Friday, February 01, 2008

January Finishes

January has come and gone. I mananged to finish a few thing. My December Homespun Elegance Woolly Tyme sheep blanket didn't get finished in December, so I wrapped it up in January.

I am not really into santa, so I replaced him with a couple of trees from the HE Winter House Sampler chart. I really like the way it turned out. I also changed the colors of the heart just a bit due to overdyed floss dye lot issues. (This has become a routine occurance here at Chez Toadlily and it's not something I'm happy about.)
I also finished the January sheep blanket. In this case, the chart called for the snowmen to be stitched with Weeks Light Khaki. That would have made them brown with varying shades of, ahem, brown. I opted to use DCM 3865 instead.
Another stitching finish in January was a leaf design. My good buddy Linda B. participated in an "ugly fabric" challenge at the Ties, Needles and Threads (TNT) Guild this month. Here is a picture of the "ugly" fabric. Linda and I didn't think it was especially ugly, but there is no accounting for taste.
Linda used the fabric to make a bourse. She put a pin cushion in the middle and a few pockets around the inside of the bag. I thought a leaf fob for her scissors would be a fun addition. I used the maple leaf design from Sekas Watercolour Leaves and stitched it over 2 on black 16 ct Heatherfield with Burnt Toast Watercolours. The variagation was really pretty. Unfortunately my idea for finishing didn't work out. In fact the silly thing balled up then began to shred and in the end I was lucky to salvage the parts. Said parts are now safely tucked into the cedar chest.
It turned out that Linda's bourse was on the petite side and the fob would have been on the hefty side; it really would not have worked out anyway. Ah well, it's the thought that counts! At least I hope Linda sees it that way.

My last finish for January was the Hope Sampler by Sunflower Samplings. I bought the chartpack on clearance at Hobby Lobby. The cover art is the pits, but I when I looked at the floss list I knew the colors were right up my alley. Here is a scan of the chartpack.
Not very inspiring, is it? Now check out this link. Caron has an article about Sunflower Samplings and they feature a picture of the Hope Sampler here. You'll need to scroll about half-way down the page.

I started stitching this sampler in November of 2006 during Jeanne's stitch-in. I used a darker color of linen than the chart called for. I also knew I would have to do something about the chickens and roosters. They did not make my socks roll up and down. They seem a little cartoonish for this style of sampler. I'm also not a big fan of the verse that was used. I stitched everything except for the bird/verse areas, and the project then sank to the bottom of my stitching basket. I recently unearthed it and decided that it had languished in the basket for far too long.
After much contemplation and deliberation I decided to simply repeat the "tree" in the center motif and add my parents' initials. The "tree" in the center is surrounded by six circles. There were six of us at my house when I was growing up. The Hope Sampler became a family sampler. Best of all, I've freed up some space at the bottom of my stitching basket!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments about my MIA projects! It's really nice that you are still "here" in spite of my recent hiatus. I appreciate your comments!

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great change on the snowman color. I can't say that I'm familiar with the pattern, but I must admit that brown snowmen just don't sound very appealing. The "Hope Sampler" is wonderful!! Your changes to it are right on the mark, and I love how you've adjusted it to become representative of your family. Very nicely done!!

Karoline said...

They're all lovely Chelle, congratulations

Katrina said...

Everything is gorgeous! Congrats on all the finishes. I am with you on the brown snowmen, what's up with that?

Michele said...

congrats on all the finishes! I love the Hope Sampler and all the changes you made to make it your own. Brown snowmen? lol

mainely stitching said...

You've accomplished some VERY lovely stitching in January. The Sunflower Samplings finish is my favorite - just love those colors!!

monique said...

Nice finishes, 'Chelle! I agree that snowmen ought to be *white*

Carla said...

Lovely finishes!!

Nicole & Phil said...

WOW, you have been buy! It's been awhile since I popped in to see what you have been up to!
Great work!

Maddie Can Fly said...

I love the way you took the sampler and made it your own and so personal. I like your version much better then the published one -- Great Job!!

Nancy said...

Hi Chelle,

You have a lot of nice projects - hours of fun! I also like the "ugly" fabric.

I am almost finished stitching Part 5 of Old Sampler. The more that is stitched the more I like it. What a fun project!

Happy stitching!

Anita said...

Lot of great stitching. I am so glad that you are back to stitching.

Gina E. said...

Hi Chelle,
Thanks for all your comments on my latest linens!! Glad someone is enjoying them...well, you're not the only one of course, but you are VERY enthusiastic!
I'm not into Santa either, so I thoroughly approve of your changes here. The Hope Sampler is just gorgeous. I like to think I will stitch a proper traditional sampler like that one day. Dream on...

Lelia said...

Cannot get over the beautiful hope sampler - esp after seeing the front of the pattern! Wow. What a difference : ) Great find in the clearance bin!

Jinger said...

I agree with your color change on the snowmen. Who wants brown snowmen?

Meari said...

Congrats on your finishes!

Lillie said...

Wow! you been busy. Each an every pieces are looking so good.

Anonymous said...

What a neat idea with the 'Family Tree' in your sampler. I love it!!
Thanks for sharing.
-Julie
Julie's Cross Stitch

Nicole & Phil said...

how is your stitching coming along? I am looking forward to seeing that snowman design finished!

lena-lou said...

Are you there? I called by to wish you a Happy Easter weekend :)

Take care