Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Monique Was Right

I love mystery samplers. I was at one of our local monthly stitching get-togethers and mentioned that I was stitching the Old Sampler mystery from Ricamo Le Tue Idee. Monique wondered why I wasn't worried about the content of the sampler - what if the design turned out to be something I didn't like? Or worse, what if something happens and the designer abandons the project before it is complete? A mystery is risky!

WHAT? Of course I poo-pooed the possibilities. I've stitched several mystery samplers and collected the charts for a dozen more. They are beautiful and complete. Why worry? Then I downloaded the 6th installment of the Old Sampler.

Hey, what is this naked guy doing on my sampler?

I am not uptight or a prude, but as a matter of personal taste I do not decorate with cherubs or nude statuary or that sort of thing. Adam and Eve require fig leaves. That's just my preference. So what to do with the sampler? I decided I could skip a month and worry about it later. Like maybe after the 9th (final) installment came out.

Soon the 7th installment arrived, revealing the bottom of the tree that was started in installment 4. Oh dear. The tree trunk looks "off" to me. Thick at the top, skinny at the bottom. What tree looks like that? The bunnies are very sweet but the tree just bugs me.

I don't mean for this to be a slam against the Old Sampler mystery and I hope no one takes it that way. This is, after all, supposed to be an "Old Sampler" with motifs that are reminiscent of Italian needlework from years gone by. I should have expected a cherub or 5. In the end it's all about my personal taste, what looks good to my eye, and what I want to stitch. I don't know if Monique jinxed me or if I was just past due for a stitching roadblock. Either way, this project is on hold until I have all of the parts and can make a decision. Don't hold your breath or anything.

Speaking of Monique, I recently purchased (via her Etsy shop) a very cute acorn teapot kit. Please pardon the sideways picture.
It is a Silver Needle Night project, a really fun design that will need just a little tweaking to replace the sparkle threads (ick) with something more earthy. Do you sense a "personal taste" trend here? Anyway, Monique included an adorable Easter card with a surprise inside - one of her thread keepers with an acorn painted on it. Need I say swoon? Thanks Monique, it's perfect!

Speaking of acorns, I received a lovely surprise in the mail from Susie. She was sorting through her magazine collection and found these acorn charts. Aren't they awesome? Thanks again, Susie! It was so sweet of you to think of me! On the back of one of the charts was a picture of a sampler that I can't live without. I was thrilled to learn that Joy has the magazine and has agreed to loan it to me someday down the road when I'm ready to add to Diane. So Susie you gifted AND enabled. Gotta love that!

Speaking of Susie, I finished two of her designs. They are a ruler cozy and fob from a Stitcher's Express camp/retreat I attended a year or two (or more?) ago. They are super cute and feature the Rhodes butterfly stitch. Very easy and quite pretty! I should stress that I goofed repeatedly while stitching the cozy and fob. You know, little things like stitching over 1 instead of over 2 on the cozy and attaching the fob cording to the bottom instead of the top. Who else do you know that could accidentally stitch over 1 instead of over 2? Doh! The initials and charm are my personal efforts to fix the goofs and I added the beads on the fob because I could. I think it all worked out in the end. I noticed on Susie's blog that she is designing for the Stitcher's Express retreat in the fall. Yahoo! I hope I can attend this year. It's always a fun time.

Thanks for your encouraging comments! Some of you might have noticed a comment or two from me on your blog. I've reduced my unread feeds from over 3000 to under 400. In the process I've been a bit brutal and unsubscribed from a fair number of blogs. Hopefully this will make things more manageable for the future.

Next time I'll have pictures and details about the Dutch Treat tabletopper I mentioned here.

15 comments:

Anna van Schurman said...

Not that a naked guy on a sampler would bother me all that much, but I've never done a mystery sampler where I haven't seen more than one installment of. (Well, the only one is the marquoir, and I can hardly be said to be working on it! LOL)

Anna van Schurman said...

Please excuse that last note. I'm writing so much at work, I used up all my grammar.

mainely stitching said...

The naked guy comment stopped me in my tracks - had to go check it out. LOL!

Great goodies there from Monique and others!! :D

Ranae said...

I have learned to wait for a few installments before beginning a MSAL. It's all about personal taste.
I love the ruler cozy and fob.
I have also reduced my GR too as there is no such time to read and comment on all. It cuts into my stitching time, lol.

Lelia said...

Hi Chelle:

Luv your post.

Samplers are full of odd motifs & delightful treasures. I buy graphs/charts that are EXACTLY from the original projects; however, I admit that I change them all the time.

You could wait to see what the mystery looks like [when everything is revealed] or stitch the naked guy .... I always thought the naked guys were a symbol of fidelity or fertility or something like that. There probably is a genius that reads your blog & can tell you the meaning of each symbol.

Did you know, you were one of the first handful of people to ever comment on my blog??

Anonymous said...

Yikes... sorry to be so jinxy!

Felicity said...

Hi there! Thanks for sending me anniversary wishes. I have a piece of fabric to give away & thought you might like to know about it. It's a Canadian-based design with maple leaves etc. Have a look. Put your name in the hat!

Wanda said...

Thanks for the comment! Oh no about the naked guy! That would be a bummer to stitch and then get to a part you didn't like! Great goodies you have received the thread keepers are too cute!

Susieq said...

I enjoyed designing the projects, although there isn't an acorn in them at all. They are supposed to have them finished and on display at the Rockome Show.

Jenna said...

I'm sorry that you are disappointed in the mystery sampler. I'm not willing to take the risk, personally. I'm such a wuss. ;) And such lovely mail goodies you've received lately. You're going acorn nuts!

Stitchingranny said...

I have just stumbled across your blog and spent half an hour browsing - oooh I love the acorn bourse you made and those buttons are just so perfect. I hope you wont mind me adding you to my blogline so I can come visit again another day.

Lillie said...

I normally waits for all the parts whenever there's a mystery SAL and always ended up never doing it. So this round I decided not to wait but go along with the OS SAL, never gave much thoughts on that guy thou, until your comments..LOL

Michelle said...

Can't wait to see the Dutch Treat. As for the naked guy, mysteries are risky - even from a designer you love. Things may take an unforseen turn for the worse. If you decide not to keep stitching on it, perhaps you can salvage part 1 into a little pinkeep or something!

Tobie said...

It's so fun reading your blog! Too bad about the mystery sampler, can't say I'm so big on cherubs and naked guys for my stitching either. :) Your little fob and ruler holder are so cute. Can't wait to see the table topper now.

Vintage Linen Treasures said...

Hi Chelle,
What a talented lady you are! I'm so impressed with all your work. I just can't imagine the time you took to do them. Very nice posts!
Patricia :o)