Quiet Time and Brenda's Giveaway

Thank you, Carolyn, of Antique Images

Good Morning,
I've spent the last two months reading everything I can get my hands on. I love reading in the winter, getting all snuggled under a quilt in my recliner with a book.
I recently ordered two books from Amazon, they are a wonderful source.
One is titled American Samplers by
Ethel Stanwood Bolton and Eva Johnston Coe. It's an older book; it contains 17th, 18th and 19th century samplers. It lists the schools and schoolmistresses that taught young ladies to stitch samplers, a section on sampler verses (great source),
a list of early schools and a section on materials, designs and stitches. It's a wonderful book.
My second book is modern-day, it's titled Sampler Workbook Motifs and Patterns by Caroline Vincent. She's given the meaning of a variety of motifs, like squirrels, trees, houses and other animals. Shapes and patterns are also explained. She has charted some fantastic graphs of them and quite a few alphabets and texts.
I'm looking forward to charting my own samplers.

This is Brenda's current giveaway. Visit her blog HERE to enter.

All of our snow melted the other day when we had 60 degree weather. I don't like the barren woods without snow!

Believe it or not, I'm still working on the Polly Daggett sampler. I keep picking up new work and my little sampler keeps getting put down. I made quite a few gifts at Christmastime and I've had 4 series of injections for my back since November, so I'm going even slower than I normally 

go, and that's pretty slow!
I'd like to post the pictures of the dolls and bear I made for Sis and Mom. Maybe the next post...
Susan

TUESDAY TUTORIALS FROM FELLOW BLOGGERS

Hi, Primmies ~ 

While reading blogs from my Reading List I came across Teri's tutorial:  White Sheep Farm Primitive Make Do Pussy Willow Branches.
Teri was so sweet to give me the go ahead to use her photos. I was so amazed at how lifelike these branches look, and it couldn't be an easier to do tutorial. Teri was pruning a plum tree, I think, and she used those branches for the pussy willows. Talk about
multitasking !

Here are the "buds" made with brown paper and wool

Here a bud is attached to a real branch with rusty wire

Please be sure to visit Teri if you can, click HERE for Pussy Willow Tutorial . There are step-by-step photos and instructions for you to follow.

Here's a tutorial from Jennie Lynn of Appleseed Prim for sampler stitchers that like to "age" their work. 
She also made up a free chart for us, a sweet little marking sampler with a few simple lines and a lovely border. You can download the free Betty 1709 by clicking HERE. 
You can click HERE to see photos showing her stitched sampler after applying the extreme aging techniques.

And more creative tutorials using techniques you are all familiar with but different graphics and items made it seem like I was seeing them for the first time. The first one is from The Vintage Polka Dot using clear decal film sheets and vintage graphic images. You can pick up old bottles and jars at thrift stores and use this transfer method.
It's truly amazingly fast and easy. You can also use plain white canisters, platters, etc. Here is a link to the Clear and White Inkjet Decal Film. 
Here is another source Experts Choice Decal Film.
You can also do a search for it, they are also called water slide decals. You don't need all of the suggested items that they sell to go along with the film. Just read the tutorial from The Vintage Polka Dot on how easy her way is.

The vintage images that are available for free are plentiful.
I have several links on my blog sidebar. Be sure to visit the individual blogs where you will read the full tutorials.

Kristie of MARKET NINE home  made these vintage looking garden pots with the Modge Podge transfer technique. She was inspired by Laurie of Heaven's Walk. 
They both used graphics from The Graphics Fairy blog.
And there is a product called Outdoor Modge Podge for items being used outside.  Awesome.
 
It's been a while since I've hunted for new projects. I like to try other methods besides primitive, but these methods all work on wood and other surfaces and you can make prim boxes, rusty cans, blank milk bottles, signs and all kinds of things using the same transfers just making the items primitive in your favorite
aging or grunging technique. All of the great primitive labels and graphics that we've come across are so quick and easy to apply with the Modge Podge. Another blogger used washable Elmer's glue; she spread it on the paper and printed her image, and then did the MP transfer technique. She said it makes the image stick even better. I could not confirm this with anyone but it would be easy to try a practice transfer with it.


I've been stitching two other projects while working on the Polly Daggett sampler. I'm also working on a very large, very prim rabbit. I'll show you the finishes if you're good little primmies.


Also, everyone say a little prayer for our friend Tricia of  Hillcrest Home Primitives.
She's having her surgery this morning at 8 a.m.  And send her your love & well wishes for a quick recovery.

Have a happy day creating whatever you are working on.

