Sunday, January 02, 2011

Happy New Year!

Here ye! Here ye! On this the second day of January in the year two thousand and eleven, a sampler has been completed by she who nevers finishes anything. Rachael Holmes
Heartstring Samplery
32ct linen, aged by moi
assorted threads from the stash
(click to make bigger)
New Year's Eve was spent trying to right some wrongs such as the septic tank, the broken front blinds thanks to a neurotic dog and cats who believe they are their personal monkey bars, some cleaning and a bit of stitching. Unfortunately most of the above took away from the time I could spend stitching and Rachael Holmes ended up being carried over to the new year. Since I'm more of a lemonade girl than lemons I decided a finish on the first day of the year could be just as a positive as a finish on the last day of the year and maybe set my stitching pace for the year ahead. January 1st was spent with an NCIS marathon and stitching and stitching and stitching, OMFG, no matter how much I stitched, there was more. No matter how close to finished I thought I was there was more! I gave up around tenish and decided Rachael won and she'd get one more day out of me. At six a.m. this morning I picked Rachael back up, I made X after X after little X and finally after two episodes of Law & Order she was completed.
I love this Sampler so much. I used Beth's colors as a guideline and pulled threads from my stash.
These are the threads I used-the chart colors on the left, my substitution on the right:
WDW Honeysuckle- GAST Ohio Lemon Pie
WDW Dove- GAST Banker's Gray
WDW Guacamole CC Eves Leaves
WDW Pecan DMC 420
WDW Havana DMC 830
WDW Mocha CC Olive Branch and DMC 640
WDW Bark DMC 3021
WDW Red Pear DMC 223
WDW Raspberry CC Manor Red(this was touch too red but it works well I think)
WDW Deep Sea CC Wavy Navy
WDW Bullfrog GAST Forest Glade
WDW Curry CC Finley Gold
My conversion isn't perfect but I'm very happy with the finished result and am working hard not to be so anal about using the exact threads a chart calls for and I'm trying to build my confidence swapping out colors. I've found the investment in a DMC color card is worth every penny. Once a thread can be matched a color of DMC matching a thread from the stash is so much easier.
May 2011 be a year of stitching heaven for all of us.
May there be no knots in your floss
No frogs in your needle
And may the little X continue to bring you comfort and joy!
Thank you to everyone who takes time to read this blog and share the love of the little X with me.
Happy New Year!!!!


17 comments:

Kim said...

Wooohoooo Melissa! Congrats on the first finish of 2011!! She's lovely!!

Margaret said...

I love your finish -- it's so pretty! Great choice in colors!

Missy Ann said...

Gorgeous! Rachel is beautiful. Congrats on the finish.

Anna van Schurman said...

She's a beauty! Happy new year!

Chris said...

Congratulations Melissa! This sampler is a beauty.

Blu said...

Gorgeous finish!
Take it as a sign that 2011 is going to be filled with finishes.

Meadows08 said...

Great job! I agree about having a finish in the New Year instead of another finish in 2010. I did the same. All the best.

Glenna said...

Melissa, it's beautiful! And as far as I'm concerned, no matter whether it's 12/31 or 1/1 or 1/31!

Glenna said...

Melissa, it's beautiful! And as far as I'm concerned, no matter whether it's 12/31 or 1/1 or 1/31!

Deb said...

What a fantastic finish!!! Woo Hoo!!! And a finish so early in the new year!!! It is wonderful!!

Diana said...

I really like your Rachael Holmes. I've decided to put it on my list of designs to stitch.

cathymk said...

Just gorgeous! Congratulations!

Katrina said...

Gorgeous finish, love your conversion. Happy New Year too!!!!!

Melissa said...

That is a beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing the conversion! I am seeing lots of beautiful new-to-me things on the stitchy blogs and I keep telling myself to "back-off"!!!

Happy Stitching year to you too!

Michelle said...

Beautiful finish!!!! Congrats and Happy New Year!

Nancy M said...

Congrats on starting out the New Year with a finish. And I totally agree about the DMC color chart. I use mostly Carries threads instead of the Weeks, or most costly floss and it helps out immensely!!

Janice said...

What a wonderful way to start the new year! Congrats, Melissa!!!!