We have a wrap-around weekend with warmer temps turning to bitter cold, at least this time of year! Today the sun is shining, after a Sunday or monsoon rain and hail. Here is a pic of the backyard deck, that I snapped with the hail covering. I should have waited for it to stop, cause the deck was virtually covered, before it turned to all rain:
As promised here are a couple of WIPS that do need my attention:
Moira Blackburn's Time and Season Sampler
32 Ct Antique Ivory Belfast
DMC as charted
I don't know what it is with this project, that I started years ago, and have made little attempts at working on. I know it is a large one, but not that large. I am thinking of dying the whole thing when I get it done? Am I crazy? Of course, I am, but has anyone ever dyed a finished project? And if so, how did it turn out? I know that I am safe on the fabric and fibers not being hand-dyed, I would appreciate your thoughts, cause I would definitely love it better, if I could make it more primitive!! Considering the time I started it, is why I didn't dare go with anything but what was charted by the designer. But today, I would have definitely used silks or overdyeds on an overdyed linen...may have even changed the color palette. Sorry the red-checkered tablecloth is showing through in this pic!
Here is another one, that I really need to get back to and as soon as This Is The Day is finished, I am going to! I did change the fibers to Belle Soie Silks, instead of the charted DMC.
Mary Garry's Sewing Cabin Mariette Swift
32 Ct Sheep's Straw by R&R
Belle Soie Silk Conversion
And I promise this is the LAST share I will bore you with, for This Is The Day, until it is finished!!
Hands To Work This Is The Day
32 Ct French Vanilla by R&R
My Own Conversion to a Different Palette, all Overdyed Fibers.
I love, love everything about this sampler, and have truly enjoyed each and every stitch so far, BUT that background behind the alphabet is SO daunting, I am not at all good at mindless stitching, takes forever!! I hope to finish this week, wish me luck!
Thank you all that have been praying for my daughter! She is out of the hospital and at home, unable to work. She has a doctor's visit tomorrow, hopefully they can shed some light on things. Appreciate your continued good thoughts and prayers!
Thanks for visiting, you truly all have given me inspiration and encouragement with your lovely and kind comments! Thanks in advance!!
Happy Easter Blessings to You And Yours, if I don't post again until after the weekend!
Jan
23 comments:
Continued good wishes for your daughter. And your WIPs! Oh such gasps of pleasure coming from here in my house! lol! Don't stop showing your This is the Day. I just love it. And it's too late for you now, but I'll tell you what I do to make that background fill in more interesting (I also do it because I'm always afraid my letters won't look good if I don't). I do the fill in first and stitch the letters after. Makes it very interesting and fun to see the letters come out in reverse negative, if you know what I mean. :D
I have never tried dying anything after it was finished. A big scaredy cat I think. I'd be so afraid that I'd ruin my finished product! I think that your Time and Season Sampler is beautiful as it is! And I absolutely love the colors in your Mary Garry piece. And This is the Day - your conversions made me run and get floss and fabric! As soon as I finish up a couple things, this is where I'm going! Many good wishes for your daughter!
Beautiful WIPs, especially This Is the Day.
The only thing I've ever dyed after stitching was a little scissor weight. I used strong tea, and I was very happy with the way it turned out. Maybe you could start with some weaker tea or coffee and then use a stronger brew if you want a little more color.
Best wishes to your daughter. I know that's really gotta be tough for you.
Jan, continued prayers for your DD. I love your WIPS and I'd go with Doris' suggestion of a weak brewed tea and then I'd use a tea bag to dab extra color onto small areas of the sampler. I say go for it! I LOVE This is the Day - your color changes have inspired a lot of folks to want to do this; including me! Do show us again - I LOVE it!
Happy Easter to you!
Jan your stitching is so lovely. I love all of these designs! I wish I had 2 more lifetimes to do these amazing projects.
Have you heard of distress-it antiquing spray? It came out last year and was used to antique punchneedle projects after they are finished. This may be just what you need to age your piece after it's done. Here is a link I found on ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/Distress-It-Antiquing-Spray-Punchneedle-Antique-3-rug_W0QQitemZ270359607062
Good luck with your stitching. I pray your DD will return to health soon, and that you have wonderful weather for Easter.
Take Care!
All of your pieces are beautiful. I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to dye something after I stitched it.When I have a lot of background stitching between letters, I stitch a few letters and then do some background so I don't have to do it all at once.
Still praying for Ashley!
Hugs!
Jan, your backyard deck looks so big and beautiful~even though its covered in Hail~I know its long gone by now. :-) Such an awesome backyard, too! I can just imagine quiet summer afternoon's sitting out there and stitching away.
Love your sharing your WIPS here, they are gorgeous. You MUST finish the Time And Season sampler, ohhhh~you're so close now. I've never dyed anything after I've finished a project...but can say I've heard of others doing it and they've been most pleased with the results. I would say to Go For It! I know it would tone down the brightness of the colors and probably be more pleasing to your eye.
I just love your This Is The Day piece...ohh, just beautiful!!! Can't wait to see the grand finale. So hurry up and finish it now. :-)
Good thoughts and Prayers going up for Ashley~am really hoping for GOOD news from the doctor, tomorrow! Bless her heart.
Have a wonderful day!
I hope Ashley continues to improve and that the doctors can give her some answers and help her to get better! She will continue to be in my prayers.
