WHO IS THIS PERSON, AND WHAT HAS SHE DONE TO THE SPINSTER STITCHER?!

When I sat down to stitch last night a very novel approach entered my tiny little brain.

"I'm going to follow the directions, use the tips and hints that I've collected over the years, breathe deeply, and enjoy this stitching."

And then I plunged into the sections that call for...gasp...shock...horrors abound...DMC metallic thread.

This stuff had been the bain of my existence from the very first time I picked up a needle.  I have approximately eleven hundren spools of it in my stash (OK...maybe that's a bit of a stretch), and every single time I tried to use it I ended up on the floor in a heap of teary frustration.

But this time I was determined to show it who's boss.

I cut shorter lengths than I normally would and I used Thread Heaven.  A LOT of Thread Heaven.  And, in a brilliant stroke of genius taught to me by Miss Vonna Her Very Self on her Twisted Stitcher channel on the Flosstube, I took it out of the container and wadded it up into a ball before pulling the thread through it.  

Can I just say that the beast was tamed once and for all and I love the way this looks?  

I'm pretty sure that my feelings about this will change by the end of this piece, since there looks to be a LOT of stitching with this stuff, but for now I am affixing the gold star to my forehead and moving right along.

Now all I have to do is hope that this same spirit will infect me when it comes time to bead this sucker. Somebody told me that there are 40,000 plus beads.  Or maybe it was 4,000.  All I know is that anything over 2 or 3 is going to be an enormous challenge for me, so...

Let.  Us.  Pray.

After three or four really bad nights, Stewey finally slept peacefully through last night.  He awoke this morning with his little eyes bright again and immediately complained that his tea was too tepid for his liking, so methinks today will be good as well.  He spends the majority of it sleeping in his little bed in the sun, but that's what he always did when he was well, so I am comforted by that immednsely.  

We're off for labwork and a few small provisions.  I am craving bagels with peanut butter like a crazy person, so that's what it will be.  I haven't decided on a Labor Day cookout menu, but I'm leaning toward ribs and pasta salad.  We'll see.

Happy Futzingday, dear friends!