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New Year Sampler Progress

I got a decent amount of stitching done yesterday.

About this time last year when I first started stitching, for the life of me I could not figure out how to skip spaces. Counting two threads for one stitch, four threads for two stitches, and so on . . just wasn’t working in my head. I was working the Good Marriage piece and I messed up so many times that I finally threaded a needle with a very fine sewing thread and any time there were stitches to be left unstitched, I made an “x” with the sewing thread. Once I had made the required number of basting thread stitches, I’d make the real stitch, then pull out the basting threads. I thought I would never get that step mastered but it’s a good thing I did . . with all the open space on this chart.

Here’s where I left off Tuesday night:

Here’s where I elft off last night:

Here’s what I got stitched:

  • Finished the gold stitches beneath the poinsettia on the left near the bottom and to the left of the 2.
  • Stitched the mushroom to the right of the poinsettia
  • Stitched the numberal 2, the H and the I.
  • Stitched the mushroom.
  • Stitched the gold around the star (upper right).
  • Started stitching the red “things” that will be on the vine beneath teh red ribbon (center midway down).

I’m so close to finishing the entire first sheet and I’m at least 1/4 done stitching the second sheet. I’m thinking I might can finish page 1 today and get the top half of page 2 finished.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. You are making great progress! I do love this sampler…and most samplers! Wishing you all the best in 2022 Judy…and many happy stitches!

  3. You are really coming along with this! The project I’m working on (Floyd and Flurry) has a number of small motifs scattered about. Funny but I didn’t notice that when I bought the pattern…lol I’ve been thinking about how to go about stitching those when I get to them. I have decided I don’t like working on the black background though. I’m finding it harder to see the holes.

    • I have not tried black fabroc4 yet but there are a couple of things I have that will need to be stitched on dark fabric and I’m concerned about my eyes.

  4. —I was always double counting my blank stitches, sometimes triple, forgetting where I was etc. Counting is a little easier on Aida, but linen is a whole ‘nother thing. I count “AND one AND two AND three AND four”, as I touch the tip of my needle in each hole of the row. Starting with AND in the hole next to the last finished stitch, gets you to the next stitch area. I have done gridding with sewing thread too, but got confused about where to stitch the “tenth hole”, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

    • That’s what I do. Count, count again, count again, make a stitch and then count again.

      I started out thinking I would grid and that took so much time and like you, I confused myself more with the gridding.

  6. I have heard, when stitching on dark fabric, to shine a little bit of light from your lap up through the holes of the fabric. Maybe the flashlight on your phone. I don’t know if that would be too bright or if it could be dimmed. I’m about to find out with a small pattern on navy with white thread.

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