February 21, 2010

The Return of the Scottish Swan

It all started so innocently. I was pawing through my stash the other day looking for something--I can't even remember what, now. I should mention that until this journey into the glittering city of Stashdom, I was quite content with my current projects and eagerly awaiting the new stuff from Market. I spied Janet Gibson's Scottish Swan Sampler project bag and opened it to look it over, sighing over the lovely chart as well as the hated fabric that derailed it, and noting that I had not, after all, managed to cannibalize the threads for another project. (I do that all the time. It makes me nuts.) That set the little wheels spinning--the little wheels, I should mention, that should be spinning thoughts for a paper due for one of my classes (Introduction to Fraud Examination--what a hilarious trip that class is, what with the skimmers, the scammers, the lappers and whatnot), but were then fully occupied in doing a mental inventory of my fabric holdings.
Here's Janet Gibson's chart. JG is by "Hope's Dwelling Place" aka "Whimsey & Wit," and it's sold by Homespunsamplar.com as well as ABCstitch.com. For those of you fond of A&E charts, the chart doesn't show it well, but note the ghostly Adam and Eve in this design! We have the orange A&E, the red A&E, and now we have the bleached A&E, both of whom presumably used SPF 50.

Here's my WIP with the hated fabric. I THINK it's the called for fabric--Meadow Rue, but it's a sickly green (hard to tell in this photo under lamplight). Worse, it's 32 count, so the 1 (NPI) over 2 looks anemic and skimpy. Even worse, the fabric is floppy.

So I restarted Janet Gibson this week on 40 count Lakeside pearled barley. The 40-count will make the over-1 a bit more difficult, but it's worth it (the "h" and the "a" in the verse are over one, as is the swan). Ahhhh--much better.
Oh, and speaking of Scottish samplers, I'm hoping for an opportunity in the next few weeks to visit the needlework of the Burrell collection in person--in one of my favorite non-North American cities. Does anyone know where I might be headed? BF is changing jobs, and I'm urging him to take a real vacation--our first in nearly five years--before he goes swimming in the "Too Busy for a Vacation" stream. We'll see. My passport is expired, I believe (although Travisa can get me a new one in about two days), and all the other hassles involved in such travel mean that we may stick to the U.S. Win-win, though. At this point, even a warm beach with a chair, my needlework and a fruity drink sounds good, since our snow STILL hasn't melted.

I found this in the stash dive also, and decided to start kitting it up when I dropped by the LNS yesterday to pick up some thread I'd ordered. It's called Sarah Owens 1839, and it's an Essamplaire chart I picked up a while back on Ebay. It also has some over-1, on the verse. I love the colors used in the design, which calls for AVAS threads. And the verse, which is "When death has snatched they fleeting soul away/And thy fair form is mouldred into clay/May this neat work with bloom unfading stand/To show the beauties of thy skillful hand."

I did some work on "Holy Moses" also.

Pink: "Instead of the big white swan in that sampler, you should stitch a big white, handsome rabbit!" Thanks, Pink!

Happy week ahead, all!

31 comments:

Margaret said...

Lovely WIPs! I need to get back to Janet too. I do love her --- just that dratted swan. And the future detached buttonhole. lol!

Melissa said...

Oh I had a good laugh over this post, Glenna, thank you! The stash diving was funny. The cannibalizing threads was all too familiar chez moi! But you've managed to find some treasures!

I'm glad you got to restart your Swan sampler using a new fabric. Sometimes that will just make the whole stitching experience awful and you were smart in pulling out and re-starting early in the game!

I think a big white bunny like Pink in the middle of a sampler sounds like a grand idea! ;-)

Laura said...

Love this post! City of Stashdom!! What a great description. Hope you get to go on your vacation! Thanks for the fun post.

Alice said...

I like bunnies better than swans too! Holy Moses is so pretty!

Deb said...

Okay Glenna - you've enabled me and now I just have to get Janet Gibson since I'm such an A&E fiend! Love your stash diving experience! I had to smile because I do that all the time and wonder "What I was thinking" when I discover some long-lost treasure. Your WIPs look wonderful! And cannibalizing threads - I do that all the time. It's so frustrating when you go back to the projects and half the threads are missing. Must be because we all have too many WIPs going, right?

Marjo said...

Love all your choices. I understand wanting to restart when the fabric just doesn't work for you. Love your choices. Beautiful reproductions. You get me in such trouble with thinking I need to stitch that too....maybe with a big brown dog instead. Honestly I think you should incorporate a bunny as your signature on all your designs. I love the one on your header piece. Marjo

Kellie said...

I LOVE all of your projects! That land of Stashdom will get you every time. :) Good idea on restarting the Swan sampler on different fabric. Sometimes that is all it takes to propel us forward. I am loving Holy Moses. So fun and so colorful. :) Hope your vacation plans come together. It sounds fun.

Catherine said...

Lovely works in progress! What a great post - stash diving, cannibalism, restarts and an sun-fearing Adam and Eve!

Have fun on your vacation!

