Long Time, No See....



I'm very sorry I've been so remiss in updating my blog. Our lives have certainly been in a whirlwind over the past few months.

We are now pretty well settled in our new home although there are still a few boxes to unpack. We have hung  over 250 things on the wall. Yes, you read that number right. Most of the items are framed pieces, and of the framed pieces most are needlework. It  has been a very time-consuming process.

When looking for the names of some of these samplers I ran across the old Geocities  page where I used to show my needlework. The photos aren't particularly  good because most photos were taken before the advent of digital photos. Nothing has been added to the page since 2007, but you can see lots of my older pieces which are in other rooms of our home.  http://www.oocities.org/heartland/4801/gallery.htm

 

I have several new designs, but it will be a while before I can get the directions written as I'm in the midst of developing  a couple of new teaching projects that will premier with the Western Reserve Sampler Guild in October. In a future blog post, I'll have more information about those classes and also classes in Madison, Wisconsin in September and in  Sturbridge, Massachusetts also in October.

In closing, I thought  you might also enjoy seeing new photos of our little girls. It's hard to believe they're already 5-1/2 months old. Both have been plagued with ear infections especially Norah who has had three ear infections already this year and a ruptured ear drum right before Christmas. Katie got two teeth last month. Norah  doesn't have any yet. Her favorite thing to do is roll over, and over, and over.  It's so much fun to watch the changes as they are discovering the world around them.

Katie

Norah

If you ask me a question in the comment section of this blog post,  please make sure I have a way to contact you. For many of you, there is no email listed.  So if you ask me a question, and  I don't respond you now know why. You can also email me if you have a specific question.

Rearranging a Sampler Wall

I just realized that I never showed you Hannah Pepper once she was framed, so here she is. I love the frame! (Please excuse the glare on the glass and also the color of the linen.  The linen is not as yellow as it appears in the first photo.)

Hannah Pepper was published in the magazine Fine Lines and was never published separately as a chart. Occasionally issues of the magazines appear for sale at on-line auctions.

Whenever I bring a "new" sampler home, it's always a challenge to find a place to hang it. I love Hannah so much that I made some changes to one of the sampler walls in my family room so that I could see her when I stitch on my love seat.

Here is the previous arrangement.

My Three Things Sampler (third from the left on the bottom row) is now hanging in my downstairs half-bath along with Mary Victor, Rachel Hyde, Rachel Ellis, Rachel Allen, Lucy Adams, and a few contemporary samplers. I hadn't realized until recently that there are three "Rachel" samplers in a fairly small room.

I have been spending my early morning stitching time with Frances Eden (Handwork). I love working on her and find myself having a hard time putting her away until the next morning. Here is my progress as of yesterday.  

Sadly, Frances Eden is also an out-of-print chart since the designer resigned a few years ago. Please excuse the poor color....the actual piece is yellower than it appears in the photo. The linen is the same linen that I used on Hannah Pepper (shown above).

Samplers Galore!

A couple of weeks ago I picked up Ann Hair (The Scarlet Letter) from my framer.  I am so glad that I persevered with this sampler.  It took much longer than I had imagined, probably due to all the over-one stitching. Plus you may remember that I ripped out all of the grass at the bottom and restitched it.  I love the final result!

You can see details of this sampler on some of my previous blog posts by typing "Ann Hair" in the search engine in the sidebar on the left side of this page.

Bringing home a new sampler always presents a dilemma as to where it should be hung because my walls are very full.  (I think there are 27 samplers in my family room alone.)  I wanted to be able to see Ann when I stitch, so I decided to hang her over the sofa.  This meant that I had to rearrange some of the samplers on that wall to make a place for her.  Ann got a prime spot, even if it meant moving another large sampler to my upstairs hallway.

Below is a new photo of the sampler wall where Ann now hangs..  You may recognize some of the other samplers from previous blog posts, but others have previously been elsewhere in the house.

While Tom was photographing this wall, I asked him to take a photo of another sampler wall in our family room.  This narrow wall is to the left of where I sit to stitch.

