One Stitch At A Thyme

Greetings all and welcome to my first post of 2016.  If you're curious about what TUSAL is check out the link in my sidebar.

As you can see from my snap I've emptied my ort beaker and am showing both the sizes I hope to fill this year.

 

I have only one new start for 2016 and it's a time sensitive project.  My dad's birthday is coming up March 5th and he'll be turning 90!  When dad was in his 40's he like to go duck hunting with my two younger brothers and cousin. I've had this kit in my stash for the last 30 or so years, long forgotten at the back of my file folder cabinet.  I'll start gridding the fabric (14ct aida) tomorrow (Monday) and getting it laced onto a slate frame.

 

 

I won't be working on any of my other projects.  So hopefully my needles will fly fast and furious finishing this birthday project in record time.

 

Happy New Year and thanks for dropping by.

Now on to WIPocalypse; Seems I haven't been too diligent in my answering of the monthly questions.  It was probably due to seasonal depression and stitcher's burn-out.  Well I'm here now for this posting at least so let's get to it.

 

October 27 – Topic:  Are there any fibers or materials used in stitching that you’re nervous to try?

Nope, none that I can think of; however there is one technique that I still have to get up enough nerve to try and that's Hardanger.  I've got three booklets by Janice Love and she makes it look so simple...  Oh well maybe some day....

November 25 – Topic:  Which designer has inspired you to stitch the greatest number of designs and why do you think that is?

I've only had one designer in the last twenty years that has inspired me, and that's Teresa Wentzler.  I've always admired the intricacy and detail of her designs.  They seemed more like paintings than needlework.

December 25 – Theme: Recap your accomplishments for the year! (Your finishes, final before/after photos, etc).

No finishes this year.  I've been fighting stitcher's burn-out since October.  I tried to revive my stitching muse by starting a new project.  This was something I hadn't done since I was 9 years old.  Stamped cross stitch, or as the instructions say... crooked and uneven cross stitch to give a child-like appearance.  This kit has the most wild color combinations you can imagine.  It was originally printed in 1966 and I found the kit on eBay.  It's an old children's prayer, I'm almost half way done with it; just a few more animals and the lettering.

And now for the before and after snaps of Camelot Sampler; I really wanted to finish it this year but my stitching muse had other ideas and flatly refused to look at it any more.  So maybe in the spring when my depression has melted away along with the freezing cold and the snow I'll pull it out of my closet again.  That and frog-out the finish date for the second time.....

Before - January 2015

After - December 2015

I hope every one had a pleasant Christmas and here's looking forward to a Happy New Year!!!

September 28 – Topic:  Where do you buy most of your stitching supplies?  I don't really buy supplies anymore as I have acquired SABLE a long time ago.  I have all the fabric, thread, and notions I need for projects to last the rest of my life.

And now here are the before and after progress snaps for Camelot Sampler. [Click on snap for a bigger view]

 After:

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog!!!

Topic:  Pick one of the WIP pieces you’ve stitched on this month, and tell us about your stitching journey with the piece.

Well this will be an easy topic as I have been concentrating on only one piece.   I've had a love/hate relationship with Camelot Sampler for the last 14 years.  Well hate is a bit strong, let's just say I get stitcher's burn-out fairly quickly when all I work on for 99% of the time is one-over-one.  If you're interested in the history of this piece read on...

I originally started this project back in 1997.  I had worked the sword block and part of the Guinevere block before I got frustrated with working the one-over-one sections.  It was my first time encountering this type of cross stitch, plus the fact that this was the first time I had stitched on evenweave fabric.  So I put it away in the closet and forgot about it until 2 years later.  I didn't like the look of the over-one section on Guinevere so I tried to frogg it out and ended up ruining the 28 ct. fabric that came with the kit.  I ended up calling Leisure Arts to find out what the original model was stitched on.  I found out it was 25 ct. bone Lugana.  I had to drive around 100 miles away to Spokane, Wa.  to the closest brick n' mortar needlework shop to buy a new piece of 25 ct. evenweave.   They didn't have bone and ended up buying mushroom Lugana.

I started it again in March 2001.  By accident I centered the herringbone stitch row on either side of the sword block.  This caused me to move the Arthur and Guinevere blocks over by one row, thus having them butted up against the wrapped backstitch line.  I realized this had happened after I had finished the outline of both Arthur and Guinevere blocks.  It wasn't that noticeable so I left it be.   I put it away again until 2004, worked on it off and on for 2 more years.  When I backstitched the eyelids for both A & G, I only did the upper lids, for me it simply looked better that way.  I thought I was so sure I'd be finishing it by the end of 2005 that I put that as the finish date.  Well that was wishful thinking as I had added to my WIP list by 10 pieces and ended up leaving CS on the bottom of said pile.  I didn't start working on it again until 2014 when I joined Measi's WIPocalypse SAL.  Well I picked out the 2005 date and put in 2015.  When I finally got to the jousting scene I didn't like the way the faces of the king and queen were stitched, by splitting the face thread, so I left them blank.  I am confident I will get it finished this year thanks to Measi's SAL who keeps me motivated from month to month.  That and this year will be the 20th anniversary that the chart was first published, so it would be really nice to get it finished this time.  And there you have it my stitching journey so far with this piece.

Thank you!! To all the friends, followers, and lurkers who stopped by, and if you've managed to make it to the end of my novel.