This week is the week that I was to be happily traveling in the rv to visit stitching buddies in Louisiana. The windshield wiper switch for the rv has yet to be found. Slide out has yet to be fixed. I have yet to have "rv fun'.

My stitching buddies are all gathered, stitching away, exchanging tips and tricks as well as excellent gossip. :)

Not to totally miss out, webcams are in use both here and there. I'm now living on the net. Yesterday was our first trial run and it went great.

The hostess of the gathering ran out and got a webcam yesterday just so I could be included  but expressed concern that she'd never have use for it again. Fear not.. I'm sure I won't be able to make future gatherings due to rv breakdowns. The rv will surely provide many opportunities for me to stay at home.

In any event, the project I'm currently stitching is Unicorn Love.

Artwork by Ruth Sanderson (chart no longer distributed - currently retired).
Designed By: Michele Sayetta
Company: Heaven and Earth Designs - Copyright: 2005
350w X 274h Stitches
Size: 25 Count, 2 threads over 1, 14w X 10-7/8h in

Hard to see but I used 6lb fishing line to grid the fabric. It should pull out cleanly when finished. Heck.. probably rot out by the time I finish. Pictured above represents my stitching to date and it is literally thousands of stitches.

If anyone has the retired Ruth Sanderson's  Spring cross stitch chart as charted by Heaven and Earth Designs, please let me know.

I stayed an extra day at a commercial rv park so a mobile rv mechanic could look over some wiring issues. He was suppose to be here six hours ago. Guess he is a no show. Amazing, I'm so use to crap service, I'm not even surprised or angry.

Friday, the correct numbers were pulled off the rv's windshield wiper motor. Cattle prodded all day but by the close of the business week.. no parts had be found... or better stated, no communication stating the parts had been found.

I'm going home and waiting it out there. Naturally, thundershowers are called for.

I lost this round of rv repair hell.

Thursday - Rv is returned from mobile rv service to my house. Electrical issues resolved. Slide out repaired. Step well cover modified so it wouldn't split/crack when used. Winegard HD antenna add on put on. Repairs paid for in full.

Friday - Day of departure. Electrical problems not resolved. Slide out screeeeeeches metal to metal. Mobile rv repair returns. Gives up on slide out - reschedule for repair on return. Electrical issues resolved....or was at least thought to be.

Friday afternoon - hours late due to last minute repairs but arrive at Ho Hum RV Park before dark since it was so close. Pay for my week stay on the beach there.

Saturday - Hotter than hell. Beach is rocky, dirty sand, brown water. Not suitable for swimming. Circuits blowing through out the park.

Somewhere along this time frame -  Monday appointment with Freightliner in Tallahassee was made.

Sunday - Shake and Bake. Wouldn't return to this park unless I had a boat. Perfect for fishing but not for swimming. Advise office I will be leaving early. No refunds. Given a three day voucher for a return trip that I will never make.

Monday - RV won't start. Good Sam Emergency Road Service called. Four to five hours later - help arrives. Roast toasted to the max - sweating bullets.. 100 plus degrees in the shade.

Miss morning appointment with Freightliner but late in the day, they get to my rv. Replace chasis batteries and charge huge diagnostic fees for electrical issues. None found other than batteries. At closing time, sent out the door.. all smiles.. except for the bill. They agree to order windshield wiper motor that no one else would.

One to two miles later - middle of highway - complete loss of power to engine. No lights. Dead.  Called Good Sam ERS and was put on hold until only one bar left on cell phone. Called 911. Police, stress, traffic.. tears, heat. Police can't wait for Good Sam to answer phone so tow was at my expense back to Freightliner.

Tuesday - Spent previous evening in Freightliner parking lot running generator on/off every other hour to conserve propane. Went into Freightliner waiting room to spend the day. More huge diagnostic fees. Was told previous work elsewhere had left too many loose wires.. so on and so on. Cables crimped, tightened, wires secured.. another huge bill. Windshield wiper motor still needs to be ordered so I go to local rv park to wait.

Wednesday - About this time, I notice the step cover for the step well only works if the door is open. Totally useless. Also notice that the tv antenna switch box no longer has power. Tv now totally useless. Hadn't had time to check tv since leaving house so hadn't noticed. Freightliner having trouble locating windshield wiper motor. I give them an internet resource that looks hopeful.

Thursday - a week has past.. and the fun continues. Call another mobile rv repair person to see if they can come out and restore power to my tv switch box. They might be able to come out Friday or Saturday. In the meantime. .. Freightliner advises that the number they pulled for the windshield wiper motor was the wrong one and therefore having an exceptionally hard time locating a motor. I make an appointment unhook the rv and drive to them Friday morning.. to repull windshield wiper motor.. take all numbers. Wonder if they will let me take digital pics as well. Hope to get back to the park in time for possible mobile rv repair.

I am flat broke.

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The title isn’t a typo.. its HAED and it stands for Heaven and Earth Designs. I have purchased a few of these beautiful cross stitch charts but until now, not have have gotten around to starting one.

I recently finished the flamingos – Sea of Pink by Jane Netley Mayhew (Cross Stitch Safari book and/or issue 125 of World of Cross Stitching Magazine).

This project was sort of a warm up to starting a HAED. So far, I have not been having a lot of fun with this as with all things new, there are things you need to try and sometimes fail to learn your own path.

For this project, I am using the Needlework System 4 floor stand with scroll rods. Well… drats.. there is not one set of scroll rods in the house long enough for this project as I opted not to cut off excess fabric. I thought I could load it up on a belt frame that scrolls side to side but all that fabric required an uncomfortable set up. Soooooooooooo.. 30 inch scroll rods are on order.  That size should handle anything I may want to do now or in the future. Hopefully they will arrive near the same time that the floor magnifier arrives.

