finish – Page 2 – On Beads and Needles

Of Chatelaines and Other Amusements

Well, here we are at the end of yet another year, and as bad as 2020 was, I can’t say 2021 was much better. On the global stage, the world is currently embroiled in a catharsis unlike any previous; civil liberties are being lost on an unprecedented scale, all in the name of “safety”, as the plandemic continues. Division is being pushed by the talking heads, and the indoctrination of the last 30-40 years is finally coming to light. Is it too late to sort out? I don’t know. I just find it so hard to believe that we (the world) have lost all we had gained from the lessons of the past. I could go on with a poli-sci lecture, but I won’t bother – there are too many out there who do it better than I do, and in the proper forum, which this is not. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging back to center for a bit.

On the local front, this year has been quite the roller coaster; weddings, funerals, workplace changes, and just for fun, the never ending construction right out front that was 24/7 over the summer, making sleep impossible. I was officially promoted to the job I’ve been doing for a couple of years and officially stopped the job I’d kinda been doing off and on during that time (which I still do as it suits me and my current duties). We had managerial shifts that had me juggling a department as co-interim babysitter for a while, which was a huge PITA. Get rid of one hat, pick up another, even if temporarily. I am a permanent work-from-homer now, since I don’t actually deal with anyone here, so that is pretty awesome. But – kinda hard to justify a shiny new Mustang if I’m not driving anywhere. I do NOT miss driving in Atlanta traffic on I-85. We did buy boats this year, though – yes, plural. Bought DH a john boat for Father’s day, bought a 20′ cuddy during the summer, and then DH sold his john boat and bought a full size bass boat. So guess where he is when he’s not working? Out on the Most Haunted Lake in the World, chasing the Big One.

We have a new family member – Little Kid got married in August! We got Big Kid home from Spain (with 36 hours to spare, I might add – good to see things haven’t changed much in the 30 years since I was active), and headed to Gettysburg, PA, for a great week, doing touristy things and being part of our son and daughter’s celebration.

The Gettysburg battlefield was a pretty sobering experience; having never been there before, and with our current turmoil, it seems like maybe it ought to be required viewing for everyone who encourages division.

My kids lost their last remaining grandparent in November; my mother passed away just a few weeks after I’d been up to see her. I hope she is at peace and with my brother.

And of course, I stitched through it all – a lot of stress stitching, some deadlines, and actually managed some finishes and finish-finishes! I said last year that I wanted to work through 1 rotation of all of my Chatelaine WIPs before I started another; I didn’t quite make my goal, but I definitely got close, and that works for me 🙂

When I last posted, I had started the 2006 Advent Snowflake; that got done shortly after that post – with more beads than were charted, as I had predicted:

2006 Snowflake by Martina Weber/Chatelaine. On 28ct lugana in Snowstorm from Silkweaver. Miles of silver PTB, DMC, delicas & 4mm bicones.

My next project was Desert Mandala, which was really good to get back to – the colors were just what I needed to get through the January/February drearies. I got the top totem done, as well as the sunset corners and upper borders. The backstitching in the bear was very difficult to see on the chart, so it may or may not be customized 🙂

Desert Landscape Mandala, on 28ct Desert Sky lugana from Silkweaver.

Next, I worked on Hummingbird Lace. I needed to fix the purple hummer that blended in with my fabric, so I added a bit of contrasting backstitch to him, and now he stands out much better. I got the entire inner border completed, including delicas, and got one of the inner lace corners in; that lace bit was riddled with frogs, so that was my indication to put it away again.

Hummingbird Lace, Sparkly Hummingbird, whatever is the “official” name of this mandala. On a custom-dyed 28ct jobelan.

Next, I broke out Deep Blue Sea and did 2 sections (it being the smallest one I have going, 2 sections are pretty quick). Sea horsies, jellyfish, fishies, starfish and kelp! And check out the scallop-shaped stitches on the outer corner! How fun is that?

Deep Blue Sea on 28ct Surf hand painted jobelan from Sunny Dyes fabrics.

I had to take a small break and do a ring bearer’s pillow for the happy couple – you know how I am with those last minute ideas (though this was not entirely last minute – I did plan for it as soon as I knew when it was needed). JBW Designs, pink silk, navy and pink delicas, and pretty damn close to a perfect match to her pink – not bad for having to look her dresses up online and pick from 7-8 silks that I had to audition. I sent the completed stitching to my friend Tricia, who made it into a pillow for me (yeah, not even going to try to sew something this important – me & straight lines aren’t on good terms most of the time). I added a bit of simple lace to finish it up, and the tiny ring bearer did a good job (there were decoy rings on the pillow, the Best Man had the real ones)!

