, did substitute Weeks "Merlin" at Donna's suggestion for 2 DMC colors that are phenomenally dark Navy blues, and the difference in the stitched item was indiscernable. So, I'm using the Weeks Merlin for both.
Now to the queston. I'm doing this on 28 ct, and 2 plies of either the Anchor or the DMC look just fine, nice and full. But, when I put in the first section of the Weeks, it looks a little bit sparse. I'm wondering if it's just because it is, or because the color is so dark, next to the greens that it's just kind of an illusion. So, I worked in the 3 2-plie sets that I'd threaded, and am just thinking about it. Considering doing that with 3 plies, but then am worried it will be too much. So, anyone ever have this kind of thing - or have an opinion - or just tell me I'm being too picky.
I will post a picture later - surely before my stitching break in the evening. Also, I'll put up the progress on "Love and Wisdom".
But, for now - DH is home - it's gorgeous out, and we're heading into yardwork world. He's going to be a boy, and try to get the lawnmower going
- we cleaned it, it fires, put new gas, but doesn't want to stay on - so I think it's going to take some more time to take apart the parts that don't really want to come apart. Yuck. I'm on finally weeding, feeding, planting a few little things, and mulching. And replacing my 3 sick, mid-size, expensive Rhodies. Darn it.
I do most of my cross stitch in hand and my experience has been that when I'm working with navy or black and the piece is held up to the light I see white areas but when it's held flat against the wall or laying down flat on a table, those areas disappear.
That's funny because both skeins of DMC (823 and 939) navy looked skimpier to me than the colors surrounding them. You can actually see the background fabric underneath the stitching. They didn't have the same coverage as the greens. But you don't notice just looking at the piece. You have to really look at it to notice. In the long run, if you stitch with just 2 threads, I don't think you'll notice it. But go ahead and try 3 and see if you like it better while stitching it. You never know till you try.
Wow. I've been trying to stitch, but it's a white on white piece and the sun keeps going in and out and my eyes are telling me something's wrong. LOL Can't adjust to those lighting changes. Been running errands today - library, cable bill, homeowner's bill, DS's to the optometrist, oil change. Phew. Luckily for me the Jiffy Lube was gone so I stopped in Borders and found the latest Beading and Cross Stitch mag by Jill Oxton. Back home doing laundry and general tidying up before leaving on Wednesday for New Hampshire.
DMC threads of different colors have different coverage; no question to my mind. The skimpiest, IMHO are the whites, Blanc and 5200. I always use DMC 3865 for white, as I feel it gives much better coverage. I remember a maroon, which was much thicker than any other in the pattern.
Well, given that WDW usually dyes on Anchor, they are similar. I have to recharge the camera battery, and then I'll put the pix up - right now I can't download them from the camera.
Thanks - the lawnmower is not cooperating - I ended up running to the nursery to show them a piece of rhodie, and buy the appropriate fungicide. And take my 20% off flowering shrubs coupon. We have to put some plants - evergreen primarily -around the base of the deck to screen it. Didn't do lattice - except on the side that borders the stone patio. Anyhow - I think we're going to do a combination of some Scotch Broom and Knockout Roses. The broom stays evergreen here, and has a nice sculptural look. We're also going to put up either climbing hydrangea or wisteria on 3 or 4 of the posts that go up to the trellis that cuts the diagonal. Anyhow - they're getting in a shipment of 800 roses on Wed or Thursday, so I'll be going back. And my poor rhodies evidently have some kind of fungal rot - so we're going to try and let the root balls shake out, dry-out, and replant them in the back
- if they look salvageable. I already have the replacements to go in the holes, after I spray the fungicide on the bed, and neighboring plants. And put some rocks back in the soil. Huh.
OK - enough gardening. And tomorrow morning the mower goes to the shop, as DH and I have taken as much as possible apart, and cleaned, etc - and, well, I'd have better luck on a jet engine than with the mower - there must be some closed part that we just can't get to, and I really don't want to buy a new mower.
I understand. When I'm working on dark, I usually put a light cloth on my lap or something. But, lately I've been stitching either sitting cross-legged or with legs up - with myself in the sectional corner downstairs, and my little baby Z frame on my lap. I'm just not sure, I'm going to work some other colors, and then look at the blue again, and decide what to do. There is so much going on with this piece, that I hate to make the blue seem more dimensional if I go to 3 plies, but that may be what I have to do. It doesn't look "bad" - but, then again, I'm kind of picky about stitching stuff - hard to believe ;^)
Well, I didn't want to call you at 9:45 last night - thinking you might've doen the turn in early thing. But....The greens definitely look a bit fuller. The fabric we picked looks great - not any greater than yours, of course.
Poor thing. I'm hoping to go stitch in a little while. The next 2 weeks are nothing but Pharmacology, some garment sewing, stitching (at night) and yard-stuff. Trying to get ready for the stupid community yard sale on Sat. We're hoping to get the garage space cleared on Wed so the storage unit stuff can come here on Thursday/Friday. I'm not looking forward to this. But, after that - I have thru the 14th to finish all my pharm stuff - including the 4 tests I have to take. Tee hee - good thing it only takes me a few hours to do each section, and then the homework - and another couple of hours to study for each test - that I have to go to campus to take - only
I'm glad that other people have experienced some of this. I've had this with silks - which you'd expect across different brands, types, dyes, etc. But, this is the first time I've really seen a difference using floss. It may be that this is one of those pieces with all these solid, intermixed areas of coverage - which is not a typical thing for me. Whatever - I'll keep working on it, and am glad to know I'm not crazy - at least about this.
