The Peacock's Feather

Sampler Progress

Well, this month is quickly disappearing and I've not posted a single time here.  I've been very remiss in updating my stitching blog, and I do apologize but this month has been an awful month for stitching for me!  I have made a little progress on my Mystery Sampler, however, so I thought I should share it with you.  The grassy area was just finished today--complete with smyrna stitches, which are very fun to do.  I'm dreading the roof as eyelets are in the 'don't enjoy them' category for me.  Also the symbols for the colors in this area are very similar and therefore hard to see/differentiate.  I've been dragging my feet.  I think I may work on the vines a bit before moving on to the roof.

Not sure if you'll be able to make out those smyrnas, but here's a close up.  I  made a slight change to the door as I didn't like the 'S' shape.  This has been a stitch intensive section, and I am glad I am getting a little nearer to finishing it!

I am in the mood for a smaller project so I may dig around in my stash and see what I have to work on that is small and will be an 'instant gratification' type project.  Maybe I need to work on another month for my Prairie Schooler year.  I think I'll go look now and let you know later what I came up with!

A Roasted Marshmallow House

I've finally got enough of my Blackbird Designs Mystery Sampler stitched to share.  Well, I've been sharing along the way, but it is starting to actually Look like something, don't you think?  My house, stitched mostly with roasted marshmallow floss only lacks a roof!  I've got the vines left to stitch as they branch out over the house.  They have grape bunches hanging from them, which will be stitched with eyelets.  I'm not sure whether to do the eyelets first or fill in the color first and then add the eyelets.

Same house, but this time I took the photo next to a lamp.  Isn't it funny how the light can change the colors so drastically?  And neither shows the true color of the linen.  It's going much quicker now that I have the house mostly filled in.  I've got lots of vines and grass to stitch next.  Somehow I can already see the end in near for this third section! 

And More of the Same

Just one updated photo to share at the moment.  I actually took this photo a few days ago meaning to post then, but I didn't get around to it.  I've added more to it since, but I will save that for another day.  It seems like such a small area, though I feel like I've been working on it for ages.  I almost want to start something new just so I would have something different to share.  But I will persevere! 

And a Little More Progress

I thought it was time to check back in and share my "February" progress.  I'm getting there, though I had actually hoped to finish this in February.  Now I am trying for the first day of spring.  As that is only two weeks away, it may be wishful thinking, but I'll keep working away on it.  I think I am ready to work on something a little more colorful, but I don't want this one to turn into a UFO.

I'm just about ready to begin the finishing on this little bee skep.  It is another Prairie Schooler design.  I just need to stitch my name or initial and the date, which I think will go on the back side.  I'd like to stitch over one, so we'll see how it goes.  I think I can manage this one before March 21.

And then there is my poor "Mystery Sampler" which I have completely stalled on.  I don't think I have picked this one up once this year, so I am hoping to pull it out and start working on it again.  There's quite a lot of filling in on this section and I'm just not motivated with that house! If I can just start adding stitches, I think I can fall back into the rhythm of working on it once again.

I though you might like to see the books I received for my birthday, which I just recently celebrated. 

The top book is Rebecca Stott's Samplers, which is a survey of the history of samplers from the 17th through 19th centuries both in Britain and America.  "This book, written by one of Britain's leading experts on the subject, and illustrated with superb photographs of a great range of samplers from Britain and the USA, provides an ideal introduction to these amazing embroideries, for collectors, and those interested in social history and the history of art."  Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840 by Susan P. Schoelwer is another lavishly illustrated book with selections of needlework from the Connecticut Historical Society.  There are seventy examples of needlework.  With each plate is a detailed description of the piece along with its history.  I'd forgotten how much I love these sorts of books.  It's been a while since I've bought myself anything so nice.  A good friend gave these to me.  I need to get back into the habit of reading these sorts of books--I miss them.

