Friday, January 27, 2012

What would be wrong with a blue snowman?

This is the question I asked myself earlier tonight as I hung up the phone after talking with Selma, the staff counselor who answered my call when I dialed the suicide prevention hotline.  As you may have already guessed I dialed their number after having another visit with Frosty.

I was sure Frosty had learned his lesson after me giving him the silent treatment for a few days.  I have had other things on my mind this week which for some reason prevented me from stitching.  Okay, my FOFS (Fear of Frosty Syndrome) is what prevented me.  However, tonight I decided to be brave & meet with him again.

I have, of course, been blaming Frosty for my inability to happily stitch him.  I told myself it was Frosty's fault that my white threads weren't full & lustrous like the colored threads but instead thin as strands of hair.  It was Frosty's fault when these threads knotted & twisted.  It was Frosty's fault when I began my stitching in the wrong place & had to go back & rip it all out.  It was Frosty's fault when I saw colors on the white threads that shouldn't be there.

The colors on the white threads especially bothered me.  At first I thought I was picking up floss lint from Frosty's green scarf which I had decided to stitch before starting the body.  I lost count of how many times I went back & took out rows of stitching, certain that the green shading I was seeing mixed in with my white floss was appearing from my white floss brushing against the green floss, picking up green floss lint as it did & carrying it through my white stitches.  After several rips & restarts I decided to rip out the green floss & begin the body area with nothing but the white.  After two attempts at this & still seeing that green hue amongst the white threads I decided that green floss lint must be hiding in the holes of the linen & adhering to the white threads ... & here's where I felt I was really on to something!  I took a piece of tape & gently tapped around the areas where the green floss had been prior to my taking it out.  Loading my needle with virgin white floss I then began to stitch Frosty's body anew but then wait ... what did I see?  You guessed it ... green shading in the white stitches.  Rip-rip-rip ... tape-tape-tape ... begin again & then ARGH!!!  Green shading in the white stitches again & again & again!!!

Now ... Frosty's head gave me no trouble whatsoever.  I was happy with it my first time stitching it.  No odd color shading amongst the white fibers.  Frosty's head is, well, white as snow!  I then looked at the white floss itself.  It's what the designer calls for ... GAST Shaker White.  The word "shaker" got my attention & I did some research, & in my research I discovered that the English word "shaker" is taken from the Latin word "shaker" which, interesting enough, means to shake colored paint dust over white embroidery floss in order to have it show colors that shouldn't be there.  Okay ... I didn't really find that information in my research but I bet it's true nonetheless!  What other possible explanation can there be?  GAST floss is a 6-ply floss which has been precut into 36" lengths.  Each card of floss consists of 5 of these lengths.  Apparently the floss I used for Frosty's head ... & the snowflakes as well ... must have somehow been placed on my card before being shaken upon.

So we now return to my original question ... what would be wrong with a blue snowman?  There can be blue snow ... or what appears to our eyes to be blue snow ... because of the snow reflecting more of the blue light from the sun's white light.  So again I ask ... what would be wrong with a blue snowman?  Or a brown one for that matter ... a primitive looking snow dude!  A snowman could be yellow after being visited by a pack of dogs but I don't think I'd want to stitch that picture.  Why not a gray snowman?  When I was a little girl growing up in Pittsburgh in the late 50s/early 60s ... long before the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency ... we had black snow from time to time.  I think it had something to do with the pollution from the multitude of steel mills mixing with those big, fat, fluffy flakes of Prozac that I love so much & thus we ended up with black snow.  I don't know this for a fact but it sounds plausible to me & it could certainly back up my decision to stitch a black snowman.

I have decided to continue stitching Frosty tomorrow even though his white body is going to have this funky green hue here & there & people are going to think I'm a pathetic stitcher who doesn't know diddly squat about keeping colored floss fibers out of white floss.  Ah well ... we'll know the truth, won't we   : )

15 comments:

TheCrankyCrow said...

