If you love A&E's...

You might like this upcoming reproduction of mine.  Mary Ann Ibbotson was 11 years old when she stitched her sampler in 1842.  I bought her last year, and she has been holding court in our bedroom since.  The tree is one of the prettiest I've ever seen on A&E's, and I love Adam holding the butterfly.

She's a large sampler, with many motifs, and that wonderful row of animals.  The colors are very muted, and I'm tempted to brighten it up.  I'd love to throw some red in there in place of the pale pink.  What do you think?  I struggle with each reproduction when it comes to either sticking with the original colors, or choosing my own.  As far as dilemmas go...it's not a bad one to have.

Tomorrow will be four weeks since my surgery.  Each day continues to be a bit better.  I was reminded today at physical therapy that the healing process takes about a year.  They are pushing me in therapy, so I'm hoping to be back to normal sooner.  At least I can stitch. 

A quick update...

Hello everyone, my shoulder surgery went well, and is two weeks behind me already.  Tomorrow I start torture, otherwise referred to as physical therapy.  I'm ready to get the show on the road, so I can get back to normal.  I haven't had much trouble with pain, but had some nausea initially due to the pain pills.  I stopped them after two days.  The biggest challenge has been finding button down shirts that I can get on, and learning how to do things with my left arm.  If you know me at all, you won't be surprised to know that I started stitching as soon as I could.  I wasn't very fast, but I managed to make the Mary Little pincushion from Goode Huswife.  I changed out a few of the colors, and it was the perfect little piece to work on.

While recuperating, I had these visitors to keep me company.  The pair in the back have been coming to our yard every spring for four or five years.  I named them Dave and Roseanne after some former neighbors who moved out of our community twice, only to return for good.  The young male up front has started showing up recently.  He's such a pretty boy, so I named him Ashton (as in Kutcher).  I'd like to think they come by to say hello, but I suspect it's the cracked corn that I feed them.

These sweet babies were born on the back patio in one of my Boston Ferns this week.  I never get tired of them making messes, because it's such a joy to witness nature.

I've also made some progress on my next reproduction, the Ann Priest 1841 sampler.  The photos were taken on different days, so the one below looks more accurate.  I'm using 40ct. Meadow Rue once again.  It seems to work for so many reproductions, and it's always been a favorite linen of mine.  The entire sampler is being stitched with Gentle Arts Sampler Threads.

Thank you so very, very much for the emails enquiring about my surgery.  I am very touched that you took time out of your day to wish me well.  I owe replies to two special friends, Sandra and Kelley.  You both know how slow I am to answer with two good arms, so please be patient with me.

Also, I'm still getting asked where my designs can be purchased.  Being that I am distributed through both Hoffman and Norden, any needlework shop can order them for you.  If you have any questions, please email me.