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EmbStitcher33
13,740 M Pacing Forward 10
PathStep 167 Compassion hearts3,860 Forum posts1,367 Forum upvotes2,294 Current upvotes2,294 Age GroupAdult Last activeAugust, 2023 Member sinceFebruary 24, 2022
Bio

You can tell by my user name that I like machine embroidery. I also enjoy photography. I am grieving the recent loss of my son to cancer. He was 48. Doing a lot better these days. Thanks to all who have supported me here.


Recent forum posts
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Unusual, Rare or Special Mementos
50 & Over Community / by EmbStitcher33
Last post
 August 20th, 2022
...See more Unusual, Rare or Special Mementos Woke up this morning with this idea for a thread… It all comes from a strange gift my brother gave me a few years ago – a brick, a simple old white-ish brick. It looked old and a bit battered, but in tack. Let me tell you the story of a country tavern in the middle of nowhere. The closest small town is about four miles away. I know because I once missed the bus and my mother made me walk all the way to school by myself. I think I was about 10 years old. Yeah, mom’s don’t let that happen any more. My dad wanted to get out of the big city and live in the country. He was born into a farming family in Iowa. He found this little tavern and bought it and some of the land surrounding it. I think our mother was a bit angry at first but she warmed up to it. This tavern stayed in our family until the day they tore it down. We moved there in 1959. It was torn down some time in the 2000s. Memories for me abound there… ~ remember walking in the woods with our dad ~ remember collecting empty pop and beer bottles to take in for the 2 cent deposit ~ remember the old house that we turned into our playhouse…there were all these tables in it… ~ remember grandpa bartending, his hearty laugh that made everyone feel welcome ~ remember the tavern light that was off from a distance that shouldn’t have been off ~ remember being in the back seat of the car when our mother pulled into the parking lot, grandpa running out of the front tavern door after my brother who was shouting something hysterically ~ it’s strange I don’t remember who exactly told me that my dad was killed in an accident that day but I remember sitting at the bar in a horrible dark haze, it was one of the only few times I was allowed to sit there... ~ I remember my brother and I taking long walks in the woods before our mother got up after dad died…we knew she’d find some reason to holler at us for something so we just left and didn’t care what she did to us…we needed to go find some peace for ourselves, and we did Anyway, the brick my brother gave me was a brick from our old tavern… below is a picture I took of the tavern before it was tore down. (My daughter is in the picture, but you can’t really make out her features…and this was taken over 18 years ago). Our uncle Phillip bought the tavern from our mother and kept it going until the day he died. Lots more memories around this old tavern but I’ll save them for another time. The point of this thread is to share old mementos. You can tell us about them or post a picture. For some reason I can’t find my brick. It’s here somewhere…can’t find it right now. If I do stumble across it, I’ll snap a picture and share it here. So – Do you have a strange memento you’d like to share? And, the other part of this thread is – What kind of strange, rare or special memento would you like to pass on? I’ll start by sharing something I stitched out that’s pretty strange… I enjoy listening to Bigfoot, or Sasquatch stories on YouTube, especially if I’m feeling down. Some can really sound out there. But I don’t care about the validity of the stories. I just want something interesting to listen to. So, what do yah got out there? Looking forward to seeing what y'all come up with! 😀
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EmbStitcher33's Hobby Journal
Hobby Zone / by EmbStitcher33
Last post
 January 1st, 2023
...See more Been thinking about this for a while. One of the hobbies I have is obvious. I love to embroider. For me now, it's machine embroidery. I have a Brother PE800 so I can make designs up to 5 x 7. There are many, many machines out there to choose from. This is the one I use. Yeah, I would love to get one that does bigger designs but they start at about $1200 or more. So, I'll stick with this one for now. My hope is maybe I can get into this a little more and go sell my designs at flea markets or local craft fairs. It's been just to hot to sit out in the sun these last couple of months. Don't want to make a lot of money, just want to make enough to buy a machine that will do 6 x 10 or bigger designs. NOPE, can't give you any ideas about who I am or where I sell. All you can do here is PUSH ME to keep going. [I like the anonymity. It protects us all.] I have done some designs with lettering... here's one... I like the idea of accountability! I will post most of the designs that I finish here... well, at least the ones that turn out Then again, maybe even some of the flops to get ideas from any of you who might have some ideas. One of my latest projects was for my little sister's wedding vow renewal ceremony coming up this next weekend. No, can't go but I absolutely let her know how much I love her and how happy I am for both of them with the things I made and sent her. All in all... I came pretty close to half a million stitches for them...lol 😜 Here's the first one I sent her: So proud of that one. Purple is my little sister's favorite color. And I sent her these... There were more like this... 6 in all. Plus I made her a wedding cake pincushion: Yup, purple again... lol. When she opened up the last pkg I sent her, she let me watch her do it online. It was so cool to see her reaction. My BIGGEST challenge with this hobby I must confess is making good on a huge investment that I'm making monthly payments on. I bought digitizing software. I bought all but the highest level of this software starting last year. A few months ago I decided to take the plunge and get the last/highest level. I've got 3 more monthly payments to go. It's a 600 dollar investment just for this level so I'm turning to you guys to make me stick with my original goal to make my own designs. The funny thing is... I'm sitting here with this wonderful program, and I bought a good book, plus I have online tutorials also that I can do FREE. Darn if I'm not overwhelmed and sitting here like a deer in headlights... lmbo... 