Tuesday, October 20, 2009

LADY JANE

I'm quite sure my mom would be horrified that I am associating her name with this victorian lady on the Scarlet Letter "where the Hart Lives" sampler I am working on for their "big" anniversary in 2010. I promised to show a stitching WIP and here it is:
Their last name is hart so I just fell in love with the idea of stitching this for their anniversary in 2010. It is not hard - but just time consuming because there is so much fill in and I mean A LOT of fill in. The whole 4 sides of the border is completely filled and the whole lower half of the sampler is fill in. Here is a shot of the whole WIP as it stands now.

I know I'm the world's slowest stitcher so believe me - I am proud of this progress - it is on 32ct belfast in antique white with the called for Soie D'Alger - one strand over 2 threads. I am thinking of maybe sub-ing a Belle Soie color for the green grassy area in the lower half of the sampler just so it is not so boring to stitch huge amounts of that color. I am trying to leave the border fill for sampler guild but so often my mom is there too and I can't let her see it. Another guild friend is also doing this sampler and she has been kind enough to make sure she doesn't bring her's along when my mom is going to attend. She is doing the DMC version and has made a few color changes so it is interesting to compare how they look. I think she is ahead of me even though she made a big boo boo and had to pull out half of her victorian lady. She also has the reclining stag in place - that will be my next big motif to start. He is to the left of the lady - then when he's in I can start filling the green backround. I guess I am going to put their initials inside the heart - but I may put their first names if I can figure out a way that it doesn't look too hokey. Any suggestions for personalization from you experts? it will be a long time before I have to worry about that anyway.

I'm trying really hard to stay on track with this sampler and not get caught up starting new things from market. I won't resist too long though - I am interested in starting Jenny Bean and except for the fact that Paradise Lost is so huge - I am really interested in that one too, however I'm sure I'll be seeing frequent updates from our dear Siobhan in the very near future and there are some great photos of Paradise Lost on Nicoles blog - Some of these gals really can crank out the finishes. Other new releases that have really caught my attention are L Haworth - an Ackworth quaker by the Marking Samplar and Sarah Woodham by Shakespeares Peddler. What a gorgeous repro that is - I have not even allowed myself full perusal of these charts for fear of falling under their spell.


Speaking of spells - it's that time again - Can you believe it is almost Halloween??????? I am very excited to be attending a very intimate rug hooking retreat next weekend at my favorite queen of Halloween B&B - The Azalea House Inn in Palatka Fl - we have had so many fun times at Jill's - stitching classes, guild meetings, girls weekends, rug retreats, needlepoint retreats. It is the ultimate in retreat locations and Jill is a perfect host. She works at the Olde Green Cupboard and some of you quilters who attend these huge quilt shows like Houston, Pacaduh, Dallas, Valley Forge - etc etc - might have met her in the booth. She puts up 2 Halloween trees - has tons of stitched items on display and all kinds of memorabilia. Our teacher for the weekend is Dianne Kelly of the Woolen Cottage in Hiram OH - she is a wonderful teacher and I have taken her week long class 2 times at Off the Ocean rug camp and also she was my first "away" camp teacher many years ago at Castle in the Clouds on Lookout Mt in Tenn. - I am doing a wonderful Notforgotten Farm pattern called Peace and Plenty and I will be sure to show you a WIP and some photos from our fun weekend.


Here's one last WIP photo to show - I hear that I am inspiring the masses (ha ha just kiddin') to knit (that means YOU Deb - YGG) - but I know I have at least made a few people wish they could knit with my devilishly delicious yarn photos. Here is a photo of a great little shawl - a freebie pattern called Multnomah named for a county in Oregon. I am doing mine in Dream in Color Classy which is a worsted weight hand dyed yarn - I think the color was Chinatown Autumn.


This is a totally mindless knit and great for the last few minutes before I go to bed at night. I have two local friends who fell in love with it and have already gotten a copy of the pattern and have their been perusing their stash for suitable yarns. It can be done in any yarn from fingering weight to bulky.

Hope you are totally loving fall in your neck of the woods. I know I have been LOVING our cooler weather this week. We have been in the 40's at night and 60's during the day but our temps are creeping back up. At least maybe that stinky humidity is gone for this year. Thank you all for your comments - I look forward to hearing from you all.

16 comments:

Margaret said...

