Saturday, February 15, 2014

Help with a Toss Floss Please!


I've been stitching away on Ewe & Eye & Friend's "Whimsical Heart" and I am quite enjoying it.  My quandary though is that I do not care for one of the colors as charted, and I am terrible at the whole Toss Floss thing.  I need your help.  The bulk of the heart is charted as using Anchor 68 / DMC 3687. There are wavy lines in the heart which require Anchor 95 / DMC 210, and eyelets that use Anchor 66 / DMC 3688.  The eyelets are outlined with black squares - Anchor 403 DMC 310 and that is what I do not like.  I think it makes the heart look like it is suffering from some dread disease. Any suggestions for an alternate color could be greatly appreciated!

My day Friday turned into something quiet different than originally planned, but I did manage to get in one period of bird observation and submitted the following list to The Great Backyard Bird Count:

Friday 14th of February 2014
7:45-9:00am
18 species

  • 25 California Quail 
  • 01 Mourning Dove 
  • 02 Acorn Woodpecker - 1 male 1 female
  • 01 Downy Woodpecker - 1 male
  • 01 Northern Flicker  
  • 01 Pileated Woodpecker - heard it in the forest
  • 15 Steller's Jay  
  • 02 Western Scrub-Jay  
  • 01 American Crow - flying overhead
  • 05 Black-capped Chickadee  
  • 02 Chestnut-backed Chickadee  
  • 03 American Robin  
  • 06 European Starling  
  • 05 Spotted Towhee  
  • 03 Song Sparrow  
  • 03 Golden-crowned Sparrow  
  • 10 Dark-eyed Junco  
  • 11 House Finch  

I will be spending the next while cat-sitting these two little butterballs:

This is Charlie

This is Johnson

The girls are litter-mates and about 12 years old.  They are dears and well worth a last minute change of plans.

14 comments:

Margaret said...

I'm not good at changing colors either. Could you use that purple from the top flower? Or would that be too subtle? You might need something that shows better. White??

Nice kitties to be cat sitting! Looks like a pretty good list of birds!

Tamra said...

Hi, Love your blog and the news about the birds. You are so lucky to see so many of them :) I was thinking a darker green might work? Your blog header is very inspiring. Have a wonderful day. I'm cat sitting a sweetie black cat just now myself and loving it. :)

Maggee said...

What cute kitties to have to watch! Us 'Margaret's' stick together... I am thinking the purple will work around the eyelets also! Brown would be too dark also... purple seems good. Off to a gymnastics meet! Hugs!

Vickie said...

Are the cats all getting along?

Chris said...

Sweet girls, so glad that they landed with you for a visit.
Great bird list, from here I see juncos, titmouse, nuthatch, goldfinch, house finch, cardinals,carolina wren,red bellied woodpecker,hairy woodpecker, and American crow :)

Robin in Virginia said...

What is the color that outlines the purple flower at the top? That might work for the black.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Robin in Virginia

Susan said...

I totally forgot about the bird count until late the morning. I am horrible at changing colors but how about stitching Smyrna crosses in the heart color around the eyelets? Won't pop as much but would add some more texture.

Cath said...

Maybe a rich burgundy would do instead of the black ?

Barb said...

I was thinking maybe a nice cream would look good. Not sure. Maybe the purple would also look good. I just rarely stitch with purple .

Lee said...

My choice would be a monochrome one, it needs to be a dark colour if it is in place of black a darker colour in the same family DMC 3685 is the darkest in this group another to consider DMC 902 however if you want a purple DMC 154 is neither black or purple. I agree black seems to be too strong tyy out some colours on the edge of your fabric first will save the frustration of frogging. good luck

Bianca said...

My suggestion was going to be a purple also. I can't wait to see what you pick :)

Annette-California said...

Question for you? What DMC number is the purple in the flower on the very top? I have my DMC colour chart and have been studying your main question. Let me know and I'm taking in mind also what Lee suggested all at the same time. love Annette

Athena at Minervas Garden said...

It sounds like you have experienced stitchers weighing in on the floss color change question--I wouldn't have a clue, so glad they are here to help! And I always forget about the bird count--I'd like to participate but keep forgetting. I must write it down in my garden calendar to help me remember for next year. You had quite a variety of birds on your list. And what beautiful kitties--how do your other cats handle it when you introduce new felines? I think ours would not be very polite if left to their own devices.

Athena at Minervas Garden said...

And I just clicked on your link, and I see that the bird count is going through tomorrow, so I may be able to participate yet!