New design finished!

The reason that I was able to work on one of my HAPs this past month - I finished the design I'd been working on!!!  I'd be doing a happy dance, but I'd just probably end up hurting myself.

Genealogy has always been one of my obsessions hobbies.  Don't worry, this is relevant.  Years ago, I saw MLI's version of a Mother's Tree.  I loved the idea but not the actual design.  That was the only design she did that I wasn't impressed with.  I felt it was too dark and the font was very masculine (I deal with fonts for my "real" job).

I finally made the effort to create my own Mother's Tree pattern!  In the next few weeks, I will have it available in my Etsy shop, XedStitches.  I want to get it framed before I offer it for sale, hence the delay.  I will be offering it where I do the hard part: the charting of the names.  It will include an alphabet so future generations can be added.

Here is what it looks like for my maternal line:

I figured if I was going to stitch a model of it, best to start with me (no kids) and go back.

Here are some details about it:

• Fabric is 32count white evenweave that I tea-dyed. 
• Tree is stitched over 2 (so 16count) using Gentle Arts Sampler Threads (GAST) in Acorn and Forest Glade.
• Text is stitched over 1 using GAST Weathered Barn.
• Overall size of stitched area is:  16½" (41.91cm) tall x 22" (55.88cm) wide.  This will, of course, vary.

Not everyone is going to have a name as long as mine (33 letters!), so the width will most likely be smaller for most people.  The height will depend on the number of generations known for the family.  My Eva was born in 1804 in Poland so I don't know how successful I would be in going further back.  Both of my sisters do have daughters so another generation would add about 1½-2 inches.


I will definitely take a better photo once it's been framed.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

February choice & New Finish!

Here's the chart I chose as my February choice from the HAED Christmas Raffle that I won:

This one is called Breakfast at the Beach.  Since I do live near the ocean, I've always loved "beachy" things.

I also have a new finish.  You have to love band samplers...seriously, I mean you!  For me, band samplers are lovely and they work up rather quickly.  I love having finishes!

This one is an all-white band sampler from The Gift of Stitching which was an online cross stitch magazine.  The sampler was a mystery sampler meaning that you didn't see anything beyond the section you were given for that month.  It ran in the May, June, July, and August issues in 2007.  The sampler was called:  White Musings Mystery Sampler and was designed by Follow the Leader Designs.

Spoiler Alert!
Anything beyond here will spoil the "mystery".   ;-)


Here's the picture of the completed sampler:

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Coming soon...

I've decided to start a blog hop here on my blog.  The first blog hop will be on November 1st and will run through November 14th.  The second blog hop will start on November 15th.

Since hosting a blog hop is new to me, I expect there may be a kink or two.  Hopefully not, but you never know.  Anyone who participates in this first hop will receive one of my personal designs: a blackwork-style heart pattern!  I'm not going to post a picture of what it looks like when it's done.  I'm going to let it be a surprise.  Yes, I know, that's not nice making you wait but I do have a little mean streak in me.  ;-)

While I do have a bunch of questions already lined up, if you have a question that you would like to see used as a future blog hop, just email it to me.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming hop!

Happy Stitching!

Stacy