Decisions

Hello, all! I seem to be having trouble posting photos this afternoon--my computer connection seems to be a bit slow. Incoming thunderstorms? I had wanted to show you some photos of my progress on various projects, since I finished up Liz Easdon and her endless lawn this week! I finally had had enough of my ditherings, grabbed her up one day at lunch at work and stitched feverishly, then came home and stitched until 1 a.m. and put in another hour (mostly clean-up, clipping stray threads, trimming the fabric and taking inventory of all the various motifs to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything) on Saturay. I did leave two over-one lambs out of the final project--I just couldn't bear any further over-one or funky little animals, so the two sheep at the top of the lawn are child-free by choice. Off I rushed to In Stitches to consult with a framer. After months of carrying Liz around in her project bag, it seemed odd to return home without her, although I didn't exactly leave the shop empty-handed, and the project bag has a new tenant.

Meet Agnes Platt. I contemplated lots of samplers--the new Brandywine sampler, for one, which I saw IRL at the Woodlawn show. No, too large at the moment, although I'm not normally given to feeling overwhelmed, that's exactly how I felt, and if you've seen the materials list, since stitching with Belle Soie is my new THING, I decided to give my pocketbook a break. For now. I will stitch it in the future, I'm quite sure. Although it's in line behind six or eight other projects at the moment. Anyway, Agnes is reproduced by Blackbird Designs (who are ever so slowly dragging me into the idea of applique and quilting). I bought Agnes for the OTHER sampler in the booklet--the Strawberry Sampler. The pin pillow is darned cute too. I'm happy to report that all three projects use most of the same color palette, so it's something of a bargain, especially since I came home and did a conversion to Belle Soie mostly from my stash, plus picked up just a few new colors(including Strawberry Shortcake, which you see forming the strawberry here). It's charted for Gentle Arts (or DMC). I'm stitching it on 40 count Lakeside in Bisque.

I also picked up Sarah Chapple 1831, by Shakespeare's Peddler, too. I didn't kit her up, wanting to see what I had at home for NPI fibers, but I did get a few of the Silk n Colors and Glorianas called for by the design, since my stash of those is limited. I'm looking forward to stitching the flowers in both borders, and the house! I will probably start this in the next few weeks. And I've picked up Dorothy Walpole, aiming for a summer finish on her as well (loosly, let's say Labor Day). And maybe Christinia Cathcart by Christmas.

Pink: "I'm undecided. Stay out or go in?"

Happy week ahead!

Drive-By

Happy Sunday, all! A quick drive-by (scene is from my office window--see why I like to hibernate with my needlework on the weekend? A perfect weekend for me is one where I don't drive my car at all. Yesterday I didn't go anywhere until after dinner (a trip to Lowes for garden-related stuff, and of course, today I went to the store for groceries; a couple of people had driven into each other in the parking lot, for heaven's sake).  I work on the 14th floor of building in Tysons Corner that overlooks the DC beltway.  This was Friday afternoon during some on-and-off rainstorms.

I wasn't up for tackling Liz Easdon's lawn this weekend, so I reached into the WIP pile and pulled out "Winter Welcome" by Country Cottage Needlworks. I started it a few years ago, and it got overlooked in the big rush to work on huge samplers. I'm trying to finish lots of things this year, and this will be one--I still like it. I'm stitching it on 40 count Lakeside--Luna, I think, using the called-for overdyed cottons, DMC, but addking some sparkle via Kreinik blending filament for the snow. It's a fun stitch, and I'd like to work my way through a pile of others that I have: "Bless our Home" (blue cottage and an American flag) and Home Sweeet Home (cottage with lots of pink peonies).

Here's a little sampler I bought recently: "This Have I Done" by Pineberry Lane.

I'm stitching it on 40 count Lakeside in Navy Bean, using DMC and the called-for cotton overdyeds, although I subbed out a couple of the colors that were too similar to the others.

Also on my stitching table: an old R&R Rerpoductions sampler design, a re-start of Frances Eden (I oriented it wrong on the fabric, so I would have come up a couple inches short side-to-side--don't you hate that?), and I have kitted up an old Cross Eyed Crick design. More on those next time. Here's Pink, thinking outside the box.

Happy week ahead!

Almost There

Happy Sunday, all! Just a quick post, because I have a few things to do before I head off to bed. I have been working diligently on Liz Easdon but hit the wall when I got to the lawn. Tiny over-one and regular size animals, then all that green satin stitch, worked around the animals. Every other thing is done on this project, including putting my initials and the year on it, but I just have to get motivated to keep going on the lawn.

