Margaret Doyle 1850

A few weeks ago Kitten Stitcher announced a new Stitch Along to begin October 20. The chart is Margaret Doyle, 1850. If your’e interested, you can find it here.

I thought about it for the longest time . . at least 5 minutes. 🙂

The chart, at first glance, didn’t thrill me but so much else did.

First, it was offered with 32, 36, 40 or 46 count linen. I’ve been wanting to try 46 count linen and since this is a small project, it would be a good project for an experiment. On .46 count, this should finish at 5-7/8″ x 7-5/8″.

Second, the linen is Eureka by Fox & Rabbit Designs. I love their linen.

Third, the floss available in the kit was Au Ver a Soie 100/3 or Soie d’Alger or DMC. I’ve been wanting to try Soie 100/3 which is one of the recommended flosses for 46 and 56 count linen.

Fourth, I knew if I didn’t get this and it sold out, I’d be sorry when I started seeing everyone’s projects. This chart is exclusive to Kitten Stitcher and, according to Nicola at Hands Across the Sea, this is a one time shot. It will not be offered as a pdf or printed again.

The photo above was for Instagram. There’s no way I’ll use those Cohana scissors until Oscar is an old man! He would destroy the silk tassle and probably the scissors too if given half a chance.

Yesterday the kit from Kitten Stitcher arrived. I opened it and was still kinda on the fence about the chart. Nicola Parkman of Hands Across the Sea Samplers does such a great job of researching the background on person who originally stitched the sampler, and she shares so much history of each sampler and the stitcher. I had not even opened the booklet but had simply looked at the cover, and looked at the floss.

Late last night I was catching up on flosstubes and saw that Nicola had a couple I had not watched. One was from October 2 and it was about Margaret Doyle. I watched it and honestly, this may not be one of my favorite projects. I will never forget the things she said about this little girl who later grew up, and lived what was probably a very difficult adult life. Nicole said something like “This brightly colored small piece may have hung on her walls and been one of the few bright spots in her day.” I will think about that every time I see this piece.

This morning I could not wait to get my chores done and make a few stitches, just to get a feel for the 46 count linen, and the Soie 100/3 floss. I’m using a #10 beading needle and had never stitched with that before either.

Vince was leaving the house for a while so he came downstairs to talk with me a minute before he left. He said “Are you having fun?” I said “Not yet but hopefully soon!” 46 count linen is way different from 40 count linen and it has me wondering what 56 count will be like. I struggled with threading the needle. I struggled with finding the holes. I struggled with getting the needle in the holes and not piercing the fabric because it’s a sharper needle and feels different in my hands. I was feeling like I made a big mistake ordering the 46 count linen but I knew I could use the 100/3 floss on 40 count so . . what’s a small piece of linen?

You can see in the photo above that I stitched just a small amount on the border and part of a leaf. When I threaded the needle a second and third time, the thread went right through the eye of the needle the first time. The holes were so much easier to see after a few minutes of stitching.

There are quotes on the bottom of each page of the chart. I was working on the border for the top right of the chart and the quote on that page is “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho

How true! This morning, briefly, I felt like giving up but . . any dream is possible if we stick with it and put forth the effort to make it happen . . even a dream as simple as stitching on 46 count linen.

I’m so glad I decided to stitch this chart. But, now I will stick it aside and wait until October 20 when the stitch along begins. This evening I will get back to Peppermint Bark.