Keep sharing your progress on TitD!! It is soo pretty and that background stitching takes forever. I am the same, I feel like I go stir crazy filling in big blocks of color. I do think the second border (bottom one) goes faster than the top one, if that's any consolation!
Your Mary Garry & Moira samplers--B-E-A-Utiful!!! Sooooo pretty. I haven't ever dyed an entire piece once it's stitched, but my friend walnut dyed her Dutch Beauty after it was stitched! I would say go for it but I can understand your hesitation!!
All your samplers are just gorgeous! Utterly beautiful :)
I continue to think of your daughter....and pray for her. I need to ask you where you are located in Terre Haute and what your hours are...I need to take a road trip, maybe after the kids get out of school we can take a little trip :)
I just stumbled across your blog - and oh my, what a beautiful place to visit!! First, I'll send prayers for your daughter...I passed a kidney stone while I was in labor with our son. OUCH!!!!!!
Second, you are a SERIOUS enabler!! I just love the pieces you're working on -so lovely. I'll be peeking in on you often! :)
I've never hand-dyed anything so I'm the wrong person to ask! LOL Both T&S & Mary Gary are looking wonderful. Hope you get the bug to work on them soon.
Just loving seeing your This/Day progress! You've past the half-way point with the fill in on the alphabet and grass so hopefully it will seem to go faster for the remainder.
Continuing to keep Ashley in my
prayers!
{{hugs}}
Hello Jan, I have that Moira chart in my stash, and I think it is a beautiful sampler. I need to get it out and do it.
I totally understand how you are feeling about it though. I've had that happen to me with a couple. I have dyed finished samplers on several occasions, and I was always happy with the results. Email me if you'd like to know how I do it, okay? It's not that scary really.
Will be praying for your DD. I Love your Time and Season! Good luck with the finishing and dyeing. TITD is looking very close to being done - will be so pretty! Cabin is really nice, too.
Hi dear Jan - Poor DD - I hope things improve for her very soon and I will remember her in my prayers and you too! It's hard on grandmommy to be as well.
I LOVE your WIPS - bore us - GET REAL DEAR HEART - that is what we live for - the next blog update from our stitching friends - photos - love it! Your TitD is just stunning - I want to do this piece but I am uncertain about the called for colors - they really don't go in my house - except they would probably look fine in the master on my hunter green walls - hummm - must think on this one.
I love your Time and Season - just finish it up and try something - Distress It was discussed when I took the workshop from the BBD gals last year - apparently they use it a lot - they said to start very lightly - let it dry and then spray again if you need more distressing - I think you might get more control with the Distress It - don't know a thing about the safety of the product as far as will it eventually eat up the fiber etc but I feel the same way you do about overdyes - I rarely do any solid linens any more.
I guess I must be in the minority - I love that boring fill work for when I am tired and just want to stitch or at guild meetings or places where I can't really concentrate but still want to be stitching.
Have a wonderful Easter dear ewe - Mel
All of your WIPs are gorgeous, lovely progress!
I hope the doctors can find out what is wrong with your daughter and that she's feeling better very soon.
Wooo Hooo! My dear KS, you're going to be finished with This is the Day before I can get a good start on mine... It's looking absolutely fabulous and I can't wait to see more! And please keep taking photos and sharing with us... I I do mean all of your beautiful projects... I promise it does not bore us in the least! :)
Time and Season is gorgeous, Sweetie! It shouldn't be too difficult to coffee or tea dye the entire piece once you finish stitching... I've never done it, but I know several ladies who have and it always turns out beautifully! I have this one in my stash and would love to stitch it one day in the not too distant future... but as you know how my rotation is going... or should I say *not going*... it will be a while before I can start on this one.
And your Mary Garry is sooo lovely! I can't wait to see more, Hun! I don't remember what this one looks like... will have to search around for it...
Continued prayers for Ashley, your sweet grandchild and you my dear, KS! :)
I can't wait to start A Handwork's Pace... I'm so behind though it will most likely be the first of next week. Are you ready to start yet? ;)
With kind,fond thoughts and wishes... Blessings and love always in stitches, my dear KS!
Thank you for visiting my blog. Your work is just beautiful! Dawn
I know what you mean by filling in, Ugh! but well worth the end results though.
I will pray for Ashley continuous improvement.
I remember seeing your MB. I thought it was beautiful. I don't think I could stain it.
All your projects are just lovely but I love MB's Time and Season. Her samplers are so pretty.
Dear Jan, Your Time & Season has put the last straw on inspiring me to get going on mine. I've been meaning to pull it out for years. It has great personal meaning to me, and it's just been hard to work on it. I think I can do that now that the years have passed.
I'm going to add my prayers to the list for your daughter. Nothing can hurt more than knowing our children are in pain, Jan, I know that feeling. So, I'm praying for you, too.
Take care... Love and hugs,
Deb
I really like all you works in progress. I always like your base fabric colors. Where do you get such wonderful pieces. I have to dye mine, and I don't have a needle shop anywhere near my home. Is there somewhere on line you like? I have just returned to stitching in the last couple months and I'm driving myself crazy wanting to do every sampler I see. Prayers for your daughter and thanks for a great place to visit. :O)
I hope your daughter is feeling a lot better. There is nothing worse than being ill and having a baby at the same time. It can be worry for all concern.
All your work is lovely. I like your Time and Season Sampler. It is beautiful. Also your This is the Day is lovely. They are all lovely samplers. - Sandra.
Beautiful work! I like this sampler more and more ;)
Thanks for being my follower!
Hugs from Hungary,
Nina
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