Wedding Pillow, on 28ct white lugana. center modified to add their initials over-1.

Back to the Chatelaines – next came Japanese Zen Moss Garden. The center sand part bogged me down when I started it – I never stop before finishing the center section! But I got the center done, and half of the next inner ring of blues.

Japanese Zen Moss Garden, on 28ct jobelan in Shimmering Pools from HDF by Stephanie.

I needed a break from Chatelaines for a bit, so broke out Growth Rings – my all-bead version – for about 10 days and did a pretty good chunk on it. Next time I get in Finish It mode, this will be near the top of the list.

Ink Circles’ Growth rings, in 2 Delica bead mixes, on 28ct white lugana.

I also did some framing – I had to get 2 done to go to PA with us, so I could get them to their recipients without fear of breakage during shipping – has the USPS NOT destroyed any package recently? Passing Saturn for my great nephew, and mermaid Cara Mia for my great niece. Not shown – a purple bookmark for another great-niece

By the time we got back from PA, I was definitely ready for fall, and Halloween stuff just started yelling at me. So I cranked out Halloween Cat by Satsuma Street in record time:

Halloween Cat by Satsuma Street, on a custom dyed 32ct linen from Silkweaver.

Halloween wasn’t done there – when I got the Halloween tree out, it needed some new Mill Hill ornies, so I did some:

All but one were done & on the tree; the green sugar skull is a good conference call project, up to the beads.

And the Halloween itch still wasn’t scratched, so I broke my deal with myself – but in a good way. I started – and finished – Chatelaine Halloween-y Pumpkin Mandala. I have to admit, despite it being Halloween, this was my least favorite Chatelaine to date (roughly tied with the meadow section of Mushroom & Fern Mandala that about killed me last year). Not sure what, exactly, but didn’t really enjoy the Caron Wildflowers used for the blackwork pumpkins – too thick, kind of obscured the fact that they are pumpkins, but even though i had the same color in silk, I decided not to swap it out, hoping it’d all pull together in the end. I also probably should have used a shade or two lighter fabric, to help those details stand out. But, it’s done and I’m happy with the end result, it’s just not my favorite Chat.

Halloween-y Pumpkin Mandala, on 30ct Purple Rain from WDW. I added a few Swarovskis – it needed more 🙂

THAT fixed me for Halloween. Halloween Cat got framed, but I don’t seem to have taken a pic of it; the mandala may be framed in time for next Halloween.

Next on the Chatelaine countdown, Winter Watergarden. I needed some lighter colors after all the dark Halloween stitching. I managed to get two blackwork corners done, and 2 of the over-1 cardinals. These cardinals are a lot pinker than I thought they would be, but from a distance, they work.

Winter Watergarden Mandala, on 28ct Frozen Fractals opal lugana from HDF by Stephanie.

So I managed to finish 2 small Chats, and worked through a rotation on 5 of the 7 big ones I have going. Not bad! Those, coupled with the other pieces I did, feels like a LOT of stitching; again, lots of stress stitching gong on this year. And that’s not all! I also whipped up a couple of Christmas presents for my sisters, again Mill Hill kits. And then did a very last minute gift for the newlyweds, who don’t have a Christmas tree yet, but when they do, they will have a Christmas Pickle to put on it 🙂

Colonial Jamestown Santa, Celtic Scotland Santa, Pickle

When I went to see my mother, I took some finished pieces for my sister to see – she wants a piece or two to hang in her house. My Birds of a Feather SAL and Celtic Banner will get framed and go to her, along with a By The Bay WIP I’ve had, which matches her decor so perfectly, it’s a little bit spooky – she has a print that is very similar, so I wonder if BTB is a fan of that particular artists too? I finished Meadow Hills a few weeks ago. There are a couple of other pieces I am doing for her – have a hank of black silk from Silks4U for some motif samplers, either a Long Dog or a Vierlanden from Wiehenburg that I have, in red & black. My LD Pandemic red is the wrong red for her house, so that one will stay here (and who knows, maybe get finished).

Meadow Hills from By The Bay, on 28ct Star Sapphire jobelan.

