My Beloved is Finished! Harriot is next!

I worked on it all last week and finally finished up on Saturday.

The part that took the longest of course was the green lawn background, which was filled in with a horizontal stem stitch.

I love the little dog and bunny on the lawn!

The white veranda is stitched in a horizontal and slanted satin stitch.
The little flowers at the bottom were added after the lawn was completed.

The whole thing measures 3-1/2" X 2-1/2".

Here is the finished sampler.



My Beloved - The Scarlet Letter 

For my next project, I decided to take on The Harriot Boardman Sampler.



The Harriot Boardman Sampler - 1804

I am using DMC, stitching on 25-count green linen. I must say I am intrigued with this linen. It is dyed with different colors in the warp and weft, as the original was. It is a unique combination of blue and green threads.

This is a WIP. Here is where I left off:

A closer look:

The sampler comes from Dover, Massachusetts.

The stitches used include cross, satin, eyelet, stem, counted thread and freehand.

This type of ground has been found on samplers made from 1788 through the 1820's, from Canada and Maine to Washington D.C., but is most  frequently found on samplers from the north shore, Essex County Massachusetts and eastern New Hampshire.

The deer, flower pot, and grass at the bottom are all freehand. That should be interesting!

My eyes are bleeding!

I thought My Beloved, a miniature sampler, would be a quick little stitch. Well it is little but not quick!

Here is what I have so far:

I still haven't figured out what to do with the date that should go between the initials.

The stitches are tiny, tiny, tiny!

I just finished Freelove Hazard, which was stitched one over one, however, it was on 25 count linen.
There is a big difference between one over one on 25 ct and one over one on 35ct!
Not having a lot of fun here!

The little brick house measures all of 3/4" X 2/3", smaller than a postage stamp!
Stitching the mortar between the bricks nearly killed me!

Frankly, I am a little surprised that this is suggested for a beginner. The directions are sketchy, and somewhat incomplete. To stitch it as it is shown in the photo, the chart does not work. I finally held the little photo up to the magnifier and counted. A minimum of 4 extra rows have to be added under the initials, to make it work. I think there is probably an error in printing the chart.

I guess that is why it says to only do the top and the left of the border until you know if it fits.

Also, there are 8 different colors, but the descriptive name didn't really match the colors, so it was difficult to tell what was what. I would think a beginner would find the tiny stitches very difficult. You can't do much in the way of frogging here when the stitching is so tight.

I am already looking forward to my next project which will definitely not be one over one!

Freelove Hazard, my first finish of 2013

Here she is:

Freelove Hazard 1792

She was stitched one over one, and one over two, on 25 count linen, using silk threads.

Of course, it was not without some drama. Just as I was finishing up the outer border, I realized that I had cut my cuticle, and had bled onto the linen and one of the silk flowers!
Aghh! Grr! Is there anything worse than trying to get blood out of silk and linen.
I wound up re-stitching the border of one of the flowers. I did the best I could cleaning the linen. It wasn't too bad. I finally had to stop because I was afraid I would make it worse.
There is still a tiny spot on one or two threads, but I don't think anyone would notice it.

I guess it could have been a lot worse!

My next project is My Beloved from The Scarlet Letter.

I have just started this. I will be back with an update shortly.

First TUSAL of 2013

On December 31, 2012, I emptied my orts into a plastic bag. I always try to scatter them on the first day of spring on my bushes and trees to help the birds with their nests.
I don't know if they actually take them, but I like to think they might.

Here is 11 days worth of stitching for this month.

I have been working with one strand of silk, so there isn't too much to show.

The Traveling Pattern is on the Move!

Before I announce the winner, please let me apologize to all those who did not get picked. I wish I could send the pattern to all of you, unfortunately there can only be one name chosen. I know how you feel because I chased it all over the globe for over a year.

The next person to stitch The Traveling Pattern will be Mary of Stitches and More.

I hope you will all follow it to Mary's blog for a chance to stitch it next.

Mary, if you will get it touch with me with your address, i will get it right out to you.