Euphemia Myles Sampler

Fair warning, this post has quite a few photos in it. Even with today's "point and shoot" cameras I am a wretched photographer. Stitched on 30 ct this sampler is also larger than I'm used to stitching and photographing. It certainly wasn't easy to "stitch in hand" which is my preferred way to stitch. It's also very sunny today which surprisingly isn't the best condition for taking photos. Some colors in the sampler are also very light shades which blend into the linen.

This is basically my way of saying these photos aren't particularly good and trust me the sampler looks better in person. I've included a lot of photos in hopes that at least one ends up looking like the sampler I stitched.

The sampler isn't terribly large, only 160 stitches square, but I chose to stitch it on 30 ct so it's almost 12 inches square finished. The linen is R & R Reproductions French Vanilla, a beautiful color and perfectly aged as is. All of the threads are Gentle Arts and most of the colors are very subtle. The Gentle Arts Garden Gate stands out nicely. The Gentle Arts Roasted Marshmallow blends beautifully with the linen. It's hard to make out in the photos. I told you I was no good at taking pictures :)

I've always loved the aged look of antique samplers and part of that (I think) comes from the fading in the threads. I think over time the colors just all begin to blend into one another which is hard to replicate. I've been wanting to try for awhile and I'm happy with the results.

There are three alphabets, some numbers as well as a signature and date. The name is fictional. I've always felt a little odd just making up a name but on this sampler it felt right.

I had originally designed the sampler intending to leave an unstitched area at the bottom. I think leaving the sampler "incomplete" also lends to a more aged look. At the last minute (this morning) I decided to add some feather stitching. There wasn't a lot of planning with this sampler. It came together on its own. What was particularly fun was "choosing" where to use what colors. I knew the border would be black/grey and I knew I wanted most of the stitching to be blue. I used very little of the lighter shade of gold because it is very subtle. Other than that I just began stitching with one color and when I finished a letter and didn't have enough thread to finish the next I went onto another color.

It was a lot of fun to stitch. Very relaxing. But of course whenever I get close to finishing one design I begin putting together the next. I'm going to show a sneak peak of the colors for that one soon.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

I won!

I was lucky enough to win Cheri's July Primitive Quilt Giveaway and what a blessing. The quilt is gorgeous! Breathtaking! A photo just doesn't do it justice. She has such an amazing talent and one I am quite jealous of. I have always wanted to learn how to quilt. There are no quilting stores in my area so no classes to take. I've tried to teach myself and my works are quite . . . primitive. By that I mean they look as though they were stitched by a five year old. I try very hard to take pride in whatever I make with my own hands but that's not always so easy :)

I know I promised a progress post on Euphemia Myles Sampler but I should have it finished today. Why is it those last few stitches always take the longest of all the stitches? I would also like to put a little embroidery on the sampler which means reminding myself how to do a feather stitch. I'm very anxious to start my next sampler. I love the colors in it. I'll post a picture of that as well.

My two oldest children left the other day to visit family in Upstate New York. My daughter Emma has been going since she was eight years old and Jeremy has gone with her the past two years. They're staying for almost three weeks this year; the longest they've been away. Every year I cry as they drive off. I miss them so much. It gets better though. I get the first few phone calls from them and they always sound as if they're having so much fun. That makes it easier. I can barely keep Jem on the phone with me. The other night it was "Mommy, can I call you later I'm busy petting the sheep . . . " and before I could even answer he'd handed the phone back to his sister. After a day or so I start to realize how much more time I can spend with Benjamin and now Mina. Even my husband and I find a little more time to spend with one another. Of course there is also the backlog of stitching that I manage to accumulate every Summer. There's still plenty to keep me busy and before I know it Emma and Jeremy will be home and I'll be wishing for peace and quiet again :)

xoxo

Jennie Lynn

My First Giveaway

I've been wanting to have a giveaway for awhile now. It appears to be customary to have a giveaway when one reaches one hundred followers. I got a few things together for the giveaway last week but apparently I overestimated how quickly I would reach one hundred followers :) No matter, I have little patience and simply don't want to wait any longer. Perhaps the giveaway will help me reach one hundred followers. At any rate, having a giveaway has just always sounded like so much fun. So here are the rules:

1. You must be a follower and leave a comment in this post, that's one entry.

2. You get a second entry if you post about this giveaway in your blog. If you don't have a blog don't worry just tell a friend. You have to let me know either way so I know to give you two entries.

3. You get a third entry if you've purchased one of my patterns. It can either be directly through me or through Etsy and it doesn't matter if it's a printed pattern or an e-pattern. If you haven't had a chance to purchase one yet just let me know which one you like best.

4. Finally, you get yet another entry if you've stitched any of my patterns (including free patterns) and have sent me a picture of your finish. You can also simply send me a link to your blog if you've posted a picture there.

Enough chances to enter? I have to admit that last one I threw in for perfectly selfish reasons. I love seeing finishes!!! I'll post the winner on March 20th; hopefully that gives everyone enough time. I'll ship to anywhere in the continential US and for my international followers we can each pay half of the shipping to your home.

Now onto the prizes. These are a few antique linens I've had in my collection for awhile now. For years they came out in the spring and graced my hanging rack but haven't made it out of their box in quite some time. Two of them look to be table linens with the most beautiful hand embroidery on them. One has pink flowers with green leaves which seem to be done in feather stitch and french knots. The other has tiny pink flowers of french knots, green lazy daisy stitches for the leaves and an undulating border or pink and blue french knots. Both have delicate crocheted borders. The final is a hand crocheted piece. I know nothing about crochet; to my eyes they are simply tiny rings sewn together in a diamond shape. They all have the most wonderful age to them, the embroidery is perfect for Spring, and they smell of honey and orange (the scent of the sachet I had them stored with).

It's a shame to have them sitting in a box in my craft room. Hopefully they can grace someone else's home and I hope everyone has some fun with the giveaway.

xoxo

Jennie Lynn