wandering thru my WIPs

Thank you for all the comments & e-mails. I have not been on-line much. My husband's cousin will be coming to town sometime & we are trying to keep our telephone line open. I pulled out "Old Saybrooke Sampler" from the closet. [Reproduction of a Child's Early ABC Sampler]

I took this class in April of 2002. How many years has this been in the closet??? Yikes. Maybe time for some stitching.
I had a difficult time with the graph/pattern. The lines were not very clear, thus, put it aside after stitching the needle/pin roll & fob designs.
This is stitched with DMC floss on 25 count linen. I purchased some rings to sew inside the case.
I enjoyed the fob & NR stitching. I decided to just 'stitch' away at the letters [first photo] & figure they will be close enough to the pattern. Good thing I enjoy stitching letters!

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Manged to add more 'vines' to my tabletopper. Did put more stitching IN, than ripping OUT : ) My mind doesn't want to cooperate with the graph!


My plaid, with white as the final color. Ta Da. I got the reversible technique to work out.

Lelia's Plaid

This is my plaid attempt -- Thank you Marge G! You taught me well. I'm not much of a canvas stitcher; however, this is a mono canvas using DMC 4 - Retors A Broder - a matte cotton. Colors: 2444, 2916, 2788. It is apx 4 1/4 x 4 1/8 " ... not quite a square.

I'm not sure what to do for an edge. Maybe fringe? Maybe weave in all those ends? Some sort of something around the outside. WOOT ... at least I got the technique to work!
close-up of 'lelia's plaid'. I created this pattern yesterday afternoon.

Found three colors I liked -- have not decided on the last color. I won the skeins of cotton in a door prize a few years back. Nice to finally use them up : ) My last color might be lt pink ... maybe white.

Not sure what project to pick up ... seems I'm on a 'rotation' of WIPs right now : )

progress pics

Is this kewl, or what? These were given to the workshop participants. They are 3" square measuring rulers. Luv it : )








I appreciate all the kind e-mails & comments re. Hillside Samplings group project. I think the workshop (on Saturday) went well. I did not get much stitching accomplished during the workshop; however, did enjoy needlechat + meeting new stitchers.

Per request, I have posted a close-up picture of the needlebook cover (above)
and a close-up picture of the alphabet. There are four different stitches in the alphabets: rice stitch, palestrina knot, smyrna cross, 4-sided stitch.

(Note to non-bloggers, if you click on a photo - they will enlarge on your computer screen.)
Progress picture. I worked on this piece of linen before & during the workshop. I wanted to be sure to have the pocket edges counted out correctly -- and the fob outline counted out correctly. I'm thinking there might be enough linen to make a small pinkeep [with mat board]. I was lucky to find pins on 50% off sale. I do need some sort of cardboard or mat board for the pinkeeps -- see, I've never made one.
Progress picture. This is the bottom piece - and the pockets & tufted pincushion will be sewn on. I will put the flowers on before adding the lining.

As for the question re. the thread winder in my previous post: The thread winder & ruler are extra - not part of the stitching kit. I ordered the thread winder separately from the kit. I did not purchase the ruler. I don't know if they are still available.

During the workshop - stitching time - my GF, Mel, pulled out her instructions for Chottie's Plaid. It was a class from a previous EGA chapter meeting. Lucky for us, the woman who taught the group was at the next table -- and gave us hands-on instruction & stitched up a sample. It is so awesome to watch them progress. Thank you Marge G for the hands-on lesson!

After the EGA class, I went home & I tried this technique - I made a mess of it!! After getting a step-by-step from Marge G -- I know how to create these reversible plaids. There is a nice web site here with photos, freebies, info, etc. I came home, unearthed my directions - pulled out the threads & plan to start a new plaid w/spring colors.