When I left you last week with my Floral Motif Sampler, I was getting close to a finish.  I think I had seven flowers left to finish.
I had three really big flowers to stitch and the rest were smaller. I felt pretty crappy all week so my solace was to stitch. I got this big flower below stitched. This is a flower that called for a white floss but it didn’t show up on my linen…so I subbed in the color Chablis. It’s a light pink and I’ve really loved how it looks in the sampler. The other color in this flower is Raspberry Frost and they compliment each other nicely.
On Sunday I was to the point that my last flower was the big corner flower. I half decided that I would stitch part of it Sunday and finish on Monday…but I decided to stick with it and finish the piece Sunday night.
I stayed up until 10:15 pm to make the happen. Oh my. I love it.
Here it is all ironed and looking good. I started this at the beginning of my cancer treatment with the intention of stitching one flower a day. I did that all of December but once I got home from the hospital in January and was feeling so terrible, I started stitching full steam ahead.
I am so glad I picked this one to stitch.
Here is a closer picture of the right side where all of this week’s stitching happened.
I stitched this on 40 count Vellum by Picture this Plus. It’s a new favorite linen of mine. I love the light color and modeling. So pretty.
I took this with me the last time I went to The Stitchery Nook and already have a frame ordered for it. YAHOO!!
The next time I go, I’m going to drop this one off…and hopefully, pick up my Heaven and Nature piece.
I’m so excited!! I’m really on a roll with finished cross stitch pieces as of late. It makes me SO HAPPY! My sampler wall is happening one piece at a time.
So to make this official. This is:
The Scarlett House Floral Motif Sampler
It is stitched on 40 count Picture This Plus Linen
Called for colors except for Chablis by WDW instead of WDW Whitewash
I used DMC for Dark Chocolate and Wood Trail as I couldn’t find either of the overdyed flosses.
I started on December 8th and finished on January 23rd.
I apologize to those of you that were stitching along with me working on one flower a day. I did jump ahead. I think part of me decided to keep stitching with the hope that once it was stitched, I’d truly start feeling lots better…kind of what it was supposed to represent.
So…now I am at a spot that many stitchers hate. I need a new focus project.
I started this on the 25th…
Lori Holt and Cross Hatch Quilts are hosting a Christmas stitch along the 25th of each month. The premise is to stitch on a Christmas piece on the 25th of every month and hopefully have a finish or two by the time Christmas rolls around.
I picked a small piece… This came out as a PDF download from Beth Twist of Heartstring Samplery just a week or two before Christmas. I liked it…
But…then I saw a person on Heartstring Samplery’s Facebook post it stitched in these colors. Oh my word. I loved it LOTS.
The person who stitched it was so sweet and shared that they had stitched in Belle Soire silk using the colors Collard Greens and Cranberry.
I have yet to stitch with silk and I thought this would be a great opportunity being I only needed two colors…so I ordered them. Well by then, Christmas had passed and I wasn’t excited about stitching anything for Christmas.
Then Lori Holt and Christi from Crosshatch Quilts announced their 25th of the month stitch along. I figured this was PERFECT. So…I picked out some linen. I have 40 count Legacy by Picture This Plus.
…and I started it. This is only one night of stitching, not a ton, but the stitching will add up over time. I’m super excited to be stitching this. It will be so nice to have a finished piece for Christmas.
I actually think I might be able to finish this when February 25th rolls around and we have another Christmas stitching day. I’m loving the designs and loving the colors.
I haven’t completely decided how I feel about silk and am going to wait until I finish this project before I give my opinion on it.
I also stitched a bit on my All Creatures Great and Small by Barbara Ana…just one night so again, not much progress.
Here is where I was…Just barely a start…
I extended the top border over quite a ways and then started in on the motifs at the top.
I stitched the key, the baby and started the mom.
This one I’m committed to stitching the entire thing in 2022. I think I can do it but I’m going to need to stitch faster than I currently am. I do think that this project will catch and I’ll get excited about it. I loved stitching the Floral Motif Sampler in that I could stitch a motif or two each evening. It always felt a bit of an accomplishment just getting a couple of them done!! With all the motifs in this, I’m guessing I’ll feel the same way.
I picked up my A Changed World Sampler from The Scarlett House. I think this will be the main piece I work on now that The Floral Motif Sampler is finished. I only worked on this one night too so again, not much progress.
Here is where I was when I put this one down and focused on other pieces.