Oh wow! Your Where the Hart Lives is gorgeous! Your parents will be so thrilled to receive it on their anniversary. What a wonderful gift it will be! Nice shawl too. It's definitely cooler here too. Fall is here! :D

Jean in Georgia said...

Beautiful work as usual, Mel! :)

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

Your WIP is gorgeous!!! I don't envy you all that fill-in but boy, will it be stunning and your parents (mom especially) will be so thrilled.

We are having a beautiful fall here in SE MI too - I love this time of year.

I don't knit but I love the color of yarn you're using on your current project - yummy!

Deb said...

Okay, now where do I start with this post! I am totally enamored with your Where the Hart Lives! It is absolutely beautiful. I think that your parents are going to be absolutely taken back by this beautiful piece. Don't give up the ship on this one, although I know just what you're saying about all the new market pieces that came out. Paradise Lost is a great one, but I'm living through Nicole and Siobhan definitely on that one for now. And Sarah Woodham, I got her and instantly filed her away. It is a beautiful chart and I didn't want to be tempted.

I love the color of your shawl and I'm going to have to make a note of it. The knitting bug has kind of hit (yes, I'm blaming you - LOL), although for some reason I've had to rip out my scarf out four times and make a trip to the knitting store for a refresher course in entrelac. I used to be able to do that stuff in my sleep! UGH.

Hope that you enjoy your rug event next weekend. It sounds like you're going to have a wonderful time.

Laurie in Iowa said...

Where the Hart Lives is beautiful! It's going to make a wonderful anniversary gift. I've heard of the Azalea House and their fabulous rug hooking retreats. I'm looking forward to seeing snaps of your project. I'm so tempted to get into rug hooking... but I just can't afford another craft.

Jackie's Stitches said...

Where the Hart Lives is just gorgeous! There does appear to be a lot of fill but it's going to be stunning when it's done. Your parents will truly appreciate it!

I'd love to see the shawl in real life. The yarn is delish and I love the subtle variations in color that the pattern seems to set off.

Jan said...

I sure am proud of your progress, dear Mel, on this ever so lovely sampler for your parent's anniversary next year! Just keep up the pace, don't put it away, and it will be done before you know it! 3 cheers for your progress on it!!

You are going to have a wonderful weekend, from what I read!! Be sure and tell us all about it (every minute) when you return!

Katrina said...

What a gorgeous, perfect gift for your parents anniversary.

Your rug hooking retreat sounds wonderful. I alway say I am a one hobby girl but if I had a second obsession it would be rug hooking.

Paradise Lost is such a fun stitch, it doesn't seem so big because you have little finishes all along the way :-). I just posted a picture of my progress on my blog. I say go for it!

Loraine said...

Wow! What a wonderful sampler. What a generous gift!
I wish you luck in finishing it.
Have a great time at your rug hooking retreat. What a great idea to have a Halloween get together.
I love the paradise lost sampler as well. I'm adding that to my wish list along with Jenny Bean.
Take Care, and good luck on your stitching.

Susan said...

I love the sampler, Melanie, and since your parents are stitchers, I'm sure they'll love it, too. It is hard to keep motivated with all that fill-in, though, isn't it? Maybe you could do 2 or 3 thread lengths a day so it doesn't seem like so much.

Enjoy your retreat--sounds like lots of fun!

Ellen said...

Hi Melody,

You are making great progress on your parents' anniversary gift. I think you had just begun when I last saw you.

I love the lady, and also the connection with "Hart" to your parents. I know they'll love the piece.

Have a great time this weekend!

Siobhán said...

Wow wow wow, Melody!! What a neat design that is--your parents will love it, not just for the design but for the love that you put into each stitch. I have no idea for the personalization... definitely not my area of expertise, but I will cheer you on regardless. :)

Enjoy your time at the Azalea House. Bring your camera so we can go along with you... it sounds like a lot of fun and a very inspiring place.

Love the knitting, too!!

The Scarlett House said...

Oh wow, oh wow, that's the first time I've seen anyone stitch that sampler. I always pause when I see it on The SL site. It will be perfect for your parents.
Have a fabulous time at the retreat.

Michelle said...

Your Where the Hart Lives is fabulous!!! And that wrap is coming along beautifully. I love the yarn you are using - gorgeous!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

You do beautiful work on everything that you touch! I've not gotten through your entire blog, but what I have seen is stupendous!

Juels said...

Where the hart Lives looks great! So much better than the pic of it on the website. Hummmm... I think my wish list is growing.