The bottom book is not one I had come across before and was a lovely surprise.  Collect Raindrops by Nikki McClure is a book of the four seasons.  At first when I flipped through I thought it was illustrated with woodblock prints, but these are actually intricate paper cuts.  In her introduction, artist Nikki McClure writes:

"I make my pictures by cutting away at black paper with a knife.  The paper becomes lacelike and everything becomes connected.  What remains is a paper-cut, just black and white.  Color and texture are added later.  My words are letter-pressed or cut out by hand."

As the book is on the bottom of the pile (due only to its size), I'm not doing much justice to it.  You can see her work here.  I might just have to go back to collecting art books!

Slowly, but Surely . . .

Happy New Year, everyone.  One of my goals this year is to try and post here a little more frequently.  I'd like very much to get back on a regular stitching schedule, even if it means only adding a few letters or a row of stitches to whatever my current WiP is.  We shall see!

My break from work is nearly over and while I don't have as much progress on projects to share as I had hoped, I have made some noticeable progress on my "February" sampler by Prairie Schooler.  I hope to finish the last of the lettering at the top tonight and start working on the house and other motifs.  I think things will move along quickly at that point.

Alas, there is less to see on my Blackbirds Design "Mystery Sampler".  I have a feeling this third section is going to go slowly.  It has lots of solid blocks of stitching on the house and roof which can be a little tedious.  Also I am not fond of stitching with white or off-white floss, which is what the house calls for.

Although my WiP designs aren't particularly large, I was thinking I needed something small to work on--instant gratification, which is always nice and keeps me wanting to stitch.  So I've pulled out my little Prarie Schooler "Rain, Rain" from last year.  I know January is a long month, but I am already thinking of spring, so what better project? 

And maybe something else new for the new year?  I want to dig through my stash bins, but this Prairie Schooler chart is right by my bedside, and I love boats and lighthouses.  I thought the smaller design--top right might work nicely.  These designs usually stitch up very quickly!  It is from the "Weather Wise" chart. 

I hope everyone had a really nice holiday.  Mine went by far too quickly.  I spent time with family, including a sister who visits every year at this time.  Last year we had so much snow we had to celebrate Christmas after the 25th!  Happily this year we've had really good weather.  There is a bit of snow on the ground, but nothing that prevents getting about in it easily, so I can't complain.  Of course this is more normal for Nebraska.  We usually are hit in January, February and March, but I'm still keeping my fingers tightly crossed that we have a mild winter and that spring comes early.  Surely I'm not asking too much? 

Something Old, Something New and Something Finished

Hello.  Is anyone out there still?  Sorry, I've been terribly remiss about posting here, though your comments have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated, so I thank you very much for them!  I have actually been doing a bit of stitching, and have a tiny bit of progress to share.  I've finally started work on part three of Blackbird Designs "Mystery Sampler".  Not a whole lot to see yet, but part of the house.  I'm dreading the eyelets, but I love stitching smyrnas at least!  I love the little house, but am also stumped by the "S" shape in the door!

Here's my new project.  I decided it isn't too soon to start working on Prairie Schooler's "February".  I've not stitched any of the individual months, but February is my birth month, so I thought I'd like to stitch and frame this one.  It also seems like a nice project for the coming winter months (we've already had snow--ugh).

My finish is Prairie Schooler's Halloween Cat, which I plan on making into a pin pillow.  Since the holiday has passed I am not in a rush to pull out the sewing machine.  I thought it might need a little border to jazz things up, too, so I am contemplating that at the moment.

I've also been working on my "Band Sampler" by Brenda Keyes', but as my camera has been acting up, I will wait to share a photo until the weekend.  I'm afraid poor Jenny Bean (and that headache inducing 40 count fabric) has gone into the UFO bin...

I wonder if it is too late to start working on a Christmas ornament (keeping in mind how slowly I've been working this year...).  I'm looking forward to some free time as next week I'll have a few days off from work for the Thanksgiving holiday (yay), so I hope to actually have time to Stitch!

Ready for Part Three!

