Are you ready for a brand new beat?
Spring is here and the time is rite
For dancing a happy dance in the street
Excuse the weird picture, but this one was the best of the lot. I took it when I caught the sampler lazying about, dangling from a plum tree.
Yay me and whoopee, I finished Rites of Spring!!! I had no intention of finishing it, but it sort of happened. Good thing too, because I don't think I could have lasted another week, and if it hadn't been for my wonderfully inspiring co-SAL-ers Cristina, Giovanna and Karen, I would have given up on this sampler weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, I think it looks gorgeous (the design, that is. Not necessarily the stitching itself), but stitching it was erm... how do I say this politely... hellish. You have to change colours every four stitches (except for the tree), then there are wee diamond shaped thingies consisting of four stitches all over the place. I wasn't too thrilled about the colours (the Avocado and the Baby Spinach are too much of a contrast IMHO) and I ran out of Baby Spinach before I could finish the second circle, so I used Avocado for the rest. Still. Lovely samper. Thankfully, I hadn't been to the framer's yet, so I can add this one to the pile:o))) Noah's Stocking will be taking the place of RoS on the scroll frame tonight. Remember the new SAL, honeybuns! You can still join if you want to stitch a CHS stocking. We start on April 16th!
Sue, the RoS chart will be on its way to you soon. As soon as I can drag my lazy bones to the Post Office which, for some reason, is always an enormous effort.
Perhaps one of the reasons for my steaming ahead with Rites was the arrival of some seriously springy weather in our part of the world. And with spring comes...
Yep, you've guessed it! Planting pumpkin seeds. Pelle was very happy with the proceedings. He's looking forward to some late nights in the garden :o)
Now, what to stitch next? I have The Goode Huswife's Wife, Into Thy Garden on top of my Desperately need to stitch now-pile, but I seem to have mislaid my 36 count hand-dyed Zweigart muffin fabric, which the design calls for. I'm joking, you understand. I don't have this sort of fancy fabric in the house and the fancy fabric I do have doesn't match the colours the design calls for. What on earth kind of colour is Zweigart hand-dyed Muffin? Can anyone help? The picture of WITG looks so good, and I want the same sort of look. I'd be very grateful for any advice you could give me. Perhaps I could just stitch it on white linen and then when it's finished have some fun with my collection of exotic teas and coffees?
Well dears, Noah beckons and somewhere in the distance I can hear my bed calling my name too. I will be dreaming of Spring and stockings and pumpkins!
Yours delightedly,
Annemarie.
37 comments:
Wonderful sampler! Don't you just love the time between what you've just finished and what you're going to start?
You sound nice and happy :) Lovely finish even if it was hellish. I can't help you out with any knowledge of the colour Muffin but I did used to have a cat with that name when I was little !
Pelle looks such a cutie helping with the planting :)
Take care and happy stitching
Lovely piece. Congrats on the great finish. But really,you caught it hanging in the tree!!! LOL Thanks for the chuckle. Pelle looks very happy to be planting his pumpkin seeds. Look forward to garden pictures as they grow. Good luck with the new start
Gorgeous Gorgeous finish - I love it but don't think I want to stitch it now you've said how hellish it was with all the color changes. That's why I quite doing Just Nan's because of that but you never know I just might do this one as I had to have it. And Pelle looks so cute and happy planting his pumpkin seeds. Love Patti xxx
Congratulations on your finish!
Oh Annemarie, your Rites of spring is beautifull...un other BBD????
Hugs
Cris
It's lovely Annemarie!
Woo-hoo! You got it done :) It looks fabulous!
I've never owned any Muffin linen, which I think is no longer available, but I'm wondering if something like PTP Mello (like Vonna used for her Earth Sampler) would work? You know, in case you needed an excuse to buy more stash...;)
I'm definitely in for the stocking SAL - can't wait!
While your "Rites of Spring" finish is the picture of loveliness, plum tree and all, I can't help but comment on your masterful ability to (re)write song lyrics to celebrate your latest finish. Pretty impressive, especially the clever replacement of "rite"! (Yes, I noticed.)
Farmer Pelle looks quite cheerful and ready for the growing season to commence.
Can't start my CHS stocking yet, not because April 16 hasn't arrived but because I changed my mind about the fabric and now I don't seem to have the perfect linen in my stash. Imagine that. I hope to correct that by this weekend, though.
Thanks for the tune, Annemarie. Now it will be playing endlessly in my head. The Mick Jagger version?
Congrats on the finish! It's always nice to get it finished even if there are grumblies along the way!
Nice to see Pelle.
Your RoS looks wonderful Annemarie, can't wait to see what project you'll be starting next.
Can't help you out on the Muffin fabric, I've never heard of it. I know Glenshee comes in a color called Muffin and it's a kinda light brown/tan color.
Rites of Spring is so beautiful although I can see what made stitching it not just pure pleasure. Congratulations!
I hope you will find your hand-dyes Zweigart again. I have nor idea what the colour looks like but it sounds really good, lol.
Enjoy these wonderful spring days in the garden with Pelle.
