Forging Ahead

I put the other trumpeteer on the bottom of the American Sampler and got as far up with the green Alternating Half Cross stitching on the side borders as I could before I rolled it up and out to re-expose the top of the sampler.  Above is the finished bottom.

Then I got started on the top, that was about a week and  a half ago.  I'm working on another client project - a family history - that is very interesting.  It's the first one that I will be traveling out of town to continue research on.  I'm really hoping that my hunch pays off.  More on that in a minute.  Anyhoo, my stitching time is cut in more than half.  But, I find that the Alternating Half Cross stitch is rather soothing to do.  I really thought it would kerfuffle my brain.  I got up to the top of the columns and then went for filling in the top cartouche with the beginning of the phrase.

It didn't take me long before I realized I'd not done too well drafting it.  I came down too far at the top and forgot about the loopy things on the sides at the bottom.

Here's my progress to date.  I had to rephrase (don't you wish the politicians would do that more often?  BEFORE they open their mouths?)  Originally it was "his intent to court" and it has been changed to "his wish to wed".  For one thing, I realized that if he came "courting", the father wouldn't be hurrying off to the clerk's office with him.  So, he had to be wanting to marry the girl.  Well, that worked out well, because going from COURT to WED saved me two letters.  I still had to get rid of two more in order to fit the last portion of the phrase betwenn the curliecues.  I kept going over in my head, NEED, WANT, DESIRE, no, no, nope!  Finally WISH  !!  2 letters shorter than INTENT.  And it all fit, just barely.

Don't know if you can see it too well, but I also lost my horizontal line on the third line of the verse.  I started on the left and ended up dropping down one stitch.  And of course, didn't realize it until I was almost all the way over on the right.  Well, that explained why the tail of  the G in daughter was touching the outline!  So, when I was finishing on the right, I lifted up the word WISH by one stitch so the right and left sides look symmetrical.  Then, I went back and took the G out and restitched it, one stitch up.  Also, the D in WED had been stitched too close to the M in MY.  I was going to leave it, but since I was going back and taking out some things and redoing, I decided, why not.

So, I've finished the verse.  Now I've started on the blueing of the background of the cartouche.  That shouldn't take too long.  I'm actually thinking I may finish this sampler up by the end of the week.

Yesterday I worked on the Civil War quilt.  I haven't done it in a while because I got stuck on a block.  It was made up of all these fiddly little triangles that, of course, were cut to the 16th of an inch.  I cannot tell you how much I dislike this pattern because of those 16ths of an inch!  But, Deb was right when she told me GO BIGGER.  Finally I got my head wrapped around how to handle that block . . . I made paper foundations for it.  MUCH easier that way!  Here it is -

Quadrille

Of course, it would have worked out better if I'd put the seam allowances on the foundation paper - then I wouldn't have lost the points - AGAIN!  Sheesh!

Then I had another one that was applique.  I just hated the way this one looked.  Even when I'd tarted it up some (as much as one can in this color pallette), I still didn't like it.  So, I added the balls, or grapes, or rounds - whatever you want to call them; and I like it better.

Leafy Reel

The rest were all fairly easy.

Red Cross

Rolling Stone

Barrister's Block

Temperance

Although Temperance ended up being put together with set-in seams because I just couldn't seem to figure out its construction with all those different size triangles - there were FOUR sizes!  I'd just have to wring my own neck if I had to make a whole quilt out of this block.

I have eight more blocks to go and many of them have fussy little triangles.  I expect during the week I'll be able to finish knocking them off.  Then I'll be able to get to the smaller projects that I've had on hold in my finishing bin.

The family history work I'm doing has an interesting story.  On one of the family lines, the furthest back so far is a man named Joshua Wistling _____(insert any last name)___.  He was from Dauphin County, PA (up at Harrisburg).  I was intrigued by that middle name.  And had the feeling that it was a mother's maiden name.  I did all kinds of searchs and finally came up with a listing for a Wistling family in 1830 in the same county.  But, there was only the one.  Huh.  Then one of my searches turned up Weistling, along with Wistling (in the same area) and there were a lot more listings on that name.  So my thinking is that Wistling is a mispelling of Weistling.  And I'm going to Harrisburg in the near future to see if I can flesh out the truth.  It's like a treasure hunt to me.