And a little bit of a closer look.

Since this is my year to finish large projects, I think this finish will be my next one: "Dorothy Walpole" by the Scarlet Letter.

But I couldn't resist a little start as lawn relief. This chart has been in my stash forever--"Bunny Parade" by the Workbasket.

Which I'm starting on the remnant of PTP 40 count (Heritage I think) left over from Catharine McNeal. It's charted for GAST, but I'm doing an on-the-fly conversion to Belle Soie.

Elizabeth is a little embarassed by this shot. I was holding her in my lap (not a favorite, although like a lot of bunnies, when her head tilts back, she zones out and becomes docile) to brush her. I have never had a rabbit with so much fur. It wafts around the room. She says to have a happy week!

Maps and Frames

It has been a busy week.  On Wednesday I picked up the newly framed Catharine McNeal from In Stitches.  It's gloomy, so a combination of chandelier light and perhaps flash has made this frame a little golder than it appears in real life:

Here's a close-up:

In the meantime, I've been stitching busily on Elizabeth Easdon, aka the T-Rex Sampler.  Here's where T-Rex stands now.  I'm hoping for a Memorial Day finish, but I've been a tad distracted.   Sorry for the wrinkles--I don't usually iron until the end.  You might notice that I stitch on a larger piece of linen than I need, generally.  I feel better with the extra fabric, and then at the end, I lop off the extra and use it for Christmas ornaments or smalls.  Nothing is wasted.  I am a New Englander, and even now, I can remember my father, a Vermonter, saying: "Waste not, want not" and "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."  That was always good for an eyeroll from me, but the idea planted itself.



Today I took a class based on the Potomac River Needlework Map with Catherine Jordan.  Catherine is a subperb teacher, and if you have an opportunity to take her class, you should.   You can order her map kits, but she will also generously share her techniques so that you can design your own map for a place that's meaningful to you.  I missed a vintage map of Cape Cod on ebay last week--it got a bit pricey, so I bowed out.  But there will be another!  With a vintage map in hand, I plan to stitch a map of the Cape and then embellish it with fabric paint as I learned in class. Hint 1:  it certainly is quicker to fill in a body of water with blue paint than it is to fill it in with stitches.  Hint 2: restraint is key.  (But then, isn't it always?) Here are some photos of the class project (which came with a fully kitted Potomac River Needlework Map) seen here:

The students had a choice of these practice pieces as well:

Peaches:  "You're never home any more...."  Oh, Peaches, not true!

Happy week ahead!

Richmond Theatre Fire Sampler

I have been looking for the Scarlet Letter's Richmond Theatre Fire Sampler forever and finally spotted it on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. I was the only bidder, maybe because people aren't looking for a silk-screened sampler (stamped). Some years ago I had emailed Marsha about it--it has a 1987 copyright--and she emailed me back promptly and kindly to say that alas, it was permanently out of print. It may have appeared on Ebay a number of times, but if it did, I missed it. When I worked in downtown Richmond a few years ago, I ventured to the Valentine Museum; they had neither a kit (I was hoping that there might be one hanging around), nor the original displayed.

Working on a stamped sampler is interesting. Instead of a preoccupation with counting and the location of one element in relation to another...

...the goal is to cover the silkscreened ink so that the (in this case) orangey-red print doesn't peep out from under the floss. The kit came with DMC, but I did a conversion provided by the chart; I had most of the colors of AVAS in my stash, and those that were missing I subbed with close colors. Although I have a lot of Needlepoint Inc. silks that would have worked well on counted cross stitch, I think NPIs are just a bit thinner than AVAS and wouldn't have provided quite the same coverage. Seventy-two people died in the fire on December 26, 1811, which was sparked by an unattended lamp left too close to some paper scenery. They had been attending a play.

Here's my next out-of-print Scarlet Letter sampler, "The Product of My Needle." This is the second time I started this. The first time was years ago, and I was using 32 count fabric. When I stitched the black background, the fabric showed through, so I scrapped it and restarted it not too long ago on 40 count fabric. Much better! This is a close-up of the cover photo.

And my restart. I'm using AVAS. I love the colors and the design; the sheep's body is stitched in french knots, and the deer is either stem or satin stitch. I'll probably stitch the deer using stem stitch.

I also picked this up last week--I'd love to finish it, since it's been in a project bag for a few years. I'm stitching this on Lakeside 40 count (maybe maritime white?) using the called-for NPI silks.

