The Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along (NESSA)

Stitchers, if you haven't heard, Pam Kellogg of Kitty & Me Designs recently started The Never Ending Sampler Stitch Along, which I'm calling NESSA for short. This post describes the SAL and you can see all the bands that have been released by navigating from that post or by clicking on the NESSA button on the right sidebar of my blog. 

I need another project like I need a hole in the head, but naturally I jumped right in to this one! I love the idea behind it; I love that there are no rules; I love that the bands are quick to stitch; I love that every stitcher's interpretation of this SAL will be different and no two samplers will look alike. This is going to be so awesome.

Now for my concept (goodness, that makes me sound smarter than I am). When I saw the first band, I thought, "Pine boughs." When I saw the second band, I thought, "Sleet." 

Y'all see where I'm going with this.

I was off and running. I decided to interpret this sampler as a journal. At the top of the first band, I stitched a teensy date marker (12/16) to indicate I started in December of 2016. I'll mark the beginning of each new month the same way. And, shocking no one who reads this blog regularly, I'm stitching the whole thing in Caron Wildflowers on 28 ct. Natural Brown Undyed linen (Wichelt).

Band 1/Pine Boughs: Copper, Moss (see the tiny date marker on each end?)

Band 2/Sleet: Ash, Mill Hill beads #60479

Band 3/Christmas Lights (the big, fat, old-fashioned kind... also known as C9): Cardinal, Blueberry, Emerald, Spice, Snow White, Moss

Band 4/Blooming Holly: Snow White, Spice, Moss, Mill Hill beads #3003

Band 5/Frost on the Window: Snow White (I wasn't happy with my execution of the little diamonds in this band, so I pulled them out and replaced them with tiny fans that fit into the exact same space).

Band 6/Poinsettias: Cardinal, Natural, Moss, Mill Hill beads #2011

If you haven't seen this and you're thinking you're too far behind to start, don't despair! With my Christmas Open House and other Christmasy stuff going on, I really didn't get started on mine until the 5th band had been released, but I was able to catch up quickly once I applied myself to it. The bands are quick to stitch.

One more very important thing: When you visit Pam's blog, please check out her Go Fund Me campaign. If you're looking for a way to give this holiday season, there's a great opportunity to help a fellow stitcher in need. 

Happy Stitching... Happy Giving!