Sunday Stitching Update April 28th

My progress was slow in the past couple of weeks. I had a business trip to New Orleans for a few days, then a few days after I got home I had such a terrible cold that they sent me home for 2 days to rest & recoup. I'm better now, so hopefully I will get back on pace. I'm about 1/2 done, so I took it off the floor frame for this photo. For our newbies, I'm stitching mine on 36 ct. Lakeside Linen in Vintage Sand Dune using the suggested threads.

As for the alphabet, I had thought of putting the letters in correct order. However, I went to stitch one night, and my husband said, "I've been looking at your chart and have some questions about the alphabet..." If the out of order letters caught his interest, I figure maybe other family members who see it framed may pay more attention when they see it, too. I'll be doing the full piece as charted



And They Sinned by Examplar Dames - 64 days progress



Easter Sunday March 31st

I'm continuing to devote my stitching time to And They Sinned, which I started February 23rd.  Today was Day 37, and this afternoon I finished page 1 of 3 1/2.  With today being Easter Sunday, it was fun to finish the page with a bunny at Eve's feet.

And They Sinned by Examplar Dames - Day 37

I did do more stitching on page 2 this evening, and I think that page will go a bit faster than page 1.  A large part of the page is alphabets, so it's not as busy and has fewer color changes. 

Monday Update March 25th

I'm keeping busy working on And They Sinned, reaching the 30 day point on Sunday March 24th.  Some days I don't get any stitching done, but I seem to make up for it on the weekend.  This week I'll definitely be finished with page 1 and on to page 2.  The chart has only 3 1/2 pages, so this is moving along nicely! 

Monday March 18th

I am so committed to And They Sinned!  Yesterday was Day 23, and I've reached the Tree of Life.  On the picture below, the blue bird in the bottom center sits on the top of that tree.  I'll be working on that tonight and doing my best to get most, if not all, of page one completed this week.

And They Sinned by Examplar Dames - March 17th, Day 23

Monday Update, March 11th

I was tired last night, which I attribute to losing that hour for Saturday's time change, so I took a picture of my WIP but did not post a blog update.  I'm really loving And They Sinned, and my husband's challenged me to stick with one piece from start to finish, so I'll see how long this takes to finish.  Yesterday was Day 16 for ATS, and I finally got past the clouds.

And They Sinned - March 10, 2013 - Day 16

I also took a couple of pictures of my Mark 2 by my new recliner.  This set-up is perfect for me, and I truly stitch in comfort.  I just realized, too, that the fabric color is truer in the pics below.

 

My Mark 2 Set-up



A look from behind the recliner



And it flips easily to the back



Sunday Update March 3rd

I'm really enjoying stitching And They Sinned by Examplar Dames.  Today was Day 9, though I don't get much done during the week since I work.  I hope to get this done quickly so I can move on to my Scarlet Letter Sampler, SDW A German Band Sampler circa 1710 for Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year, so I'm considering stitching this exclusively for now.

And Thy Sinned by Examplar Dames - Day 9

I also won a contest run by Deborah Dick of Tempting Tangles.  My prize was the chart for Giovanni's Alphabet, which is another lovely sampler.  It will be a while before I get to start this one, but I do look forward to stitching it.

Giovanni's Alphabet by Tempting Tangles

Sunday Update February 24, 2013

My most exciting stitching news this week is that I finally started And They Sinned by Examplar Dames on Saturday.  This is quite a large Adam and Eve sampler, which I'm stitching on 36 ct. Lakeside Linen in Vintage Sand Dune, using Gentle Art Sampler Threads.  I love the fabric, and I think I will really enjoy stitching this piece!

And They Sinned
Chart Design

And They Sinned
First Progress Picture

SDW A German
Band Sampler circa 1710

In addition to starting And They Sinned, I also received another chart, SDW A German Band Sampler circa 1710 from The Scarlet Letter.  This is my first Scarlet Letter chart, and it's beautifully done, so I have a feeling it won't be my last.  SDW is similar in size to ATS, and I'll be stitching it as part of Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year celebration.  If you'd like to know more about that, follow the link on the right hand side of this page.

Finally, our new recliners were delivered on Thursday.  Mine works perfectly with the Mark 2 floor frame, and I was able to put it in the same place as the old one, so I still have the lighting that works so well for me. 

