EH 1875

I just got my sampler from being framed. She's another beauty!  Michaels did a lovely job on it.  And it was made better because they were having a huge framing sale, then I cashed in two gift certificates from my boys, so it cost me $23.00 to get framed.

It's EH 1875 by European Reproductions.

Rhoda Hastings 1863 - Week 2

I was hoping to have completed page two as of this posting.  But it was a busy week last week!  Spent most of one day at the JMU campus moving my son out of his dorm room.  

I don't remember how the rest of the week went but I know for a fact, I didn't have much stitching time.

Plus I ran into a snag when I ran out of the purple needlepoint yarn on the first page when there were 5 more pages to go.

I thought I could waltz into the LNS and just purchase some more.  Not so much. Both the red and purple had been discontinued.  Now what!?

Many years ago I did collections in the mortgage industry.  So I know how to find people.  Handy thing to have.  It's helped in finding classmates for high school reunions and....locating the now retired designer, Rebecca Dorrie of Samplers and Such.

Somehow when the chart was made up the colors were mixed up on the legend.  Where "z" shows purple on the legend it should really be red. And where "<" shows red it should really be purple. The chart is correct but the legend wasn't causing me to quickly run out of the yarn.

Ms. Dorrie had some extra yarn in her stash and is kindly forwarding some purple to me.  The way the chart is layed out it is easy to skip around the purple motifs for the time being.

I will say this is a beautiful sampler and I have enjoyed working on it.  Can't believe I had it my stash for so long!  

Another little project finish is my flower bed below the bay window in the living room.  I have for years tried to grow something there, but the lawn people keep mowing it over or weed whacking everything.  My husband put some border stones there and I planted a bunch of perennials there.  Hoping by next year if they survive that that area will be beautious!

Rhoda Hastings 1863 - Week 1

Rhoda is coming along quite nicely! I'm already starting on page 2 of the chart. Although not sure how much stitching time I'll get next week as it's time to

bring the college kids home.  Which will include packing up and moving the youngest completely out of the dorm.

I look forward to them coming home even if it's only for a few days since both of them have signed up for classes in what they call Maymester.  Hints will noisy for a few days and then quiet again when they head back to school.

When I pulled my threads for this chart I thought I had plenty of DMC.  The designer actually put skein amounts on several of the numbers.  But I have quickly gone through one skein of two colors and feeling a bit panicky.  So the first opportunity I'm going to pick up 2 more skeins of the two colors.

Another thing unusual about the chart is that it called for the use of needlepoint yarn.  It is enclosed with the chart.  Several strands of purple and quite a few strands of red. I'm hoping that I don't have any more call for the purple because I'm almost out already.  

I also cut the strands in half before using them, because of the thickness, I didn't want fraying or breaking.

This designer is also retired.  I located her on FB but I don't think she visits her page often. I had a few questions about the use of the needlepoint yarn but since I received no reply I just winged it.

Guess that's what happens when you hold onto your charts for so long before stitch them. Also why I'm trying to stitch things I've had in my stash for awhile.

I managed to give away some more charts that I will never stitch and passed them on to someone I hope that can use them.

Those charts you just had to have at the time because they were calling to you. You just had to have it.  Now there isn't even so much as a whisper from them.  Time to let them go and call out someone else's name!

Amish Life - Hanging the Quilts - week 3

Am posting a bit early because last night I put the final stitches in this piece.  So excited to be moving on to other things!

And believe me, I have do have other things on my own mental honey do list.

I did manage to finish Dixie's haircut.  In the process found 2 ticks on her.  She still needs a bath and her toe nails trimmed.  But this is a dog that isn't exactly cooperative.  

I cut fabric this morning to make the covers for the throw pillows for the love seat and couch.  Now I just have to get my mother out of my sewing machine /office chair long enough to use my machine. I also managed to rip out the pre existing seams on two of the drop cloths so that I can sew those together.

A quick trip to JoAnn's to get heavier thread and needles so that sewing these fabrics will be a breeze. Well I hope.

I have also picked out my next stitching project.  Rhoda Hastings by Samplers and Such.

Using 28 ct. Lambswool 

 linen and DMC.  I'm not sure low long I've had this in my stash but the chart was copyrighted in 2003.  

