Stitching Up A Storm

Here are some photos of the latest sampler I've finished.  Can you guess the name?

Perhaps the next photo will help.

Yes, this is my Snooty Parrots from Barbara Ann Designs.  I stitched this fun sampler as part of a Facebook sampler stitch-along.  I made a few changes to the original design--some were accidental, but the most were intentional.  The color isn't the best in these photos, so I'll post a much better photo once I get it back from my framer.

At the same time that I dropped off Snooty Parrots to be framed, I picked up Sovine Palphreyman (an out-of-print chart from Handwork Samplers).  After seeing a photo on-line of the original sampler, I changed some of my thread colors so my version would more closely resemble the antique.

The big decision was where to hang Sovine.  I thought that perhaps some of my family members and friends might be "creeped out" by poor little Sovine's rather morbid verse.  I found the perfect place for her near the top of my staircase.

Since finishing Snooty Parrots, I've been very busy working on the directions and powerpoint class presentation for my new teaching project, Kindred Spirits. This project consists of a beautiful tiger maple divided carrier with stitched bands on the inside, a needleroll, a pin cube, and a scissors sheath.  I hope to be able to show you some photos soon.  The project will premier in a couple of months in Michigan for the Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild.

Of course, I always need to have something to stitch.  My new start was Hannah Pepper (which was published in the magazine Fine Lines).  Knowing that there were some issues in the first section when it was published in the magazine, I decided to start at the bottom.  Here is my progress as of this morning.

I'm often asked how I get so much stitching done.  The best answer is that I'm a poor sleeper (something I don't recommend you try to duplicate).  I am typically up hours before Tom each morning, and I use that time to stitch.  I generally don't stitch much more during the day (unless I'm working on a new With My Needle design).  In the evening, if I'm lucky, I may get in another hour or two of stitching.  I do work in hand, and when possible use the sewing method or a combination of stab and sewing.  Perhaps my stitching would look a bit better if I used a frame, but I love the feel of the linen in my hands.