Pink and Peaches send their greetings for a lovely week ahead.

Stitching Helpers

Hi, all! I took Friday off, so I had a little extra time for stitching this weekend--when I wasn't in the garden planting things, or at the garden center, or hauling things around in my little car, or back at the garden center, or hacking at weeds or planting rose bushes and peonies. I'm half dead tonight as well as sunburned, but I do have some progress to show on Anagram Diffusion's Sampler Tendresse. I had intended to stitch a block a month, and that idea's flown out the window--these blocks are LARGE.

I've done quite a lot on Liz Easdon. I call this image "Hoping the Borders Meet Up." I am hoping for a Memorial Day weekend finish. It has occurred to me--I should find some more projects! Fortunately, Maude & Mozart has provided me with plenty of ideas for what to stitch next!

See the look of horror on the cat's face? He has witnessed something disturbing...and I don't mean just the odd-looking little t-rex looking critter.

See the t-rex to the right of the little red chicken on the lawn in the above photo? T-rex borrowed from National Geographic's website.

I'm distracted here, photographing the over-one stitching that is taking me a long time to do on this sampler, for some reason.

And then! A marauder! An intruder with sharp claws! Yikes!

"Kitten-Kitten! Down! Kitten-Kitten! Off!" Kitten-Kitten: "It's on the bed, so it must be something to sleep on, right?"

Peaches: "I'm worried about the t-rex. And also, something has left butt prints on my towel. Was it you, Kitten-Kitten?"

Happy week ahead!

Soldiering On

Greetings, everyone, and happy Saturday night! Believe it or not, I'm a bit tired of stitching today; I put in about five hours on GigiR's "Maria's Sampler 1831." It's riveting! Photos below. But first, back from the framer! I love the glossiness and the bright green color on this contemporary looking sampler. I started the sampler about 25 years ago from the pages of a long-forgotten book, and completed it a few months ago. It had some indelible grubby hoop marks (20 years or so on an old hoop will do that) but the framing ladies at In Stitches got it mostly cleaned up, and the rest is difficult to see.

And a finish! Catharine McNeal 1843 by Samplers Revisited. Stitched on 40 count Picture This Plus in Legacy, using the called-for NPI. A very fun stitch. I made several major changes: I don't enjoy large areas of satin stitch, so I cross stitched those spots instead, which I regret a bit because I think the texture of the satin stitches is part of the charm of this sampler. I also made a greater than normal number of mistakes on this sampler, for some reason. I left those in. I deducted a woman on the left, and I added my initials and the year I completed the sampler. Off I went to In Stitches last Saturday to select a frame. I can't wait to get it back.

I have put some time into "Snowy St. Nick" (Dimensions). While I love historic reproductions, this is a nice break. And it's loaded with glitz and beads at the end.

Here's the chart cover, since it's kind of hard to figure out exactly what you're looking at without a face.

Here's what I worked on today: Gigi R's "Maria's Sampler 1831." The chart photo is not very clear, and it's of the antique, so this doesn't really give a good indication of just how much action there is in this sampler!

There are tons and tons of people on this sampler; here's a little soldier. I am stitching the inside swirly border to count down. There are seven alphabets at the top, and although they're very nice, and stitched in different stitches, I didn't want to stich alphabets today. This is a huge sampler, 494x562. This is a redo for me; the first time I started it, I decided I didn't like the dark fabric I was using. I'm stitching it on Picture This Plus in Fog, 40 count. Fog is a lovely oystery white with a light wash and pale veins of a taupey brown. And I did a thread conversion to overdyed silks from the designer's called for overdyed cottons. I'm using mostly Belle Soie as well as some Silk n Colors and Soie Crystal.

I have to show you photos of my New Bedford dream house. It is amazingly preserved and updated. Notice the neighboring house in the background (I'd take that one too, although it's huge, isn't it?)

Master bedroom. I wonder if that's a working fireplace. Note the wallpapered coffered ceiling.

Check out the foyer. Papered ceilings here too. That treatment extends to most of the rooms I saw; think the walls are too busy for samplers? Note the fine woodwork.

A look at the kitchen: modern yet not. I wonder if that stove works. Here are some more photos of the house if you're interested. Because we live in the DC metro area where the cost of housing is super expensive, the cost of this lovely 1875 home, $398,500, seems very reasonable--a comparable house here would probably sell for over $1 million.

Pink says "if wishes were horses then rabbits would ride..."

Happy week ahead all!