Hope you enjoyed!

Good Grief!

Last night the cat nearly made me nuts.  I always call him in when it's time to go to bed.  And he always comes runnin'.  This time, however, he did not.  I called and called and called and called.  No Sebastian.  Although I was trying to keep a lid on it, my husband knew that as more time went on, I was getting more upset.  So, he too went out and called for him while he was putting the trash to the curb and walking the dog.  No cat.  I even stayed up late.  It was 10 and way past my bed time, when I had resigned myself to opening a bedroom window so I could might maybe hear him in the middle of the night - if he came home.  I went out one last time and called him and poof!  There he was. 

All was right with the world again.  He had no explanation for his late arrival, but that's a cat for ya!

So this morning, when I let  him out we had a talk and he really seemed to understand.  But, when I called him for breakfast, he was a no show again.  I really just couldn't believe it.  I called again and this time had a meow in response.  Unfortunately, it came from the woods that are just next to the road and as many more times as I called his name, Sebastian wouldn't come to me, all he would do was meow.  And we're not talking about hey, nice to see ya meows.  We're talking ME-Ows!  I thought, oh, my God, has he gone out in the road and gotten hit by a car?

So, in my PJs (I did pull a sweatshirt over me so as not to scare little children) I went down the driveway to the woods.  Every time I called his name, he meowed and I'm looking down in the bushes, behind branches and no cat.  Finally, I looked up.  There he was in a tangle of vines, about ten feet above the ground.  And he couldn't get down.

As soon as my eyes were on him he ME-Owed again, like well, what are you going to do to fix this mess I've gotten myself into.  At least he was taking responsibility for the mess, I thought.  At first I held out my arms to him, hoping he'd jump down to me, but then I thought, oh, no, that won't do, because I'll be shredded when he lands!  There was no directing him, so I said, stay there, I'll be back. 

I hotfooted it back to the house and grabbed a cushion from a lawn chair, hotfooted it back down again and back into the woods.  I held the cushion up over my head and said "Co'mon" and he'd respond "ME-Ow" and I'd say "Co'mon" and he'd "ME-Ow".  And on and on like that for like five minutes.  I almost moved the cushion once to see what he was doing, but thought, no, the minute you do that, you're going to get a face full of falling cat.  So I held my ground and finally he worked up the courage and jumped.

The cushion, of course, began to collapse in the middle between my arms, but I was able to give him enough of a break that he then jumped from the cushion down to the ground.  And then he laid down, panting, looking at me like, WOW, mom, that was amazing!  I tell ya, it was almost as if he'd been up on the parallel bars at the Olympics!

Sadly, no pictures of the event.  But, here's what our Sebastian looked like recently:

He likes to play stick

This is what he did after sticking his landing

Phrase for American Sampler

I began this post about two weeks ago and didn't get around to taking the pictures to go with it, much less uploading them.  So, here is the beginning:

I've finally worked out my phrase to replace the one charted on the American Sampler.  I wanted something to do with American colonial courtship, albeit I wanted it to be non-specific to any particular people.  I've done a little research on this at my own historical society, but the inspiration I found was in this article originally in Colonial Williamsburg Interpreter (Winter 1997), by Elizabeth Maurer and now on a Colonial Williamsburg site.  The phrase is inspired by a quote from a letter by Landon Carter, written in 1775, that is included in the article.  


I hope that it conveys, without saying so, the eagerness of the father to get his daughter out of the house.  I mean that in a funny way.  Anyhoo, pics are of the progress I've made stitching background and phrase.  The phrase will read: On Thursday last, came a young gentleman and communicated his intent to court my daughter.  Upon her glad approbation we sallied to the clerk's to obtain the bond - L. C. 1775

That's where I stopped.  I've been working on the sampler and the Civil War quilt and a family history project and a DAR project - and I really almost don't know what side is UP anymore.  I say that because the day before yesterday I made a really stupid mistake which I compounded yesterday.  And yes, that was a really stupid mistake - AGAIN!


