Treasures--Picture-Heavy

I took today off for a doctor's appointment in NoVa, and since I was in Fairfax County, I thought I'd pay a little visit to LNS #2 (I rank my LNS's by distance from my house, not devotion; I love them both), In Stitches in Alexandria, VA. This is what I noticed when I first walked in: the Carriage House Samplings Trunk Show, with all of the Hawk Run Hollow pieces stitched and framed, and a whole lot more besides. I borrowed Patricia's i-phone to show these to you. Because of the way the light is coming through the windows, they aren't as bright in the photos as they are in real life. I just wanted to take them all home, or take the charts all home (although most of those charts already are home, actually--ahem).

More: all of the wonderful stitched pieces of my favorite expressionless people! And more that I couldn't capture here: "My Home Town," for one, which chart I didn't own (until today). You really should come by and see them--and there's another reason to come. The Woodlawn Plantation 2010 Needlework Exhibition is going on through the 31st of March. Woodlawn is across the Street from In Stitches, and In Stitches will be open all the Sundays in March! I'm definitely making the time to go to the exibition this year.

There are lots of framed models in this shop, but wait! What's this?

Oh, no. "Falling in love again I never wanted to/What am I to do I can't help it...." Meet "Catharine McNeal 1843," a new release from Samplers Revisited.

It's a Scottish Reproduction; there are 20 thistles around the border, and each one is different. The colors are very unusual. [Edited to add: although the cover photo is very blue, and the actual framed sampler is very blue also, it's interesting that my floss toss (the color of which is true on this post) is more of a blue-green/mint/lots of greens and some navy. Plus the thistle purples. I say this in case you're wanting a very blue sampler, because I don't think it will be quite as blue as it looks in the model photos. The stitched model was quite high above my head--every square inch of the walls in that shop is covered with gorgeous samplers--so I didn't inspect it up close.]

What was I to do but kit it up on the spot? It's charted for 36 ct Picture This Plus in Heritage using NPI or DMC. Here's a photo of 40 ct PTP Heritage underneath 40 ct Lakeside in Magnolia. I love the Magnolia--it is a yellowy-slightly-peachy cream, but I went for the PTP in the end. Interestingly, if you are stitching Christmas at Hawk Run Hollow, many of the blue/green and green shades are the same.

See? Not the best light--I took the photo in in the late afternoon as I was losing the light.

I picked up a couple of other charts as well. This is With Thy Needle & Thread's "CS41 Mary's Best Handework." It's charted for 30 ct WDW linen using DMC. Don't you love the red and the sheep?

You may have seen this. It's Primitive Tradition's "Love to One, Friendship to Many, Good Will to All." It's stitched on 40 ct Misty Rain by Lakeside, using CC and GAST fibers (or DMC). Lots of fill-in here, but such a wonderful design.

Here's some stitching I've done since Sunday on "Liz Savilles."

Pink: "It seems to me that you spend a lot of time in needlework shops when you could be home petting your bunnies!"

See you Sunday!