Dutch Beauty is so large that it sits on our fireplace mantel.

When I picked up Ann Hair from my framer, I dropped off another one to be framed.  I've debated showing it to you because the chart has long been out of print.  I've decided to show it to you anyway.  I just ask that you not write me about getting the chart from me.

Sovine Palphryman (Handwork Samplers) was one of the samplers that I took with me to Florida in February when we were down there following my father-in-law's surgery.  I had pulled all the silk threads before leaving home.  However, I ran into a predicament when I started stitching her, because I discovered that the colors appeared to be quite a bit different than those on the antique.  (The orgininal Sovine Palphryman sampler was part of the Whitman Sampler Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  I don't know if the museum still owns the sampler or not.)   There wasn't a shop in town with the threads I needed, so I packed Sovine away until I got home and could go through all my threads.

Anyway, here is Sovine.  The main color is more coral than shows up in this photo.

This week I've been fine-tuning the designs for my new teaching project, Kindred Spirits.  In the wee hours of the morning, I've been working on my Snooty Parrots sampler.  Since I last showed it to you, I have completed the upper case alphabet and numerals, and added the two large parrots and house.

I think I'll be putting the sampler away for a bit as I stitch on my new teaching model.

I was excited yesterday to receive a new sampler book, Needlework Samplers Wrought by Tradition. This book shows samplers that were part of the recent sampler exhibit at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I would have loved to have seen the samplers in person, but alas that wasn't to be.  I think as soon as I finish writing this blog post that I'll make a cup of tea and sit down with my new book.  It looks wonderful!  (If you're interested in the book, you can order it on-line at the Pilgrim Hall website.)

  

I'm very excited that tomorrow I'll be spending Mother's Day with both of my children and their families.  It was been around 20 years since we've all been together for Mother's Day.  I can think of no better gift than to spend time with them.

I hope you are having a great weekend and are able to find some time to stitch, even if it is only for a few moments.

Hannah, Rachel, and John--quite a trio!

On Friday I was thrilled to pick up Hannah Lancaster (Porcupine Collection) from my framer.  It took longer than normal to get the frame because the molding was back ordered.  It was certainly worth the wait.  I love the results!

In fact, I am so "in love" with this sampler that I wanted to find a place for her in my family room.  Adding a sampler in there is always a challenge since there are already 35 in the room (including Dutch Beauty).  Well, I made room although it required rearranging two of my family room sampler walls, and moving one sampler from the family room to upstairs.  (My walls are always changing.)  Here are the results.

When I picked up Hannah from my framer, I also dropped off Rachel Hyde (Threads Through Time) to be framed.  Although this sampler is a 2012 SAL for my sampler newsletter, I went ahead and completed it now.  (I don't do well as a rotation stitcher.  I've learned through time that if I put a piece aside before it is completed, I may never pick it up again.  More about that problem at another time.)

Here are some photos of Rachel.

I'm now busily stitching on John Foster (Historic Stitches).  My, how I love that sampler too!  John was one of my newsletter SALs a few years ago, but I didn't get around to stitching it at the time.  I'm so glad I rediscovered this fun sampler.

I had a fun time yesterday at my guild's day-long stitch along.  I took a bunch of photos but will save those for another day.

I hope that everyone is having a great weekend.  Our original Mother's Day plans had to be changed this morning, but I'm looking forward to having a belated celebration in a couple of weeks.

First an earthquake, then a hurricane--what's next?

What a week those on the east coast had with first an earthquake and then within a matter of days Hurricance Irene!!  I've been seeing lots of photos not only on the news but also photos taken by friends and relatives.  I hope that if you were one of those who suffered damage that your life will soon be back to normal.

Last week, I finally hung up my I Sigh Not For Beauty sampler that I showed you earlier. I think I got it hung in record time--only did a wee bit of rearranging.  The most notable part of the move was moving Amy Eliza Herbert into my downstairs bathroom and hanging I Sigh Not For Beauty in her place in the family room.  I also moved an old Darlene O'Steen sampler from a hallway into my family room.  Here is one of the sampler walls in my family room.  This view is above the sofa.  I'm sorry that the photograph is not better.  I have a friend who says she is not a photographer, but rather a picture taker.  That sounds like me too.

