With an appropriate drum roll I am announcing the publication of the reproduction of M. Woods!
This sampler has been chosen as Sampler of the Month at the Attic Needleworks in Mesa, Arizona. You will want to check our her latest Newsletter to see what she is offering as part of her sampler of the month feature. It is exciting to be chosen for this honor as Jean really is a great support for those of us who are designers in this area. She gets excited about all our work and passes on this excitement to those of us who are able to visit her shop. See her newsletter here. http://www.atticneedlework.com/Newsletters/2013/20130530_Newsletter-web.pdf
M. Woods is being packaged up and will ship out to shops on our automatic this week. Distributors will receive the patterns later this month. Be sure to contact your local shop owner and let them know you would like a copy of this beautiful sampler.
I am so proud of this reproduction. I really worked hard to bring you a chart which would make it easy for you to stitch a sampler that is not as symmetrical as it looks. The original sampler is done on an uneven weave linen with a count of 56 threads by 66 threads per inch. Yes she is small! Because of the uneven weave the reproduction is larger and more square than the original.
The reproduction is stitched on 40 Count Vintage Examplar from Lakeside Linens using AVAS 100/3 Silk and one color of Luminescence from Gloriana Silks. The colors of silk are taken from the back side of the sampler. Despite the problems I had with color matching I thoroughly enjoyed stitching this piece.
The closest you could get to the original size is to use the new 50 count fabric that Jean is offering through her shop from Lakeside Linens. If you decide to work the sampler on this count you will need to stitch all of the sampler in cross stitch and tent stitch. There are Eyelets on this piece, but each leg is done over one thread, so you won't want to mess with trying to do eyelets on 50 count. With care in stitching, I was able to do the Eyelets over one and yes you can see them. I include a diagram of one of the letters in the pattern so you can see how I stitched the Eyelets to keep the hole clear of any thread.
I hope you will enjoy stitching this sampler as much as I have enjoyed watching the sampler come alive again on linen. Please let me know what you decide to stitch your sampler on. I am interested to see what choices others make when working on a new sampler.
Till Next Time....Keep Your Needles Busy!
Gloria