I've finished part two of Blackbird Design's Mystery Sampler.  I'm pleased as I think I've got everything stitched correctly after a few problems along the way.  I have yet to stitch my initials due to general laziness on my part.  They will be over one and I'll need to center them, so I will add them later. 

Here is what they look like together, to give you a sense of what the sampler is starting to look like.  Unfortunately the fabric colors are not showing well in the photo, but there is a slight difference in the colors and tone.  Having gone so far, I am really excited to get on with part three now!

I had to get a few more colors to add to the palette and here is my fabric, so you can see I am ready to go.  Actually I measured and cut my fabric and put in the first few stitches this morning.  As there really isn't much to see so far, I didn't bother taking a new photo.  If I am lucky I can add to it later on and will share a photo soon.  This section has eyelets in the roof--for the grape vine and smrynas in the grass.  I'm not very excited about the eyelets, but I'm sure they'll look good when I get them stitched.  I will stitch all the little details of the house and roof and then fill in the colors last.  It's nice to have something a little different to work on this time around.

By the way--many thanks for the comments on my last post!  They are, as always much appreciated.

Just a Few More Stitches!

I've not posted lately as the next photo I wanted to share was to be part two of my Mystery Sampler all finished.  I'm still a few stitches short of that goal, however, but I am getting there.  It's very true--a few stitches every day adds up quickly--or at least quicker than trying to find a chunk of time for uninterrupted stitching, which I don't seem to have time for lately.  So, a little update and I'm almost there.  I did order the few floss colors I need to start part three--yay, what a nice thought--starting part three!  I do want to jump right in, but I might work a little on a few other designs first to make some progress elsewhere, but very soon I'll have photos of something New to share--what a lovely thought.

Progress Reports!

Happy October!  The year is really flying by, isn't it?!  I'm really a little late to be starting this, as I will not be able to finish it by Halloween, but it will be fun to stitch on during the month in any case.  I've discovered that I have a really, really difficult time working with 40 count linen these days.  I even use magnifying glasses, but I was still having problems.  The weave is so tight there are no holes that I can see and it makes for trouble counting.  I had to buy a stronger set of magnifying glasses to see what I was stitching on the linen!  A bit depressing, but oh well.  I've never had to wear glasses--but I just can't see well enough on such a small area. 

So, you can probably already see--I am working on "Jenny Bean's Halloween Sampler" by Shakespeare's Peddler.  I love the Jenny Bean samplers and would love to buy the others, but I will wait until I finish this one (an incentive for staying on track).  The other problem I had with this--the floss is limited edition and wasn't labeled.  I had no idea until I pulled everything from the plastic bag and sifted through it all.  The bag lists the colors and has a brief description, so I essentially guessed!  Hopefully I am at least close.

Halloween project number two is the little ornament on the back of Prairie Schooler's "Boo to You".  Now this is easy to see and should be easy to finish.  I plan on making him into a fob for my scissors and hopefully finish him well before the holiday.

I'm making slow progress on my "Mystery Sampler" by Blackbird Designs, but progress nonetheless. 

And I like seeing how they are going to look together.  This always urges me on to finish this part so I can start section three!

And my poor "Band Sampler"--hardly no progress at all.  I hate eyelets and the alphabet is slowing me down.  I do want to finish the letters at least before moving on to the next part.  I need to work out some sort of rotation, but my stitching has been erratic of late.  So I will just keep working away at whatever I decide to pick up.  I was hoping this would be a better stitching year, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.  Better a little than nothing at all, right?!

Backtracking

Last month I was picking out stitches, but this month the edges of my vine actually met up perfectly!  I still have more branches to add to the inner circle, but I think I am now back on track.  Once again I am in a stitching slump, but I have been trying to add a few new stitches every weekend.  I also started a small Halloween design that I will have to share soon--a black cat from one of the most recent Prairie Schooler charts.  Now I wouldn't mind a little brisk weather to go along with the Halloween design!