Sunday Mystery Sampler is FINISHED!

Finally! I finished it! I haven't worked on this since January, but I was determined to get it done over this past holiday weekend. If you're new around here and want to catch up on the saga of this sampler, just click on the Sunday Mystery Sampler label. For a quick re-cap: I was breezing along on this Plum Street Samplers freebie (available here) until I got to the Eighth Day, when I decided to go my own way. I did my own thing on days 8, 9, 10, and 12, and it took me a while to decide what I wanted on days 10 and 12, thus the delay in finishing it. Once I had 10 and 12 charted, I decided I wanted more symmetry on day 9, so I did a partial redesign on what I had originally stitched.

"Lords a-leaping" always reminds me of Highland dancing, so I chose to use some thistles to represent that idea in the block for the Tenth Day. The blossoms are Caron Wildfowers in Iris.

This sampler is stitched with Caron Wildflowers (border is DMC 938) on 28 ct. Natural/Brown Undyed linen from Wichelt. All of my color choices for the blocks stitched as designed by PSS are in the posts showing the finishes of those blocks.

Bluebonnet Joy... and a surprise!

Until this past weekend, I hadn't picked up a needle since New Year's Eve. As I mentioned in this post, I'm currently working on my annual household purge, with my sewing room as this week's focus. My craft closet has become a death trap, but yesterday I managed to excavate to the surface of the temporary table I set up in there to accommodate my Christmas creativity.

I also managed to achieve my first finish of the year! This is Bluebonnet Joy by Redbird Designs, stitched on 28 ct. Valor by Picture This Plus. I flipped the red swirly bits and the white letters for white swirly bits and red letters (GAST Buckeye Scarlet), and added a few beads. I used GAST Grape Leaves for the lighter shade of green in the leaves, as it was friendlier to the Valor.

In other news, this adorable set of four charts arrived from the UK. I have a terrible weakness for Highland Cows and could offer no resistance to these. They're from Goldleaf Needlework.

And one more thing... surprise! I bet y'all figured I'd completely abandoned this project. Nope. If you need to catch up on what this one is all about, just click the WIP picture on the right sidebar and you will be taken to all of my posts about this project. I was flying through it until I reached "the people days" and decided to go my own way, which meant designing my own blocks, which meant more time than I had right at that moment. So I put it aside. I had hoped to have it finished by this past Christmas, but no. Over the weekend, I picked it back up again, and have been fiddling with it off an on. I only have the tenth and twelfth days left, so it shouldn't be too much longer. Unless I decide to rearrange day nine...

So that's a little of what's been going on around here. Today, I tackle my craft closet. If I don't return in a reasonable amount of time, send the dogs to dig me out, and make sure they're carrying cookies.

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Ninth Day

For this block I was thinking of an evening supper party and that's where the lantern came from. I used nine sprigs of mistletoe to represent the nine ladies, borrowing the garland from the Fourth Day and adding the mistletoe berries. I also used the large snowflake from the Third Day.

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Blackwatch
crown: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
garland: Moss
mistletoe: Snow White
lady: Amethyst
lantern: Dark Shadows
candle: Natural
flame: Spice, Marigold
heart: Cinnabar

I wish I could get a picture of this that I'm happy with. The colors are so vivid and the camera just isn't doing them justice. I'll keep trying!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Eighth Day

Here's my version of the Eighth Day of the Plum Street Samplers free Sunday Mystery Sampler. I took some inspiration from the Sixth Day where six eggs represent the six geese and used eight snowflakes to represent the eight milkmaids milking cows on a snowy morning. I used the crown from the First Day and the large snowflake from the Second Day.

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Cinnabar
heart: Cinnabar
crown: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
milkmaid: Storm Clouds
milk pail: Dense Fog
cows: Copper

I'll be working on the Ninth Day over the next several days, so I should have that to show you soon. I also plan to add a few snowflakes to the First Day, because it's the only block that doesn't have any.

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Eleventh Day

In my last update, I mentioned I would be taking a break from this sampler to see what the remaining blocks would look like and to do some other Christmas stitching. I want to make some changes to blocks 8, 9, 10, and 12, but I liked block 11 as it was and went ahead and stitched it out of order. For all those who have been asking about this sampler, I really appreciate your interest and yes, I will finish it, but it will take me a few more months. I have a lot of other stitching I want to do, and I will have to fit this sampler in with my other projects.

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Blackwatch
crown: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
musical notes: Dark Shadows
house: Cinnabar
roof: Graphite
wreath: Moss
bow: Spice*
plaque: Blackwatch

Piper:
hat, pants, sleeves: Copper
coat: Storm Clouds
stockings: Chili
buttons and shoes: Dark Shadows
pipe: Dense Fog

*The yellow ribbon on the wreath is my little tribute to all the troops serving abroad and those standing watch at home who cannot spend Christmas with their families.

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Seventh Day

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
mom & dad: Snow White, Dark Shadows, Spice
crown: Spice
cygnets: Dark Suede, Dark Shadows
water: Evergreen

I've decided to take an operational pause on this sampler. After seeing the block for the eighth day, I want to see what the next one (or two) looks like before I go on. I'm strongly leaning toward some major tinkering with the eighth block, but before I do, I need to see the direction in which the rest of the sampler is going. I've been thrilled with the design so far, and I will definitely finish it, but it may look quite different (as if it doesn't already!). We'll see.

So that frees me up to do some ornament stitching this week. Yay! 

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Sixth Day

I've finally caught up to the current block! *big sigh of relief* I plan to get the seventh block whipped out as quickly as I can today/tomorrow so that I can maybe squeeze in a small finish or two before next Sunday's block is released. Mr. Wonderful likes this goose.