As I was wrapping up Meadow Hills, Snow Queen was hollering at me – it was pretty cold around Thanksgiving, so was in the mood for winter-ish designs. NOTE: I still despise winter. I worked the dress down to the border that contains the Wisper – I blew if off as long as I could, but ended up finishing this section, including the Wisper, before I needed to move on. This thing is HUGE, I haven’t even touched the reindeer yet. And I’m really itching to get beads on it, but as many bugles as are on it, I will probably wait until the end and do them all at once, since bugles aren’t scroll-friendly.

Nora Corbett’s Snow Queen, on 28ct Changeling jobelan from HDF by Stephanie. The Wisper will be fluffed after I get the beads on it, so I don’t miss any.

And with that, I thought I deserved a New Year’s start, a few days early. I was patiently waiting for Martina to finish her Elizabethan mandala when she unexpectedly passed away. Knowing the design wasn’t finished – no instructions for backstitch or any of the specialty stitches or crystal call outs/placement – I bought it anyway. I got the kit from ECC, got a yard of Colonial Parchment jobelan from HDF by Stephanie right before she stopped carrying jobelan (why oh why did my favorite dyer stop carrying my favorite fabric? Fiberlicious it is from here on out, I guess). I figured I’d better get Elizabeth going while I’ve got the brain power to make the choices I’m going to have to make; the way the chart was delivered, takes a lot of back & forth between pages to get it figured out, and it has a lot of too-faint-to-print stuff in it, so I’ve actually had to work on my work computer’s 27″ monitors to blow the flesh-tone over-1 charts up so I could get the middle section started. Way too many flesh tones in this (like 12-14? A lot), but I think you get an idea who it’s supposed to be (if you know English monarchy history at all) even without the ruff and bodice – with seed pearls no less – done yet:

And that is a year’s worth of stitching! Still to see daylight – Tuscany Town Mandala and Mushroom & Fern Mandala, which was the newest start, so good that it’ll be the last to make a rotation. I still have a good pile of Chat kits waiting in the wings – have been waiting a YEAR for 3 threads for the Gothic Arches bundle; good thing I’m fairly patient, huh? Not shown – I also did several jewelry pieces over the summer, though I don’t know why; working from home, I have nowhere to wear any of my pieces now, since fishing on the lake is strictly casual. I had not made an album for jewelry before, just because it’s kind of a don’t care if you see me in person wearing things, but someone at work in another location wanted to see some of my pieces, so I created an album and took pictures of the new stuff and the old stuff.

May 2022 be a MUCH better year than 2021 was. May the world right itself and all the hardships lessen and anger that fills the air dissipate. May calmer heads prevail, and may the propagandists get their due. In the words of one of the greatest books I’ve read, which is now one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, Fear is the Mind Killer; I think we’ve all had enough of the fear these last 2 years. Time to get back to living.

Be well, and Happy Stitching!

Edited to add a better meme that actually includes the last line – kinda important… Dune didn’t have a blue sky, but the words are what is important. If I can find a cool one on reddit again, I will swap again.

Spring Has Arrived!

At the time of this writing, the world is in the grips of the COVID-19 outbreak, WHICH IS A VIRUS THAT ORIGINATED IN WUHAN, CHINA, which makes it of Chinese Origin. It’s ALWAYS Identity Politics with some people, and actually stating that a virus originates in China is MUCH worse than the same statement about a virus that originates in the West Nile region, the Ebola River region, the Middle East’s respiratory syndrome, etc., though I have no idea why. So for all the people who like to play identity politics, I am well aware that YOU are the ONLY people who are allowed to express your opinions, which you do, loudly and frequently, and everyone one who disagrees with you is WRONG – we can’t be DIFFERENT, we can only be Right or Wrong. The only time we can be different is when using the color of someone’s skin to differentiate between victim and aggressor, which, by the way, happens to ALL colors in the right circumstances – it’s HUMAN nature, since the dawn of man. Someday, when this identity politics fades into a dark chapter in our history, I hope people realize that there are no RACES based on skin color, there are only tribes based on geography, and that we are ALL the HUMAN RACE and we ought to start acting like it. What we call it doesn’t change the fact that we are all hunkered down because of something that began in China. I hope when we come out the other side of this – and we will – this sets this country on the road to independence from that country. Unbelievable that this country allowed its leaders to put us in this position – never again. And also unbelievable the state our MSM is in – 90% should be held accountable for idiocy and panic. IF you do not believe free speech is a right, or that it only applies to YOU, feel free to never read my writing again. Strangely enough, I don’t write for YOU, I write for ME. Considering the fact that the opening paragraph of MY blog post was basically just a way for me to put the time-frame in context, which will mean something to me later when I read back on it, I don’t know why you think your opinion of it matters – you are NOT a contributing author, this is not a collaborative effort. It’s a freaking needlework blog, folks! If you read all this other stuff into it, wow, are you exhausted from all the leaping? But yet, you don’t block me on FB – why, so you can continue to share your dislike of any statement or opinion that runs contrary to yours, in a public forum where you will gain the attention you so clearly crave? So you can continue to show the world your mental and moral superiority? Piss off.