Why, what was the mistake you ask?  I ran out of DMC 500 - the really dark blue/green and went to Michael's to get it.  Snapped two skeins out of the 500 bin, bought 'em, brought 'em home, wound one onto the empty bobbin.  Then, yesterday morning, when I do most of my daily stitching, I sat with my morning news and coffee and stitched the green behind the urn on one side.  And I kept looking at it going, boy, that doesn't look right.  And, instead of stopping I kept right on stitching.  It wasn't until I'd reached the top of the urn on one side that I decided it was time to check that color.  I had to sift through the trash can for the little number slip that I'd taken off the skein the day before.  And ya know what?  It was 501.  Yep.  They had the 500 bin full of 501.


So, I still had no 500.  And I could not believe I had been so S-T-U-P-I-D as to just take it on faith that what I'd pulled out of that bin was the right number.  DUH DUH DUH!  I never looked at it, not once - not even when I was going, UH, DUH, Dat Don't Look Right.  DUH!  Well, it was first thing in the morning (which is usually 4:30 to 5 a.m. for me)  Sat and took out all I'd stitched.  Went to Joanne's.  They had one skein of 500.  Is there a run on 500 these days?  Went to Hobby Lobby and got two more skeins.  Not sure how much I'm going to need to do this background effect, but it sure seems to be taking up a lot of floss.  

Last night I sat watching that wonderful MICHAEL PHELPS and others win lotza medals at the Olympics - and restitched all that I'd stitched (and then had to take out) in the wrong color.  I'm a little further along than I was yesterday morning and that makes me feel better.

So here are the pics I didn't get around to before:

Bottom portion of phrase

 I can see now that I've missed some of the background stitching behind the phrase and I'll have to go back and catch that.  That background is done in Alternating Running stitch.  It was supposed to go over each thread, but I'm using a smaller count and just couldn't get it done.  I went over and under two instead.

Photo left is before - photo next is after - the grass in the "Yard" - it was bothering me that it wasn't green.  So, I've made another change.  I used one of the lightest of the greens and did Alternating Running stitch again.

 Speaking of MICHAEL - many years ago, when my son was in the Navy, and visiting San Francisco, a friend took a picture of him at the top of Lombard Street.  The first time I saw Michael Phelps (I think it was when he was in Sydney), I went HOLY COW!  And pulled out that picture.  The two could have passed for brothers - then - there's no longer quite such a resemblance.  But since then, I've called Michael Phelps my son from another mother.  His mom, Debbie, would probably not like that so much; but I have cried right along with her every time he's won and every time he's lost 

Bottom portion - progress to date

 
(which hasn't been so much!).  I think Michael Phelps is just AWESOME!  I was talking to my husband yesterday and said to him I was sure if I ever ran into Michael, that I would probably turn into a blithering idiot.  But what a memory that would make!  I met Melissa Belote back in 1972 - she was just back from the Olympics and I ran into her at the Gifford's Ice Cream parlor.  Two years older than me, she grew up very near me - in Springfield, VA.  At the time, she was 15 (like our girl from Bethesda, Katie Leudeke) and I was all of 13 thinking it was SO COOL to meet an Olympian.  In 2010 her three gold medals were stolen!  Can you imagine!  Her record in the pool was only broken by Missy Franklin just last night.  Even though I'm much older and much wiser than when I was at 13, I would still be all wiggly if I met one of our medalists!  Looks like the girls will get my Olympics pool attention in the future as I'm not a big Ryan Latke fan; maybe that Tyler Clary.  But Michael will always be my favorite.


Hope you enjoyed!

Read Directions First . . . Then Stitch

I don't like to "frog".  I think it's a waste of time and effort.  Usually if I make a mistake, I work around it or I cover it up without frogging.  However, this one was a doozy and I was forced into it.

I wanted to start the Alternating Half Cross stitch that makes the green background on the floral side borders of the American Sampler.  It's quite an intriguing stitch - essentially changes the color of your linen to the color of the thread you stitch with.  So, on the lower right hand border, I started stitching - without reading the directions.  I got quite a bit done over two days, but when I was looking at it from a distance I thought, wait, something's not quite right here.

