Emma, Hannah, and I

Happy Fall!  We are still waiting for those cooler temps, but they can't be far away now.  To be honest, I've hardly paid any attention to the weather.  My needle has kept me busy.  I've spent more time with Hannah, below and Emma Mills, above.  The antique Emma is a sweet little sampler in my collection, and the chart will be released next week.  The original sampler was stitched on fabric that looks like dirty linen.  I tried to reproduce it with similar linen, but I was never happy with the result.  I then tried Meadow Rue, and that didn't work either.  I finally settled on vintage Lentil, and I used a variety of cotton overdyes.  It needed a bit of brightening up.  One has to wonder what prompted little Emma to stitch her admonishment about the evils of money. 

Hannah's red house is going up brick by brick.  I love stitching bricks for some odd reason.  I couldn't wait to get to the deer, and it was a fun motif to do.  I forgot to mention that I'm using 45ct. Buttercream and NPI for her.  Her release will probably be late in October.  In addition to Emma, I will be releasing a new design called "Jingle all the way" very soon.  The talented Vonna has worked her finishing magic once again.  It's a Death By Candy Corn meets Christmas idea , and it's somewhat primitive.   

We recently bought this small motorhome to travel with the dogs in. I'm hoping that we will escape the heat more often next summer.  We took it up to the pines of northern AZ this weekend.  If you look closely, it appears that I am fenced in.  Um, that would be for the pups who were too busy lounging on the beds inside.  The van has all the comforts of home, but I think it needs a sampler or two hanging in there somewhere.  Just saying...

The Red House Addiction

I've started the model for my next reproduction sampler.  I purchased Hannah Tinguey 1823 before we went on vacation last month.  I'm really drawn to red lettering on samplers, and the red house pretty much sealed the deal.  The stitching on the original is very, very tiny and just exquisite.  I was amazed to see that the thread colors are still very vivid.  The verse is also charming, and I love the way she spelled denied as deniyed. 

Aren't those big eyed stags wonderful?

It seems that most of the antique samplers that I come across come from England.  I thought about that as I was waiting for her to make the trip across the ocean.  I can only surmise that our young American girls were much too busy with day to day chores and basic survival in the early 18th and 19th centuries. 

I grabbed my camera when I saw these three sitting together.  It doesn't happen that often as Scarlett doesn't like to be next to Henry.  She tolerates him, but barely.  I'm sure if she could talk she'd say something like "girls rule, boys...yea, not so much". 

Loot!

 There's a very good reason for my lack of blogging lately...I've been in the Midwest.  Actually, the road trip took us through nine states, but Iowa and Minnesota were the main destinations.  While there, we visited family and enjoyed some incredible weather.  Sadly, we came home to temps around 116.  I keep telling myself that we are near the end of the heat, but there is still more than a month of it to go before we head into the chamber of commerce weather. 

I'm fairly certain that I hit every antique shop between here and there.  Above is some of the misc. loot that came home with me.  I see a theme going on with the alphabet, don't you?  I guess I'm pretty predictable, I always seem to look for the same things every trip such as vintage photos, old buttons, canning jars, silhouettes, and pewter.  I really had no intention of bringing home another piece of salt-glazed pottery, but I couldn't resist these two.  The crock was a steal at $40, and the jug, complete with "turkey droppings" was only $15.  I had no clue what a turkey dropping was until a woman stopped me to admire them on the jug.  She enlightened me with a story about the brown splats.  The glaze apparently drips/drops onto the ones below them in the kiln.  According to her, they make a piece more desirable and valuable.  Who knew?

We attended this event in Minnesota for the second year.  Last year, I flew and was limited to what I could bring home.  This year, I was prepared and brought our van.  We were just about to leave when I spotted the spinning wheel.  I have to say that I was feeling a little disappointed because I hadn't found any samplers worth buying and had missed out on a wonderful old spool cabinet by minutes.  So, when this came into view, I was excited.  It has the original blue/black paint, and is from 1844. You can see where the paint has worn from use.

The bee skep is not old, but I have always wanted one.  I'm hoping that it will age in time.

 Now this is something that you do not see everyday.  It was originally a large rhubarb leaf.  My sis-in-law participated in a fundraiser by making these.  I can't remember the exact process, but it involves forming an actual leaf over a mound of dirt to form the bowl.  Then some type of plaster mixture is added to make it hard.  This one was painted, but I love how you can see the veins.  I'm using it for a small bird bath along the walkway.