Onward and upward….

So, last time I updated, it was fall. We didn’t really have much winter this year, thankfully, though the weather has been less than desirable here because it won’t stop raining; for every day of light – I won’t say sunshine because most days that aren’t actually raining at some point are still overcast – we have 5-6 days of rain and heavy overcast. This is why I left Ohio, folks – the only state in the union that gets less measurable sunlight than Alaska. I’d like to get a garden in this year, but we have to completely overhaul the old one, which means we 1) need to be able to go buy the things we need (wood, fencing, dirt, etc.) and 2) it needs to be dry enough to be able to get up & down the hill to where the garden lives. The one day of winter we had, I will admit, was kind of pretty, though the one day was definitely enough.

In stitching news, when I last updated, I had just started Primitive Needle’s Wicked Alphabet; that was a pretty quick stitch, and I finished it before the middle of November.

I am never going to be able to get portrait photos to show correctly on this blog – tired of trying. Primitive Needle’s Wicked Alphabet, on 36ct Thunderstorm from Silkweaver, using HDF Rubbed Black and a few colors from a DD Bits Bag for the colors.

After I completed that, I decided it was time to get Secret Victorian Garden out and get her done. It took a lot longer than I thought it would, though in my defense, when the kids were here over the holidays (Big Kid +1 for Turkey Day, and both Big & Little Kids +2 for 2 weeks at Christmas), we were doing other things – Big Kid brought a bunch of games with him, so when they weren’t out – which was a lot of the time, they actually were at the house more than not – we were playing games. I thought for sure I could get SVG done by 12/31, leaving me clear for a new start on the 1st, but, I was late, by 3 days! So close! But I did finish her and these pictures will never show you the real sparkle, especially the 36 cantaloupe bicones in the center!

Secret Victorian Garden from Chatelaine. On 28ct pewter jobelan, using all but 1 called for silk (the outer border’s charted color disappeared, so I swapped for a slightly darker silk), and I swapped some of the bicones for slightly different colors, most of which were not around yet when this was designed years ago.

That blackwork corner was maddening until I found the rhythm – the last 3 corners went much faster, the 4th practically stitching itself.

I will put a few more detail shots in the SVG Flickr album, just for gee wiz 🙂

I don’t seem to have taken any photos over the holidays – hmmm, that’s a first. Well, we had them, kids all around, food to the ceiling. The Lego fairy was good to me, and DH got a new smoker and a roll around toolbox, so maybe the red handled hammer doesn’t have to live outside anymore 🙂 It was good to have all the kids here, especially as Big Kid and his fiance are off to Rota, Spain this month for a couple of years; our grand-cats are staying with us while they are away – I’m sure their pictures will make a future update 🙂

So, on the 4th of January, I was able to have a new Chatelaine start – Mushroom & Fern yelled loudest! The middle was awesome – pretty blues, a ton of beads. But then, the outer ring, called “the meadow” – wow. This was quite possibly the most difficult, labor intensive, frustrating bit of stitching I have ever done! I am not good with what is essentially free form embroidery in a counted stitch environment. And layer on top of layer. And then, French knots, 2 in the same space a regular X would occupy, so one on one thread, one on the other. I was never so glad to finish a section, holy crap! I even had a time-out, in the form of a surgery, in the middle of it; when I was recouped enough to be able to sit for any length of time, I powered through it and started the bigger inner border before I called it and put it up. It’s going to be worth it in the end, but wow, I did not enjoy that section much 🙁

Mushroom and Fern Mandala by Chatelaine. On 28ct Antique Copper jobelan, using all called for fibers and beads. Wait until you see the big crystals that go in the middle!

