Thursday, May 10, 2012

The House Is In...

Where does the time go?  Sometimes life sure gets busy; can't really complain though - glad I'm still on this earth to experience it!

It has been a busy spring - it kicked off with the Stitchville retreat about a month ago, followed by another Saturday of stitching with friends at the end of April.  Since re-joining our needlework guild, I've been taking full advantage of every opportunity offered, including their annual meeting which also occurred in April.  All these various stitching events have been fun and have kept me hopping.  My daughter is coaching her high school's girls lacrosse team this spring and we've been trying to go to as many of those games as possible.  Somehow I manage to work full-time too; pays the bills, pays for my addiction.  Yes, it's been a busy time but enjoyable.

Not too much stitching to show, but I do have an update.  I'm close to finishing I Sigh Not For Beauty.  The house is in and I'm working on the landscaping!  The trees are in, the grass will go in next.  This design was originally charted for DMC and I'm using Belle Soie silks.  The house was charted with a dark red stitch and then a lighter red stitch, with the two alternating throughout.  It was suggested that I could divide the pieces of Belle Soie into dark and light sections, but I have to be honest, I don't like stitching with short pieces of floss; the longer the better (but not as long as what Chris uses - Chris, you know who you are!)  I decided to use the entire length of Belle Soie and stitched every other square of the house.  Then I went back and filled in the remaining squares of the house. In doing this, I was able to eliminate the "stripey" look that I normally would have had, and IMHO I feel that the end result looks more like an actual brick house.  I'm happy with it.



So, now I have a story for you about this sampler. You all know Ellen Chester of With My Needle, and hopefully many of you read her monthly newsletter, With My Needle and Pen.  Every year, she selects two samplers and if interested, her newsletter subscribers work on those samplers as a SAL.  There are group leaders who include monthly "assignments" for the SAL.  In theory, everyone completes their sampler and has a lovely finished piece at the end of the year.  (Key words in that sentence are "in theory.")

One of last year's projects was the piece I'm working on, I Sigh Not For Beauty from C Street Samplerworks.  Many of you wonderful stitching bloggers worked on it last year along with the others who were doing the SAL.  Me, not so much.  I am determined to finish it this year though.  Ellen happened to notice that I was working on it and asked me to send a progress photo for her newsletter.  I happily obliged and not only sent a photo of this piece but also two other C Street Samplerworks designs that I had stitched and a nice little article to go with them.  If you would like to read it, please go to Ellen's website for With My Needle and then click on the link to With My Needle and Pen Newsletter (#4, April 30, 2012.)

Now, you'd think that might be the end of it, but it wasn't.  A couple days later, I received an email from Jean at the Attic asking if I would be willing to send her a picture of my sampler for her newsletter.  You see, I had purchased my supplies for this sampler from the Attic.  Remember, it was charted for DMC.  The Attic had done a lovely conversion to Belle Soie silks and a lovely Lakeside Linen fabric.  I happily obliged. It was kind of fun to see a picture of my sampler in the Attic newsletter last week!

Story is not over yet...a couple days later I get an email from none other than Ruth Ann Russell, the mastermind behind C Street Samplerworks!  What a delightful lady!  In our email exchange I encouraged her to publish more of her designs; of those that I have stitched, I have enjoyed stitching each and every one. Many of her offerings were originally published in SANQ magazines, but many of them are so old that they are impossible to find - even on the bay of evil (eBay).  However, when one has connections, sometimes they are successful in locating those very old magazines......there are more C Street Samplerworks designs in my future!

Well, I've rambled on long enough for one day.  Here in Minnesota the sky is blue, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping - I think it is going to be a lovely day!  Thank you for stopping by.  Hope you find some time today for some stitching!

24 comments:

Jeanne said...

Love the sample Cathy and the technique you used for stitching the house turned out great - a subtle variation that looks perfect. I get annoyed when I get the 'stripey' look too.

Cathy, do you know if there are any needlework shops in Minnesota/NE Iowa?? I am visiting Mnpl in June and driving from there down to Illinois via Iowa. Would love to find a shop to stop at. My email is my profile. Thanks!

Giovanna said...

