The second alphabet on Mary Ann Turner is worked in eyelets. The dividing band before the first row of eyelet letters also has eyelets in it.
Basically, I'm stitching holes. Three rows of holes. It may be a few days before you hear from me again. Holes take forever to stitch.
Sigh . . .
And it's a full moon, too.
I had a whole rant about the way this morning went, but then decided the title said it all, and no more needs to be said.
However, some stitching has occurred, so the day hasn't been a total loss. The first alphabet on Mary Ann Turner is done:
I used to stitch all the borders on schoolgirl samplers before I did anything else, mainly because I find those borders a wee bit boring to stitch. The problem is that if you mess up somewhere, you don't find out until it's time for the borders to match--and then it's too late. And that is a right royal pain.
So I've decided to spread the pain out a little, and work the border as I work the insides. There is another alphabet to go, which will complete the top third of the sampler, and then I can get to the fun motifs.
You may recall I don't enjoy stitching alphabets either--so on this sampler, I'm getting over most of the things I don't like right from the get-go.
I once told a friend that the lack of borders is one reason I prefer band samplers. This so-called friend then said that I should realize that band samplers were just rows of border stitches. I stuck my fingers in my ears and said La-la-la-la very loudly.
It was a great week! Three phenomenal classes, several good friends taking the classes, new friends made, lots of inspiration and motivation, great meals from area restaurants, a hostess with the mostest, a mini-boutique in the classroom--and we get to do it again in March!
This is the second time I've attended an event that Kim at Sassy Jack's has sponsored, and it will not be the last. And, as we all know, I stalk Jackie up and down the East Coast, so, again, I'm looking forward to future classes with her.
I have three full project bags with delicious pieces to complete:
Two of them are ready to move into the finish-finish stage, one needs to be completely stitched--and I have made a start on it. I have to admit, I didn't get as much done as my good buddy Sharon, whose electric needle was blazing!
Should I admit that I now have six of Jackie's projects from classes just since February? Told 'ya--stalker!
And, speaking of Sharon, who is reproducing her antique sampler collection as Thy Needle's Worke, I started stitching a model for her when we arrived home yesterday. Meet Mary Ann Turner:
She is such a sweet schoolgirl sampler. The top has alphabets, the lower two-thirds has birds and cherubs and flowering shrubs and a fine mansion and lots of motifs. She also has a lovely strawberry border--it occurred to me that I have at least three stitched samplers with strawberry borders. As strawberries are right up at the top of my favorite fruit list, this seems appropriate
And, of course, there was retail therapy. Sassy Jack's has its own line of reproduction samplers, Sassafras Samplers. The original sampler sat across the room from me, and the more I looked at her, the more necessary it was that she should come home with me. Kezia Turnock has a funky castle(?) and two ladies doing a Vanna and rampant lions and flowers and birds.
What is even cooler is that Sharon is reproducing another sampler with the same funky castle(?) and a similar border and some of the same motifs--so I see "sister" samplers in my future.
All of these things waiting for my needle and what am I doing?
Laundry.
Reality sucks.
Today I constructed a paper mock-up of the Schoolgirl Workbox.
On the right, you'll see the beginnings of the hem-stitch sampler that is one of the mini-samplers that will fit inside the workbox.
Another day in which I actually stitched in class! Will wonders never cease!
I also indulged in some retail therapy, but I'll save that for show and tell on another day. At the moment, I plan to go completely prone to let my back unkink--stitching all day is hard work!
We're in the mountains.
We drove up yesterday, and on the way we stopped to visit a friend and fellow stitcher who lives in the area.
And, OMG, I wish I had thought to take pictures of her work. Lee does the most incredible silk shading work, and contemporary stumpwork, and, actually, all of her needlework is simple perfection. Every stitch is precisely placed. She showed Dearly Beloved and me three of the Trish Burr birds she has stitched--they were so lifelike they could have fluttered off the ground fabric. The panels for her casket are breath-taking in color and design. How many ways can you say something is beautiful, or exquisite, or elegant before you run out of adjectives--and the words still aren't enough!
It was inspirational.
And so now I'm attending classes with Jackie with a renewed desire to improve my work as much as I possibly can--and I'm taking the class that will help with that.
The Schoolgirl Workbox has been on my list of unicorn classes for years. It was originally offered as part of EGA's Extended Study Program--but at the time, I was working full-time with only three weeks of vacation a year. I had to balance family obligations with other considerations--and it was a quite expensive destination. So I dreamed about it for years. and now I have it in my hot little hands.
And, I actually stitched in class today.
This is our doodle cloth, which will have a motif from each side of the workbox and which will turn into something when it's finished--the first time I've had a doodle that created anything more than a doodle. Granted, I worked only a few Queen stitches, but it's a start--and on the first day of class!
I also added another project to the growing pile--Mary Ann Turner, a sampler model I'm stitching for my friend Sharon of Thy Needle's Work. There will be updates both here and on Thy Needle's Work's Facebook page, so stayed tuned for progress reports.
All in all, I'm excited about stitching again. I was having a bit of a slump for awhile, but I think it's definitely ended. Just takes hanging out with other stitchers, I suppose . . .
It was a very good mail day, even if I didn't actually get the package until today--the mail carrier delivered it to a different address and it took a bit of Sherlock Holmes-ing to locate it--but it's here, and I am very, very excited.
I ran across a website for Julia's Broderie a week or so ago, and she was offering a gift box with Summer projects. Only one project was pictured. Everything else was a mystery.
I was not having the best of weeks that week and decided to treat myself to a box of surprises. I liked her design style, so I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained.
It was a delight to open, beautifully packaged:
The floss colors are those muted, faded pastels that I love, so that was a good sign from the very beginning.
As a summer pastime, she suggests writing a letter to a dear friend, and provided stationery for that purpose.
And one of the kits creates a corner bookmark for that beach book waiting to be read (although, since I'm currently re-reading some of the older John Sandford Prey thrillers, I'm not quite sure if delicate flowers fit the subject matter).
There is handmade paper, plus the directions to create a book of your own. As Dearly Beloved and I have been talking about taking a class in bookbinding at John C Campbell Folk School, this looks like the perfect intro.
And here are two lovely little embroidery kits. Neither involves difficult stitches or fragile, persnickety threads--so perfect for a quick project to work on between more difficult, challenging pieces.
I repeat, I am delighted, and plan to dive in after I get home again.
I'm heading to the mountains tomorrow for a week of classes with Jackie at Sassy Jack's. I have plans to blog, but you know how that goes when I go out of town.
And, a little bit of blog business: I love getting comments on the blog, but if you're a no-reply commenter, I can't respond to you. I used to be able to reply on the blog, but that feature changed with the last blogger update and I haven't been able to figure out a work-around. So please know that I appreciate your taking the time to comment, and I read every word.
My name is Ann. I am a thread addict.
Katie Strachan offers a set of green threads that aren't part of the historic range that I've been collecting for the last ten years. I have an idea for a casket that is more contemporary than either Harmony or the family-related design I've been working on--well, more off than on--for awhile.
Now if she would just come up with a range of pink/rose/mauve shades . . . it's hard to choose colors from a website and get exactly what you want, so I rely on somebody who can see the actual threads to curate them for me.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to get myself together for a week at Sassy Jack's. Dearly Beloved is accompanying me to this event. As usual, he is packing as if we were going to leave home for a year rather than a week. One of these days I'll persuade him that there are stores in other places where one can acquire anything one accidentally leaves at home.
Although after 46 years, I should have learned differently . . .
