The Peacock's Feather

More Band Sampler

It's been a while since I've shared my Band Sampler, and as you can see I've completed a few more rows.  I'm a bit stuck on the eyelets--if I could stitch just one a day I could finish that row in no time.  Easier said than done it seems.  Now I'm working on yet another alphabet that is made up of four sided stitches.  I'm not entirely sure I'm doing them right, but they seem to look okay in any case.  Once I finish this row and the next the rest of the sampler is much more interesting!

I've got five days off from work over the holiday, so I am hoping to stitch--not sure what I'll work on, but this seems to be what I am grabbing most lately.  I'd love to finish the letters.  The next row is a nice, simple satin stitch!

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, have a safe and happy holiday.  If you aren't, have a great rest of the week.

Happy stitching everyone!

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?!

A Few More Bands & More Mystery Revealed

Sorry it's been a little quiet around here.  It's just been way too hot to stitch, and worse too hot to sit in front of the computer for very long (I live in an old house and our upstairs gets very warm even with central air).  This week is going to be unbearable with temps in the high 90s and of course lots of humidity.  So I had better get in a quick update.  I have made a little progress and as you can see am skipping around a little on my band sampler.  I do like alphabets but there are so many the work can be a tiny bit tedious. 

 

Along with French knots, eyelets are one of my least favorite stitches.  I am going to have a whole row od them here.  I think I'll just add a few at a time rather than try and do them all at once!

 

I've finally had a chance to work on my Mystery Sampler again.  Am working on part two still.  I do like the linen and enjoy working on this.  This is a fairly narrow section, so I am hoping that with some diligence it will go quickly.

 

And a little anticipation.  I had to set parts one and two together to see what they'll look like when I am ready to sew!  I do love this sampler!

Happy stitching everyone and stay cool!

A Few Updates

I've added a few more rows on to my Band Sampler.  Sorry the photo is a little dark, but I was too lazy to take another picture.  Usually I like stitching letters, but there are several alphabets on this one, so they might turn out to be a little tedious.  Still, I'll be able to juggle between rows once I start them. 

 

I decided I really need to try and finish "Rain, Rain" by Prairie Schooler.  I'm working on my least favorite part of the design--the letters at the top are stitched in Ecru.  I don't like stitching with really light colors like ecru and white--I always feel like my work looks sloppy when I use these colors.  Sometimes it's just the way the linen is--narrow threads, but the stitches often look uneven.  It will be better when I can get the gray clouds stitched and then I'll be nearly finished!

 

And what do you think about this sampler?  It's also in the Brenda Keyes' book, Traditional Samplers.  It's a reproduction called "The Mary Elizabeth Nicholson Sampler" originally stitched in 1892.  It's stitched on 25 count Dublin linen, though I'm not sure if it is still available?  It measures 17-1/4 x 17-1/4 when finished.  As it looks like a white or ivory color (stitched with plain DMC), I should easily find a subsitute if I can't find Dublin linen.  I should really not be thinking about kitting up anything new, but you know how  it goes!

And I've not forgotten my Mystery Sampler.  I need to figure out a rotation now that I have several projects I'm in the mood to stitch!