The Peacock's Feather

Even Slower Progress...

Well, I think I am going to have to accept that I am going to be behind in this project.  I should be able to catch up on my BC Snapper project, but not the Chatelaine Mystery Sampler.  I hope at least to get part 2 finished by the end of this month.  Honestly I am not looking forward to all of part 3 as it has over one stitching, which I am not terribly fond of.  At least this mystery ends in June, so I can still maybe get it finished by the end of the summer.  I have been stitching on it for about half an hour each morning before work, but as I have mentioned before, I am not the speediest of stitchers.  It is nice, though, to see each section of it as I get it stitched.  This is part of the reason I love needlework.  You start out with a plain piece of fabric and this design appears as you go, and it turns into something really lovely.  We'll see how far I get by next weekend!

Slow Progress

Here is my progress so far on John Foster.  This is really very relaxing to stitch on.  It is nice to have a variety of motifs to work on and the colors are really very pretty, though, they are not very accurate on this scan--they seem more dull here.  I stitched a little this morning, and if I am lucky I might be able to work on it later tonight.  However I have errands and cleaning to do.  We are also supposed to go to a birthday party later, so I am not sure how late we will stay there.  Hopefully I will get home early enough to stitch though!  Even though weekends are "my time", really they are not.  There are too many chores that need to be finished before I get to do my own thing!!

It's Here...Well Almost...

Finally, it is here--or part of it at least.  I received my Spanish Geometrical Sampler in the mail today from Elegant Stitch.  I ordered the fabric at the same time as well as the floss, but they are still waiting for a floss shipment from Caron.  So I have a partial order at least.  I have two of the five floss colors.  I think I will have to wait to start.  I was suprised at how large the fabric was--25" square.  This is going to be bigger than I had pictured it.  I just have to find Mill Hill beads 10029 and 10027.  Anyone know who carries them?  ES called them magnifica beads, which they don't stock.  Sorry, the picture looks pretty washed out, but the chart calls for 32 ct. antique white Belfast linen, waterlilies in olive (shown), jade, and hyacinth, and soie cristale 1091 (shown) and 1092, and of course the beads I will need to track down.  I can at least study my chart, and keep stitching my other projects until I get the rest of my supplies.  Ah, the anticipation of starting a new project...

Large Projects...(A.K.A. BAPs)

I tend to stitch certain designers or certain types of designs--samplers, primitive designs or smaller things, but I do have in my stash a few designers such as Mirabilia.  Some time ago a friend and I had thought to have our own mini-SAL and work on Cinderella.  We both sort of fizzled out on that one.  I didn't get very far, and I am not sure she even had a chance to start it.  I admit it has gone back into its plastic bin.  But I have often thought of really working on Maidens of the Season, and stitching both charts on one large piece of fabric.  As you can see I have even gone so far as to kit it up.  The floss, beads and metallics shown are just for *one* of the charts! I have never stitched something this large and I tend to be afraid of starting something like this for the very reason that it is so large.  I know a lot of hours goes into a designer like Mirabilia, and considering how limited my stitching time is, I am always afraid that I will start it and then it will get pushed to the side (much like Cinderella).  But that does not stop me from pulling the charts out and thinking how much I want to stitch them!  Technically I am waiting for my Spanish Sampler (plus supplies) to come in the mail, so I will try to avoid temptation.  But I can still look. 

Spanish Samplers

Lately I have been rather fixated with Spanish style samplers, and you may find me posting a bit about them.  In one of my online needlework groups I actually started a thread about Spanish Samplers, and it got quite a lot of response.  I would like to do a bit of research, or at least track down more information on them. This is a sampler done in the Spanish style, and I think it is lovely.  It is by a new designer, Wild-Heart Designs, and it is hard to believe this is one of her first charts as it looks so elegant and professional!  I have read that she will be coming out soon with some more new samplers including some with a Spanish/Mexican feel to them.  I may have mentioned that I ordered a Spanish Geometrical Sampler by The Needle's Content (which appears on her homepage) as well as the fabric and floss.  I have been waiting for the material to arrive, and I plan on beginning to stitch it regardless of my other ongoing projects (I know I have no self control!).  The design is gorgeous and the colors would look so nice in my house.  Also it is all cross stitch and smyrna stitches, so I don't think it will be difficult to do.  However, I have been dragging around my Spanish Wine Sampler, and I may have to stitch that one as soon as I do the other one.  It calls for a lot of double running stitch, which I have not done much of, so it seems sort of daunting to me.  But I am sure once I got started on it, it would go fast. Until then, I have more than enough ongoing projects to keep me busy!!