I have to tell you that recently  I have seen some beautiful stitching projects in the groups I belong to on FB.  But even I amazed at myself, that I haven't seen any that I just have to have! Maybe I'm on the road to recovery? Yea....probably not.

Amish Life - Hanging the Quilts - week 2

I don't think it's been really been two weeks I have been stitching on this piece.  But decided it's just easier to round it up.  

I can't believe it's the middle of April.  I do remember being little and time just eked by.  But as I have grown older, the days, weeks, months and years have begun to pass more rapidly.  I received a catalog in the mail recently and thought to myself "wow I should get some of this stuff for stocking gifts!"  I'm thinking about Christmas.  In just the last two eels of warmer weather here in Northern Virginia, the daffodils have bloomed and are beginning to shrivel.  The flowering trees have bloomed, and all the petals float in all directions looking like snow.  The trees all beginning to show their new green growth.

Numerous projects await my time.  Including finish painting my son's bed frame for his move from a dorm room to a townhouse when he begins his sophomore year in college. Along with washing drop clothes to preshrink them, when I decided it would be cheaper to make a couch and love seat cover for the floral print pieces.  Also donations to the town home.  

One of these days I absolutely must haul out the directions and DVD and figure out how to work my new serger.  That's not including finishing the spring cut to my Schnauzer.  Poor Dixie was beginning to look like she hadn't any eyes.

Not to exclude laundry, and cleaning and now the kitchen floor that absolutely needs a good cleaning.  Especially since the dogs have managed to track in fresh cut grass clippings on their wet muddy paws due to the rain.  If I wasn't so cheap, I'd hire someone to cut the dog, and clean my house.  But then I'd have so much less to spend in cross stitching.

Yup not worth it.  I'll manage to find the time to do all these things that are a must, and still manage to find time to stitch.  I always do!  Especially since the next stitching project is already calling to me.  

Amish Life - Hanging the Quilts

With my recent finishes I decided to start stitching the 3rd part of the series.  I debated whether I should since there are others in my stash that are calling to me.

But something inside told me, If I didn't sew and complete it, that it would be awhile before it got back into my rotation.

I know that I am not the only one that mentally charts in my head the next two or three projects out. I have two specific samplers in mind for my next two projects.  

I saved the Hanging the Quilts portion for last.  Mostly because I really liked this section and felt after finish Tending the Garden I would be more motivated to complete Hanging the Quilts.  

I've only been stitching in it for the last couple of days.  Have to get through the clouds, house, and trees and hills. 

Did you ever think about when you start your stitching at the top, that it is like reading the first chapter of a book?  That every turn if your scroll is another chapter and you have to keep going to find out what the ending will be?

I know there are people that start at the bottom.  But isn't that like reading the last chapter first? 

Family Name Sampler

This was a sweet little sampler!  Lovely colors done by Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe.  Designed by Nancy Turner. 

I elected to use antique ivory 28 ct. Linen and used DMC.  It isn't a difficult chart, no specialty stitches, no outlining.  Just straight cross stitch.  I am however proof positive the easier the chart, the more ways I can find to mess it up.

I did more ripping out and re stitching on this chart, that even I am surprised there are no holes in the linen.

To add insult to injury I get to the bottom border and it won't meet up correctly with the right side border.  I start quickly stitching graph lines and realize I made a mistake on the very top border which now has me three stitches off.

Thoughts of throwing it across the room or just trashing it did temporarily cross my mind.  Walk away and let calmness take over.  I must be able to fix it.

Thank god for the handy dandy tiny squared graph paper. I managed to pencil iny border and figure out how to correct it, without ripping it totally out, or trashing it.

Originally samplers had all sorts of mistakes!  Our foremother stitchers were practicing their skills.  Making mistakes, perfecting their stitching.  Do I want my piece to be perfect?  Yes of course!  But it's time like these, rather than cry over missed stitches that I rememberthat there   isn't really any perfect.  There's close enough, and nearly. 

And so I finish, and I will hang my nearly perfect piece on my wall.  Eventually I won't see my mistake or remember where it was.  And no one knows but me anyways.  Well except my sister Cuz I tell her everything!

And she won't tell anyone because she's not on FB and is a lurker on my blog because to be a member you have to have a google account and she doesn't have one of those either.

Well and for those that read my blog.  You now know too.  Remember "mums" the word!