Sunday Update February 10, 2013

It's been a good stitchy week for me.  I've already blogged about my sampler coming back from Jill Rensel, and I'm still thrilled with it!  I also got two other packages, both containing fabric.  Once was a fat quarter of 32 ct. Belfast from Hand Dyed Fabrics by Stephanie in her new color Odyssey.  The other was a special cut of Lakeside Linen's Vintage Sand Dune, purchased from Marty Branch's shop Stitch & Frog.  This will be used for And They Sinned, which I'll be starting soon.

I've made progress on a couple of pieces.  One is Wisteria by the Silver Lining on 28 ct. black Jobelan, stitched one over one.  I love these flowers and will probable do many more.

Wisteria by The Silver Lining

The other is HAED's Foregone by Marta Dahlig.  Once I finish the current page, I'll be moving And They Sinned to the floor frame.  This is still just the background drapery, but the lady will begin to appear soon.

Saturday Sampler News!

It's Saturday night, and I just got a wonderful e-mail from Jill Renseler.  She's finished framing my Belles-Lettres D by Gigi R and will be sending it home on Monday.  Here's the photo she sent:

Gigi R's Belles-Lettres D framed by Jill Rensel

I've also decided to join Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year Challenge.  Nicola turns 50 this month and has decided to celebrate by stitching a series of Scarlet Letter reproduction samplers over the next year and inviting other stitchers to join the challenge.  She's gotten great response to this, and has many small challenges and prizes going on.  I've chosen SDW, A German Band Sampler circa 1710 as the piece I'll stitch for this challenge.  I still have to order the chart, fabrics, and threads, but this is the one I've chosen:

SDW A German Band Sampler circa 1710 by The Scarlet Letter

This sampler will make a wonderful companion piece to And They Sinned, the sampler I'll be starting as soon as my Lakeside Linen fabric comes in.  There's been a delay due to illness in the family of the ladies who own LL, but hopefully it will be in soon.  Both SDW and ATS are about 45" tall, with SDW being just a bit wider than ATS.  I'd love to have both of them on my wall!

And They Sinned by Examplar Dames Design Co.

Thrift Store Finds!

Today I met some friends for brunch in Canyon Lake, a small town north of San Antonio, where we had a lovely brunch and watched a delightful small town Christmas parade.  While there, I also visited the local thrift store and was excited with some awesome finds in their cross stitch bin!

The most exciting find was an unopened copy of And They Sinned by Examplar Dames Design Co.  This is a huge Adam and Eve sampler with a stitch count of 809 x 169.  Though it currently retails for far more, I got this for only $1.  You can get a closer look at the design and see a picture of a woman by the finished piece at:  http://www.wyndhamneedleworks.com/Examplar_Dames/and_they_sinned.htm  I'm not sure when I'll work this into my stitching rotation, but for now I'm just delighted to have this in my stash!

And They Sinned by Exampler Dames Design Co.

A second find was a small Silken Wings Kit titled Sitting Chickadee by Crossed Wing Collection.  The kit has the chart, matted 40ct silk gauze, and Au Ver A Soie d'Alger silk threads.  Someone did start to stitch a tiny section, but I believe I can remove those stitches without mich difficulty.  I've never stitched on silk gauze before and wanted to get some for Baby Roses by The Silver Lining, a chart of rose bud miniatures I was gifted recently.  I'll either stitch the chickadee for practice or use the silk gauze for one of the roses.  Either way, this was another great $1 find!

Sitting Chickadee by Crossed Wing Collection

Next was a Janlynn Pillow Top Kit of a Hen.  This would be lovely for someone who collects things featuring roosters and hens.  The kit is unopened, and contains 14ct black Aida plus all the threads.  While I doubt I will stitch this myself, I thought it might be a good one to donate as a contest prize in one of the online stitching groups I belong to.  This one, too, was only $1.

Janlynn Hen Pillow Top Kit

My final thrift shop find for the day was a Shepherd's Bush kit, Queen Bee Sampler.  This kit has the chart, 32ct. Belfast linen, and all the silk floss, beads, and charms required to complete the band sampler.  Though the kit had been opened, all the contents are there unused.  Like the pillow top kit, this will probably be donated as a contest prize.  Once again, the price was only $1.

Queen Bee Sampler by The Shepherd's Bush