😭 😂😝😁😜 I have wonderful talent. I can do this. I just have to get OVER MYSELF and just DO IT!! So, I'm looking for some people here to help me stick to this wonderful hobby... I've done some wonderful things in the past. It will mean I will have to dust off my drawing skills, (I have some how to's for that too). In high school I made this awesome foot vase... I got an A-. When I asked the teacher why the minus, he said looking at it made him wonder where the rest of him was...lol. It was really a well done foot in white. Everybody in class loved it. I have other hobbies too that I use to take a break from my machine embroidery. Photography is one. I have a super nice Canon 60D. I've had other SLRs but we got this one when the stimulus checks were being sent out. I also am an amateur radio operator. I can't give you my handle cause you can look up my exact location online with it. The reason behind that is because in a natural disaster, you can be called up to help out. I've done a lot of weather spotting in the past. Not sure how much I want to do now since we've moved, but it's something I can do if I want to. I also have a Cricut and a Brother Scan n Cut. These are for paper crafts. My Cricut can cut fabric, leather and some thin wood. They've been on my shelf for about a year now. I could use them to cut out appliques for my embroidery. Will see. Here's a picture of some paper flowers that I made in 2020: I also like to grow herbs and flowers... use to have 2 community garden plots when we lived in Wisconsin. I LOVED that garden. I'll post some pictures now and then to show you. I was proud of myself for the times I went there with our beach umbrella and spent hours weeding the paths for the garden. I made sure that the first path people saw coming into the garden was tidy. I miss it so much. I also like to take my pictures and make graphics with quotes to bring a smile, encourage or support people. You'll see some of my graphics in the affirmation thread here somewhere. I know I've posted this one place before, but maybe for the purpose of showing it as one of my hobbies... you will indulge me... here's one of my most resents: I also crochet and for years I did cross-stitch. I have this one pattern I'm trying to conquer...lol. Yeah, that's how it feels. Maybe some of you can give me some tips on how to read this pattern. It's an amazing octopus I would love to make for my granddaughters. I'll post a picture of it later... So, there you go. This is the start of my hobby journal. I'm looking forward to who I can share 'mutual inspiration' with!! I'll leave you with one more design that I did that I hope will make you smile:
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How Not To Loose Stuff
50 & Over Community / by EmbStitcher33
Last post
 August 18th, 2022
...See more I've read a couple posts in different places today and I wanted to start a thread for solutions to 'loosing your stuff' - like your keys, your phone, your favorite pen... add to the list. 😄 My own solution was to establish a 'home' for any particular thing. Like my purse LIVES on a hook on the back of my door. My keys LIVE in a the pouch in the back of my purse, etc. etc. When you get done using a particular item, 'take it home.' What are your personal solutions for not loosing your stuff, or share your funny stories of lost then found... One suggestion I found today: “If you want to know how not to lose things, never put anything away when you are stressed.” Read the second article on this page to find out more about this quote & More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/how-not-to-lose-things-three-techniques-for-keeping-track-of-your-stuff/2018/02/14/3541821c-086c-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html The first one is good too.
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Finding motivation to move more on a daily basis.
50 & Over Community / by EmbStitcher33
Last post
 August 12th, 2022
...See more Okay, I give. I need help with motivation to get my body up and moving through out the day. I've got this project going that I'm passionate about that keeps me sedentary. Probably too much. If you have personal goals or things you've done that have helped you, please share them. And, what are your favorite affirmations for motivation to move and exercise? Thank you in advance.
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Grandma separated from family needs support for grief and mAnissing grands...
50 & Over Community / by EmbStitcher33
Last post
 March 27th, 2022
...See more David and I moved down here almost 5 years ago because of his COPD and because of 2 grandsons how were adopted out of our family. We get to see them from time to time, but really - not that much. The rest of the family is 9 driving hours away. Since the pandemic started back toward the in of 2019, I haven't see any of my family in person. Then, last month my son died of cancer. Was expected but that doesn't take away the pain of loss. And my grandsons here, just lost their adoptive father. Nice man...we met him. Just not in a good place right now. Know very few people in the area... Back in 2020 I made face masks for the school district and the small hospital here. So I have reached out. Not a total introvert. How are you guys dealing with isolation? Keeping in touch...
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