Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Scarlett Letter sampler progress!

Hello my friends!
 
It seems to have been way too long to write and post but I've had some good changes in my life in the professional arena and therefore, a little busy with getting into the swing of a new routine. Life is good!  God looks out for me in many ways, well, all ways and in doing so in the past few months has changed my career direction into the same field, but actually a much more positive and brighter environment. I can't believe I've been in the nursing field for almost 30 years now! The beautiful thing about choosing this career is 1) the ability to make a difference in others lives in many positive healing ways, 2) changing niches and tweaking to build on experiences and 3) the options are limitless in choosing a focus.
 
Throughout my career, there has been one thing I remembered from a former mentor in the 90's. She told me these words of wisdom:  the only constant in life is change.
These words ring true to me every single day. The ability to embrace change and channel the experiences into a positive, moving-forward stance is what makes the difference. I can truly say that it makes a world of difference working in a more positive environment. I still balance my career part-time and am at peace in this stage of my career in the direction it is taking. God is good!
 
Thank you for hanging in there with me for the past couple of months as I was balancing new changes. I do appreciate you taking time out of your day for a visit here.
 
On a stitching note, last weekend I took the entire Sunday afternoon to snuggle with my hubbie as we found a marathon episode series on one of the channels of the PBS stations. Of course Downton Abbey, the last season that just finished, was on for 5 hours and we were thrilled to go back and see some of the past season's episodes again!  While I was watching Downton Abbey afternoon, I picked up The Scarlett Letter sampler below and here is my progress. I am loving the silk threads that came with the kit.

 
The Antique Alphabet Sampler
 
 
 
This is a smaller simple sampler that I referenced in a couple of posts ago that I wanted to do to get my cross stitching mojo on go again. I've had this chart pack for several years in my stash and had bought it on Ebay, included the chart, the silk threads, and the fabric. The cover picture of course and the actual threads look a bit different but I think the designer did a great job at reproducing this little sampler.
 
The sampler is stitched with one thread because it is silk, per instructions. If the cottons were used, I would have used 2 threads over 2.
 
Although the front of the package reads that this is 25 count linen, it really looks mores like 28 or 30 to me. I love their unbleached linen that is included in the kits because it is just more stiff feeling and easier to stitch on.
 
 
Again, a very simple sampler, but colorful and fun to stitch. This is one of the older ones as the copyright date on it is 1982.
 
 
 
Although this could be stitched in a monochromatic, or one color thread, manner, I like the different colors scattered about in the alphabet. I can only imagine a very young girl who had to stitch with the precious amounts of her silks that she had on hand to make this beautiful colorful blend.
 
 
I hope to finish this soon and frame in a darker maple frame, adding to one of my sampler walls in the keeping room. Then, what will be next?????  hmmmmmm............just have to wait and see!
 
 
I hope each of you have a restful night, surrounded by those you love,
 
Jennifer