Starting Newcastle Bouquet

I got the fabric for 'Newcastle Bouquet' at Kim's on Friday. It's 40ct Wichelt Sandstone. I gridded the last sampler I stitched for Teresa Kogut and found that once I had that done, I could stitch a lot more confidently, count more accurately, and make fewer mistakes that I would have to frog and re-do.

I start in the centre and do my grids in a zigzag. I find it's easier to count that way. I don't know anyone else that does it that way but it sure works for me.

I use sewing thread. I don't tend to pierce the grid lines when I'm stitching so they're easy to snip and pull out with tweezers when I'm done an area. I'm stitching 1 over 2 using most of the called-for colours with only a couple of DMC substitutions which I'll identify in a later post.

The dark spots are specks of link inside my camera that I can't get to to clean up. Aside from that it takes acceptable photos.

As I work outwards more from the centre, I'll continue gridding.

This is going to be quite a long project. I can do some of it when I'm chatting online with my crafty friends, for example, the inside of the oak leaf that I've outlined is filled in with only one colour. That's perfect for social stitching where I don't have to count.

I got word on Saturday that the model I stitched for Teresa finally arrived at her place. Phew! It took 7 weeks for the fabric, threads, and pattern to get to me. When I mailed it back, I mailed it regular first class mail in hopes it wouldn't get held up at Customs and would go through like a regular piece of mail. I'm very relieved she got it in a little over 2 weeks. Her plan is to take it and two other stitched samples to a framer a few hours away and pick them up at a later date. She wants to release the three sampler patterns in the fall.

If any of you are going to be near Clare's Stitching Post, 682 Main St in Vermilion OH next Friday, July 24th, Teresa will be there from 1 - 4pm. If there wasn't a raging pandemic and Skip and I could enter the US, we'd definitely be taking a road trip to meet Teresa and explore Clare's Stitching Post.