What`s up with the Rhodies, Ellice - is your soil too alkaline? We got round that problem by digging a large hole,lining it with sheap plastic dustbib liners, piercing well with a fork and filling it with ericaceous (acid) soil. (for the camellias, that is, which need the same soil as Rododendrons). They`ve flourished for years like that, helped with at least one good annual watering of Sequestrene.
It may be too late to save your current ones, but may well be the answer for replacements. Our soil is VERY alkaline here, yet only about four miles away is a positive FOREST of rhododendrons! They were planted there in the time of Admiral Nelson, and are HUGE!
I'm off to go see the optometrist and I'm sure that means dilate the eyes. What was I thinking scheduling this for today? Not good. I've got bunches of paperwork to sort through before I leave in the a.m. Will call you if I recover sufficiently.
So no stitching for me today. Rats. Off to see family, Cheryl, and recover DD from school!
There is a lot of clay in the soil, but it's not too alkaline. I originally thought they'd either gotten this "sudden oak death" which has hit some cultivars and originates in California, and maybe Oregon. However with that the leaves start to brown along the mid-line, and tip. It was only 3 of the largish (for new) Anna Krushak variety. At right angles - around the corner of the porch - we have a couple of Mrs. Tom Lowinski rhodies, and those are fine. The rest of the plants in the bed seem fine - a little leaf spot on the Nellie Stevens holly - but it's got a ton of blooms on it now.
When I planted last spring/summer we ripped out everything the builder had put in, except the holly - which was healthy, and about 6' tall, a nice diameter. I don't know if you remember me moaning about this. Anyhow, DH used the roto-tiller, and tilled the entire bed which we had enlarged. We pulled out at many, many buckets of rocks - 2-5" rocks. And at least 15-20
10"-18" mini-boulders. The clay can be pretty compacted, so drainage could be an issue. After talking with one of the nursery owners that we use he suggested that when I replace the soil I also put back in some of the rocks. I planted everything in a mix of good soil, and amended with Master Gardener Bumper Crop (an organic mix which includes peat moss, compost, etc). And used some b-1 starter, and the pelletized plant food. Pretty much everything else is fine, except these 3 rhodies, and I think a couple of perennial that the builder idiots kept walking on cutting across the bed from the front to the walk into the house.
So, what happened to the rhodies? They are in front of the porch - which is covered with a metal roof & gutter. Evidently there is an ice problem because there are no ice break things on the roof - and during some winter storm, we had literally a 1' ledge of ice sticking out from the gutter along the length of the porch. While I tried to get rid of it, we think a big hunk hit on one of the rhodies and split off a main trunk. I took a branch to the nursery yesterday (for the locals, we use Bluemount here & Abernethy & Spencer in Purcellville), and the conclusion was - they may be totally toast. They have phitofera, which may be from root rot. Not Sudden Oak Death, which the USDA is controlling quite strictly - supposedly (I was hoping for warranty coverage on the plants). Consensus was to pull the plants - I had already lifted one to look - it was damp but not gross or smelly. Then clear the root ball a bit, and check some larger roots - and scrape one - if the covering slips off like a peel on a boiled potato - then it's root rot. Suggestion was to pull them - let them air to kind of dry out the root balls, spray with fungicide - and my decision to either try to save them and replant elsewhere, or just ... I'm probably going to replant them. It's very odd looking - the lower parts of branches are seemingly dead
- but there is new growth and buds extending beyond. Certainly I can't leave them in the front of the house - as they've lost about 1/3 of the plant on 2 of the plants. Before I replace them, I'm going to spray the holes with the fungicide, put back some rocks to create better drainage because the clay down deeper is evidently very compacted. Then I have to spray all the plants in the bed, and the soil. So, I'm going to do that before I put the new mulch down. Fortunately, I only saw a couple of leaves on one of the other rhodies looking a bit brown, and some leaf spot on the holly.
Last summer was hard as we had this big infestation of japanese beetles. However, we had the lab that makes Milky Spore come and do the entire yard which should prevent problems for several years. And I'm feeding everything with the Bayer stuff that goes up through the root system and kind of immunizes the trees. I'm happy that our specimen trees are in pretty full leaf - especially DH's "weeping pussy willow", and the Bloodgood Japanese Maple which has grown a good foot to 18".
So, I'll just hope the rhodies do all right. We'll see. I'm putting the 3 hydrangeas that are recovering in containers in the back, in the wetter area. And will look for new in a few weeks. I'm waiting for my shipment from Cheryl - we're extending the front bed down from the holly to include the "viburnum tomentosum" and then bed around the ugly electrical box. The viburnum - which has leaves similar to a filbert tree - ridged - had lovely flowers on it - kind of like a group of dogwood type flowers, with little tiny heads in the center. One of my hydrangeas at the other house - I think the Tokyo blues -had a similar flower.
So, my day is...labe apptmt at the hemotologist, lunch with friend, and then be dirty... Oh, and take lawn-mower to service place. It is definitely frustrating DH & I that we couldn't make it work - for more than 30 secs. OF course, him spending the better part of a day working on it, has got to have cost more than just getting repaired.
I will check the soil pH again before I replant the rhodies.
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