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Saturday, January 22, 2011

No finishes to report, but I have an answer for Glenna...

First of all, thank you for the kind comments regarding my pile of unfinished finishes. I appreciate that no one scolded me for not being more proactive in the finishing department. What can I say, I'm just the kind of girl that enjoys stitching. As for the finishing, well, not so much.

I haven't finished anything this week although I have been experimenting with paint colors. I'm trying to decide what color to paint frames that I made last spring for:

"Sally Spencer" from Birds of a Feather
Stitched on 32 ct. hand dyed linen with overdyed floss.
Personalized with my immediate family's initials and the first two letters of the name of each of the cats that I have had.
Which of the two darker paint colors (see craft sticks to the left of the sampler) look best? Thoughts?

And...
"Button Button" from Hillside Samplings
(I can't find the chart right now, but I think that's the name.)
Stitched on 32 ct Lt Mocha linen with Caron Waterlilies in Fir and embellished with pearl buttons.
I finished stitching this sampler in 1997 and I mounted into the frame with glass and three layers of spacers to accomodate the buttons, but I'm not happy with the stain I used. Too light. Can't restain because I sprayed a coat of sealer on it. I'd like to find a coordinating paint color, slightly darker than the Waterlilies for it. Everything I've tried so far looks too bright (see light paint colors on craft stitcks in the picture above). Any suggestions for this one?  

In my last post, Glenna left a comment asking about one of the pieces in my UF (unfinished finishes) box. I think this is the one that she described. (Glenna, I would have emailed you sooner but I was unable to find your email address. Let me know if this isn't the one that you were asking about.) 

"Woodland Snowfall" from Little House Needleworks
Just Cross Stitch 2004 Special Christmas Ornament Issue
Stitched on 32 ct. scrap of mystery brown linen.
My plan was (and is) to finish it as a needlebook.
Well, my stitchy chair and my cat, Sophie, are calling to me. Time for a diet coke, some tummy rubbings (Sophie's, not mine) and some stitching. Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world. Take care and stay warm! 

16 comments:

Glenna said...

Oh, thank you! Let's see. The lighter blue on the frame in my opinion (and aren't both samplers glorious blue! I loooooove blue and have been known to brighten up the blue in various samplers I work on.) Probably the HS Button Button isn't available any more, but it is is, I'm finding it and stitching it! I wish you'd get out some of those finished lovely stitches and show us, one or two at a time!

valerie said...

Love the personalization on the BOAF sampler. It looks so fun! I think I like the darker blue for the frame. The button sampler is super cute.

Tammy said...

All your stitching is just beautiful! That button sampler is lovely and it makes me want to touch it - a no no for sure!

Carol said...

I think there are a lot of us who enjoy the stitching more than the finishing, Robin. I tend to finish small things, but I let my pieces that need to be framed just pile up in a drawer!

Love your BOAF piece and I think the darker blue works better, but either would be fine. Your button sampler is so cute--did the buttons come with it as a kit?

Chris said...

Beautiful stitching Robin. I think all of those blues look good.
Have some diet coke for me :)

Jan said...

I vote for the darker blue. For the "Button", I assume you are disassembling it, so you could sand it so you can re-stain it to a darker color. I actually like the light color.

Deb said...

I like the lighter blue myself - I actually think that both of them would look good. I'm not sure about your other piece - I rather like the light frame on that one.

Myra said...

Those are all so pretty Robin. I am not much help with framing colors - it takes me forever to decide and then usually I just go with a brown. Boring, but I get so bogged down with too many choices.

gracie said...

I love them all...especilly Button Button

Lisa Russell said...

I love the woodland snowfall! So pretty!

Sally said...

I absolutely love your Sally Spencer piece. It is simply beautiful. I rather like the dark blue colour.

Love Button too and Woodland Snowfall is lovely.

Karen said...

Robin, both samplers are so gorgeous! I think I agree that the darker blue would look really nice. And what a clever idea to put your cats' initials on the sampler, I love that!

BrendaS said...

Love your BOAF piece. I like the dark blue better but either would be fine.

Your Button, Button piece is so pretty and I think the frame on that one is just fine.

All your stitching is so nice.

Have a good week

Lynn said...

Lovely stitching! I'm in favour of the darker blue for the frame as well. I just think it will make things pop more.
Your button sampler is adorable. I really don't think it looks bad in that frame. I wouldn't change it.

Siobhán said...

Beautiful stitching! I am in favor of the darker blue, too. I always prefer a frame to not stand out against the stitching--let the stitching shine while the frame is a supporting cast member, so to speak. Oh, and trust me, you are definitely not alone in the prefering to stitch rather than work on finishing department!! It's only now that I'm actually doing a few things that will require finishing rather than just framing it all.

Stay warm!

Carol's Stitching said...

Wonderful stitching! I agree that the darker blue will help 'pop' the stitching out of the frame. Finishing is hard for me too so I think what you are describing is a universal problem for most stichers. However, remember it is not the end of the journey that matters, but how you enjoy the path to your destination.