Woodlawn

Greetings, all! I had the opportunity to go to the Woodlawn Needlework show yesterday before working at the shop, and it was quite wonderful--very worthwhile. Unfortunately, as I mentioned last week, no one is allowed to photograph anything but their own entry in the show, so I could not take the photos of the various amazing needleworks that I had a chance to see. There were 649 entries, I believe, and they ranged from simple to elaborate. Many I was familiar with, particularly in the cross stitch division, but there were many wonderful designs I've never seen before and would love to get my hands on. Some I have in my stash (see below) and have a new appreciation for since I've seen them stitched up. None have design names on them though! For some reason, all the exhibits have the name of the stitcher and in many cases the framer on them--but not the name of the designer or the design!

This is a photo of Woodlawn Plantation. Woodlawn has a long way to go before it's in reasonably good shape--this is not a spiffy Williamsburg-type restoration. It is very, very primitive inside and the grounds are shabby. I'm happy that the entry fees and ticket sales, among other monies surrounding this show, will go to help restore Woodlawn. No air conditioning on a 90-degree day and looking at exhibits on the 2nd floor of the building--it certainly makes you think of the rigors of wearing a long-sleeved corseted dress in the early 1800s during the long Virginia summer.


Here's the guide to the exhibits. The cover photo is a design that was exhibited at the show. It is a map of the DC/MD/VA area's rivers with Mount Vernon and other local points of interest. It is both stitched AND painted. The design is by Catherine Jordan, who offers other maps as kits, and who also offers online map classes. I'm hoping she offers this one as a kit!


Speaking of Southern Plantations, I've made a bit of progress on Sarah Hatton McPhail this week. Here's the area I've been concentrating on.


Which is a bit of a change from last week.


This arrived at the shop. I'm excited about stitching it, but I'm hemming and hawing about the materials I'll be using--and my stitchy friends have announced that I need to finish Sarah before starting Hannah.


And this was one of the stitched exhibits at the show. I've had this design in my stash since the late eighties, and now might be the time to stitch it. Yup--I started it: DMC on some vintage Examplar Lakeside from my stash.


Pink and Peaches send greetings and hope you're keeping cool.


Happy week ahead!

Rabbit Run

Greetings, all! I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. My new job is all-consuming at the moment--learning the ropes and the procedures. I get home so over-stimulated and tired I'm virtually speechless (no doubt a relief to Tom), but it has helped calm me to stitch. And as I may have mentioned before, the light in my new office is so wonderful that I spend nearly every lunch hour stitching contentedly, so I've actually been accomplishing quite a lot.

Here's the latest shot of Sarah Hatton McPhail. The "before" photo is below. I've managed to nearly finish the bottom and the right lower corner and I've brought one of the alphabet lines to the right border. This photo is the truer color of the fabric. Frankly, although I love it, I'm finding it disappointingly small. I was going to mat it with a nice fabric (pink or blue linen) and then find the biggest gilt rococo frame they make for it so that it's more imposing on my wall. My walls are so bare that I'm afraid it will look like a speck otherwise. The kind ladies at stitch night were aghast at my plans and told me I would not be MATTING anything, nor would I choose a loud gold frame. We have decided, in fact, that framing Sarah will be a group activity on a stitch night, supervised by a number of my fellow sitchers, so that I do not make a horrible mistake. LOL!



Here's the latest on Elizabeth Easdon. I've made it to the right-hand border on the top. There's still a ton to do on this.



And a couple of new starts, which you may have noticed if you read the In Stitches blog. Here's this year's Mirabilia Santa, which I'm stitching on 32 count fabric with DMC, some sparkly Kreinik and lots of beads to be added later. I love stitching Santas, as many of you know.


And each year I try to stitch a Blackberry Lane designs Christmas ornament. Last year I stitched two and gave them away in a Christmas swap. The Blackberry Lane trunk show is in the shop, and I got so enthused about last year's model (everything's more enticing as a model, isn't it?), that I started it also.


Also soon on my plate: I've ordered the newest Scarlet Letter, and my copy of Gigi R's Virginie Grimoux has arrived at the shop. I had that awful decision to make for today: drive to the shop, pick up my new chart and miss a few hours with the needle, or stay home, stitch and plan to pick up the new chart when I work at the shop next Sunday? I decided to stay out of the car today, but it was a tough decision! Here she is:




Pink and I have missed everyone, and we hope to post a little more frequently as things calm down.


Happy week ahead.