While I was recovering from surgery, I was able to sit for a bit and stitch with my tabletop/lap stand that I use for travel stitching. I needed something simple to work on, so I dug out my Prairie Schooler WIP from my travel bag, Bump in the Night, and finished it:

Bump in the Night by Prairie Schooler. On either 28 or 32ct Lambswool jobelan, using ye olde 3371 by the yard!

And that didn’t quite slake my thirst for PS or easy to work projects, so I did a few PS Ornies:

From the Trick or Treat Leaflet. 2/2 on 28ct Lambswool jobelan.

The two headstones are form All Hallows Eve leaflet, and the Skeleton is from Bump in the Night; these are all 1/1 on 28ct Lambswool jobelan.

And lastly, the 2nd ornie from Bump in the Night, this 2/2 on 28ct Lambswool jobelan.

I have some wool from WDW coming in my String Theory Market order to use to finish these ornies 🙂 Along with my Primitive Hare and Ink Circles haul – never going to get it all done, but it’s fun trying 🙂

When I put Mushroom & Fern up, I was really feeling the call of L&U, so I got it out, to see if I am actually able to work on it with my neuropathy; so far, it’s going okay. I have signed up for the Scarlet Quince stitching app and have been slowly transcribing the progress to date to the app. I am not sure if I will 100% convert to stitching from my tablet for this or not – I’m using it now to find the confetti, and marking it done in the app & paper both, but perhaps once I am caught up in the app with the reality, maybe I can break the paper habit. I don’t have a convenient place to put the tablet at the moment – too heavy to put on my frame, and if I easel it, and put it on the arm of the couch, that may work when I am in a fresh area and can work in landscape; right now, I need it in portrait, so I can see basically 80% of the page I’m working on. And the stupid Galaxy I’m using can’t be plugged in unless it’s flat – the cover I have it in has the charging port on the bottom and no hole in the cover to get to it – what idiot designed that? But, since it was old when I got it (my 15 year prize for work), I took what I could find. We’ll see how it pans out – I am NOT buying yet another device for this.

There were a lot of holes from the rabbit down, to the left to the instrument. Now, I have the flower to the left and above the head-shaped void, and then I can fill in her head, arm & bodice, and this page (10?) will be complete, leaving only 1 and a partial page left on this row.

I will complete this page, and however much on the next, before I put this up again – however long it calls to me 🙂

That’s the stitching news from here! Next time I update, hopefully we will be well on the road to recovery from this China mess, and my garden overflowing with produce – yay peppers and cucumbers! Until next time, Happy Stitching and BE WELL! Be KIND to each other! The world is already a mean place to be, without us tearing each other down on a never ending basis. Spend more time looking at the beauty of nature, and less time looking for things to be offended by.

Old pic- won’t stop raining here long enough to bother going outside with the camera…

A Desperate Plea for Spring!

For the record, I am OVER winter. Since I last posted, we’ve had snow in various forms several times, with or without ice; the entire month of January, we had below freezing temps – which doesn’t sound that bad, until you consider houses here aren’t really built with sustained low temps in mind (you know, NO INSULATION), and we had all faucets dripping constantly for at least 2 weeks when we were in the teens or lower, to keeps pipes from freezing. Since then, it has warmed up a bit, off and on, but the sun has not shown its face but a handful of days. Today is one of those days, and I will take it! We might actually have the sun – and a dry-out – for a few days in a row! Just enough to get the pollen up into the INSANELY HIGH numbers, I’m sure. I doubt winter is gone, but as Bradford Pear trees are already losing their blooms to new green leaves, as are the cherry trees, hopefully we’re done with the worst of it (knocking on wood). I really hope all my new irises don’t bloom while we are on our 25th anniversary cruise to Mexico in a few weeks 🙁 And for all my friends & family north of here – I hope the flood waters recede and the damage is easily dealt with.

Sea nettles, Georgia Aquarium – w/Big Kid, 1/2/18.

BEFORE I forget yet again, I never posted my finish of Faerie Winter Dream way back last SUMMER. I posted last July that I was working towards having her done, and I did indeed finish her – I just completely forgot to take pictures or anything, maybe because I was so freaking glad to be done with her! That said, the beads were, of course, my favorite part. I was going to get her framed and hung for Christmas, but work ratcheted up and I just didn’t have the time or energy – maybe she’ll be up this next year 🙂 Here she is:

NC Faerie Winter Dream, on 28ct linen in Winter Solstice, using all charted threads & beads.