Oh heavens to Betsy!!! I am so far behind in Blogging I don't even know where to start anymore - and I haven't looked at your previous post - but I just got home from a very "intense" class discussion on the differences between void, voidable, unenforceable, bilateral, unilateral, executed, executory, quasi and implied-in-fact contracts and I'm spent - popped on the computer to check emails and saw it had signed me out of blogger so I signed back in and glanced at the recent posts and saw "suicide prevention hotline" and had to check in on you. Oh my heck!!! You have me giggling so bad I've woken up the whole house!! I especially love your research results on "shaker..." But, the saddest/funniest part is that I would be doing the exact same thing you are....Thanks for making me laugh about it. (And I mean gut-wrenching, belly-laughing....oh - I so needed that....) Will catch up with you soon Sweetie - I hope! Happy Friday....(Spank Frosty for me...) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

Kaisievic said...

HI Shirlee - you had me worried there for a minute or two but good luck with Frosty whatever colour he turns into!

Hugs, Kaye xoxox

Michelle said...

Yes you had me really worried also - phew glad you are ok and don't worry about Frosty it will be fine I am sure xx

Siobhán said...

I think your Frosty will look great, no matter what hue he might have in addition to white! I have a few pieces that have this very curly synthetic red fiber woven here and there in it. I have no idea where this red fiber comes from--I have dark brown hair (okay, and some gray...) and The Fluffinator is brown, black & white, my clothes are not red...?? But hey, whatever, it makes it mine. ;)

Trace4J said...

SHIRLEEE!!!!
You had me packing for KY!lol
You and Frosty really need to have a sit down and become better friends.
Love& HUGS silly Friend
Trace

www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

Vickie said...

I am telling you, I am having the same problems with B5200 DMC and my white poodles. I am not frogging anymore. It is staying. They are not pristine, it drives me mental, I must move on! :)

Tricia T said...

LOL, Shirlee! It's ok. Stitchers will just realize that you used overdyed thread, which is supposed to make splotchy snowmen. And other people will be so amazed that you cross stitch at all that they won't have time to think about it! : ) You need to apologize to Frosty now, since he's had his body torn out a number of times, and then you two need to play nice!! ; ) Can't wait to see him finished!!!

~*Sharee*~ said...

Your too funny, my "Frosty" has a tint of blue from the GAST thread hun, don't panic. Just relax and let him know whose boss!! That's what we have to do to the men in our lives once in a while...LOL

Hugs, Shar

Patty C. said...

Roflol
Snowmen are awesome no matter what color.

Friendship Crossing said...

What fun we have reading your posts! I think you should just call him a 'primitive' snowman and leave it at that~LOL

Can't wait to see what he looks like when finished!

Tanya

cucki said...

oh dear..count me in..i am having the same problem with this white thread..
sending you strong hugs..i wish i am there than we can both sort this snowman out :)
love you xx

marly said...

I think you've handled this pretty well, all things considered. I would have burned him, melted his butt. I wonder if the hot line ever had a stitchy situation before.

Maggee said...

I have boycotted using white thread for years, because it is definitely thinner. That is because it has had extra dyeing or washing to remove the color from it--wears on the threads or something. Anyway, I didn't like how the stitches wouldn't lay on the piece... However, I did a few smalls this winter and we made up! I had to be away from it a while. I was wondering... were you wearing green clothing and it was Reflecting on your stitching??? I hope you remedy your angst soon! Hugs, Maggee

bettyj said...

I had already started up the interstate and thought I better turn around read the whole post before I traveled. I think it is your snowman, if you want to do him in purple yu can. Instead of yellow from dogs it could be purple from polk berry eating birds. I had a good laugh with this one.

Sandi @ The Primitive Skate said...

Oh my Goodness, Shirlee! I was worried there for a minute until I read the whole post.
Don't worry, frosty will look good no matter what color or shade he is. I can't wait to see him all finished! take Care!