A Gentleman's Samplings

It is still really hot here in North Texas. Luckily August is nearly over with and hopefully September will bring us some cooler temperatures along with some much needed rain.  We have only had around a half inch of rain in the past three months. So hot and dry leaving everything really brown. And all this heat really drains your energy level. But -- I did manage to get the pre-stitching completed on the Patrick's Woods "A Spot in the Mountains" class piece.  The finishing class is in mid-September so I wanted to make sure that I got this completed early. A Spot in the Mountains by Patrick's Woods Worked on 30-ct linen with NPI silks The band on the left with the Florentine stitch will be finished into a tri-fold pocket.  The accessories (on the right hand side) will include a needle case, a canoe shaped pin cushion, and a scissor protector. These were a lot of fun to stitch and looking forward to finishing them. In my previous post I said th...

I finally finished my reimagined Mary Wigham samplar at the end of last month. Mary Wigham by Needleprint Stitched on 40-ct Light Examplar using HDF Silk As stated in a previous post, I saw a finished one done in three colors and really liked it more than the original colors. I did change the wording in the center motif to reflect the year that it was stitched and included initials from members of my family. I am currently splitting my time between the Patricks Woods class piece and Elizabeth Sheffield.  I will post updated snaps once I make a little bit more progress.

Greetings from North Texas where it is hot, hot, hot! It has been above 100F for over 21consecutive days with little rain. I created a blogpost at the beginning of June but never got around to taking the pictures for the blog post. So here goes... I finally finished the Frances Eden 1809 Sampler by Handwork the first week of June. It was a fun and colorful stitich but took me a little bit longer than normal to complete.  It is larger than I thought it would be. I still need to personalize it with my name and year but I am counting it as a finish. 1809 Frances Eden by Handwork Worked on 40-ct Examplar Lakeside Linen using HDF silks After completing Frances Eden, I decided to start Mary Wigham from Needleprint. I had started this using the recommended colors but was not really happy with how it was turning out. But then someone posted a picture of theirs using just three colors (gold, red and brown). I really liked the way they translated the design into...

Hello to all my fellow stitchers, followers, and friends -- I cannot believe that it has been over a month since my last post. Seems that time has gotten away from me once again. My goal for April was to start and finish Frances Eden, Unfortunately, I was not able to reach that goal mainly due to business travel and enjoying the great weather that we have been having in North Texas. I have been spending a lot of my spare time working on out flower and herb gardens. I was hoping to get some raised vegetables beds in place this year but looks like that will have to wait until the fall. I was able to get a lot done though on Frances Eden 1809 from Handwork Samplers. 1809 Frances Eden by Handwork Worked on 40-ct Examplar Lakeside Linen using HDF silks I really like the colors in this one but do not like having to do the same motif twice in the same colors. I did get a little bit bored so to shake things up a little bit I picked back up Elizabeth Sheffield from Scarlet L...

My new start for April is the 1809 Frances Eden by Handwork. The colors on this are really bright and a lot of fun. 1809 Frances Eden by Handwork Worked on 40-ct Examplar Lakeside Linen using HDF silks I nearly have the house completed with the exception of some adornments on the roof. I hope to make better progress this weekend and show another progress picture next week. Thanks to all for the comments on my posts and finishes. They are most appreciated.

Hello fellow stitching friends. I meet my goal for March - to finish City Stitcher's Adam and Eve..  Last stitches put in around 10:30pm CST on 31 March.  I was determined to get this one done. This was a fun and quick stitch.  Not as large as some of the samplers that I have worked on in the past months. Adam and Eve by City Stitcher Worked on 40-ct Examplar Lakeside Linen with HDF silks I am now working on Francis Eden by Handwork. It was hard to resist this one after seeing the finish by Margaret  and the start by Nicole . These two ladies are big enablers. I am currently in the middle of traveling to Tasmania, Australia so you will have to wait for a progress picture. I did start this in the lower left hand corner. Hard to resist that house with the angels on it.  I will post a picture once I make a little bit more process. Have a great weekend.

Spring has finally arrived in North Central Texas with some great weather. That along with the end of Daylight Savings Time allows for more time to spend outdoors getting the flower beds and the rest of the yard in order.  The sampler guild which I belong to hosted Stacy Nash of Stacy Nash Primitives on the 12th and 13th of March.  I did not preregister for this class because I did not know if I was going to be in town or not. Luckily my scheduled worked out and with a little bit of arm twisting from Michelle , I was able to get a kit from someone who was not going to be able to attend.  I got the stitching done fairly quickly on both the drum and needle roll. On the first day of the class we learned how to assemble the drum and age it with a walnut dye. We also learned how to create a strawberry to accent the top. On the second day we learned how to assemble the needle roll.  With a little help from my table partner Betty, I was able to lea...