Love love love your RoS! Thanks for the heads up on the copious color changes. I haven't 'read' my chart lately but right below 'huge blocks of color' and 'over one stitching' on my Things I Don't Like list is 'copious color changes'. :P I do need to get cracking on a BBD, though.
As for the Muffin fabric, that might have been the Muffin fabric dyed by Green Mountain back when they were in business... they were in business before R&R if my time line is in any way correct. And/or, it could have been a fabric color that she & CHS Kathy dyed together under the Chartmakers label. As is my luck, I got into GH designs AFTER Anne retired her first set of designs and didn't stash any Muffin fabric, but friends have used it and it's pretty much a neutralish fabric... think a nice warm tan color. Vonna is using 40 ct Purely Primitive on her Colonial Garden series and when I stitch mine, I plan to copy her! I am not confident in picking out linens at all so will go with what somebody else has chosen! HTH a bit.
Love the pic of Pelle!
Absolutely no idea what color muffin would be. I like corn muffins, which are orangish, but my mom goes for blueberry which are a hideous smooshed gray-blue color. LOL. If you are still looking come May 3rd, I can bring some of my 'exotic stash' with me to Heidi's. ;)
Love your finish - so glad you did not give up on it! :D
And thank you for the email. It brightened my day considerably!
Congratulations, it's beautiful!
Funny that we both should remark on the annoying little diamonds, lol - and I agree about the colour changes too, I've had the feeling I've been continuously jumping around all over this sampler (except, as you said, with the tree - and birds I may add). Still, it's so pretty that it's worth it.
It looks mighty fine Annemarie :)
I'm proud and happy that you finished it :)
I've had one of the CHS stocking kitted for some time, but I don't know if I'm in the game for starting it yet...depends on if I get something DONE this week next. I love Noah's stocking though (actually I love ALL her stockings) so I shall wait with bated breath to see your start and finish of it!
Good Luck!
Beautiful finish. While it may have been a pain with all the color changes it is well worth it in the end.
Big congratulations on your finish! Have fun planting your pumpkin seeds.
Wonderful finish! It's so pretty.
Conngrats on the finish it is simply beautiful!!!!!
RoS is gorgeous Annemarie, congratulations
Brilliant finish, I'm doing a happy dance for you LOL!!
We used to have a cat called Muffin and she was browns and creams, she was a very beautiful cat. Can't help though with the fabric colour.
A HD is always a nice moment; it's an accomplishment you did yourself. I'm having a WIP which is a WIP for the difficult colorchanges only, so I would have understand if it had ended on your WIP-pile. The still-to-frame pile is a much better place for it ;-)
My DH has started the pumpkins too, I'm only enjoying them in august.
It's lovely to see Pelle's happy face.
Congratulations on your hellish finish! Looks like the trouble was worth it :)
Congrats on your beautiful finish!!
Congratulations on your finish Annemarie! It is gorgeous!
It looks so beautiful! Congrats!
It's beautiful!
Rites of Spring looks just wonderful hanging from your plum tree! Congratulations on a great finish. I wish I had a finish but more quilting and sewing is being accomplished than stitching here. As spring arrives and I do enjoy the daffodils gracing my little garden here and the larger one at Cranberry Cottage, my thoughts start to turn to longing the autumn and Christmas season. Is that silly? I just fret over the fear of a long and hot summer. And what do I read? You are planting your pumpkin patch. Okay if the Great Pumpkin shows up, don't worry as she is just there to 'borrow' her share of your bounty. She loves the pumpkins that she has been named for and uses them everywhere. Have you figured it out yet? The Great Pumpkin will be me sneaking about your garden. LOL! Or I will just have to invite myself for tea and come see how pretty they all look. :-)
Hugs en groetjes ~
Heidi
Rites of Spring looks sooo good! You did a wonderful job, I can't wait to see what's next.
Great finish! And I'm excited to see some baby pumpkins growing in the future!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! What's weird about the photo? It's lovely. Congrats on the stunning finish.
May your pumpkins grow perfectly and your next stitching start fly just as quickly as this last one. :)
Oh my goodness another finish!!!! Well done misses. xx
Your Rite of spring is just lovely! I tell you, there's nothing more wonderful that that every so brief moment between projects, where all your possible new starts begin calling to you. Lol
What a beautiful finish. I love it perched there in the plum tree....never mind the framer. I can't wait to get going on the SAL. I picked Primitive Stocking and my own stash of Valdani threads. I even cheated a bit by starting to stitch TODAY. I hope I am not disqualified from the SAL.
What type of pumpkins are you planting this year? I'm trying two new ones: Jahrdale(blue/green) and One-Too-Many(marble patterned orange and white and green and white)
Good Grief! The Great Pumpkin of Charlie Brown fame will be prowling around your yard now...looking at your pumpkin crop! You're always inviting goolies and mcgoblins, An, and then you wonder!!! :] Your "Rites.." looks good hanging there...something mystical and proper about it being slung up in that tree, I thought. Could Pelle be more darling? You're having a fine jump on Summer and Fall, Miss An!
Hugs and love...
wonderful sampler:)
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