I passed through a very heavy counted cross stitch phase about 25 years ago. I love schoolgirl samplers, and typefaces and letter forms of all kinds. I always thought there was a special charm in samplers. I had discovered The Scarlet Letter and made a bunch of their reproduction samplers--almost as good as owning the real thing, which probably is never going to happen.
Those samplers were my poolside and soccer game pastimes when my kids were grade schoolers.
We moved here in the early 90s, and brought along my elderly mother and her sister. I was pulled this way and that--kids still at home and my mother and aunt depending on me for care and transportation. And about that time, my quilting went into high gear, and the counted cross stitch was set aside.
Over the last couple years, I've watched some of my quilty gang working on stitchery. I've put the blinders on during our shopping trips; didn't need to get pulled back into yet another fiber-related pursuit, even though I love anything with text on it... I happened to mention to a friend that I had a partially completed Scarlet Letter piece. I brought it to one of our sewing get-togethers and was met with lots of "You really need to finish this!!"
Those samplers were my poolside and soccer game pastimes when my kids were grade schoolers.
We moved here in the early 90s, and brought along my elderly mother and her sister. I was pulled this way and that--kids still at home and my mother and aunt depending on me for care and transportation. And about that time, my quilting went into high gear, and the counted cross stitch was set aside.
Over the last couple years, I've watched some of my quilty gang working on stitchery. I've put the blinders on during our shopping trips; didn't need to get pulled back into yet another fiber-related pursuit, even though I love anything with text on it... I happened to mention to a friend that I had a partially completed Scarlet Letter piece. I brought it to one of our sewing get-togethers and was met with lots of "You really need to finish this!!"
10 comments:
WOOOHOOOO!!!! OMGosh you are so close to having that finished! I love it! Though I've sworn off purchasing more sampler charts, this one may get a waiver....
stitch on!
Wow, it's gorgeous, I'm happy that you want to finish it. Quick before you need even more magnification, I'm finding the same problems with linen too. It's aging eyes, sigh.
That is a great cross stitch piece. You'll be so glad to have completed it. I am a former cross stitcher before quilting.
I can see how that gorgeous piece could entice you back to the world of stitchery. It's elegant in a down-home way. Hmm, sounds like a contradiction, but I really mean it -- it looks like a cross between country folk art and Asian landscape paintings. I used to do needlepoint and counted cross stitch -- I still have an unfinished piece from when I was a pregnant with my first child. Maybe I'll take a look again when a grandchild is on the way.
Oh, how I have wanted to do some of the samplers. It is just such an investment of time and I do some much applique that takes time. Your piece is wonderful and deserves to be finished.
woohoo, you are close to done! do you have any of the samplers you made up in your house? love that top one.
Beautiful! I've been revisiting the pile of unfinished cross-stitch and needlepoint, too....
You do such beautiful work! Some day I really intend to make a sampler. I share your love of typefaces & fonts, and schoolgirl type samplers.
oh, so lovely! i hand a sampler period too and i fee myself getting drawn back in. the Scarlet Letter used to be my online shopping haunt too.
stitch! stitch like the wind!
Kathie - your piece looks amazing. Get it done and have it framed!!! I went through a "sampler" period and then moved. All my stitchery pieces looked lost in my new surroundings. But I have returned to those stitching evenings. For me its just a calming use of the nonsensical TV time.
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