The Peacock's Feather

Still on Part 2...

Yes, I am still on part 2 of my Mystery Sampler I.  I guess it is good that there are only six parts total.  Part 4 was just posted this past week even though tomorrow is April 1st.  I enjoy stitching this, but it seems to get relegated behind other projects lately.  I had thought of joining in one of Martina's mysteries that is starting tomorrow--one of her new mini mysteries.  The one starting tomorrow will have a castle theme, but I decided against it.  The main reason I am putting it off is finances.  And it certainly is not as if I have nothing else to stitch.  It is also going to be charted for linen banding, and I am not sure how much I like banding.  So I will see how it looks, and if I can't live without it, I can certainly always buy it later!

I am, however, planning on joining the mystery that will start in July.  It is another six month mystery (what chance will I have of getting this done first...?), and it has a Medieval theme.  I thought that sounded interesting.  And for her next big year long mystery, which will start next Jan. 2006, the theme is a French Garden.  Another one I may not be able to pass up.  The thing with Martina's mysteries is, they are not cheap!  She chooses lovely silks and lots of beads.  Of course I love using these materials, but they are certainly an investment!  I guess I should work out some sort of better rotation, so I can at least catch up on my monthly projects.

A New Project Started...

I promise I won't bore you all by posting a picture of each row I stitch in this sampler, but as I have been so excited to start this--here it is.  These are my first stitches in the Spanish Geometric Sampler by The Needle's Content.  I am starting this in the middle of ths fabric and working my way up and out, then I will finish the bottom half.  Even though Caron silks are pretty expensive, this is not too bad of a splurge since it doesn't call for too many colors.  The silks are lovely and soft--sorry the scan isn't too nice.  It is 32ct fabric, and I am just using one ply, but I think the coverage should be okay.  I can't wait until I get a bit farther and have some of the middle squares stitched at least.  I am so happy to finally be working on a Spanish style sampler.  Now it seems I keep seeing more and more of them--both original designs and reproductions.  I am really glad designers have taken an interest in them as they are really so lovely!  I think there is another Spanish style sampler by The Needle's Content called The Spanish Flower Sampler that I will probably have to invest in as well!  And I better not even mention all the other new ones that are out...

My Floss Has Arrived!

Yay.  The rest of my floss has come in the mail.  I hope to put in  my first stitches tonight, but we'll see.  It is pretty bad to start a new project, but I have been wanting to work on this one pretty badly.  The colors are gorgeous!  In case you can't see the scan well, these are my supplies for the Spanish Geometrical Sampler by the Needle's Content.  It is always so fun to start something new...

The Little Bunny

I stitched this little chart yesterday for Easter.  It is called The Little Bunny by Bent Creek.  I stitched him on 32 count Country French Linen--Latte using both DMC and overdyed floss.  It measures about 1-1/2" square and was a nice quick stitch.   I am really terrible at making French knots, but I have discovered that Colonial knots are made in a slightly different way.  They don't come undone easily like French knots seem to do when I make them.  I think I will stick with making Colonial knots from now on.  This was a fun diversion, but now it is back to my little rotation!

John Foster Continued

I have to say this is really an enjoyable sampler to stitch!  I was working on it yesterday, and I kept thinking how I wanted to set this down and work on my Bent Creek Snappers a bit.  But I never got around to it.  Now I would like to try and finish off the flower pot and the few other motifs in that upper right corner and then start working on the border for that area.  What I like about this blog is really seeing my progress.  I can post pictures every week or so and see how I am coming along.  I am not sure if I will be able to stitch on this later today or not.  I have other things I need to do, and I really do need to try and finish March on my Snapper row.  Sorry the scan is not great.  The colors are really very pretty, but they seem a bit washed out.  I had also hoped to stitch a little rabbit chart since it is Easter, but they may not happen.  If I do get to it, I will post a picture of it tomorrow.  Until then, have a lovely Easter everyone!

Surprise in the Mail

This chart came in the mail today for me.  It was a suprise from my friend Jodi (thank you!!).  She belongs to some groups that swap grab bags, and she is nice enough to look out for charts that I might like.  This is one that was on my wish list.  Blackbird Designs has really become a favorite of mine.  One of my WIPs is a Blackbird Design called Greetings.  It is a Christmas design, which I really haven't worked on since the holidays.  It is a nice project to work on--I love overdyed floss.  I will pick it back up eventually.  I should get to work on something now, so I have something to post this weekend!!