Wrong Way

So it was then that I looked at the directions.  Oh - My - God.  And I realized what I had done.  In the picture above, I was in the process of pulling out all the work I'd done.  I had gotten up above the urn.  When I read the directions, I realized the work is supposed to be done over one and instead of going in a sort of serpentine line, the stitches are supposed to go off each other to more fully cover the linen threads.   Like this:

Right Way

I have now pulled out all the work I'd done on the right hand side and have been working on the left.  I am up into the greenery and flowers now, after working all week.  This is an agonizingly slow process and I keep telling myself that I was right to get started on it so I can take a break after a while and do other stitching; not only background stitching.


After starting the Trumpeteer in order to show how I do over one stitching, I completed him before I started the Alternating Half Cross stitching.

In fact, all the work on that right side of the lower border is done.  I have the left side yet to do.  I have also decided on the words I am going to put into the two areas.  I have to chart that all out to make sure it fits right and will reveal all next time.  I made one change on the Trumpeteer.  His pants were charted to be striped.  I decided that I didn't like that so gave him plain charcoal trousers instead.  I have continued to alternate the "ripeness" of my berries too; like I did in the side and top borders.

Meanwhile, I have been reading a book I've read before and really enjoyed (not like I don't have several never-read books on my bookshelf); Wilbur Smith's River God.  Set in ancient Egypt, it is a fascinating tale, even the second time around.   I managed to pick it up at a thrift store for just a buck!

Hope you enjoyed!

This One's for Jackie (on Over One Stitching)

Jackie of Jackie's Stitches does some beautiful needlework and quilting.  If you haven't seen her blog, it's worth visiting.  She has some quilt block work she's done recently in the most amazing, juicy colors - they make my mouth water!  Jackie recently sent out an SOS on over-one stitching.  I commented, but words just don't relay what you're trying to say.  I told her I'd do some pictures to help.  So, here they are.  This is the method of over-one stitching that works for me.  It's crazy, but doing this I end up with more work on the back of the piece than the front.  If you want to download these photos in order to enlarge them, for your own personal use - you can go ahead and do that. 

I've started working on the trumpeters at the bottom of my American Sampler.  They're stitched over one thread.  When I stitch, I come up at the upper left and go down at the lower right, then under to the lower left, up and over to the upper right - that's when I stitch over two.

For the over one, I begin by coming up at the lower right, over to the upper left, down to the lower right of the next stitch which takes the thread - in the back of the work under two threads.  I come up and repeat.

Going under the two threads on the back of the work stabilizes the stitch in my mind - well, on the fabric too, but you know what I'm saying . . .






 

This is what it looks like on the back.

To go back up, I come up at the upper right of the first stitch.  I have to be careful here with tension because I'm only transversing one stitch.  I go over to the lower left and down, then come up at the upper right of the next stitch (crossing two threads on the back of the work) and continue to repeat to the top.



















Here's the back of the completed row  . . . .

And here's what the completed row looks like on the front.

Here's an area of completed stitches on the front . . . 

And here's what the same area looks like on the back.  By the time I took these photos, the sun had come up and I'd lowered the shades - my fabric didn't have an accident with my coffee cup, it only looks that way.

Here's a stitch diagram.

Come up at 1 and down at 2 (shown in the light green)

Cross under to 3 (shown in blue)

Come up at 3 and down at 4 (shown in the light green)

Cross under to 5 (shown in blue)

Come up at 5 and down at 6 (shown in the light green)

Etc. Etc. Etc.

The red dots represent the "holes" that I work in.

So essentially what I'm doing is a regular cross stitch in the front and a long cross in the back; which is why the back ends up looking like it has more work - or padded.


Using this method I don't lose any stitches in the threads and it's made my over-one stitching much less frustrating.  In fact, until I figured this out, I stubbornly refused to do any over-one stitching.

Almost forgot to say - when you start the next row, you have to compensate.  Either finish going the other way or start going the other way, just on the first stitch.  What I mean is, following the directions, I'll end up going down in hole number 4 when I finish going back up.  That's the same hole that I'd start the next row in.  So, I can finish the first row by starting in hole 4 and going down in the hole to the right of 2 - or - when I start the next row, I'll begin in the hole to the left of 2 and go down in 4 and my next stitch would come up at 6 and go back to the rhythm of the long cross on the underside.  Even to me that sounds really confusing, but I know when you work it, you'll understand.

I hope this helps everyone.