Susan

SOME BASIC WAYS TO DYE YOUR LINEN

Good Morning, Prim Friends -

I've been experimenting with different methods of dyeing my linen for cross stitching. I don't see why you couldn't use any fabric that you want to age, though. I used the tea method that I shared in a post HERE. Tonight I overdyed the Polly Daggett sampler that I'm working on. I used espresso coffee that I've had bottled for 3 weeks. I re-wet the linen, dipped it in the espresso, added the

alum and it's hanging in the kitchen to dry. I'm

anxious to see what it looks like when it dries.

I'll take a picture and post it tomorrow; I've made

more stitching progress and I'm into the alpha-

bet section now. 

You can make a pot of very strong tea and bottle

that and let it sit for 3-4 weeks. You would use this tea instead of the boiling water for a darker result.

Don't forget to try both ways, dry linen and wetting the linen. The dry linen will take the

color in an uneven pattern if you like that look.

You can also let the brewed coffee sit for 3-4 weeks, espresso brewed and stored for 3-4 weeks and follow the directions in the post HERE.

Always add alum for the final time in the dye.

And in my book, it states that if you spray your

stitched sampler with Scotch Guard (Reg.trade-

mark) it will make black floss run, making streaks on the linen. There are some original samplers

where this has happened. I found that information interesting. I haven't tried it yet.

If stitching samplers is your thing, you should get a copy of the book American Samplers by

Ethyl Bolton and Eva Coe, published in 1921 by

the Daughters of the American Revolution 

(D.A.R.). It's been republished by Dover Publi-

cations, Inc., in New York.

There are the greatest verses printed  in  the book.

Verses were seldom original to the stitcher. They

were taken from the scriptures or from church

sermons. They also copied from other samplers.

Or they could have been about the girls' parents,

birth and death records of the family or about

sewing and stitching, love and marriage:

"when two fond hearts as one unite, the yoke is

easy and the burden light" 1822.

I'd like to make some pin keeps or cupboard tucks with the simple sayings.

I'm still hurting from the injection. It takes a while for the medicine to work it's way through the spine and if it is going to work it's supposed to in a couple of days. I had a bad day and night yesterday, my left leg pain was unusually bad.

Blogging and the stitching takes my mind off of the discomfort.

Tricia of Hillcrest Home and I finally got together yesterday. I emailed her and left her my phone number and she called me! She's a wonderful gal and we talked for over an hour. We plan on chatting on a regular basis. I'm anxiously awaiting my package from the giveaway and there are surprises in there that I don't know about.

I've been so lucky with the giveaways that I can't wait to finish the sampler and have my own giveaway. I feel a little guilty and think I should not enter anymore for a while!

I'll leave you with another verse that describes

how I feel:

"No star so bright as my delight" (1792)

Susan

4:05 a.m.

An Apology, A Thank You and A Giveaway

Hi, Primmies - I want to let my blogger buddies know that I slept today away and Mr. Glen Oaks didn't want to wake me.
I will be playing catch up with my reading and I will read
everyone's recent posts and be leaving comments. I hate to 
miss a day of leaving comments but I suppose I needed my
rest. The all nighters of no sleep catch up to you after a while, and it's frustrating to me to get so exhausted from driving and
being out of the house all day. Such normal things for most people; I used to be 'normal' heehee!
I thought I was getting stronger and more conditioned, I guess it will take more time still.  
I have had more wonderful bloggers sign up recently to follow my blog and I want to give all of you a big "THANK YOU".
I send individual email thank you's from the followers button on the dashboard and don't know if they get received. It says gmail sends one on my behalf to the recipients. So since I'm not sure if that works or not I'm taking the opportunity to
thank all of you here. And all of my followers that have been
reading right along with me these past months I THANK YOU as well! Every time I post and you visit it makes me so incredibly happy. 
I'm going to be stitching on the samplers now (The Katy Bemis that needs to get finished and the new one for the giveaway). I may not post every day. I want to get the giveaway sampler stitched and framed.
Yes, I said giveaway. I have 86 followers as of today and I think that deserves a treat for putting up with my incessant ramblings! So the "new" work in progress sampler will be the giveaway. It's one from the historical sampler book and that
book is very special to me. And since all of you are very special to me I want one of you to have a sampler from that book. If I get a lot of followers that want to be in the giveaway
I'll have a pin keep as a second giveaway. I've been anxious to stuff something with Mr. Glen Oaks' wood shavings from his planer and the sawdust that I've been collecting. 


