Toned Down Sampler Part 14

We have managed to get through an ice storm which did a lot of damage in Portland and the surrounding areas and are back to having mild, light rain. We feel quite fortunate in not experiencing the loss of power or any damage to our property that so many others have. We were only inconvenienced mobility wise. Which gave me enough reason to get back to stitching on the toned down sampler.

I had passed over circle #40 because I just didn’t like the design. I had completed 8 other circles when I decided that I didn’t have to stitch the design from the pattern. Here is a photo of the design in my pattern book (click on images for a larger view):

 

 

And here is what I decided to stitch instead of the above design. I used the color palette from the original design so that I maintained the over-all balance of the sampler. My design uses 2 stitches: Cast on Bullion Knot circles the edge and Closed Fly Stitch anchors the circle center.

 

 

The next circle put me straight back into practice mode. The central design is a single Bullion Rose. This is not an easy design to achieve and, though I had done the design before in 2 other circles, it had been quite a while ago and I needed to get practicing it on my scrap of wool. I was reading and attempting to follow the directions for the stitch in Sue Spargo’s Creative Stitching book without success. I tried several times to get the balance I needed with no luck. I finally looked back at the other circles I had stitched this design on and realized that from the very first one I had modified the stitch to achieve my success. Once I realized that, it all came together for me. So here is the circle with the Bullion Rose anchoring the center, circled by Closed Fly Stitch which is further embellished with Colonial Knots.

 

 

I did not like the stitch Sue chose for the edge of the circle. I chose to surround the circle with Beaded Whipped Chain Stitch. Again, I used the colors Sue had chosen. But it was fun to choose my own design here and dig into my extensive supply of beads.

The next circle is stitched in tiny Chain Stitch using 2 variegated wool threads.

 

 

It feels like I am definitely ‘getting my brave on’ and that feels good. It also tells me that my goals for doing this project are all being met. I hope that you are feeling the same kind of success with whatever you are tackling in your creative life.

If you are new here and would like to see more of this sampler project, just click on the ‘Hand Stitching’ category in the right column.