I’m not quite halfway finished. I think the bottom of the sampler is more stitch heavy so it might look halfway in size but it really isn’t when it comes to the actual stitching. Those houses have a lot of stitching as does the black fill-in. The above photo is the true color.
I ended up stitching that tree on the left…There are dogs near the trees and I’m debating about coloring them so they look like beagles. Hmm. I’ll probably stitch on and let that decision wait.
Then I stitched down the left side border. I got to the spot where the box for the flower is…then I look over and realized I previously stitched too far down on the right border. I’ll have to pull some of that out. It’s not a lot and is easy picking.
I was super excited to see that though as that means I’m getting close to having the border stitched.
I might stitch everything except the black area and then keep the project as fill-in work. We’ll see. I’ve been thinking about that but knowing me, I’ll want to finish so might just power through and do the fill stitching right away.
This project is small compared to what I’ve been stitching lately so I’m excited that maybe it won’t take too long. One thing I know for sure is that I am going to get the border stitched up on this so I can order a frame for it the next time I go to The Stitchery Nook. That way I’ll have a frame ready for when it is finished. That cuts a couple of weeks’ time off of the framing as they don’t have to wait for the frame to arrive. YAHOO!!
I spent one morning doing a lot of organizing. I had floss that wasn’t together with projects. It wasn’t in bags and labeled. I had the floss in the project bag but not together the way I like it. I put away all the leftover thread from the last two projects I had been stitching on.  I had projects that needed a working copy made and put with the projects so I tackled a lot of the organizing stuff that comes with cross-stitch. I just love doing the organizing.
I trimmed down the linen on my Floral Motif Sampler and got the leftovers relabeled so I know what linen it is when I go to stitch on it later. I love saving these small pieces for a pillow or other small project.
Some people pitch these…not me. I used everything I can.
I told you that I keep track of my stitching in A Needlework Enthusiast’s Book of Days. I was a little frustrated because I didn’t have a Christmas sticker for the 25th when I stitched on Comfort and Joy the Christmas piece.
I thought about ordering some type of Christmas stickers but then I remembered that a blog reader from Greece has sent some canceled postage stamps and said I could use them for the childcare kiddos. I wondered if maybe there was a Christmas stamp in the bunch.
There was!! I was so excited. You can see I put that in on the 25th when I did the Christmas stitching.
I ended up sorting through the stickers quickly deciding that I was going to trump the childcare kiddos and keep these stickers for me.
Look at the sticker I found in the mix. It says “Crusade against Cancer”. WOW. I quickly grabbed that one and stuck it on the 7th. The day I have my Radioactive Iodine treatment.
Coming up the 1st weekend in February is Blackbird Design Weekend. I’ll be stitching on the piece We Live in Hope in honor of my relatives that first came to the US. I pulled some USA stickers and put them on those days. SO FUN!!
I ended up sorting all of the stickers into categories and put them in floss away bags. I am just so happy with the canceled stamps. They are going to work perfectly in my book. In the misc bag, there are some stamps that say “Historic Preservation”. Won’t they be great if I’m stitching on a reproduction sampler??
Thanks so-so much to the blog reader from Greece who sent the wonderful stamps. I am using them and am so excited about them!!
It’s always a hard transition when I finish one project and move on to the next. It seems I kind of flounder for a week or two, waffling between what to stitch. I think this week is that week of floundering. We’ll see. I hope I can settle on something and get to my full steam ahead mode that I love to stitch in.
That’s what has been happening here on the cross stitch front.
P.S. Remember I told you about Deborah Harry’s project bags. Check out THIS blog post if you missed that. She has been putting out some great teasers about her bags being available soon. I follow her on Facebook and she announced, “NEW listings will go live this Sunday, January 30th at 7:00 pm Eastern in the Etsy shop. www.Etsy.com/shop/DeborahHarrys”
She saves all of her bags and then lists them all at once. You have to have a fast finger to get one.
Oh, I just love looking at the bags. I’m not an orange girl but this bag totally has me rethinking that! SO CUTE!!
I love that this doily was see-through!!
This one might be my fave…It totally gives me a 70s vibe. I am so impressed by her work.
Remember I thought I needed one more bag because I usually have four projects going. I am going to see if my finger is fast enough on Sunday. Let’s hope!!
Your floral motif piece is lovely. Congratulations on another finish.
Beautiful finish!
I would love to make a bag for you. I have some vintage linens. What size bag do you like?