Samplers, samplers, and more samplers!!

Earlier today, I went to see my friend, Carol, who is a professional framer (Decorative Designs). She frames all of my personal needlework and most of my business designs.

One of my purposes was to pick up my L. (Lucy) Haworth sampler (reproduced by Darlene Lara of The Marking Sampler). I'm quite happy with the way "she" turned out.

I'm thrilled that Lucy fits so nicely with the other Ackworth samplers already hanging on my bedroom wall. Here’s a photo of the five Ackworth “gals” together. I’m sorry the photo is not better--it was difficult to shoot straight on because of the glass on the pieces.

Also while at Carol’s I chose the frame for my grandson-to-be’s birth sampler. This way, once he’s born I’ll add his birth information and then be able to have Carol quickly put the sampler in its frame.

I also chose the frame for my new With My Needle design which has a working title of A Most Pleasant Thought. This is the sampler that I’ve mentioned previously. I stitched it using The Gentle Art’s wool threads. (Sorry, no photo yet of this project.)

Then last, but not least, Carol and I showed each other our progress on our Deborah Walker samplers that we’re stitching together. Here is my progress as of this morning.
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I also looked at frames for Deborah. Below are photos showing two different views of the frame I think I’m going to use. The photos aren’t particularly good because I took them with my telephone, but I wanted to remember the frame for when the sampler is finished in October.
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After that Carol and I decided to have lunch and then visit a local shop, Martha’s Heirlooms. Martha has just moved her shop to a new location (just about a mile or so away from the old one), and we wanted to check out the new place. The shop is smaller than her previous one, but the building is just darling! I wish I had thought to take some photos, particularly of the outside.

Hope everyone in the northern hemisphere is staying cool! Many of us are having a very hot summer!

Now that my children are grown, samplers cover their walls of their old bedrooms also. Here is the sampler wall in Carolyn's room.

I don't remember all of the names of the pieces. The one on the far left is The Garden Path from Sheepish Designs. The second one from the left is a Drawn Thread sampler and the original ES Floral Sampler is below that. Next is Sara Hathorne from Hester's Needle. Since that wasn't a reproduction sampler, I changed the information on the sampler. I think the sampler to the right is Family Ties by Needlemaid Designs. I added my own verse. Below that is the Blue Rose Sampler from the Nostalgic Needle. The final sampler is Kind and True from Sheepish Designs.
 There are a few more samplers in the room on other walls, but one of my favorite things in Carolyn's room is this wonderful print I found a number of years ago. I just love the view of the ladies sitting at their needlework frames.

I'm sorry that I couldn't get a clearer photo, but there is an enlargement below.

More samplers...

Thank you for all the lovely notes about my sampler wall and the new display cabinet in my office.

I thought that you might enjoy seeing some more samplers that I've stitched over the years. There are samplers in every room of our house except the dining room. I guess I need to look into getting some in there also. Now that the children are grown and on their own, even their rooms have samplers. (Poor Stephen has 16 in his old room!)

Here are some more samplers in the family room. Some of these designs are old, and I don't remember the names.

Starting on the left and working down in three columns:

Column 1--Blue House sampler (??) from Merrily Beams, Pomegranate sampler from The Needle's Prayse, Blue Tulip Sampler (??) from The Golden Needle

Column 2--Marquoir Sampler (with lots of changes), Sarah Owens from The Essamplaire, A Time to Sow from Margaret and Margaret

Column 3-- Aires of the Green from Sheepish Designs, Elizabeth Easton from The Good Huswif, Mary Sharp from Handwork

Next are the samplers on the stairway looking down from the top. (No matter how I stood, I couldn't get Mercy Hopkins in a photo.)

Eleanor Taylor from The Examplarery, Mary Trelfall from The Marking Samplar, Mary Ann Rundle from Historic Stitches, unknown (a gift from a friend), Mercy Hopkins (just a snippet shows in the photo) from The Examplarery, Elinor Simpson (just a snippet shows in the photo) from Historic Stitches


Here is a view looking up at the samplers. (We hope to get rid of the wallpaper later this year.)