Nancy said...

All of your projects are very pretty! I love to see the different interpretations of Adam & Eve. Some of them are so fun!

Love those bunnies!

Laurie in Iowa said...

Thanks for the A&E laugh! You pick the best samplers and your are such a temptress... but that doesn't keep me away from your blog postings.
Does Janet really have detached buttonhole???
I think Pink is spot on with his comment about the white swan. lol

Daffycat said...

Nothing makes stitching a chore as a deep dislike for the fabric. Glad you decided to restart, this is a really sweet sampler.

Siobhán said...

I have to take a pic of my younger daughter in her snuggie--it reminds me of that Moses sampler. LOL Your WIP looks great, btw!! And Janet is gorgeous! Talk about fantastic stash diving!!

grace said...

Holy Moses is great! :) So beautiful. I really like the re-start of your Swan sampler, I'm loving the colors!!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Great WIPs, Glenna! I love going stash diving - oh, so fun!

I'm glad you're liking your restart. It looks beautiful!

I think Pink has it right, a lovely white rabbit may be just what that sampler needs!

MyLifesAStitch said...

SPF 50... HAAA!! :)

Girl, I sooo feel your pain re: the snow. We've still got a good 3 or more feet of it (our yard is the size of a postage stamp, and that's where all the shovelfuls ended up from our sidewalk and parking spaces) in our front yard. Bleh. But, it should make a disappearing act when it rains tomorrow. Happy happy joy joy.

Meadow Rue is a very odd one isn't it? I have a chart that calls for it, and in the model photo it has a beautiful pinkish peach cast to it. I got a piece for that chart and it is a (still acceptable) pretty peachy yellow. While I was in my LNS last week, they had a cut of it and it was a sickly yellowish brownish greenish color. I know dye lots vary, but good grief!

Your WIPs are looking great, gf! Kudos to you for re-starting JG! I probably would've just given up and never pulled it out again... but, that pattern is sooo beautiful. Can't wait to see more of it on the new fabric!

Here's hoping you take that vaca!!

Nicole said...

Beautiful progress on both your wips! I also love Sarah Owens!! I really need to win the lottery!

RG said...

Other than that last little bit there, I have not hardly a clue of what you were writing about.

Bummer about the snow. You'll maybe remember it fondly come about August?

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Lovely, lovely stitching and the bunsies are cute as always.

Giovanna said...

Kudos to you for deciding to start over - it's a lovely sampler. And I love your HM more each time I see it.

Brigitte said...

I think stash diving should become an Olympic discipline for us stitchers, lol. I always pull out so many treasures that it's worth a gold medal.
Cannibalizing therads (what a funny expression, lol), that's what I often do when I can't start on a new piece because just one of the called for threads is missing.
Good decision to retastr the Scottish Swan Sampler, if you are happier with the new fabric and the fabric count. Nothing worse than using fabric or thread that you hate.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I understand Pink's point of view, but I love that swan!

Unknown said...

Wow, a new A&E - I didn't know about this one and I love it! I hope this new start works for you as I can't wait to see more of this one. Great WIP, as always!

Get to work on that paper, lol. Only 3 weeks left in my sub-term and then I get a break b4 the next begins, whoohoo!

barbara said...

I feel like someone in a game-show audience shouting, "Take the vacation, Glenna! Take the vacation!" LOL!

Valerie said...

Wow, what gorgeous WIP's! I can sympathize with you about the Meadow Rue. I used it for my Blue Ribbon Designs "Blessed Be." I hated stitching on that fabric. It is floppy and a green that...well...it just doesn't look right. However, the colors that I used made up for the fabric and in the end I liked the finished look. However, I don't plan on stitching with it again! I have never seen Janet Gibson charts before, but I am hooked by seeing your Scottish Swan!

I love the Essamplaire chart...how pretty!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving such kind comments! I look forward to keeping up with you!

Valerie

Jeanne said...

Kudos to you having the guts to restart your sampler. If you're not happy with it, it's no fun stitching it. Some of the Lakeside linens do have a green undertone - I noticed this especially with Maritime White which I don't plan on using again. You must have just got a weird Meadow Rue. I keep a list of each project's threads on index cards so when I cannabalize a thread I can make a note where it is LOL.

The Bunns said...

Whoa - wait a minute here ... vacation? Huh? What about Pink, Elvis, Peaches, the damn cats ... huh??? You can't just walk out and .... you wouldn't ... would you? You Would!!!! Oh dear.

Kajsa said...

Those are some great WIP's! I hope that you can get away for a vacation, a warm beach sounds wonderful right now.

Michelle said...

I'm so glad you restarted her, she's lovely. And crap, she's lovely. You have to stop digging through your stash, it's killing my wallet. Love the colors in the new piece too. Moses looks fabulous too!

Katrina said...

Everything is so pretty :-). Love your WIPs and sweet, sweet bunnies.

Crafty Green Poet said...

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Crafty Green Poet said...

and I would love to see a large white rabbit in a sampler design!