Embroiderer's Story

I have a small but nice little needlework library, and I need to list my books here on my blog sometime.  They are scattered about in different nooks and crannies and I tend to forget what I have until I am looking for something specific.  This is a lovely book, "The Embroiderer's Story: Needlework from the Renaissance to the Present Day", by Thomasina Beck.  I think it may be out of print, though I could be wrong on this.  It is a pity that there are not a lot of readily available needlework books--at least like this.  There are loads of quilting, sewing, knitting, etc. books, but not so many on samplers or historical needlework.  This one goes through various historical periods and is lavishly illustrated (I definitealy recommend it).  The reason I went looking for it was I had seen some lovely little sweete bags with an Elizabethan design, and I had to go look for some actual designs.  And, by the way, you may be seeing a sweete bag or two here...at least the charts at first...and maybe eventually a finished project...

Mystery Project

I will very shortly be starting a project for a swap on one of my EzBoard groups.  Today is the last day to sign up and tomorrow I will get the name of the lady I will be stitching for.  This is all I can show (at least until it is finished), as I don't want to give away my design.  We are stitching ornaments with a "Friendship" theme.  And believe it or not I pulled not only the chart, but also fabric and floss from my stash rather than buying something new, which I was tempted to do!  The designer I chose is one I really enjoy stitching, so I am looking forward to this.  Hopefully it will be a quick stitch as this will be a smaller project!

February Snapper

Last night I finally finished my monthly snapper for February.  I thought I was going to accomplish so much--finish this and then work a bit on my Houses of Hawk Run project, but as I was also watching DVDs, I tended to get caught up in the movies, and my stitching lagged.  I had a couple of new movies rather than movies I had seen before, which tend to become more background noise than the focus of my attention.  Now I hope to get March done this month as well.  I have pulled the floss I need, and made a small start on it.  I need to get going on my Mystery Sampler as well.  Too bad the weekend is nearly over! 

Houses of Hawk Run Hollow

I am a bit stalled on this project.  I started The Houses of Hawk Run Hollow by Carriage House Samplings shortly after it was released last summer.  I stitched the first house using DMC as I thought it would be too expensive to stitch it in AVAS as the original was.  But then I had some issues with the shades of DMC.  So I figured if I was going to stitch such a large project, I should use the floss that I would really like.  So I picked out what I had stitched on house #2, and bagan again using AVAS after all.  Since I am rather slow on this one, I have just bought the silks I need as they come up, rather than in one big batch.  This way I can at least watch for sales and try to get the silks a bit cheaper.  I am just stuck on house #2, though!  I need to really sit down with a chunk of time, and get this square finished.  I think when I finally start a new square, I will be more energized to stitch on it.  I have seen other stitcher's finished work and it is really lovely all stitched up.  I would love to frame this one.  Maybe tonight I can get to work on it...  But I plan on keeping it in my WIP pile, so I can attempt to finish it this year maybe!

First Stitches in John Foster

Here are my first stitches in my John Foster 1885 sampler.  I have been itching to start something new.  And since I finally finished something, I started this this past week.  I am not the fastest stitcher, so my progress won't be too speedy, but I will post pictures of my progress as I go.  I think I am going to really enjoy stitching this.  I love Lambswool fabric, and I also like stitching with one ply of floss.  It just called for DMC and a few overdyed colors.

I was very naughty this week, as I decided I also want to start on a Spanish sampler of some sort.  I have several in my stash.  I think Spanish and Mexican samplers are really gorgeous.  So I finally decided to order the Spanish Geometrical Sampler by The Needle's Content.  I also am getting the supplies (heaven forbid I pull one out of my stash!).  I decided on this one as the colors will match my living room really nicely.  It also calls for plain old cross stitch and smyrnas.  I really love specialty stitches, but I thought this one would be a quick stitch.  I guess I should go and get to work on something, so I won't feel so guilty when I start another one!