I'm preparing a dye bath right now for the 25ct cream linen that I will stitch the new sampler on. I'll be doing a post sometime later when I finish reading your blogs. We'll see how it comes out. 
I'm having a cup of tea from the gallon I've made for the
dye bath and settling down to read your blogs.
Later, Primmies -
Susan

Inside The Clutter Of My Mind

(Long Post, girls - you might want to save me for last)


Hi, Prim Friends- 
I've been encouraged by the numerous posts from fellow bloggers about them taking time to think about and do the things that they love.
Do you ever see patterns, fabrics, books, etc., and
just have to have them? And then you don't know what to do first? Or worse, like me, forget that you
even have all of these things unstarted? Well, I've
realized that I could do this the rest of my life and
that's just silly. So I had to pick (and it was really
difficult) just two mediums to concentrate on and
to actually make something.  I don't know how it's going to play out with my physical disability but
I'm going for it!
I see from my 'stash' that my passion lies with all
things fabric, so I chose to begin with cross stitching a sampler, which I did a lot of years ago, and to do
something brand new and a real challenge, which is
trying to make my own version of an Izannah Walker inspired doll:

 a

The sampler I chose to start with is from an original
1732 miniature band sampler stitched by a woman
named Dorothy Allen, Ethan Allen's cousin. I live not far from the Vermont border and I love history
about the Revolutionary War, so I decided to start
with this sampler. Plus, it's the easiest one in the book! 
The reason they are called band samplers is due to the fact that 16th and 17th century looms did not weave fabric any wider than 9 inches in width. In the 18th century the looms could weave a wider piece of cloth.  But the earliest samplers , English as well, were stitched on narrow, long 'bands' of linen.
When finished, this sampler will be only 3 7/8 x
six and 1/2 inches. Dorothy also omitted the letters
U and J and spelled 'samplar' instead of sampler, all three being common for samplers stitched in this time.
Also, her numbers are not marked and stitched in straight lines, she used them in the date, her age and at the bottom with her 'pine trees'.
This book was a treasured gift from my sweet
Mr. Glen Oaks. I have wanted the book FOREVER and I can't believe I finally have it. Another thing that I had wanted to do but never had the money for was to take Dixie Redmond's Izannah Walker Work-
shop online class. Well, Mr. G.O.P. did it again, he
got me the next best thing, Dixie's eBook in PDF:

Unfortunately I can't show you anymore of the
Izannah book like I can of the samplers. This is
Dixie's own book and I don't have permission to
share online.  I also got some patterns for gifts by
another talented artist that I have wanted forever,
Gail Wilson, a published doll maker. She and Dixie
have both been in Early American Life's Directory of Artisans. Wow, these ladies are awesomely talented.
Here is Gail's pattern for an Izannah Girl and Boy doll pair:

Sorry, Mr. Glen Oaks Jr. scanned for me and it went the other way. I also have her pattern for the perfectly round head Columbian Style Doll:

There, that's the right way! Now, Dixie's workshop
takes you through the clay sculpted face and
shoulderplate over cloth doll method. I'm not sure I'm ready for that, so I'm going to start with the
Izannah Pattern above. I will make the girl first and
hopefully the boy will follow. I love to see dolls in pairs of boy and girl. They are usually one or the other sold singly. And to make sure that it's goof proof, Gail includes vellum transfers for the eyes and the curls in the hair that Izannah was known for. I also have the 'cheek pouncer' to make Gail's perfect feathered cheeks. And a set of her oil colors that she mixes for the flesh tone and the other features. And I've got her own blend of antiquing wax for the final step. I don't know, gals, can I do it?
I still have to learn the needle felting dog that Joyce and dear Prudence sent to me. See, I'm cluttered in the head again...
I'm planning on reading where I left off with Dixie's book, I always read through whatever I'm going to make before I start, just like a cooking recipe. The eBook is large so it's going to take a while. The boys are all sick here (cats included), the little guy brought the germs with him from his little sister back in New York. So it's slowly creeping through to the mister and I have a twinge of it. Mostly just a piercing headache over my left eye and temple. They are horribly congested in the chest and head. The coughing is bad, I am trying to avoid them as best I can since I was just sick for weeks. Ugghhh... kids are little germ vessels, poor things.  
I'm going to share some history on samplers with you and I didn't forget about the excerpts from my old cookery book. The boys went to the fish market for dinner items, I hope they have tilapia. This is day two of my weight loss healthy eating plan. It will be broiled fish with a dash of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of bread crumbs and capers, rice pilaf and a salad. This healthy eating ain't bad!
Later, primmies -
Susan

Look At This Very Pretty Work By Jennie Lynn Of Appleseed Prim: Euphemia Myles Sampler

My sweet daughter Ashley is coming home from the hospital and I need to make this a short post. I would leave for your enjoyment this sampler.
This is Jennie Lynn's newest work. The soft colors and linen are just gorgeous. We hope she'll make it available as a pattern to all of us that love samplermaking. Click the link below to go to her blog with her post on the stitching of her sampler.
Warm Regards,
Susan
Click Link:
Appleseed Prim: Euphemia Myles Sampler: "F air warning, this post has quite a few photos in it. Even with today's 'point and shoot' cameras I am a wretched photographer. Stitched o..."