Sunday, February 8, 2015

Some slow stitching on Sunday

It is a nice slow Sunday around here and I'm taking some time to stitch and veg. Yesterday was gorgeous - sunny and 50 - a tease for Spring. Today cloudy, still warm but the change is in the air and it will be back to more "seasonable" weather this week. Well, I've picked this piece up and put it down several time the last couple of weeks but I finally completed the January section of my newest GIANT cross stitch project - Band Sampler Calendar 2015 by Cross Stitch It.com - you can see it all here.

I like how this section looks...


I've had a couple of mistakes - all my fault - but I think I've recovered from them. That orange-y band is not stitched like the one on the chart because somehow I thought I had memorized the pattern and went on my merry way. I only realized my mistake when I was 2 motifs from the end. First I ran out of thread, so I substituted. Those last motifs are a bit lighter but I'm okay with that. And then I realized that my pattern doesn't come out as balanced as the charted one. I stewed over it for about a week, and thought of frogging the whole row but in the end I decided that it would be one of my many "personalizations" on this sampler, as I'm sure there will be other lapses on my part.

Remember this is going to be about 40" long when complete. So far all of the threads have come out of my stash and so did the linen so I consider this to be a free sampler. (We don't need to talk about the price of the chart...ignorance is bliss! - LOL) However, while the chart isn't cheap, it is a very good pattern. The graphs are large and easy on the eyes. There are suggestions as to colors and stitches that can be used and it includes a page that can be printed out as a calendar for the month. I went ahead and purchased the entire series at one time,as you got a discount and they automatically send you each month when it is released. I received February before the month of January was over. All in all a good value.

This is a pic of February.I'm looking forward to doing the alphabet sections but my flosses will be more toward the turquoise than the blue.


The BIG A and Z are worked in a decorative stitch, an addition that I always like in a sampler. And I will stitch the C and N in a color unique to those letters for my sons. Their names begin with C and N. Little changes that mean something to me.

Sooooo... I was reading blogs the other day came across these FREE little charts from La-D-Da ... check it out here. Which lead me to mosey over and look at her newest releases and two of them really caught my eye. I jumped over to an online store and was happy to see that both of the charts were in stock and ready to be shipped... and then I had a thought...might I already own these charts??? Hmmmmm... so I hauled my butt out of my stitching chair and went into the other room and started going through my boxes of charts and whaddaya know... I already do own both of these charts! Glad I didn't order them again - LOL! And then I felt virtuous because I had saved myself money... and shouldn't that entitle me to something else? Well, I mulled that over and decided I would wait to treat myself until after the new stuff comes out at the upcoming needlework market in a couple of weeks. I'm sure something there will tempt me.

Okay, I'm going to stitch a bit more and then pull dinner together -my son and his fiance are coming. Nothing fancy but it will be a nice time.

happy stitching-
carol fun

7 comments:

  1. You made me laugh out loud! I have done that before... liked something so much that I bought it twice! Good thing you checked first!
    Love your "personalized touches"!

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  2. Pretty stitches!! Your orange row looks just right to me. What a great project to do, I love the idea of it being 40 inches long.

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  3. Have a wonderful dinner with your family. That sampler is going to be beautiful. You were smart not to frog. I am always reminded of the Shakers who always made a purposeful mistake in their work. They thought it was disrespectful to
    God to try to be perfect!! I use that one a lot!!!

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  4. Some things sound so familiar here..LOL. Lovely stitching.

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  5. Lovely stitching Carol! I am looking forward to seeing this piece develop throughout the year.
    Have a great week!

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  6. Lovely work. Almost makes me want to pick up my stitching again.

    Hope you had a fine evening with your son and dil-tobe.

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  7. That is going to be an awesome sampler.mi love it and have not heard of it before. Can't wait to see your progress.

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