 We were on hand to wish brother-in -law, Mike a happy 50th.  He was golfing at the time, and came home to a surprise party.  That is yours truly in the middle.  I'm the only one not holding up a "50" napkin.  Another sister-in-law had just given me something from Tastefully Simple, and that is what I am displaying.

 We also spent time in this resort  I mean farm, of yet another sister and brother-in-law.  It is absolutely lovely here, and the dogs ran and played until they could run no more.  I sat on the patio and stitched...it was heaven.

A note about Sarah

In my haste to get Sarah ready, I mistakenly listed  Belle Soie Silk Old Crow as Black Crow in the fibers needed list.  I had "crows" on my mind, but I must have been focused on the color rather than their age.  The change is noted on future packaging, but if you get one of the first copies, please be aware.  There are conversions to DMC and Crescent Colour's Hand Dyed Floss included as well.

Also, my model was stitched on 40ct. Meadow Rue from Lakeside Linen.  My piece of fabric was a lighter version than the current Meadow Rue available.  The model is currently visiting the The Attic , and they have suggested vintage Lt. Examplar as being "an almost spot on match substitute". 

Thanks for the lovely comments about Sarah.  I always love hearing from you.

Sarah Elizabeth Brooke 1842

She made it into her frame last night.  Sarah will always be extra special to me.  She was the first antique sampler purchase to make her way from England to my home in Arizona.  I was a nervous wreck when I bought her, but I'm so glad I followed my instinct about reproducing her.  I hope you like her.  The charts are not quite ready, but hopefully very soon.  There are no specialty stitches, but the verse and Sarah's name and date are over one.  I think you could stitch them over two by simply extending the border and raising the roof, so to speak.
Thank you for the nice comments about my trip to the beach.  I'm excited about meeting you, too! 

Blogger wouldn't let me super-size her, but you can double click on her for a larger photo.

A peek at Sarah Elizabeth Brooke and some fun news...

Here's a small look at Sarah Elizabeth Brooke.  I hope to get her framed today, and I will do another post as soon (maybe tomorrow) as she is ready to show.  You might remember that she is a reproduction of the antique sampler below.  I brightened up her palette and tidied up a few of her motifs, but for the most part she is charted as Sarah stitched her.  I always agonize over what to change as to not compromise the charm and integrity of the original.  We all like our borders to match up though, right?  With the poor light conditions that these young stitchers must have had, I think they did remarkably well, even if they did go over an extra thread from time to time.

Here is another version of my Death By Candy Corn sent to me from Bonnie.  This is what she had to say about it:

"I did use a 40ct. linen, 18 century rook. Then just brushed the walnut stain over the piece after stitching. I didn't soak it as I didn't want to have the candy corn come out to dark. So I kind of went around the corn. I dyed the chenille I had with black rit dye.  I love how it came out."

Very nice, Bonnie.  Thanks for sharing.

Now for the fun news.  Over the weekend, Amy from Down Sunshine Lane invited me join them for the Pals 2011 Stitchin' At The Beach  for a meet and greet.  I am very excited, and I look forward to being a part of it.  I'll be bringing my models and charts.  It didn't take much persuasion as I have wanted to head to the beach, and Myrtle Beach in particular, for a very long time.  You can ask some of my friends who are probably sick of hearing me whine about that longing.  Hey, I live in AZ and it's hot and dusty here, what more can I say?  Thank you for including me, Amy.

Maddie Button

Now you know why I've neglected updating my blog lately.  I've been busy!  Maddie Button is my newest offering.  Those of you who know me, know of my love of sheep.  I think every sampler should have at least one. 

Inspiration can often be derived when you least expect it.  A few months ago I was involved in a conversation with friends about the pros and cons of becoming a vegetarian.  I'm not one, but I don't like to think about the unpleasantness of where our food source comes from either.  Maddie's verse came to me while I was standing in the shower pondering the conversation.  As someone who loves old buttons and vintage canning jars, the idea went on from there. 

The models were stitched on 40ct. Days Gone By with Belle Soie silk.  A conversion to Crescent Colours cotton is provided.  Used also as trim for the pin keep and fob cording is the yummy new hand-dyed chenille from Crescent Colours.

Finishing was done by the Twisted Stitcher.  Step by step finishing instructions are included with the chart.  You can also visit Vonna's tutorial blog for online help.

The model for Sarah Elizabeth Brooke is finished.  I'll be showing her very soon.