Colonial Gatherings & Sovine Palphryeman & Snow (not necessarily in that order)

Dear friends

     I should delete my previous post about how peaceful and beautiful and calming the snow is when it's falling.  

Blah blah blahbitty blah!  

That love affair is over.  

I was only kidding myself. 

Snow is deceptive.  It says to you, I'm soft and gentle and I'll make everything beautiful and sparkly (just the way I like things).  

And sure, it does all that for a little while but after that initial, gently falling snow, 

BAM!  

It's keeps piling on and then it turns brown and gritty and nasty and your feet are cold and fingers are numb. 

I'm not even sure I like the stuff even a little bit, anymore.   

Oh, I know... come next year and the first snowfall, I'll love it again.  

I'll feel all cozy and sentimental about it.  It'll snow, I'll blaze a fire and drink hot chocolate (with Bailey's of course) and think about children laughing and playing and sledding and building snow angels.  

I'll love it all over again.  

But for this moment and this season,

I hate it.  I'm sick of it.  I want it to STOP!

I know, we're all sick of looking at, talking about and thinking about this stuff but 

I couldn't help myself.

Sorry.                  

Moving on...

 It has been eons since I've had a significant finish and although this pattern may seem like child's play to many, it was anything but for me.  

I made quite a few changes to Miss Palphreyman.
Some, like making her dress red were planned. others were not.
The biggest unplanned change was to add a row and a half to the bottom of the tree trunk on the right.  I started stitching the tree before I had the grass, dogs or house in and I started from the base and worked up but I started a row and a half too high!  Grrrrr.
I wasn't about to frog all that so the only thing I could make work was to add a row and a half of compensating stitches to the bottom.
Why in the world I didn't stitch the first row of grass all the way across is beyond me.  

That's my signature at the very bottom which will not be visible when it's framed.

 Sovine's dress, once with a big, brown band, is now all red.

The pattern narrative said they thought her dress had been all red originally and that maybe she had used a different dye lot of thread for the section that had faded to a warm brown. 

I used about 4 different shades of green for the grass because I ran out of my initial color.  I just filled in here and there with one of the greens I had on hand.  I think it turned out fine.

 There once was a bird where Gracie now stands (black dog), Sophie is white.

The biggest change I made was to the verse.  

The one Sovine chose to stitch was a bit too morbid for my taste.  

It originally read:

If I inquire of those around

Wear (that's how Sovine spelled it) my dear father may be found

I am answered thus he's in the ground

 a lifeless lump of clay.

Believe me, I sort of hated to do it but I just couldn't imagine walking past this sampler one day, many, many years from now and think of my dad.

So, I edited dear Sovine's poem to something a little more genteel and easier on my vivid imagination.

If I inquire of those around

Wear my dear father may be found

I am answered thus he's in heaven above

Looking down on me with love.

My favorite part of this sampler is how the roses turned out.
Using an overdyed thread gives them more dimension and they don't look so flat.  

Sadly this chart is no longer in print but you can find her on ebay once in a while.

I've posted my conversion at the bottom of this post, if interested.  

My other recent finish is  the Colonial Candle Pocket from the Colonial Gatherings Club.  I joined the club from Dyeing to Stitch because two of my favorite designers were doing the offerings.  Paulette from Plum Street Samplers and Tanya from The Scarlett House.  I have been reluctant to join these clubs in the past because I'm not a very confident sewer/finisher.  I am impatient, I get distracted easily and well, I feel like I'm all thumbs, much of the time.  I definitely did not inherit my mom's wonderful talent.  But, I decided these smaller offerings might be just what I needed to practice. This is the first offering from the club and I'm delighted to say I'm thrilled with how it turned out. 
The pattern did not call for a lining but I even managed to do that.  

What do ya'll think?  

                              Well worn, vintage buttons and tiny toile lining

 This bicentennial thimble will be among the treasures tucked inside this colonial pocket.  

Perfect.  

My Year long stitch-a-long is coming along nicely.  I adore this pattern (Snooty Parrots by Barbara Ana) and it is very hard to put it down once you start working on it.  But, I want it to last the year through so I'm showing some restraint and stopping when I'm done with the months "assignment".

The only change I've made to this so far is to add a cross stitch to the top of the berries under the alphabet so they wouldn't look like their heads had been lopped off. 

The colors are soft and pretty but get quite a bit more vibrant as we move down the sampler.  I just love those feminine pinks, soft greens and velvety reds.   

If the design alone hadn't gotten me, the color palette would have.

Beautiful!

And finally, here's a little estate sale treasure:

If found this sweet pincushion amongst a pile of scrap fabrics.  I still need to try and clean the red pincushion but don't want to pull out all the pins.  It looks like it was well used and loved over the years.

The little tape measure on the side is still in perfect, working order.

That's it for now, friends.   I thank you so much for all your comments.  You're all so generous with your time, talents and notes and I so appreciate it.  Even if I don't get back to you, please know that I am grateful for every note left.  In fact, just today I realized I had about 5 or so messages that I hadn't responded to and I will try and get back to you all today!  In the meantime, be well.

Love & Peace,

Terri     

Sovine Palphreyman Thread conversion:

Stitched on 35 count WDW Straw

Called for fibers:            Used Fibers:

NPI 986                          NPI 187

NPI 992                          WDW Baby Breath

NPI 563                          CC Blacksmith Blue

NPI 144                           WDW Red Pear

NPI149                            WDW Cayenne

NPI 565                          NPI 926

NPI 665                          No Change

NPI 646                          NPI 298

NPI 971                           No Change

NPI 402                         NPI 403

NPI 142                          Soie Cristale #2006

NPI 515                           WDW Monkey Grass

NPI 512                          NPI grey green

NPI 302                          GAST Picnic Basket

The tree leaves I stitched in CC Poblano Pepper

deer fill in = DMC 842

Deer antlers = DMC 841

Dog collars = Soie Cristale #2206

End of changes.