So, now that I got that out of the way, I can move on to more recent things 🙂 When I left off in December, I was working on SQ Waterlilies for a bit; I didn’t get a lot of progress, I think I only worked on it for 4-5 days, but any progress is good progress, right?

Monet’s Waterlilies, charted by Scarlet Quince. DMC on 20ct. aida.

I had a New Year’s start; despite having started Winter Watergarden when Martina passed, I had already known I was going to start Japanese Zen Moss Garden on 1/1, bringing my Chat WIPs up to 7. Yes, I now have 7 going, though in my defense, SVG is pretty darn close to done 🙂 Here’s where I stopped on Japanese Zen, which came in 3 or 4 parts, not 12, so trying to find a stopping point is not as easy as usual:

Chatelaine Japanese Zen Moss garden – on 28ct jobelan in Shimmering Pool from Steph’s Fabby’s.

Because I felt a bit guilty for having started another Chat, I then kind of felt a need to FINISH some things, so when I put Moss away, it was on to low-hanging fruit in the WIP pile. First – a quick finish to Field of Sunflowers by From Nancy’s Needle – all projects should be this easy to finish in a week 🙂 Much quicker on the floor stand, of course, than a couple of hours a month in the travel bag – since we stopped our weekly stitch-ins at IHOP, my travel bag has been collecting dust, so time to finish this:

From Nancy’s Needle’s counted canvas, Field of Sunflowers. Charted threads on 18ct mono canvas.

And because the dust was already off the travel bag, I also needed to finish the Stoney Creek Life’s a Journey series, since, you know, SC charts are kind of a slog from time to time, with their zillion color changes 🙂 And this one has lots of charms and buttons, too, so that was fun – but I am glad it’s done finally:

Life’s a Journey pattern series from Stomey Creek, on the called for fabric, using DMC and conversions to threads in my stash, as well as charted charms and buttons.

And lastly, the last thing I had even close to being done – Celtic Banner by MLI. This is one of the very first things I saw on the internet all those years ago, when Yahoo groups were new and there was no such thing as Amazon, and only Nordic Needle & Hershnerr’s were really doing much in the way of supplying the world with needlework supplies via the mail; I finally picked this chart up at one of Atlanta’s long-gone needlework shops in 2005-2006, I think, from who us locals called the Crazy Bird Lady. I made some changes to this – I put it on 36ct linen in Days Gone By from Silkweaver, rather than the at-the-time $100 cut of Glenshee; I also changes the Caron Watercolors for Waterlilies silk – because why not? 🙂 And here, many years later, it’s done:

And… that’s likely the sum total of finishes for the year, except those small impulse starts that seem to jump out at me from time to time. I am going to try to squeeze in a couple of pieces for a great nephew & great niece this year, and you just never know when a mini Chat will seem like the thing to do. I am not entirely sure what I will work on for travel projects – I have 4-5 things in the bag at the moment, and will impulse-choose one tomorrow at our February PINS (last week was too busy due to a huge conference at a nearby church, so we bumped it up to this weekend) – check back next time to see what I end up choosing, because it could literally be anything!

Since I finished an ELTWIP, and an almost-ELTWIP, I rewarded myself with a start on Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow, which I think will actually move along pretty well, since it’s easy to break it down into small parts. I have this on a piece of Vicki Clayton 36ct – I think it’s a Zebra Dove shade, which I picked up off her Etsy a year ago or so, IIRC. It’s a good neutral for this, let those Halloween colors, muted like most HRH, pop. Here’s the central cauldron so far, with 5 days progress so far:

Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow – on 36ct linen with DMC.

I started this last Sunday, while I was watching the B season premiere of The Walking Dead, and crying as we watched Carl die of his walker bite. Of all the people who’ve died on this show, this one bothers me the most. Partly because it kind of ruins the original story line of a man and his son, but too, Chandler Riggs, who plays Carl, realllyyyy reminds me of Little Kid – their eyes are so similar, and when LK let his hair get out of control, it was a lot like Carl’s was the last few seasons. I am still sad when I see something about it online; I was, too, with Glenn, who was another favorite of mine, but this one’s worse for some reason. Since by all accounts Riggs was blindsided by this, I hope he lands another long-term gig and we see him stretch his acting and/or musical wings. We watched him grow up and I will miss him almost like one of my own. RIP Carl Grimes, good luck Chandler Riggs.

Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, The Walking Dead on AMC.

Until next time, Happy Stitching, and THINK SPRING!