What a great post - I loved reading all about your connections :-) The sampler looks absolutely gorgeous.

LaRue said...

Great for you! Can't wait to see the finished sampler at Retreat Show and Tel.

Mrs. DillyDally said...

Am thrilled that your work is appreciated by shop owners and designers! Your work is beautiful...I sew enjoy seeing your projects...it is very inspiring!

Anonymous said...

Your sampler is looking lovely! I really like how the house turned out!

Just caught a glimpse of your ToL ticker! Can't believe there are only 41 days before the retreat!

Robin in Virginia
rlbrowninva @ gmail.com

Shirlee said...

I Sigh is looking gorgeous & thank you for the link to the newsletter : )

The Inspired Stitcher said...

Keep at it Cathy! You will be done in no time. I'm glad your sampler is getting recognized too. It's lovely! I hope Ruth Ann takes your suggestion to heart. Her designs are so fun to stitch!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Beautiful work, Cahty! I love howt he house came out. Congrats on your pictures being used in both of those newsletters - that's exciting.

Margaret said...

Oh my! I love how that sampler is looking!! I keep meaning to do something about this one -- buy it at least. lol! It is gorgeous, and I really like the conversion you're using. So much fun that you got contacted by all these famous ladies too! :D

Patti-Rocky Mtn Stitcher said...

Its beautiful.

valerie said...

Wow, how exciting to have a feature in Ellen's newsletter and get to chat with the C Street designer. Your sampler is stitching up beautifully and I love the technique you used for the brickwork!

marly said...

Great idea for the house color. Hope I can remember it. Congrats on being the newsletters' contributor!

msmartello said...

Great story Cathy! Your samplers are beautiful and you are so deserving to have them noticed.

Maureen

Penny said...

What a pretty sampler! I like your idea for stitching the house. I will have to remember that. :) It sounds like you are getting a reputation. :) Congratulations!

Dee L said...

What a great idea to get around the "stripey" look on the house. I don't like that look either. How wonderful that your work got recognized in so many ways! And to comment on your post about the beautiful tribute quilt to the grandmother--thanks for sharing that. I'm going to try to think of ways to use stitching to recognize my family.

Marsha said...

I love the way the bricks worked out on your house. I started my 'beauty' last year too and a few from our guild are determined to finish this year also. My excuse was a new puppy. He's better behaved now but still keeps me busy. I love your color version. I converted mine to NPI silks. Everyone has enjoyed working on this sampler - just something about it. Can't wait to see yours completed!

Lelia said...

Awesome! Just awesome. I have C Street Samplerworks
Need Has Nothing to Do With It
on my list.

Currently stitching Mary Hannah Gipson from SAN-Q (winter 2010) - it was in the 'lost' stitching bag which I recently found.

woolwoman said...

I think your "I Sigh" is one of the prettiest ones I've seen. I saw it in Jean's newsletter - I am a faithful reader and long time customer but for some reason I passed up on this one. I selected Elizabeth JM Mears because of Ellen's personal connection to the sampler. I saw hers on a visit to my area before it was announced in the newsletter and knew I had to have it. However I love I Sigh and I agree with Margaret - I think I better buy it sooner rather than later. Thanks for the inspiration ! Melody

Katrina said...

Love the sampler and what a great method for stitching the house!!!! And woohoo on the stitching celebrity status ;-)!!!!

Marie said...

Happy Mother's Day!

Wow, I Sigh Not For Beauty is such a wonderful piece. BTW: I have that same basket!

You are a busy woman...always, and oh so productive. I really wish that there was a stitching guild in my area, you are lucky.

Congrats on being featured in the newsletter(s) ~ I am off to read them. :D

Lynn said...

I Sigh is truly lovely! How clever to use that method of stitching the house. It's resulted in a wonderful variation and does look like real bricks.
It's fabulous that you've been noticed and mentioned in the various newsletters. Congrats!

Karoline said...

Your sampler is looking gorgeous

Jean said...

I will chime in how lovely your sampler is, and what a wonderful story

WendyJo said...

Your "I Sigh" is beautiful Cathy!

I really enjoyed reading about your sampler being recognized! I am thrilled for you!!!