A Stitching Update

   I can't believe it is the middle of September and that it has been nearly a month since my last stitching post.  I am failing miserably at getting back on a schedule but I am having that problem with a lot of things in my life lately.  I seem to have been possessed by the ghost of Scarlet O'Hara and my theme has become 'Tomorrow is another day.'  Just hope that really is true!!
   Although I have been pushing quite a few things off to another day, stitching has not been one of those things.  I have been stitching like a mad fool and here is the proof.
   I added another row to the Calico Alphabet.

I'm still behind the schedule but not so much so that I am worried about getting it finished on time. We are going to the beach soon and this may be one I take along.  But it is on a large lap frame so I will have to see how much room I have available for such non-essential things.
   I have also been working on Liberty Inn.   Not as far along as I had hoped but I am playing with the second red color and having difficulty finding one I like.  It calls for GA Woodrose and I'm not overly fond of it to start with and all the dye lots I can find are orange.  I chose Weeks Red Rocks and I am going to live with it for a while before I make a final decision on the 'other' red.

36ct. Lakeside V. Maple Sugar w/ lots of color changes

   I have made Old Glory my stitch group piece and since I had two groups meet this week, it saw more love than usual.  Once I get the large flag in, I will be at the bottom of the piece so I am working on it as diligently as I can even though it is boring me to tears.(Good for group though because it doesn't require you pay it a lot of attention and there is no ripping out at the end of the meeting!)   There are a lot more fun and interesting things to stitch on this sampler once we move over to the right.

40 ct. Flax w/ mostly called for colors

    Facebook has once again been a huge enabler to me and after seeing all the fall stitching that has been going on, I couldn't resist just a small piece. (But we will not talk about the Fall SAL that I signed up for but haven't started yet!)  This is Autumn on Marigold Lane by Pineberry Lane.

36 ct. Lakeside linen w/ mostly called for threads

I have had it kitted for so long I don't remember what the linen is now!  But it was a fun, quick stitch and gave me that little taste of fall stitching I was yearning for.
  I still have several small pieces I am trying to get done for my dough bowl and a couple of Christmas ornaments I need for guild exchanges as well.  The Finishing Faerie  is going to the beach with us  and I am using her arrival as a deadline to get some of these stitched.  If I can get them to her while she is here, I should have them back by the time I need them for exchanges.  So, I started In Full  Glory by Blackbird Designs a couple of night ago.

40 ct. Flax w/ mostly called for colors

I hope to have this one wrapped up in another day or two.  With the house just about in, the rest of it should work up pretty quickly.

   So as you can see, Stitcher's ADD still reigns supreme here in the burg.  I have so many things I want to stitch that keeping to just a few is really hard.  Don't be surprised if I have a totally new set of stitches to show you in the next go round!!

Until next time, keep your needles flying!  

Laura

A Sampler Guild Meeting to Remember

   I had been looking forward to the September meeting of the Tidewater Sampler Guild for quite some time.  We were to have a lecture on the Pocahontas Wedding Jacket and if we were really lucky, actually be able to see it up close and personal.  It was a wonderful day and did not disappoint!
   Brenda Rosseau, manager of the Colonial Williamsburg Costume Design Center, breezed into the room with the jacket thrown over her arm and we all gasped!  After so many years of being taught not to touch the needlework it was shocking to be able to hold it and turn it over and look at it with our hands as well as our eyes.  I was even able to get Brenda to try on the coif although I promised her that picture  would NOT show up in my blog!

Sorry I caught her with her eyes closed,

  The story of the jacket, in its entirety, can be found in the June 2015 issue of the Needle Arts magazine published by the EGA.  For those of you without access to this magazine, in brief, it was designed for the reenactment of the wedding of Pocahontas at Historic Jamestowne on the 400th anniversary of her marriage to settler John Rolfe.

   In total, 88 volunteers came from all over the country to work on the jacket and spent over 1400 hours completing an ensemble that included a forehead scarf and coif.   All of the motifs are plants and animals specific to Virginia during that period.  Note the eagle, tobacco plant and sturgeon in the center of this panel.

All of the pieces are currently on display at Historic Jamestowne.

So that was a fun and exciting day.  I have been doing lots of stitching but that will have to wait for another day.  Maybe sometime this weekend I will get motivated to do a stitching post.  Until then, keep your needles flying!

Laura