Something old and something new for Sampler Sunday

The other day I was talking to a friend about how long I've been cross stitching and I realized it has been over 27 years. Where does the time go? And that got me to thinking what was the first piece I cross stitched. The first sampler I stitched was the one I showed in my very first Sampler Sunday entry back in 2010. But this little piece is my very first cross stitch piece.



I have no idea who's pattern this was. I vaguely remember it was a kit that included the heart shaped frame. I also remember that I pitched the fabric it came with and substituted this piece of sage green Aida.



I love this sweet plump little blue bird. The word "nesting" was my own addition and it was very fitting since I was pregnant with my first child at the time and was firmly involved in that nesting phase.

And today finds me working on this piece - the Anniversaries of the Heart by Blackbird Designs. I am 1/3 of the way finished at this point - minus doing any personalization.



I work from the upper right to the left so I have just gotten to the January and February charts. It took me forever to get February done but January only took about 2 weeks. I like the pale monochromatic look of January. It reminds me of the incredibly cold and icy winter when my first son was born. The day he arrived it was around 20 below in Cincinnati. One of the coldest winters in my memory.



Getting January and February finished has motivated me to concentrate on this piece. I've decided to transpose the months of August and September. I like the design for August more than the September one and my birthday is in September so I'm going to stitch that one for me. I've pulled the flosses and I'm looking forward to sitting down this evening and watching some basketball and doing some stitching- go Purdue, go Xavier, go University of Cincinnati- the remote is going to get a work out tonight.

Happy stitching-
carol fun