I am currently using a flexible magnifier attached to the floor frame. The design rarely has more than two or three stitches of the same color before flipping the frame, moving magnifier, and changing threads. Flip frame back over, readjust magnifier, stitch two more.. and repeat. This isn’t working out too well… at least at this point of the pattern where there are so many color changes. Stitchers call this confetti stitches.

Being frugal, I didn’t order a mega buck floor magnifier but went with the Mighty Bright 12 LED Lighted Magnifier Floor Lamp. Its “never need changing bulbs” will burn out in 100,000 hours which is a major down side but the UP side is that it runs on AC –or- 3 D batteries. Perfect for the rv (,if rv ever gets out of the shop). Living in the land of hurricanes, the battery option has other appeal as well.

The plan is to put the floor magnifier on a rolling plant stand.. just like I have my lamp.  Yep.. frugal and innovative.

The scroll rods, the magnifier.. weren’t the only issues with starting my first HAED. The great debate on how many stitches per inch and how many threads per stitch  killed many an hour and is still creating doubts. Currently, I’m still sticking with the suggested 25 stitches per inch (that’s 625 per square inch) with two threads of floss per stitch. Everyone does it differently, so it seems and all say “do it to taste”. Since this is my first HAED.. I have no idea what “my taste” will be. Its sort of hard to tell even with about 600 stitches in.

All this probably sounds like a hassle.. but trust me, if you have ever seen a HAED (not a pic.. but the actual stitched project), you’ll instantly see why they have so many fans. How one does more than one of these in a lifetime is beyond me though. The end results are heirloom tapestries that one can hope will be treasured through the generations.

Here are my humble beginnings of HAED - Ruth Sanderson - Unicorn Love..about 600 stitches. It will be a very very very long time before one will be able to “see” anything.

Pattern Name: Unicorn Love - Sanderson
Designed By: Michele Sayetta
Company: Heaven and Earth Designs
Copyright: 2005
Fabric: Linen or Evenweave 25, White
350w X 274h Stitches
Size: 25 Count, 14w X 10-7/8h in

When the Hubble Space Telescope gets retired, I wonder if I could buy it for home use. I need it to see the itsy bitsy stitches on my latest cross stitch project.

I have glasses with attached magnifiers for stitching. I have magnifiers that clamp on to this and that. I have the full arsenal except for a free standing floor magnifier. That will change soon. Actually not THAT soon as I opted for the “free shipping” which means any time this year – if lucky.

Yesterday, mechanics were looking at my rv. No report back yet. Probably won’t hear anything until there is a hand sticking out with a bill attached. Once again, I’ll be the stimulus package that this industry was looking for.

Just like getting hit with a taser, you can only stimulate so much before the subject totally quits moving. I’m hardly moving at this point. To top it off, the rv needs an oil change - so there goes another two to three hundred bucks. Yep, the thrill of diesel ownership never ends.

Course.. I need to save up for the needed new tires.. all six huge expensive bus tires. When does the rv fun begin?

Yesterday, I rode twenty miles on my trike. It was great. Just because  I bragged that this had no physical challenge for me, this morning I crawled out of bed.. in agony.. .. a very long crawl to the meds. I’m still crawling.

May have to make a deal with Maya, my pixel Fitness Coach, that on days that I do long rides, no work outs. The combination apparently triggers the warning signals of a RA/Fibro flare.

I don’t normally post specific things about family or friends as I feel its up to them if they want their private life plastered all over the net. However, my brother has been over seas for the last year and is coming home this week. He called today and in passing, mentioned he read my blog. Weird.. I never think anyone is actually reading this. I’m just doing finger exercises.

When brother dearest has had time to power nap and rest up.. I’ll shall introduce him to my Journey bicycle. I paid top dollar, had every accessory possible added.. and discovered that I like to shop entirely too much to haul stuff home on anything less than my trike. However, the Journey bike is extremely comfortable and even my out of shape brother should be able to ride mile after mile even on his first time out. (My brother is just going to love that comment about being out of shape – and that is an example why one shouldn’t mention family and friends on the net).

So my brother will be riding this…..in total comfort

While I ride and haul half of Wal-Mart home with this.

Oh.. on the battle of getting a gate pass for my trike from the home owner’s association.. the pass was granted but once attached to the custom metal plate on the trike’s basket, a bolt hindered proper reading of the bar codes. Yesterday, I got the basket back, bolt moved.. and now need to get back to the home owner’s office to get a new gate pass sticker put on. The last one was destroyed in the process of moving the bolt.

I’m happy that a pass was issued so I could stay off the main highway for three miles and ride safely (,in theory) through my neighborhood to a back gate that adjoins a bike lane. However, it has been months in getting this resolved and in that time.. I’ve become pretty darn use to just riding on the highway whenever and where ever I want. The back gate isn’t always the best route for me. Until forced out on to the street by non access to the back gate, I didn’t realize the full potential of other options. What I originally viewed as a bad thing, wasn’t that bad at all.

Once I get the gate pass actually on the trike, I shall happily use the back gate but only when it is indeed my best route. My neighborhood just voted in a $250.00 fine for any use of the back gate other than by bar coded passes… which would mean most bicycles. I don’t see many neighbors riding outside of the neighborhood so I’m not sure who the new rule/fine is directed at. While waiting for resolution for my gate pass dilemma.. I was a good neighbor and clogged up three miles of highway daily.

My brother’s bike won’t have a gate pass. Bet the neighbors will soon be concerned about just how many bike riding friends and family I have. When the concern is enough to get a bike lane put in, - my work will be done.