Get Thee Behind Me, Satin Stitch!

I can see a light at the end of this tunnel of satin stitch over three threads!!  Four whole days of not stitching on it slowed me down, but I'm back on a roll now.  This one requires a lot of concentration, so when I only work on it at home. Besides, the lighting is just not conducive to stitching over three on 40 count at my mom's house!  Not many places are. LOL

The plan is to finish this band and move on to the knot garden by the weekend.  Cross your fingers.

I've seen some baby frogs, but not enough to make me put it away and never look at it again. Besides, I'm still waiting on some linen for "Virtue Outshines the Stars". So, as long as I'm still sane, I'll keep working on MG.  Because as soon as that linen shows up, MG goes on the back burner.  Just sayin'...

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Busy As a Little Bee

I was under the mistaken impression that things would calm down after the holidays were over. WRONG! I feel like I'm spinning head over heels in the dryer.  We're almost two weeks into the new year and it's already flying by.  The good new is I've been a stitchin' fool.

I finished the Starlight Sampler by Little House Needlework for my friend, Nancy, who is moving away in less than two weeks. Boohoo. Our stitching group will just not be the same without her.

The piece is pinned and ready to go in the frame on Monday.  Next Wednesday will be our last stitch group with her, but you can be sure we'll be calling her and keeping track of all her fabulous stitching.

I also subscribed to the Ornament of the Month from Stitching The Night Away.  January's chart is a snowflake.  The fabric and floss are the stitcher's choice. I stitched mine with Treasure Braid PB10 from Rainbow Gallery on 36 count Phantom linen from Picture this Plus.  I had a nice little piece left over from when I stitched Cotillion from Papillon Creations.

Then, in an optimistic effort to finish Margret Gatis by Scarlet Letter, I joined Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year.  If you search my blog you will find that the last time I posted a picture of MG was a year ago. That's pitiful.  The over three stitching is driving me nuts, but I will persevere. I'm too stubborn not to.  So I picked it up last night and suffered through some more satin stitch in some really annoying shapes.

Now you may ask why I'm posting about all this when I just told you that I was going to stitch Virtue Outshines the Stars. Well, I must admit that the only reason I picked up MG is because I'm waiting on fabric for VOtS.  Believe me, I'd be on it like ants at a picnic if that fabric was in my bag!  So who knows what I'll post next! Stay tuned.

But right now I must go work on a custom order scissor fob!  I love doing custom work.

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I Love a Challenge But This is Ridiculous!

Recently, one of the Facebook stitching groups that I follow started a once a month WIP stitch-in for those pieces that you really can't seem to get going on again. Most of the folks in this group have waaaaaaay more UFOs than I do.  That's not saying a lot since I generally work on only one project at a time until it's finished. However, occasionally I start a piece that is so involved or difficult or frustrating that I have to put it down to ensure that I don't pull all my hair out. "Margret Gatis" by Scarlet Letter is one of those pieces.

Make no mistake, I love the sampler. I love the various stitches and the colors. I use the sewing motion and work in hand rather than on a frame which, over time, has led me to stitch by feel to a large degree. I can just tell when I've picked up one or three threads instead of the usual two threads.  But stitching over three threads is tedious, time consuming and hurts my brain. You have to actually count threads and the vertical thread concept* is useless as a counting mechanism. Even more confounding is the fact that some bands on MG are stitched over two threads and some bands are over three threads! It makes the chart confusing and I have to constantly remind myself that each square covers three threads. And don't even get me started on satin stitches motifs with angles and turns over three threads!

Anyway, I chose MG as my WIP for this monthly exercise in futility. Thank heavens, it's only one day for whatever time period one can handle! I worked on some satin stitch motifs for a few hours then had to pack it up. The frogs were starting to scare Lester and Otis!

And now I'm back to the challenging, but stunningly beautiful, Cranberry Sampler. Although I'm in random stitching hell right now on this one too. The directions are pretty skimpy and leave a lot of the stitch and color choices to your imagination. I tend to follow the model stitcher's choices with a few exceptions. And there's nothing like a mountain of double running stitch to make you skip that last cup of coffee. You can't afford twitchy fingers when trying to keep a smooth and straight line going.

* as explained by Carol Leather, needlework designer and teacher

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Pulling from My Stash!

I'm claiming a finish since I decided to consider each band on Margret Gatis 1711 a distinct project. Sunday afternoon while watching the third horriblly played NFL playoff game of the weekend, I finally found all the little things I'd missed and filled them in. It's quite an eclectic band of stitches, motifs and colors. Quite interesting, as a matter of fact. Therefore, you'd think I would move on to another start with some reluctance. NOT.  Of course, if I continue this way, I won't be done for eons! This isn't even one third of the complete sampler!

 

 "The Lily Sampler" by Amaryllis Artworks, not to be confused with the equally lovely "Lily Sampler" by Pat Rogers Collection is next on my list.  I've had it for close to 20 years and have always loved it. And this is the year I decided to stitch it for reasons that will become clear later.



I'm using the Anchor floss colors that the model was stitched with, but I did change the fabric. I chose a 40 count hand dyed linen from my stash. I believe it is from Lakeside Linens, but I cannot remember the color name. If I figure it out later, I'll let you know. It's a pretty medium green that I think gives the piece a more vintage look and will enhance the floss colors. The finished size on 40 count is approximately 8" x 12.5".  I haven't made a lot of progress yet, but here's the start.

 

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January Challenge - My Version

As you may have noticed, I haven't started anything new yet this year! Just the thought of 15 WIPs makes my brain hurt. That's a side effect of being left-brained, I guess. However, I did start my 2011 stitching list. "Margaret Gatis" from Scarlet Letter is the only WIP on it...maybe because it's the only one I have! I started it in 2009 sometime, I think, but got sidetracked by some other piece which had a deadline. Or maybe it was the stitching over 3 threads that sent me over the edge. You have no idea how frustrating it is to stitch over 3 threads unless you've actually tried it.

In any case, when I finished my class model last Friday, I didn't have anything new kitted up yet. So I pulled out MG, unenthusiastically remembering the 'over 3' thing. Much to my surprise I had stopped in the middle of a lovely 'over 2' band. So it must've been a birthday or Christmas gift that caused me to put it away.

 

 I love working on 40 count linen because whether you're using silk or cotton, you only have to use one strand. No railroading or laying tool required. It's a really big piece (8" x 26" on 40 count) so I'll probably lay it down again at some point to work on another deadline piece, but I'm enjoying it right now. And that's what counts.

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