Mercy Hopkins (just a snippet shows in the photo) from The Examplarery, Elinor Simpson from Historic Stitches, Blue Flax Sampler (not visible) from The Sampler House, Sarah Rogers from The Examplarery, Ellen Murray from The Essamplaire, Isobel Doig from The Examplarery, Simple Guidance from Sheepish Designs, and Ann Bowers from The Examplarery

This is just the tip of the iceberg....I guess I'm a true addict!!

On the stitching front, I've just finished stitching the first set of needlework accessories for Mrs. Waddelow. I hope to publish them in the fall and then do a second set in time for Nashville 2011. I've had so much fun with these pieces. Your many sweet notes about my designs have really been inspiring me!! Thank you!!!

Hopefully tomorrow I can get in some stitching on L. Haworth from The Marking Samplar. L. Haworth will look so nice in our bedroom next to the four other Ackworth samplers I've stitched.

What I've been doing recently....

I started stitching Amy Eliza Herbert, a reproduction sampler from The Porcupine Collection, years ago before I ever thought about designing. Heaven knows why I put her aside. A few months ago, I decided to finish Amy, and I just got her back from my framer, Carol.

I hung Amy in our family room as you can see in the photo below. This is just one of the sampler walls in the room--I think there are around 20 other samplers in there.
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The samplers (going from left to right) are the Red Flower sampler (although mine is blue instead) by The Sampler House, Ann Pennsylvania Peacock (with quite a few changes) from Little by Little, Amy Eliza Herbert, Mary Victor from The Examplarery, the Three Things sampler from Moira Blackburn, Rachel Allen from The Scarlet Letter, the Newburyport Sampler from Samplar Workes, the American Sampler from Treasures Magazine, Margaret Gibson from The Scarlet Letter, and The Embroideress from The Examplarery. You may have also noticed my needlework casket on the sewing table on the left side of the sofa.

I "live" with all my With My Needle models. Over the past year or so, I've been moving them upstairs into my office. We painted the walls a lovely golden color which really shows off the framed pieces beautifully. You may remember seeing some of them on the walls in a blog post last month.

For quite some time, I've been looking for a glass-front case for the three-dimensional pieces. I was delighted to find this wonderful barrister bookcase over the weekend.
 

I still need to work some on arranging the pieces. I think some more lucite stands will help. I think I'll also move my Petit Sampling Etui from our family room to the top of the bookcase.

I'm delighted to now have all but one of my models in my office. The only one missing is the framed model of A Needleworker's Sampler Huswif (a teaching project) which is in our kitchen. It looks so wonderful there against the deep blue walls!

and the winners are...

Thank you to everyone who left such kind comments on the With My Needle Facebook page.

Here is Tom in my office getting ready to draw the first name.

Hmm--I wonder who it will be?

Winner #1 is Diane Brosten.

Winner #2 is Karen Seitz.

And winner #3 is Arlene Harris.

Diane, Karen, and Arlene, please email me and let me know which two charts of my charts you would like. Please remember to also send me your mailing address.

Thank you to everyone who entered the give-away. I wish I could give something to all of you because you all are winners in my eyes!

a glimpse into my world....

On Friday, I picked up my Mary Busby sampler from Carol, my framer. I am so happy with the result!My original plan was to hang Mary in our bedroom, over our bed, along with Ann Trump, Maria Spence, and Mary Wigham, but when I laid the samplers together I realized it would be too crowded to hang them where I had planned. It was back to the drawing board. I ended up hanging the four “gals” over my dresser instead. Several months ago we stripped the bedroom wallpaper (floral with a lovely blue background), and decided to go with paint instead. This was quite a change after many years with the wallpaper. My goal was to have a wall color that would really show off the samplers which had been “lost” on the busy wallpaper. We went with a neutral paint color which not only looks beautiful with the samplers (all 22 of them!) but also with our new drapes and cornices. The crewelwork cornices are such a wonderful feature!