Mar 4, 2020

WEDNESDAY

I'm home with the ughs today, Dearies. Nothing too serious, but I have a fever and don't want to risk passing whatever this is to my podmates. Some sleep and rest will put me to rights again, I'm sure, so no worries.

Thank you for your feedback on my "finish". I am going to let it sit for a bit until I can figure out what I want to do. At the moment I am leaning toward sticking it in the big box under the bed and calling it finished until I decide differently if/when I finally frame the darn thing.

(Does anybody else have a big box of shame under their bed? At last glance, I think there are several dozen pieces in there that have been stitched, but await final finishing. I'm almost afraid to do an exact count, because I think it exceeds one hundred.)

(It would be cheaper to buy a frame shop, I think, than it would to actually get them framed!)

After my Happy Dance, I fished through my WiP basket and pulled another Oldie but Goodie:

This is The Gilded Cage by Carriage House Samplings, and I am stitching this on a lovely piece of Picture This Plus linen in Heroic and my own color conversion. It's a little bit autumnal, but there is so little left to go, I might as well finish it.

(And put it in the big box under the bed.)

Before I go, can you all please settle a bet/argument I'm having with JB? I say that it is dangerous to put wooden items into the dishwasher because they can fall onto the heating element and catch fire (which I have personally experienced). He says I'm nuts.  What say yous, please?

OK...time to crawl back into the big girl sleigh bed.  I hope you have a happy and peaceful day today! Do something fun and come tell me all about it!



19 comments:

  1. Coni, I hope you are feeling better with a bit of rest and lots of fluid. Looking forward to seeing your progress on the KB piece. I have an overflowing basket of stitched, but unfinished finishes. I know some of them will never be put in finished form unless I decide to give them as gifts. Can't help you with the bet about the wood items in the dishwasher.

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  2. They get ruined by the water. Wood and water don't mix. They will start to crack.

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  3. I wouldn't call it a box of shame. More a box of accomplishment. Maybe one day someone can make you a bed spread or quilt out of them so you can enjoy them. Probably cost as much as the framing 🤭 Hoping you feel better soon.

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  4. Sorry you aren’t feeling well and hope you are resting and taking care of yourself. Yes, I’ve been told the same thing about putting wooden items in the dishwasher, but I thought it was because the chemicals used in finishing the wood could discolor the metal items. Have a great stitchy day!

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  5. Wood in the dishwasher is a No too harsh on it! You win!!

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  6. I understand you don't put wooden items in the dishwasher because it's not good for the wooden items. The dishwasher runs so hot, it swells the wood and can make it split. If you've got a wooden cutting board, the heat will wreck the finish. Items like wooden spoons are light and can flip out and get in the way of the big spinner at the bottom; that doesn't end well for the dishwasher. It's much better just to hand wash them.

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  7. Hope you feel better soon. I certainly have a box of abandoned knitting projects that seemed like a good idea at the time but turned out to not be very much fun. I think we all have these boxes of shame--so not so much shame. Just human.

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  8. It's not a box of shame! After all, you stitch beautifully and you did them because you love them. Maybe you could find some other ways to finish them (over time) like make them ornaments, or pillows, or whatever. Probably less expensive than framing. As for wooden items, they aren't going to catch on fire in a dishwasher full of water, but it sure isn't good for the wood to soak them to get soaked!

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  9. You win !!! I hope you will finish your last finish as it was
    intended and pictured; as a fold over sewing kit... Hoping you find a way to work through that bin under the bed and put
    your work on display or gifted.

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  10. What Amanda said is what I had been told also. As to your box of shame, I have one also.....only it is probably more than one box. It really isn't a box of "shame", but rather a box of completed stitching. For me, the joy is in the journey, not the finished product, so that final finishing really isn't so important to me.
    I do hope you get lots of rest and drink lots of fluids and you are feeling better soon!

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  11. I would have to agree with you about the wood and heating element; not having had that experience, it sounds logical. I do know that wood in the dishwasher will get ruined. So, you win! Yep, I also have a (small) box of things that need to be finished. Just the way it is, I guess. Hope you feel better soon!

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  12. IMHO a dishwasher is too hot for anything with wood as it can destroy the finish... whether it be pot handles or wood salad bowls. I can see where a wood salad tong may slip down to the heating element but a plastic lid may also slip down. Feel better fast! Ruth in Oxnard CA>

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  13. Coni, I hope you feel better soon. I have always been told not to put wooden items in the dishwasher as it ruins the finish and can make them crack. Joy is in the journey so no shame in having a box of beautiful finished pieces of stitching - more a box of joy!

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  14. We did it one Christmas, we put a wooden spoon and it
    caught fire!

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  15. Not box of shame - more bags of works in progress and ready to finish! As for wooden things in the dishwasher, many a time I've told my husband not to put the wooden handled knives in there - our old knives have split away. I don't think they'd burn, because of the drenching, but more as has already been said, it swells up and splits. Stand your ground! xxx

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  16. I agree with others - the no wood in the dishwasher is more for the finish and splitting than fire. Based on your and liz's experiences though, I'd say if wood spoons do go in, don't use the dry option.

    I envy your big box of shame - it means you've been busy stitching all these years. I wonder if it would work to mount the stitching to backer boards (or whatever they are called) and swap them around in the frames you have occasionally.

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  17. Coni, at the risk of giving you a new hobby, I ask, have you visited Priscilla & Chelsea's Flosstube? You can finish some of your smaller pieces by putting them together with some fabric and ribbons and silk flowers, etc. Check it out! (I'm just afraid you may need a new room for all the new pretties you would be buying!) also, I'm a sewer. If you have some you would like finished into pillows, send them back to NJ with your man & I will make them up for you & send them back. My gift to you, sweet lady!

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  18. Well... I am guilty of putting wooden spoons in the dishwasher but if you tell me I shouldn't then I am going to stop. How the heck would they catch on fire with all that water splooshing around in there though? Love your new/old project! It is going to be a beauty!

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  19. Aside from the catching fire issue another reason not to put wood in the dishwasher is sanitation. Wood (unlike glass, metal or plastic) absorbs water and takes MUCH longer to dry than the other materials. Bacteria and mold love warm damp substrates to grow on. I wash any wood implements as fast as possible with hot water and then actually dry off the excess water after rinsing in order to minimize the absorption of water and speed the drying process.

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