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
eggs: Natural
holly: Cinnabar, Moss
bowl: Blue Spruce
words: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
goose: Dark Shadows, Natural, Sable
crown: Spice

I am having so much fun stitching this sampler and seeing the different ways others are stitching it. Thanks for all the kind comments and for cheering me on. I thought I was insane to take on this project at this time of year, but it has turned out to be a blessing in a number of ways.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Fourth and Fifth Days

SO close to being caught up! Should be able to finish the sixth day today and move on to the seventh!

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Cinnabar
garland: Blackwatch
snowflakes: Dawn
crowns: Spice
birds: Dark Shadows

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
words: Cinnabar
crown and rings: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
tree trunks: Sable
tree needles: Evergreen, Moss, Pine Forest
pots: Redwood

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: The Perfect Green!

Guys, guys, GUYS! Both of my thread orders arrived on Monday! Hooray! Apart from ripping open the packages to see if The Perfect Green was in there somewhere, I practiced super-human self-discipline and went about my work for the day and by the time I got everything done, it was too late to start stitching. But Tuesday I was able to finish the second and third days. 

Delicious thread stash (world's cutest nose in the background).

Behold, The Perfect Green:

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
crown & urn: Spice
snowflakes: Dawn
turtle doves: Dark Suede
flower blossoms: Cinnabar
flower stems: Moss
words: Blackwatch (aka, The Perfect Green)

My color choices (apart from the border, all threads are Caron Wildflowers):
border: DMC 938
tree needles: Moss
tree branches: Sable
pot: Redwood
hens: Copper
snowflakes: Dawn
crown: Spice
words: Cinnabar

If you're not interested in this sampler, I have to warn you, it has taken over my life and until I get caught up (hopefully this week) I won't be posting about anything else! I've got Christmas ornaments to stitch, Woodland Sampler blocks to work on, and oh yeah, I was supposed to be finishing my wedding sampler. *sigh* I knew this would happen if I started this, but I couldn't help myself. If-I-can-just-get-caught-up!

I'm halfway done with the fourth day, the fifth day should be pretty fast, and I'm itching to get to that wonderful plump goose on the sixth day!

Off to stitch as fast as I can... which is... not fast.

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: Green-less 2nd & 3rd Days

Thank you so much for all of the very kind comments about my sampler! I am really enjoying it, even though I've run into a small obstacle. As I mentioned in my last update, and as all of you well know, it's difficult to choose colors by looking at a picture on a computer monitor. As a result, I have yet to settle on my predominant green, so I'm sort of stuck as to how far I can go until I get that settled. My LNS does not carry the full range of Caron Wildflowers, so I have no way to see the colors in person. I'm currently waiting on two orders with 5 different shades of green... surely I'll find the perfect one! Until then, I'm just stitching with the colors I'm sure of, and waiting on the greens and the colors that depend on them. It's a little frustrating, as I am really trying hard to catch up to the point that I'm only having to stitch the latest block as it is released. I have so many other things I need to be working on... but I am obsessed with this sampler!

I will list my color choices for the second and third days when I finish them. I plan to spend today getting as much done as possible on the fourth day. I won't be able to post this weekend, which is why I'm updating today, and sadly, no Saturday Sampler. Y'all try to make it through the weekend without one! *wink*

Everybody cross your fingers and toes and hope that my orders arrive by early next week so I can get on with it.  Oh! And if you're stitching this sampler, please let me know in the comments so I can follow your progress as well! 

Happy Stitching!

Sunday Mystery Sampler Update: First Day

First, thank you for all the kind comments about my pears! I have to confess, that color choice was a happy accident. The thread is Caron Wildflowers and the color is Antique Brass. I had intended to use it for the crowns, but when it arrived I decided it wasn't golden enough. When I saw how much green and peach it had in it, I swapped it for the color I had originally intended for the pears. Such are the trials of trying to choose colors online!

Now, my initial thoughts on this sampler. When I first saw it over at Plum Street Samplers, I thought, "Wow, what a generous freebie!" It's not really the style I usually stitch, but I thought it was neat and that maybe I might stitch it some day. I thought I might stitch each block individually and finish them as ornaments, since I normally stitch smalls, and tend to avoid large pieces that need professional framing. So it was a "maybe some day". But the more I thought about it, the more I was intrigued by the idea of stitching it with lots and lots of color. That led me to conclude that if I chose an elaborate color scheme, it would have much more impact stitched as one large sampler instead of individual blocks. And one thing led to another and I ended up jumping into the deep end of the pool and tackling this project, even though I've got so many other things I should be working on.

Here is my color palette. I probably won't use all of these colors, but I wanted enough variety to allow me to make choices... the right red, the right green, the right brown. All of the threads are Caron Wildflowers. I love the colors, the texture, and the fact that I can stitch with one strand. It's so much faster (no railroading necessary)! I'm stitching on the 28 ct. natural linen shown in the pictures. The shot on the right is more true to the color of the linen. 

And here's the First Day:

My color choices:
border: DMC 938
crown: Spice
partridge: Dark Suede
tree: Sable
pears: Antique Brass
rogue pear: Marigold
couple: Mahogany
words: Cinnabar

This is a mystery sampler not only in the sense that I don't know what the next block will look like until it's released, but I don't even know what the block I'm stitching will look like until it's finished! I'm choosing colors as I go, and so far it's been fun to see it develop, and somewhat surprising to find that a color I thought would work, doesn't... and one that I hadn't considered, is perfect. 

I'm hard at work on the Second Day. Stay tuned to find out how it will look... we'll find out together! Happy Stitching!