Wohooo - Here She Is!

Here she is - Anne Maria Clarke-Richmond reproduced by Essamplaire:

To stay as close to the charted piece as possible while still adding my information, I used additional "invisible stitches".  I used the cream floss to sign my full name in the lower left corner and the finishing date in the lower right corner (this morning at 00.30...) - all over one.  If you don't know that it is there, you will probably not spot it find it unless you exacarefully, so I am pleased!  Here is a close-up of the date (I had to bend the linen so that the shadow of the stitches indicates where they are):

I really got pretty excited when I recalled that the Ann Rayner sampler (Threads Through Time) uses the same type of alphabet.  Ann stitched the entire alphabet in her sampler, so I could just pick the capitals from her chart.  (This is another beauty in line to get stitched.  Where can I buy more time!?)

As usual, the real drama started once I decided to iron the sampler...  Oh, I am not a fan!  Not at all!!!  First I freaked out because it looked like the iron burned the linen.  It didn't, the linen just has darker streaks in it.  Then I discovered a couple of unidentifiable smudges that I (knowing that it was a stupid idea as I did it) decided to attack with a Tide-to-Go pen (yep, I hear the stitching-community's collective gasp from all over the World...).  Needless to say, now I have two paler spots in the linen.  One of them will disappear in the case I decide to frame her, the other...  well, I am not real sure why, but I don't really care.  I guess that I am a real odd-ball of a stitcher.  As soon as the work is finished, I am just not that intrigued or careful any more. 

And that is good news, or I would have to set up a serious talk with the parrots (in the basement).  This is a Drawn Thread design (Real Roses) that I adapted to be more personalized.   I switched the lady holding the hands of two children to DH, our - at the time - 5 (only!) parrots, and myself), composed a new verse and added all of our initials, bird and man alike.  I also decided to experiment with fancy edgings and I did have a ton of fun stitching it. 

This is what I discover today:  first off, edges are folded - I know that DH has mentioned that he has seen some of the parrot baby hang form it.  Sigh...  Then this; someones beak or claw has pulled out my right eye and pulled a strand out of the pain-in-the-neck long-arm cross-stitch border.  I am sure that I'll find some more "added personalization" to this piece as I start to patch it back up.  I love the parrots, but sometimes I tell DH that we need second house for him and the birds!!!  You don't blame me, I'm sure...

Hmmm, maybe the bird babies are hinting that they are not pleased to see that their monograms are missing, poor neglected creatures!

On to happier things - I bought myself some happiness on Ebay last week.  I go a very cheap Queen of Freedom by Mirabilia (I am thinking about linen color...), a OOP totally fantastic bell-pull designed by Mads Stage for Clara Waever back in the days (1960-70 probably), and a kit published by the Swedish Home-craft Society (hard to translate..).

Since I have problems with discipline when it comes to stitching (and since I apparently don't have a problem lying to DH in regards to stitch related issues), I did start on the Swedish kit right after my ironing adventure.
The text translates "Craft Concerns Everyone".  Pretty cute, huh!?

Yeah, about lying to my DH.  He made me promise (we even shook on it) that I would get my very-close-to-getting'er-done Peacock Tapestry back out.  I know that I really should, but I also really rather not...  PT, inconveniently enough, is the only stitched piece that DH has ever been interested in.  I did guilt him into asking to see the finished Richmond sampler earlier today, but that request was more placed out of politeness and keeping peace than out of any real interest, I suspect.  Oh well, I'll marry a stitcher next time around - but he has to have a bigger stash that I do and preferable all the hard-to-find OOP charts!

Did you note that today's post was thrown out on the net earlier than usual, by the way?  That is thanks to one of mu "guild moms" (yes, Missy R, I am referring to you!!!).  She brought her laptop to the latest stitch-in to show everyone the blogs that some of us enjoy fiddling with.  Missy R specifically asked me "what are you doing posting at 2 in the morning!?".  She is right (I am hanging my head), so I will try to change my blog-in-the-middle-of-the-early-morning habits and be better about my beauty sleep.

Oh, and a final call out: Thanks a million times to Mr L-Bug for driving over to Mrs L-Bug's work to drop of her "really important to have a closer look at scissors fob".  I had asked her if she wouldn't mind bringing it with her to the stitch-in so that I could have a look at it and take some pictures.  Mrs L-Bug reenacted the conversation that the L-Bugs had over the phone while he was trying to figure out what in the world she was trying to get him to find, and it was rather funny.  I think that it ended something like this:  

Mr L "Are you talking about this pile of crap here on the table" 

Mrs L "Yes, that's it!"

Gotta' love the guys - don't they know treasure when they see it!?  And I also love her rather resigned response...

Anyway, Mrs L-Bug  pulls out the fob, informing me about the morning's adventures in regards to arranging the transaction, when I realize that I left my camera at home!  Ooops...  I totally forgot that L-Bug is also a real shutter bug, so she pulls a compact camera out of her purse, we take the pics and she e-mailed them to me later that weekend.  So, I'd like to send a big thank you to Mrs L-Bug too!!!  

Without further due, here it is.  Isn't this just adorable?  We have decided that it shouldn't be that hard to make our very own home-made ones, so that is shaping up for another "fun & quick craft" session to look forward to!

Well, time for bed.  I promised Missy R...    Plus  Blogger or Mozilla or something else equally mystical seems a tad crabby tonight, so I'd better stop before one of us ends up crying...

Take care, have a great mid-week, and don't forget to stitch!