No Self Control...

Yes, you have seen this design here recently.  And now I have gone and bought the supplies...something like 19 spools of silks, metallic floss, AVAS floss and the fabric....The design is by Wild-Heart Designs.  I have heard it is gorgeous in person.  So, since I am waiting on the rest of my supplies for my other Spanish sampler, I broke down and ordered everything for this one, too.  We'll see which supplies come first.  Maybe I will just go ahead and start both of them.  And I just got my credit card bill, but we won't go there!!  Pam recently updated her website, and Monday will be posting five new samplers.  They are reproduction samplers, I believe, from her own collection that she just charted out.  I can't wait to see them....

Bee Skeps

Bee Skeps are one of my favorite needlework motifs.  As a matter of fact I have various bee things around my house, I like them so much.  Shepherds Bush uses bees and bee skeps quite a lot in their designs.  I can't remember exactly the meaning of them, but I know they are a big thing in Utah, which is where SB is located.  I read about this once, but as you see I didn't really retain all the information--I will have to look it up again...unless someone out there knows the reference and will share with us...!  Anyway, one of my goals is to finish something by SB--preferably a bee design.  I was thinking about my goals and how few I will most likely reach this year.  This made me think about starting something from my goal list, though really I have too many things going at once as it is.  I decided that rather than starting something completely new, I should pull out something small and work on that.  This design is one of a series they put out in 2003.  I think I started it last summer, but then set it aside.  There is not much to stitch to begin with, but I mainly have back stitching to complete.  So I will try and add this to my rotation, and get something finished off my goal list.  I just need to find the bee skep button, which I think I will have to order directly from SB.  Maybe I can find some cute fabric and finish it as a pillow.  It is sort of like starting a new project...

Eight Corner Pillows

A couple of days ago I posted this picture on my other blog.  Aniza, from the Legacy bulletin board sent it to me as I want to try and learn how to finish a pillow like this.  It has been great to see one up close and her work is gorgeous!  I decided to go ahead and sign up for the Elegant Stitch class, Catherine's Armchair Pin Keep.  It is an Indigo Rose design, and includes one of these cool pillows.  The class is in June--two sessions.  Unfortunately I will just be doing this online, but I am sure I can still ask lots of questions.  I have never stitched an IR design, but they look really pretty.  When I posted about this on Legacy, a French member gave us the link to a Biscornus (the French word for these pillows) swap that was held.  You can see some really lovely pictures of eight corner pillows there!  Maybe sometime in the future there will be a swap here as well.  It would be a fun thing to exchange!  Of course I still have to learn to finish one!

Sweete Bags

Recently in one of my posts I mentioned ordering some sweet bag designs.  I also broke down and ordered two books from Amazon.  The book shown is really more about embroidery, Embroidered Bags and Purses.  I have never really attempted embroidery, but I think the book will be a great reference as it is well illustrated both with photographs and drawings.  There are lots of diagrams on how to construct a bag and the specialty stitches used, which should be really helpful!

The main impetus for this recent interest in Elizabethan designs was spurred by wanting to read up on Spanish Samplers.  I pulled out a book by Thomasina Beck (which I also mentioned recently), and there are chapters on needlework through the ages.  The Elizabethan stuff really caught my eye, which made me start looking around for other information/charts.  The other book I ordered, Elizabethan Cross Stitch, by Barbara Hammet is a bit more of a modern interpretation of the style.  It does have a nice short section at the end of motifs, which could be adapted to your own designs. 

And I also discovered some lovely designs by Sharon Cohen.  I ordered four new charts from Wyndham Needleworks, and they came this weekend.  I definitely want to try my hand at making a sweet bag such as this one or something similar.   I have actually made two "modern" sweet bags.  You can see them in my picturetrail album.  They also have a modern feel to them, but they were really fun to make!  Now, of course, I will have to look at some sampler places and see what sampler reproductions were made at that time.  I have always shied away from these designs as they seem much more complicated than other things I stitch, but I am certainly willing to give it a try.  I do plan, however, on sticking with my original plan of working on my Spanish Sampler first, though!