You have a very practical approach to your stitching. I remember you saying that you never wanted to have a crazy amount of WIPS. Seems like you’re keeping to that. I have been watching some very entertaining flosstubes while doing other tasks, but I can’t wrap my head around the amount of WIPS some people have. I get low key panicky just at the thought lol! I’m going to use that Christmas stitch on the 25th as motivation to finish one I didn’t get done in time. Then I may have to get the one you’re doing in silk. It’s gorgeous! I have one floral piece (lots of blending), Land That I Love, and the unfinished Christmas deer as my WIPS. I won’t start another piece until one of those is done: which is hard because I have all I need to start some Blackbird Designs pieces. Take care, Jo.
Magnificent stitchy finish, Jo!!
My what a long post ……… smile. I am a retired stamp collector ! I might take a look at my stamps and see if there are any the grandkids might use for a special project. Your stitching is beautiful.
The Floral is beautiful and will fun to see it when you have it all framed. I really like the little Christmas one you are doing also. It is fun to have some little ones to complete in a short time. I need to keep plugging away on the one I started. I am convinced I can’t count anymore – taking too much out.
I so admire your beautiful work. I am a new beginner, just finished my practice piece. I so want to stitch like you, but I know that takes years. One thing cross stitch is teaching me is patience, which some times I have very little.
It really doesn’t take years, just some practice. (And if you have vision issues, good light and magnification.) The specialty stitches can take some time to learn but there are books and tutorials available to help. Not like in the old days when we had poorly rendered drawings in magazines. Linen really isn’t harder to stitch on than aida, just a little different. Stitch what you like and are comfortable with. Remember, most samplers were stitched by school girls. Our daughter and a niece have both been stitching since they were 7 or 8. It was very early 80’s when a friend of my mother’s talked her into buying a chart, floss, and aida. She never liked cross stitch and stuck with surface embroidery. She passed it on and I was hooked.
Such beautiful stitching! You are very talented!
Really like your floral piece. Not only for the flowers but for the timing of the piece. Love the pinks you used in what was supposed to be a white flower. Looking forwardcto your Christmas piece. Well done Jo!!!
Your stitching is simply magnificent, Jo! The finished floral sampler is so very beautiful.
Wow! Beautiful piece! I also love the Joy and Peace! Hope you are feeling a little better!
Jo, your cross stitch is amazing! I have done some in the past, but anytime I try a larger project I lose my place and mess up. Seeing your beautiful work is getting me interested in starting again.
This sampler is VERY forgiving. I know I have several flowers that are one stitch up or down from where there are supposed to be.
Beautiful job on your stitchery. You do wonderful work. Can’t wait to see your choice for a frame. Kudos to you!
Your stitching is beautiful! You are really a fast stitcher, too!
LOVE your stitched pieces… I’m getting the “bug”!
Hmmm… cross-stitch or piece another quilt? What a dilemma!
This is my favorite of those you’ve shown us. Good Work! I got my package for the stitch along yesterday. Such nice products! I am excited and have my mom, an avid cross stitcher joining too. This will be our first time trying linen.
Love your Floral Motifs! It’s always hard to figure out what the next main stitch will be. I’ve been working on my For the Love of Nature and it’s been fun to work on it. For your next Ask Jo, could you address how you start and stop your threads on linen? I was wondering about that since you had a lot of small motifs with different color floss. Thanks!
I would like to see this also. Thanks Jo! Your work is so beautiful.
I love your floral sampler and your goal/reasoning for doing it. I hope you write your story and tape it to the back of the framed finish for your great grandkids to find someday :-)
I am like you….I don’t care to waste a thing!
Happy Friday Jo!
Your floral motif is beautiful, as are all the rest. I can’t believe how much you get done. I cross stitched some before I became a quilter. I just can’t do it all with the other things I am involved with, but boy, you sure spark my interest. How lovely you can do something you love to take your mind off of not feeling good.
I haven’t cross stitched in years, but your work on linen is exquisite — so tempting, tempting, tempting!
They are all beautiful!!! Congratulations on the finishes –considering how you’ve been feeling. My thoughts are–if I’m feeling miserable-the mind just will not focus!! Love the colors of the Christmas piece threads!!
I keep thinking– and wondering–if Jo’s mind EVER stops ?? All these projects you are working on–ones you want to do–what is coming up-??? Wow!! Hoping there will be some good news about Eli –and improving things coming your way too.
Hi Jo – I love the organizing part so f cross stitch too. Love pulling floss, cutting fabric and putting everything together. I hope you’re lucky enough to get a bag this Sunday.